Paid someone to look at this itinerary, now unsure if it’s good…

19 comments

1. Trying to do too much take out half of it

2. Oct 13 is in a bit of a wierd order. Your fine with starting at the meiji shrine and going a bit south for Takeshita Street, and then going west to Suginami. But then you are circling back to just north of the shrine for the kabukicho tower? You should probably do kabukicho tower before you head down to the meiji shrine. Or maybe start in suginami and make your way east.

   Oct 14, lucky cat temple is really far from the skytree and ueno. It’s kinda inconvenient to do this on the same day. Maybe you could do it when your around the suginami area?

   Oct 15, this is a very difficult day. You have to go from tokyo to Hiroshima, which is at least 9 hours of train. And then you visit a bunch of museums that close 5-6pm? Not to mention buffer time. You would have to really screw up your sleep schedule to make this work.

   I’m too lazy to continue. I’m in Tokyo (sumida city) for the next 3 weeks if you need anything.

3. Most days seem very busy.

   14th – Gotokuji is on the other end of the city. Might they be thinking of Imado Jinja (a smaller shrine with maneni neko cats)?

   15th – Mitarai isn’t in Hiroshima City

4. You paid someone to look at a trip you planned to the most touristy places??

5. Think about how much time you want to spend at each place, including time spent to travel to each place. Then look at your itinerary again and rethink whether this schedule is realistically feasible

6. Why did I spend $$ to get someone to make me such an unrealistic itinerary 😭😭😭 is anyone willing to help me reorganize things? I’ve already booked accommodation at most places but at this point I’m open to cancellation fees

7. I think the overall shape of it is fine – just the specifics are a bit ambitious. And that’s fine, you just need to prioritise what you want to do, and look on a map to see the actual distance/time between places.

   Don’t stress too much – you don’t need to cancel any accommodation – though I’m not really a fan of going directly to Hiroshima from Tokyo, and think you’d be better breaking it up (e.g. Tokyo -> Osaka -> Hiroshima -> Kyoto -> Kawaguchi -> Tokyo)

8. Try to change your return flight to fly out of Osaka.

9. For inspiration, look at my comprehensive travel report .. its also free 🙂

   https://reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/s/9PvcV9Gr7L

   I have part 2 and 3 as well

10. Firstly, take out Hiroshima/Miyajima, Nara, and Fujikawaguchiko and change them to optional side trips. Next, focus on the three major cities which is Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Go to google map and pin all the activities in each city and plan only 1-2 activities at most per day.

    There’s planning of things to do and see in Japan, take time to explore, go cafe hopping and try their parfaits and desserts etc in between activites. Treat yourself to some good meals. Goodluck!

11. Hi!

    I don’t know where you are staying, but many hotels do allow you to drop off bags before check in. I know I often do this and I tend to only book hotels that allow this ( as well as holding bags) It’s also not just expensive 4-5 star hotels this is an option for. I did it at the Mitsui Garden at Kyoto Station. I think hotels that have no front desk staff though can not.

    I hope you picked convenient hotels to use or did the person you paid pick the hotels? Having cancellation fees 2 weeks out seems sort of unusual. Usually you do non-refundable to get a much lower rate or you can cancel until a day or two before.

    So onto your itinerary, you don’t say anything about where you are staying or your interests so I am just going to go by the itinerary listed.

    October 12: Which airport are you arriving in? Why do you think you need a 72 hour subway pass? Please note this is a 72 hour subway pass not train pass. It will let you ride subways, but depending on your starting and ending point, you might want to also use trains. You also need to on average spend 500 yen a day on subway fares to break even. I don’t see you doing this on the 12th. I am unsure if you will do so on the 13th or 14th. On the 15th you head to Hiroshima and the pass is pretty much worthless. I would just get a Welcome Suica or a Pasmo Passport. They are IC cards. They’re not a discounted or a pass, they’re just an easier way to pay train and subway fares. You generally need a reservation around sunset for Shibuya Sky. It’s popular. I would also be careful of time it takes to get into Tokyo from the airport and depending on where you are coming from jet lag. I had a dinner reservation at 6:45 pm last trip to Japan and I deeply regretted it, as I was exhausted and didn’t want to wait until 6:45.

