Hi all!

I am flying to japan in just 12 days so was looking for a last itinerary check with possible recommendations and judgement of doability. Thanks in advance!

I will be avoiding to add "Explore" to every day as I assume it to be part of every all of them, we enjoy a mid pace itinerary and looking forward for set places to visit as well as exploring and just going with the day feeling activities.

Please for review take into account we are a couple and expect to do wake up early and be ready to explore at ~7:30

Day 1 - Friday

Arrive to Osaka KIX 11:40

Go to hotel check in

Get tickets in Klook before hand for Aquarium at 16:30

Day 2 - Saturday

Travel 6AM to tokyo (already have the tickets, hotel near station too)

Meiji Sanctuary

Ginko Park

Shibuya Crossing and nearbies

Day 3 - Sunday

National Shinjuku Gyoen garden

Shinjuku metropolitan government Observatory

Hanazono Sanctuary

Day 4 - Monday

Senso-Ji

Kappabashi street and zone

Ueno Park and Beten-do Temple

Akihabara at evening (will be staying close to the zone so it's a possibility every evening)

Day 5 - Tuesday

Travel to Kamakura early

Kotoku-in

Hase-dera

Rent a kimono!

Kencho-ji

If not tired, we will add Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu

Chinatown in Yokohama on way to the hotel

Day 6 - Wednesday

Kawagoe from Ikebukuro

Kawagoe Hiwaka

Karazukori street

Toki no Kane

Ikebukuro for the evening, just explore

Day 7 - Thursday

Nikko (previously bought nikko world heritage in asakusa from day 4)

Shinkyo Bridge

Tosho-gu

Futarasan sanctuary

Nikko Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park

Kanmangafuchi Abyss *If Time

Day 8 - Friday

Mount takao hiking in the morning

Explore Ginza

Tokyo station and imperial palace walkthrough

Tori no Ichi festival at night in asakusa

Day 9 - Saturday

Mostly free day, explore a more day to day neighborhood, so far the chosen one is Kichijoji and maybe walk to Nakano broadway

Day 10 - Sunday

Travel to kyoto at 6:15 in the morning (Hotel 15 minutes from station and reception for check out 24hs)

Arrive in Kyoto, hotel near fushimi Inari

Small travel to Uji and spend there morning and midday

Byodo-in

Ujigami Sanctuary

Back to kyoto afternoon/evening Fujimi Inari hiking (Wanted to experience both day and night in fujimi Inari so we came with this option)

Day 11 - Monday

Ryoan-Ji

Kinkaku-Ji

Shimogamo Shrine

*If time, kyoto botanical gardens

Day 12 - Tuesday

Nara day trip

Todai-ji

Nara park

Kasuga teisha shrine

*If time and not tired maybe a small hiking through Mount Wakakusa

Day 13 - Wednesday

Kiyumisu Dera

Sanjusangendo Hall

Walk through Gion

Kyoto imperial palace

Nijo castle

Day 14 - Thursday

Arashiyama zone

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Tenryu-ji

Okochi sanso Villa

* If time Giouji temple

Travel to osaka

Day 15 - Friday

Using Osaka E-Pass (Still evaluating if worth)

Umeda Sky building

Shitennoji Temple

Tsuntenkaku tower

Shinsekai zone

Maybe an evening cruise through river, need to review what the pass includes again

Day 16 - Saturday

Early morning Himeji travel

Himeji Castle

Koko-en garden

Travel to Kobe

Kobe harboland

Meriken park

Back to Osaka

Day 17 - Sunday

Last day and re-cap, free and will go with the feeling, can travel to kyoto for the day or other near place if we feel we want to see more

Day 18 - Monday

Back home, flight at 17hs.

Once again, many thanks for the read and let me know your honest comments so I can go ahead with changes if needed

Furthermore, we have priorities for each thing in the list so if the day feeling is that we won't be able to do everything we know what to prioritize

Hello everyone,

Me (28M) and my girlfriend (28F) will be travelling to Japan next week for 21 days. I would be grateful if you could give us feedback on our planned itinerary, and share your experience on things we should or should not include.

We're mainly looking to experience good food & drinks, culture and history, as well as see nature.

I do have one large tattoo on my shoulder, so might be nice to find an onsen that accepts tattoos or tolerate covered ones.

Here is our itinerary. We don't have a precise plan of what we want to do each day, but rather a list of activities available in different areas, and we'll plan the day before what we want to do for the next day.

Also, we plan on buying the JR Kansai Hiroshima Area pass for day 11 to 15.

Day 1 to 4 - Tokyo

• Arrival at Haneda airport around 6 pm. Were staying 2 days in Ueno region, and two days in Minato. Here are a few of the activities we have listed for each region :
• Ueno :
  • Senso-ji Temple
  • Meiji-jingu
  • Otome Inari Shrine
  • Eat at the Ramen Street
  • Rikugien Garden
  • Shopping (Uniqlo, Ameyoko, etc.
• Minato :
  • Harakado shopping/food center
  • Harry Potter station/store
  • Takeshita street (food, sightseeing)
  • Tsukiji Market
• We also have tickets for TeamLab Borderless and Toyosu Fish market Auction

Day 5 & 6 - Nagoya

Mainly here to try food and do part of the Nakasendo trail (Magome to Tsumago). Other activities we plan on doing :

• Toyota museum
• Atsuta-jingu
• Osu Kannon Temple

Open for any recommendation on more things to do or places to eat.

Food we would like to try :

• Hitsumabushi
• Miso-Katsu
• Tebasaki

Open for any recommendation on more things to do or places to eat.

