*Thank you so much if you read this or give any suggestions.*
Recently decided to do a trip to Japan this Christmas and New Year. I’ve been to Japan few times but first time doing it solo and and that too during the christmas time. I’m looking for feedback for thr below Itinerary. Is it doable or too ambitious. Should I remove anything from it or add anything. Also had few questions:
* Will the public transport run as usual during New Years and Christmas?
* Is it possible to do Ine from Kyoto as a day trip?
* Can I reach Lake Kawaguchiko from Nagano on 29th Dec?
* If yes, what should I do there? Most probably I will have late afternoon and next day to explore. Will leave for Tokyo next day at 4pm.
* Most of my days are loosly planned and okay to change plans if you guys have recommendations
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**21st December – Kyoto**
Reach Osaka Airport
• Take Train to JR Haruka – Kansai Airport to Kyoto
STAY: Carta Hotel Kyoto Gion
• Store Luggage
• Get Lunch
Afternoon ( will only be able to do 1-2 of these)
• Ginka-kuji
• Honen-in Temple
• Nanzen-ji Temple
• Okazaki-Jinja Shrine
• Chion-in Temple
Evening
• Gion and Yasaka Shrine
• Dinner
**22nd December
– Kyoto**
Morning
• Otagi
• Arashiyama
Afternoon ( ( will only be able to do 1-2 of these)
• Kinkaku-ji
• Heian Shrine
• Ginka-kuji
• Honen-in Temple
• Nanzen-ji Temple
• Okazaki-Jinja Shrine
• Chion-in Temple
Evening
• Kiyomizu-dera
• Pagoda
**23rd December
– Ine** (is one day trip possible from Kyoto?)
**24th December – Kyoto or Nara**
( Not planned)
**25th December
Kanazawa**
Train – JR Thunderbird (Direct Train to Kanazawa) – 2hr 30mins
Hotel – Kanazawa Tokyu Hotel
Afternoon
• Kanzawa Castle Ruins
• Higashi Chaya District
**26th December
Kanazawa/Takayama**
Morning
• Kenrokuen
Kanazawa to Takayama
Hotel – Takayama Quan Hotel
Evening
• Old Town
**27th December
Shirakawa-go.**
Early morning Bus
**28th December
Takayama**
Morning
• Morning Markets
• Takayama Jinya
Afternoon
• Hida Folk Village
**29th December
– Nagano**
Early Morning bus/train to Nagano
Takayama – Inotani – Toyama – Nagano (3.75hrs)
Hotel – Hotel Jal City Nagano
Afternoon/Evening
• Togakushi-Jinja
• Zenko-ji temple
**30th December
– Mt. Fuji**
4hrs ?– Nagano to Fujikawakujiko
Hotel – Togawaso
I will have the evening and next day. What can I do here?
**31st December – Tokyo**
Hotel – remm Hibiya
Evening
• New Years at Tokyo Tower
**01st January – Tokyo**
Go Back to Hotel and rest for few hours.
Reach Meji Jingu b/w 7-9am (Really interested in doing Hatsumode at Meji Jingu so keeping the whole day schedule empty.)
**02nd January – Tokyo**
Ginza? or anything else
10pm – Flight back to Sydney
1 comment
Meiji Jingu is a zoo on 1 January. Make sure you’re in a thick coat, wearing a mask and wearing a thick wollen hat, because you won’t be moving much and will be unable to move from sick people. If you go from the Omote Sando side/Harajuku entrance, expect to stand in the shoulder-to-shoulder line for 3-5 hours.
If you go from the northwest entrance (from the Odakyu Line’s Sangubashi Station), you can get in an take a look from an angle oblique to the main crowd and enter and leave in about 30 minutes.
The wollen hat is to protect your head from thrown coins. The shrine is so crowded that most people have no hope of dropping offerings into the boxes, so they just throw their coins. (You’ll see a line of police officers holding up scarred riot shields to protect themselves from the coins.) Some people have poor aim, so you may be hit by coins. If your back is to the crowds and you have a coat with a hood worn down, you may end up with a few hundred yen in your hood.
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Christmas is not a holiday, and transport will be as usual for a Monday. Train companies used to run trains throughout the night on 31 December in Tokyo, but that practice stopped during the first COVID-19 closure wave, and I don’t know if it’s started again.