Itinerary Check: 2 Months / 61 Days, Autumn 2023, First Time in Japan

Hello! I’m currently planning a longer trip to Japan this autumn (3.10. – 2.12.) and would welcome any feedback on my current itinerary. A lot of the activities are still vague, especially for the longer stays in Tokyo and Kyoto. But I have settled on where I want to stay and for how long and would love to hear your opinion on whether my plan is sensible and what you might change. The shorter stays are more concrete since their length depends on what I’m actually trying to see there. I also have some more specific questions at the end of this post. I know it’s a lot so I would be more than happy even if you just answer a single question.

A little bit about me: I’m a male solo traveler in my early thirties visiting Japan for the first time. My interests are pretty broad including history, culture, anime, manga, nature, photography, science, infrastructure, industry, abandoned places, food and music. I’m not that interested in the nightlife/clubbing, sports or shopping though. I’m decently fit and have some experience with solo travelling and multi-day hikes.

# Itinerary

Here are the main constraints I was trying to fulfill:

– Flight is already booked: Arrival 3.10. in Narita, Departure 2.12. from Kansai
– Visit Takayama autumn festival (9.10. + 10.10.), hotel is already booked for 8.10. – 11.10.
– Visit Jidai festival and/or Kurama fire festival in Kyoto (22.10.)
– See Kyoto in autumn colors
– Do outdoor activities like hiking in the Japanese alps, cycling and kayaking earlier rather than later
– See a fireworks display

### Tokyo Pt. 1 | 5 nights | 3.10. – 8.10.
– 3.10. Arrival in Narita early afternoon
– TBD

### Takayama | 3 nights | 8.10. – 11.10.
– 8.10. Early Bus from Shinjuku to Takayama (5h)
– Explore (2.5d)
– 9.10. + 10.10. Takayama autumn festival
– Showa-kan museum
– Morning market
– Locations from the anime Hyouka

### Hirayu Onsen | 3 nights | 11.10. – 14.10.
– 11.10. Early Bus to Hirayu Onsen (1h)
– I’m looking at three day hikes but I will probably rest one day:
– Circle around the Kamikochi valley
– Take the Shinhotaka ropeway up, hike to Mt. Yakedake, descend towards Kamikochi
– ~~Mt. Norikura~~ (just realized that the Norikura Skyline access road is closed this year)
– Backup in case of bad weather or tired legs: Hida Great Limestone Cave

### Kanazawa | 2 nights | 14.10 – 16.10.
– 14.10. Early Bus to Shirakawa-go (2h), spend half a day there then move on to Kanazawa (1h)
– Explore (1.5d)
– Higashichaya old town
– Samurai district
– Ninja weapon museum
– Omichu market
– Kenroku-en garden
– 16.10. Late train to Osaka (4h)

### Osaka | 7 nights | 16.10. – 23.10.
– Explore (1.5d)
– Dotonbori
– Denden town
– TBD
– Rest (1d)
– Overnight temple stay in Koya-san (1.5d)
– Hike the pilgrimage trail
– Stay in one of the temples for the night
– Explore Koya-san in the morning
– Day trip to Kobe (1d)
– Akashi-Kaikyo-Bridge tour in the morning
– Explore Kobe afterwards
– 22.10. Day trip to Kyoto for Jidai festival and/or Kurama fire festival (1d)

### Tottori | 2 nights | 23.10. – 25.10.
– 23.10. Early train to Tottori (3h)
– Explore (0.75d)
– Sand dunes
– Sand museum (sculptures)
– 24.10. Hike and kayak along the Uradome coast (1d)

### Himeji | 1 night | 25.10. – 26.10.
– 25.10. Early train to Himeji (2h)
– Explore (0.75d)
– Himeji castle
– Koko-en garden

### Omishima (Shimanami Kaido) | 2 nights | 26.10. – 28.10.
– 26.10. Early train to Onomichi (1.5h), rent a bike and cycle half of the Shimanami Kaido route to Omishima
– 27.10. Shorter bike trip around Omishima
– Oyamazumi Shrine Treasure Hall
– Okunoshima, abandoned island with rabbits and ruins
– 28.10. Cycle the rest of the Shimanami Kaido route to Imabari, take a bus to Hiroshima in the evening (2h)

### Hiroshima | 4 nights | 28.10. – 1.11.
– Explore (1d)
– 29.10. Food Festival
– Peace Memorial
– Hiroshima Castle
– Shukkei-en garden
– Miyajima (1d)
– Rest (1d)
– Optional: Yamato maritime museum in Kure (1h outside of Hiroshima)

