I have cero experience traveling and I want to know what you guys think 🙂
I’ll leave some questions at the end if anyone can help.
CONTEXT:
– 31 days in Japan, from late february to end of march
– Solo traveler, 24 years old
– First time in Japan, Budget travel
– I want to avoid crowded tourist spots
– Sorry for my english grammar
ITINERARY
(TOKYO 1)
20/02
. Arriving at Narita early in the morning
. Check in to hotel close to Tokyo Station
. Rest of the day to visit spots around Tokyo Station (Imperial garden and palace)
21/02
.Go to Arashio Sumo in the morning (if available)
. Visit spots in Fukagawa (Narita-san temple and surroundings)
. Visit Roppongi at night
22/02
. Visit spots in Ueno in the morning (Ueno park and Ameyoko)
. Visit spots in Asakusa after lunch until night (Asakusa temple and comercial streets)
23/02
. Day trip to a city close to Tokyo (I have many options, haven’t decided yet)
24/02
. Visit spots in Shibuya and Shinjuku (Meiji Temple, Yoyogi and national park, food streets and Harajuku)
. Night out at Kabukicho
25/02
. Free day
. Take night bus to Hiroshima
(HIROSHIMA)
26/02
. Arrive at Hiroshima and check in to a hotel next to the Memorial Museum
. Free day as I probably will be tired after 12 hours bus trip
27/02
. Visit Memorial Museum and other spots related
. Eat at okonomimura
28/02
. Visit Miyajima Island (Shrine and Daishoin temple)
01/03
. Take a bus from Hiroshima bus center to Onomichi as early as possible
. Rent a normal bike
. Start cicling to Omi Shima
. Check in to Minshuku Karibu
. Sightsee by foot and spend the night there
02/03
. Check out as early as possible
. Cicle to Imabari
. Return the bike there
. Take a train to Matsuyama Station at around 13:00
. Arrive at matsuyama
. Visit Matsuyama castle
. Visit Dogo onsen
. Take the last ferry back to Hiroshima at 20:00
03/03 and 04/03
. Visit Hiroshima temples
. Maybe visit a city near Hiroshima
05/03
. Check out of the hotel in Hiroshima
. Take a bus to Fukuoka early in the morning
(FUKUOKA)
05/03
. Arrive at Fukuoka
. Check in to the hotel
. Visit Ohori Park, food stalls and walk around the city
06/03
. Visit Dazaifu Tenmangu temple OR Nanzoin temple
. Check out of the hotel
. Take a train to Kumamoto in the evening
(KUMAMOTO)
06/03
. Arrive at Kuamamoto city late at night
. Check in to the hotel
07/03 to 18/03
. Staying at Kumamoto, I don’t want a day to day structured plan here.
. I want to visit Amakusa, Rural areas and a day trip to Nagasaki.
19/03
. Check out of the hotel
. Fly back to Tokyo
(TOKYO 2)
19/03
. Check in to the hotel
. Meet with friends at night
20/03
.Visit Akihabara and arcade games
21/03
. Shopping day around Tokyo
22/03
. Free day
23/03
. Check out of the hotel
. Fly back home
QUESTIONS:
1 – My main concern is how tight Matsuyama day is. I want to visit the castle and dogo onsen, but the last ferry to Hiroshima leaves at 20:00.
Read online many people visit Matsuyama in a day and catch the ferry in time but if anyone has any experience doing it after Shimanami Kaido… Is it do-able?
2- I booked 13 nights in Kumamoto to have a more relaxed part of the trip in a rural / coast area.
But after choosing what I really want to visit there, I think 13 nights in Kumamoto is quite a lot…. Is it worth it or should I travel around other cities in Kyushu?
Thank you
3 comments
I’m sorry for the blank spaces between lines, I tried to post this 2 times and format was all wrong.
If you have a full day for Dazaifu you should be able to see a lot of things: it’s a small town. The branch of the national museum there is very good.
Catch the train to Hiroshima rather than write off a day due to not sleeping on the bus. The train trip is quite enjoyable.
>2- I booked 13 nights in Kumamoto to have a more relaxed part of the trip in a rural / coast area. But after choosing what I really want to visit there, I think 13 nights in Kumamoto is quite a lot…. Is it worth it or should I travel around other cities in Kyushu?
As someone currently living there, I probably couldn’t spend 13 days entirely sightseeing, but there are a bunch of smaller and more unknown places for a spontaneous visit, and Kumamoto is a good “home base” to travel Kyushu. You’ll probably have some kind of rail pass, but even if you don’t, the [highway buses](https://kyushubusbooking.com/) (you can get tickets at Sakuramachi shopping mall) are a convenient and comparably cheap way to get around. It takes a bit more than 2 hours to Fukuoka and slightly less than 4 to Nagasaki. There are also a bunch of opportunities to take a day trip and return to Kumamoto in the evening.
In addition to the “Hidden Christian” sites on Amakusa, there are also some parts of the Meiji Industrial World Heritage nearby (Misumi West Port and the Miike mines), and the Nagabeta Seabed Road near Kumamoto can be quite a nice view during low tide. Mount Aso is a popular place for a day trip, and if you’re into manga or anime, you can spend a day hunting down the One Piece statues in the city. I haven’t been able to travel a lot yet, but some points on my “to see nearby” list are Yoshinogari Historical Park in Saga prefecture, the Naritasan temple in Kurume with its 62 metres (203Â ft) Kannon statue, and the cat island Yushima.
When I went to Nagasaki, I was glad I had planned to spend two full days. I got to see most of the “must-see” sights and it didn’t feel too stressful. You could probably squeeze everything into one day (e.g. Atomic Bomb Museum, Peace Park, Urakami Cathedral and then take the tram to see Dejima, Chinatown and some other things in the area), but if you have the time, why not take it slow – especially since Nagasaki is rather hilly and you might have to climb a lot of slopes and stairs.
All the best for your trip, and if you have any questions, feel free to message me!