We are a group of male 23 year olds arriving at Japan for the first time in our lives. We intend to keep the budgets reasonable where we budget where possible, but don’t hold back on which cities we want to visit in this trip. Would really appreciate our rough itinerary travel plan as below! As we have many backtracking which might not be ideal and we are not sure if our main activities for each city has been identified correctly! Our main goals are of course, food, fun activities and unique experience & less of the historical shrines/temple etc side
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**20 Dec**
Arrive by Narita
Explore surrounding hostel area like conveniene stores etc.
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**21 Dec**
Yakatabune Cruises
Food/Sushi Class –
[https://arigatojapan.co.jp/packages/shinsekai-street-food-tour?rfsn=3321597.f5f3f5](https://arigatojapan.co.jp/packages/shinsekai-street-food-tour?rfsn=3321597.f5f3f5)
[https://arigatojapan.co.jp/packages/harajuku-kawaii-tour?rfsn=3321597.f5f3f5](https://arigatojapan.co.jp/packages/harajuku-kawaii-tour?rfsn=3321597.f5f3f5)
[https://arigatojapan.co.jp/packages/old-town-tokyo-food-tour?rfsn=3321597.f5f3f5](https://arigatojapan.co.jp/packages/old-town-tokyo-food-tour?rfsn=3321597.f5f3f5)
Go-Kart Tour
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**22 Dec**
Explore Shibuya, Akihabara
Tokyo Government Tower for views
Hit arcades, bars
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**23 Dec**
Fuji-Q Highland
Hit Golden Gai for drinks at night
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**24 Dec**
Mount Fuji 0.5 day hike from midway point
Explore other relevant towns in Tokyo
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**25 Dec**
Christmas, TBC filled for activities
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**26 Dec (Activate 14 Day JR Pass)**
Day Trip to Kamakura
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**27-29 Dec (To Kanazawa)**
Shirakawa-Go
Kenrokuen Garden
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**30-31 Dec (Back to Tokyo)**
*We are doing this to celebrate the countdown in Tokyo like:*
YOU MAKE SHIBUYA COUNTDOWN (Shibuya)
AQUA PARK 2023 Countdown
Kasai Seaside Park (Edogawa)
Park Hyatt (Shinjuku)
(revisit liked places)
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**1 Jan-2 Jan (To Hakone)**
*We chose this time for hakone due to the Japan New Years Holiday period where most shops are said to be closed in cities – using this time to relax in ryokan and onsens with kaiseki dinner etc.*
RYOKAN + ONSEN STAY
Hakone circuit: –
[https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html)
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**3-5 Jan: Kyoto**
Hit temples & shrines tbc closer to the date
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**6-7 Jan: Hiroshima**
Miyajima Island
Explore memorials/food
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**8 Jan: (To Osaka, Last Day of 14 Day JR)**
Afternoon take shinkansen to tokyo to catch a concert of a band we are huge fans of and cannot miss
return to osaka by night
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**9 Jan**
USJ
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**10 Jan**
Day Trip to Nara
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**11 Jan**
Dotonbori Day – Shopping (souvenirs etc.)
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**12 Jan**
Return flight
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Is our itinerary too unrealistic/waste of time & money? Are we hitting the correct cities for our first trip in Japan? Are we missing out on some good sights/experiences that yall have any suggestions on? Right now, we are very unsure if our itinerary is way too hectic and would appreciate feedback! Thank you!
3 comments
Are you planning to do a day trip to Mt Fuji on 12/24?
I doubt you will be able to go to Mt Fuji and explore Tokyo on the same day.
since I haven’t been to Japan yet I can’t comment on your itinerary, but that shinsekai food tour is in Osaka and the other two seem to overlap, so i don’t think it will be possible to do them both on your first day in Tokyo.
The plan is quite raw.
First, it is little bit unclear, where are going to stay for some trips:
Do you plan to stay in Tokyo and have a day trips to Hakone or Fuji-Q?
Keep in mind, that transport will consume significant amount of time and money.
You need to plan your stays in hotels (nearby transport hubs stations) properly. Check all you transport on Google maps as it shows how to get, how much time and money you will need.
Also, if you plan to book hotels in Hakone or Mt. Fuji for this New year, I doubt that it is possible: they are usually booked at least half of year before, otherwise hotels there are fully booked or price os insane.