### Nagasaki | 2 nights | 1.11. – 3.11.
– 1.11. Early train to Nagasaki (3h)
– Explore (0.75d)
– Gunkanjima, battleship island
– Mt. Inasa, night view
– Dejima, artificial island that housed foreign traders during the era of isolation
– Meganebashi, stone bridge from the 1600s
– Ikeshima island, abandoned coal mine with derelict apartment buildings (0.75d)

### Kagoshima | 2 nights | 3.11. – 5.11.
– 3.11. Early train to Kagoshima (3.5h)
– Explore (1d)
– Mt. Sakurajima, volcano
– Sengan-en garden
– Rest (0.5d)

### Yakushima | 4 nights | 5.11. – 9.11.
– 5.11. Early Ferry to Yakushima (2h)
– TBD, mainly hiking and relaxing (3.5d)

### Sapporo | 3 nights | 9.11. – 12.11.
– 9.11. Fly to Sapporo (1d)
– Explore (1.5d)
– Mt. Moiwa
– Susukino, downtown area
– Underground walkways
– Historical village of Hokkaido
– Trip to Otaru (0.5d)

### Hakodate | 2 nights | 12.11. – 14.11
– 12.11. Early train to Noboribetsu (1h), visit Upopoy Ainu museum and Jigokudani (hell valley), late train to Hakodate (3h)
– Explore (1d)
– Mt. Hakodate, night view
– Goryokaku Park, historic star fort

### Sendai | 2 nights | 14.11. – 16.11.
– 14.11. Early train to Sendai (4h)
– Explore (1d)
– Matsushima, scenic coast line (1d)
– 16.11. Late train to Tokyo (3h)

### Tokyo Pt. 2 | 6 nights | 16.11. – 22.11.
– TBD
– 22.11. Late train to Nagano (3h)

### Nagano | 3 nights | 22.11. – 25.11
– Explore (2d)
– 23.11. Fireworks festival
– Togakushi shrine
– Zenko-ji temple
– Snow monkey park (if the monkeys are there)
– 25.11. Late train to Nikko (3.5h)

### Nikko | 2 nights | 25.11. – 27.11.
– Explore (2d)
– Temple complex
– Hike in the surrounding area

### Kyoto | 5 nights | 27.11. – 2.12.
– 27.11. Early train to Mishima (3h), view of Mt. Fuji (Izu Panorama Park), continue to Kyoto by train (2h)
– TBD
– Trip to Nara (1d)
– 2.12. Fly back in the evening from Kansai International

# Questions

1. Am I going too fast, too slow or just right?
2. Does my route make sense?
3. Am I short-changing Osaka? I know it’s the longest stay with 7 nights but I mainly use it as a hub and only have 2.5 days to explore the city one of which is currently supposed to be a rest day. I might add Universal or the aquarium but at the moment I’m leaning against those two.
4. Has anyone been to the Jidai festival? I feel like I might be overvaluing it.
5. Is it possible to visit the Jidai festival during the day and the Kurama fire festival afterwards?
6. Has anyone been to the fire festival and can share their experience? It looks extremely crowded so I’m not sure if I would even enjoy it. I assume it’s also going to be difficult to get back to Osaka in time so I would probably have to stay in Kyoto that night. Or would it be possible to leave relatively early and reliably make it?
7. Tottori is probably the next destination I would drop if I had to choose one. It’s a bit out of the way and doesn’t have a lot going on. I really like the look of the Uradome coast though. Right now my plan is to only do it if the weather looks good and otherwise stop in Okayama instead. Any thoughts or experiences?
8. How much of a thing is Halloween in Japan? I know about Shibuya but can I expect relatively normal operations elsewhere? I’m not a big party or Halloween guy so originally I had planned to travel from Hiroshima to Nagasaki that evening. Or should I get out of my comfort zone and give it a try?
9. Hiroshima and Nagasaki both have peace memorials / museums. Are they different enough to both warrant a visit or is it more of the same? Which one would you prioritize?
10. For Nagasaki I have both Gunkanjima and Ikeshima on my list which are pretty similar. It feels like a waste to do basically the same activity of visiting an abandoned island on two consecutive days. On the other hand: I like abandoned islands. Gunkanjima seems like the more convenient and iconic choice but I like the fact that you can explore Ikeshima on your own. Would you do both and if not which one would you choose?
11. Would you shorten the Yakushima stay?
12. Should I add an extra day to Sendai, maybe do a hike in the surrounding mountains (e.g. Naruko Gorge)?
13. Since I will be staying in Tokyo on two different occasions are there two neighborhoods that would make for a good contrast?
14. I would like to visit the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel in Tokyo but you need to have someone with you who understands Japanese. It’s not important enough to me that I would hire a professional interpreter though. Best case scenario for me would be finding someone who also wants to go. Should I just ask around in the meet-up thread and line group or are there more specific places for that kind of interaction?
15. I would like to get a nice view of Mt. Fuji at some point. Right now I’m planning to take a break on my way from Nikko to Kyoto to do that. Should I do a day trip from Tokyo instead?
16. I am also considering to push back the Koya-san stay and/or to do Nikko earlier to get better autumn foliage timing. Koya-san seems pretty difficult without some major changes but I could do Nikko between Sendai and Tokyo. The only problem is that the Nagano fireworks festival fixes the end date for my second Tokyo stay so I would effectively trade two days in Tokyo for two days in Kyoto. Would that make the Tokyo stay too short? If I go that route should I also add a day or two in Nagoya between Nagano and Kyoto?

