Hi everyone! I initially planned my trip to Japan in 2020, and now hoping to finally be able to visit this wonderful country in early March! I’m travelling with 2 others (3 in total) from the UK. Here’s the itinerary below:
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|Days|Plan Description|
|:-|:-|
|1. Tokyo (Land at 6am – Hotel near Tokyo Station) (Hostel near Tokyo Station)|Tokyo Tower / Imperial Palace / Ghibli Donguri Republic Tokyo Station Store (Obviously we’ll probably be jet-lagged so the main thing on this day is checking-in and going to Tokyo Tower and trying to stay awake till the evening)|
|2. Tokyo (Hostel in Shinjuku)|Omotesando / Harajuku area / Shibuya Crossing / Shiro-Hige’s Cream Puff Factory|
|3. Tokyo (Hostel in Shinjuku)|Asakusa (Sensoji Temple & Nakamise ) / Akihabara District / Arcade / Themed Café / Kameido Tenjin Shrine / TeamLab Planets|
|4. Tokyo (Hostel in Shinjuku)|Inokashira Park / Ghibli Museum / Free Evening (we have this as a placeholder date till we get the tickets – fingers crossed!)|
|5. Tokyo (Hostel in Shinjuku)|Extra Tokyo Day! (Examples: Tsukiji Outer Market, Mori Art Museum, anime cafe, merch shopping etc.)|
|6. Hakone (Ryokan in Hakone-Yumoto)|Explore Hakone (do the loop – apparently some of the ropeway is under maintenance work)|
|7. Takayama (Airbnb in Takayama)|Explore Takayama (in the afternoon, we’re aiming to arrive by 1pm) – I’m torn between Hida Village and the Retro Museum due to our limited number of time!|
|8. Kyoto (Airbnb in Kyoto)|Explore Kyoto in the evening (Gion Geisha Street / Hanamikoji Street) – Leave Takayama by midday, aiming to arrive in Kyoto by 5pm|
|9. Kyoto (Airbnb in Kyoto)|Heian Shrine / Nijo Castle / Nishiki Market / Gear (Not planning to do too much since a lot of back to back travelling on previous days)|
|10. Kyoto (Airbnb in Kyoto)|Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Kinkaku-ji Temple Fushimi Inari (Shrine hopping) / Check out Nintendo Kyoto Store (if shrines become too much)|
|11. Kyoto (Day Trip to Hiroshima) (Airbnb in Kyoto)|Explore Hiroshima (Memorial) / Shukkeien Garden (Aim to arrive by 10:30pm, leave by 4pm)|
|12. Kyoto (Day Trip to Nara) (Airbnb in Kyoto)|Explore Nara|
|13. Kyoto (Airbnb in Kyoto)|Kimono Day (Kiyomizu-dera / more shrine hopping)|
|14. Koyasan (Temple Lodging in Koyasan)|Explore Mount Koya (Leave Kyoto in the morning, arrive by 2pm/3pm)|
|15. Osaka (Hostel in Osaka)|Explore Amerika-Mura / Dotonbori (Osaka) / Hozenji Yokocho (Secret Tunnel) / Karoake (Leave Koyasan in the morning, arrive by 12:30pm-ish)|
|16. Osaka (Hostel in Osaka)|Osaka Castle / Shinsekai / Amerika-Mura / Nipponbashi|
|17. Osaka (Leave around 4pm // Flight back to the UK)|Aquarium Kaiyukan / Don Quijote (Merch shop)|
Please let me know if this itinary is do-able/realistic! Or if it’s a lot for first time?
I have three additional questions:
1. The JR Pass currently costs around £270. Based on our trip, and with the fastest shinkasen (Nozomi) to Hiroshima, it would cost us £280. Do you think it’s better to buy our own ticket or get the JR Pass? (The slower shinkansen takes 2 hours from Kyoto to Hiroshima, and Nozomi takes 1 hr and 30 mins)
2. It leads me to my next question – is doing a day trip to Hiroshima worth it? Or would sticking to Kyoto be better? I initially wanted to go to Hiroshima for it’s historical significance (plus I’ve heard their pancakes are amazing!) I have a friend who’s unsure about going which has put me in two minds.
3. Japan Vernal Equinox Day (Bank Holiday) is on the day we’re planning to do Kimono Day. Is there anything we should be aware of? Is it a bad idea to do it around then or should we be fine?