We’ll be visiting Japan in March as part of a 4 month Asia trip, and we’d like some feedback on our itinerary. We’re mostly concerned about pacing, and how reasonable it is when considering travel betweeen cities.
Pacing comment – the 15/30 minute bang-bang scheduling is what didn’t work for us in Japan. Time is needed for walking even out of a station sometimes and everywhere else in general, and you’ll want some cushion in case you run across something interesting. For my first trip I was still a little ambitious with the scheduling, but some places inevitably got axed or moved to a later day (or future trip lol) for various reasons (ex time constraints, rain, fatigue). There’s just no way to see everything, but it also sucks when you feel rushed to leave something interesting. I think as long as you go in with mindset that it won’t all happen, you will be okay. But be ready to compromise is the best way to approach it. On the daily prioritize what you want to see most. Silver lining, you’ll be able to start planning the next visit, haha.
Your Hakone day doesn’t seem possible: some of the places you have listed are 2 to 4 hours apart. As for the rest of the itinerary, it looks too packed. It might be logistically possible to accomplish much of what is listed, but it doesn’t seem anyone could enjoy it.
Personally, I like the itinerary you have here. However, I am the person that has always been told I overpack my trips. I guess most people like to have slower paced trips but personally I have always preferred a faster pace as it allows me to see what I want to see but also not get bored. So if you’re like me I say it is great! I would just recommend looking up times of when things look up so you don’t go somewhere that is closed. Ex. Lots of museums close at 5ish and harajuku shops don’t open till 11 I think. For me personally I would rather have acky feet then a slower paced trip. I get bored too quickly and like keeping the excitement up. Good luck! 🙂
Too bad you’re not going to see cherry blossoms, we’re going similar destinations end march to end April . Maybe you’ll catch a bit. Curious the rest of your Asian adventures. We love Thailand, Singapore, Siem Reap, Bali, Vietnam
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Pacing comment – the 15/30 minute bang-bang scheduling is what didn’t work for us in Japan. Time is needed for walking even out of a station sometimes and everywhere else in general, and you’ll want some cushion in case you run across something interesting. For my first trip I was still a little ambitious with the scheduling, but some places inevitably got axed or moved to a later day (or future trip lol) for various reasons (ex time constraints, rain, fatigue). There’s just no way to see everything, but it also sucks when you feel rushed to leave something interesting. I think as long as you go in with mindset that it won’t all happen, you will be okay. But be ready to compromise is the best way to approach it. On the daily prioritize what you want to see most. Silver lining, you’ll be able to start planning the next visit, haha.
Your Hakone day doesn’t seem possible: some of the places you have listed are 2 to 4 hours apart. As for the rest of the itinerary, it looks too packed. It might be logistically possible to accomplish much of what is listed, but it doesn’t seem anyone could enjoy it.
Personally, I like the itinerary you have here. However, I am the person that has always been told I overpack my trips. I guess most people like to have slower paced trips but personally I have always preferred a faster pace as it allows me to see what I want to see but also not get bored. So if you’re like me I say it is great! I would just recommend looking up times of when things look up so you don’t go somewhere that is closed. Ex. Lots of museums close at 5ish and harajuku shops don’t open till 11 I think.
For me personally I would rather have acky feet then a slower paced trip. I get bored too quickly and like keeping the excitement up.
Good luck! 🙂
Too bad you’re not going to see cherry blossoms, we’re going similar destinations end march to end April . Maybe you’ll catch a bit. Curious the rest of your Asian adventures. We love Thailand, Singapore, Siem Reap, Bali, Vietnam