# Context
US Couple in our 20s. Looking to enjoy a nice mixture of history, culture, art, architecture, and things unique to Japan. We aren’t big into shopping or night-life, but we will window shop and enjoy the lights. We are planning to make a summer trip. In the itinerary, I have some noted as option 1 or option 2 – these are just 2 days with the flexibility to do whichever first.
# Questions
Thank you in advance for any help you can give!
1. What should we do with days 10 and 11 (see the itinerary for more details)?
2. Is there anything major that we are missing and should see in any of the cities or surrounding areas? Feel free to suggest adjusting the number of days in a particular city.
3. Is there anything that you see on the list that is kind of “meh” *or* two things that are so similar its not worth doing both?
4. Are there any days that are overly packed, overly light, or that you see potential transportation issues?
5. I think the JR Pass makes sense for us, but I am also wondering if we might be able to just do a 7-Day Pass and use it Days 4 through 10. Would we come out ahead in the cities to pay as we go, or get the 14-Day pass?
6. How late are the booths open at the airport for Pocket WiFi, SUICA, and JR Pass?
7. Based on the attractions you see, are there any “city passes” that we should consider? It feels like if there is one in Kyoto we would come out ahead.
# Itinerary
* **Day 1 – Tokyo (Travel)**
* Arrive at Haneda
* Purchase Pocket WiFi ($70-$100) and SUICA Card ($??)
* Check-In at Accommodations
* **Day 2 & 3 – Tokyo**
* ***Option 1 (Jetlagged)***
* Toyosu Fish Market
* Breakfast at Toyosu
* Shin-Toyosu → Ginza-Tonchome → Asakusa
* Senso-Ji Temple (2 Hours)
* Lunch at Kura Sushi
* Walk via Kappabashidogugai
* Tokyo National Museum (2 Hours) ($10)
* One of the Art Museums (2 Hours) ($5/Free)
* Ueno → Asakusa → Oshiage (30 Minutes)
* Tokyo SkyTree ($31)
* Dinner
* Oshiage → Asakusabashi → Akihabara (15 Minutes)
* Akihabara (2 Hours)
* ***Option 2***
* Breakfast at A Happy Pancake
* Explore Shibuya → Yoyogi Park Zelkova Trees (3 Hours)
* Lunch
* Yoyogi Park
* Meiji Jingu Shrine ($5 – Garden; $10 – Museum)
* Walk (30 Minutes)
* Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden ($5)
* Explore Shinjuku Museums (2 Hours)
* Dinner and Sake Market
* Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
* **Day 4 – Tokyo → Kyoto (3 Hours)**
* Breakfast on Shinkansen
* Check-In at Accommodations
* Lunch
* Nijo Castle (2 Hours) ($13)
* Walk (15 Minutes)
* Kyoto Imperial Palace (2 Hours)
* Dinner
* Demachiyanagi → Fushimi-Inari (30 Minutes)
* Fushimi Inari Shrine
* **Day 5 & 6 – Kyoto**
* ***Option 1***
* Breakfast
* Kinkakuji Temple ($4)
* Walk (20 Minutes)
* Ryoanji Temple ($5)
* Walk (15 Minutes)
* Ninnaji Temple ($8)
* Omuro-Ninnaji → Katabiranotsuji → Arashiyama (30 Minutes)
* Lunch at Arashiyama Station
* Walk (10 Minutes)
* Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (30 Minutes)
* Tenryu-ji Temple ($8)
* Kyoto Monkey Park ($6)
* Kimono Forest
* Arashiyama → Shinjo Heihan Mae
* Dinner
* Explore Gion (3 Hours)
* ***Option 2***
* Breakfast
* Ginkaku-ji ($5)
* Path of Philosophers (30 Minutes)
* Lunch
* Honen-in Temple (30 Minutes)
* Nanzenji Temple ($5)
* Chionin Temple ($4)
* Dinner
* **Day 7 – Kyoto → Himeji (1.5 Hours)**
* Breakfast on Shinkansen
* Leave luggage in Himeji Station Locker
* Himeji Castle ($10) (2 Hours)
* Kokoen Garden ($3) (2 Hours)
* Lunch
* Himeji → Iwakuni (3 Hours)
* Dinner
* **Day 8 – Iwakuni**
* With Family
* **Day 9 – Iwakuni (Miyajima/Hiroshima)**
* Iwakuni → Miyajimaguchi → JR Miyajima Ferry
* Itsukushima Shrine (Low Tide: 7:23; High Tide: 12:45; Low Tide: 7:17)
* Breakfast
* Explore Miyajima (5 Hours)
* Lunch
* JR Miyajima Ferry → Miyajimaguchi → Genbaku Dome-Mae (1.5 Hours)
* Hiroshima Museum (1.5 Hours) ($2)
* Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
* Atomic Bomb Dome
* Cenotaph for A-Bomb Victims
* Children’s Peace Monument
* Dinner
* Genbaku Dome-Mae → Yogogawa → Iwakuni → Shiyakusho (1.5 Hours)
* **Day 10 & 11**
* ????
* Ideas are to visit Osaka and Nara on the way to Hakone. We didn’t reserve a lot of time for Osaka because we’ve read that it’s lots of nightlife, which isn’t really our personality. Ideally, end day 11 in Tokyo so it’s easier to get the Tokyo Disneyland. I also considered moving this up to before Kyoto since it looks like we would end up taking the train into Tokyo and then having to back track to Hakone.
* **Day 12 – Tokyo (Disneyland) ($75)**
* Park Hours (9 AM – 9 PM)
* **Day 13 – Tokyo (Disneysea) ($75)**
* Park Hours (9 AM – 9 PM)
* **Day 14 – Tokyo (Travel)**
* TeamLabs Planets ($32)
* Depart from Haneda
1 comment
> days 10 and 11
IMO Nara is kinda redundant if you’ve already seen deer in Miyajima and a bunch of temples in Kyoto (and if you are not very into shrines and temples).
Osaka can be fun without nightlife, I had a good day just walking down Tenjinbashi to eat/shop, and also liked my day trip to Koyasan.
> two similar things
Maybe the two “see Tokyo from up high” activities (Skytree and government building)? Admittedly the latter is free but still.
> Issues in the itinerary
I don’t understand seeing Fushimi Inari after dark, it’s not very well lit and the nicest photos of the 1000 torii gates require daylight to shoot. If worried about crowds I would go to Fushimi Inari (and Arashiyama) first thing in the morning, with jetlag coming from the US there should be no problems with getting up early.
> crowded days
Day 5 Option 1 looks like a lot. I would shift the post-dinner Gion exploration to Option 2, and shift kimono forest until after dark (kimono forest takes way less time to see than Gion), during the day it’s just a bunch of poles but it’s a lot nicer at night when it’s properly lit up.