Hi, everyone!
My husband and I had an amazing cherry blossom trip this past year at the end of March (postponed since we had original tix for 2020 season)… so much that we are returning for the fall colors! Please help us fill out our itinerary of big sights we may have missed. (I suppose this works as a ‘trip report’ as well)
We have Tokyo and Kyoto booked again for hotel stays but several days may be open for day trips to Fuji and/or Nara and maybe Osaka again. Similar to how we planned our Cherry Blossom trip- we want to see the most fall colors if possible\~ We prioritized certain temples and sights based on cherry blossom viewing so we may have missed a lot and/or fall colors may be in different areas. Mostly, we may have missed out on food planning (lack of reservations – lots of waiting in lines) and shopping (vintage) for the most part that we waited until the end of our trip. Any input for what we might’ve missed to see on our fall trip is appreciated!
We started in Tokyo- had a few days in Kyoto in the middle- and then ended back in Tokyo
Day 1 –
Nakano Broadway exploring/food (village vanguard for burgers- pretty good place when there isn’t a wait)
Kichijoji exploring before our ticket entry to the Ghibli Museum – stayed here until museum close
(early night in – getting over jetlag)
Day 2-
Team Lab Planets in the AM
Fractured Mirror Escalator and shopping – Ichiran for lunch
Brief visit down Takeshita Street / Harajuku – Marion crepes
Sunset slot for Shibuya Sky (stayed until dark)
Dinner reservation @ Teppanyaki Akasaka
Day 3-
Senso Ji (very crowded but great during cherry blossoms)
Lunch @ an amazing Gyukatsu place nearby (2 hour wait killed a lot of our time)
Nighttime exploring at Ueno Park with cherry blossoms fully lit
Day 4-
AM Shinkansen to Kyoto
Dropped our bags at the hotel in Kyoto and took the train to Osaka for a day trip to see Osaka Castle (Stunning during Cherry Blossom bloom) and eat on Dotonbori for street food.
Day 5-
Kinkaku-Ji (no cherry blossoms but a must see for us)
Hirano-jinja Shrine (this is spectacular during cherry blossom season)
Sagano Romantic Train (we plan on doing this in the fall again)
Bamboo Forest Path / Arashiyama (kind of underwhelmed in person)
The nearby area was fantastic thought and we definitely want to return to this part. (We ran out of time and our legs were to dead to hike for monkey park- we’ll be doing this in the fall)
Yakitori place for dinner
Day 6-
Fushimi Inari (we only hiked a little over halfway for time)
Ate lunch at a traditional sit down/ Seiza place we stumbled upon
Hokan Ji and exploring this area for shopping/souvenirs
Kiyomizudera for sunset – incredible views- will be returning for Koyo
McDs for dinner – couldn’t find a place super late at night in a time pinch
After dark reservation slot for Naked Flowers festival @ Nijo Castle (highly recommend if they do this next year)
Day 7-
Extremely quick AM trip to Ryoan-Ji to view the stone zen garden with rare cherry blossom bloom. (we literally saw nothing else so we’ll be returning here).
Race to catch Shinkansen back to Tokyo by noon.
Drop bags at new Tokyo hotel
Ramen @ Mutekiya (another long wait)
Super Potato shopping for husband and Sunshine City shopping nearby for pokemon store/etc.
Day 8 –
Chidorigafuchi park views and watching boats under the cherry blossoms
Shibuya Scramble
Back to Harajuku area to eat real quick- en route to Yoyogi Park and Meiji Jingu Shrine
Dinner @ Omoide Yokocho (big tourist trap- do not recommend for actual dinner)
Reservation time slot for another Naked Sakura Night Garden at Shinjuku Gyoen Park (I did not like this one as much as the Kyoto one because they made all the guests walk the massive length of the park – up and down- before entering to slow the crowd- just as a caution for future travelers who are not able to walk as far this late in a trip like myself)
Day 9-
Starbucks Roastery (this sucked a lot of time but was worth it for food/drinks in the end) Cherry blossoms were great nearby while we waited
Back to Nakano because we loved this area and further out to Kichijoji for vintage shopping (this is the first day I actually shopped for myself and not souvenirs etc)
Final Dinner in Japan reservation @ Sushi Komari (sometimes spelled Comari on IG) fantastic quite small omakase experience. We are picky eaters so we may not do another omakase – but we wanted to experience this and highly recommend if you’re able!
Quick trip to the base of Tokyo tower to see it lit up at night up close
Day 10-
Kopabashi Street shopping (will definitely be returning for more)
Quick Akihabara shopping
Taxi to airport for departure home!
