Hi everyone, hope you're all doing well today! Beware, HUGE post incoming. My partner and I have booked in flights to go to Japan from the 3rd of April till the 30th. It'll be my third trip and my partners 2nd. I'm mostly making this post because we're very excited and I just want to hear people's opinions about the places we're going. I'd love any feedback about our (draft) itinerary. We're very excited to go during the spring time (the flowers!!), it's a bonus that it will be cherry blossom viewing season but due to how unpredictable it is we aren't planning our trip around it. It'll just be a nice little bonus (despite the crowds!). My partner and I love nature, hikes, good food, nightlife, cultural sights and quirky and strange hidden gems (last trip we went to Minoh, and the insectarium there was such a big highlight).

We last went in November, and that was a beautiful experience because we got to experience Koyo and Momoji season, as well as a glimpse of the descent into winter. On that trip we did the big 3 and Hokkaido.

This trip we're planning on seeing the big 3 again, getting to do some of the things that we missed out on. We also are going to Hiroshima, some post towns, Kanazawa, Kawaguchiko and some seaside locations. We'll also be getting the 21 day JR pass.

Okay, itinerary time:

April 3 – 9 – Osaka

• Fly in at 7:50 PM, staying near Shinsaibashi. Drop our bags off and then get ready for a fun night out in Dotonbori. First night traditions: famichiki, big shots, nice dinner and rowdiness.

Some of the things we want to do while we're here:

• Osaka castle – cherry blossom festival until the 13th.
• Osaka Maishima Seaside Park – Nemophila Festival 2025
• A lot of wandering around. Would love food recommendations or hidden gems.

Various day trips

• Nara
• Mt Yoshino
• Nagoya (parks (Tsuruma & Meijo), Gozaisho ropeway, Osu, Tokoname pottery village (my partner is a bonsai fanatic), maybe science museum or Meiji-Mura Museum)
• Kobe – did this last time and would love to do it again but might not fit it in. Mainly want to go back to see Nunobiki waterfall + herb gardens and ropeway as we didn't last time.

April 9 – 11 – Hiroshima

• Staying in the Hatchobori area.
• Will be doing a day trip to Itsukushima (Miyajima) on the 10th.

Some of the things we want to do:

• Peace park, peace memorial museum, Hiroshima castle, other parks and exploring. Would love food recommendations while we're here.
• Travelling up Mt Misen while in Miyajima

April 11 – 14 – Back to Osaka

• Can you tell we love Osaka?

Some of the things we want to do:

• Wrapping up some of the things/day trips we might have missed. More exploring.
• Osaka Expo 2025 on the 13th of April!! I love all things science and just think this will be a great experience.

April 14 – 16 – Kyoto

• We spent quite a bit of time here last time but ofc have to come back.
• If we don't see everything we want we're planning on doing day trips from Osaka before/later on (yes, we go back there).

Some of the things we want to do:

• Heian Shrine: Heian Jingu Reisai Festival – 15-16th of April
• Sagano romantic train
• Kinkaku-ji again
• Ninna-ji temple – flower festival
• Kurama to Kibune Hike

April 16 – 17 – Nakasendo trail (at least a portion of it)

• When we leave Kyoto we'll forward our luggage to the next destination and just bring backpacks. Travelling to Nakatsugawa, walking to Magome and then staying there the night (16th). That night we'll relax, wander around the town and have a beer or 5.
• The next day we will walk to Tsumago, explore the area and then keep going to Nagiso and take a train/s from there to Matsumoto.

April 17 – 18 – Matsumoto

• Heading here after a big day of hiking. Stopping for a night before we head to Kanazawa. Would love recommendations for dinner! Tonight we'll just explore and see where we end up
• In the morning, see Matsumoto castle, Nawate shopping street and the timepiece museum if we have time. Then, head to Kanazawa in the arvo (3 hr train ride)

April 18 – 20 – Kanazawa

• Mainly just want to have a rest while we're here and explore the area.

Some of the things we want to do:

• Myouryuji – ninja temple!
• Nagamachi samurai district
• Kenroku-en
• Higashi Chaya district
• See where our feet take us, but again recommendations welcome!

April 20 – 21 – Kawaguchiko

• Romantic stop on our way to Tokyo. Travel here in the morning, to get the most out of our time here.
• Would love recommendations on hikes/places to get beautiful views of the lakes and Mt Fuji ofc!

Some of the things we want to do (quite a lot here, probably won't be able to do ALL these things):

• Fuji-Q!
• Chureito Pagoda
• Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway – if the lines aren't too long
• Oishi park
• Fujisan Herb Garden and Deck

April 21 – 24 – Tokyo

• Staying in Shinjuku. We'll probably go to a couple of things we've already done, just because we love it. Case in point, Hachiko and shibuya crossing, nightlife, National museum of Nature and Science. We also want to explore some lesser known areas so would love recommendations for that.

Some other things we want to do:

• Kanei-ji temple
• Ghibli museum (missed out last time)
• Small worlds
• Walk down meguro river, revisit Ueno and Yoyogi park
• We might try and squeeze in a day trip to Chichibu (it just looks gorgeous here, and the Chichibu Shibazakura Festival will be on I think!

April 24 – 25 – Shimoda

• Staying in a nice place with onsen here. Main goals are R&R, and to enjoy the seaside. Explore the old town, nothing concrete here other than enjoying ourselves. Would love to hear about your experience if you've been here!

April 25 – 27 – Tokyo

• Starting to wrap up the trip, we don't have much planned for this part. We'll probably do anything we missed before hand, and will see where exploration takes us. Again, recommendations for interesting, lesser-known or kitchy things to see would be helpful!

April 27 – 30 – Osaka, for the final time!

• Bullet train to Osaka from Tokyo. The last stretch, probably a lot of wandering, seeing things we have missed, soaking in the last couple of days we have. We've left this part pretty open too. Might go to Minoh again for a full circle moment!
• Our JR pass ends on the 29th, so we could try and squeeze in another day trip here

Oh boy that was a lot. Thank you so much if you have made it this far!