# Intro
My wife and I are going to Japan for the first time for our honeymoon in July and are super excited! The outline of the trip is pretty well put together: we have our flights, hotels, and shinkansens booked. We have rough outlines of our day-to-day, though it’s not super fleshed out (we figure it’s best to leave flex time and not be so beholden to a minute-by-minute itinerary). While we feel pretty good about the schedule, I do wonder if we should make a dinner reservation or two. I’d like to treat my wife to a really awesome boujee meal while we’re there (she loves sushi). Would love to hear your thoughts about fancy meals. We’re also considering AirBnB experiences like guided tours, etc 🙂
# Day 1 – Tokyo
* Arrive in Haneda at 1:30pm local
* Staying at Aloft Ginza
* Spend the day in Akihabara & Asakusa
# Day 2 – Tokyo
* Shinjuku day (Omoide Yokocho for eats in the evening, **Golden Gai** for drinks, Gyoen National Park, Hanazano Shrine)
* Kusama museum
# Day 3 – Tokyo
* Shimokitazawa day
* Roppongi in the evening
# Day 4 – Tokyo
* **Tsukiji market** in the morning
* Explore Ginza
* **Gibhli museum**
* Fancy dinner somewhere?
* Heading back to Shinjuku in the evening for drinks
# Day 5 – Kyoto
* 7am train from Tokyo to Kyoto
* Staying at Hotel M’s Plus Shijo Omiya
* Exploring Higashiyama
* **Poncho** in the evening
# Day 6 – Kyoto
* **Fushimi Inari**, Kiyomizu-dera, Yasaka Jinja, Eikando temple
# Day 7 – Kyoto
* Arashiyama day (**Sagano scenic train ride, Hozugawa river boat ride, bamboo forest**, monkey park, Tenryu-ji, Daihikaku Senkōji Temple)
# Day 8 – Kyoto
* Nishiki market
* Northern Kyoto (Kinkaku-ji, Ruiko-in Temple)
* (This day isn’t very fleshed out)
# Day 9 – Osaka
* Train to Osaka
* Stay at Citadines Namba Osaka
* **Nipponbashi**
# Day 10 – Osaka
* **Day trip to Nara**
* **Dotonbori** in the evening
# Day 11 – Osaka
* **Osaka Castle**
* Minoo Park
* Dotonbori in the evening again
# Day 12 – Hakone
* 11am shinkansen to Odawara
* Staying at Hakone Kowakien Mikawaya Ryokan
* (Plan for days 12-13 is to be low-key in/around the ryokan; definitely open to attractions/activities)
# Day 13 – Hakone
* Chilling in ryokan
# Day 14 – Tokyo
* Train to Tokyo
* Staying at Via Inn Prime Akasaka
* Revisiting a couple of our favorite places in Tokyo from first leg
# Day 15 – Tokyo
* Shibuya day (Meiji Shrine, **Harajuku**, **Shibuya Crossing**, **Shibuya Sky**, Hachiko statue)
# Day 16 – Tokyo
* Depart from Haneda at 5:15pm (already dreading this day and I haven’t even arrived)
A few notes:
* We’ll be using an eSim
* Planning on just using a Suica card for public transit besides the Shinkansens we’ve already booked
* Planning on doing luggage delivery between most stays (a little nervous, we’ve never done a service like that before but we’ve only seen rave reviews)
* We’re trying to be good about not jam packing the itinerary with things, but would be curious if folks think this itinerary is way too light/heavy either way
* I know that we’re staying in major cities, but we’d love to prioritize natural beauty to the extent that we can
* Would also love to hear any recommendations/favorite things you saw/did/ate/drank
* Will follow up after our trip with a trip report including restaurants, drinks, attractions, and activities
Thanks!
by MFDOOMerhumor