Day 7 to 10 - Osaka

We're staying 2 days in the Kita region, and 2 days in the Naniwa region. Here are the activities we have listed :

• Osaka Castle
• Visit Amerikamura
• Shinsekai Market
• Nipponbashi Denden Town
• Tenma
• Kuromon Ichiba Market
• Namba Yasaka Jinja
• Sumiyoshi Taisha
• Shi Tenno-ji
• Round1 Stadium
• Namba Parks
• Temlab Osaka (we plan on going there at night)

Do you guys think the Osaka Amazing pass would be worth it?

Day 11 & 12 - Hiroshima

• Hiroshima peace memorial museum
• Shukkeien Garden
• Hiroshima Castle
• Atomic Bomb Dome
• Hike on Miyajima island

Day 13 & 14 - Kobe

We plan to do a quick stop by the Himeji Castle while moving from Hiroshima to Kobe

• Sorakuen Garden
• Ikuta-jinja
• Kitano-cho
• Nunobiki herb garden and falls

We're staying one night in Chuo and the other, we have a Ryokan in Arima. Do you guys think the JR Kansai Hiroshima Area pass would be valid to travel from Kobe to Arima using the West JR Bus?

Day 15 to 17 - Kyoto

We already have ticket for the new Nintendo Museum, and also have a sushi making class. Here are other activities we have listed :

• Ninenzaka cobbled street
• Shimogamo-jinja
• Sanzen-in
• Enryaku-ji
• Byodo-in
• Kitano Tenman-gu
• Fushimi Inari-taisha
• Kurama-dera and Kifune-jinja
• Pontocho Alley
• Nintendo Store
• Nishiki Market
• Ojamakan Fukakusa (retro gaming shop)

Do you think it is worth it to rent a bike to travel in Kyoto? I think it is included with the JR Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass.

Day 18 to 21 - Tokyo

For the last 4 days, we're staying in Shinjuku. Here are activities we have listed for the shinjuku/shibuya area :

• Day 18
  • Omoide Yokocho
  • Nakano Broadway
• Day 19
  • Hyozaemon
  • Hie Shrine
• Day 20
  • Mount Takao Automn leaves festival
• Day 21
  • Packing up and going back home

We still have our Ghibli Museum ticket to buy and fit in our last days in Tokyo(waiting on Nov. 11th to buy our tickets).

Concluding thoughts:

I guess we're mainly looking for recommendations on things we might be missing or should be doing differently.

We plan on shipping our luggage with Yamato, and when not possible to leave them in lockers at train stations. Does this sound feasible?

I am going to get an e-sim for me and my gf for the whole trip | My gf and I both have Iphone and have added our digital Suica cards to our Apple wallet

Thank you for taking the time to read my post! We would greatly appreciate any thoughts, feedback, recommendations, advice or anything other comments. Thank you all!

Sharing with the hope that some of the info below collated from my recent solo trip may be of benefit to future travelers and fellow journey-people keen to explore some different areas of this beautiful country!

I thought I’d change it up slightly for my 17^(th) trip to Japan and venture out into new areas that I’ve not had the opportunity to visit before, but also push the boundaries a little with doing more hiking / trail-walking where I could. To most, some of these places would be on the frequently visited list by first-timers but I have to admit that I’ve always tried to avoid the crowds and main tourist must-dos for many years now!

Main agenda of trip – photography. Total duration of travel – 18 days, 18/10/2024 to 04/11/2024.

Areas covered; Takayama, Toyama, Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route, Kamikochi, Matsumoto, Karuizawa, Kusatsu Onsen, Chuzenji / Nikko, Urabandai, Tokyo.

I did have access to a rental car for a portion of the trip to drive Japan’s Romantic Road and to get to the more off-the beaten track areas. Driving the mountain routes (touge) is also immensely fun and being able to take in the glorious autumn scenery while you’re moving along makes it so worth the while. It also opens up a whole new dimension of access to random areas of the countryside that you wouldn’t be able to enjoy while sitting in a bullet train; little roadside stops, fruit stalls where you can purchase freshly plucked apples, some of the best handmade soba I’ve ever tasted, the list goes on!

I’ll skip sharing info for Tokyo as I feel others have already covered this excellently. This will be a long share, thanks for reading!

Itinerary:

Day 1 – Takayama

Landed at Nagoya (Chubu Centrair International Airport) and ventured straight out to Hida Takayama. It’s an easy 3 hour-ish train ride from the airport out to Takayama and I managed to arrive at about 2PM. Tip: try to get a window seat on the left side of the Wide View train as there is a particularly beautiful section of the river that runs along the train route which seems to always be very calm (amazing deep turquoise colour and reflections).

Dinner recommendation – Jakson Curry & Coffee. For those about to visit and return visitors, you have to give this place a go. Genuinely one of the best curries I’ve had across Japan so far. Go early (they open at 5.30pm), you won’t regret it. Japanese menus only FYI but staff are very helpful and will take you through the menu items.

Day 2 – Takayama

Hit the usual touristy spots to see if anything had changed from my last visit (I have a very soft spot for Takayama, this was my 10^(th) time visiting). Noted on arrival that the new train station is finished and does look much flashier than the original one! The city still has a great vibe and has always been excellent for exploring on foot. Try to get out early and beat the bigger tourist crowds if you can; Sanmachi Suji has always been amazing to walk along before 7AM or even in the later afternoon before sunset.

The morning markets were OK this visit; felt like there used to be more stalls with a wider variety but it have might just been me. There is an interesting cube-shaped marshmallow snack that I believe originates from Toyama that you can get at the Miyagawa morning market, about halfway along in one of the permanent stores along the riverfront. Give this a try while you’re there!

