Itinerary Check: 15 Days – Tokyo – Shibu Onsen – Shiga Kogen – Kanazawa – Kyoto – Tokyo – Late winter (long)

We (SO and I) will be travelling during the last week of Feb and 1st week of March. (hoping to be lucky with plum blossoms 🙂 ) Rough itinerary is: **Tokyo > Shibu Onsen > Shiga Kogen (ski) > Kanazawa > Kyoto > Tokyo**. We’re trying to keep this somewhat budget friendly, so we’ll be skipping a bunch of things because of cost (and time) like the amusement parks and will save them for the next trip :+)

 

Some other things I’ve purposely chosen to skip, for some reason or other (e.g. the Ginza Art Aquarium, seems like the fish aren’t cared for as I thought, or the Ghibli Park, it’s a bit too far out of our way, and unfinished for now, we’ll go to it next time we go to Japan!).

 

We’re not afraid to get up early, especially if it means avoiding crowds. We do really like early mornings so it’s not some kind of big sacrifice for us :+) First time in Japan but we’ve travelled a lot before. We’re big on food (adventurous and no diet restrictions) but apart from a few places here and there, we’ll mostly go with what we feel like and find on the day. We also like parks, gardens and nature, so you’ll see a lot of parks & gardens on our list. I’ll also be collecting goshuins & various stamps (separately, I know temple & shrine stamps go in a book purchased at temples) & pokélid photos when I can 🙂

 

In **bold** are the items we’re doing for sure, and not in bold are optional items that we’ll decide on the day if we’re doing (depending on weather, mood, energy levels, etc) So sometimes it looks like there’s a lot on, but it’s just a guideline rather than a schedule.

Would love some restaurant/food spots recommendations that you particularly liked! Especially in the less known spots like Shibu Onsen, Kanazawa, even Shiga Kogen.

Also looking for a good **head spa recommendation** please! Probably around central Tokyo 🙂 (I know about this Spa review channel on youtube, but asking here for personal recs 🙂

 

**Day 1 – Tokyo**

* Arrival at Narita Airport at 5.40pm
* Check into our hotel (next door to Asakusa station), eat dinner nearby or at next location
* to Uniqlo Ginza for winter shopping (we’ll be coming from Australia, where it will be summer in Feb)(also I just really like Uniqlo lol) – Possibly GU as well
* Don Quijote Ginza store to pick up anything we’d like (heat packs, tissues, etc)

 

**Day 2 – Tokyo**

* Early morning, 10mins walk to **Senso-Ji** (I know most shops will be closed, that’s fine, looking to avoid crowds & enjoy a quiet stroll); visit the temples and collect the stamps;
* Walk or bus to **Ueno Park** (possible stop at Remakomu or Ganso Shokukin (food replicas stores));
* Visit the 2 pokélids in Ueno Park & visit the park (not the Zoo)
* **Ghibli museum** via Kichijoji station for the noon slot
* Meiji Jingu from North to South (from Kichijoji, get off at Kita-Sando station, then walk south through the park)
* slowly wander down from Meiji Jingu to Shibuya Sky for the sunset slot (hard to get I know, no drama if we don’t get the exact time)
* Dinner at the **Eorzea cafe**, & shop at the Square Enix Cafe nearby (or vice-versa) (will skip the Artnia Cafe on purpose, a bit out of our way)

 

**Day 3 – Tokyo to Shibu Onsen**

* Depending on weather & plum blossoms, early morning visit Hamarikyu Gardens, Kyu-shiba-rikyu gardens
* Head to **Ameyokocho** and wander (& eat anything we fancy), check out the Marishiten Tokudaiji Temple
* Shinkansen & train to Shibu Onsen (the ryokan offers pick up from Yudanaka station); check-in, chill, try the onsens, etc.

