Itinerary check for 14 full days in Japan :)

6 comments

1. Double check the hours of operations. A lot of places will be closed, or working on limited hours around December 30 till a few days in Jan. I was warned the same by my friend.

2. highly recommend getting service through your cell phone company, eSIM etc..anything but portable Wifi device.

3. – Be sure to buy your JR pass on time. For the old price, having a JR pass is still worth it when you travel all the way to Hiroshima and back to Tokyo. Note that the price increase is on October 1st, so be sure to buy it on time.
   – Suica cards (apart from Welcome Suica) are no longer sold. If you have an iPhone, you can get a Suica card easily from within apple wallet. This is not possible with Android.
   – Iwatayama may not be the best place to visit in December, the road is steep and can be muddy if rainy. There is a bunch of interesting places to visit in Arashiyama, perhaps you can look into those?
   – on January 2nd: Hiroshima castle is not interesting because it’s a concrete reconstruction. If you want to see a beautiful castle, consider going to Himeji instead; the most impressive and original castle in Japan, and a short walk from the shinkansen station. Also, the most beautiful place in Hiroshima in my opinion is Miyajima, though this might be a bit too much for a daytrip.
   – Osaka castle is again a concrete reconstruction. Consider staying in Nara for longer. The Lantern Shrine, Kasuga Taisha, for example is very pretty.
   – Since you will have a JR pass for a longer time (I assume), consider taking day trips from Tokyo. Nikko and Kamakura/Enoshima (which has christmas lights while you are in Japan) are well worth a visit and can be easily done as a day trip!

4. These were some of the closures for New Years December 2022 to January 2024.

   [https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2276.html#:~:text=Closures,choices%2C%20especially%20on%20January%201](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2276.html#:~:text=Closures,choices%2C%20especially%20on%20January%201).

   There were of course others.

   It’s not listed but I am 99% sure the monkey park is closed on 12/31. I looked it up last year for someone else.

   I think finding dinner on 12/31 is going to be hard. I would be spending time researching it now.

   For Osaka on 1/1. I know Abeno Harukas is open on 1/1 but I am not sure if most of the shops on Dotonbori and Amerikamura are actually open. I mean that could make for an interesting visit. I thought seeing everything closed in Tokyo Station and no crowds on 1/1/23 was fascinating.

   I’d USJ on Thursday over Wednesday, because Japanese might still have off on Wednesday.

   Yes, you can do Miyajima as a day trip from Osaka, but, I expect on 1/2/24 it is going to still be packed from the New Years.

   I would check the hours for anything you are interested on 12/30-1/2 unless it is a temple or shrine.

   I went to Japan 12/22/22-1/3/23 and has a great time, just be aware of things being closed.

   Good luck!

5. I have done my first trip a few years ago in the Kansai region and I’m currently on my second trip which includes Tokyo and surrounding area.

   Here are my tips:
   You’re not spending enough time in Kyoto! I’ve stayed in Kyoto for 12 days and I’m gonna return again because it wasn’t enough.
   I would recommend to do Kyoto only with day trips from there, best to get a 5day Kansai pass to save money and the rest in Kyoto, also you can see Osaka if you’d fly there.

   In Kyoto visit the silver pavilion (much better than the golden one), Arashiyama is gorgeous, you’ll spend a while there, make sure to go on the sagano scenic rail, bamboo forest will be disappointing, just a warning 😅, it’s tiny and very crowded.

   I’ve been in Tokyo just 3 days and I still need to return there when flying back, so far it’s kinda disappointing, it’s massive, you can’t really explore it by foot, so you’ll end up going in the same exact places everyone else does, which are full of crowds, it’s really stressful to navigate. The touristic places are still nice but in between them it’s just buildings as anywhere else.

   Osaka is just a smaller Tokyo, I actually enjoyed Osaka a bit more, the neon lights in Tokyo are more impressive though.
   If you are visiting Tokyo skip Osaka or vice versa.

   I’m saying to skip them just because you could use that time better elsewhere instead.

   Why the theme parks? Aren’t those the same anywhere? I’ve never been to the Japanese ones but Japanese people are very patient and I’ve heard the queues are very lengthy for the rides.

   Koyasan was one of the best places I visited in Japan, it’s in the mountains south of Nara, you’ll need a car and you can sleep in a temple (same as ryokan, but a bit more basic), might be a bit far but really worth it.

   North of Kyoto there’s a really amazing onsen, would recommend going.

   WARNINGS ⚠
   Don’t try to visit a large area in just 2 weeks, I found it much more enjoyable limiting myself to the Kansai region.

   Be careful with the JR pass, you can go anywhere with it, I almost got stranded 3 hrs away from my hotel yesterday because I didn’t plan my trip too well 😅, managed to catch the last train.

   JR pass doesn’t cover all the trains, be careful what train you board or you might end up having to pay for the trip(i boarded the Nozomi by mistake)

6. You’ll be in Kyoto on the last Friday of the month! I super recommend the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine Sale which is on that day each month; it is a giant flea market. When I was there we bought wagashi molds, temari embroidered balls, vintage indigo dyed fabrics and many other things for souvenirs — it was really fun and well priced.