Coffee recommendation - Falò Coffee Brewers (https://maps.app.goo.gl/pMiCMVM2tBPiMfRh9). Very impressed, easily the best coffee spot in Takayama at the moment. Went back again later that afternoon! Look it up, it’s just off the main Sanmachi Suji area and well worth a stop.

Snack recommendation – Prices looked steep this time round for the usual stuff (kushiyaki beef skewers, mitarashi dango, the Hida Beef sushi sets served on senbei). Definitely give it a try if it’s your first time but if you want something off the beaten path, try the Hida beef mince cutlet (menchi-katsu) at Sukeharu https://maps.app.goo.gl/DQCrAhP9aGyGcg31A. You heard about this place here first.

Dinner – Hida Beef is always worth spending some coin on when you’re visiting Takayama although I did realise first hand that the usual yakiniku spots were very busy. Big tourist groups, etc. Maybe the word has got out now (damn it)! Not much I can advise on apart from going / queueing up early unfortunately…

Day 3 – Toyama

The Hida Wide View train continues on from Takayama to Toyama and it’s called the Wide View for a good reason. Beautiful views of the Northern Alps greet you on a clear day along with autumn colours as well if you time your trip right! I caught a local train to Hida Furukawa on the way up first; it’s still as picturesque and quaint as ever. You have to love a town that features koi living in the canals.

Toyama itself is a pretty standard city with admittedly not a whole lot to do. It is the gateway to the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route though. If you have time and the weather is great, go for a stroll out to Kansui Park. Beautiful spot, with probably one of the best spots you could have for a Starbucks.

Meal recommendation – Being close to the sea, Toyama is famous for its seafood and sushi. Get stuck into it but try to order a side of shiro ebi (white shrimp) tempura if you can. It’s bloody good! There is a restaurant in the train station that does good ten-don bowls featuring shiro ebi (Shiroebitei).

TK Alpine Route tip – If you’ve purchased your ticket online, you can actually print them out using the QR code from your email at the Dentetsu Toyama station the day before you kick-off on the route. For others that like being ready beforehand like I do!

Day 4 – Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route (stay at Murodo)

Early start to catch the train out from Dentetsu Toyama. Luggage forwarding service works well and is easy to get your head around. There is an attendant who receives your luggage and gets your details / fills in a little sheet which you get a copy of. The route does get very packed in April / May (peak season) but was very reasonable this time of year. Did a stopover at Midagahara to explore the wetlands area – I would definitely recommend this if you have some time up your sleeve. Great views and I just about had the entire place to myself! Made it up to Murodo at lunchtime and the area was pretty busy; most visitors try to do the route in a day and Murodo is the main stopover point.

Hiking / walking tips – The area is manageable with some good shoes and average fitness. If you do plan to push into some of the steeper zones and cover the bulk of the area though (which I did…), I would definitely advise on making sure that you’ve got reasonable fitness as the altitude does make a massive difference. Hiking shoes are a must if you plan on tackling some of the more vertical routes; please be safe!

Stay – If you can, I would try to stay the night at Hotel Tateyama (heads-up, it won’t be cheap). It is an amazing experience having the entire area to yourself once the crowd leaves. I found myself absolutely smitten by the peace and beauty of Murodo in the late afternoon, leading into sunset. The hotel also offers stargazing sessions at night and there is an early morning special shuttle bus run to Daikanbo to watch the sunrise, offered only to hotel guests (for an additional fee).

Day 5 – Shinano Omachi

Going out for an early morning stroll around Murodo is well worth the effort, cannot recommend it enough. There is always something special in watching the sunrise touch the mountain peaks around you with the bonus of snagging some amazing photos. Heading back down towards Shinano Omachi, I spent a bit of time wandering around Kurobe Dam, another decision I’d fully recommend. The dam itself is an engineering marvel and appealed to me on many levels (being an engineer myself). The landscape surrounding the dam is amazing in autumn, and if you visit at the right time of the year, watching the water pour out from the dam release gates is equally special in its own right!

Spent the night at Shinano Omachi (stayed at Route Inn Shinano Omachi, just across from the main JR station). I have to admit that the town itself is rather small with not a lot to see for the average tourist but it will appeal to those who enjoy wandering around and experiencing that which is more ubiquitous to smaller country towns.

Day 6 – Kamikochi

I thought I’d try my luck at Kamikochi again this trip with the hope of seeing the valley better dressed in autumn colours. Was a little hit & miss, and it looked like the peak had passed, but Kamikochi remains breathtaking in all seasons. Managed to get into Kamikochi around mid-day and decided to go for a bit of a stroll in the rain. While the rain did help keep the number of people out on the trails down, it does make taking photos difficult! Shinano Omachi – Matsumoto – Kamikochi took up the better part of half a day for those that are wondering.

Day 7 – Kamikochi

Thought I’d push myself today to take advantage of the weather and ended up clocking 42,500 steps / 30kms (!!!) according to the step counter. Went beyond Myojinbashi up to Tokusawa-en; tough call to say if it’s worth the hike but I’d probably say no especially if you’re a day visitor. There is more to see around the main central area of Kamikochi / Kappabashi. Kamikochi does start to get busy from 8.30AM onwards once the tour buses and larger groups start to arrive so plan your movements accordingly as the main trails can get quite packed! The area as a whole was noticeably busier vs. when I first visited in 2012, however you can always find a quiet spot somewhere in Kamikochi; having my boxed bento lunch sitting by the banks of the Azusa River was definitely one of those “Ahhh… life is good” moments.

Photo Tip: Get up early and make your way to the riverbank just north of Hotel Shirakabaso on the western end of Kappabashi. There is a slight ledge where you can set up your tripod and get some amazing shots of the Azusa River and Yarigatake / mountain range in the background.

