So this my third time visiting Japan but first solo trip there. I have all the hotels booked, will book travel within Japan as it becomes available (aka one month prior to the date of travel for most long-distance trains and buses).
DAY 1
- arrive to Narita airport at 1 PM
- see if previous Suica card still works (if not get the Welcome Suica)
- get internet access to my phone via an e-sim
basically I just need something to do while traveling from place to place, I’m not going to drag real books around as extra weight. Plus having access to Google translate might come in handy
- take bus to hotel in Akasaka-Mitsuke (location chosen because I like the area, stayed here previously)
DAY 2
day trip to Kamakura
- Hokukuji temple
- Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
- Komachi-dori (lunch break)
- Hasedera
- Kotoku-in Daibutsu
Shinjuku evening program
- Sekaido (art supplies, closes at 8PM)
- Marui Annex OIOI (shopping in multiple stores, closes at 8PM)
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government building for night views (closes at 9:30PM)
- Omoide Yokocho (dinner)
- GiGo building in Kabukicho for losing some money in crane games
DAY 3
- Mt Takao
is it worth to visit the monkey park? I know it’s rare to see Japanese macaques in Kamikochi, but then again I don’t really want to support unethical zoos if the monkey park is one.
- Koenji’s 2nd hand stores
- Nakano Broadway
DAY 4
- Moomin Valley Park in Hanno
look, I'm Finnish, I have no choice in this. I just have to witness what they have done.
- Ikebukuro
Pokemon center, other shops in the area
DAY 5
send all luggage to the hotel of DAY 9
- off to Matsumoto in the morning with my backpack
immediately at Matsumoto Bus Terminal: buy 4days Alps Crossing ticket 5 800yen Matsumoto–Kamikochi-Hirayu Onsen-Takayama
- Matsumoto castle
DAY 6
travel from Matsumoto to Kamikochi, stay the night at Hirayu Onsen
- Kamikochi plan: leave bus at Taisho Ike pond, walk to Tashiro pond, Kappa-bashi bridge, Dakesawa marsh, Myojin first pond, then back through Myojin bridge to Kamikochi bus terminal (roughly 3 hours non-stop based on my calculations, so aiming for five hours with lunch break)
basically I plan to take the first train+bus connection at 8 AM from Matsumoto, so I'd be in Kamikochi at 10AM, final bus leaves at 5PM but I would prefer to finish earlier to avoid missing it in case of unforeseen circumstances. Will buy lunch in Matsumoto in the morning.
DAY 7
off to Takayama (maybe explore Hirayu onsen a bit in the early morning if didn't have time the previous night)
- old town, Yatai Kaikan (9-17), Hachiman shrine, Showa museum (10-17), Higashiyama walking course, Takayama Jinya (9-17)
of these I'm prioritizing Showa museum and Yatai Kaikan, but since the shrine and walking course are always open time shouldn't be a problem?
DAY 8
- Miyagawa morning market
travel from Takayama to Shirakawa-go, then to Kanazawa
again taking one of the earliest buses to Shirakawa-go to have enough time to look around
Kanazawa
- Higashi Chaya district (not planning on any of the museum houses here)
DAY 9
Kanazawa
- Kenrokuen (early start at 7AM when it opens to make it to all the stops in Kanazawa)
- Noh museum (opens at 10AM)
- Nagamachi samurai district (just walking around)
- Oyama Shrine Shinmon gate (it just looks cool, I want a closer look)
- Omicho market (get lunch)
Shinkansen back to Tokyo in the afternoon/early evening
- Tokyo tower and Zojo-ji temple
hotel in Hamamatsucho for easy travel to the pier next morning
luggage should be waiting at the hotel for a quick change in needed stuff for the next stop
DAY 10
send unneeded luggage to the hotel of DAY 15
the ship to Ogasawara islands leaves at 11 AM from Takeshiba pier
DAY 11
arrive to Chichijima island in Ogasawara at 11 AM
- look around town
- night tour
DAY 12
- sightseeing by foot
DAY 13
- water tour: snorkeling, whale watching if lucky, dolphins, visit Minami island
DAY14
- marine centre
ship leaves at 3 PM
DAY 15
arrive back in Tokyo at 3 PM
hotel in Asakusa (luggage should be waiting at the hotel)
- Senso-ji at night
DAY 16
- tea ceremony at Chazen in Asakusa (opens at 10AM)
- imperial palace gardens
- Skytree (there's a combo ticket for Chazen and Skytree observatory and I haven't been to Skytree yet)
- Akihabara
DAY 17
the distances for this day make me a bit worried, the museums are relatively small but I'm looking at roughly four hours just traveling from place to place
- Urayasu city folk museum (I'm aware that there won't be any English translations)
- Fukagawa Edo Museum (same as previous, no English)
- Sumida Hokusai museum
- Meiji Jingu
- Harajuku
DAY 18
- Nokogiriyama day trip
this day needs more stuff, but I honestly have no idea how long this day trip will take. Probably return to places I feel like I didn't have enough time on the previous days, but feel free to give me suggestions.
DAY 19
- Tokyo national museum
no idea how long this part will take, but my track record with large museums is usually all day long. For example, I’ve spent six hours in the British museum, three in V&A, Louvre took five hours etc.
- Nezu shrine
- Nippori textile town
DAY 20
send luggage to Narita airport for DAY 22
- off to Shima onsen at 8:50AM
DAY 21
return to to Tokyo at 5:30PM
- Ameyokocho street
hotel near Ueno station
DAY 22
- visit the towns of Sawara and Narita
flight home from Narita airport at 11 PM
Do you have any suggestions or changes for this itinerary?
Also, does using luggage forwarding services make sense or do you guys have a better option for me? I'm basically using the forwarding service as a way to get rid of my luggage for the multiple days I don't need access to it (Japanese Alps, Ogasawara islands, Shima Onsen).
by kaurapuuroako-miulle