## Quick intro
Mid 20’s solo backpacker with a lot of energy! First time in Japan (which is #1 on my bucket list). Don’t speak Japanese. Purchased a JR Pass for the entire trip. Leaving November in hopes of seeing the renowned autumn foliage. Visiting for the culture, people, beauty, cuisine, and everything else the country has to offer.
I know this itinerary is packed to the brim, but I want to experience as much of Japan as I can. I’m not hard-set on everything on this list and I’m not too worried about missing stuff if I get captivated along the way or don’t have time. I’m planning to travel in the evening when possible to maximize my use of daylight. I’ve included a small legend below that includes a “ranking system” of items on my list.
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated! Food, accommodations, must-see things that I’ve missed – I’ll take it all. Feel free to tell me if certain days are crazy! This subreddit has been a great source of information and inspiration during my planning 🙂
## Itinerary
**Legend**
* **Bold font** = “Must do”
* Regular font = “Want to do”
* *Italic font* = “Extra things to do IF I have time/energy”
**Day 1 – Narita, Tokyo**
* Arrive NRT – 16:20 JST (+15 hours)
* NRT → Shibuya Station (N’EX)
* Check-in, eat, get settled
**Day 2 – Tokyo (Taito)**
* **Nezu-jinja**
* **Ueno Park**
* Kanei-ji, Ueno Tosho-gu, Shinobazu-no-ike Pond, Shinobazu-no-ike Benten-do, Kiyomizu Kannon-do
* **Akihabara (afternoon)**
* Electronic stores, otaku/anime, maid cafes
* **Kanda-jinja**
**Day 3 – Tokyo (Setagaya, Shibuya)**
* Gotoku-ji
* Yoyogi Park
* Meiji-jingu
* **Harajuku**
* Togo-jinja, Takeshita-dori, Omotesando
* **Shibuya Scramble Crossing**
* **Shibuya Sky (sunset \~16:30)**
**Day 4 – Tokyo (Chuo, Minato, Koto)**
* **Tsukiji Outer Market**
* Hama-rikyu Gardens
* Zojo-ji
* *Tokyo Tower*
* Ginza
* Dinner
* **teamLab Planets**
* *Rainbow Bridge (night)*
**Day 5 – Tokyo (Shinjuku, Bunkyo, Chiyoda)**
* **Shinjuku Gyo-en National Garden**
* Japanese garden, English garden, greenhouse, French garden
* Koishikawa Koraku-en Garden
* **Tokyo Imperial Palace (tour at 10:00 or 13:30)**
* Rikugi-en Garden
* **Shinjuku Golden Gai**
* Dinner, night life
**Day 6 – Tokyo (Taito, Sumida), Nikko**
* Tokyo Skytree
* **Asakusa**
* Kaminarimon, Nakamise-dori, Senso-ji, Asakusa-jinja
* Tokyo Station → Utsunomiya Station (Tohoku 🚅)
* Utsunomiya Station → Imaichi Station (Nikko Line)
**Day 7 – Nikko**
* **Rinno-ji**
* **Tosho-gu**
* Taiyu-in
* **Kanmangafuchi Abyss**
* JR Nikko Station → Chuzenji Onsen (bus)
* **Lake Chuzenji**
* Kegon Falls, Chuzen-ji, *Ryuzu Falls (Chuzenji Onsen ↔ Ryuzu-no-taki bus stop)*
* Chuzenji Onsen → JR Nikko Station (bus)
**Day 8 – Nikko, Nagano, Matsumoto, Takayama**
* Imaichi Station → Utsunomiya Station (Nikko Line)
* Utsunomiya Station → Omiya Station (Tohoku 🚅)
* Omiya Station → Nagano Station (Hokuriku 🚅)
* **Zenko-ji**
* Nagano Station → Matsumoto Station (Shinano)
* **Matsumoto Castle & Park**
* Matsumoto Bus Terminal → Takayama Bus Terminal (Bus)
**Day 9 – Takayama**
* **Hida no Sato**
* Takayama Jinya
* **Sanmachi-Suji**
* *Takayama Showa-kan Museum*
* Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan & Sakurayama Nikkokan
* Sakurayama Hachiman-gu
* Higashiyama Walking Course
**Day 10 – Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa**
* **Miyagawa Morning Market**
* Takayama Bus Terminal → Shirakawa-go Bus Terminal (Bus)
* **Shirakawa-go (Ogimachi)**
* Gassho-zukuri Minkaen, Myozen-ji, Kanda House, Nagase House, Wada House, *Ogimachi Castle Observation Deck*
* Shirakawa-go Bus Terminal → Kanazawa Station (Bus)
* Tsuzumi-mon Gate
**Day 11 – Kanazawa**
* *Ishiura-jinja*
* **Kenroku-en Garden**
* **Kanazawa Castle Park**
* *Oyama-jinja*
* Nomura-ke Samurai Residence