Day 8 – Matsumoto

If you’ve never been to Matsumoto before, do yourself a favour and add it to your itinerary. Matsumoto is one of my favourite cities to visit; key attractions lie within walking distance of the JR station, clean and wide-open streetscapes, amazing castle, little water features and music playing through the city. Interesting bit of info for those who are into their guitars, the Matsumoto / Nagano area is home to Deviser Guitars (one of the top local builders). Drop by Shimamura Music at the newer Aeon Mall for a peek at what’s available.

Snack Tip**:** Pay a visit to Nawate Street in Matsumoto (frog themed, also a play on the word “kaeru”). There is a store about halfway down that sells taiyaki made the old-fashioned way. Really good!

Coffee Tip*:* Alps Coffee Lab not far from Nawate Street is a solid visit if you’re hankering for a caffeine fix. They do some interesting infused beans (whiskey, etc.) and I had a particularly good flat white from an Ethiopian varietal.

Day 9 – Karuizawa

Picked up my rental car and started my drive towards Karuizawa. This leg of my trip was based on Japan’s Romantic Road, the local equivalent to its German counterpart. Ueda City was my first stop and the castle park area is an interesting visit, originally being home to the Sanada clan. The main street in the city itself has some smaller shops etc. but nothing that was noteworthy. The next stop was Unno Juku, a former post station (think Nakasendo route) with well-preserved buildings lining the main road. I was a little disappointed as 80% of the building were closed or boarded up when I got there. Maybe I visited at the wrong time but it looked pretty deserted to me! Decided to power on to Karuizawa and traffic was pretty busy as I got closer to central Karuizawa (Saturday). Karuizawa is very pretty this time of year and you can see why the rich chose the area to build their mountain resort getaways! Be warned though, the area does get very busy with both local and foreign visitors..

Coffee Tip: I had a really good pour-over from Vacilando Coffee in Ueda. Give it a go if you’re in the area.

Lunch Tip: Solid soba option across the road from the Ueda Castle Park (https://maps.app.goo.gl/PJddsyMExB4Uzbek9). Queue started even before opening time, the kakiage was fantastic.

Dinner Tip: Had a surprisingly excellent tonkatsu set meal in Kyu-Karuizawa at Tonkatsu Imai (https://maps.app.goo.gl/jpWDtTqVEAxWsQMD6). Highlight was having the rice cooked individually in a donabe clay pot. Rosu cut tonkatsu was top notch, very satisfied walking out of there.

Day 10 – Kusatsu Onsen

Start your day early and visit Kumobaike Pond; I did the same at 6AM and was greeted by some amazing morning views with autumn colours. Best part, no crowds! Karuizawa Ginza is also very pleasant to stroll along in the early morning before the shops open and the tour groups descend en masse. Drove up to the Usui Pass observation platform and Shiraito Waterfall; was greeted by excellent views and colours. Made my way from there to Onioshidashi Park which was a rather interesting stop. The landscape is primarily volcanic rock / lava fields and is very unique. The park is rather dated though (don’t expect too much) but still made for a nice mid-day stroll. There are some beautiful views from the park looking out towards Mount Asama.

Arrived at Kusatsu Onsen and my god, is driving through the town challenging. The streets are very narrow and really only designed for single vehicle use at any one time in some sections. Add trying to avoid hitting pedestrians and stress levels were through the roof!! Managed to stash the car, check-in to my ryokan and decided I needed a soak in the ofuro to calm my nerves…

Kusatsu Onsen makes for a fun little visit and is cool to explore on foot. The Yubatake area is quite special and is also lit up at night.

Dinner Tip: I tried avoiding the crowds and managed to find an excellent teishoku restaurant; Saika (https://maps.app.goo.gl/X4enCbAmvdqD7GXC9). The kaarage was particularly delicious along with the nasu shogayaki (eggplant ginger pork)! Would absolutely recommend this place, but do try to get in early as it’s popular among the locals. Was the only tourist there!

Stay Tip: Managed to get an excellent deal at Yoshinoya (https://maps.app.goo.gl/G15MdRNCzbZPgD1U7). Very well priced, spacious rooms, great location – highly recommended!

Day 11 – Chuzenjiko

Made another early 6AM start to the day and went for a wander around town. It was definitely much more pleasant around Kusatsu when it’s quiet. Ventured up towards Sainokawara Park and was not disappointed by the views splashed with autumn colour. Was pleasantly surprised that some of the stalls along the road leading towards Sainokawara Park were already open and selling freshly steamed manju which was delicious.

Jumped back into the car and carried on along the Romantic Road route to Shima Onsen. The weather was not the best unfortunately but I did manage to stop by the Shima Potholes (??) for a quick peek. The area made for some great photographs! Shima Onsen itself is a pretty small / quiet area and I probably wouldn’t have made the hike if I wasn’t planning to stay the night or in the area. I only then realized that I was in Initial D / Gunma territory and made an unplanned detour to Mount Haruna.  Extremely glad that I managed to drive the Yaseone Pass (Mt Akina downhill course if you’re an Initial D fan). What was even better was a chance stop at D’z Racing Café Garage which I drove right past by chance and did an immediate U-turn. This place is an absolute must visit for any JDM / Initial D fan, was blown away!!

Continued on into Shibukawa to grab a quick photo of the Initial D themed manhole cover outside the local government office and also managed to collect the matching manhole cover card (score!). Approached Chuzenjiko closer to 4PM and was blown away by the autumn colours of the area. Words and pictures struggle to do this place justice. The golden evening sun hitting the Senjogahara marshlands was also truly spectacular. I felt very lucky to have been able to visit during the best time of the year.

