Hi,
I’ve been planning my first trip to Japan. It’s not a detailed itinerary by any means, more of a rough sketch. This is what I came up with:
Day 1: Tokyo: Arrival – Shibuya.
I was thinking about wandering through Shibuya a bit on this day after we arrive since I plan to stay in a hotel nearby. We’ll arrive by the evening so I don’t expect to get too much done in this day but a bit of light exploration and a nice restaurant would be feasible. Maybe hit LABI or Miyashita Park.
Day 2: Tokyo: Shibuya – Harajuku
I’m planning to explore Shibuya and Harajuku after that. The scramble, 109, Hachiko, Yoyogi Park, Takeshita-dori, Meiji Jingu. I don’t want to plan this too deeply as I’d actually like to lose myself in Tokyo a bit but I’d like to hit those at least.
Day 3: Tokyo: Shinjuku
I think Shinjuku deserves a full day at least. Shinjuku Gyoen, Omide Yokocho, Golden Gai, some shopping, maybe some Karaoke.
Day 4: Tokyo: Northwest
We’d begin the day by going to the Tokyo Skytree. After that I’d like to hit the Imperial palace gardens and from there to Ueno. Ameya Yokocho, Ueno park, Toshogu shrine.
Day 5: Tokyo: Asakusa – Akihabara
Senso-ji, Nakamise-dori, then we’d move to Akihabara to hit up Super Potato, a Maid cafe, maybe some arcades.
Day 6: Hakone
One day trip to Hakone
Day 7: Move to Kyoto
We’d go by Shinkansen to Kyoto. We’d check out in a hotel in Gion, and we’d dedicate the rest of the day to explore the downtown. Kyoto Tower, Sanjo Ohashi, Nishiki Market, Shijo-dori.
Day 8: Kyoto – North
I’m planning to hit up Arashiyama, Iwatayama, Gio-ji, and finally Kinkaku-ji on this day.
Day 9: Kyoto – Center
Sannenzaka & Ninenzaka, Kiyomizu-dera, Jishu-jinja, Yasaka Koshindo, Kenninji, Kodai-ji, Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine and Gion at dusk.
Day 10: Kyoto – East
Start Fushimi Inari early, then hit Daigo-ji, Tofuku-ji, Nanzen-ji, Philosopher’s Walk, Ginkaku-ji and finish up in Pontocho.
I still haven’t decided if we’d go to Hiroshima – Miyajima or Osaka – Nara after this before returning. Maybe cutting a couple days from Tokyo would let us explore both but I definitely don’t want to spend the entire trip in a train speedrunning major milestones. Three cities in 15 days seems reasonable.
I don’t think this is too packed for what we want to do, but maybe some pointers or some optimizations would be nice.
3 comments
I am Japanese.
1，Tokyo is a city that can be enjoyed 24 hours a day. Especially in Shibuya, many stores are open even in the middle of the night, and there are many people walking around. It’s safe, so even elementary and junior high school students play there. Just strolling around Tokyo at night can be fun.
2、If you are going to Kyoto the day after Hakone, there is no need to return to Tokyo from Hakone. It is easier to stay in Hakone and go from Hakone to Kyoto. And Hakone cannot be fully explored in a day trip. An overnight stay is recommended.
3. Kyoto and Nara, and Kyoto and Osaka are only about an hour away by train. You can stay in Kyoto and visit Nara, or enjoy a meal in Osaka.
The third city I would recommend is Hiroshima. Hiroshima has many things that Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara do not have.
Day 4 and 5, not sure. Asakusa is between Sky tree and Ueno. It would make more sense to do those 3 the same day and Imperial palace and Akihabara the next.
Day 6, I would highly suggest a night in Hakone. You can ship your luggage from Tokyo to Kyoto (because it’s not as fun to carry in Hakone’s bus and if it’s a big luggage, you have to reserve space in shinkansen), keep one change of cloth in a day bag. Go to Hakone for the night, ryokan with onsen and kaiseki meal to treat yourself and next morning train to Kyoto.
Nara is usually a day trip from Kyoto or Osaka.
Hiroshima/Miyajima you would need 1 or 2 days. One day is the super full days and 2 you can take more time and enjoy and even stop by Himeji on the way.
Finally, Osaka can be several days, always depend on your interest, but if you want to do one or two to have an idea of the city, it’s easy to do as a day trip from Kyoto.
Do you HAVE to return to Tokyo ? You can check to fly in Tokyo and out of Osaka, or even Hiroshima (just mean you have one connection in Tokyo to go back home).
I also highly recommend an overnight stay in Hakone on your way to Kyoto. You’ll get the best views of Mt. Fuji in the early morning too. It also gives you the opportunity to enjoy an onsen experience. It may be a bit of a splurge, but I’d highly recommend [Kawakudane Mizu no To ryokan. ](https://goo.gl/maps/X5NuZw9wqt1QyTiS6). What sets this place apart is there are three private, outdoor onsen huts. So you and your partner can enjoy onsen together and no worries about tattoos or being naked in front of others. You just grab a key to one of the huts from the hallway, walk through the garden to the hut, lock the door behind you, and enjoy privately as long as you want. When done, put that key back and grab the next available key for another hut. There are also very nice public onsen tubs indoors too and they have rooms with your own private tub – but since you can use the garden huts freely the private tubs in your room may not be be necessary. If you stay here on a Sunday – Thursday night it will be less busy and a bit less expensive than a Fri/Sat night stay. For the full experience opt to include dinner and breakfast.
Also, keep in mind that some places are great to see/wander through at night. Even if they aren’t open or the nearby shops are closed they make for some great views/pics and a totally different experience from the daytime crowds. Senso-ji in Tokyo and the entire Gion/Higashiyama district in Kyoto. If you’re coming in the hot/humid summer months walking around at night is also a nice break and makes you feel less bad if you need to take a daytime siesta at the hotel due to jet lag or heat exhaustion.
– [Tokyo Night Views ](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/things-to-do/best-night-views-in-tokyo)
– Highly recommend booking a hotel in the Gion/[Southern Higashiyama district](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-districts) in Kyoto as you’re easily walkable to a number of key sites and these streets are great to wander through at night.
– [12 Things to Do in Kyoto at Night ](https://trip101.com/article/things-to-do-in-kyoto-at-night)
If you can come in November to early December you’ll have even more options for night views as many temples/shrines/gardens have night illuminations during the fall leaves season. And in cherry blossom season they do evening illuminations too. See my recent trip report for links and at the bottom there are links to the spring illuminations as well.
– [Trip Report: Fall Leaves Illumination in Kyoto ](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/mjt5yf/kyoto_autumn_night_illuminations_at_temples_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)