Hey.
I have a 6 week trip to Japan lined up. My first time there.
Don‘t wanna plan everything too strict and leave some flexibility for schedule variations when I feel like it, but I wanted to at least plan the first two weeks roughly.
I‘ll arrive on the 4th October in Osaka, will go directly to Kyoto. Booked a first place for 2 nights in the western area of the main city.
A rough summary of what I‘m looking for, might be important for feedback. I‘m not looking for main tourist attractions „checking off checklist“-style traveling. I wanna actually experience Japan and its people, even in more remote areas which usually aren‘t the first target of any itinerary. That‘s why I decided to not do the Osaka/Kyoto, Mt. Fuji, Takayama stuff first.
I have 13 days, to plan, because I really, really wanna end up at the Saijo Festival in Saijo, Ehime. So that‘s fixed on the 15th, maybe even 14th already.
My current plan is the following, with some flexibility.
(1) Kyoto City (4 nights)
2 nights western Kyoto. I‘ll likely have to get accustomed to everything at first, possibly jet lag, so not too much planned. Want to visit Ryoan-ji. On the 5th, I want to visit Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and the area around, later the Imperial Castle.
2 further nights I have not booked yet. Likely more eastern? Wanna do Fushimi Inari in the evening until night, to see the illuminated gates. That‘s the only solid plan yet. Otherwise, I‘ll see where Kyoto drives me. lots of sights to visit, but don‘t need sightseeing. Maybe visit a smaller-ish market. Open for any suggestions.
(2) Kinosaki Onsen (1 night)
Onsen experience, just a day/afternoon/evening to chill. Next day will be more travel. One night should be enough there.
(3) Tottori (3 nights)
Sand Dunes, Uradome Coast as a day trip. Some more exploring. Not too rushed.
Possible can be reduced to 2 days? But what else to to do. Maybe going a day earlier to Matsue? Or spending one night in Ohara/Funaya before Kinosaki Onsen? lot of extra travel with local busses and stuff though, I guess.
(4) Matsue (2 nights)
I‘d really love to see the Matsuiri Suitoro. That was actually the original reason that led me to consider and likely do this northern route there. Matches up well, their website says on that weekend it‘s even 3 days, on the 12th, 13th and 14th.
With the three nights in Tottori, I‘ll arrive there at the 12th, and would stay for two nights. Both having time to see the festival, and also explore Matsue Castle, maybe some more things.
I am also considering extending this to three nights. Either with a day before or after (that could be one reason to shorten the Tottori stay). Because I feel like Izumo might be a day-trip worth doing. The Lighthouse, maybe the museum.
If I extend the night after, that would not cut Tottori short, but make travel to Shikoku a bit „harder“.
(5) Saijo, Ehime (2 nights)
Saijo would be right on the 14th-16th in the current plan I have, which are the exact dates of the Saijo Festival this year. If I can find a reasonable accommodation for this, that is. But I‘m hopeful. That would be the only „bigger“ festival I would visit in my 6 weeks. The others don‘t match or I decided I won‘t go through the hassle. Like Kuruma Fire Festival, Takayama Autumn Festival, or the Doburoku Matsuri.
Would love to hear some opinions on that festival though. I could also do Hiroshima after Matsue, or stay in Onomichi, which looked really nice.
(6) More Shukoku Exploration (2-4 nights?)
Now that‘s mostly it for my plan so far. But when I am already in Shukoku, I‘ll visit some more places there. Iya Valley is high up on my bucket list.
I also got recommended to visit Kotohira Onsen for a nice, more remote experience outside of the big tourist recommendation cities. Maybe that‘s another good place, spending 2 nights in Iya Valley, two nights following lots of hiking in Kotohira Onsen?
After that, I‘ll likely actually leave for a week or two in Tokyo and trips in that area. And like I said, skipping things like Hiroshima, Himeji or Onomichi doesn‘t mean I won‘t do it. There are still some unplanned weeks at the end, or I‘ll do it on a future trip.
Hope I summarized well what I am looking for with those first weeks of travel.
Now my question would be, does that Itinerary make sense? Would it work out well enough, or are there places for improvements? Ideas what to do in those places or along the way?
And… is this actually a good idea/approach for my first trip to Japan? Should I do a more traditional itinerary that you see a lot on this sub?
Would be happy for any feedback.
by Wolfsblvt