(Food that we realized we really liked and want to find more of- yakitori, any katsu place, & ramen)
Final note- I’m sure we still missed a ton (our legs/feet said otherwise- ouch), but any insight to fall foliage ‘must sees’ and any other big things we missed is greatly appreciated!
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11 comments
I’m not sure what are the dates you guys are visiting Kyoto, but some of the temples have night viewing session in the autumn, and they are unique and miles better at night.
It’s not often you get to see one, you can only get to see these night sessions during fall, cherry blossom season and some special holidays. Kiyomizudera and Byodo-in temples at night are a must visit in my opinion, the former is too crowded at the start of the session, so I would highly suggest visiting it an hour before the closing time, whereas the latter has sold out of tickets for the night viewing sessions.
[Pictures of Kiyomizudera at night, taken from their official website.](http://www.kiyomizudera.or.jp/en/visit/special_night_viewing/)
Regarding parks: We did enjoy the Hamarikyû Park in Shimbashi, might be worthwhile for a fall visit.
In Tokyo for katsu I can recommend Gyukatsu Motomura and for ramen of course it has to be Nakiryu. There will 100 percent be a queue but the wait is worth it.
>Bamboo Forest Path / Arashiyama (kind of underwhelmed in person)
Not sure how fully you explored this area, but there are a few bamboo paths around here, some quieter than others. I had visited years ago and thought the bamboo forest was quite small, but when I went earlier this year I realised that I had missed bits. Also, did you go up to the saga toriimoto area? This part is really nice, with some interesting little temples.
Another fairly easy day trip you could do from Kyoto is kurama and kifune. This place is pretty popular in autumn. Be aware of the weather though. If it’s been raining a lot they will close the path between the two and the leaves won’t be as nice.
Icr which other places around Kyoto and Tokyo are good for autumn leaves specifically. Miyajima is lovely (but busy) in autumn, but too far for a day trip. You’d have to include Hiroshima in your itinerary. We liked Himeji in general though.
A day trip to Nikko from Tokyo would probably be a good shout. I haven’t been there in autumn but I bet it’s nice. You could also do hakone if you have time, but it’s best to stay overnight imo.
I was just in Osaka/Kyoto this last week.
Trees only just starting to turn a tiny bbited. By the time you get there, I bet it will be great.
For Tokyo:
* Would you be interested in either Toyosu or Tsujiki fish markets? We’re applying for the tuna auction lottery at Toyosu the month before our trip.
* Second @Karash770’s idea for Hama-rikyu garden which also has Nakajima Teahouse.
* I’m not sure of your interests but Ginza Graphic Gallery might be worth a visit.
* Hibiya Park might be nice, it’s near the Imperial Palace as well which you can see from the outside.
* Koishikawa Garden would be good to see fall foliage
* Maybe you might be interested in Tokyo National Museum or the Japanese Sword Museum
For Kyoto:
* Umekoji Park would be good for fall foliage
* You didn’t mention walking the Philosophers’ Path
* Tofuki-ji temple and Hojo Gardden
* Kennin-ji Temple
* Maruyama Park
* Tenryuji Temple
For food – our strategy is to research anything in our price range above a 3.5 on Tablelog ([https://tabelog.com/en/](https://tabelog.com/en/)), and save to Google Maps. Then work out where to go on the day. I am hopefully going to make some reservations as well but many of the places we’ve saved don’t seem to take reservations.
I would suggest manten sushi if you’re into omakase. In Tokyo.
Definitely try to catch the night illuminations in Kyoto during the fall leaf season – check online to find out what nights. Consider a side to Nara to see the big Buddha and all the Nara Deer. Himeji Castle is also very cool if you want to see an original castle. A side trip to Hakone could also be fun – great for fall colors.
If you go back to Kyoto consider the Philosophers Walk (哲学の道).
There are a number of temples and shrines along the way, including one of our favorites, Ōtoyo shrine (大豊神社). We refer to it as the “mouse shrine” because instead of komainu guardian statues, it has two mice guarding it. The shrine is up a long path that in the summer is in bloom with various flowers. We went in 2017 and it was virtually empty with no tourists. It’s a bit off the beaten path (we only found it because the shrine put a sign out on the main road inviting visitors to come) and was a pleasant surprise.
Minoh Park and waterfall about an hour away from Osaka is meant to be gorgeous in autumn.
I’m not sure the views from Osaka Castle park will be that great but might be wrong
Following because wife and I are in similar situation. We visited Japan in March and had an amazing time so we want to go back in November during Thanksgiving. Will be a last minute trip for sure. only issue for us we don’t have enough PTO :/