Lunch Tip: There’s an interestingly named restaurant called Romance Pavilion (https://maps.app.goo.gl/Pj5BiSAFG3u9eSm87) that I was lucky enough to enjoy a really delicious soba + maitake tempura meal at. Give it a go!

Day 12 – Nikko
In keeping with the trend of getting up early and going for a morning stroll, Chuzenjiko did not disappoint. An absolutely jaw-dropping view greeted me at the front of my minshuku with the morning sun glossing over the peak of Mount Nantai. I jumped in the car and went for a drive up to Ryuzu Waterfall and was again, blown away by the view and colours. I’ve been lucky enough to have visited many different areas through Japan during autumn and Chuzenjiko is easily part of my Top 3. Truly, truly special! The views of Kegon Waterfall all but reinforced this further. Do pay the additional fee to get to the lower observation deck as it’s well worth it.

The main reason for wanting to visit the area was so I could drive the Irohazaka downhill course and I was not disappointed. What a good lot of fun it was, let alone the stunning scenery accompanying me along the way. So much so that I ended up doing the downhill run 3 x times over the course of my stay! Please do drive safely though, it is still very much a busy public road.

Finally decided it was time to head down to Nikko (some very heavy fog had started to set in). It was still a little early to check-in and someone had recommended visiting Kirifuri Waterfall (https://maps.app.goo.gl/TVoHfpncH7JXWFd66). Definitely a beautiful spot and well worth dropping past if you have a car available! I tried headed further up towards the Kirifuri Plateau area but was forced to turn around due to the heavy fog unfortunately. Maybe next time…

Day 13 – Nikko

Visited the Toshogu Shrine area for the first time – some truly beautiful and lavish architecture; was easy to understand why the area is World Heritage listed. It did start to get very, very busy towards mid-morning however. I started to miss the quieter side of things back up at Chuzenjiko and jumped in the car and drove back up there to spend the day walking around and enjoying the beautiful autumn weather. Stopped by the Akechidaira Plateau on the way up Irohazaka (again!) and took the short cable car ride to the observation platform. Do yourself a favour and do the same if you can please; the full view of Kegon Waterfall and Chuzenjiko from afar is something I can only describe as phenomenal.

Tip: The ropeway ticket also includes free parking for Akechidaira. Whe you buy your ticket you’ll be asked if you have a car and whether you parked in the paid parking zone. Say yes, and the attendant will hand you a ticket to insert in the parking machine on your way out.

Tip 2: Dinner options appear to very limited in central Nikko. I ended up venturing out to Imaichi (easy 15mins drive) which had a lot more on offer; e.g. sushi train, ramen, McDonalds, you name it.

Day 14 – Urabandai

Ouchijuku was the main stopover on my journey north towards Urabandai from the Tochigi prefecture. Another former post-town, the area makes for a very pleasant visit with good photo opportunities. Shops now line the streets selling souvenirs and interestingly enough, soba which is meant to be eaten using a full sized spring onion (negi).

The colours in Urabandai had started to fade and I suspect it would have been much better if I had been a couple of weeks early in visiting. The area is still very beautiful though and I was definitely not disappointed for my first visit, with similar vibes to Chuzenjiko.

Stay Tip: Hotel Il Regalo was easily the best find of my trip. Surprisingly large rooms, well appointed with an excellent restaurant downstairs. Do have dinner if you’re staying, it is really good.

Day 15 – Urabandai

Final day of hiking / walking before heading back to Tokyo. Another early morning start saw me headed for the Goshikinuma walking trail. This is a must-do if you’re visiting and the area is beautiful this time of year draped in autumn colours and sunlight. The ponds have stunning shades of blue, not indifferent to the views of the Shirogane Aoiike in Biei (Hokkaido). I jumped back in the car and started exploring the other lakes and wider Urabandai area and can comfortably recommend this as a worthy visit! An excellent escape if you are one for nature and the beautiful scenery on offer.

Photo Tip: I accidentally stumbled across Magarisawanuma Pond (it’s a mouthful..) and the momiji colours on offer here were truly amazing!

Coffee Tip: Rotten Row Coffee Roasters served an excellent flat white (https://maps.app.goo.gl/rPAguN6Lc3oeb6gz9). Very surprising find essentially in the middle of nowhere!

Day 16 / 17 / 18 – Tokyo

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end I had to bid my rental car (goodbye my trusty Toyota Yaris) farewell at Koriyama.

Stay Tip: I stayed at Sotetsu Fresa Inn in Akasaka this trip and I cannot recommend it enough. Akasaka is a great spot to base yourself out of for Tokyo with easy access to all the major lines and Shibuya. Much quieter, calmer and well-priced. Added bonus of Harry Potter café next to the Akasaka subway station.

Final parting tip: It’s completely OK to not do, see and eat everything while you’re visiting. Don’t get caught up into feeling that you need to try and squeeze in a million different items into your trip because of what you saw on Instagram / TikTok. Japan is truly amazing and has even more to offer when you are able to slow down and appreciate its many hidden sides.

Overall, an excellent trip with some amazing memories that I’ll cherish for years to come. Chuzenjiko was the true standout and I would highly, highly recommend that you try to visit in late October if you can. Thanks again for reading!!

Hey guys I will be going to Tokyo in the 1st week of January for my first trip to Japan. I wondered if I could get some ideas/critique of my itinerary, I'll be doing mostly touristy stuff but if people recommend something I will look into it absolutely. I'd also love to hear hotel/accommodation recommendations for approx. $100-$150 per night and also places to eat!

