Hi everyone! Huge thanks to the folks who provided some great advice on our last post.
My wife and I have since made some updates to improve the flow of our trip overall. (Couldn’t resist adding on another two nights!) Definitely still open to suggestions and changes!
**One of the things we’re having difficulty deciding is which JR pass is best for our itinerary. (See end of post)**
We’ll be going for 14 nights, starting in Tokyo and ending the trip in Osaka
# Itinerary
**Day 0: Arrive**
* Land in Narita at 8PM, head to hotel in Shinjuku (APA Gyoemmae)
* Nothing planned for this evening, will get dinner near the hotel
**Day 1: Shinjuku, Ghibli Museum**
* Morning walk through Gyoen Garden
* Check out the view from the Metropolitan building
* Shirohige Cream Puffs
* Ghibli Museum \[4PM entry\]
* Dinner (any recs for a good night view?)
Unfortunately could only get a late ticket to the museum, very open for ideas for the morning/afternoon
**Day 2: Shibuya/Harajuku**
* Yoyogi park/Meiji Jingu
* Wander through Harajuku
* Shopping at Shibuya
Leaving this day pretty unplanned so we have time to explore naturally
**Day 3: Teamlabs, Odaiba, Skytree**
* Start morning at Tsukiji Market
* Teamlab Planets
* Water Taxi from Seaside Park to Asakusa
* Nakamise Street + Sensoji
* Tokyo Skytree (Kirby Cafe reservation at 8!)
**Day 4: Hakone Loop (Hakone Pass)**
* Store luggage at hotel or at station
* Take Romancecar in the morning
* Drop bags at Ryokan in Hakone-Yumoto
* Hakone Loop trip
* Rest of evening in Ryokan
We’re having a hard time picking what Ryokan to stay at, largely because we can’t decide whether we need an in-room bath or not. ***Do Ryokans tend run out of bookings for their private onsens?*** If not, then we probably don’t need one in our room.
**Day 5: Back to Tokyo**
* Enjoy breakfast at Ryokan
* Take train back to Shinjuku, pick up luggage
* Check into hotel in Akihabara
* Explore Akihabara
**Day 6: Tokyo (Flex Day)**
* Maybe DisneySea?
Open to suggestions
**Day 7: Tokyo (Flex Day)**
* Shopping Trips?
* Forward luggage to Kyoto Hotel
**Day 8: Himeji, Kurashiki** (Activate JR Pass)
* Morning train to Himeji (Arrive \~11:30)
* Check out the castle for a bit (not planning to go in)
* Afternoon train to Kurashiki, check into hotel
* Explore Bikan area
**Day 9: Hiroshima Peace Park, Miyajima**
* Train to Hiroshima
* Explore the Peace Park
* Ferry to Miyajima
* Omotesando
* Check into hotel (Grand Arimoto)
* Mt Misen (via ropeway)
* Itsukushima Shrine
**Day 10: Kiyomizu Dera, Gion**
* Train to Kyoto (arrive \~11:30)
* Check into hotel in Kawaramachi
* Kiyomizu Dera + Sannen-zaka
* Dinner in Gion
**Day 11: Explore Kyoto**
* Arashiyama (might skip? seen mixed reviews)
* Kinkaku-Ji
* Nishiki Market
***Could use suggestions/recommendations!***
**Day 12: Fushimi Inari, Nara** (Last day of Kansai/Hiroshima Pass)
* Morning – Fushimi Inari
* Afternoon – Nara Park
* Evening – Check into Osaka hotel (Namba)
* Street food at Dotonbori
**Day 13: Explore Osaka**
* Kita/Umeda
* Osaka Castle
* Shinsekai
* Nipponbashi
* Romantic Dinner ***(Our anniversary! Would love recommendations for a special night.)***
**Day 14: Final Morning in Osaka** (Last day of JR Pass)
Flight is at 5PM – any ideas for things to squeeze in during the morning?
# Transit Options
Intra-city travel we’ll cover with IC cards or metro passes based on what makes sense.
We’ll buy the free pass to cover to/from Hakone and the local transit there.
For inter-city travel, we’re split on two options:
1. 7 Day JR Pass (29,500 JPY)
2. Tokyo -> Himeji Ticket + 5 Day Kansai/Hiroshima Pass (\~30,000 JPY)
Both of them come out to roughly the same cost. Option 2 allows us to save some time using the Nozomi Trains on our longer trips, but it won’t include the cost of the train to the airport on our last day in Osaka. (Not reflected in the cost estimates)
I think that option 2 is better since it’ll save us some time, but I can’t help but feel it’s “simpler” to just get the 7-day pass and not have to think about it again. Am I overthinking this, or is there something I’m missing?
# Final Thoughts/Questions
At this point I’m feeling pretty good about the itinerary. Days 8/9/10 might be a bit tiring between the activities and the longer train rides, but I think they’ll still be pretty manageable? That said, this is my first time traveling so I have no real way of knowing for sure. Would really appreciate feedback on the pacing!
Still figuring out exactly what we should do on our two open days in Tokyo – DisneySea is one option, but we’d also be open to a day trip somewhere.
Thanks for bearing with me through this post! Looking forward to your advice and suggestions. 🙂
3 comments
There are lots of discussions you can reference on this sub on whether the one week JR pass is worth it.
In your case, you’ll net save money with either of the options you’ve suggested, but I’d recommend taking the route that allows you to access the Nozomi trains. You’ll save a couple hours of transit time, and managing a single individual ticket is trivial. Don’t overthink it, while the train system can seem overwhelming – it’s not THAT complicated.
> Arashiyama (might skip? seen mixed reviews)
Arashiyama (district) is very nice and has lots of temples, old streets, gardens etc., good for a nice day out.
Arashiyama (bamboo forest) is a 15-minute experience shared with a sea of humanity if you go after 7am or so.
>
What actual dates are you traveling? If you’re in Kyoto on the last Friday of the month, the Kitano Tenmangu shrine sale is pretty great.
We really liked Arashiyama when we visited, too.
I wish we had had time/the weather was good enough to do the Kurama to Kibune hike in the mountains north of Kyoto; that should be incredible in October, if you’re looking to fill a half day!