Hi All, me and my partner are planning a trip in May next year (fingers crossed independent travel will be allowed soon!) and are looking to time it to arrive just after Golden Week (10th May). I am just sharing our planned itinerary for any views/comments/criticisms that would help us, any advice greatly appreciated!
We are looking to mainly be based in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima with a few day trips from each, and don’t mind lots of walking and urban exploration! Sorry for length and mobile formatting:
Day 1 – Arrive into Tokyo
• Airport to Shinjuku for accommodation (we will be coming from the UK but spending a week in Hong Kong before so hopefully jet lag won’t be an issue)
Day 2 – Ginza / Chiyoda
• Tokyo Tower, Hamarikyu Gardens, Ginza, Imperial Palace Gardens, Marunouchi area
Day 3 – Kagurazaka / Akihabara
• Morning – Yayoi Kusama Museum, Kagurazaka area
• Afternoon – Akihabara (Kanda Myojin Shrine, Yushima Seido, Electric Town)
Day 4 – Ikebukuro
• Ikebukuro (Sunshine City)
Day 5 – Ueno / Nippori
• Shitamachi Museum, Tokyo National Museum, Yanaka Ginza
Day 6 – Asakusa / Ryogoku
• Morning – Senso-ji, Nakamise Street
• Afternoon – Ryogoku Edo Museum, Sumida Hokusai Museum
Day 7 – Lake Kawaguchiko Day Trip
Day 8 – Shinjuku
• Hanazono-jinja, Gyoen National Garden, Kabukicho
Day 9 – Harajuku / Shibuya
• Meiji Jingu, Yoyogi Park, Takeshita Street, Shibuya
Day 10 – Kichijoji
• Studio Ghibli Museum, Inokashira Park
Day 11 – Yokohama Day Trip
• Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum, Chinatown
Day 12 – Okubu / Anything we have missed
• Okubu
• If teamLab Borderless re-opens by May 2023 we would do it on this day
Day 13 – Tokyo to Kyoto
• Shinkansen and arrival at accomodation near Karasuma
Day 14 – Higashiyama
• Kiyomizu-dera, Sannenzaka/Ninnenzaka, Kyoto National Museum, Gion District
Day 15 – Kamigyo / Nakagyo
• Imperial Palace, Nijo Castle, Nishiki Market
Day 16 – Fushimi
• Fushimi Inari
• Anything we have missed
Day 17 – Osaka Day Trip
• Shinsekai, Osaka Castle, Dontobori
Day 18 – Kurama Day Trip
• Onsen Day (need to see if this re-opens, if not will look for alternative)
Day 19 – Kyoto to Hiroshima
• Shinkansen to Himeji for Himeji Castle
• Shinkansen and arrival at accomodation in Hiroshima
Day 20 – Hiroshima
• Peace Park and Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima Castle, Shukkeien Gardens
Day 21 – Miyajima Island Day Trip
Day 22 – Fukuoka Day Trip
• Uminonakamichi, Canal City, Nakasu Island Yatai
Day 23 – Hiroshima to Tokyo
• Shinkansen to Tokyo
Day 24 – Leave Japan
The main questions I have (aside from whether I have missed anything) are:
– Is a day trip to Fukuoka from Hiroshima feasible? Maps says Shinkansen takes 1-1.5 hours each way
– Would we be best getting a 14-day JR Pass for travel between Tokyo (incl. Yokohama day trip), Kyoto (incl. Osaka and Kurama day trips), Hiroshima (incl. Miyajima and Fukuoka day trips), and then back to Tokyo? Any tool/site where I can compare JR vs Individual ticket cost?
2 comments
>Ryogoku Edo Museum
Closed for renovation until 2025.
>Is a day trip to Fukuoka from Hiroshima feasible? Maps says Shinkansen takes 1-1.5 hours each way
Depend on your definirtion of feasible. You can definitely do it, but will you be tired is another story.
>Would we be best getting a 14-day JR Pass for travel between Tokyo (incl. Yokohama day trip), Kyoto (incl. Osaka and Kurama day trips), Hiroshima (incl. Miyajima and Fukuoka day trips), and then back to Tokyo?
To be honest? I would fly back to Tokyo from Fukuoka. Make much more sense, but may be more expensive (haven’t run the number yet).
>Any tool/site where I can compare JR vs Individual ticket cost?
Hyperdia has discontinued detailed timetable search but the pricing information is still correct.
> Ryogoku Edo Museum
Edo-Tokyo Museum is closed until 2025.
Regarding Tokyo: I think perhaps a couple of day trips might be in orders considering that certain itineraries (Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Okubo, Ghibli Museum) will take half-a-day or less. New teamLab Borderless location will work best with Ginza/Marunouchi day.
Considering the time of the year – I would probably suggest a day trip to Kamakura/Enoshima and a day/late afternoon (light ups) trip to Ashikaga Flower Park. Nikko is also a possible destination.
Kansai: Visiting Nara (Todai-ji, Kasuga Taisha, gardens) and stopping at Himeji (castle, Koko-en) are fairly glaring omissions. While Nishinomaru in May will be pretty, Osaka-jo is not really a good destination to see a Japanese castle, as it is a concrete (re)construction.
Hakata station in Fukuoka is about 60-65 minutes from Hiroshima by Sakura/Hikari, so it’s very much a doable day trip. Note that last train to Hiroshima is at 21:51, so you may not to get enjoy *yatai* (stalls are set up fairly late in the evening).
Since you are planning to go to Fukuoka a 14-day JR Pass is very much viable.^* In addition scheduling a visit to Fuji Five Lakes with another day trip within 3 days (in May in addition to Nikko and Ashikaga Flower Park – Karuizawa is a pleasant destination) may make use of JR East’s Tokyo Wide Pass. And even if you are planning to visit Fuji Five Lakes by bus (slightly faster) – it still may be worth to take one of the above-mention day trips on days 10-12 (Yokohama from the west-side of Tokyo is typically done by Fukutoshin line/Tokyu/Minatomirai line through-trains).
^* – now… you may also consider paying out of the pocket for Tokyo-Kyoto, then getting JR West’s Sanyo-San’in Area Pass (JR local rapid train to Shin-Osaka, shinkansen for Shin-Osaka-Himeji-Hiroshima-Hakata) and either flying from Fukuoka Airport (5 minutes by subway from Hakata station) to Haneda with JAL/ANA special fare, or just getting open jaw ticket from Fukuoka (with/or without transfer at Haneda/Narita) to fly home.