Hi everyone!
I am planning our honeymoon for May 30 – June 12 and neither of us have been to Japan before so I’ve been learning a lot from this sub! We are SO excited. I’ve tried to read most of the relevant posts but I still have some questions I was hoping someone could help answer. I know that early June is not ideal with rain, but that is the way timing worked out with our wedding.
I am still in the early stages, but here is what we have so far: we are flying into Tokyo on May 30, and planning to spend a few nights there (haven’t decided which hotel yet but leaning toward splitting our time between the Mandarin Oriental and a capsule hotel). We also want to go to Hakone and spend 2 nights at a ryokan with a private onsen (haven’t decided yet – open to suggestions! I made an inquiry for Hakone Ginyu through Japanese Guest Houses and they said that it is too early to book, and they might not even be open for our dates in June due to reduced staff), stay at HOSHINOYA Fuji, go to Kyoto for 3-4 days (staying at SOWAKA), and do an overnight at a temple. We will probably come back to Tokyo at the end and fly out from there, but I’m open to flying out from a different city if that makes more sense (only booked one way so far). I would say our top priorities are food and nature.
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1. I am having trouble figuring out the logistics of transportation. It seems like the options between Hakone and Fujikawaguchi can be a little complicated even with the Hakone Fuji Pass, and I’m not sure what seems to be the most logical/enjoyable order of places. Should we do Tokyo-Hakone-Fujikawaguchi-Kyoto-Tokyo? Tokyo-Fujikawaguchi-Hakone-Kyoto-Tokyo? Or should we do either Hakone or Fujikawaguchi on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto, and then the other on the way back? Our priority is time and ease over finding the cheapest option, since it is our honeymoon and we’re willing to spend a little more than we would on another vacation.
2. What temple could we stay at that would make sense with our route? Ekoin looks wonderful, but Koyasan seems too far away for our amount of time?
Thank you so much in advance 🙂
1 comment
1. It’s actually not that complicated, you take a bus to Gotemba or Gotemba outlet between Kawaguchiko and Hakone. One thing I would do is change the order. Do Kawaguchiko first and Hakone after. The reason is that it’s harder to get from Kawaguchiko to Kansai, where the two options are to take a but to Mishima station or to backtrack toward Tokyo and go to Shin-Yokohama to take the shinkansen. Unfortunately, the Fuji-Hakone pass work better if you do the Hakone-Tokyo part by train instead of the Tokyo-Kawaguchiko part. This mean that at the end, the Hakone Free pass (from Odawara version) and pay for the bus to Gotemba might make more sense. Regardless, moving between Kawaguchiko and Kansai as it is not the easiest route.
2. There is temple offering lodging in Kyoto, just Google Kyoto Temple Stay. [https://traditionalkyoto.com/sleep/shukobotemple-lodging/](https://traditionalkyoto.com/sleep/shukobotemple-lodging/)%5Bhttps://trip101.com/article/kyoto-temple-stay%5D(https://trip101.com/article/kyoto-temple-stay)%5Bhttps://alljapantours.com/japan/travel/where-to-stay/shukubo-temple-lodging-in-kyoto/%5D(https://alljapantours.com/japan/travel/where-to-stay/shukubo-temple-lodging-in-kyoto/)%5Bhttps://www.travel-kyoto-maiko.com/traveltips/best-temple-stay-in-kyoto/%5D(https://www.travel-kyoto-maiko.com/traveltips/best-temple-stay-in-kyoto/)