I want to begin by thanking all of the participants and mods on this subreddit! This has been an invaluable resource in planning! I’ve based a lot of this itinerary off of u/siete7, in particular; an extra thanks goes out to them and their helpful response on their [original post](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/16zwt67/16_day_november_itinerary_check_tokyo_hakone/)!
My wife and I are taking our first trip to Japan for our honeymoon, aiming for the cherry blossom season. I know that the blossoming involves some luck, but I have tried to roughly plan around it. We both enjoy anime, experiencing the culture, and food. She likes to shop more than I do but I’m okay with looking through stores for a little.
I would love any general advice or critiques of the itinerary and have marked any notes with a “|” sign. If a day has a lot going on, I will note the main points with bold – unbolded destinations might be skipped or breezed through if time doesn’t allow. I would also particularly love any suggestions for general hotel locations for each leg of the journey. The general flow will be 4d Tokyo > 5d Kyoto > 3d Osaka > 2d Hakone > 4d Tokyo.
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Day 1 (Mon 3/18) – Tokyo (Arrival)
\-Arrive at HND at 9pm/21:00
\-Head straight to hotel
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Day 2 (Tue 3/19) – Tokyo (Tsukiji, teamLab, Ginza)
|I tried to make this a slow day to give us time to rest from jet lag if needed.
\-Tsukiji Market
\-teamLab Planets
\-End the night at Ginza
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Day 3 (Wed 3/20) – Tokyo (Shinjuku)
|another slower day
\-Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
\-Shinjuku Golden Gai
\-Optional: Shin-Okubo Koreatown or Roppongi
​
Day 4 (Thu 3/21) – Tokyo (Shibuya, Harajuku) [Based on LiveJapan itinerary](https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-shibuya/article-a0003129/)
\-Meiji Jingu
\-Takeshita Street
\-Cat Street
\-Shibuya crossing/sky
\-shibuya hotel en for onigiri bar and omiyage shopping
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Day 5 (Fri 3/22) – Tokyo (Akihabara, Ueno)
|Predicted full bloom of cherry blossoms in Tokyo
**-Akihabara**
|Considering trying to do a maid cafe but seems like it might be a little cringy/unenjoyable
**-Ueno Zoo**
\-National Museum of Nature and Science
\-Ameyoko shopping district
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Day 5 (Sat 3/23) – Kyoto (Nishiki Market, Manga museum)
\-Take the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto
\-Check into hotel or drop bags off
\-Nishiki Market
\-Kyoto International Manga Museum
\-Kyoto Imperial Palace
\-Fun in Pontocho
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Day 6 (Sun 3/24) – Kyoto (Monkey Park, Historical street) [Based on JG, with some stuff removed](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_arashiyama_full.html)
|Predicted full bloom of cherry blossoms in Kyoto – I am expecting this day to be busy with tourists
**-Monkey park**
\-Tenryu-ji
\-Arashiyama Bamboo forest
\-Gioji Temple
**-Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street**
\-Otagi nenbutsuji
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Day 7 (Mon 3/25) – Kyoto (Nara day trip, Fushimi Inari Taisha) Copied from siete7, with the addition of Fushimi Inari Taisha
\-Take train to Nara from Kyoto
\-Todai-ji
**-Nara Park**
\-Kasuga Taisha
\-Kofuku-ji
\-Mochi at Nakatanidou (we don’t particularly care about the demo)
\-Take train from Nara to Inari station
**-Fushimi Inari Taisha**
\-Find our way back to the hotel
​
Day 8 (Tue 3/26) – Kyoto (Temples) [Based on JG with some cuts](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_eastern_kyoto_full.html)
\-Higashiyama Jisho-ji
\-Ginkakuji
**-Philosopher’s Path**
\-Nanzen-ji temple
**-Keage Incline**
**-Higashiyama**
\-Kiyomizudera
​
Day 9 (Wed 3/27) – Kyoto (Temples, Travel to Osaka) [Roughly based on JG with addition of Nijo and Kokedera](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_eastern_kyoto_full.html)
|We might need to take some taxis here.. Are there any concerns with that? I’ve heard they can be expensive.
**-Nijo Castle**
**-Koke-dera (I will make a reservation to do the praying/immersion offering!)**
\-Kinkakuji
\-Ryoan-ji
\-Take the train to Osaka
​
Day 10 (Thu 3/28) – Osaka (Universal Japan)
|Predicted full bloom in Osaka will happen the day before. Probably not ideal to be in a park, where I imagine there aren’t many cherry blossoms but chose to do Thursday for smaller crowds.
\-Universal japan with express passes
​
Day 11 (Fri 3/29) – Osaka (General exploration) [Based on JG](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4028_osaka_deep.html)
\-Shinsekai Market
**-Nipponbashi Denden town**
\-Kuromon Ichiba Market
\-Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shopping street
**-Hozenji Yokocho**
**-have fun at night in Dotonbori**
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Day 12 (Sat 3/30) – Osaka (Historical walk) [Based on JG](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4028_osaka_history.html)
|My partner and I don’t feel particularly excited about this day. Any other suggestions or affirmations on quality? I’m interested in maybe doing something with kabuki theater
\-The Osaka Museum of housing and living
\-Tenjinbashi
\-Osaka Castle
\-Osaka Museum of History
\-Shitenno-ji
\-Sumiyoshi Taisha
**-Forward luggage to Tokyo, keep backpack(s)**
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Day 13 (Mon 3/31) – Hakone (Travel to Hakone,Open Air, Ryokan)
\-Take train to Odawara station, get the freepass, then bus into Gora
\-Visit the open air museum
\-Go to ryokan and chill in private onsen/eat dinner at onsen
|currently booked at ZEN, but looking at other options. I think I will need to take the ropeway down to get there. I made sure to get a ryokan with a private onsen as my wife has many larger tattoos.
​
Day 14 (Tue 4/1) – Hakone (Hakone loop, Travel to Tokyo)
\-Complete the Hakone loop counter clockwise
\-Take romancecar to Tokyo
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Day 15 (Wed 4/2) – Tokyo (DisneySea)
\-Tokyo DisneySea with fast passes for all the rides that have them
Day 16 (Thu 4/3) – Tokyo (Studio Ghibli, Nakano Broadway)
\-Take a train to the Studio Ghibli museum
\-Stop at Nakano on the way back
​
Day 17 (Fri 4/4) – Tokyo (Free day)
\-Revisit places we’ve been if we want to, make sure we have enough omiyage for friends and fam
\-Optional: Odaiba, Sunshine city mall
​
Day 18 (Sat 4/5) – Tokyo (Depart)
\-Depart HND at 10:40am
Edits: Formatting/addition of links.