Mid May month-long itinerary check? Honshu Loop w/ Shikoku

Hey all, looking into my third trip to Japan this spring/summer and I’m psyched, but it’s been hard narrowing down things to see, so I arrived at the idea of doing a loop around Honshu, skipping places I’ve already traveled, with Shikoku. Some things that might be helpful to know:

\- Age 22, traveling solo, pretty fit (I’m a runner), conversational knowledge of Japanese

\- On my last (two-week) trip to Japan, I walked 10-12 miles a day, and while I came home with my feet covered in new callouses, I don’t regret the pace of my trip at all. I don’t think it would’ve been sustainable over a month, though, so I am trying to work rest days into my schedule this time.

\- I’m a very early riser, so when I’m moving between locations, I like to get out on the earliest train. This is not a challenge or unpleasant; I genuinely hate sleeping in!

\- I love biking, so whenever possible, I like to rent bikes to get around. Within single cities, I’ve found that it lets me get a lot more into a single day than relying on buses or local transit would.

\- Some of my interests are trains, gardens, anime, animals, history/culture, stamp rallies, castles, and desserts. Yes – specifically desserts :p. Love me a fruit parlor.

\-I love collecting stamps for the Nihon Hyaku Meijo stamp rally, so in addition to seeing the 12 original castles (I have four left), I want to go to as many as are reasonable. One question I have: anyone know of any other cool stamp rallies (besides the towers one, which would be pretty hard for me to do)? I love feeling like I have a task to complete, so they’re a favorite activity of mine.

\- I’m still young enough that renting a car overseas would give my parents a heart attack, so I’m not doing that, as convenient as it would be.

**Note:** I am very aware of the rigor of this itinerary, and am confident I can handle it if I give myself a lot of grace when I’m not able to complete everything I have planned. That said, if there are any ways I can make it easier on myself, or things you think I ought to cut, please advise.

**Tentative Itinerary**
**Day 1: arrive (5am)**
Leave things at Haneda Airport Hotel (don’t wanna lug my stuff all the way into the city if I’m leaving the next day)
Omiya: Bonsai Museum and Railway museum

OR
Kawagoe: Castle, wander around, Tsubakiya Foot Spa Tearoom

Back to Tokyo:
Art Aquarium Tokyo (Ginza)

Hang out in Ginza until dinnertime
Back to Haneda for the night

**Day 2: South Tohoku Castles**
Leave things at hotel near Shin-Shirakawa Station
Komine Castle
Possibly: Nihommatsu Castle otw?
To Aizuwakamatsu:
Castle
Sazaedo

**Day 3: Morioka**
Rest day – the only things I know I’d want to do are get the castle stamp and eat Wako soba. Any chill suggestions that can be done via public transit?

**Day 4: Akita**
Kubota Castle
Akita Museum of Art
Maybe Kakunodate? (I’ve been elsewhere in Akita before and scheduling myself around the infrequent trains gave me a headache, so I’m going to assume that might be a reach)
**Day 5: Tsuruoka**
Kamo Aquarium
Afternoon: Hagurosan pagoda (45min/way by bus)

\-> Re: aquarium: I LOVE aquariums, but it’s pretty tricky to find ethical animal experiences in Japan – anyone been to this one? I’ve heard it’s big on jellyfish, which is super cool.

\->Is it realistic to do both in one day if I get a super early start and schedule myself around the trains/buses?
**Day 6: en route to Niigata**
Shibata Castle as a substantial stop on the way from Akita to Niigata
Sleep Niigata, see if there’s a live music venue, concert, performance, etc that you can go to
**Day 7: koi wo suru (aka Ojiya koi attractions)**
Apologies for the horrible pun :p

Koi farm tour from Echigo-Taikya Station – 11am or 12pm
Ojiya Nishikigoi Village
Evening: go to a movie, watch fun Japanese game shows in the hotel room, solo karaoke, etc – something low-key, more experiential? (I don’t drink and find clubs slightly overstimulating but I would like to do something cool at night)
**Day 8: Kanazawa**
Explore Kanazawa on bike:
Castle
Kenrokuen
Higashi Chaya
Nagamachi
Ninjadera?
**Day 9: Fukui**
Drop things at hotel in Fukui

