Hello fellow Japan enthusiasts,
My partner and I (30s) are planning our first trip to Japan for this October. We'll be arriving on a ferry from Busan into Fukuoka at the beginning of the month and then have till November to explore.
We've poured over previously posted itineraries on here trying to plot the most sensible and efficient route north to Tokyo, from where we'll fly out.
This is our draft itinerary so far:
| Day | Weekday | Itinerary | Activities |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thursday | Busan → Fukuoka | Recover from ferry crossing, maybe cruise around Canal City Hakata and generally take it easy. |
| 2 | Friday | Fukuoka | Explore Kushida Shrine and Ohori Park. Consider Fukuoka Castle if we have energy. |
| 3 | Saturday | Fukuoka | Potentially consider substituting this last day/night for a trip to an onsen near Mount Aso. |
| 4 | Sunday | Fukuoka → Hiroshima | Check out Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum, then kick about town for local eats. |
| 5 | Monday | Hiroshima | Day trip to Miyajima |
| 6 | Tuesday | Hiroshima | Explore the Hiroshima Castle? more museums? potentially don’t need this day. |
| 7 | Wednesday | Hiroshima → Okayama | Head off nice and early so we can have a full day on Naoshima! Then back to Okayama for 1 night |
| 8 | Thursday | Okayama → Himeji → Osaka | Head off early to beat the crowds at Himeji Castle – then continue on to Osaka |
| 9 | Friday | Osaka | Day trip to Nara for Todai-ji Temple and deer… |
| 10 | Saturday | Osaka | Wander around, have a day off from explicit site-seeing. Sample a little nightlife. Perhaps look for a gig. |
| 11 | Sunday | Osaka | This might not be a necessary day, but also might be hungover. Perhaps go see Shitennoji Temple (but with Kyoto on the horizon might have to beware temple fatigue) |
| 12 | Monday | Osaka → Kyoto | Fushimi Inari Shrine, Nishiki Market. |
| 13 | Tuesday | Kyoto | Kinkaku-ji + Ryoan-ji rock garden. |
| 14 | Wednesday | Kyoto | Wander around Arashiyama Bamboo Grove + Tenryu-ji Temple. |
| 15 | Thursday | Kyoto | Head up to Kiyomizu-dera. |
| 16 | Friday | Kyoto → Kanazawa | Consider jumping off the train en route at Echizen to explore something more low-key. |
| 17 | Saturday | Kanazawa | Soak up Kenrokuen Garden, take a book; then explore Higashi Chaya District + 21st Century Museum. |
| 18 | Sunday | Kanazawa → Shirakawa-go → Takayama | Travel early to Shirakawa-go, luncheon, and then on to Takayama to cruise the Old Town. |
| 19 | Monday | Takayama | Wander around but perhaps consider this a day off. Or potentially we should leave to kamikochi in afternoon so we have two solid days for hiking. |
| 20 | Tuesday | Takayama → Kamikochi | Arrive, check out the place, relax. |
| 21 | Wednesday | Kamikochi | Lock a nice hike in. |
| 22 | Thursday | Kamikochi → Nagoya | Most of this day will probably be spent travelling and reading. Fairly long journey. |
| 23 | Friday | Nagoya → Hakone | Go early to Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology; hopefully arrive in hakone in time to visit shrine and enjoy lake scenes. |
| 24 | Saturday | Hakone → Tokyo | Go for a morning walk, then travel on to Tokyo and get established. |
| 25 | Sunday | Tokyo | Explore Asakusa district, Senso-ji Temple + Nakamise Street. |
| 26 | Monday | Tokyo | Shibuya Crossing + Meiji Shrine in morning; go shopping in afternoon |
| 27 | Tuesday | Tokyo | Rest day; independently explore without purpose. |
| 28 | Wednesday | Tokyo | Tokyo National Museum. |
| 29 | Thursday | Tokyo | Odaiba area + TeamLab Borderless. |
| 30 | Friday | Tokyo → Taipei | Head to airport |
Here's the dilemma: having put together what we thought was a reasonable plan I started stumbling across articles like this: "Kyushu: The Pristine Japanese Island That Tourists Haven't Ruined".
Given the opportunity of arriving into the south of Japan, I'm now starting to wonder if we'd be missing a trick only spending a few days in Fukuoka and then quickly heading north on up to Hiroshima and beyond.
We currently have a loop that takes us up round Kanazawa->Takayama-Kamikochi->Nagoya, as it seemed like an hotly-recommended set of places (and perhaps some pretty autumn colour at this time of year), but would it be wiser (and more unique) to dive deeper into the less-trodden paths of Kyoshu? i.e. I'm sure it's all lovely but I wondered if Takayama et al get more frequently referenced in part because of proximity to Tokyo, so being more convenient options for people doing a more established circuit down to kyoto etc. and back again.
Also one of the reasons we overlooked Kyushu was because we understood it would be typhoon season and potentially that would present a risk to our plans? Or is this an overblown concern?
Lastly, I also wonder if we've already planned too long in some of the cities (Oaska/Kyoto/Tokyo) and maybe we could fit more time in the south and do the Takayama loop too!
We'd love to hear your thoughts, experiences, and any nuggets of wisdom you might have.
I appreciate this is likely a very personal decision and depends on what kind of approach to travel one likes to take. We definitely don't want to try see it all and do it all. We'd like to experience a fair few of the 'greatest hits' but are also happy exploring relatively quieter backwaters.
Thanks in advance!
by mundungus__