Hi all! After lots of lurking, here is my tentative itinerary for my trip this november. I am pretty active and ready to walk a lot each day! I like nice scenery/some hiking (hoping to catch some fall foliage!), museums (art and science museums especially), anime/video games, and food!
Mostly looking for feedback on how busy my days look or if there’s any way to modify things to be a bit more efficient with my time! I’ve also sprinkled in some more specific questions throughout my itinerary:
Here is my tentative itinerary:
Sat Nov 4 – Sun Nov 5: Travel day
Land at HND 3:00PM
Pick up Welcome Suica/Passmopassport at airport
Dinner & Rest at hotel
* staying in asakusa so might explore sensoji at night if not too tired *
**QUESTION:** is it still possible to get a physical suica/pasmo card? I know for a while there were shortages…
Mon Nov 6: Tokyo → Nikko **(JR activate)**
Sensoji, Asakusa cultural center
Arrive in Nikko late afternoon, walk around
Tue Nov 7: Nikko
Toshogu shrine → Shin-kyo bridge
Kanmangafuchi Abyss
Lake Chuzenji/Kegon Waterfall
Wed Nov 8: Nikko → Hakone
Arrive mid-afternoon, onsen & one of the activities listed for the next day (depending on arrival time/weather)
Thur Nov 9: Hakone
Ashinoko Lake cruise → Hakone Jinja Shrine/red torii
Hakone Ropeway → owakudani + boiled eggs
Tokaido (Hakone checkpoint) + Amasake Chaya
Fri Nov 10: Hakone → Takayama
Hida folk village
Kaiseki at ryokan
Sat Nov 11: Takayama
morning markets, Sake breweries
showa museum
*might rent a bike? or find some onsen?*
Sun Nov 12: Takayama → Hiroshima
*Leave takayama pretty early with the hope of arriving in hiroshima early-mid afternoon*
Peace park, A-bomb dome, peace museum
Okonomimura
Mon Nov 13: Miyajima
Mount Misen (Daisho-in trail vs cable car), Itsukushima-jinja shrine
Shukkeien Garden
Tue Nov 14: Hiroshima → Kyoto
Stop at Himeji Castle on the way
Walking around old town in Kyoto
Wed Nov 15: Kyoto
Fushimi inari → kiyomizu dera → philosopher’s path → ginkaku-ji
Tea ceremony/kimono rental
Thur Nov 16: Kyoto
Arashiyama, Monkey park & Kinkaku-ji
Gion
Fri Nov 17: Kyoto → Osaka
Osaka Aquarium → Kamigata Ukiyo-e → walk around dotonbori & amerika-mura
Sat Nov 18: Nara (day trip from osaka)
walking around dotonbori etc in the evening again
Sun Nov 19: Osaka → Tokyo **(JR expires)**
Sumida Hokusai Museum(metro 23min each way), Imperial Palace, Pokemon café, character street/shopping
**Question:** is the sumida hokusai museum worth it? I love his works and I love Ukiyo-e but it’s slightly out of my way. is it worth it or do you think I’ll get my ukiyo-e fill elsewhere?
Mon Nov 20: Tokyo
Tsukiji food market, Teamlabs planets, Odaiba seaside park, miraikan, walk Rainbow bridge to Tokyo Tower
Tue Nov 21: Tokyo
Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo national museum, ueno zoo & park, Akihabara
**Question:** What time do things typically open in the yanaka ginza area? mostly going to look at the cat decor but would love to hit up some of the shops/cafes too, but don’t want to stay too late here because the museum & zoo will take up a large chunk of the day
Wed Nov 22: Tokyo
Ghibli museum tour (booked through 3rd party)
(Hotel Gajoen Tokyo → Edo-Tokyo open air museum → Ghibli Museum)
Thur Nov 23: Tokyo
Gotokuji temple → Yoyogi park & Meiji Jingu →Shopping! (shibuya parco, 109, cat street, etc)→ Shibuya & shibuya sky
Fri Nov 24: Catch up day, leave for haneda around 1:30pm then fly home
*last leg in tokyo i’m staying in shinjuku, so will squeeze these in when theres spare time/in the evenings/mornings:* Shinjuku national garden, Golden Gai, Godzilla head
More questions:
– I generally don’t have a large appetite (when eating out at a north american restaurant i typically eat ~50-75% of the meal). Is leaving food behind on the plate considered rude? Do some restaurants offer to-go boxes?
– again, hoping to see some fall foliage, any particular recommendations for leaf-viewing spots?
Thanks in advance for the feedback!
2 comments
For the IC card question: From Japan Guide “Welcome Suica and Pasmo Passport cards remain available. While Pasmo Passport remains on sale at locations across Tokyo, the sale of Welcome Suica is temporarily limited to Narita and Haneda airports.”
Nov 6- If you like cat things things you might want to check out Imado Shrine in Akakusa if you have time.
Nov 15: That day might be too busy unless you go to Fushimi Inari really early/ you don’t plan to stay there too long.
Was going to say it looks way too busy but then saw you will have your JR pass activated so not much you can do about that. Reminds me of my first ever trip to Japan my wife and I just went all out on a 3 week blitz. Just make sure to stay hydrated and get your rest haha.
As far as I know, SUICA is still facing shortages.
Sumida Hokusai is cool, but not something I’d go out of my way for especially with how packed your itinerary already is.
Most things in Japan open around 10am.
You can leave the food behind but some will have to go. They’re not gonna read into it and you’re probably only going to eat there that one time so do what you want really. Just make sure to tell them it was good haha.
According to the latest fall colors report you probably won’t get to see much. They aren’t happening until much later this year due to how warm it’s been. You might see some gingkos near the very end of your trip in tokyo.