    October 13th: If you are an actual animal lover you might want to avoid most animal cafes. I love Japan, but animal welfare is not the country’s strong suit. A lot of the cafes are cruel. If you really want to go to an animal cafe look for one that is a rescue or fostering animals. Is this the samurai experience you were looking at:

    [https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/98529](https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/98529)

    Make sure you know how to get there! The subway station Minami Asagaya only gets subways every 15 to 20 minutes. (I know because I once stayed at Shin-Nakano and I often just walked to Nakano, because it was easier.)

    Be aware that just because a restaurant might be 24 hours doesn’t mean the subway or train lines are. They stop running by 1ish and you could do all night karaoke or sleep in a manga cafe, but considering you are paying for your hotel I’m not sure you really want to do that.

    October 14: Skytree and Yurakucho are two different places and some distance apart. Skytree is over near Sensoji and Yurakucho is a JR Station not far from Akihabara. Gotokuji is on the other side of Tokyo very close to Shimokitazawa.

    October 15, that’s a long 5+ hour trip from Tokyo to Hiroshima. With a rail pass, you can’t go direct and will need to change trains in Shin Osaka, Shin Kobe or Okayama. Hyperdia use to recommend Shin-Kobe because it was the smallest of those stations. A lot of people use Shin-Osaka.

    there is a peace memorial museum and a port of Tomonoura, and a port of Mitarai. They’re each separate places and transit between the 3 is long enough that I think you would be hard pressed to do it one day. you could go Tokyo to Hiroshima and sightseeing in Hiroshima City proper.

    October 16 visit Miyajima and take the train to Kyoto, definitely doable. I would probably move to Kyoto then so you can be ready for the next day.

    October 17th Unless you move your hotel stay to Kyoto on the night of the 16th it doesn’t matter that Kiyomizudera opens at 6:00 am because you are not going to be there. There is no way to get between Hiroshima and Kyoto before 6:00 am outside of maybe night bus or teleporting, and a night bus would defeat the purpose of having a rail pass.

    Other than your arriving later than anticipated for Hiroshima unless you add a night to Kyoto, the 17th isn’t horrible.

    October 18th Nishiki Market is kind of closed by 17:00 unless you are talking about some of the other shopping streets in the area as Kawamarchi is a huge shopping area. Nishiki itself is not a night time market. A bunch of things you have listed on the 18th seem to be listed 2x. I’m not sure why. Nijo stops having entry by 16:00. So don’t plan on going there at 17:00.

    October 19th Where are you staying on the night of the 19th??? Why are you going to an onsen in Osaka when you are staying in Osaka on the 20th. You could just look for a bath complex in Kyoto Where is the Shizuka Cafe in Osaka and why are you going to Osaka after Nara?

    October 20th The place you are staying in Osaka looks weird in terms of location. I would cancel it and stay somewhere a little more usual like Shinsaibashi, Namba or Osaka/Umeda. I would be looking to stay within the JR Osaka Loop line. Lots of shopping and restaurant areas aren’t going to open until 10 or later. Osaka Castle looks lovely from the outside and is fascinating on the inside if you are specifically interested in the Siege of Osaka Castle. If you are not interested i the end of the Warring States period, I wouldn’t pay to go inside. I would do an Osaka onsen here, and either do Solaniwa Onsen or go for the full bubble economy experience and go to Spa World. I’ve been to the latter, it’s fun.

    October 21st: I would skip Kawaguchiko. I think you underestimate how long it is going to take you to get there. We are talking at least 5 hours. You will also need to pay out of pocket and reserve the bus from Mishima to Kawaguchiko. This is also the day your rail pass expires. You can of course take a bus or train out of pocket back to Tokyo from Kawaguchiko. But I would personally just go back to Tokyo this day and instead maybe get in a 1/2 day more sightseeing in either Osaka, Kyoto or Nara.

    October 22nd still visit Toky

    October 23rd Tokyo and fly out.

    I hope this helps.

    I’ve been to Japan many times.

