Hi guys,
I will be traveling alone to Japan as a 28F in October/Early November for 21 days and would like to hear your advice on my itinerary, is it realistic, what else should I do or change?
The first 10 days I will be doing a group tour to not be alone for three full weeks and already see the most ‘touristy’ attractions ( I added the itinerary from the tour below with \*), but afterwards I will be by myself.
The thought was to revisit the stops I made with the group to have some more time everywhere and then see a few more places like Hakone. Originally I had planned a stop in Takayama but the detour was too far. I had wanted to walk the trail between Magome and Tsumago as well, but I couldn’t fit it in. Kobe and Nagoya were also interesting place I was thinking of but somehow all didn’t fit in
This is a rough itinerary still but I was hoping to see if I estimated too much/too little time at any place?
Any and all tips are welcome, especially food wise since that is my bigget passion – thank you so much for your help 🙂
Day 0 Arrival Tokyo
\*Arrival 6 AM Haneda, drop luggage in a locker/hostel (staying in Shibuya) and explore
\- Take a stroll around Shibuya, soak the atmosphere in and get food from one of the countless places on my google maps
\- Maybe go by the ON flagship store, buying shoes for the coming days/ BAPE store
\- Head to hostel, take a nap
\- Head to Shinjuku for more exploration
\- Azuki to Kouri
\- Shinjuku Gyoen
\- Takeshita Street
\- Maybe evening Izakaya tour via Air BnB
Day 1: Tokyo
\- Checkout of hostel, ask them to keep luggage or store it at Shibuya station
\- Check out Akusaka
\- Senso-ji/Kaminarimon
\- Hikan Inari-jinja Shrine
\- Imado shrine
\- Enjoy plenty of food
\* Welcome group meeting and evening walk in Tokyo (6PM)
\* Optional first dinner together
Day 2: Tokyo
\* Shibuya walking tour
\* Visit to Meiji Jingu Shrine
\* Explore Yoyogi Park
\* Visit Harajuku
\* Free time to explore Tokyo
Of course depending on if I stay with some group members I was thinking:
\- Togo Shrine
\- Marion Crepes
\- Coffee Mameya/Onden Coffee
\- Shibuya sky 16:20-16:40
\- Dinner with group members somewhere casual?
Day 3: Kanazawa
\* Travel to Kanazawa by bullet train
\* Free evening to explore Kanazawa
\- I was thinking to look at the Tsuzumi-mon Gate and have a stroll around
\- Omicho Market for dinner
Day 4: Kanazawa
\* Higashi Chaya District walking tour in Kanazawa
\* Free time to explore on your own
I was thinking to check the following places which seem quite close:
\- Oyama Shrine
\- Nagamachi District
\- Nomura-ke Samurai Residence
\- Seison-kaku, Kanazawa Castle Park & Kenrokuen Garden
Day 5: Kyoto
\* Travel to Kyoto by train
\* Gion district walking tour
\* Free time to explore Kyoto
If not covered by tour:
\- Yasaka Shrine
\- Kodai-ji Temple
\- Hokan-ji Temple
\- Ninenzaka/Sannenzaka
If those are covered by the tour – then probably do parts of later days itineraries or just stroll around
Day 6: Kyoto
\* Morning walk in Inari Mountain and visit Fushimi Inari-Taisha shrine
\* Free time to explore Kyoto
\- Higashi Hogan-ji temple
\- Nishiki Market
\- Nijo Castle
Day 7: Hiroshima
\* Travel to Hiroshima by bullet train
\* Visit Peace Park and the A-Bomb Dome
\* Visit the Peace Museum
\- If there is any free time see peace memorial park and Shukkeien garden
\* Enjoy okonomiyaki
Day 8: Hiroshima
\* Day trip to Miyajima Island
\* (Hike to the peak of Mt Misen for scenic views)
\* Free evening in Hiroshima
\- Hiroshima Orizuru Tower?
Day 9: Osaka
\* Travel to Osaka by bullet train
\* Walking tour in the Dotombori district
\* Free time to explore Osaka,
\- Maybe stick with group members to stroll around and eat
\- Shinsaibashi Suji Shopping street exploring?
\- Kuromon market
\- Namba Yasaka Jinja
\- Shinsekai
\- Shitennoji
\- Last evening with group – Propose Bar Nayuta
Day 10: Osaka
\- Move to new hotel
\- Osaka Castle
\- Izakaya Toyo!!! Be there before opening
\- Osaka Museum of housing and living
\- Nintendo Osaka
\- Umeda Sky
\- Evening Air BnB tour?
Day 11: Osaka/Kyoto
\- Checkout hotel
\- Katsuo Ji
\- Travel to Kyoto
\- Kaiseki Jiki Miyazawa or Kiyama ?
Day 12: Day trip Nara
\- Sunrise at Hokan-ji pagoda before busy
\- Trip to Nara
â—‹ Nakatanidou Mochi Ponding
â—‹ Kofuku-Ji
â—‹ Todai-ji
â—‹ Nara Park
â—‹ Kasuga Taisha Shrine
â—‹ Naramachi
\- Visit Uji if time allows, Byodo-in temple
Day 13: Kyoto
\- Early morning Kiyomizu-dera
\- Breakfast at Hyotei Annex if reservation possible?
\- Cover whatever I still wanted to see from previous days with tour
\- Murin-an Garden, Nanzen-ji, Eikandocho, Philosopher’s path
\- Heian Shrine
\- Enko-ji, Daitoku-ji, Kinkaku-ji
\- Imperial Palace?
\- Dinner in Pontocho
Day 14: Aarashiyama (originally my Takayama day)
\- Aarashiyama early morning
\- Tenryu-ji
\- Togetso-kyo Bridge
\- Sagano scenic railway
\- Otagi Nenbutsiji
\- Daihikaku Senkoji
\- Katsura River & Imperial Villa
Day 15: Kyoto/Hakone
\- aybe check out Uji?
\- Travel to Hakone \~ 5-6 hours, check in before 6 pm, traditional course dinner at the Ryokan
Day 16: Hakone/Tokyo
\- Luggage forwarded to Tokyo hotel
\- Hakone Loop
\- Romancecar to Tokyo to Hotel in Shinjuku
Day 17: Tokyo
\- Shiro-Higes Cream Puff Factory
\- Try and get ticket for Ghibli Museum
\- Gotokuji Temple
\- Ogawa Coffee Laboratory
\- Secondhand shopping in Shimokitazawa
\- Try to get an Omakase in Ginza (away from Shibuya on Halloween)
Day 18: Tokyo
\- Move to different hotel in Ginza
\- Tsujiki Market
\- Some Shopping in Ginza (uniqlo, Muji, United arrows, Hands, Itoya)
\- Akihabara walking (Super Potato)
Day 19: Tokyo
\- Tsukiji (Old) vs Toyosu (New) S.S Tour – cooking in Asakusa
\- Explore Asakusa what I havent seen before, take the day to stroll around. Get a facial?
Day 20: Tokyo
\- Travel to the Airport to depart just after midnight Day 21
1 comment
I personally think it’ll be a shame to have 3 weeks in Japan and not visit Himeji (UNESCO world heritage site) and Kobe since you’re interested, they can be done quick in a day