* **Omicho Market**
* Higashi Chaya District
* Geisha House Shima, Kaikaro Teahouse
* Kanazawa Station → Shin-Osaka Station (Thunderbird)
**Day 12 – Osaka**
* **Osaka Castle Park**
* Osaka Tenmangu-jinja
* Tenjinbashi-Suji
* Umeda Sky Building
* **Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan**
* *Naniwa Food Theme Park*
* *Tempozan Ferris Wheel*
**Day 13 – Osaka (Namba)**
* **Kuromon Ichiba Market**
* *Nipponbashi Denden Town*
* Namba Yasaka-jinja
* Hozen-ji
* Shinsaibashi-Suji
* *Amerikamura*
* **Dotonbori**
* Dinner, night life
**Day 14 – Osaka (Shinsekai/Tennoji)**
* **Sumiyoshi-taisha**
* *Tsutenkaku Tower*
* Isshin-ji
* Tennoji Park
* Shitenno-ji
* **Abeno Harukas (sunset \~16:30)**
**Day 15 – Osaka, Himeji, Hiroshima**
* Shin-Osaka Station → Himeji Station (Tokaido-Sanyo 🚅)
* **Himeji Castle**
* Himeji Station → Hiroshima Station (Tokaido-Sanyo 🚅)
* **Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park**
* Peace Memorial Museum, Atomic Bomb Dome, Children’s Peace Monument, Hiroshima Victims Memorial Cenotaph, Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall
**Day 16 – Hiroshima, Miyajima, Fukuoka**
* Hiroshima Station → Miyajima-guchi Station (San-yo) → Miyajima (Ferry)
* **Itsukushima-jinja**
* Daisho-in
* *Mount Misen (ropeway)*
* Miyajima → Miyajima-guchi Station (Ferry) → Hiroshima Station (San-yo)
* **Hiroshima Castle**
* Shukkei-en Garden
* Hiroshima Station → Hakata Station (Tokaido-Sanyo 🚅)
**Day 17 – Fukuoka**
* Shofuku-ji
* **Kushida-jinja**
* **Sumiyoshi-jinja**
* *Ohori Park*
* **Grand Sumo Tournament (Fukuoka Kokusai Center)**
* *Nanzo-in*
* Hakata Station → Kyoto Station (Tokaido-Sanyo 🚅)
**Day 18 – Kyoto**
* **Nijo Castle**
* Kyoto Imperial Palace
* Nishiki Market
* Heian-jingu
* Philosopher’s Path
* **Ginkaku-ji**
* *Eikan-do*
* **Nanzen-ji**
* *Yasaka-jinja*
* **Gion**
* Dinner, night life
**Day 19 – Kyoto**
* **Arashiyama Bamboo Grove**
* **Tenryu-ji**
* *Iwatayama Monkey Park*
* *Jojakko-ji*
* *Nison-in*
* *Gio-ji*
* *Adashino Nenbutsu-ji*
* *Otagi nenbutsu-ji*
* *Daikaku-ji*
* **Ryoan-ji**
* **Kinkaku-ji**
**Day 20 – Kyoto, Nara**
* Kyoto Station → JR Nara Station (Miyakoji)
* **Kofuku-ji**
* *Yoshiki-en Garden*
* *Isui-en Garden*
* **Todai-ji**
* **Nara Park**
* **Kasuga-taisha**
* *Toshodai-ji*
* *Yakushi-ji*
* JR Nara Station → Kyoto Station (Miyakoji)
**Day 21 – Kyoto, Tokyo**
* **Fushimi Inari-taisha & hike**
* Tofuku-ji
* **Sanjusangen-do**
* *Kennin-ji*
* Kodai-ji
* *Hokan-ji*
* **Kiyomizu-dera**
* Kyoto Station → Tokyo Station (Tokaido-Sanyo 🚅)
**Day 22 – Tokyo, Narita**
* *Shopping/relaxing*
* Shibuya Station → NRT (N’EX)
* Depart NRT – 14:45 JST
3 comments
I personally would skip Fukuoka purely as you are not giving yourself a rest at all, your itinerary is very ‘GO GO GO!’ with a LOT of travel, and while you’ve said you have heaps of energy I still feel you may be a little burned out by then.
You’ve also given yourself just a couple of hours in Tokyo on day of departure as you’ll need to leave the city by 11am. This feels to me a little rushed between getting there the evening before.
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I live near Gotokuji (day 3) and might advise either skipping it or one of the other places (Yoyogi Park or Meiji Jingu) you have scheduled for the day: for the visitor, they don’t really seem all that much different, especially if you’re also planning to see Hamarikyu and Shinjuku Gyoen.
Gotokuji is not on a JR line, so you’ll need to spend some extra money to get there and, frankly, it’s not even the prettiest or most interesting place on the same street: Setagaya Hachiman Jingu, with a sumo ring, a koi pond, and older buildings and situated within a kilometer of Gotokuji, is far more pleasant to visit.