Hello! We’re travelling as a group of three to Japan from the 23rd of November to 13th of December. After a lot of obsessive research we’ve arrived at something resembling a final itinerary, and I just wanted to get some feedback to make sure we haven’t gone insane.
We wanted to get a mix of busy, touristy places and more quiet, out of the way spots. Our interests include food, photography, anime/manga/games, nature, history and just generally chilling in beautiful locations.
Most of our booking is finalized, so I’m hoping for suggestions, tips, and feedback regarding the places we’re visiting, rather than more structural stuff like what cities to visit and in what order if that makes sense.
# Nov 23, Tokyo
* We arrive pretty late at night so this day is really just us checking into our accommodation in Asakusa and finding something to eat.
# Nov 24, Tokyo
* **Asakusa and Sumida!**
* **Senso-ji** in the morning, followed by general exploration and wandering.
* **Skytree** in the afternoon, would be really nice to visit around sunset.
* Any suggestions for dinner in the area?
# Nov 25, Tokyo
* **Ueno Park!**
* We start at the **National Museum** and then continue checking out other museums / galleries until we feel we’re done.
* If there’s time left in the day and we’re up for it, then we’ll finish with the **Rikugien Gardens**
* We’ve got a nice steakhouse reserved for dinner!
# Nov 26, Tokyo
* **Ghibli Museum** first!
* Spend the rest of the day exploring **Odaiba** while also checking out the **Small Worlds Museum**
* Dinner in **Roppongi** maybe?
# Nov 27, Tokyo
* **Meiji Shrine** first thing in the morning
* **Shibuya** exploration for the rest of the day, maybe walking up to **Shinjuku** if we feel like it.
* Dinner at **Tsuta Ramen**, then go see the band Squid!
# Nov 28, Tokyo
* **Akihabara!**
* Self explanatory
# Nov 29 – 30, Nijima
* We wanted to spend longer here but unfortunately the ferry timetables are wack
* We’re spending roughly 24 hours here, taking into account travel time, but don’t have any particular plans beyond vibing and enjoying the quiet. Any recommendations for things to do or see?
# Dec 1 – Dec 2, Hakone
* We’re essentially doing the Hakone loop split over two days to give more time for exploration / relaxation. We’ll be staying at a super nice Ryokan overnight too!
# Dec 3 – Dec 6, Road trip!
* Here’s where things get wacky – we’ve decided to rent a car at Hakone, then drive all the way to **Wajima** in the **Noto Peninsula**, staying overnight in **Nagano** and **Kanazawa** along the way, before returning to Kanazawa to drop off the car and catch a shinkansen to **Kyoto**
* We’re really hoping to get a good taste of rural Japan and see some beautiful nature. We’ve got a rough route planned out that should take us past some stunning spots, but are definitely on the hunt for more ideas. Any suggestions or tips for doing a roadtrip like this would be amazing!
* We’re already planning on visiting **THE WORLD’S LONGEST BENCH** in the Noto Pensinsula, so no need to recommend it
# Dec 7, Kyoto
* Back to touristy stuff, we’ll be starting off with **Ninenzaka** and **Kiyumizu-dera**, hopefully getting there as early as possible to beat the crowds.
* Exploring the surrounding area in the afternoon, eventually making our way up to **Heian Jingu**, which I hope will be less crowded.
* Dinner at **Kikunoi Roan**, if we’re able to secure a reservation.
# Dec 8, Kyoto
* We’re debating between **Arashiyama** or **Kibune**
* Kibune looks gorgeous and there’s apparently a great hike to Kurama, but we might have already had a lot of nature and rural stuff on our road trip.
* Alternatively, Arashiyama also looks beautiful and there appears to be more to do, but I’m worried it might be too crowded to enjoy comfortably (we’d probably steer clear entirely of the bamboo grove if we can’t get there early).
* Some help deciding this day would be great!
* **Monkey**
# Dec 9, Osaka
* **Osaka Aqaurium** in the morning!
* **Osaka Castle** in the afternoon, maybe followed by **Shinsekai** if we have the time.
* Dinner in **Dotonbori**, probably
# Dec 10, Osaka
* Our accommodation is right in the middle of **Shinsaibashi**, and it looks like there’s lots of interesting stuff around, so we thought we might take it easy and explore with no particular itinerary in mind. Any suggestions would be appreciated though!
# Dec 11 – 13 Kamakura
* The other two members of my group are leaving a few days earlier than me, so I thought I would find a nice spot to chill until my flight on the 13th, and Kamakura looks great. I’ll probably check out **Enoshima**, a few shrines and temples, and just generally vibe and explore before heading back to Narita airport.
# Questions!
* Is our itinerary generally feasible, no gaping holes or big mistakes?
* Are there any days that look too packed or too spread thin?
* Trying to figure out travel passes / area passes, etc has been a bit of a headache. We’ve ruled out the JR pass, and the Hakone free pass seems good. Are there any similar passes we should be aware of?
* Any other recommendations (especially for dining options) or other tips would be great!
Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any help!
4 comments
I like the look of this itinerary over, good job with the balance! I feel like you guys could potentially stay at Niijima longer considering the hassle to get there but overall love it
Please do Kurama/Kibune instead of Arashiyama. It’s one of my favourite places in Japan and will be absolutely stunning that time of year. Plus there’s hardly any tourists! (Arashiyama is a bit suffocating with the amount of tourists)
Ghibli Museum is pretty far from Odaiba, then Roppongi’s back again halfway across town. Maybe exchange Odaiba for Shibuya and do Odaiba another day?
I’d also recommend going to Kibune instead of Arashiyama. I just went last week – and especially now it’s very beautiful!
I also would recommend hieizan, usually quiet there too. Re he cable car is enjoyable as well!
I could also recommend ishiyama
dera next to lake biwa. Its not so far from kyoto and not busy there. 🙂 you can go up to hieizan from the Kyoto side – down on the lake biwa side and spend some time there (ishiyamadera for example).
I also like it around Mt. Atago.
Arashiyama got so busy again, i think it’s better to avoid it for now, until they figure something out.:(