I have a 14 day itinerary for a Japan – South Korea trip, it’s a basic route that tries to cover all main attractions. I’ve graded the locations with +s, with a + being not a priority and a +++ being top priority. To clear things up, we don’t intend to enter all the palaces or the temples listed here, we have selected a few. For example, in Seoul we’ll only enter Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung. We also hope to catch a sight of the Himeji Castle from our shinkansen from Osaka to Hiroshima, so please inform me in the comments if it’s possible.
We’ll arrive at the Narita Airport on the 5th of July at around 09:30AM, and we’ll fly from Osaka to Seoul at around 09:30AM as well. We’ll fly back home from Incheon at around 11:30PM on the 18th of July. We have several summer trip experiences to Europe so we’re prepared to cover great distances in a day by walking, we’re used to the heat and we will take the necessary precautions as well, and we’ll also book tickets in advance for places like Tokyo Skytree, Shibuya Sky, N Seoul Tower, and Seoul Sky to save time. We are also considering buying the JR Pass for 7 days as it also covers the much needed JR Yamanote Line and we intend to start using it the day we go to Nikko.
The itinerary is constructed with the rail lines and walking distances and directions in mind. We’ll stay in central Akihabara in Tokyo and central Myeongdong in Seoul. We intend to stay close to the main station in Kyoto and around Dōtonbori in Osaka.
Tokyo 05.07.2024
Pokémon Center Tokyo DX ++
Tokyo Imperial Palace +++
Imperial Palace East Gardens +++
Ginza Sony Park +
Kabuki-za Theatre +++
Ginza Wako +
Bar Lupin +++
Tsukiji Outer Market ++
Hama-rikyu Gardens +++
Kyu-Shiba-rikyu Gardens +++
Rainbow Bridge ++
Shiba Daijingū Shrine +
Zōjō-ji Temple ++
Tokyo Tower +++
2 + 4 ++ 7 +++
Tokyo 06.07.2024
Ueno Park +++
Ueno Tōshō-gū Shrine +++
Yushima Tenman-gū Shrine +++
Ameyoko Shopping Street ++
Tokyo Skytree +++
Ushijima Shrine +
Sumida Park +++
Sensō-ji Temple +++
Nakamise-dori Street ++
Asakusa Mameshiba Cafe +++
Animate Ikebukuro +++
Sunshine City ++
Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo ++
Otome Road +++
2 + 4 ++ 12 +++
Nikko – Tokyo 07.07.2024
Shinkyo Bridge ++
Rinnō-ji +++
Nikkō Tōshō-gū +++
Futarasan Shrine +++
Taiyū-in Mausoleum ++
teamLab Borderless +++
Roppongi Hills +++
Tokyo Midtown +
Keyakizaka-dori Street +++
1 + 1 ++ 6 +++
Tokyo 08.07.2024
Suga Shrine +++
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden +++
Cross Shinjuku Vision +++
Kabukichō +++
Tokyu Kabukicho Tower ++
Shinjuku Toho Building ++
Shinjuku Golden Gai +
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building +
Meiji Shrine +++
Jingūbashi +++
Yoyogi Park +++
Takeshita-dori Street ++
Omotesandō ++
Shibuya Scramble Crossing +++
Hachikō Memorial Statue +
Shibuya Sky +++
3 + 4 ++ 9 +++
Tokyo – Yokohama 09.07.2024
Yodobashi Akiba +
Namco Akihabara +++
Akihabara Radio Kaikan +++
Animate Akihabara +
Mandarake Complex +++
Akihabara Gachapon Kaikan ++
Kanda Myojin Shrine +++
Yushima Seidō ++
Gotokuji Temple ++
Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse +++
Gundam Factory Yokohama ++
Yokohama Chinatown +++
2 + 4 ++ 6 +++
Kyoto 10.07.2024
Kinkaku-ji +++
Ryōan-ji ++
Ninna-ji +
Tenryū-ji +++
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove +++
Kimono Forest ++
Kiyomizu-dera +++
Pontocho +++
Hanamikoji Street +++
1 + 2 ++ 6 +++
Kyoto 11.07.2024
Fushimi Inari Taisha +++
Hōkō-ji Temple ++
