Hello. We (36F and 42M) booked our first Japan trip for 8/23-9/3. Here is our prelim skeleton itinerary.
While we haven’t figured out the exact activities for each city yet, we know that we don’t need to visit those super crowded and touristy spots, or need to hit every item on the agenda. Our main focus is finding bomb ass food and to have a chill experience in scenic environments, but at the same time we don’t mind a few nights of the busy night life in a concrete jungle.
So with that, we are looking to experience the hustle and bustle of Tokyo (staying at the Galois in Shinjuku) for the first full day on 8/25 then take the Shinkansen to Osaka.
We don’t care much for the overly touristy spots of Osaka and will mainly be there for food. So only planning to spend one night there for now, unless you think we should stay for longer there. In that same vein, we plan to skip Kyoto because it sounds overly touristy (unless anyone thinks there are spots that we absolutely must visit).
From Osaka we will take the Sinkansen to Takamatsu to stay for 2 nights. Maybe visit the island of Naoshima for a day trip. Then we will take a ferry to Shodoshima for 2 more nights. Would you recommend a car rental for this leg of the trip?
On day 8 of the trip, we will ferry back to Takamatsu and fly back to Tokyo where we will be staying for the remainder of the trip. We plan to explore new spots or revisit areas that we liked but didn’t get enough time to fully enjoy during the first leg of the trip. In addition we are looking for hotel recommendations that’s a bit roomier and maybe in a low key area away from the hustle and bustle but is still convenient enough to get tho those busy areas by train.
Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.
Date Day Where
Friday 8/23/2024 Flying SFO
Saturday 8/24/2024 1 Tokyo (arrive at 8pm)
Sunday 8/25/2024 2 Tokyo
Monday 8/26/2024 3 Tokyo to Osaka
Tuesday 8/27/2024 4 Osaka to Takamatsu
Wednesday 8/28/2024 5 Takamatsu
Thursday 8/29/2024 6 Takamatsu to Shodoshima
Friday 8/30/2024 7 Shodoshima
Saturday 8/31/2024 8 Shodoshima to Takamatsu. Fly back to Tokyo
Sunday 9/1/2024 9 Tokyo
Monday 9/2/2024 10 Tokyo
Tuesday 9/3/2024 Flying Tokyo (leave at 9pm)
by Head_Conversation938