Maruoka Castle
Maruoka Castle to Dinosaur Museum -> taxi partway (splurge) to save time b/c so much transit
Sleep Fukui
**Day 11: Tottori**
Long train ride, I know – everything along the Sea of Japan coast save the part that’s covered by the Hokuriku Shinkansen is going to be long, so it is what it is! I’m very committed to this loop idea haha
Sand Museum
Camel ride
Castle stamp
**Day 11: Kaike Onsen**
Morning: run on the beach! (One of my favorite outdoor activities)
Relax in the onsens and rest my feet
**Day 12: Matsue**

Visit friends in Matsue

See Matsue Castle

Explore, probably with said friends?
**Day 14: Izumo**
Izumo Taisha
Iwami Ginzan
Sleep Matsue
**Day 15: Hagi**
Long train ride to start the morning…again
Hagi Castle Town

Explore and whatnot
**Day 16: Iwakuni to Hiroshima**
Morning: Iwakuni to see bridge and castle
Afternoon: Castle

Evening: Peace Park

**Day 17: Miyajima**
Explore the island
Sleep Hiroshima
**Day 18: Matsuyama**
Zoomy ferry to Matsuyama – $37, hour-ish, arrive 8:30
Walk for leg stretching and to get Yuzuki Castle stamp
Ozu Castle
Ride back to Matsuyama on the Aiaru Iyo Nada Line so I can stop at Shimonada Station

\-> I’ve been to Matsuyama before and I loved it, so I wanted to revisit! Plus the ferry makes it pretty convenient.
**Day 19: Takamatsu**
Ritsurin Garden
Takamatsu Castle
Shikoku Mura
**Day 20: Kochi**
Castle
Botanical Garden
**Day 21: Oboke**
To hotel in Oboke
Iya Valley guided tour (no way to see it otherwise)

**Day 22: Tokushima**
Tokushima Castle

Anything else in Tokushima to see…?
**Day 23: Osaka**
Bus from Tokushima to Akashi
Train from Akashi to Osaka
Osaka Castle
Night: Sekai no Owari concert!!!!! (Unless I change the dates haha)

**Day 24: Kii Peninsula loop I**
Wakayama Castle
Sleep Shirahama
**Day 25: Kii Peninsula loop finish**
Natchi Taisha
Shingu – Hayatama
Sleep Ise
**Day 26: Ise Shima**
Toba Aquarium
Míkimoto Pearl Island
Ise Grand Shrine
Sleep Ise

\-> Has anyone been to Toba Aquarium? I’d love to see their dugong, but as with the Kamo Aquarium, I’m not sure how good the conditions are?
**Day 27: Nagoya**
Railway Park
Toyota Museum
Inuyama Castle
Sleep Nagoya
**Day 28: Kiso Valley day trip**
Train to Nagiso Station (1h), leave at 6 if possible
Walk from Tsumago to Magome (I would honestly run this if I could haha, I love running in scenic places and it’s only about four miles? How bad of an idea is that?)
Eat lunch
Return to Nagoya
**Day 30: Numazu**

Deep Sea Museum

Numazu Imperial Villa

\-> this is mostly meant as an intermediate stop so I don’t spend four hours on the train

**Day 31: Kawazu**
Kawazu Nanadaru waterfalls hike
And the spiral bridge…thing whose name I can’t remember at the moment. Looks awesome. Would legitimately take a taxi just to drive on it for the novelty.
Sleep at a ryokan
**Day 32: Yokohama**
Cup Noodles Museum
Red Brick Warehouse
Zoorasia
Sleep Yokohama
**Day 33: Kamakura Day Trip**
Sleep Yokohama
Roughly follow this itinerary: https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-kanagawa/in-kamakura/article-a0003564/
Hokokuji
Have tea there
Tsuruguoka Hachimangu
Return bike to station
Hasedera via Enoden
Itsuki Garden Cafe and then Daibutsu
Walk back to the station along the beach (or bike?)

**Day 34: Depart**