Here's the itinerary:

Day 1 Arrival/Shinjuki

*Arrival at Narita. Check in hotel, sort out phone/internet/tickets *Shinjuku Goyen *Isetan Shinjuku *Tokyo Metro Building to view scenery *Takashimaya Shinjuku (shopping and dinner)

Day 2 Shibuya

*Meiji Shrine *Harajuku *Cat street *Shibuya Crossing (at night)

Day 3 Ueno *Ueno Park/Zoo *Senso Ji *Nakamise *Sumida Park *Tokyo Skytree

Day 4 Tsukiji

*Tsukiji Market *Imperial Palace East Garden *Chiyoda *Ginza

Day 5 Akhibara

*Odaiba for gundam statue *Rainbow Bridge

Day 6 Day trip to Hakone

Day 7 Return home

Please let me know if you would swap anything out of add anything in? and like I mentioned if you have any places to eat or accommodation recommendations please let me know.

Hi, everyone

I’m planning a 16-day trip to Japan, with stops in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Im still building up my Itinerary so it's not final and i want your feedback

i also will be buying JR Pass and suica card when i land

---

Tokyo (Days 1-4)

- Day 1: Arrive at Narita at 6 PM Take the Narita Express (N'EX) train from Narita Airport to Tokyo Station, check-in in Ginza area?, late-night sushi at Sushizanmai, or at 7/11.

- Day 2 : Tsukiji Outer Market breakfast, TeamLab Borderless, Tokyo Tower. Lunch at Bills Odaiba, dinner at Gonpachi.

- Day 3: Tokyo Disneyland – all day..

- Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea – all day..

Kyoto (Days 5-9)

- Day 5 : Shinkansen to Kyoto, check into Gion. Lunch at Yasaka Yutone Kyokaiseki, explore Gion and Yasaka Shrine. Dinner at Pontocho.

- Day 6 : Arashiyama – Bamboo Grove, Tenryu-ji Temple, Okochi Sanso Villa. Breakfast at % Arabica, lunch at Shoraian, dinner at Gion Kappa.

- Day 7: Northern Kyoto – Kinkaku-ji, Philosopher’s Path. Breakfast at Cafe Reims, lunch at Omen Ginkakuji, dinner at Katsukura.

- Day 8: Fushimi Inari Shrine, Nishiki Market, Kyoto Imperial Palace. Breakfast at Eggs’n Things, lunch at Nishiki Market, dinner at Teppanyaki Gion Tenamonya.

- Day 9: Kyoto highlights – omurice breakfast at Kichi Kichi, Nanzen-ji Temple, Kyoto Botanical Gardens. Lunch at Heihachi Jaya, dinner at Matsusakagyu Yakiniku M.

Osaka (Days 10-12)

- Day 10: Shinkansen to Osaka, check into Namba area hotel. Explore Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi. Lunch at Dotonbori Konamon Museum, dinner at Yakiniku Rokko.

-*Day 11: Universal Studios Japan – all day. Breakfast at a local café, lunch at Mel’s Drive-In, dinner at Ichiran Ramen.

- Day 12: Osaka Castle and Namba. Breakfast at Le Pont de Ciel, lunch at Kushikatsu Daruma, dinner at Namba Kappo Yoshiya.

Back to Tokyo (Days 13-16)

- Day 13: Shinkansen back to Tokyo, visit Asakusa’s Senso-ji Temple, Nakamise Street, Ueno Park. Lunch at Asakusa Imahan, dinner at Ueno Nabe-zo.

- Day 14: Harajuku, Shibuya, Roppongi. Breakfast at Eggs’n Things, lunch at Uobei Shibuya, dinner at Tonkatsu Maisen Aoyama.

- Day 15: Ginza, Akihabara, Odaiba. Breakfast at Bills Ginza, lunch at Ginza Kagari Honten (Michelin-rated ramen), dinner at Kua `Aina Odaiba.

- Day 16: Last day for shopping, pancakes at Hoshino Coffee, head to Haneda.

Hi there,

My FH and I will be going to Japan for our Honeymoon for 3 weeks over March / April 2025. This will be my 3rd time and my partner’s first time. Previously I have only done the golden route so a lot of this is new to me too. We understand it is a packed itinerary and understand some things may be missed due to weather / transport delays / tiredness - but if all goes to plan we are hoping to visit the majority of the below.

Any advice or previous experiences would be greatly appreciated. Or if you think there is anything else that suits our vibe. (Early 30’s interested in sites, cherry blossoms and slight nerds. Past the nightclub phase.)

Day 0

• Arrive at Narita airport ~5pm.
• Travel to Hotel
• Find food / Early night

Day 1 - Tokyo

• Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
• Meiji Jingu Gyoen
• Takeshita Street

Day 2 - Tokyo

• Teamlab Borderless
• Explore Shibuya
• Shibuya Skydeck (sunset to be booked)

Day 3 - Tokyo

• Tokyo Imperial Palace (grounds only)
• Akihabara
• Ueno Park
• Senso-ji
• Sumida Park

Day 4 - Tokyo

• Teamlab Planet
• Odaiba
• Tokyo City View Roppongi Hills
• Meguro River

Day 5 - Tokyo

• Mt Fuji Day

Day 6 - Tokyo

• Nihon Minka-en (open air folk museum)

Day 7 - Tokyo to Nagano

• Matsumoto Castle
• Togakushi Okushi Shrine

Day 8 - Nagano

• Snow Monkey Park

Day 9 - Nagano - Kanazawa - Kyoto

• Kenrokuen Garden
• Kanazawa Castle
• Higashi Chaya District
• Omicho Market

Day 10 - Kyoto

• Fushimi Inari
• Toji Temple
• Golden Pavilion
• Kyoto National Garden

Day 11 - Kyoto

• Kiyomizu-Dera Temple
• Hokan-ji
• Kodaiji Temple
• Bamboo Forest?

