Hi all, we are a couple who are traveling to Osaka and Tokyo in November. Am seeking help regarding the Osaka portion of our trip. Would it be possible to do 2 days in Osaka, and the next 3 days day trips to Himeiji, Nara and Hiroshima? We prefer to make Osaka our base (before Tokyo) rather than lug the luggages around/forward it for day trips.
Some rough plans of what we’d like to visit as follows:
Hiroshima: Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima Castle, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (we left out Miyajima because of the time taken, daylight in winter and high tides)
Himeiji: Himeiji Castle, Kokoen Garden, Shoshazan Engyoji Temple & Mount Shosha
Nara: Kofuku-ji temple, Isuien Garden, Todai-ji Temple, Nara Deer Park and Mt. Wakakusa
Osaka: Dotonburi, Teamlabs Botanical, Tempozan Marketplace, Osaka Castle
Optional (Time permitting): Shitenno-ji Temple (Osaka), Namba Yasaka Shrine (Osaka), Mitaki-dera Temple (Hiroshima), Gokuku Shrine (Hiroshima), Senko-ji Temple (Hiroshima)
If there’s anything else you’d recommend, please let me know. Thanks in advance!
2 comments
That’s a lot of castles! If it’s something you really love, then go for it, but if it were me, I’d do only Himeji, as it’s original and not a reproduction like the other two.
I’d recommend leaving the Peace Memorial museum until late afternoon, as it’s very emotionally heavy, and you likely won’t want to do much afterwards.
Are you going to be going to Kyoto at all later/earlier in your trip?
Kyoto is the best place to go, in my opinion, and my taste. Amazing number of places you shouldn’t miss in close range.
Hiroshima is a long trip, when I went I focused on the memorial and miyajima: the island even I only visited the temple (almost at night with a festival concert I didn’t expect) and eating local okinomiyaki was 10/10 experiencie, but I spent a night at hiroshima, if you expect to travel back to Osaka you won’t have time…
How many days do you plan in Tokyo?
My first time in japan I chose between Tokyo and Osaka, went to Tokyo and didn’t go to Osaka. (Did japanese alps Shirakawa go, kanazawa, kyoto, nara, himeji on the way to hiroshima and back to Tokyo.
If I can help further just let me know and have a lot of fun 😊