Hello all, i will be in Japan as a tourist from October 26th to November 6th. The group size is 2, with a couple of days syncing with another friend’s family. There is a bit of a concern for a couple of days so i wanted to get people’s opinion about this, especially when my travel buddy is a little… unconcerned about it.
My goal for this trip is actually a couple of things, I am mostly there for the amazing food, plus i am planning a similar trip for my family in 2024 May, so this is like a recon trip.
For some context of my concern, we are Singaporeans so we are coming from a hot and humid location.
Our loose Itinerary is as follows:
Any advice and or critique will be appreciated.
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* Day 1 (26th October)
* Arrival in Haneda Airport at 5.50AM local time
* Collect JR passes for Day 1-5, Purchase Pasmo card.
* Travel to Matsumoto
* Check in/Lunch
* Matsumoto-jō Castle
* Yohashira-jinja Shrine
* Nawate Shopping Street
* Dinner
* Day 2 (27th October) – Starting location Matsumoto
* Currently no plans, more exploring of local Matsumoto area likely
* Visit Asama Hot Springs?
* Day 3 – (28th October) – Starting location Matsumoto
* Travel to Karuizawa (JR Pass)
* Explore Karuizawa
* Shiraito Waterfall?
* Day 4 – (29th October) – Starting location Matsumoto
* I will forward my luggage to the hotel that we will be checking in on Day 5, my travel buddy is scared of losing a luggage and might be dragging it up to Kamikochi
* Check out
* Travel to Kamikochi Bus terminal (K30 Bus stop)
* Explore the area around Kamikochi
* Travel towards hotel and check into a local Ryokan (K26 Bus stop)
>I have 2 concern for Day 4, the weather at Kamikochi according to some websites is 8 degrees Celsius, i will be likely be dressed in a windbreaker + shirt, jeans, silk gloves and shoes, i do not know if this enough clothing for such temperatures, am considering an undershirt for this day as well.
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>As i don’t want to drag around a luggage on this and the next day, i am planning to use a luggage forwarding service. I have heard good things about it, but will this be necessary or should i just find a locker at Matsumoto? (See Day 5 for Context)
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* Day 5 (30th October) – Starting location Kamikochi
* Checkout of hotel at 10am
* Take provided shuttle bus from the hotel to Matsumoto at 12pm
* Lunch
* Travel to Tokyo (Kamata) with JR pass (Final Day)
* Check in (where i should receive the forwarded luggage)
* Dinner
>This will be more of a break day, the travel time from Matsumoto to Tokyo is quite long.
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* Day 6 (31st October) – Starting location Tokyo (Kamata)
* Rent a car (pick up time 9am?)
* Checkout
* Travel to Izu
* Lunch
* Drive around, hike in certain areas
* Find a camping spot (Pending location)
* Pitch tents at a permitted camping area, have dinner and sleep
>My concern for this day is the weather, as we are from Singapore and 25-30 degrees is our usual temperatures. The estimated temperatures for this night will be 12 degrees which is my concern, we are not experienced campers and my friend isn’t too concern (what’s the worst that could happen) so i want to prepare for the worst for this situation. we will be bringing a couple small light tents that could be disposed in the worst scenario. So i would to see if i can get some feedback for this day
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* Day 7 (1st November) – Starting location Izu
* Pack up
* Travel around, heading to wards Kawazu
* Lunch
* Check into a Ryokan
* Day 8 (2nd November) – Starting location – Kawazu
* Check out
* Travel back towards Tokyo, explore portions of Japan on the way
* Check into an apartment/hotel at Oimachi
* Return car
* Day 9 – Starting location – Tokyo
* Synced with a friend’s family
* Day 10 – Tokyo
* Could be Synced with a friend’s family
* Possibly Shinjuku?
* Day 11 – Tokyo
* Akihabara (Half day)
* Asakusa (Half day)
* Day 12 – Tokyo
* Check out at 10am
* Explore Tokyo
* Catch midnight flight back to home
Tokyo plan is a lot looser since there are days that we are following another group basically and any free days are taken more of a free and easy type of day. So we would like if there’s any suggestions and advise, especially for the Day 4, 5 and 6.
Plans are all subjected to change, if there’s a better idea, i would love to switch to it. Also i am a fan of Motorsports and i know the final Super Formula race is happening at Suzuka (Lawson scored points today in Singapore lol), i thought of going down, but i don’t see how i can fit it in. JR Nagano/Nigatta passes have already been purchased.
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|Why are we going back to Tokyo for a day before going to Izu?|My travel buddy suggested this as it may be too taxing to travel from Kamikochi to Izu in one day to camp, also we will would like to rent a car and as most car rentals are point A to Point A in terms of the return system, it would probably be better to start from Tokyo|
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|Why are we traveling straight to Matsumoto after landing?|The idea was that upon landing, our luggage is at it’s lightest, we want to explore Tokyo, and most purchases are likely from Tokyo. So the idea is to head inlands before moving back out|
|Why camping at Izu?|Dunno to be honest, travel buddy idea, probably got an idea from the anime Yuru camp|
|Why rent a car?|Probably easier logistically, we will try to rent a small car, was looking into renting a RV/camping Van type of vehicle but the deposits are insane.|
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