Hi all,
Just wanted to chuck a post out there about my itinery for my second trip to Japan next February. I was there just this past May and absolutely loved it. Although i was with my now ex partner and mother at the time. This time around i’m doing it solo to see all the things i missed and experience a ton of new stuff. My first trip was 17 days, so same amount of time this time around as well and I did Tokyo-Kanazawa-Kyoto-Osaka-Nara-Tokyo. This time around i’m doing Tokyo-Takayama-Kyoto-Okayama-Osaka-Hiroshima-Kobe?-Himeji-Tokyo. With some day trips to kamakura, nikko and really where ever else i might like or get suggested. So if you guys have any tips, tricks or suggestions for my second trip whether it be places to go, things to see or food to eat. I am all ears. But without further ado, please see below for my itinery – noting that it is fairly flexible as I am planning on just going with the flow.
* Day 0 – Flight from Sydney to Tokyo
* Flight leaves Sydney at 10pm and is estimated to arrive at 6am in Tokyo
* Will be dropping off bags at hotel in asakusa then exploring the area and do some trips into
* Ueno and Akihabara before check in (staying at Hotel Tavinos in Asakusa
* Check in relax and recoup then go to Shinjuku/Shibuya for dinner/drink
* Day 1 – Tokyo
* Will be dropping off bags at hotel in asakusa then exploring the area and do some trips into Ueno and Akihabara before check in
* Check in relax and recoup then go to Shinjuku/Shibuya for dinner/drinks
* Might also go to Shinjuku earlier to go to Shinjuku Gyoen National Park again
* Day 2 – Tokyo
* Explore Ikebukuro in the morning
* Move down into Shibuya/Harajuku
* Head out to Shimokitzawa for lunch/shopping
* Nothing planned for the afternoon
* Day 3 – Tokyo
* Day trip to Kamakura/Enoshima island
* planning on walking around and taking in the sites nothing firm
* Day 4 – Tokyo
* I want to go to one of the Disney parks. I’ve never been to a Disney park before so should i go to DisneyLand or DisneySea?
* I’ve heard great things about both but especially sea, so that’s where I’m leaning
* Day 5 – Tokyo
* Planning on doing Studio Ghibli so fingers crossed i can get the tickets
* Would definitely hit Nakano Broadway at some point either before or after
* I also think i’ll explore Kichijoji
* Head to Shinjuku for the afternoon and for dinner
* Omoide Yokocho/Golden Gai\]
* Day 6 – Tokyo – Takayama
* Leave early morning to head to Takayama and drop off luggage (only doing carry on/small-medium suit case)
* Explore Takayama
* Hida beef, sake tasting
* Sanmachi Suji
* Takayama Showa-kan Retro Museum
* Onsen
* Day 7 – Takayama to Kyoto
* Leave Takayama either around 9 or lunch time to arrive in Kyoto
* As I’m not sure what time i’ll arrive i haven’t really planned much for this day
* But i’m staying near Kyoto Station so I will likely just explore around there or rent a bike from my hotel for the afternoon
* Day 8 – Kyoto
* Planning on exploring Arashiyama
* In my first trip i only really did the Bamboo grove and have regretted it since. So i really wanna take my time and just get lost
* Depending on how much time is left I plan on going to Ryoan-ji
* Day 9 – Kyoto
* This day is just a free day to do what i feel like, an off day so to speak
* Day 10 – Day trip to Hiroshima
* Take the early morning train to Hiroshima
* Explore the peace memorial museum
* Atomic Dome
* Miyajima
* Okinomiyaki
* Day 11 – Day trip to Himeji/Kobe?
* This day i plan on doing the morning in Himeji to see the castle
* Then make my way to Kobe? I’m not sure on this one, I might just do the afternoon in Osaka as i only made it there for one day in my first trip and have so much i want to do
* Day 12 – Osaka
* Osaka Aquarium
* Shinsaibashi
* Umeda Sky Buidling
* Namba Yasaka Shrine
* Dotonbori
* Teamlab
* Osaka castle?
* Ramen Museum
* Day 13 Kyoto – Tokyo
* Planning on heading back to Tokyo late in the afternoon (staying near Tokyo Station)
* Want to spend a good part of the day either making sure to hit the places i forgot to, or even do a day trip to Nara or Uji
* Have dinner around Tokyo Station
* Day 14 – Tokyo
* Today would more then likely be the day i got to Nikko for half the day
* Outside of that, i would be doing any shopping i want to in Shibuya/Shinjuku
* Day 15 – Tokyo
* Teamlab Borderless is the interest of this day
* Tokyo imperial palace and gardens
* Ginza
* Day 16 – Tokyo
* Not too sure what to fill this day with, i think I might take a day trip to do Fuji-Q
* Day 17 – Tokyo to Sydney
* Flight is at 9 am so much to do today.
I’m thinking of getting the 14 day JR pass, even though the price has doubled almost – i calculated my trip with the places I’m 100% set on going and it’s sitting somewhere at 83k yen so just about the cost. Plus i think i could just be a good convenience factor to get it since it’s so close anyways.
My budget for the trip as well if you guys were wanting to know is about 3k AUD not including flights (got these for free with points). Accomadation is estimated to be about 1k AUD, i could’ve done it a whole lot cheaper if i opted for hostels, but think i’d prefer to have my own space entirely so i can justify spending that bit extra
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5 comments
Most of your days are over crowded. For instance on day 12 the aquarium alone needs half a day as it’s huge and really great. That also looks like too many day trips.
I’d suggest moving your accommodation in Tokyo to Shinjuku or similar seeing as that’s the side of the city you’ll spend most of your time. This will save you a lot of time in commuting from Asakusa
Takayama is a very good choice; along with Nara, it was the highlight of our trip to Japan. In Takayama, book a room at the traditional ryokan Iroriyado Hidaya (a little pricey but so! worth it) and definitely take a day trip to Shirakawa-go. We also took a trip from Nara to Wazuka to D:matcha and spent half a day learning how green tea is made. That really was a dream. In my opinion, you can actually leave Kobe out of the equation, it’s not a must-see. You can also try Kobe beef in Osaka. I would also plan fewer days in Tokyo and leave a bit more time for the other stops, which are already very tightly scheduled.
For Takayama, make sure to go to Takayama Jinya if you like Japanese history. My husband wasn’t expecting much but it ended up being one of his favs of our trip so far (currently on week 2 of 3). I second doing a trip to Shirakawa-go.
I’d also personally add more days to Kyoto. We did 5 and it still didn’t feel like enough. I could easily do another 3-4 there (but I love temples and Japanese history and Japanese art, both painting and performing lol)
Day 11 seems way too busy. Can’t you stay in Hiroshima or Miyajima for a night instead of doing a day trip from Kyoto?
I’m pretty sure Nikko will be a whole day trip.
Instead of taking a day trip to Hiroshima, spend the night and visit Himeji on the way back. You will waste much less time on the train that way and will have more time to actually see things.
It may be cheaper to buy the JR West Kansai Hiroshima pass and buy the rest of the tickets individually. That way you can take the Nozomi to Hiroshima. This will be especially useful if you do do it as a day trip since they are faster and you can take an earlier train in the morning and a later one at night than if you have to take the Hikari or Sakura trains covered by the JR pass