Hi everyone! I am traveling to Japan for the first time with two friends and would love some feedback from the community if this itinerary is doable or if I should move around anything. Thank you in advance! 🙂
We plan on doing a 7-day JR Pass for the first leg of the trip and using an IC card for the remaining days/trips that do not have JR.
We also plan on having 2 “home bases”, one in Kyoto and one in Tokyo. We also plan on doing a ryokan for one night in Kyoto.
Day 1: Arrive at NRT on March 5th at 3:00 PM (Sunday)
* Pick up JR Pass, portable wifi, and IC card
* Narita Express to Shinagawa Station
* Hikari Shinkansen from Shinagawa Station to Kyoto Station
* Check in to hotel
* Explore surrounding area if we’re not tired
Day 2: Kyoto (Monday)
* Wake up early for Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine
* Kiyomizudera Temple
* Nishiki Market
Day 3: Kyoto (Tuesday)
* Tenryuji Temple
* Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
* Kinkakuji Temple (if time permits)
Day 4: Kyoto > Osaka (Day Trip) (Wednesday)
* Osaka Castle
* Osaka Aquarium
* Dotonburi
Day 5: Kyoto > Nara (Day Trip) (Thursday)
* Todai-ji Temple
* Kofuku-ji Temple
* Kasuga-Taisha Shrine
* Nara Park
* Ryokan in Kyoto for 1 night
Day 6: Kyoto > Tokyo (Friday)
* Hopefully be in Tokyo by mid-day
* Check in to hotel in Tokyo (looking at hotel in Shinjuku or Shibuya)
* Shinjuku Gyoen
* Golden Gai
* Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for skyline view
Day 7: Tokyo (Saturday)
* Meiji-jingu Shrine
* Takeshita Street
* Shibuya Sky
* Shibuya Crossing
Day 8: Tokyo (Sunday)
* Sensoji Temple
* Akihabara Shopping/Cafes
* Can I fit a tour to the Imperial Palace on this day?
Day 9: Tokyo > Hakone (Day Trip) (Monday)
* Hakone Shrine
* Hakone Onsen
* Lake Ashinoko
Day 10: Tokyo (Tuesday)
* Tsukiji Outer Market
* teamLab Planets Exhibit
Day 11: Tokyo > Home (Wednesday)
* Last minute shopping/attractions we didn’t get to
* Flight is at 5:25 PM
Some questions…
* I am interested in the Ghibli Museum, but it’s a little far from Tokyo and I’m not sure where we could squeeze it in? Anyone have suggestions?
* Does Osaka Castle and Osaka Aquarium seem like too much to squeeze into one day?
* Is using a 7-day JR Pass and IC card for the rest of the trip look good?
* How far in advance can we reserve seats for the shinkansen? I want to reserve seats and one luggage space for the shinkansen trip to Kyoto.
2 comments
I am the exact similar days as itinerary, and did the same purchasing a 7 day JR pass and will use the suica cards the rest of the time. We land and start in Tokyo (4 days), then will use Osaka as base for day trips to Kyoto, etc then back to Tokyo. So for use we will activate our 7day JR pass on day 3-4 of our trip.
You can take the shinkansen from Tokyo station instead of Shinagawa, not totally sure why you would want to take it in Shinagawa rather than Tokyo.
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>I am interested in the Ghibli Museum, but it’s a little far from Tokyo…
it’s 15 minutes away from Shinjuku station then a little walk or bus ride from the station. That is the opposite of far from Tokyo. You could fit in different Tokyo day, just depend what you would be ok the remove.
>Does Osaka Castle and Osaka Aquarium seem like too much to squeeze into one day?
Not too bad, especially as there is a subway line pretty much from one to the other.
>Is using a 7-day JR Pass and IC card for the rest of the trip look good?
It’s ok, but but you won’t save a lot with the JR Pass, but you can probably save a little bit.
>How far in advance can we reserve seats for the shinkansen? I want to reserve seats and one luggage space for the shinkansen trip to Kyoto.
Going back to the JR Pass point… if you want to book ticket, then you would need to buy it direct from JR, that is more expensive and you would get closer to the point you don’t save money with the pass, instead you could just not use the pass and buy the shinkansen ticket on Smart Ex, and can use the Nozomi. Would also be free to use whatever train make most sense around Kansai, like Kitetsu to Nara. You can still get Narita Express Discount ticket as your round trip is withing 14 days.