Konnichiwa! We are an early 30s couple on our honeymoon from the US, first time to Japan for both of us, and first international travel for one of us. Top priorities are otaku stuff, nature and history! We will be fine cutting out anything if we end up being too beat (other than the ticketed activities). We are a vegan and a vegetarian as well as heavily tattooed, so I have a separate list for food recommendations (always happy for more) and would be especially happy for tattoo-friendly onsen and/or ryokan onsen recommendations when the location makes sense for it (otherwise it sounds best to reach out to the accommodations themselves and check, or just try for private). We don’t drink much, so I am hoping if we have some longer days we will still have plenty of crash time. I left out a ton of other details about transit time between all of these spots, if advance tickets are required or not, prices, etc; I really just want to get feedback/improvements on our general plan. Since the JR Pass went up, I am thinking it will not be worth it for us and am hoping we can purchase most of these tickets as we go to give ourselves more leniency (?).
Day 1 | Mon Mar 4
3:20pm JST Arrive in HND (+14 hours from home time zone
)
-Currency exchange at HND
-Pick up pocket wifi
-Snacks at conbini and crash
Day 2 | Tues Mar 5
Tokyo: Shibuya & Shinjuku
-Shibuya scramble crossing; mega Donki
-Shonen Jump Shop Shibuya Parco
-Godzilla Street
-Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
-Consider Nakano Broadway mall for retro nerd shopping
-Sunset at Shibuya Sky
-Shinjuku Golden Gai if we are up for it
Day 3 | Wed Mar 6
Tokyo: Disney
-DisneySea daytime and DisneyLand nighttime (we are not focused on shopping or parades and will grab some timed passes/priority passes for what we can, so I think this is doable)
Day 4 | Thurs Mar 7
Tokyo: Mitaka & Taito
-Ghibli Museum
-Mitaka exploration
-Mitaka to Asakusa
-Sensoji
-Asakusa exploration
-Akihabara exploration
Day 5 | Fri Mar 8
Nikko Day Trip
-Asakusa Station to Nikko Station (1 hour 45 minutes by Tobu Tokyo Nikko Express from Asakusa or Shinjuku Station; or, rapid and local trains from Asakusa for cheaper and 30 min more; look into Tobu travel pass)
~7:30am Depart Asakusa Station
~9:30am Arrive Nikko Station
-Nikko Station to Shinkyo Bridge (10 mins by Tobu Bus)
-Shinkyo Bridge (there is a fee to cross it but you can take pics from the side)
-Shinkyo Bridge to Toshugu Temple (7 mins by bus, 13 minute walk)
-Toshugu Temple
-Toshugu Temple to Akechidaira Ropeway Observation Deck (38 minutes by bus)
-Akechidaira Ropeway Observation Deck to see long view of Kegon Falls
-Akechidaira Ropeway Observation Deck to Kegon Falls (14 minutes by bus)
-Kegon Falls close up $ platform or medium distance free platform – possibly frozen still
-Ryuzu Falls may not be worth it; Yudaki Falls is probably pushing it for day trip
-Walk around Chuzenji Lake or go to Nikko Hot Springs
-Kegon Falls to Nikko Station (1 hour by bus)
-Nikko to Tokyo (1 hour 45 minutes); last Tobu bus leaves Nikko station around 9pm, but sunset is around 5:40pm so perhaps try to leave by 4:00pm
*Left a lot of detail in this one as I am worried about attempting too much in one day and what will realistically be worth it with no foliage – but hopefully plenty of snow!
Day 6 | Sat Mar 9
Tokyo – open day/see how we feel
Kamakura? Overnight prior in Nikko?
Day 7 | Sun Mar 10
Tokyo/Takayama
Arrive in Takayama early afternoon (~5 hours travel)
-Walk through Takayama Old Town, check out Takayama Sake Breweries
Day 8 | Mon Mar 11
Takayama/Okuhida
-one of the Morning Markets
-Hida Folk Village
-If visibility is good, Shinhotaka Ropeway
-Chill evening and dinner at Okuhida onsen ryokan
Day 9 | Tues Mar 12
Okuhida/Takayama/Kyoto
-Arrive in Kyoto in the afternoon (~4 hours travel)
-Evening walk around Gion
*Should we try to condense time in Takayama/Okuhida to allow for an extra free day in Kyoto/Osaka?
Day 10 | Wed Mar 13
Kyoto
-Kokedera
-Kiyumizudera
-Sanjusangendo temple
-Sagano Scenic Train
-Kyoto Geisha Show?
Day 11 | Thurs Mar 14
Kyoto
-Toei Studio Park
-Donguri Ghibli Store
-TeamLab Planets?
-Yasaka Jinja at night
-Pontocho exploration
Day 12 | Fri Mar 15
Himeji/Osaka
-Himeji Castle
-Grand Sumo Tournament Osaka
Day 13 | Sat Mar 16
Osaka
-Osaka Castle
-Hero Gangu
-Volks Osaka Hobby Shop
-Shonen Jump Osaka
Day 14 | Sun Mar 17
Osaka/Tokyo
-Osaka to Tokyo
-Anything we missed, last minute shopping, or just chill
-Gundam (DiverCity Tokyo Plaza)
-Small Worlds Tokyo
-Rainbow bridge at night
Day 15 | Mon Mar 18
Tokyo
Leave HND at 4:25pm
Arigatou gozaimasu! This sub has given me hours and hours of fun research and guidance!
*Edit for formatting, though it’s still not great 🙁