My bf and I are planning a Japan trip from Dec 18th to Jan 7th. It is the first time in Japan for my boyfriend, while I’ve visited the country ten years ago for 6 months. We’ve booked our plane tickets and all hotels, Airbnbs and ryokans already, but might change some hotels. We planned to spend New Year’s eve in Tokyo in order to avoid the crowds by traveling in the opposite direction.
Dec 18th
Arrive in Narita Airport at 5pm, head to our hotel in Asakusa (Skyaccess), get some food
Dec 19th
Tokyo: Asakusa, lunch at Wantei Kikko (?), take a walk to Akihabara, see some christmas illuminations in the evening somewhere
Dec 20th
Leave early in the morning for Hakone, spend the day in Hakone and stay in a ryokan in Gora
Dec 21st
spend the day in Hakone, leave in the afternoon and take the shinkansen to Kyoto. Arrive in Kyoto in the evening, check-in and take a walk/have a snack in the neighborhood
Dec 22nd
Kyoto: Eastern and Central Kyoto, railway museum (?)
Dec 23rd
Kyoto: Arashiyama, maybe rent some bicycles, bamboo forest, monkey park, Sagano scenic railway (?)
Dec 24th
Kyoto: Northern Kyoto, Kibune (?), KFC or nice dinner for christmas
Dec 25th
Kyoto: early morning hike to Fushimi Inari and Oiwa Shrine
spend the afternoon and evening in Osaka (Dotonbori and possibly teamLab Botanical Garden)
Dec 26th
Kyoto: day trip to Nara
Dec 27th
Leave Kyoto around noon and take the train to Gujo Hachiman
Dec 28th
Gujo Hachiman
Dec 29th
Take the bus from Gujo Hachiman to Takayama, spend the day in Takayama
Dec 30th
Takayama, maybe visit Hida Furukawa. Depending on the weather/if it snows we might take a day trip to Shirakawago
Dec 31th
Take the train to Tokyo, check-in (hotel is located in Shinjuku), go to a department store and try to get some osechi or just normal bentos for Jan 1st. Not sure yet how exactly we want to spend New Year’s eve, maybe getting drunk in the hotel room and take a night walk after midnight
Jan 1st
Tokyo: hatsumode, relax, Shichifukujin Meguri or just walk around with no plan, Shinjuku Metropolitan Building in the late afternoon
Jan 2nd
Tokyo: day trip to Okutama, hiking
Jan 3rd
Tokyo: day trip to Kamakura with a short stop in Yokosuka on the way back (bf is a huge Shenmue fan and wants to see Dobuita street), dinner at Navy Burger (?)
Jan 4th
Tokyo: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Nakano Broadway
Jan 5th
Tokyo: free
Jan 6th
Tokyo: do some last shopping and do some things we’ve missed
Jan 7th
Flight back at 10 am
———————————–
I have a few questions:
– Are stores still closed on Jan 2nd and 3rd? If so, the Kamakura trip can be moved to Jan 5th or 6th
– I’ve checked the JR pass calculator and it looks like the JR rail pass is not really worth it. Or am I missing something? I think we would prefer the flexibility by buying tickets for the Nozomi shinkansen or using the private railways for the trip to Nara
– Is the Sagano scenic railway worth it in december?
– Any recommendations for bookshops that have a good selection of study books (especially graded readers)?
– Any recommendations for restaurants in Takayama and Gujo Hachiman?
Thank you in advance!