Hello! I have been browsing this subreddit for inspiration for the past couple of weeks. Now it’s my turn to post my itinerary – any suggestions are welcome!
***Background***
My boyfriend (32) and I (30) are planning on visiting Japan during Autumn 2023. Right now, the plan is to buy tickets from November 15 – December 2nd. We are interested in watching the autumn foliage and had read that November was a good time to visit.
This is actually my second trip to Japan, but my boyfriend’s first trip. As such, we are trying to keep a balance between things he can’t miss and new things for me to explore as well. During my first trip, I did the typical Tokyo, Kyoto (+Nara day trip), and Osaka route (+ Takayama, we didn’t do Shirakawa-go). I realize that this new route is very similar, but there were many things I couldn’t do on my first trip, so I don’t mind revisiting these cities.
Our interests are all over the place. We are interested in food, history, architecture, anime, video games, and tech. My boyfriend would also like to see live shamisen, but I haven’t been able to find anything yet.
***Itinerary***
Day 0 (Thursday) – arrive in Tokyo during the afternoon. Check into our hotel (looking into staying in Shinjuku). Get something to eat.
Day 1 (Friday) – I know I am going back and forth between Shinjuku and Shibuya here, but hopefully I will find a good hotel location for this to make sense:
* Grab a quick bite to eat and start our morning at Shinjuku Gyoen
* Explore Harajuku area
* Shibuya Crossing – Hachi statue, Starbucks Reserve, may do Shibuya Sky depending on the time, walk around Shibuya
* Go back to Shinjuku at night – Omoide Yokocho
Day 2 (Saturday) – Explore Akihabara
* Anime shops
* Arcades
* Electronics shops
* Cafes (Gundam Cafe, maybe a Maid Cafe? I know they’re cringy, but I’ll do it if my bf is up to it)
Day 3 (Sunday) – Get the Hakone Freepass and take the Limited Express Romancecar to Hakone. We will be staying at a lodging with private onsen available. We would like to enjoy the hotel/ryokan (still not sure) so this will be a pretty chill day overall.
* Open-Air Museum
* Sengokuhara Grass Fields – still not sure if it’s worth visiting. Any recs?
Day 4 (Monday) – I am unsure as to how long this would take. Would you recommend we stay this night in Hakone?
* Cablecar and ropeway to Owakudani
* Lake Ashi – take pirate ship
* Walk to Hakone Shrine
* Visit Amazake-Chaya Tea House
Day 5 (Tuesday) – Activate JR Pass and head to Osaka. I’m still evaluating the different passes and durations.
* Check-in at hotel, we will probably rest a bit
* Head out during the evening to Dotonbori, try out street food
* Teamlab Botanical Garden at night
Day 6 (Wednesday) – Explore Osaka
* Visit Osaka Castle grounds during the morning
* Osaka Aquarium (stay past 5 PM for Kaiyukan Night Aquarium “The Sea at Night”)
* More streetfood at Shinsekai
Day 7 (Thursday) – Day trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima. Is this too crammed? We will have an early morning.
* Visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Park
* Take ferry to Miyajima Island
* Itsukushima Shrine and Floating Torii gate (will check times for high tide)
* Cablecar to Mount Misen
* See the deer and general exploration
* Back to Hiroshima – try okonomiyaki and head back to Osaka
Day 8 (Friday) – We have 2 options for this day – either head to Kurashiki or stay in Osaka for rest or to do anything we may have missed
Day 9 (Saturday) – Head to Kyoto in the AM
* Nishiki Market
* Ginkakuji
* Philosopher’s Path
* Nanzenji Temple
Day 10 (Sunday) – Explore Kyoto
* Sannenzaka & Ninenzaka
* Kiyomizudera
* Kodaiji Temple
* Night Illumination
* Walk Nene’s Path bamboo grove
* Dinner and walk around Gion
Day 11 (Monday) – Head to Kanazawa during the morning
* Higashi Chaya Tea District
* Lunch at Omicho Ichiba Market
* Kenrokuen Garden
* Nagamachi Samurai District (tour of a samurai house)
Day 12 (Tuesday) – Day trip to Shirakawa-go
Day 13 (Wednesday) – Head back to Tokyo – I still haven’t planned out the rest of the activities
Day 14 – Day 15 – ?????. Need to figure out the logistics, but some things that we’re missing are: Ueno Park and the Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo Metropolitan Gov Building (will skip if we do Shibuya Sky first), Ghibli Museum, Sensoji Temple, Tokyo Tower. Also, if visibility is good, we may do a day trip to Kawaguchiko to see Fuji-san.
***Questions:***
* Overall feedback
* Should I stay 1 or 2 nights in Hakone?
* Do you have any recommendations to watch a live shamisen performance?
Thanks!
1 comment
If you are fast-paced travelers I think it is very doable, if you like lingering lunches and reading every exhibit writeup in a museum then there are several days which are too tight (Day 7, Day 11).
Some suggestions:
* You’re in Kyoto on weekend days during peak foliage season, I think it will be a bit more pleasant on a weekday due to fewer crowds from locals who get the weekend off. For example, by swapping with Day 8. On Day 10 I strongly recommend an early start (Kiyomizudera opens at 6:30am) to be ahead of the crowds.
* Day 7 – I’m a big proponent of Hiroshima/Miyajima as a day trip from Osaka as I really hate changing hotels just for one night. Be prepared to gulp down lunch (you can sit down at dinner for freshly cooked okonomiyaki) and have a contingency plan / priority list for what to cut if you find yourself short on time.
* Sengokuhara grass fields – if your ryokan is near Sengokuhara then by all means go, if it’s a significant detour I wouldn’t bother. Hakone is full of attractions and “attractions”, don’t feel like you have to check everything off.
* Day 12 – Shirakawago can be seen in a couple of hours in November since there is not the snow-capped thatched roof houses view that’s in all the promotional pictures. In the event you enjoy long train rides, one option is to do Kanazawa-Shirakawago-Takayama on Day 12, then on Day 13 take the train from Takayama-Nagoya which is a really scenic ride, eat lunch in Nagoya (eel three ways, or chicken wings), then Nagoya -> Tokyo which also presents another chance of seeing Mt Fuji from the Shinkansen. Again, this routing is only if you really like trains, sane people would take the bus back to Kanazawa the same evening and then travel to Tokyo directly via the Hokuriku shinkansen.
Edit: A couple of days in November 2022 Kenrokuen garden had free night illumination and Kanazawa castle across the street had an evening activity where they played music and handed out lanterns to hold while you walked around the castle grounds (also free). Obviously don’t reschedule your trip just for these, but if they happen to coincide with when you’re there I recommend swinging by in the evening, it’s super cheesy but kind of fun.