My wife and I are taking our honeymoon to Japan in mid November. We hired a travel agent to help with the overall itinerary, coordinate travel and hotels, and to set us up with some experiences. Since we didn’t plan the trip entirely on our own I don’t have a good sense of if we are over scheduled or should add some more specific things to do. I’m just starting to do some research on my own and really see if there’s anything I feel like I would be missing out on.
I’ve pasted our itinerary below. If anyone has suggestions of improvements or comments on the places/activities we have scheduled I would love to hear them. One thing I’m concerned about is spending too much time in Tokyo vs getting to see more places and balancing how many places we see vs how much time we spend traveling from place to place. Although we would love to get back to Japan at some point to go skiing, this really is a big trip and may be the only time we get there.
* Day 1 (US => Tokyo) – Land in Tokyo and train to hotel.
* Day 2 (Tokyo) – Touring with guide – Meiji Shrine Harajuku and Takeshita Streets, Omotesando Shibuya Crossing, and Shibuya Sky rooftop observation deck.
* Day 3 (Tokyo) – Touring with guide – Imperial Palace East Gardens Tsukiji Outer Market Senso-ji Temple and Nakamise Street souvenir shops Ginza shopping district.
* Day 4 (Tokyo => Kanazawa) – Late morning train to Kanazawa and explore with guide.
* Day 5 (Kanazawa) – Day trip from Kanazawa to Shirakawago and return to explore the Samurai area, both with guide.
* Day 6 (Kanazawa => Kyoto) – Late morning train to Kyoto and Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion), Ryoan-ji zen rock garden, and Arashiyama Bamboo Forest with guide.
* Day 7 (Kyoto) – Touring with guide – Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine, Kiyomizudera Temple, Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka historical shopping streets, and the Gion area; afternoon cooking class.
* Day 8 (Kyoto) – Knife making experience in the morning and sake brewery tasting in the afternoon.
* Day 9 (Kyoto => Kinosaki) – Morning free, take train to Kinosaki and stay at onsen.
* Day 10 (Kinosaki => Osaka) – Train to Osaka and explore the Osaka Castle, markets, and Dotonbori with guide.
* Day 11 (Osaka) – Day trip via train to Hiroshima on own.
* Day 12 (Osaka => Tokyo) – Train to Tokyo after checkout and afternoon free in Tokyo.
* Day 13 (Tokyo => US) – Depart Tokyo with transfer assistant via train.
1 comment
Hi!
I hope this is OK to say.
I’m not sure what you mean about too many days in Tokyo. You arrive on day 1, you’e there two full days and then leave for Kanazawa. You come back to Tokyo on day 12, the day before your flight, which is a really smart move, and are then there on day 13 before you leave. I’m counting 2 full days and 4 partial days. I don’t know which airport your flight gets into or when, but you might not be in Tokyo until 4 or 5 pm your first day (or later) Again, it’s unclear when you leave on the 13th, so you might have a morning in Tokyo and that is it. So it’s really more like 2 full days and 2 half days. If you feel like you are in Tokyo too long, either leave earlier for Kanazawa or stay longer in Osaka.
If you hate large cities, then I would be seeing how much of your itinerary you can scrap and start over.
I want to stress now, I am not against paying guides or using guides. If you can afford it and you feel comfortable doing so, I whole heartedly support you. I will say I am unsure what a guide is going to do in Takeshita dori, Ometosando dori, and Shibuy Sky. Are they like showing you all the trendiest food places to get insta photos? Helping you find shops? I can honestly say, it seems like an odd thing to pay a guide for.
The same holds true for Ginza shopping streets… I mean it’s stores to buy things… I am unsure what a guide is needed for unless you are trying to go to some really niche hobby stores. and I say this as someone who got paid in 2001 to help people go to some niche hobby stores (but this was before smart phones and life was just immensely different.)
In Kyoto I hope your guided tour is paying for car or mini van transit within Kyoto, and if they are not I hope taxi fares are inclusive. I can’t imagine paying for a guide to follow me around on Kyoto city buses which tend to be overcrowded. I also hope your train isn’t too late from Kanazawa, because it’s a 2.5 hour or so train trip and then you need to get to the places on your list. Many temples close by 5.
I think if you wanted to add more sights in you would need to:
Leave Osaka earlier in the morning and assuming your agent has arranged all luggage transfers, you could stop off at Shin-Yokohama and go down to Kamakura if you’re not all templed out yet. You could also leave Osaka late and take a side trip to Nara before going back to Kyoto and continuing onwards to Tokyo.
Good luck!