Hey Everyone,
I’d love to have your insight on our current itinerary. There will be four of us (mid 20’s) in Osaka, from October 6 till October 10.
Places of Residency (For Context):
October 6 to 10: Namba Area (Chuo Ward, Osaka).
Unfortunately, we booked our place of residence BEFORE creating this schedule so we can’t really change where we’ll start our day (lesson learned).
# October 6, Friday: NRT to ITM/ Setting up homebase in Osaka
16:00 to 18:25 – Arrive at Narita Airport (16:00), go through customs, check-in bags (by 17:25), rush to terminal/gate (cutting it real close, I know).
18:25 to 19:55 – Flight to Itami Airport (Osaka International Airport)
19:55 to 23:00 – Grab check-in bags, travel to Airbnb (Namba Area), drop off belongings, get ready for night out.
23:00 to IDK – Explore nightlife (clubbing, bar, etc.)
Some tips would be greatly appreciated for going through customs/ making the transfer between airports. Also open to recommendations for clubs!
# October 7, Saturday: Osaka
12:00 to 15:00 – Explore Umeda (lunch, Umeda Sky Building, Pokemon Center)
15:00 to 17:30 – Explore Shinsabashi-Suji Shopping District
17:30 to 19:30 – Back to Airbnb, charge up
19:30 to 23:00 – Explore Dotonbori, Namba, and/or Shinsabashi (Dinner, Izakaya hopping/ pre-game)
23:00 to IDK – Clubbing: UpsideDown
Would greatly appreciate some recommendations for activities in between 12:00 to 17:30. Five hours seems like a lot of time for only the things we currently listed.
# October 8, Sunday: Nara Day Trip
9:30 to 10:30 – Kintetsu-Nipponbashi to Kintetsu-Nara
10:30 to 11:00 – Nakatanidou (watch mochi pounding demonstration)
11:00 to 12:00 – Lunch
12:00 to 16:00 – Nara Park (Other Attractions: Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Todaiji Shrine, Isuien Garden and Neiraku Garden)
16:00 to 19:00 – Hike Mt. Wakausayama
19:00 to 20:00 – Kintetsu-Nara to Kintetsu-Nipponbashi
20:00 to IDK – Dinner in Osaka and call it a day.
Please let me know which Other Attractions may be cool to see and which ones we should cut out because doing all of that might not be possible within the four hour timeframe haha.
# October 9, Monday: Kyoto Day Trip
6:00 to 7:00 – Get ready for the day
7:00 to 9:00 – Traveling to Kyoto; Arashiyama Park(s)
9:00 to 11:30 – Arashiyama Bamboo Grove & Monkey Park Iwatayama
11:30 to 12:30 – Traveling to Kinkaku-ji
12:30 to 14:00 – Explore Kinkaku-ji
14:00 to 15:00 – Traveling to Sannenzuka
15:00 to 17:00 – Explore Sannenzuka/ Kiyomizudera
17:00 to 17:30 – Traveling to Fushimi Inari
17:30 to 19:00 – Explore Fushimi Inari
19:00 to 21:00 – Traveling back to Osaka
21:00 to IDK – Dinner in Osaka, call it a day and pack for tomorrow.
This schedule appears to be quite hectic for one day in Kyoto. I’m wondering if this might be too much… If so, which attraction should we cut out?
I’m considering cutting our losses for our last night booked in Osaka and just booking a night here, for easier transition to Tokyo the next day. Let me know what y’all think!
# October 10, Tuesday: Osaka to Tokyo/ Setting up homebase in Tokyo
9:30 to 11:00 – Kuromon Market
11:00 to 12:00 – Check that everything’s packed, checkout of Airbnb
12:00 to 14:30 – Traveling to Tokyo via Shinkansen
14:30 to 16:30 – Meet with friend, check-in hotel, charge up
16:30 to XX:XX – TOKYO ADVENTURE BEGIN (October 10 to October 16)
# Thanks in advance for letting us pick your brain!! 🙂
2 comments
Hi there !
You are right in saying that your schedule seems hectic 🙂 the Nara and especially Kyoto days seem crazy (if not downright impossible). Are you trying to speedrun your way through a very small stretch of Japan, or actually trying to have a pleasant and enriching vacation ?
If the latter is what you choose, I’ll suggest to go to Nara in the morning and spend the whole day there. You’ll have time to actually enjoy the wonders it has to offer.
As for Kyoto, you can maybe choose two areas not too far from each other (Arashiyama+Kinkaku-ji or Higashiyama+Inari) and focus on them. The logistics will be manageable in this scenario. There’s even a case to be made to skip Inari (not super convenient to go to) and do Gion/Higashiyama for the whole day, or Philosopher Path +Gion/Higashiyama depending on your speed. Anyway, I would advise not to be too ambitious. Prioritize what you absolutely want to do and set yourself to do the top 2, the rest being a bonus if you have time.
I hope this helps !
Mark Wahlberg schedule beat