I’m currently planning a trip in October and I’m having trouble deciding on locations to visit and trying to strike a balance between city/food and nature exploration. I’m pretty new to traveling in general (first international and also my longest trip) and my usual travel style is slow-paced wandering with little/no itinerary, so trying to build an itinerary has been difficult (it doesn’t help that there’s so many good options that I’m getting analysis paralysis).
**Dates of Travel:** October 12th – October 31st
**Budget:** $10,000 USD limit (~1,411,450.00 yen), but ideally I’d only spend half of that (or less).
**Interests in order of priority (High -> Low):**
* Trying different cuisines
* Scenic views (more towards nature than cityscapes)
* Hiking (Beginner ~ Moderate)
* Cultural Experiences (Moreso one where I’m a participant, like a Tea Ceremony)
* Anime/Manga/Video Games
* Indoor Rock Climbing
* Photography
**Additional notes:**
* I’m traveling solo
* The flight is already booked and is nonrefundable. Everything else can be canceled/is flexible.
* I usually don’t like alcoholic drinks and have no interest in clubbing/similar stuff, so I’m not sure how much the “nightlife” aspects of cities will appeal to me.
* No interest in sumo (watching sports in general) or kabuki and I’m not usually a museum person
* I’ll probably be burned out on temples/shrines with my current itinerary, so any suggestions would preferably be replacements of existing ones
* I have yet to research: Transportation, JR Railpass, baggage shipping, restaurants
* I have some travel points to burn, so any recommendations for an experience that can be booked via TripAdvisor are welcome!
**Specific questions (general feedback/opinions are welcome!):**
1. Any opinions regarding staying in Matsumoto vs inside Kamikochi? Matsumoto seemed better for proximity to a larger array of food options, price, and potential socialization (I’d be staying at a hostel) while the other option would allow more hiking and would probably feel more relaxing to stay at. I’ve also been flipping back and forth between Takayama instead of Matsumoto (I have no strong inclination towards either).
1. How many days are recommended for Osaka if I just want to visit for the food? Would it be better to have some meals in Osaka as part of my Kyoto stay so I can travel to other locations?
1. Any opinions on one day trips to Fukuoka/Ise/Kobe vs spending multiple days in one (primarily regarding food followed by scenery)? If it matters, it’ll probably be a while until I revisit the region/Japan in general (and it’d likely be a winter Hokkaido trip when it happens).
**Current itinerary:**
*A * indicates something that’d be nice to visit, but something I could go without*
**Oct 12th – Tokyo**
* Landing ~4:30 PM
* Staying in Taito City
* Rest day due to jet lag
**Oct 13th – Tokyo**
*Staying an additional day in case I still need to recover from jetlag and to orientate myself.*
* Teamlab Planets
* *A little bit of shopping nearby (Itoya) and/or wandering around parks/gardens (Hamarikyu Gardens? Imperial Palace?)
* Sensō-ji (probably both day and night since I’m so close)
* *Ueno Park
* *Rikugien Gardens
* (If construction is completed. I couldn’t find the expected date) Teamlabs Borderless
**Oct 14th – Tokyo -> Matsumoto**
* Travel to hostel and store baggage (Probably arriving before actual check-in time)
* Travel to Kamikochi for hiking (Haven’t looked at timetables yet to see if there’d would be any issues)
* Return for actual check-in + dinner
* Wander city
**Oct 15th – Matsumoto**
* More hiking & city exploration
**Oct 16th – Matsumoto -> Kyoto**
*If I can snag a reservation for Kichi Kichi Omurice, I’ll rearrange my Kyoto to happen later. I’m also considering a stay in Kanazawa before heading to Kyoto.*
* Travel to Kyoto and visit tourist information center (figure I might as well since I’ll pass by it)
* Travel to hostel and drop off luggage
* Shogunzuka Mound
* *Kiyomizu-dera
* *Philosopher’s Path
* *Ippodo Tea Store
* Fushimi Inari (If time allows. If not, I’ll push it to another day)
* Gion/Pontocho/Kiyamachi
**Oct 17th – Kyoto**
* Tea ceremony
* *Samurai experience
* Arashiyama bamboo grove
* *Sagano Scenic Railway
* *Hozugawa River Boat Ride
**Oct 18th – Kyoto**
* Nara day trip
* Nara Park
* Kofuku-ji
* Tōdai-ji
* *Hiking trail: 山辺の道・狭井神社寄り (Saw this recommended by someone here)
* *Omiwa Jinja
* *Isonokami Jingu
**Oct 19th – Oct 22nd – Kyoto/Osaka?**
*Nothing has been determined as this is the section I’m struggling with, but I currently have 19th bookings for Kyoto and 20-22 for Osaka.*
* *Mount Hiei?
* *Den-Den Town?
* *Bike around the city?
* *Universal Studio?
* *Koyasan Temple stay?
* *Fukuoka?
* *Ise?
* *Kobe?
*Possible routes?*
* Fukuoka (2-days) -> Koyasan -> Ise
* Koyasan -> Osaka/Kobe -> Fukuoka (day trip) -> Ise
* Kobe -> Fukuoka -> Koyasan -> Ise
* Longer stay at one of the 4 cities?
**Oct 23 – Osaka? -> Hakone**
*My goal for Hakone is just to relax/unwind from all the walking/hiking, so there’s nothing planned. I’m debating a stay in Kawaguchiko instead due to the amusement park.*
* Check into ryokan (will be one that provides dinner)
**Oct 24th Hakone**
* Free day to relax that will likely contain light hiking/wandering around
**Oct 25-Oct 31st (Departure) – Tokyo**
*My thoughts for this section is that it’ll mostly be unplanned wandering, but here’s a list of thing I’ll probably do so far:*
* Kirby Cafe (if successfully booked)
* Ghibli Museum (if successfully booked)
* Shirohige’s Cream Puff Factory
* Pokemon Center
* Tokyo Ramen Festa
* Akihabara (This will probably be a whole day)
* Harajuku
* Arcade(s)
* Ginza (Haven’t research this location, but seen it mentioned a few times regarding food)
* *Ikebukuro
* *Shibuya
* *Other thematic/collab/gimmick restaurants (e.g. maid cafes, owl cafe)
*Day trips if I feel like getting out of the city:*
* *Mount Mitake day trip
* *Mount Takao
* *Senjogahara Marshland
**Other things I’ll do at some point (not location specific):**
– Restaurant that serves wagyu
– Restaurant that uses genuine wasabi
– Omakase
– Visit an Izakaya
– Check out a rock climbing gym or three