Hi! My SO and I are planning a 25 day honeymoon trip to Japan from May 26 through June 20 (we will have been married over a year by then). I made an itinerary post over a year ago, but have since tweaked it quite a bit and added a couple of days. We’d like to target probably a split of 1/2 exploration, shopping and nightlife, 1/2 historical sights, shrines, and temples and nature.
Here are the biggest questions that I still have:
– How does the flow of Days 17-21 look? It feels like another section with a lot of travel, I’m not sure if it can be simplified at all. Is there anything specific I should see in these place?
– What should we do on Day 11 in Kyoto? We’ll be in Kyoto from Days 10-12 and 15-16, but I’m not sure what to do with this day.
– Any suggestions for our final days in Tokyo? Things off the beaten path?
– If there’s any advice you have on this itinerary, that would be great! It’s still open for tweaking, especially after Day 13.
Other considerations:
– Days 7-9 are strangely laid out because we wanted to visit Koyasan, but also spread travel over several evenings. Hakone -> Mount Koya in one day seemed like a slog.
– Not everything on these days is a “must” – we’ll definitely feel things out as it goes, and drop items off of our list of just designate a ‘free day’ if it feels like there’s too much.
Here’s my current itinerary:
## Part 0 – Arrival
– May 26 – Day 1 – Leave, 12-13 hour flight to Haneda (timezone day skip)
– May 27 – Day 2 – (afternoon) arrive in Tokyo & eat, then go to hotel. jet lag
## Part 1 – Tokyo (& Kanto)
– May 28 – Day 3: Tokyo
– Morning: Asakusa
– Senso-ji, Nakamise Shopping Street
– Afternoon/Evening:
– Skytree or Ameyoko Yokocho
– May 29 – Day 4: Kamakura
– This will as much as we want to do of the suggested full day walk ([https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3121_kamakura_full.html](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3121_kamakura_full.html))
– Morning: Hasedera Temple
– Afternoon: Great Buddha, Light hiking, Other temples/shrines
– Evening: Komachi-Dori, exploring
– May 30 – Day 5: Enoshima
– Morning, Early Afternoon: Visit Enoshima Island
– Late Afternoon: Trip to Hakone, check into Ryokan (2h travel)
– May 31 – Day 6: Hakone
– Morning: Open Air Museum
– Afternoon: Owakudani
– Evening: Travel to Osaka (3.5h travel)
## Part 2 – Kansai
– June 1 – Day 7: Osaka
– Morning/Early Afternoon: Explore Osaka
– Late Afternoon/Evening: Minami (Namba), Dotonbori
– June 2 – Day 8: Koyasan
– Morning: Travel to Koyasan, check in at temple lodging (2.5h travel)
– Afternoon: Okunoin Temple, ???
– Evening: Stay at temple lodging (宿坊, shukubō)
– June 3 – Day 9: Osaka
– Morning: Check out from Koyasan and travel back to Osaka (2.5h travel)
– Afternoon: Osaka Aquarium, Osaka Station City
– Evening: (Night) Umeda Sky Building, Travel to Kyoto (<1h travel)
– June 4 – Day 10: Kyoto
– *Early* Morning: Fushimi Inari Shrine
– Afternoon: Kiyomizudera Temple & Higashiyama District
– Evening: Explore Kyoto
– June 5 – Day 11: Kyoto
– Whole Day: ??? Suggestions please!
– June 6 – Day 12: Kyoto
– Morning/Afternoon: Arashiyama Half Day (Tenryuji, Bamboo Groves), ([https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_arashiyama_half.html](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_arashiyama_half.html))
– Late Afternoon: Himeji Castle (1h travel), if not enough time then skip?
– Evening: Travel to Hiroshima (1h travel)
## Part 4 – Chugoku & Back
– June 7 – Day 13: Hiroshima – (do we want a full day here? or should I extend Kyoto by a day? Maybe visit Nara instead and then end the day going straight to Miyajima? Most of my initial reasoning for coming this far was for Miyajima)
– Evening: Travel to Miyajima (1h travel)
– June 8 – Day 14: Miyajima
– Morning: Itsukushima Shrine
– Afternoon: Ropeway & walking trails
– Evening: Stay on the island, explore
[NOTE: This is as far as I have booked for hotels. I can still change previous arrangements rather easily, but everything from here on out is more up in the air. Please tell me if you have any ideas for how the rest of this could be improved!]
– June 9 – Day 15: Kyoto
– Morning: Travel to Kyoto (3h travel)
– Philosopher’s Path Half Day (Ginkakuji, path, Nanzenji, Heian, Gion), ([https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_philosophers_half.html](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_philosophers_half.html))
– June 10 – Day 16: Kyoto
– Northern Kyoto Half Day ([https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_northern_kyoto_half.html](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_northern_kyoto_half.html))
– June 11 – Day 17: Nara
– A few items from the suggested full day itinerary, but not all: ([https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4119_nara_full.html](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4119_nara_full.html))
– Evening: Travel to Takayama (3.5h travel)
## Part 5 – Chubu
– June 12 – Day 18: Takayama
– Morning: Hida Folk Village
– Afternoon: Old Town
– Evening: Travel to Kanazawa (2.5h travel)
– June 13 – Day 19: Kanazawa
– Morning/Afternoon: Omicho Market, Kenrokuen, Katamachi
– Evening: Check in and explore the area
– June 14 – Day 20: Kanazawa
– Morning/Afternoon: Higashi Chaya District, Seisonkaku Villa
– Evening: Travel to Tokyo (2.5h travel)
## Part 6 – Tokyo Again (Shopping now)
– June 15 – Day 21 – Tokyo (Shinjuku)
– Morning: Sleep
– Afternoon: Nakano Broadway & Shinjuku
– Evening: Explore Shinjuku
– June 16 – Day 22 – Tokyo (Shibuya)
– Morning: Meiji Shrine
– Afternoon: Takeshita Dori (Harajuku Station) shopping
– Evening: Shibuya shopping
– Shibuya Crossing & Hachiko Statue
– June 17 – Day 23: Tokyo (Yokohama)
– All Day: Explore, Shopping (suggestions on where?)
– June 18-19 – Day 24-25: Tokyo – Free Days
– Things we wanted to do, or didn’t get around to. Possible side trip to Nikko?
– June 20 – Day 26: Tokyo
– Morning: Eat & head to Haneda airport
– Leave Japan