Day 12 - Kyoto

• Maruyama Park
• Yasaka Shrine
• Akyoji Shrine
• Pontocho Park

Day 13 - Kyoto

• Tenryuji Temple
• Romantic Train Up
• Hozugawa River boat
• Arashiyama Bamboo forest

Day 14 - Kyoto to Hiroshima (Ryokan Stay on Miyajima)

• Himeji Castle
• Hiroshima Castle
• Atomic Bomb site
• Miyajima Island

Day 15 - Day trip to Fukuoka - Osaka

• US Burger * Yes we are going this far for a US burger 🙂

Day 16 - Osaka

• Namba
• Dotonbori
• Osaka Castle surrounds (evening)

Day 17 - Osaka

• Nara Day trip

Day 18 - Osaka

• Nintendo Museum
• Kobe afternoon
• Kobe Port
• Kobe Beef dinner

Day 19 - Osaka

• Universal Studios

Day 20 - Option day

• Koyasan - Okunoin Cemetery
• Catch up Kyoto
• Legoland

Day 21 - Plane to leave Narita @ 8:30pm

• Legoland
• Harry Potter world
• Mt Fuji - if not shown itself
• Spend rest of our money in Tokyo

Hello everyone! I wonder if you guys could help me rate my itinerary for a 12 day solo trip to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. I want to do a relaxed trip because I'm quite sure Japan will be overstimulating enough as it is, so I'm hoping to leave some room to explore. Here’s my itinerary:

Day 1

Arrive at Haneda at 9h30. Rest in the morning and early afternoon.

Late afternoon – Uniqlo Ginza Flagship Store and teamLab Borderless at 6pm

Day 2

Kokyo Gaien National Garden and Imperial Palace

Hie Shrine

Ikebukuro – browsing through the shops

Day 3

Tokyo DisneySea

Day 4

Senso-Ji

Nakamise-dori Street

Tokyo Skytree (might ditch this)

Kanda Myoujin Shrine

Akihabara – browsing through the shops

Day 5

Ghibli Museum

Hanging around in Shinjuku for the rest of the day – have some shops I want to check. Dining at Omoide Yokocho

Day 6 

Arrive at Kyoto in the morning after taking the Shinkansen

Nijo Castle

Ninenzaka

Kinkaku-ji temple

Day 7

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

Adashino Nenbutsuji

Kodaiji Temple

Kiyomizu-dera

Fushimi Inari Taisha

(this feels like a lot but I've checked the distances and this seems doable. Any thoughts?)

Day 8

Daigo-ji in the morning

Train to Osaka

Enjoy afternoon and evening strolling in Dotonbori – visit the Namba Yasaka Jinja

Day 9

Universal Studios Japan

Day 10

Osaka Castle

Lunch in the Shinsekai Market

Go back to Toyko (shinkansen)

Day 11

teamLab Planets

Tsukiji Outer Market

Art Aquarium Museum (is this worth it? Thinking about switching to a visit to kewpie mayo)

Day 12

Meiji Jingu and Yoyogi Park

Exploring Shibuya for the rest of the day

Day 13

Back home

Hi all,

I've wanted to visit Japan since I was a kid and lived in Hawaii. As a heads up yes I did use chatgpt to help me structure this itinerary. I tried to do a bit of a deep dive not only here on reddit but other websites and travel blogs to get an idea of some activities. Want to get your thoughts and see if I am crazy for thinking I could make this work or if it sounds good for a first trip to Japan and my first solo international trip.

If these details matter: I'm 35 male (would be 36 at the time of this trip). I know 0 Japanese (though not too concerned as I know google translate and google maps served me well in Mexico City and reddit says it works wonders there), 6' and fit/no health conditions.

Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo

• Flight Details: Arrive at Narita Airport (NRT) at 3:40 PM on Tuesday, May 13.
• Evening:
  • Transfer to your hotel in Tokyo (Ginza or Tokyo Station area recommended).
  • Take a short evening walk around the neighborhood to soak in the Tokyo night vibes.
  • Enjoy a casual dinner nearby to recover from travel.

Day 2: Asakusa and Ueno

• Morning:
  • Visit Senso-ji Temple and stroll down Nakamise Shopping Street for traditional snacks and souvenirs.
• Afternoon:
  • Explore Ueno Park and visit the Tokyo National Museum.
  • Optional: Check out Ameya-Yokocho Market (Ameyoko) for street food and unique finds.
• Evening: Dinner near Ueno or Asakusa.

Day 3: Shibuya and Harajuku

• Morning:
  • See Shibuya Crossing and the Hachiko Statue.
  • Wander through Shibuya’s vibrant streets and enjoy views from Shibuya Sky.
• Afternoon:
  • Walk from Takeshita Street in Harajuku to Omotesando for a mix of quirky shops and upscale architecture.
  • Visit the serene Meiji Shrine.
• Evening: Dinner in Shibuya or Omotesando.

Day 4: Odaiba and Tokyo Bay

• Morning: Visit the immersive teamLab Borderless.
• Afternoon:
  • Walk through Odaiba Seaside Park for views of Tokyo Bay and Rainbow Bridge.
  • Stop by DiverCity Tokyo Plaza to see the giant Gundam statue.
• Evening: Waterfront dinner or return to central Tokyo.

