Hi, everyone! First time traveling to Japan (29M) and need some advice with the itinerary. I’ll be traveling for 18 full days, with arrival on Oct 22 and flight back on Nov 9 and I’m having doubts with some details. I’m primarily interested in exploring and “cultural visits”, not so much in amusement parks and the like, so there are no USJ or DisneySea visits planned. I’m traveling solo, in case that matters.
My itinerary so far looks like this: (Yeah, I know some days are quite packed xP)
**Day 0 (Sat 21): Valencia -> Tokyo**
* Traveling day, not much to do but hope to get some sleep.
**Day 1 (Sun 22): Tokyo -> Kyoto**
* Arrival in Tokyo at 8:45am + around 3h immigration and general bureaucrazy?
* Leave for Kyoto + Arrival / Check-In in the hotel
* Explore a little. Nishiki, Pontocho… Maybe the Kurama Fire Festival?
**Day 2 (Mon 23): Kyoto**
* Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
* Arashiyama Monkey Park
* Tenryu-Ji + eating somewhere around here
* Ninna-Ji, Ryoan-Ji, Kinkaku-Ji
**Day 3 (Tue 24): Kyoto**
* Fushimi-Inari
* Kiyozumidera + Sanneizaka
* Kodai-ji
* Gion + lunch around here
* Yasaka Shrine + Chion-in
* Heian Sanctuary
* Ginkaku-ji
**Day 4 (Wed 25): Nara (day-trip)**
* Nara Park and Temples (Gango-ji Temple + Kofuku-ji + Todai-ji)
* Naramachi District
* Back to Kyoto
**Day 5 (Thu 26): Kyoto -> Osaka**
* Imperial palace
* Brief outside visit to Nijo Castle + Kitano Ten-Mangu
* Lunch near the station and leaving for Osaka
* Arrival and chek-in at hotel in Osaka + some exploring
**Day 6 (Fri 27): Osaka**
* Dotonbori District
* Shinsekai District
* Osaka Castle
**Day 7 (Sat 28): Hiroshima + Miyajima (day-trip)** (I know its rushed, but I’ve seen quite a few itineraries making it work, so I’m gonna give it a try)
* Itsukushima Shrine
* Senjokaku Pagoda
* Omotesando
* Peace Memorial Park
* Back to Osaka
**Day 8 (Sun 29): Himeji (day-trip)**
* Himeji Castle
* Mt. Sosha or maybe a brief visit to Kobe on the way back?
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Here’s where the scheduling problems start. My original plan was:
**Day 9 (Mon 30): Osaka -> Hakone**
* Leave for Hakone + Check-In in ryokan
* Explore a little
**Day 10 (Tue 31): Hakone -> Tokyo**
* Explore Fuji
* Leave for Tokyo after lunch
The thing is, with all the traveling time, there’s not much time for exploring anything, and I wanted to at least have time for the ropeway up, visit Owakudani, Fuji 5th Station and other such places.
Knowing I have still two unallocated days, should I give Hakone an extra day? Or should I go to Kawaguchiko instead for the ryokan + Chureito Pagoda and visit Hakone as a day-trip from Tokyo later on? Maybe skip both and do Kanazawa instead? (Not likely, but still an option I guess)
**Day 11 (Wed 1): Tokyo**
* Harajuku *(Meiji Jingu, Yoyoji Park, Takeshita-Dori + exploring)*
* Shibuya *(Nintendo Tokio, Don Quijote, Crossing + exploring)*
**Day 12 (Thu 2): Day trip to Kamakura or Nikko?**
**Day 13 (Fri 3): Tokyo**
* Ghibli Studio Museum (If tickets) + Inokashira Pond
* Tokyo Tower
* Exploring a little
**Day 14 (Sat 4): Tokyo**
* Tokyo Imperial palace
* Shinjuku *(Shinjuku Gyoen Park, Kabukicho, Golden Gai)*
**Day 15 (Sun 5): Tokyo**
* Akihabara *(Explore a little + Radio Kaikan)*
* Ameya-Yokochō
* Ueno *(Park + explore)*
**Day 16 (Mon 6): Tokyo**
* Asakusa (Civic center + Senso-Ji + Tokyo Skytre + Nakamise Street + Hoppy Street)
* Pokemon MegaCenter
**Day 17-18 (Tue 7 and Wed 8):** Allocate one to the whole Kawagukicho / Hakone thing? Make the other one into a day-trip from Tokyo? Maybe allocate it to Osaka instead and take a day-trip to Odayama + Kurashiki?
**Day 19 (Thu 9): Tokyo -> Barcelona**
* All good things end :/
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So yeah, my main problem is what to do with Hakone and/or Kawaguchiko and what to do with the other free day, wether to have another day-trip or maybe give it to some other city to space out the visits. Any recommendations and comments are appreciated. I’m getting the 14 days JR Pass starting on arrival, so I have to take that into consideration too.
What do you guys think? Thank you in advance!