Hello, All!
Me and my partner are visiting from November 4th until November 25th. We heard it has beautiful Fall colors during this time. We’re mainly here to see a mix of the city life, but also a bit of traditional Japan and nature. Not for long hikes/bikes/very active stuff haha. And we’re big time anime fans that want to take home a ton of memorabilia.
My itinerary is for 95% complete but i have to fill in some gaps (or leave them as a buffer). Can someone tell me if my itinerary is too packed. Thanks!
Tips for food/drinks/nightlife is also appreciated!
Itinerary:
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\——————————– LEG 1: TOKYO, HOTEL IN GINZA ——————————–
* DAY 1
* Arrive in Tokyo at 9:45AM
* While waiting for check in hotel visit the Seiko Dream Square which is a 10 minute walk from the hotel
* Lunch
* Check-in Hotel
* ????????
* DAY 2
* Survive jetlag and breakfast
* Harajuku
* Shibuya -> Shibuya sky at 9PM
* DAY 3 – NIKKO DAY TRIP
* Shinkyo Bridge, Shoyoen Garden, Rinnoji Temple
* Lunch
* Toshogu Shrine, Futarasan Shrine, Tamozawa Imperial Villa
* Back to hotel
* DAY 4
* Imperial Palace
* Tokyo National Museum (optional)
* Lunch
* Yasukuni-jinja Shrine, Akihabara (car free on sundays i read?)
* Senso-ji + Kaminarimon, Tokyo Sky Tree
* Dinner
* DAY 5 – Mt. Fuji day trip
* Organized trip to Kawaguchiko & Fuji area.
* DAY 6
* Shinjuku
* Animate Ikebukuro
* Sunshine City (heard there’s a special Demon Slayer thing going on)
* Nightlife -> Visit local bars/Izakaya
* DAY 7
* Move to different hotel (had a minor inconvenience so had to book another hotel for the last day)
* Teamlabs at 12:30PM
* This is basically a spare day for things we haven’t been able to do.
* Roppongi nightlife?
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\——————————– LEG 2: KANAZAWA ——————————–
* DAY 8
* Travel to Kanazawa -> ETA between 11AM-1PM
* Higashi Chaya District Shima Teahouse (museum), Kaikaro Teahouse, Hakuza Gold Leaf Store
* Dinner / evening in Kazuemachi
* DAY 9
* 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
* Kanazawa Castle (+Park)
* Lunch Kenruok-en
* Garden Dinner
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\——————————– LEG 3: HIROSHIMA ——————————–
* DAY 10
* Travel to Hiroshima -> Arrive 1PM-2PM
* A-Bomb Dome
* Peace Memorial
* Hiroshima Castle during evening when lit
* DAY 11 – MIYAJIMA
* Itsukushima-jinja Shrine, Daisho-in Temple Lunch Momiji-dani-koen Park,
* Mt. Misen via Miyajima Ropeway
* Dinner at either Miyajima or somewhere in Hiroshima
* DAY 12 – OKUNOSHIMA (RABBIT ISLAND) DAY TRIP
* All day travel
* Dinner in Hiroshima
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\——————————– LEG 4: KYOTO + NARA ——————————–
* DAY 13
* Travel to Kyoto Not sure how much we can see from this list because of travel:
* Kiyomizudera Temple, Sannenzaka Street, Maccha House, Ninenzaka Street
* Japanese-Style Starbucks (Lunch?)
* Ichibeikoji Street, Kodai-ji Temple, Maruyama Park, Yasaka Jinja Shrine, Chionin Temple, Shoren-in Temple and Garden
* DAY 14
* Bamboo Forest, Okochi Sanso Garden, Tenryu-ji Temple
* Lunch
* Ryoan-ji Temple, Kinkaku-ji Temple, Daitoku-ji Temple
* DAY 15
* Nijo-jo Castle, Nishiki Market
* Lunch Gion Neighborhood
* Dinner Kiyomizu-dera night viewing / Geisha performance – -> Where?
* DAY 16
* Fushimi Inari Shrine, Nanzen-ji Temple, Eikan-do Temple, Philosopher’s Path, Honen-in Temple
* Lunch
* Ginkaku-ji Temple
* Kiyomizu-dera night viewing / Geisha performance -> Where?
