Advice on my itinerary? Am I doing too much?

10 comments

1. I admire you with travelling light. That is a plus and often underestimated in this sub.

   You don’t mention where you are arriving from. If you are from N America or Europe I can suggest the time change and jet lag can be significant. Especially once you’re free of the airport, finding a train, trying to decipher the money, being on the left side of the road and all the other fun stuff. That first day and a half into the second night is exhausting (my experience/ I have travelled from N America a dozen plus times)

   You will barely see a glimpse of Hakone with this schedule—I have no idea where your Ryokan is. The region is twisted and winding mountain roads & overall a large series of mountain communities…and I am not sure how you will get there. For being there -for less than 24 hours- IMO you are spending a lot of money for your experience and seeing very little. I have been several times and realize that the majority of Ryokans in this area are pretty pricey.

   And – you are travelling a lot considering Hiroshima. It’s all possible with JR.. but you have quite a pace with your schedule.

   Not tearing you down, just my opinion

2. For Day 3.5 to 8 (Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka) I recommend settling down in either Kyoto or Osaka and taking daytrips. Probably in Kyoto since you seem to want to check out more things in that area. Mind you, Osaka is ~an hour by train away from Kyoto, and Hiroshima is a popular daytrip in an itinerary.

   Also, please note for Day 4, you’re going to 4 completely separate districts. It’ll be a VERY busy day, especially considering Arashiyama is on the complete opposite end of Kyoto from the other three (which are also quite a considerable distance from each other). I don’t think you’ll get to do everything here, unless you spread it out into day 5.

   * Nishiki Market is usually livelier BEFORE check-in time (since most hotels don’t do check-in before 3PM)
   * Dotonbori can be explored in a day if you really want. Friends and I spent 2-3 days just walking around Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi, and regretting not going to Tsutenkaku.
   * Belt conveyor sushi: I recommend Kura Sushi, was a very nice experience even if it’s a chain.
   * As long as you get a smoking room, I don’t see why it wouldn’t be reasonable.
   * You’re squeezing a lot in there is what I’d personally say, but I’ve only gone once.
   * I’m going to Hakone for 1 day in December for my own trip. Seems reasonable to do the Hakone Loop and chill at a ryokan for the night, but I wouldn’t know until I’ve gone!

3. >Should I just stay in Kyoto/Osaka for the 2nd leg of the trip for a longer period and do day trips to Hiroshima/Onomichi/Osaka?

   My advice is that if you want to visit any of the larger cities in Japan like Osaka / Hiroshima, just actually go there. I would do day trips to places like Nikko or Nara. But you get a much better experience if you go to a city.

   >Is 1 night in Osaka for Dotonbori worth it?

   Yes. Osaka is very much worth visiting. Dotonbori is very lively and interesting and there’s lots to see and do in Osaka.

   >Should I remove a night in Hiroshima and go straight to Osaka for 2 nights after my SK bike ride?

   I really enjoyed Hiroshima and visiting the museum was a profound experience. It’s also a really interesting city that feels much different from Osaka / Kyoto / Tokyo.

   >Am I underestimating the toll all those train rides will take? Or is that part of the fun?

   I don’t think riding the train is an issue at all. The trains in Japan are incredibly clean and quiet and convenient.

   >I’ll probably smoke a cigar every night as my chill session at the hotel; is that reasonable?

   You’re going to smoke cigars in your hotel? Don’t know why you’d want to do that. Most hotels are non-smoking.

   >Am I squeezing in too many cities?

   Personal preference. I see two week plans that include more. I’ve seen some that have less. I wouldn’t visit Japan without seeing Kyoto and Tokyo.

4. You can’t get a regular Suica or Pasmo card right now because if the shortage. So either get the digital version on your iPhone or get a Welcome Suica card AT THE AIRPORT. You can’t get them anywhere else.

5. One thing I see that would be extremely difficult is Onomichi and biking the Shimanami Kaido. It was fantastic and one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, but it took my friends and I two days to comfortably go one way while taking reasonable stops for food and experiences. If you still want to see the sights in one day it would be better to take the bus that goes across the route. If you want to bike it, some more dedicated time would be necessary.

   An alternative day trip for Hiroshima would be Miyajima, the island with the massive Torii gate in the ocean. There is a lot to see there, it will fill a whole day, and it is significantly easier to get to than Onomichi. The deer are also really cute (and scary).

   It may be better to cut the Hiroshima part out and save it for another trip though. There are a lot of really cool things that would fit more into the route you seem to be taking like Himeji Castle (my personal favorite), Nara, and an extra day at a ryokan/onsen.

6. 1 night in Hakone is deff worth it, I stayed in Odawara because it was much cheaper and Hakone is only a short train away. Honestly regret doing 4 days Osaka as I saw pretty much everything and then some within 2 days, those days would have been better off spent in Kyoto for me. Next time I’ll only do a day in Osaka. Staying in Gion right now as we speak and it’s beautiful and so many shrines within walking distance to short/short ish bus/train ride. I’m nearing the end of my trip now (I leave Monday) and debating cutting a day or two off of my end in Tokyo and adding it to Kyoto as even being here for 5 days I feel as if I’ve barely scratched the surface.

7. Few tips from someone just getting back from an 8 day trip (Tokyo & Kyoto)

   – For the days you plan on visiting multiple sight seeing spots. Go to google maps before hand to create the most “optimized route”. My first day I went back and fourth on 40 min train routes twice because I figured everything was close enough.
   – smoking is still widely accepted in Japan, there will be cafes/bars and lounges you can smoke in besides your hotel room. There are also smoking rooms in most hotels.
   – Japan isn’t going anywhere. Don’t feel the need to rush through everything just to check stuff off your list. Enjoy the moments
   – IMO I think you might be doing too many cities, but it’s really just a matter of opinion. You could spend the whole trip in Tokyo, and still feel like you didn’t do everything you wanted.
   – Do the touristy stuff. There seem to be a good portion of “seasoned” travelers who think they’re above/too good to visit the “tourist traps” which is complete BS
   -Get a window seat for the Shinkansen/bullet train

   Lastly, you’re gonna have an absolute blast. I’m a pretty well traveled person and Japan was hands down my favorite vacation so far. Coming from a suburb in Midwest US, it was like a different world.

   Have a great time,
   Cheers

8. I did Hiroshima as a day trip from Kyoto and it was fairly easy. Somewhat of a long journey but not too bad and the museum and park only take a few hours to see but definitely worth it.
   On your first day in tokyo, Sensoji is a bit far from Shinjuku and I imagine you’ll be tired and jetlagged from the journey. You might want to stick closer to that area on your first day.

9. Just got back from Japan and I would def do less/prioritize what you absolutely cannot skip. After like 2 days of intense sightseeing, I was exhausted. Traveling between places is also tiring and shouldn’t be underestimated; we ended up skipping arashiyama even though it was on our itinerary because it was just so far from the other things in Kyoto that I wanted to do

10. I will not give advice on your itenerary, cause we’re only going ourself this weekend.

    But for reference, our plan is the same, but leaving out Hakone and staying for 20 days.

    So Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka. Day trips from those locations also planned in.