My SO and I are thinking about going on a trip to Japan in Spring 2024 and want to start thinking about potential destinations. Neither of us have ever been to Japan before or know Japanese, but both of us have some experience traveling internationally and are physically fit.
Ideally, the trip would be around 14 days and I’m thinking we might do the standard tourist run of:
Fly into Tokyo (round trip ticket) > Take Shinkansen to Kyoto > Take Shinkansen to Osaka > Take Shinkansen back to Tokyo > Fly back home
The only other potential destination I’m thinking about is Okinawa. It seems like logistically it could get pretty annoying and might add chaos to the plan, and I have read that it is quite inaccessible without a car and not always worth making a detour.
On the other hand, I’m a bit of a history nerd and my grandfather (who I was very close to) who passed away recently actually fought in the Battle of Okinawa during WW2. I think it would be pretty surreal to visit the Peace Memorial Park/Museum, and I’m afraid I’ll kick myself if I don’t visit during potentially my only visit to the country.
I have seen other itinerary posts on this sub of people who successfully planned a similar journey, but most of them tend to be for 3+ week trips and for people with more experience in Japan.
Would it be too ambitious to amend my prior plan and instead do?:
Fly into Tokyo (round trip ticket) > Take Shinkansen to Kyoto > Take Shinkansen to Osaka > Fly to Okinawa > Fly to Tokyo > Fly back home
5 comments
Will you ever return to the region? For example, much of Okinawa is actually geographically closer to Taiwan (Naha is 1h30min from Taipei and 3h30min from Tokyo, both routes served by a ton of low cost carriers), so if you are visiting Taiwan in a future trip it may actually be easier to visit that way.
Otherwise it depends on how much you want to visit really – you certainly have enough time for a day or two on Okinawa island, it’s more about the opportunity cost.
Umm – yeah just take the JR Bullet Trains instead of trying to drive.
You will spend more time & money driving: Highway Toll Costs, Fuel, Parking, etc
It’s really just not worth it
As someone who very much wants to visit Okinawa due to a long time training in an Okinawan style of karate, I did not even consider it on a 15 nor on a 12 day trip. It requires a great deal of time spent traveling after having *already* traveled. In the ~7 hours it will take just to fly – let alone get to / through the airport each way – you’ve essentially lost an entire day of your trip. Consider it from that perspective – is there anything in Japan you want to do that’s worth turning a 14 day trip into a 13 day trip?
You’re going to see such amazing and beautiful things already. My .02 – stick to Tokyo / Kyoto / Osaka for this trip. Go deep rather than wide. I didn’t even do Osaka on my longer trip because I wanted more time in Kyoto. Build in time in each place, you can always tack on a day trip if you find yourself looking for something. Kamakura from Tokyo, for example, is very close and very lovely.
Conversely, what could you get rid of on your itinerary to facilitate going to Okinawa? Could you just do Tokyo and Okinawa? I think you’ll appreciate more time in each location. I wouldn’t want to have, for example, a day or two in Okinawa given all the travel it requires.
Okinawa is best experienced as a slow burn/relax on the beach kind of way. I don’t think you’d have fun trying to rush down there.
I see that you have family history tying to the islands, but how important is it really? I think you could get a lot out of visiting Hiroshima for a lot less logistical headache.
I think you will be more than satisfied with Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka if this is your first trip to Japan, and adding a 1-2 day trip to Hiroshima could be a great option for you!
Given your reasoning behind wanting to visit Okinawa, I say you could squeeze Okinawa with slight ingenuity.
Since the flight time between Osaka-Okinawa is roughly 2hours, if you take morning flight you still have more than half a day worth of sightseeing on the day. (Note: Do bear in mind KIX is a bit far from Osaka)
This will give you 5days in Tokyo(excluding the day you arrive), 5days in Osaka/Kyoto(including the day you arrive; use early morning Shinkansen), and 2days in Okinawa(including the day you arrive, and excluding the day you leave). I say this is doable, but then I’m a JP native and used to travelling around, so my opinion may be biased.
Regarding the cost, you could save your money by using LCC departing from KIX; Peach aviation etc which would cost you about $45, and send your large luggage directly to Haneda Airport prior to leaving Osaka for Okinawa to minimise the fee.
Lastly, I personally think one of the selling point of Japan as tourists attraction is its diversity in climate for a not-so-big country; we have sub tropical in Okinawa and sub polar in Hokkaido. I hope you get to visit Okinawa.