2 comments
  1. 1. I can be too fast, but not because there is a lot of hotel change (I know some people would avoid, but that is down to personal choice, I do not care). For me it’s too fast in the sense that covering all Japan in two months will leave a LOT of gaps between each locations. For reference, I spent a whole month in Kyushu only and there is still a lot of places that I left out that could have been interesting. I did a 3 week trip going all over Japan and not that I returned several time, I keep finding new places in regions that I already quickly visited. If I had to re-do it again, I would just focus on moving around a smaller region each time so I would save time and money traveling again to the same regions over different trips.
    2. Kind of. But usually the poing of going out of a different airport is to save money on train inside of the country, in your case it does not as you will still have to do Tokyo-Kansai twice. I would prefer doing Kyoto and Osaka together and fly out of Tokyo.
    3. Only way to decide if you stay long enough or not in a city is to break it down day by day with some activity on each day. I personally do not plan rest day, you can just add a couple of options and just do whatever you want depending on how you feel. There is much more to Osaka than what you listed.
    4. Not been to that specific festival, but if I could, for sure I would do it. It might not take the full day, so just be ready to include some other activities.
    5. Technically I guess yes, just check the schedule of both. Also try to have a good idea of how to return to Osaka from Kurama and be aware of the train/bus schedule. It would be unfortunate to be stuck there.
    6. Again, check schedule of both the festival and bus/train.
    7. Tottori was fine, you could spend more time around Tottori/Shimane too, as I said previously, you are not going deep in any region. Okayama you would have different type of activities, for example bike in the Kibi plain, go to Kurashiki, also really valid option.
    8. Not really a thing, you are more likely going to see adult in costume going to bars. I was in Kitakyushu on Halloween night in 2019 and just noticed some adults that seems to be in party mode.
    9. Both are different as they would present the local perspective, but there is some similarities as both will show destruction caused by the bomb. I would say that unless you absolutely do not have time, do both. With 4 nights in Hiroshima, that is a bit on the high side, so you spending that long in Hiroshima without seeing the Peace Museum seems to be a mistake to me. With the time you have in Nagasaki, it’s harder to add especially if you want to see the islands. I would say 2 days for the city of Nagasaki itself is good as there is a lot of different things to see.
    10. I have not done either of them, but if you only have 2 days in Nagasaki, I would absolutely only do maximum one. Nagasaki have a lot of interesting aspect to it’s history that going all the way there only to spend time in abandonne islands seems to be a waste.
    11. Depends… I spend 2 nights. First day I took the boat around lunch time, got to Yakushima too late to do much. Next day I circled the island. Third day I hiked Shiratani Unsuikyo before getting the ferry back to Yakushima in the afternoon. It can be good if you want to go snorkling/swiming or if you want to do one more hike, or if you leave earlier in the last day…
    12. The other classic stop from Sendais is Yamadera, but there is for sure many different options of things to do around this region. Again, just stopping 2 nights in Sendai is a really short time for the whole Tohoku region.
    13. Shibuya/Shinjuku and Asakusa/Ueno. Those two area are quite different.
    14. I guess you can ask there, but don’t expect a lot of tourist to speak Japanese. Not saying there is none, but it’s really not the majority.
    15. Most common places are Hakone and Kawaguchiko. Hakone can work well as as stop between Tokyo and Kansai, but Kawaguchiko is not as convenient as you either have to take a but to Mishima station or take the train and backtrack toward Tokyo to take the shinkansen in Shin-Yokohama or all the way back in Shinagawa.
    16. At this point you need to decide by yourself what are your priority. Also avoid Nikko on the weekend during autumn color, it’s apparently rally popular and bunch of traffic.

  2. Hi NarrowDreams

    The one suggestion I would make is to go North first and then head south.

    The Autumn colours are at their peak in Hokkaido and Aomori region in October. Kyoto/Osaka/Tokyo/Fuji will have more autumn colours in November.

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