Hi! My husband and I are planning a 25 day trip to Japan for this summer, from mid July to mid August. We are both huge fans of art, culture, nature and food. So far we had a very relaxed itinerary, with longer stays per city, as I was supposed to be 5 months pregnant. Sadly, as of this week, I am not anymore. I’ve already added more activities, walks and museumtrips to our itinerary during our stay in Tokyo, but it still needs a lot of work for the rest of it. As you can see, there are still days unplanned or need to be changed.
Questions I have:
* This is a 25 day trip, with days unplanned. Any recommendations as to where we should go or visit?
* The number of days for Osaka may be too much now. I myself have been to Japan twice before, visiting Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. I actually really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and shopping in Osaka! However, it is my husband’s first time. Perhaps it would be nice to discover other (new) places together. I am therefore willing to shorten our stay in Osaka to 4 days, but where should we go during the rest of it?
* If there’s any advice or recommendations you have on this itinerary, I’m all ears. With everything going on, it sometimes feels a bit overwhelming. So any help is very much appreciated.
Our current itinerary:
* Day 0: Flight to HND Tokyo
# Part 1 – Tokyo (7 days)
* Day 1: Tokyo
* Morning: check-in at the hotel, have brunch
* Evening: discover Ginza.
* Day 2: Tokyo
* Morning: visit Sensoji-temple, Asakusa and head to the National museum.
* Evening: t.b.d.
* Day 3: Tokyo
* Morning: explore Akihabara en Ikebukuro
* Evening: t.b.d.
* Day 4: Tokyo
* Morning: Tsukiji market, Hama-rikya gardens and maybe a Kabuki show.
* Evening: explore Chuo Dori or Nihonbashi district.
* Day 5: Tokyo
* Morning: culture walk through Jimbocho, Imperial Gardens and Kagurazawa.
* Evening: t.b.d.
* Day 6: Tokyo
* Morning: Meji-shrine and Yoyogi Park
* Evening: explore Shinjuku
* Day 7: Tokyo
* Morning: Ghibli museum, explore Kichijoji and maybe Inokashira Park or Nakano Broadway.
* Evening: Shinjuku for Oimoide Yokocho and Kabukicho
# Part 2 – Kansai (12 days?)
* Day 8: Osaka
* Morning: Shinkansen to Osaka, check-in at hotel
* Evening: t.b.d.
* Day 9: Osaka
* Morning: visit Osaka Castle
* Evening: shopping and have food at Dotonbori
* Day 10: Osaka
* Visit Nara
* Day 11: Osaka
* Morning: shopping
* Evening: Dotonbori or explore some bars
* Day 12: Osaka
* Visit Kobe
* Day 13: Osaka?
* Day 14: Osaka?
* Day 15: Osaka?
* Day 16: Kyoto
* Morning: travel from Osaka to Kyoto, check-in at hotel
* Evening: explore Gion
* Day 17: Kyoto
* Morning: Philosophers path and cycle around.
* Evening: t.b.d.
* Day 18: Kyoto
* Morning: Kinkaku-ji park and Insho domoto museum.
* Evening: t.b.d.
* Day 19: Kyoto
* Free day/my husband has a list of things he wants to do.
# Part 3 – Unplanned (3 days)
* Day 20: ?
* Day 21: ?
* Day 22: ?
# Part 4 – Tokyo (3 days)
* Day 23: Tokyo
* Maybe explore Yokohama.
* Day 24: Tokyo
* Open to explore any place we might have missed.
* Day 25: Tokyo
* Open to explore any place we might have missed.
* Day 26: Tokyo
* All day: flight back home.
4 comments
Ghibli Museum is hard to get into. You have to book tickets wayyyyy in advance.
Shinjuku is amazing at night. Just be careful of people harrashing you to go to a bar/hostess club’s. They seem friendly. However, they will get you drunk/drug you, charge you for expensive drinks and won’t let you leave until you pay. Have heard it has gotten worst since covid. Kabuchio is the only place I experienced that behaviour. Also if you’re down that way Golden Gai is a beautiful part of Shinjuku to visit (and oldest part of Tokyo), I would go in the daytime though.
