Hey everyone! I’ve been subbed to this thread for a few years now and have always wanted to make a post like this. Finally pulled the trigger and booked my trip. I’ll be in Japan for two whole weeks starting in the second week of March, but I wanted to share my itinerary to see if there was anything I should consider adding or removing from my trip (keeping the earthquake in mind), as I’m still familiarizing myself with the area.
For reference, I purchased an itinerary guide from **Allan Su** (YouTube traveler), as I was a bit overwhelmed trying to plan out my own. My interests include savory food, anime (specifically One Piece), gaming, movies, art and urban music. I am a POC and have an affinity for creativity, as well as fashion and streetwear. All this to say, I would like to get the most out of my adventure for the duration of my trip.
Lastly, I understand I can take the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka and vice-versa, but I’d like my trip to be as hassle free as possible, so not sure how that would shake out if I’m traveling with my luggage (also aware of “Yamato Transport” and was wondering if anyone would recommend the service, or speak to how costly it is). I’m still undecided but advice on that would be helpful, otherwise I may have to do my trip in reverse. Please keep in mind, I’m not married to this itinerary and am completely open to modifications, as I’m a bit concerned I won’t get to do everything. Plus, I really want to experience Tokyo.
For starters I’ll be arriving at the Haneda airport in Tokyo at 5:30 in the morning. My itinerary goes like this:
**Day 1 & 2 – Osaka**
\- Plan on visiting Dotonbori as I understand it is considered the kitchen of Japan
\- Ichiran Ramen
\- Amerikamura for shopping, site seeing etc.
\- Shinsekai
\- Umeda Sky Building
\- Possibly visit Universal Studios
**Day 3 – Koyasan**
\- Following the itinerary here, but visiting Danjō-garan Buddhist Temple
\- Okunoin Cemetery
\- Koyasan Reihokan Museum
**Day 4 – Nara**
\- Visiting the Isui-en Garden and Neiraku Museum of Art
\- Trying Mochi at “Nakatanidou” and any other foods cause I get HONGRY
\- Again following the itinerary, but Nara Park sounds amazing
**Day 5, 6, 7 – Kyoto**
\- Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
\- Tenryu-Ji Temple
\- Katsura River (visiting these first three locations feasible in a day??)
\- Senko-Ji Temple
\- Iwatayama Monkey Park & visiting Ramen Sen No Kaze cause again, HONGRY
\- Doing some tourist sightseeing in Gion and Hanami-Koji
\- Fushimi Inari and Nanzen-Ji Temple
**Day 8, 9 – Kanazawa**
\- D.T. Suzuki Museum
\- Omicho Market
\- Kanazawa Castle
\- Kenroku-En Garden
**Day 10 – Takayama**
\- Hida Folk Village
\- Takayama Jinya
\-Shinhotaka Ropeway
**Day 11, 12, 13, 14 – Tokyo**
\- Meiji Shrine
\- Teamlabs visit (although I’ve heard mixed reviews depending on the exhibit)
\- Harajuku
\- Omoide Yokocho
\- Akihabara
\- Kabukicho
\- Shinjuku Gyoen
\- Shibuya Crossing/Mags Park Rooftop
\- Tokyo Disney if it’s reasonably priced
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Finally, I’ve stolen some probing questions from another redditor because they were solid inquiries:
**1. Is this itinerary realistic?**
**2. Any recommendations for activities/locations I should visit?**
**3. My working budget for myself is around $1600 USD (including food, transportation and accommodations), not accounting for souvenirs. I like trendy shops, luxury food, etc., but they’re not necessities. Rough estimate, how much money would allow me to enjoy my trip without stressing about my budget?**
**4. Transportation – is there a specific rail pass I should purchase for the areas I intend to visit? Do I need to pre-purchase these?**
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**\*Important\* -** I’ve omitted minor visits and kept it focused strictly on major locations I plan to visit. Any recommendations to how I can enhance this for my own personal experience, based on the information I’ve provided, would be much appreciated!
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