Itinerary Check – 8 Days Tokyo / Kusatsu Onsen / Fujikawaguchiko in mid Nov (First time as a Solo Traveller!)

2 comments

1. I’ve been to Japan 7 times and every time was a solo trip. I don’t think there’s any reason to be nervous, it’s a safe and well-organised country, perfect for first trips abroad and travel 101 experiences.

   – **Kamakura** is a very nice town, but not recommended with your itinerary. There’s too much going on that first day. Yokohama and Kamakura are each worth at least a couple days each, doing both in a few hours won’t let you enjoy either properly. You’ll spend more time on trains than anything else.

   If you want to spend your first day in Kamakura, you can see some temples (Sasuke inari, Zeniarai benten, Daibutsu, Hasedera) + the Daibutsu Hiking Trail (start with the temples, they close at 5pm), or the Tenen hiking trail + some temples (Engakuji, Kencho-ji, maaaaybe Zuisen-ji). Komachi Street is not worth a special visit unless you really like the cutesy instagram ambience and shopping. You probably won’t have time for it after a hike.

   In Yokohama you can spend several hours in the harbour area, or go up to the Western residences. It’ll be difficult to do both with just a few hours. Then evening in Chinatown.

   That said, if you’re coming from Oceania / Asia you’ll be tired from the flight but likely won’t have **jetlag**, but if you’re coming from further away expect to be too tired your first day and probably not up for much/any sightseeing.

   – Note that the train to **Mt.Takao** takes over an hour. If you’re arriving there at 9am, you won’t be back in Shinjuku by 12pm. That’s only giving you 2h to hike up and down (or take the cablecar / chairlift) and visit the temple. I’d count for a few hours altogether, so you’ll probably prefer to have lunch at Mt.Takao.

   – Most things (museums, many shops, etc.) close at 5pm. **Odaiba** at 7pm will be pretty dead (and dark). You’re missing the Miraikan, which imo is the best thing in Odaiba. You’ll see the Statue of Liberty lit up though.

   I’m a little confused about the hotels. Are you staying in two different hotels in Tokyo before going off to Kusatsu onsen?

2. In regards to the Kusatsu Onsen part of the trip, I actually went there in April, so I can probably pitch in a little bit.

   My trip there was 3 days long, and for me, that personally felt like too much time. Unless you really love visiting onsen, I wouldn’t stay for longer, so just keep that in consideration. Most things close early up there and there’s not a whole lot of night activities besides drinking and hanging around the yubatake at night.

   Personally, I travelled solo, and ended up staying at うり房旅館, which was a much smaller ryokan with traditional rooms with tatami and futons, but yet had a more modern feel. I enjoyed it. Problem is the whole booking process for the ryokan is all in Japanese, and the form you sign when you arrive is as well. This wasn’t an issue for me personally, since I know enough of the language, but it’s definitely an obstacle. It also had private onsens as well, which were very nice to have. The food was a little less adventurous which is what I personally was looking for, but that may very well be a drawback for some people.

   For the temperature, I could definitely see it being very cold at night – during my trip, it got surprisingly cold in the evening despite it being the middle of spring. I didn’t often stay out very long at night because I have circulation issues. I would expect it to be even colder in November. Make sure to wear warm clothing, maybe even investing in a pair of long underwear.

   One other thing that seems off to me, though, is that when I headed to Kusatsu from Tokyo that it required a Shinkansen to Karuizawa and then a bus ride the rest of the way. I’m not sure if there’s a bus from Tokyo, but that’s probably something you should double check on your itinerary.

   I’d give some solo traveling, tips but my phone is dying so I may have to comment later.