Itinerary Check- 10 days Feb 2023

10 comments

1. Day 1 : Meiji-jingu and Senso-ji are at opposite sides of the city, so not the two places that make the most sense in the same day. Also it’s a detail, but Senso-ji is as Buddhist temple and not as shinto shrine.

   Day 2 : Robot Restaurant is close and they have moved out of the building. It might re-open in the futur, but you can look do to something else in case it does no re-open on time.

   Day 4 : Nachi Falls is almost 5h away from Osaka station, does not sound like a realistic daytrip. For me it would only make sense if you are to spend a couple of days in Wakayama, for example doing the Kumano kodo. I think that both Koyasan and Nikko are nice options, but can be worth spending a night.

   Day 6 : Should be possible if you try to be at Himeji castle as close as possible from opening time, possibly eat lunch in the train. Just make sure you plan enough time to reach Miyajima before end of check-in time at ryokan and you do not want to check-in too lake if you are eating there anyway. You could consider sending your luggage to the Kyoto hotel and just brining a day bag for the trip to Hiroshima.

   Day 7 : In a day, you have time to
   hike Mount Misen if you want. Can also consider a stop at Hiroshima station to eat okonomiyaki for dinner before getting in the train.

   Day 8 : Again, maybe a detail, but Kiyomizu-dera is a temple not a shrine.

   Day 10 : First, I do not thing there is especially good Fuji stop on the shinkansen line. I think I’ve heard someone say that there is a cafe with a view or something around Fuji station, but this is highly dependent on weather.

   If you want to save money, move Nara to day 8 and leave Kyoto at the end of day 9. This way you can get JR Pass 7 days from day 3 to 9 and save at least 15 000 yen. I would also prefer to have a night in Tokyo before flying out, just in case that something happen with the train, so less chance of missing the airplane. Can also check to get the Narita Express round trip discount ticket.

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   Note that February is plum blossom season, so you might want to check some potential spot if you are into that.

2. Sweet baby jesus you are moving around. I know I’m older now, but this itinerary makes my head spin!

   I get having a fast pace and seeing a lot- but I would recommend that you be careful. You don’t want to spend 3 of your 10 days just on trains!

   Tokyo: Both Robot Restaurant and the Go Karts shut during Covid. They may come back, but they may not.

   Osaka:

   I’d cut the Wakayama day trip. Thats just a really long day. Nachi falls is gorgeous, but if you want to see them- stay the night in the area.

   I’d also not do Koya. Again- Koya is AMAZING. Like, super great. But its also a long way up and a long way back for such a short trip.

   Similarly, Osaka to Himeji to a Hiroshima hotel is fine. But trying to squeeze in the Peace Park and making it out to Miyajima will be very rushed. I might skip the Peace park on the way out, then hit that on the way back to Kyoto. It’s still rushed, but better.

   I would also be careful with day ten. Even with an 8pm flight, you won’t have many good options for stopping on the way back. Maybe just hit Narita city? The Narita-san temple complex is pretty neat, and it’ll be nice and easy. I don’t think you would realistically be able to stop at Fuji AND make your flight. I dunno, Narita can be such a pain in the ass. I don’t even like doing the direct transfer from Kyoto to the airport! Can you get a flight out of KIX?

   There you have it! I do think that slowing things down just a bit would help. Trim the Wakayama day and put it somewhere else, maybe Hiroshima? Or trim Hiroshima and go out to Wakayama for a night or two.

   Good luck, and have fun!

3. My standard advice is to always leave a little slack in the schedule. Something near the beginning in case you’re jet lagged, and towards the end as a catch-all day. Alternatively, don’t make so many advance arrangements that you can’t cancel something on the fly.

   Disregard if you like commuting and travel like it’s a job.

   Sounds fun. Hopefully Japan opens soon.

4. I always advise in favor of speedy travel and pack my own itineraries, but this trip is giving even me anxiety. If you are going to Kyoto, I’d skip the Tokyo shrines. Robot restaurant might not reopen, just search for it in this subreddit for more info.

   What are the logistics for your Wakayama day trip? Public transit? Car rental? I don’t know enough about public transit options, but even with a car rental that is a lot of ground to cover if I understand your plans correctly.

   Try to realistically calculate how much time you’ll be sitting on trains and ferries on days 6-7 and decide if what you get is worth the time you will spend traveling to see it.

   In general, the ratio of (time traveling):(time seeing stuff) is really extremely high.

