Hi all! My girlfriend and I (both late 40s F) are planning our first trip to Japan this fall and would love any feedback and advice on our itinerary. Thanks so much for any insights you can share!
**Some background on us:**
* Flying in from Chicago, USA
* This is a bucket-list trip for us both, so we’re willing to splurge where/when it makes sense
* Love gardens, culture, food, wine/sake/whiskey, history, and nature and hiking (but not looking to do Mt. Fuji scale hikes)
* Excited to see some beautiful fall colors
* Since it’s not likely we’ll be back anytime soon, we want to make sure we’re seeing enough of Japan, but while spending enough time in each city/area to get a feel for it. We don’t love jumping from hotel to hotel every night.
* We tend to opt for more of the off-the-beaten path places vs. super touristy. And while we of course want to spend some time in Tokyo, it’s not our biggest priority.
* Typically we like to have a couple activities planned, but then leave schedule flexible enough for some spontaneity
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**Itinerary**
Under each day, I’ve listed some but not necessarily all the things we would like to do. Interested in any feedback/recommendations!
One question we keep asking ourselves: is it worth it for any portion of this trip to rent a car, to give us more flexibility to explore (maybe in the Kanazawa/Takayama section)? We’re leaning towards no… but open to suggestion.
**Day 1 – 10/29: Arrive in Tokyo from Chicago**
* Arrive in early evening on 10/29
* Check in, find nearby food, crash at hotel
**Days 2-3 – 10/30-10/31: Tokyo**
* TeamBorderless/teamLab Planets
* Hamarikyu Gardens
* Tsukiji Outer Market
* Nezu Museum
* Shibuyu crossing
* Tokyo National Museum
**Day 4 – 11/1: Train from Tokyo to Kyoto**
* TBD which sites/activities we’ll do upon arrival. List of options below in Days 5-7
**Days 5-7 – 11/2-11/4: Kyoto**
* Tenru-ji Temple
* Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
* Gion district
* Pontocho Street
* Philosophers Walk
* Nishiki Market
* Moss Temple [http://saihoji-kokedera.com/top.html](http://saihoji-kokedera.com/top.html)
* Possible day trip to Osaka or Himeji – any opinions on one vs. the other… or neither?
**Day 8 – 11/5: Train from Kyoto to Kanazawa**
* Kenrokuen gardens
* Museum – maybe 21st Century Art Museum or Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts
**Day 9 – 11/6: Bus from Kanazawa to Takayama**
* Get first bus out and stop in Shirakawa-go for the day
* To Takayama in the evening
**Day 10 – 11/7: Takayama**
* Very open to ideas here…
* Utsue 48 waterfalls
* Day trip national park town
* Cooking class?
**Day 11 – 11/8: shuttle from Takayama to Wanosato Onsen**
* Spend day at Onsen
**Day 12 – 11/9: Wanosato Onsen**
* Spend day at Onsen
* Q: Would we be bored with 2 full days at the Onsen? Our thought is that we’ll be getting wiped out from all the travel, and a relaxing couple days in the Ryokan would be lovely.
**Day 13 – 11/10: Train from Wanosato Onsen to Tokyo**
* Not planning on a lot this day. Likely just getting back and staying near HND in the evening, getting nice dinner and crashing at hotel.
**Day 14 – 11/11: Return flight home from Tokyo to Chicago**
* Morning flight back home
* zzzzz
3 comments
> Excited to see some beautiful fall colors
You won’t have fall colors in Tokyo/Kyoto/Kanazawa (they peak in late November), and Takayama city peaks in early November. So I suggest to flip your trip around.
> more of the off-the-beaten path places vs. super touristy
Not sure what your preferred balance is between “iconic famous must-see” and “super touristy”, but everything on your Kyoto list (possibly except Saihoji thanks to their reservations system), much of Tokyo, and the village of Shirakawago all fit into the latter category.
> 2 full days at the Onsen
This depends vastly on travel style, but one would have to pay us to do more than one night at an onsen ryokan this rural (I like ryokan – in moderation – but I have a threshold for too much ryokan style omotenashi). If you have never stayed in ryokan before, consider if you would enjoy the regimented schedule, whether you want two big dinners on consecutive nights, whether it bothers you that the [in-room baths are not mineral onsen water](https://www.wanosato.com/faq.html), etc.
> Osaka vs Himeji
Osaka is a city, Himeji is basically the large castle. If you are not very keen on cities I’d pick Himeji any day (it can be a half-day trip, so you can spend the other half doing something else in Kyoto).
> sake
You can go to the Fushimi sake district (near Chushojima station) as a half-day trip from Kyoto, there are sake barrels at the station 😀
I haven’t been to Kanazawa or Takayama, but honestly looking at them online I think there are places you could better spend your time.
Since you said you say you love whiskey and sake, I could recommend a sake brewery tour, or even the world famous Yamazaki whiskey distillery tour. I did it in 2019 and it was very cool. It’s a little bit outside Kyoto.
I would also recommend (again not familiar with the one you planned so only going off firsthand experience from my trips) Kinosaki Onsen. It’s an amazing little hot spring town northwest of Kyoto that has amazing locally caught seafood.
It has 7 public baths, and the idea is you do a bath crawl throughout the night. It also has great foot baths if you want while you wait for the train or whatever. There is also an aquarium and a gondola to a nearby mountain top, so there’s some stuff to do other than just baths all day.
Kinosaki Onsen was my favorite place in Japan across 2 different 2 week trips.
I’m happy to answer any questions, just let me know.
Have been all these places, not a bad plan.
Definitely go himeiji castle in the morning and from there go Osaka castle, then dontonbori and late train back Kyoto. Also consider time in Nara.
In takayama walk around the main streets where the old buildings are, lots of food. I then went on a walk around the hillside through a series of shrines and temples where nobody else was..it was so wierd after all the crowds everywhere else in Japan. It’s called the Higashiyama walking course, I did it early morning so if you go later in day there may be more people there.