Hōkan-ji Temple +++
Yasaka Shrine +++
Nanzen-ji Temple +
Okazaki Shrine +++
Konkai Kōmyō-ji Temple +
Heian Shrine +
Kyoto Gyoen National Garden +
Kyoto Imperial Palace ++
Nijō Castle +
Tō-ji Temple +++
4 + 2 ++ 5 +++
Osaka – Nara 12.07.2024
Kōfuku-ji ++
Nara Park +++
Tōdai-ji +++
Kasuga-taisha Shrine +++
Mt. Kasuga Primeval Forest ++
Namba Yasaka Shrine ++
Namba Parks +
Dōtonbori +++
1 + 3 ++ 4 +++
Hiroshima – Itsukushima – Osaka 13.07.2024
Hiroshima Castle +
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park +++
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum ++
Miyajima Omotesandō Shopping Street ++
Itsukushima Shrine +++
Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel +++
Osaka Aquarium KAIYUKAN +++
Osaka Castle ++
1 + 3 ++ 4 +++
Osaka – Seoul 14.07.2024
Myeongdong Underground Shopping Centre ++
Music Korea ++
Namdaemun Market +
Sungnyemun Gate ++
Myeongdong Cathedral +++
Myeongdong Walking Street +++
Cheonggyecheon +++
Myeongdong Night Market +++
N Seoul Tower +++
Seoul City Wall +++
1 + 3 ++ 6 +++
Seoul 15.07.2024
Deoksugung Palace +
Gwanghwamun Square +++
Tosokchon Samgyetang +++
Gyeongbokgung Palace +++
The National Folk Museum of Korea ++
Cheong Wa Dae Official Residence +
Samcheong-dong Street ++
Bukchon Hanok Village +++
Jogyesa Temple +++
Insadong Street +++
Bosingak Belfry +++
Ikseondong Hanok Village ++
Unhyeongung +
3 + 3 ++ 7 +++
Seoul 16.07.2024
Olympic Park ++
LOTTE Duty Free Main Store +++
SEOUL SKY +++
Starfield COEX Mall +++
Bongeunsa Temple +++
K-Star Road +++
Dosan Park +
Garosu-gil Road +++
Banpo Hangang Park ++
Banpo Bridge +++
1 + 2 ++ 7 +++
Seoul 17.07.2024
Jongmyo Shrine +++
Changdeokgung +++
Huwon Secret Garden ++
Changgyeonggung +
Yonsei University +++
Itaewon-dong +++
Gyeongnidan-gil ++
1 + 2 ++ 4 +++
Seoul – Incheon 18.07.2024
War Memorial of Korea ++
National Museum of Korea +++
Ichon Hangang Riverside Park +++
Hangang Bridge +
1 + 1 ++ 2 +++
3 comments
I find it hard to comment on your itinerary if you don’t actually make one. Do you want us to pick and choose from all the activities you’ve written down here? What is the goal of posting this itinerary? Maybe we can help better if you specify it.
For example, day 1 looks pretty packed even if you only do half of the things written down here. While they are geographically nearby, a place like Hama-Rikyu will take at least an hour to visit. The imperial palace east gardens will more likely take 2 hours. Same goes for Tokyo Tower. What about Kabuki-za? Do you just want to see the building or visit a theatre show? And Tsukiji? Just wander around or do you want to visit a sushi place.
Give us more info and we can give you better feedback.
This sounds so exhausting.
I’ve been living in Seoul for the past 4 months so maybe I can give my two cents.
July in Seoul is oppressively hot. So please try and bake in some downtime to enjoy the sights and get lost in some of the markets.
On the 15th, please consider going to the Museum of Modern history right outside of Gyeongbokgung Palace. It’s free with cool exhibits but why it’s special ison the 8th floor there is a rooftop with an incredible view of the entire palace, blue house and then Mt Inwangsan in the background. The palace itself is nice but it is going to be hot and crowded so this will
Be a nice relaxing way to soak it in from a new perspective.
This makes no sense at all. Your days are hopelessly overloaded. You also appear to be planning on visiting various nighttime places during the day.