Need Itinerary Help! 11 Day Trip with Tokyo Base and Plan For Kyoto/Osaka/Hiroshima

10 comments

1. I don’t understand the back and forth to Tokyo…that’s 2 hours one way (even with Shinkansen) just to Kyoto, and another hour or so for Osaka. And at a minimum, 4 hours to Hiroshima, but those travel times can vary depending on when you leave. Do you seriously want to spend 4-8 hours of each day in transit (and *costly*, too- even with a rail pass)? That sounds like a tremendous waste. Why would you not just stay in Kyoto or Osaka, when you already have 2 days planned there? There are plenty of affordable accommodations for an overnight stay (and for groups)- hotels, ryokans, hostels, Airbnb, etc.

   And honestly, just looking at Kyoto’s itinerary, it’s very busy, when you consider the travel distance to even get there. Moreso for Hiroshima.

2. Just to clarify, are you going from Tokyo to Hiroshima on day 6? Then doing all of those things? Are you flying or taking a shinkansen? Either way, I dont think this is possible. You will be in an insane rush the entire time.

3. For the love of God please just stay in a hotel in Tokyo when you are sightseeing there. Then switch to 1 hotel in either Osaka or Kyoto to see those two cities and I suppose you could go to Hiroshima for a day trip from there. What you have planned here back and forth from Tokyo is ridiculous. I’ve never heard of someone doing this every day

4. Omg what. Do Tokyo at the beginning and end only. You will be wasting SO much time on the Shinkansen with all of the back and forth. Shinkansens are fast, but you are really underestimating how much actual travel time this takes up. 😵‍💫

5. But your time is worth it too, right? Why waste your time just to make the hotel and pass cost worth it? 😩

6. thanks for clarifying… still I agree with many the back and forth is unnecessarily and can make one more tiring and the at least an hour wasted for nothing unless one is reading, looking at passing sceneries, eating or sleeping. Then again, for me, it is a no-way.
   Secondly you gotta pack and unpack things from your main luggage for short getaway which is also a hassle to me. I rather just sweep everything into their pouches / bags and pack all into the luggage and unload what is needed again.
   Is the Tokyo base a hotel? If it is a hotel then you gotta check in and out. If it is an airbnb, then shouldn’t you consider depositing luggage at say luggage room in Kyoto or else just bring it along?
   I am planning my getaway too and I decided not to go for Hiroshima because lacking of time. I prefer to do things slower and/or spending more time at a certain place instead of rushing to catch up on schedules.
   So my plan goes:
   Tokyo (4N) – Kyoto (2N) – Osaka (5N). Osaka shall be my base to get day trips to Kobe, Nagoya, Hyogo.
   And that means I need multi-cities tickets because my arrival airport is not the same as departure.

   I ever was in a group trip with train rides and we travelled upwards in UK and only back to London for departure (we arrived in London too although in different airport). Trust me, most of us each lugged our 2-luggages along .

7. I think you are packing in way too many things. The most fun I’ve had in Japan cities is just wandering around neighborhoods, walking through super markets, trying random restaurants. You’re going to miss all that rushing around between tourist spots.

8. I’m a little confused by this itinerary – not so much the travel plans but the keeping a hotel room. Is the group going to go from a hotel room for five people and swap it out to a room for one?

   In Japan they typically charge per person and not per room.

   If you’re going to be out of Tokyo for five nights then why not just forward your luggage on to the next hotel in Tokyo? Or if it is the same hotel why not ask the hotel to keep the luggage while you’re out of Tokyo and then come back to it… without spending on an empty hotel room?

9. Agree with u/whiran regarding how to handle all of your bags.

   In terms of your actual itinerary, since presumably I am looking at the most recent version….

   Yes shinkansen are great, but I think you are overestimating how much time you will have to get things done on Day 1 in Kyoto. Lots of places, like temples, close early, and shops near temples also tend to close early seem they keep hours closer to the temples. The other shopping streets surrounding Nishiki stay open later but Nishiki itself tends to close down by 5 or 6.

   Ginkakuji and Arashiyama are on the other side of Kyoto from one another. It’s going to make that day quite hard as well.

   You have such little time, I would not change hotels between Kyoto and Osaka, pick one.

   Yes, the shinkansen from Hiroshima to Tokyo is covered, but you are not leaving Hiroshima at 8 pm to get back to Tokyo, and again I think you are underestimating shinkansen times. There are very very few Hikari shinkansen that go from Hiroshima. You will more than likely need to change trains in Shin-Osaka and then go to Tokyo. The Hikari is slower than the Nozomi and more like 2.5 hours. They also stop running earlier than the non-covered Nozomi.

   The people going to Hiroshima are not going to have time to go to the aquarium. I would also make sure you know when the last train from Shin-Osaka to Tokyo is that you can take. I would recommend also making sure it will let you make any and all connections you need to get to your hotel in Tokyo.

   Good luck!

10. It doesn’t make any sense to pay for a hotel room in Tokyo to store your luggage in while you are staying in different cities, which seems to be your plan if I understand it correctly. Just take your luggage with you. Some hotels will also allow you to store your luggage with them if you are returning within a short period.