Itinerary Check: 1 month in Japan 2024

Itinerary Check: 1 month in Japan 2024

Hi Reddit, my fiance and I are planning our honeymoon for a month in Japan, in March/April next year, during the cherry blossom season. I came back from my first trip to Japan this January, and had such an amazing and memorable time (credits to you guys for helping with my itinerary for that!). My honeymoon will be my second time in Japan, and I was hoping to get some feedback/advice/suggestions etc. on my draft itinerary!

(Please excuse the formatting – I’m on mobile)

Please read after the itinerary for some notes…

**DAY 1 (12th March) – FLIGHT**
– Flight from Australia to Tokyo Haneda Airport
– Arrive in the evening
– Overnight stay in Tokyo (preferably Asakusa)

**DAY 2 (13th March) – Tokyo**
– Explore Asakusa
– Explore Skytree
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 3 (14th March) – Tokyo**
– Spend whole day at DisneySea
– Rental car for the day?
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 4 (15th March) – Tokyo**
– Explore Shibuya
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 5 (16th March) – Tokyo**
– Explora Shibuya
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 6 (17th March) – Tokyo**
– Explora Akihabara
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 7 (18th March) – Tokyo**
– Explore Akihabara
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 8 (19th March) – Nikko Day Trip**
– Day trip to Nikko using Nikko World Heritage Pass
– Leave early in morning on Tobu Asakusa line
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 9 (20th March) – Hakone**
– Use Hakone Kamakura Pass
– Travel from Tokyo to Hakone
– Hakone Loop
– Overnight stay in Hakone ryokan

**DAY 10 (21st March) – Kamakura/Enoshima**
– Use Hakone Kamakura Pass
– Travel from Hakone to Kamakura + Enoshima
– Enoden
– Overnight stay in Kamakura

**DAY 11 (22nd March) – Tokyo**
– Return to Tokyo
– Shimokitazawa + thrift stores
– Explore local areas (free roam)
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 12 (23rd March) – Tokyo**
– Free roam, Pokemon Centre, Sunshine City
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 13 (24th March) – Flight to Okinawa**
– Fly from Tokyo (Narita/Haneda) to Okinawa Naha Airport (morning flight – arrive in late morning)
– Car rental
– Explore local Naha area
– Okinawa World
– Overnight stay in Naha

**DAY 14 (25th March) – Okinawa**
– Drive up along Naha island
– Onna, Nago, etc. and activities along the way
– Overnight stay in

**DAY 15 (26th March) – Okinawa**
– Drive up along Naha island
– Churaumi Aquarium + local activities
– Overnight stay in Okinawa

**DAY 16 (27th March) – Flight from Okinawa to Osaka**
– Drive back to Naha
– Fly from Okinawa Naha Airport to Kansai Airport (maybe late morning or midday flight)
– Travel to Osaka
– Check-in to hotel and explore local area (thinking of Umeda)
– Overnight stay in Osaka

**DAY 17 (28th March) – Osaka**
– Full day at Universal Studios (with Express Pass, hopefully)
– Overnight stay in Osaka

**DAY 18 (29th March) – Yoshino Day Trip**
– Day trip to Mt Yoshino for cherry blossom viewing
– Overnight stay in Osaka

**DAY 19 (30th March) – Osaka**
– Shinsaibashi, Den Den Town
– Dotonbori at night
– Overnight stay in Osaka

**DAY 20 (31st March) – Osaka**
– Cup Noodles Museum Ikeda
– Free roam, shopping, etc.
– Overnight stay in Osaka

**DAY 21 (1st April) – Kawaguchiko**
– Take Shinkansen from Osaka to Mishima Station
– Transfer to Fujikyu bus and travel to Kawaguchiko Station
– Check-in to hotel and free roam local area (bike riding?)
– Overnight stay in Kawaguchiko

**DAY 22 (2nd April) – Kawaguchiko**
– Chureito Pagoda – cherry blossom ice cream
– Oshino Hakkai
– Overnight stay in Kawaguchiko

**DAY 23 (3rd April) – Kawaguchiko**
– Lake Yamanaka
– Free roam
– Overnight stay in Kawaguchiko

**DAY 24 (4th April) – Tokyo**
– Take Fujikyu bus back to Tokyo (Shinjuku Station)
– Explore Shinjuku
– Check-in to hotel
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 25 (5th April) – Tokyo**
– Explore Shinjuku
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 26 (6th April) – Tokyo**
– Explora Ginza + shopping
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 27 (7th April) – Tokyo**
– Explore Harajuku
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 28 (8th April) – Tokyo**
– Explore Toyosu (Lalaport mall)
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 29 (9th April) – Tokyo OR Day Trip**
– Free roam (e.g. Shibuya Sky, shopping, Parco Mall)
– OR day trip to Yokohama or Izu Peninsula
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 30 (10th April) – Tokyo**
– Full day Disneyland
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 31 (11th April) – Tokyo**
– Free roam Chiba, OR day trip
– Overnight stay in Tokyo

**DAY 32 (12th April) – FLIGHT**
– Flight from Haneda Airport to Australia

Notes:
———-
1) I don’t think we would need the JR Pass for this trip.
2) The reason why we are spending so many days in Tokyo is because we feel we didn’t get enough time in Tokyo last time (we got ~ 5 days including both Disneys). We didn’t get to explore as much as we wanted to.
3) I’ve only had a brief look of what activities we can do in Okinawa, hence it’s pretty empty at the moment. Anything we find, we can add to our itinerary later.
4) Similarly, we haven’t planned much for Tokyo because we want to be more spontaneous with our plans there, apart from places like Disney, Pokemon Cafe, etc. We also have a friend living there whom we plan to meet, so we aren’t worried about not having set plans (we had more fun that way!).
5) Since there are soooo many travel passes out there, are the passes I’ve chosen (Nikko WH & Hakone/Kamakura) good enough? We still have our Pasmo cards which we can use in the cities.
6) I’ve tried my best to plan the different places according to average cherry blossom forecasts, knowing that the forecast can vary every year (although I know Okinawa gets sakura very early, so I don’t mind missing it there as long as we get to see it on the main land).
7) We are planning to go to the theme parks (both Disneys & USJ) on weekdays, hopefully for less crowds (considering it would be peak tourist season).
8) Due to the length of our trip (and hence our budget), I doubt we will be able to stay at a hotel/ryokan with a private onsen with Mt Fuji view (that has been my dream, but it’s like $600-1000 AUD per night 🙁 ). Are there any suggestions for hotel/ryokan with private onsen alternatives, even in other places such as Hakone? We are trying to spend ~ $100 AUD per night, but I understand that such places would be far more expensive (we’ll see if we can spend a little extra, otherwise leave my dream for a future trip!)
9) We were originally planning to go to Sapporo during the Okinawa dates, as I really want to go to Shiroi Koibito Park. But, it seems like it would make more sense to go to Sapporo another time, such as during the snow festival, and even in March I’d have to pack extra warm (and possibly heavy) clothes. Hence, we decided to swap Sapporo with Okinawa, since it’s said to be more “tropical”.
10) Is it possible to do Izu Peninsula as a day trip from Tokyo? Or Yokohama?

Thank you (especially if you read this far!)