Updated 10 day Itinerary

I had posted awhile ago and received some great feedback so now that our flights and hotels are booked I wanted to see what everyone thought of my newest iteration of our itinerary. All “times” are estimates. We will be traveling with my father-in-law.

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Day One:

Arrive in Tokyo

Purchase the JR Pass and ticket to Kyoto (we will do this ahead of time, just wanted to include that it was being done in here somehow)

Take the bullet train to Kyoto (2.5 hours)

Check into Hotel

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Day Two: Kyoto Basics

Wake up at 8am and walk to 10am Samurai Experience : 1.5 hours

11:30a Take the Hankyu-Kyoto line to Nishiki Market for lunch

1p Walk to the Kiyomizudera temple by way of Hanamikoji street passing by Yasaka-jinja shrine, Ninenzaka, and Sannenzaka

3:30p Take the Keihan main line to Fushimi inari taisha shrine-Hike the 30-45 minutes to the Yotsutsuji intersection.

5p End the evening in the Gion district

\-wander through historic streets of Shirakawa and Shijo Dori

\-stop at Ichiriki Ochaya tea shop which was home to the 47 Ronin in the 19th century

\-Yasaka Shrine-Shinbashi Dori: lantern lined street with traditional homes

\-Tatsumi Bridge: famous from the film Memoirs of a Geisha

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Day Three: Kyoto

Wake up at 8a

Iwatayama monkey park : open from 9a-4p you can walk around and feed the snow monkeys. Arrive via Saga-Arashiyama station to utilize the JR pass. Walk the 20 minutes to the top of the hill to feed the monkeys. March is baby monkey time!

12p Take a leisurely walk to the bamboo groves, stopping for food on the way and hitting any interesting areas. If cherry blossoms are in bloom go to the Arashiyama park kameyama area.

Arashiyama bamboo groves : iconic bamboo walkway open 24/7. Recommended to visit at sunset. Sunset for this date is 6pm.

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Day Four: Travel to Hiroshima

Bullet train to Hiroshima- 1 hour 40 minutes

Check into hotel (Check in as at 3pm but they are able to hold our luggage while we sightsee)

Take the 5 minute walk to visit the Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park.

Visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and utilize the audio tour rentals (est 60 min).

Lunch at Hiroshima Neighborly Brewing (12p-10p)

If there’s time we can go to Sakurao Distillery (10a-5p)

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Day Five: Hiroshima

Wake up at 7am: Walk from hotel to Hoso Kaikan-mae and take tram 25 5 stops, from there take the Miyajima line to the Hiroden-Miyajimaguchi station to board the ferry. Travel time: \~ 1 hour

Take the Ferry to Miyajima (8:25a or 8:40a)Walk to the Itsukushima shrine and visit the Great Torii Gate. At low tide walk out to see it up close. Right off the ferry you will walk through the Omotesando shopping area which is a souvenir street with a famous giant rice paddle. There is another street- Machiya street, filled with 1950s style shops and cafes for lunch.

After visiting Itsukushima, check out the nearby pagoda. Daisho-in is another nearby temple worth visiting which features many unusual attractions such as the 500 rakan (buddha statutes) that wear knitted hats.

Visit the Niomon gate and Maniden hall to witness prayers accompanied by a taiko drum if you time it right.

Finally, hike the trails of Mt Misen- taking the cable car down to save time.

We will celebrate finishing our hike with a beer at the only brewery on Miyajima, the Miyajima Brewery (1030a-5p)

Return to Hiroshima for dinner.

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Day Six: Flight to Tokyo

1.5 hour flight

Check into Hotel

Walk to Shibuya crossing for shopping and snacking

\-Pokemon Center located on the 6th floor of Shibuya Parco

Nighttime couples photoshoot

Drinks in Golden Gai

\-Deathmatch in Hell

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Day Seven: Tokyo

Able to sleep in for a bit- wake up around 10am.

Harajuku: the fashion district

\-Meiji-Jingu shrine: relaxing green oasis

– Takeshita Dori: famous shopping street (opens at 11am)

Asakusa: Neighborhood rich in tradition exemplified in the architecture and markets.

–Senso-ji temple and Asakusa-jinja shrine : Oldest temple in Tokyo (completed in 645) and nearby peaceful shrine. Pray to the Married Komainu for a happy marriage. or leave a wooden ema plaque to carry your hopes and dreams to the gods.

If time:

Tokyo Skytree Tembo galleria (worlds highest tower) : Galleria is the highest level at 450m with the deck at 350m. The deck includes a cafe and store while the galleria is more relaxed/less crowded. Entrance to the deck is included in the galleria ticket.

Yushukan Museum: war museum

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Day Eight: DisneySea

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Day Nine: Free Day

Here is where I would love to take a day trip to Mt Fuji if the weather is good. For a poor weather day we might go to Disneyland to visit the other park since their main street is covered. Otherwise we can visit the Yushukan Museum and other missing major sights.

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Day Ten: Flight Home