5. If I’m you, I will change the whole itinerary. It is Winter season. Best time to go Hokkaido instead with end trip in Tokyo.

   Anyway, if you really want to visit the above itinerary, your last day in Tokyo is too packed. I suggest a night in Tokyo else your luggage will be a problem.

6. Day 1: there are 6? Pokemon centers in Tokyo

   Day 5: Nintendo world in osaka is great, but the Harry Potter area is just a smaller version of the Orlando parks.

7. Even if karting comes back, please don’t do this as it’s dangerous and causes a lot of trouble for other drivers and pedestrians. It’s pretty universally hated by people who live in Japan and have to deal with that shit.

   If you want to explore random neighborhoods, I suggest you do at least a little research, as most of them are fairly boring and same-y. Pick a few you might find interesting along your route around the city.

   Echoing people telling you to drop Wakayama, especially as you’re already considering it.

   For your Hiroshima trip, one thing I always tell people is to give themselves plenty of time for the museum. Consider the reason it exists and the reason you’re visiting. You’re not just there to gawk, are you? It’s a very somber and serious place and I think totally inappropriate for anyone to rush through or feel rushed. So, I suggest you rearrange your schedule just a little bit:

   Depart Osaka early for Hiroshima. Put your bags in a locker and visit the park and the museum. Maybe have a breakfast before, or a snack or early lunch after the park, before the museum. Go visit the museum and take your time. You should be able to finish by mid-afternoon. This should give you enough time to get to Miyajima and walk around before it gets dark.

   In the morning, you can visit whatever you feel like you didn’t have a chance to and then head up the ropeway and to the viewing platform. Once you’re back down, head back towards Kyoto and visit Himeji at this time instead.

   Finally, you’re not really going to get a good view of Fuji from Shin-Fuji. You could probably stop in Hakone, instead, for a nice view. With a flight at 8, I think you can pretty comfortably do this, especially if you’re not set on doing anything in particular in Tokyo. As always, make sure to get an early start to maximize the time that you have.

   In general, try to take very early trains so you arrive when things start opening and depart after things have closed – it’s a great way to maximize your usable time.

8. Day 0 to 3
   These are ok, if you do not mind the traveling time. I actually am ok with training around because I like to take the trains. Be sure to check the opening times and also to note the daylight hours. Deposit your luggage first in the hotel in Osaka before going around the sights.

   Day 4
   Wakayama and the falls require 2 days, in my opinion. You need to do a little bit of walk in the Kumano Kodo trail to embrace the culture of that area.

   Day 6
   Himeiji and Peace park might be a little too tight. Maybe you can do the Peace park on Day 7 after departing Miyajima? Check the ferry timing to Miyajima to make sure you reach your ryokan on time.

   Day 8
   You need to be selective on this. There are A LOT of temples/shrines in Kyoto. And you might get fatigue from seeing so many temples/shrines. I would suggest Fushimi Inari early early in the morning, and then the temples from Kiyomizu Dera to Kinkakuji along the Philosopher’s walk. But even so, it might still be too tight…

   Overall your plan might be too rush, but I can understand ‘cos I would want to do so many things given the opportunity. However, my advice is still to take your time to explore and breathe instead of checking-off the checklist. And oh one more thing: consider revising your plan to fit the 7-day JR pass between your travels from Tokyo – Osaka – Tokyo. Or fly home from Osaka. Have fun!

9. Make sure to eat at the crazy good ramen spots. Every ramen tastes different and sometimes they are better than anything else you’ve tried so far.

   In Osaka, try “No Name Ramen”. It is very central, too

   In Tokyo, go to “Rokurinsha” in the Ramen Street in Tokyo Station.

   If you have to wait, especially for Rokurinsha, it will definitely be worth it.

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   Have fun in Japan!

10. Castles in Japan are my thing, I’ll never get enough. With thay said, skip Himeji Castle. The lack of any publications in the castle or any type of “museum” feel at all is near zero. There’s hardly any interesting information and you’re shoved through like fucking cattle. It is my worst castle experience in Japan, plus Himeji itself is boring. Everything in the Peace Park area blows away Himeji. The museum is outstanding, even if the information has been tainted by the US.

    Skip Gion. There are better parts of Kyoto. Stay in Higashyama for accessibility for the places you mentioned. Kyoto station looks convenient, but it’s not.

    My wife is from Wakayama, unless you have a reason to be there, like family or going way down south, cut it. There’s not much interesting stuff, even though I love the wakayama feel. If you want an onsen stop, add in Arima, much closer and easier to align with everything else.