Hi All!
I’m travelling to Japan with my brother for 3 weeks (mid October-November). (31,29 yo)
About us: It is our first time in Japan. We especially like anime/manga and Japan culture in general. Want to see as much as possible. We are fit and can walk a lot. This is our plan for 7-day trip outside of Tokyo. Itinerary for 2 weeks in Tokyo alone is still in progress 🙂
As for Hotels. Nothing is booked yet. Probably will do it during this week.
**24.10 Tuesday – Hiroshima**
* 11:51 arriving in Hiroshima from Tokyo
* Hiroshima Castle – 1,5h
* Shukkei-en gardeb – 1h
* Atomic bomb dome – 30min
* Peace memorial park and museum – 2-3h
* Nagarekawacho – for evening/night to eat and chill
* Sleep in Hiroshima
**25.10 Wednesday – Himeji and Kobe**
* Arriving around 9am in Himeji
* Himeji Castle and Koko-en garden – 2-3h
* Engyoji Maniden – 3-4h (doable?)
* Travel to Kobe – 40min
* Herb Gardens – 2h (possible to fit?)
* Chinatown
* dinner plus trying of A5 Kobe meat
* Sleep in Kobe or Osaka
**26.10 Thursday Osaka**
* 9am arriving in Osaka
* Umeda Sky building – view deck – 30min
* Osaka Castle – 2h
* Osaka Aquarium – 1,5h
* Lunch in Tempozan Market Place or Kuromon Ichiba Market – 1h
* By foot places in set order: Hozenji -> Dotonbori -> Ebisubashi Bridge -> Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street -> America-mura -> Triangle Park – 4h
* Maybe check infamous red-light districts.
**27.10 Friday Osaka**
* 8am start in a go to Namba Yasaka Jinja – 1,5h
* each cheesecake in Rikuro’s Namba – 30min
* Namba City Main Building (shopping?) – 1,5h
* Denden Town – 3-4h
* Shinsekai Market – 1-2h
* Tsūtenkaku or Abeno Harukas. Not sure if worth when we already were on Umeda Sky building.
* Sleep in Osaka
That is all for Osaka. Anything more worth seeing?
**28.10 Saturday Kyoto**
* Arriving early morning in Kyoto.
* Kinkaku-ji – 2h
* Travel by bus and places is shown order by foot: Togetsu-kyo Bridge->Monkey Park->Tenryuji Temple->arashiyama garden and bamboo grove->Jōjakkō-ji Temple->Nison-in Temple->Giō-ji Temple->Saga Toriimoto street->Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple->Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple – whole day
* dinner somewhere in town (Gion disctrict or Poncho alley?)
**29.10 Sunday Kyoto**
* start around 8am
* Fushimi Inari-Taisha – 2h
* Higashiyama Jisho-ji – 1h
* Philosopher’s Path – 1h
* Nanzen-ji – 0,5-1h
* By foot walk in order: Chion-in->Maruyama Park->Yasaka-jinja Shrine 2h
* Ninenzaka – 1-2h
* Sannenzaka – 1-2h
* Kiyomizu-dera – 1h
* dinner somewhere in town (Gion disctrict or Poncho alley?)
**30.10 Monday Nara**
* 8am trip to Nara from Kyoto
* Whole trip by foot in below order (whole day)
Kofuku-ji->Yoshikien garden->Todai-ji->Nara Oark->Wakakusayama Hill->Kasuga Taisha->Sarusawa-ike Pond and starbucks near it-> Higashimuki and Mochiidono shopping streets.
* Back to Tokyo in the evening
There seems to be a lot to do in my itinerary and I wonder if we manage to fit everything in 1 day.
Some questions I would appreciate the feedback on:
* I assume I won’t manage Engyoji in Himeji and then Herb Garden in Kobe. What would you choose? Both are better to see during the day when the sun is up.
* I was thinking about Ryoukan for at least 1 night. Do you have any suggestions in one of the cities from the list?
* Is there something like Akihabara in Kyoto? Trip is close to Halloween and would like to know where to go.
* Any recommendations for restaurants?
* I heard there are some passes for 1-2 days in Kyoto and Osaka. Worth buying it for this trip?
Feel free to make suggestions on what to change/remove/add from the plan 🙂
2 comments
Two weeks in Tokyo is a LOT. I think you would be much better shifting some of that time to the rest of the country.
That would also give you time to take it a little easier, especially if you want to stay in a ryokan, where you will really want to check in early-ish (they usually serve dinner) and give yourself time to savor it. You’ve got a lot of long days here – nothing *impossible*, but a series of truly exhausting times going going going all day, and a risk that you may not enjoy it.
If there’s a lot you want to do in Tokyo, don’t go there for more than 9-10 days.
Toei Kyoto Studio Park.
You might like this place if you’re into anime