My favourite part of Osaka is Shinsekai. It’s definitely worth a visit! The Tsutenkaku tower is so cool! Great food in that area, too. There is an old arcade (pre covid 2019, not sure if it’s there now) that was a lot of fun to visit!
I suppose you could spend more days in Kyoto. Kyoto was my absolute favourite part of my trip. Love that city. Fushimi Inari and the bamboo Grove are must visit spots (touristy, but for a reason because they are beautiful).
Otherwise, catch the skinkasen to Hiroshima? I recommend spending a couple of day there and seeing the bomb dome, Peace Park, museum and catching the ferry to Miyajima Island (could stay there one or two nights, there’s a lot to see and do there!)
I spent one day in Hiroshima and Miyajima, I regret not staying longer. Beautiful part of Japan
Also if you wanted to not stay in Tokyo as long you could go out to Hakone, see Lake Ashi and see the Owakudani volcano. They have awesome boat rides on Lake Ashi and you can view the volcano craters on a ropeway. Hakone has some beautiful places to stay, the place I stayed at had a private onsen.
Also, I totally recommend booking a tea ceremony or some kind of art/craft/knife sharpening class. Great way to get souvenirs and really make the trip memorable ☺️
Anyway, these are things I’m thinking of from the top of my head. You can message me if you like and I can help you (I’m a travel consultant, new to the industry but I have travelled to Japan!) 😊
For Kinkaku-ji, it opens at 9 am but I highly recommend getting there early. We got there at 830 am and were like 4th in line, but by 850, the line was almost to the main entrance.
Also, since you have a few free days, I would consider maybe a day or two in Hakone to stay in a ryokan or another hot springs resort in a different area.
Firstly let me just say that I’m very sorry about the pregnancy, whatever happened there, that sucks massively ❤️
We just came back from 18 days in Japan where we stayed in 8 different places, so your itinerary seems nicely chilled in comparison! The three days marked as ‘Osaka?’ could definitely be a trip to a totally new location! Hiroshima is a great option, a couple of days in the city (which has excellent shopping and the very moving peace park and museum) and a day visiting Miyajima island which is wonderful.
Or if you fancy a change of pace, you could visit an onsen town for some R&R! I haven’t been there myself, but Kinosaki Onsen in Toyooka region looks beautiful. It was axed from our itinerary in favour of Kurokawa Onsen (which was _fabulous_, but it’s in the heart of Kyushu and meant hiring a car, so perhaps not an option for you). But Kinosaki would be first on my list next time. Lovely traditional town, lots of great food, onsen and close to a beach for a paddle. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3525.html
Hakone (as already mentioned) is a great shout for your unplanned zone before the return to Tokyo. We spent two nights there and really enjoyed the relaxed mountain vibes! The Open Air Art Museum was one of our trip highlights. It’s well suited to a three day trip as you can purchase a three day travel pass that covers your trains and buses in the area, including a lovely loop up the cable car and over the lake. We basically stole the whole itinerary from this site – https://thebambootraveler.com/hakone-itinerary/
I’d recommend Gora as your base there, there are lovely Ryoken inns to stay in, and we had a great meal at the Gora Bar & Grill.
All the best for a great trip!
If you enjoy nature, there’s a number of smaller day hikes and similar you could do (of course, with the disclaimer that it’ll be hot). From Osaka, you could do a day in Mino-o/Minoh for the waterfalls, or in Kobe you could do the Nunobiki waterfall/herb garden.
Equally, you have enough free time in your itinerary to do a short trip to Shodoshima (there’s a ferry from Kobe, not sure about direct from Osaka) or somewhere in the Setouchi area such as Naoshima – a lot of the islands there keep permenant exhibitions from the Setouchi Art Triannale so there’s lots to see.