**Note**: need an alternative plan for that morning in case of bad weather or no plum blossoms (these gardens are known for plum trees)

 

**Day 4 – Shibu Onsen**

No particular timing, chill day to be arranged as we feel on the day:

* **Snow Monkey Park**
* ramen at Enza Cafe
* try out the town’s 9 onsens (and get the scarf to be stamped)

 

**Day 5 to 11 – Ski week in Shiga Kogen**

No need to go in details here, just ski days! :+)

 

**Day 11 – Shiga Kogen to Kanazawa**

* All morning: travel from Shiga Kogen to Kanazawa, arrive around lunch time
* Check into Hotel which is near Omicho market(or leave bags into station locker, carry overnight backpack), pop into **Omicho market** for lunch
* Oyama shrine nearby
* explore Naga-machi District

**Note**: need to find spots of interest within Naga-Machi district, and a spot for dinner

 

**Day 12 – Kanazawa to Kyoto**

* Early visit around **Kenroku-en Gardens & Kanazawa Castle** (small detour down south for the Pokélid) (skipping the Museum of Contemporary Art, not our thing)
* Omicho market for lunch (or elsewhere)
* explore Higashi Chaya district (maybe jot down points of interest)
* Kanazawa station, train to Kyoto
Probably have dinner in Kyoto Station, then check into hotel (10mins bus away)

 

**Day 13 – Kyoto (big day lol)**

This day seems super packed, but all the things not in bold are optional, we may very well not do them on the day if we run out of time, the weather is too bad, we’re tired, we don’t feel like it, etc. This is more like a rough outline / streamline route, we’re free to skip any of these spots.

* Get to Saga-Arashiyama station around 7.45am ish
* Check out the bamboo grove while it’s quiet (wasn’t mega set on going there, but it suits the rest of the day so might as well!)
* **Tenryu-ji Temple** at 8.30, let’s say 45mins in there (probably just the gardens) from the northern gate

Possibly rent electric bikes? To go visit:

* Jojakko-ji, Gio-ji, Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street, Adashino Nenbutsuji
* Finish around lunch time (try to nab the Pokelid on the other side of the bridge if possible during that morning – before returning the bikes if we rent them?)

* Option: Sagano Scenic Railway (it’s closed over winter, but I believe it will be open in March?) will depend on time, weather, and how the foliage is looking around the area + if we feel like it or not haha (taking the chance of not being able to get a ticket on the day)

* Afternoon around Kinkaku-ji (Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, depending on plum blossoming) Ryoan-ji, Ninna-ji)

* ~~Head to Nishiki Market for dinner (5-10mins walk to our hotel)~~ (will be closed)

**Note**: purposely not going to the Monkey Park in Arashiyama, not super interested in it :+)

 

**Day 14 – Kyoto**

(same as previous day in terms of optional things)

* Early as possible: Kiyomizu-dera
* Yasaka Pagoda + Ghibli store nearby
* Kodai-ji
* Pokelid at Maruyama Park
* Kameya Kiyonaga for traditional sweets
* Nishiki market for lunch? Maybe
* train to Kibune, allocated 2-3 hours to do the walk from Kibune to Kurama (after lots of research this seems to be a generous estimate 🙂 )
* head back to Nishiki Market, Gion, or Pontocho around that area, for dinner
* if not dead, check out Yasaka-jinja shrine, and even go see Kiyomizu-dera at night (I expect we will proooobably be way too tired lol)

 

**Day 15 – Kyoto to Tokyo**

* As early as possible: **Fushimi Inari**, the whole climb, walk down towards the north to Tofuku-ji; **if anyone has done this climb (all the way to the top and down), how long did it take you (+ your fitness level if you don’t mind!)**
* Depending on timing, maybe some shopping?
* Shinkansen to Tokyo (hotel is right near Ueno Station)

 

**Day 16 – Tokyo to Melbourne 😢**

Our flight is at 7.20pm, aiming to leave Tokyo around 4 to be at Narita around 5pm.
Undecided for now, might leave that day for shopping… (character street, etc); possibly a visit to SMALL WORLDS Miniature Museum (but it’s a bit out of the way).

 

Things we’re skipping this time:

* amusement parks ($)
* Ghibli park (location)
* Mt Fuji sightseeing (location and $, will come back with budget for a nice ryokan with views)
* TeamLab: didn’t seem to be our thing (too crowded, maybe overhyped, etc)
* Zoos and other animal cafes: apart from the legit rescue ones (“normal” pets like cats and dogs) most of them seem unethical in some way or other, so we might pass on those. Not too fussed about going to cat or dog cafes
* the more ‘expensive’ experiences like tea ceremonies, etc, but might squeeze in some kaiseki if we’re able to
* Super keen to see the Kokedera but it’s unclear whether they’d be open in the first few days of march, + unsure how the moss would be in late winter + it’s a bit out of the rest of the itinerary in Kyoto