Hey everyone,
Been lurking the sub for a while, and I’m currently planning my first trip for this fall season.
I’ll (21M) be travelling solo. Interests include: wandering/exploring, photography, nature, culture, anime, food, and shopping.
Tentative dates for this trip are November 27 to December 11. Nothing is booked yet, so everything can be adjusted based on feedback. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read! よろしくお願いします。
**Itinerary Overview:**
**Day 1 Tokyo (Monday, Nov. 27)**
* 5:00 PM landing at HND
* Check into hotel in Shibuya (3 nights)
* Wander around Shibuya
**Day 2 Tokyo (Tuesday, Nov. 28)**
* Meiji Shrine
* Shopping in Harajuku + Shibuya
* Shibuya Sky reservation in the evening
**Day 3 Tokyo (Wednesday, Nov. 29)**
* Shinjuku Gyoen
* Shinjuku (Kabukicho Tower, Golden Gai, Omoide Yokocho, etc.)
**Day 4 Hakone (Thursday, Nov. 30)**
* Hakone loop
* Ryokan stay (1 night)
**Day 5 Kyoto/Nara (Friday, Dec. 1)**
* Arrive at Kyoto Station, head straight to Nara
* Nara Park, Todai-ji, Nakatanidou Mochi
* Check into hotel in Gion (5 nights)
**Day 6 Kyoto (Saturday, Dec. 2)**
* Arashiyama
* Bamboo Grove
* Tenryu-ji
* Daihikaku Senkōji Temple
* Sagano Scenic Railway
* Kinkaku-ji
* Time permitting: Nijo Castle, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kamogawa Delta
**Day 7 Kyoto (Sunday, Dec. 3)**
* Kurama to Kibune hike (I really want to see the more rural side of Kyoto)
* Explore Gion at night
* Yasaka Shrine
**Day 8 Kyoto (Monday, Dec. 4)**
* Higashiyama walking route
* Kiyomizu-dera
* Sannenzaka, Ninenzaka, Yasaka Pagoda
* Kodai-ji
* Nanzen-ji
* Zenrin-ji
* Philosopher’s Path
* Ginkakuji
**Day 9 Kyoto/Uji (Tuesday, Dec. 5)**
* Fushimi Inari early morning
* Uji day trip
* Byodo-in Temple
* Real life locations of the anime Sound! Euphonium
* Enjoy some green tea and soba
**Day 10 Osaka (Wednesday, Dec. 6)**
* Arrive in Osaka
* Osaka Castle (don’t plan on going in)
* America-mura
* Walk through Shinsaibashisuji to Dotonbori
* Shinsekai
* Check into hotel in Umeda (2 nights)
**Day 11 Himeji/Kobe/Osaka (Thursday, Dec. 7)**
* Himeji Castle in the morning
* Stop in Kobe for lunch
* Umeda Sky in the evening
**Day 12 Tokyo (Friday, Dec. 8)**
* Return to Tokyo
* Imperial Palace
* Tokyo Station
* Ramen Street
* Character Street
* Explore Marunouchi and Ginza districts at night
* Check into hotel in Ueno (3 nights)
**Day 13 Tokyo (Saturday, Dec. 9)**
* Asakusa
* Senso-ji
* Sumida Park
* Tokyo Skytree
* Sumida River Cruise (Asakusa to Hamarikyu Garden)
* Explore Tokyo Tower area
* Roppongi Hills Mori Tower
**Day 14 Tokyo (Sunday, Dec. 10)**
* Akihabara
* Ueno park
**Day 15 Tokyo (Monday, Dec. 11)**
* Free day
* Fly out of HND at 6:55 PM
**Additional notes/concerns:**
* I haven’t delved too deep into transportation logistics yet, so I realize some days may be ambitious
* I’m having the most trouble organizing the Kyoto itinerary, and there are still a lot of sights I’d like to include:
* Chion-in Temple + Shogunzuka Mound hike
* Keage Incline
* Shinnyodo Temple
* Heian-jingū Shrine
* Tōfuku-ji Temple
* Quite a few of these are along the day 8 route, but that day is already packed. I’m not sure what is essential and what can be skipped.
* Night illuminations in Kyoto could allow me to see more in a day. Still need to do more research.
That’s the rough plan for now. Any recommendations and optimizations would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time.
5 comments
> Night illuminations in Kyoto
You are kind of late for Kyoto night illuminations, for example Kiyomizudera night illumination ends on 11.30; Kodaiji goes to 12.11 but it’s basically tree branches towards the end, [Tofukuji was fallen leaves by 12.1 last year](https://tofukuji.jp/news/%e4%bb%8a%e6%97%a5%e3%81%ae%e7%b4%85%e8%91%89%e7%8a%b6%e6%b3%81%e3%80%802022%e5%b9%b411%e6%9c%888%e6%97%a5/)
If night viewing / foliage are of any interest, I would go to Kyoto ASAP after landing maybe on the last HND-ITM flight of the night.
Day 9 – I would suggest that you look into doing Fushimi Inari, Uji and Nara on the same day. From Fushimi Inari, you will likely have to take the JR line to Uji. You can stay on the same line and go to Nara and then work your way back from Nara to Uji and then Kyoto. Or, vice versa.
In Nara your plans are to check out the mocha pounding and Todai- ji and Nara park. This can all be done on the Fushimi Inari day, but you will have to leave early.
If you do this, day 8 can then be broken up a bit more. Just a suggestion.
I would recommend moving your trip about 7-10 days earlier if you can. As it stands right now, you’ll miss the fall colors, which I think also means there are no nighttime illuminations at the temples. When I went a couple years back, the last day for fall nighttime illuminations was around November 26th.
I personally would trade a Kyoto day for a Tokyo day if you can, since there is just SO much stuff to do there. But you seem to love Kyoto, so it’s up to you!
I think apart from the swap of days to catch fall leaves, your itinerary is actually quite reasonable. Since you are going to quite a lot of temples & shrines, make sure you get a couple Goshuincho to collect all the shuins.
If you ended up going to Uji as planned, I recommend checking out Manpuku Ji (next to JR Manpuku station, one station away (or 15 mins walk) from Uji station. It’s a Chinese style temple which looks very unique comparing to the typical Japanese temples in Kyoto & Nara.