Hi all! My partner and I are leaving in about a week to Japan and it will be our first time. Would love any feedback and/or food/activity recommendations to add to our itinerary. We are pretty active and enjoy walking around and exploring and trying new foods! Thank you in advance 🙂
Day 1
\- Arrive early afternoon to HND
\- Go to Shinjuku station – check in to hotel
\- Wander wherever the wind takes us – we are thinking Ginza, Shibuya, and then end back up in Shinjuku by the end of the night
Day 2
\- Start the morning off at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
\- Meiji Jingu
\- Wander around Harajuku and Shibuya
\- Shibuya Sky for the sunset
\- Continue wandering around nearby area
Day 3
\- Romance car from Shinjuku to Hakone
\- Using this for an itinerary plan – https://www.odakyu.jp/english/sightseeing/itineraries/hakone-1-day/
\- Check into hotel with onsen near Gora station
\- Go back and explore until time for dinner at hotel
Day 4
\- Wake up early to walk around some more nearby hotel before breakfast and checking out from hotel
\- Shinkansen from Hakone to Kyoto
\- Check into hotel
\- Lunch at Nishiki Market
\- Walk around and explore around these locations: Pontocho Alley, Gion District, Yasaka-jinja Shrine, Hanamikoji Street
Day 5
\- Wake up early for Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Tenryu-ji, and Togetsu-kyo Bridge, and Iwatayama Monkey Park
\- Roundtrip on Sagano Romantic Train for the views
\- Kinkaku-ji Temple
\- Kyoto Imperial Palace
\- Nijo Castle
\- Explore around Nijo castle or any of the locations mentioned on the day before (open to recommendations!)
Day 6
\- Wake up early for Fushimi Inari
\- Higashiyama and Kiyomizu-dera
\- Ginkakuji
\- Go back to walk around Gion District (open to recommendations!)
Day 7
\- Check out of hotel and take shinkansen from Kyoto to Osaka
\- Drop off luggage/check in to hotel
\- Osaka Castle
\- Osaka Tenmangu
\- Nakanoshima Park
\- Shinkansen to Kobe for dinner and then back to Osaka at end of the night?
Day 8
\- Travel to Nara for full day (or half day) trip
\- Todaiji temple/Nara Park
\- Travel back to Osaka
\- Kuromon Market
\- Explore Dontonbori
Day 9
\- Any last minute wandering around Osaka in the morning
\- Check out of hotel and take shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo
\- Drop off luggage/check into hotel
\- Tokyo Tower and Shiba Park Hotel
\- Wander around area (open to recommendations!)
Day 10
\- Sensoji and Nakamise-dori Street
\- Ueno Park
\- Tokyo Skytree
\- Wander around area (open to recommendations!)
Day 11
\- Travel to Yokohama for day (or half day) trip
\- Gundam Factory
\- Yamashita Park
\- Chinatown
\- Cup Noodle Museum?
\- Travel back to Tokyo
Day 12
\- Wake up early for Tsukiji Outer Market
\- Hama-rikyu Gardens
\- TeamLab Planets
\- Imperial Palace
\- Wander around area (open to recommendations!)
Day 13
\- Free day to go back to any places we wanted to revisit or missed and to do some shopping
\- Open to recommendations!
Day 14
\- Last morning to explore Tokyo
\- Leave for NRT in afternoon
2 comments
Which country are you coming from? You may be tired from the flight + jetlag and may not have energy to do anything (even just walking around) your first day, especially if you’re arriving in the afternoon and you’re going to take a couple hours to figure out the trains + drop off bags and check in.
Okay your plan for day 4. But 2.5 days in Kyoto aren’t enough for the things you want to do. I’d recommend spending an extra day in Kyoto, and returning to Tokyo later in the afternoon on the 9th rather than the morning. Personally I’d reorganise your Kyoto days a litte:
Day 5
– Nijo castle in the morning (be there by opening time). Then rest of the day in Arashiyama/Sagano. First Sagano Romantic Train which will take longest, then the Iwatayama Monkey Park which closes at 5pm, then the rest (bridge, bamboo, etc.). This will already be a full and active day.
– I’d take out the Kyoto Imperial Palace since none of the buildings can be entered, you’re only walking around the exterior grounds, and you don’t have much time for it
Day 6
– Fushimi Inari. Kiyomizu-dera and southern Higashiyama (Chion-in Temple, Heian shrine, etc.), mayyybe you’d have time for Ginkakuji, but you’d be skipping the entire Philosopher’s Path which imho is the charm of the place. Gion evening.
Extra day
– Kinkaku-ji Temple + Philosopher’s Path (with Ginkakuji). Or Kyoto Imperial Palace if you saw Ginkakuji the day before.
+1 Kyoto itinerary is way to packed, we also skipped Nijo and Imp Palace to focus on temples and shrines
I would rejig Day 6 & 7
Day 6
Higashiyama + Nanzenji + Philosopher’s Path + Silver Pavilllion + cab to Golden Pavillion
Day 7
You can do Fushimi Inari + Nara while on your way to Osaka. Fushimi and Nara are served by the Nara train link
Enjoy your trip!