* DAY 17
* Travel to Nara Nakatanidou, Tōdai-ji Temple, Nara Park
* Lunch
* Nigatsu-dō
* ?????????
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\——————————– LEG 5: OSAKA – HOTEL IN SHIN-OSAKA ——————————–
* DAY 18
* Travel to Osaka
* Osaka Aquarium
* Strolling around Bay Area Dotonbori
* DAY 19: HIMEJI + KOBE DAY TRIP
* Himeji Castle, Koko-en Garden
* Maybe the ropeway to Enyoji Temple (depends on time)
* Kobe for dinner
* DAY 20: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN
* Day in Universal Studios -> on Labor Thanksgiving Day… I’d switch days but I bought tickets before i knew it was a national holiday. So it’s gonna be busy i guess.
* DAY 21
* Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade, Amerikamura
* Den Den Town, Namba Parks
* Tsutenkaku + Shinsekai
* Hozenji Yokocho -> Dinner and nightlife
* DAY 22: BACK HOME.
11 comments
Day 4
Akihabara – visit Pop Life Departmen m’s
Thank me later
Reading this makes me want to plan a trip even more. Safe travels tho!
This is only my opinion, but it seems like you are more focused on quantity than quality.
When I visited I did like one or two things a day.
Personally I like to have more time just to wander around, the flexibility to go into a store or shop, spend time somewhere random.
As far as tips go, check the time that things close. Sometimes it’s way earlier than you expect.
For the geisha performance: if you just want to watch a bit of dance, check out Gion Corner. They have a 50-minute show every night at 6pm and 7pm with a variety of traditional arts showcased, including a maiko (apprentice geisha) dance performance.
For anime stuff you can check out this site (I used Google translate for it) to see if there are any cafe events, limited edition merch, and stuff like that while you’re there: https://collabo-cafe.com
I would suggest removing a few things, not being so structured and have some free time!
What if you see a street you like you want to explore, and something on that street is amazing? Or even if it’s not, you might find something else! Half the fun in Japan is exploring so I would definitely allow a bit more flexibility in your schedule.
Just went there last month. While Akihabara has a lot of anime stuff. I ended up finding the anime merch I wanted from den den town. I find their selection to be better. Try not to blow your budget early on.
I think [this bar](https://maps.app.goo.gl/5R5q6HGg2wp5rba2A) is probably close to your hotel. While it was already famous before, it became even more renowned this year due to a certain event. It might be worth visiting at least once during your stay in Ginza. However, please note that they do not take reservations, so you might need to try a few times to get in. Furthermore, the rooftop of the nearby Tokyu Plaza Ginza, while not very tall, offers a view of Ginza’s nighttime skyline and is recommended. You can access it until 11 PM, but please be aware that it may be closed during events.
This is a pretty good 3 week itinerary tbh.
I’d definitely add a day trip to Koyasan from Osaka. Potentially even replace Nara with it.
Miyajima has all the deer and stuff. Nara is just deer. Things are far apart there too. Pretty boring and touristy tbh.
I’d replace that or universal studios with a day trip and temple tour of Koyasan cementary
Just to share my experience with this returning from our 3 week trip 2 weeks ago: Throw the whole itenerary completly over. Had something similar to you, but ended up spending 3 days in Shinjuku + somehow taking Shibuya and Harajuku in and 2 days in Aki. 1 Nikko. There was just so much to see. Parks close early so we didn’t even got to see many of those.
Are you an active person? Because your itinerary involves a lot of walking and let’s say…10 days in- are you going to be able to keep up with your own schedule? In the end, do what makes you happy. If having a hectic itinerary and being able to say “I did 99% of my itinerary” in 20 years will make you happy, go for it!
To-Ji temples is a must do in Kyoto IMO – was my favourite experience! Easily spent about 2-3 hours here and personally de-clog Kyoto, it’s much more enjoyable than being pushed for time between places and much easier to navigate than the other cities. Most temples are open from 6am so start the day early and you might catch some locals and monks praying!!