12. holy shit, for a second there I thought you were one of the guys who paid me a little to fix his itinerary and was unsatisfied and did not even communicate with me.

    luckily, you are not. my recent “customer” is a week behind you

13. that’s atrocious. you said somewhere chatgpt did better. I saw the generic chatgpt kyoto itinerary. its crap. but this, its worse

    ill start with october 15-16 hiroshima.
    if you head from tokyo to hiroshima, its half a day travel time. go early. CONSIDER MAKING A STOP AT SHIN OSAKA and store your luggage at the station. only take to hiroshima what you need for the one night. I am hesitant to suggest you go explore the castle, if its like 2pm when you get there, thats probably one spot you dont want to waste time. the garden might be better to relax a bit. but what you really should go do before its closing is the peace memorial museum. when its getting towards stuff shuts down o clock you can still explore the park.

    head to the hotel in the evening, check in. explore the immediate area or head to okonomimura.

    next morning, get up early, enjoy a breakfast, but try to be at the jr ferry place at around 10 am

    after you land at miyajima, note the sea water level. is it high or low? you may want to see the tori gate immediately if the high or low tide is making it special. after, head to mt. mises ropeway, get up, hike around, maybe visit the everlasting flame https://maps.app.goo.gl/QtifxHLT5JVCdyYL7 before heading back down (via ropeway probably)

    explore the area near the itsukushima shrine, enjoy the “town”, enjoy the shrine. since some time has passed, high or lowtide has probably changed significantly, so maybe check the shrine and gate again.

    but lets also start to head back, maybe try to be back at the ferry in the mid-afternoon, 4pm-ish. head directly to the hiroshima station and from there back to osaka to get your luggage and then to kyoto. you should arrive in the early evening at your hotel there (like 6, but more likely 7pm)

    [okay I see you had a second night in hiroshima here. I dont think this is smart but okay. stay in miyajima, but head to kyoto next morning asap via osaka to get your luggage. also dont forget to take 2 days clothes with you, not just one]

    october 17 the plan goes off the rails. yes, sure, travel to kyoto from miyajima. the tempel opens at 6am. its true. and useless information.

    october 18 is also a mess

    october 19 is that implying a change of hotel from kyoto to osaka? or not? the day is not too bad, but not good either. and dont change hotel like that?!

    ocotnber 20 – ah now we check in, so maybe oct 19 was kyoto. then why the hell did it send oyu to osaka? see the osaka sights. a castle, a shopping street and food allay….

    and then I am out, I dont know the places much beyond osaka.

    i can help with the kyoto stuff.

    tell me first, how much of this is still changeable. not like “dont stayx in hotel X, stay in hotel Y” but like “dont stay in hiroshima 2 nights or dont swap hotels 3 times in kansai”

    and anything in kyoto/osaka that you MUST experience?

14. i would just mark these places on google maps and then do what you can each day. .which will be like 1-2 neighborhoods per day.

15. You already know your itinerary is ambitious, so I’ll just comment on the Mt. Fuji section. What’s the plan to go from Osaka to Kawaguchiko? You may want to look into that to see if it’s even worth going.
    Additionally, it’s not a walk to the Chureito Pagoda, that’s going to be a slight climb/hike.

16. Kabukicho Tower sucks skip it. I’m donut? you’ll end up lining up for an hour if you’re unlucky or it’s a weekend. Idk why Gotokuji is in the eastern Tokyo itinerary when it’s on the complete opposite end of the city. I’d personally visit Nara as a day trip from Tokyo. Lastly, people seriously underestimate the logistics of visiting Mount Fuji between Osaka-Tokyo. You’re most likely going to have to backtrack and To Tokyo itself and then transfer from there or get off at Mishima and take a bus from there which can be a pain in the ass with timetables and luggage. Just a quick 10¥ from quickly reading through this

17. Get a refund this is a crammed itinerary

18. This brings PTSD flashbacks of my first trip to Japan, planned by my friend the electrical engineer. 8-8 everyday, planned out to the minute.

    It was fucking awful. Everyone besides his wife dipped in 4 days. We just agreed to meet them for dinner.

19. This is not realistic. You will most definitely need a rest day/evening at the least as it’s so much walking.