Itinerary Check – 17 days in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka (Late February-Early March)

8 comments

1. Keep an eye out for the Cherry blossom 🌸 you may be able to catch a park with blooms. the blooming window varies and is often very tight. Most news channels have an online “tracking map” for when the blooms are expected; usually earlier in the south.

2. If you go to Fuji-Q, you’ll see Mt Fuji (weather permitting), rendering day 5 kinda useless. If you still want to do Hakone or Kawaguchiko, perhaps put those days together to save on backtracking.

3. Day 3, why go to Asakusa for the cruise just to return to Asakusa a few days later ?

   My favorite observation deck in Tokyo was Roppongi Hills Mori Tower and I am looking forward Shibuya Sky. So as you already have Gov. building, Sky tree, Shibuya Sky and Yokohama Landmark Tower… and the one in Osaka. That is a lot. I do not think you need to add Tokyo Tower… or if you are into observation deck, start doing the [All Japan Tower Association Stamp Rally](https://www.japantowers.jp/en/stamprally/).

   Day 4, not sure why evening in Roppongi, yes there is some nightlife around there, but that would also be true of Shibuya.

   Personally, I do not see a reason to go to Yoyogi park in February-March. You want to go there for cherry blossom or for people watching when it is warm, so you are not really in season for either. Otherwise, it’s just a park, not a garden. I would rather go to Koishikawa Korakuen garden (next to Tokyo dome City) if you want to add a garden and maybe check for a place to see plum blossom as you could be in time for it.

   Day 5 : You are going to Kawaguchiko on day 9… so go to Hakone? Or do it as an overnight trip, stay at a ryokan and try a onsen. One day for Fuji Q and one day to relax around Kawaguchiko.

   Day 6 : I hope you did not put this in order, as Senso-ji and Sky Tree are next to each other.

   Kyoto, I would still try to get an idea of what you want to do. Can easily do a day for Arashiyama, one for Higashiyama and the other for whatever interest you. I would suggest to have a plan and idea of things to do, even if you end up not following the plan at all (actually, this is true for each day if you ask me). Just read a bit about Kyoto and you should find dozen and dozen of things to do there.

4. Definitely visit Kyoto’s Nishiki market and Arashiyama.

   I’ll also suggest getting a night at Arima-Onsen, beautiful ryokans, especially good if you get a traditional multi-course dinner. I personally will take a ryokan day over Disney or Universal any day. It’s close to Osaka and is a great experience.

5. Second a vote for Hakone on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto. We stayed two nights, the first day was transit from Tokyo to Hakone, the Hakone Open Air Museum, then exploring our ryokan. The full day was the Hakone Free Pass loop. The next morning we left for Kyoto. The ryokan was our splurge and it was perfect.

6. D3: Odaiba/Tokyo Tower

   -TeamLab Planets – It was only supposed to be a temporary exhibit, and it is supposed to close at the end of 2022.

   D5:

   Day trip – this one is tricky, we wanna see Mount Fuji but we still don’t know where to go… Kawaguchiko? Hakone?

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   Kawaguchiko you’re going to have a closer view, and more guarantee of a view. Hakone is closer to Tokyo and a more interesting place, but sometimes you’ll have no view of Fuji.

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   D10-D11-D12: Kyoto (we have almost no idea what to do, we don’t want to stop-and-go and running around for three days, even if it means seeing less things)

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   Must-sees in Kyoto: Kiyomizudera, Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, Fushimi Inari Jingu. Philosophers’ Path is also nice. You can walk it from Ginkakuji southward and stop at various temples and shrines along the way. There are tons of great places in Kyoto.

7. One thing to consider: not vising Tokyo around Tokyo Marathon weekend (usually last Sunday in February) as prices skyrocket and hotel availability might be sparse.

   > Also, we don’t wanna walk like 25 kilometers/15 miles a day

   Hate to break it to you: you should expect to walk 15-25 km/day on an average in Japan – there is really no way around.

8. I took a hard left into XANA metaverse.