Hi, I’m currently planning a solo trip of 35 days to Japan next March/April. I’m into (retro) games, anime and electronics so that will be part of the focus of the journey. But I’m also very interested in the beautiful nature, scenery and historic locations the country has to offer. I would like to enjoy the nightlife and see if I can meet some interesting and fun people. Being able to enjoy some live music would also add to the experience.
I have decided to split my days into 4 long stays (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo again) and 4 shorter stays in the smaller cities in between, including Hiroshima. I ended up with most of my days in Tokyo because I feel it would be a nice way to adjust to Japan when arriving and also would be a nice end of the trip with some shopping before I leave back home. Also with the size of the city and my interests I feel I would find more than enough to do in those days.
I’m mostly wondering if the shorter stays I have planned make sense. I tried to estimate how long I would need in each city and also took into consideration the travel times between cities. I feel I ended up with quite a logical and balanced itinerary but I might be missing something that someone with more experience might notice. With that in mind I would appreciate any advice you could give.
Below I have my current itinerary and what I would like to do/visit in each city. I may not be able to do everything I listed and I may have to adjust it a bit but it at least gives an idea of what I’m planning/would like to do.
I don’t have a set plan for each day and I will probably mostly keep it that way to give me some freedom in how I enjoy my trip. I wouldn’t like to stress myself out with planning 35 days beforehand and then also having to follow it to a tee. But after I book my accommodations I will probably try to dive a bit deeper and group some activities to give me an idea how I can spend my days in each city.
I hope this is enough information to give you an idea of my plans. Please tell me if you see any flaws in my itinerary or if you have any suggestions/improvements. I would appreciate any feedback you could give!
**Tokyo (Sunday 24 March – Sunday 31 March) – 7 Days**
**Activities**
Exploring City (Akihabara, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Asakusa, etc.)
Nakano Broadway
Ghibli Museum
Ueno Park
Tokyo Disneyland
DisneySea
TeamLabs
Metropolitan Government Observation Deck
Tokyo Skytree
**Daytrips**
Yokohama
Kamakura
Nikko/Nikko Edomura
Kawaguchiko/Fuji-Q Highland
**Hakone (Sunday 31 March – Tuesday 2 April) – 2 Days**
**Activities**
Onsen/Ryokan
Owakudani
Lake Ashinoko
Hakone Shrine
**Nagoya (Tuesday 2 April – Thursday 4 April) – 2 Days**
**Activities**
Meiji Mura
Ghibli Park
**Osaka (Thursday 4 April – Wednesday 10 April) – 6 Days**
**Activities**
Dotonbori
Shinsekai
Den Den Town
Shitennoji Temple
Osaka Castle
Minoo Park
Abeno Harukas
Universal Studios
**Day Trips**
Himeji Castle
Koyasan
Kobe
Suzuka Circuit (Japan GP 6/7 April)
**Hiroshima (Wednesday 10 April – Saturday 13 April) – 3 Days**
**Activities**
Peace Park
Shukkeien Garden
Hiroshima Castle
Fushimi Inari Shrine
**Day Trips**
Miyajima
Okunoshima
**Kyoto (Saturday 13 April – Friday 19 April) – 6 Days**
**Activities**
Nijo Castle
Toji Temple
Imperial Palace
Gion
Toei Uzumasa Eigamura
Nintendo Museum
Bamboo Grove
Monkey Park
Philosophers Path
Suntory Yamazaki Distillery
**Day Trips**
Nara
Amanohashidate
**Kanazawa (Friday 19 April – Sunday 21 April) – 2 Days**
**Activities**
Kenrokuen Garden
Nagamachi Samurai District
Higashi Chaya District
Kanazawa Castle
**Tokyo (Sunday 21 Sunday – Sunday 28 April) – 7 Days**
See the earlier Tokyo section.