Trip Report — 10 days in Kyoto, Hakone, and Tokyo, with some Osaka and Nara.

I found other trip reports ([like this excellent one](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/17saa8r/trip_report_15_day_honeymoon_in_tokyo_hakone/)) to be helpful for planning because it gave a more realistic picture of what is achievable vs. the idealistic itinerary checks. Sharing ours here for others, will try to answer any questions.

**About us:** couple in early 30s from the US, some travel in Asia but first time to Japan

**Trip objective:** spend time together and do a sampling of Japan, including cultural sightseeing, some outdoors, and enjoy the food

**Trip strategy:** we broke our 10 day trip into 3.5 segments — Osaka/Nara are 1/2, then Kyoto, Hakone, and ending in Tokyo. Our strategy was to have an outdoor-focused segment as a reset between cities. (thanks to those that helped us land on Hakone in my [planning post](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/16xjyon/where_would_you_go_for_a_23_day_nature_stop_in/))

**Itinerary**: We did some research on each place and had a skeleton before we left, but many details were planned on the fly. The trip was in mid-November.

Day 0: Arrival in Osaka via KIX. Our hotel was near Namba station for convenience. Arrived in the evening, walked around Dotonbori, conveyor belt sushi.

Day 1: Nara –> Kyoto. Train to Nara for the day, then on to Kyoto in the evening. Todaiji Temple, Kagusa Taisha, Yoshikien Garden, found a great spot for [tea](https://maps.app.goo.gl/cXminrNFuofjCcuF6), Kofukuji, then Kyoto for dinner.

Day 2: Kyoto (full day 1 of 2). Fushimi Inari (We went early – busy in parts, but not that bad. More people went all the way up than I expected though), Nishiki Market, then did a walk that went through Yasaka Shrine, Gion, and Kiyomizudera (insanely crowded).

Day 3: Kyoto (2 of 2). Walked between Kinkakuji Temple (got there when they opened, busy but not overwhelming crowds like Kiyomizudera), Ryoanji Temple and Ninnaji temple (these two were both very pleasant). Nice [print shop](https://maps.app.goo.gl/VLZcTH9gzsE6HSL9A) on the way. Shopping and dinner near Pontocho St.

Day 4: Kyoto –> Hakone. Walk through Kawai Shrine, Shimogamo Shrine, and Kyoto National Garden before Shinkansen to Hakone. Kijitei Hoeiso is a fantastic ryokan. Loved the rooms, dinners, and outdoor baths.

Day 5: Hakone. Heavy rain in the morning, good day to be at a ryokan! It stopped for the afternoon, so we hiked up the Tokaido trail to the Hakone Shrine and Lake Ashi. Still windy/cloudy, so no Fuji views. Took bus back.

Day 6: Hakone –> Tokyo. We took the Gotemba bus and got off to hike Otome Pass and Mt Ashigara. Mostly clear so great Fuji views except for some light clouds at its top. The views make it a great hike, but seems like this trail can get crowded in warmer weather. Onward to Tokyo, stayed in Ginza.

Day 7: Tokyo (full day 1 of 2). Tokyo National Museum, Kappabashi St, Asakusa, Sensoji (also insanely crowded), shopping and found another great [print shop](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Jfpjg9x3bwUcx1ky6).

Day 8: Tokyo (2 of 2). Shibuya and the crossing, Yoyogi Park, Meiji Shrine, Harajuku (packed), Shinjuku, Tokyo Gov. Building observation deck. Went back to Shinjuku and Kabukicho at night for dinner and for good lights/signs.

Day 9: Departure. Some final shopping and meals before a flight out of NRT.

**Misc notes and thoughts**

* I felt like we spent a good amount of time in each place. With more days I would have spent more time in Osaka, or added another main destination over extending time in the 3 primaries.
* In Kyoto we skipped Arashiyama given the bamboo seems overhyped and would have been unbearably crowded. Was interested in the Philosopher’s Path between Ginkakuji and Nanzenji temples, but figured this could also be a zoo given how the top/premier sites were just so extra crowded. Chose Shimogamo instead and loved how empty it was.
* If Tokyo was our first stop, we would have experienced a lot of the initial Japan novelties there. Because it was our last, I feel like we realized how much more cosmopolitan it is, and it felt like a nicer NYC in a lot of ways. Seems like it would be a great place to live, but I feel like we did the highlights as visitors. It’s massive and there’s a ton more to explore, but will also be pretty easy to tack more on with any future trips given the airports are there.
* By doing Nara –> Kyoto –> Tokyo, we ended up loosely following the chronological history of Japan. We did not plan it this way, but I feel like it made things easier to follow.
* Hakone ended up fitting exactly what we were looking for as our middle stop and our ryokan made it the highlight. It was a lucky pick and we loved it! Ended up being a worthy splurge. Definitely do with half board, and very happy with staying for 2 nights. The buses are a bit infrequent but we were able to make everything work out. Getting in/out to Otome Pass/Ashigara was where we felt it the most.
* We packed relatively light, so it was easy enough to stow luggage at train station lockers in Nara and Hakone Yumoto on days with activities and travel.
* Suica card via Apple Wallet was incredibly easy, don’t even bother with a physical card. You do need MC or Amex because of the Visa issue. Did not do a JR pass because our only major trains were for Shinkansens and NRT express.
* If you take a Shinkansen from a non-major station (e.g. Odawara), you get to watch the Nozomi trains fly through.
* Even with budgeting a lot of time for the train stations, we felt like we often had to rush to get to our train. Especially for Tokyo station, there’s a lot to walking just to get to your platform.
* Used [Airalo](https://ref.airalo.com/aary) for data, we each did a 5gb plan and were fine.
* This trip ended up being quite affordable. 1. Our flights were purchased with miles. 2. Other than our ryokan, the other hotels felt like great 4stars you’d get in the US, and cost less than most US motel nights. I did save a lot by rebooking the same rooms at lower rates as I saw them drop. 3. food and daily spend were lower than I expected. In short, the exchange rate is very favorable to Americans right now.
* Anecdotal, but I found Kyoto to have better stores for buying snacks/treats to bring home.
* Went through a lot of cash, probably was 30-40% of our spend not counting hotels.
* When walking between major sites, I often found it easier to navigate by not looking at the map. The natural street layouts are fairly intuitive and usually designed around them.
* We are not big nightlife people beyond meals, but we would have needed to cut things out if we wanted to prioritize that more. Each day was a lot of walking and we were pretty tired after dinner.
* The goshuin shrine stamps were a fun surprise. Missed a few in Nara because we only discovered it in Kyoto.
* No real language issues. We learned the basic phrases, but I do feel guilty with how reliant we were on needing others to understand some english still.
* It was helpful to plan lunch spots in advance, mostly to have a break planned vs. getting hangry.
* We tried to make sure we tried all the major types of foods at least once. This was easy to do and we stuck with Japanese food for all meals. Most lunches were picked on the fly and dinners usually planned the night-of from Google maps.

**Ending:** Overall a great trip! I might have planned it differently if it was a different time of year, but this was great for the season and there’s not much I would change or do differently.