Day 5: Cultural Tokyo

• Morning: Participate in a traditional tea ceremony at Happo-en.
• Midday: Visit Hie Shrine and walk through its iconic red torii gates.
• Afternoon: Explore Akihabara’s anime and electronics scene.
• Evening: Catch a Kabuki performance at Kabuki-za Theatre, then enjoy a relaxed stroll around Ginza.

Day 6: Hiroshima Day Trip

• Morning: Take the Shinkansen to Hiroshima and visit the Mazda Museum (reservation required).
• Afternoon: Walk through the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, including the A-Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Museum.
• Evening: Have okonomiyaki at Takaya and return to Tokyo.

Day 7: Onsen Experience

• Full Day: Relax at a tattoo-friendly onsen:
  • In Tokyo: Yuen Shinjuku.
  • Outside Tokyo: Hakone or Takaragawa Onsen Osenkaku (with scenic walks if in Hakone).
• Evening: Return to Tokyo (if visiting an outside onsen).

Day 8: Tsukiji and Ginza

• Morning: Explore the bustling Tsukiji Outer Market for fresh seafood and street food.
• Afternoon: Stroll through Ginza, visiting upscale shops and quiet alleys.
• Optional: Stop by Tokyo Station’s Character Street for unique souvenirs.
• Evening: Light walking and dinner near your hotel.

Day 9: Departure from Tokyo

• Morning: Take a final walk around your neighborhood for any last-minute exploration.
• Afternoon: Transfer to Narita Airport (NRT) for your flight departing at 5:40 PM.

Walking Highlights 🚶‍♂️

• Day 2: Nakamise Street and Ameyoko Market.
• Day 3: Shibuya to Omotesando and Meiji Shrine.
• Day 4: Odaiba Seaside Park.
• Day 5: Hie Shrine, Akasaka, and Ginza.
• Day 6: Hiroshima Peace Park.
• Day 8: Tsukiji Market and Ginza.

On the day I arrived to Kyoto, I started developing symptoms for a UTI. I suffer from chronic UTIs and i’m a nurse so I know how important it is to treat it with antibiotics. My bf and I were researching what to do and where to go to obtain some antibiotics. We stumbled across Kajita Urology, heavily recommended by reddit users but with my luck, of course it was closed that day because it was a public holiday!

I was in severe pain (10/10) at this point and needed something to manage my pain and symptoms until I was able to see the urologist the next day. We walked to a pharmacy and the pharmacist recommended “JinSenSan.” This herbal medication drink really helped my symptoms so that I was still able to enjoy my day and not waste our first day in Kyoto.

On the next day, we called Kajita Urology at 12:30 and asked if we can make an appointment for later on today. Their hours are 9:00-13:00, 16:30-19:30. I was told by the receptionist that they were full for the day and that if I wanted to walk in, I should be prepared to wait for 2 hours.

We arrived to the clinic at 17:00 and was greeted by the receptionist. She notified us again that the wait will be about 2 hours and that I should be prepared to pay up to 10,000 yen (cash only, out of pocket w/ no travel insurance) or more. She asked for my passport, which I just realized that I left in our hotel. Thankfully, the other receptionist said a valid Drivers License would suffice. I agreed to everything and was given paperwork to fill out. I sent my bf to the Lawson across the street to pull out more yen, just in case we didn’t have enough.

I sat there and waited for a little bit (roughly 20 mins?) and then the nurse approached me to ask me about my symptoms and to pee in a cup. After peeing, I was instructed to wait again until the doctor was ready to see me. I waited another 20ish minutes and I was called in to see the doctor.

He notified me that I do in fact have a UTI and that he was going to prescribe me a 5 day course of antibiotics. He also said that the medication drink “JinSenSan” was a wonderful medication to help manage the symptoms until I was able to get the antibiotics. He handed me the antibiotics and then I was sent on my way. This interaction took only about 5 minutes. He was very nice, spoke perfect English and made sure I had no more questions.

I went back to the reception table to pay my bill. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m from America but I was absolutely stunned at the price. My total was 5700 yen, which is only $37!!!!!! My entire doctor visit, urine test PLUS a course of antibiotics only cost me $37 out of pocket!!

Kajita Urology gets a 5 stars from me. The whole process took only an hour. My experience was amazing. The clinic itself was also very nice and clean. I can’t recommend them enough. They really saved my trip. It is now day 3 on my antibiotics and I feel great!! Hopefully someone in the future finds this post useful :)

TLDR: Developed a UTI at the start of my Japan trip in Kyoto. Found a Urologist (Kajita Urology) recommended by reddit users. Bring passport. Receptionist said 2 hours but was in and out within the hour. Paid 5,700 yen ($37) for the doctor visit, urine test and antibiotics. Doctor spoke perfect English. Clinic was very clean and saved my trip.

Hi there, heading to Japan in a week for the 1st time.

Just wanted to check how feasible my rough plan is and is open to any recommendations for a early 30yr old male traveling with my mid 20 year old brother (he have been to Japan once as a teenager but didn't get to experience much) and friend.

We're foodies with interest in sightseeing, anime/videogames, and fashion (menswear/streetwear/American heritage/workwear style etc.)

P.S. I have tattoos so if someone can recommend a private onsen that'll be great, but I don't necessary need to go to one.

Main Questions: *If you don't have time to read through everything.

1. Priority is should I combine Uji/Nara as a transfer daytrip from Kyoto to Osaka (instead of going to Nara from Osaka)? And use a transport service to ship my luggage to hotel in Osaka?

2. What time to visit Fushimi Inari?

3. Should I get a Osaka 2-day amazing pass based on itinerary?

4. Worth to visit Tokyo Sky Tower x JJK Collab?

______________________________________________________________________________________

Day 1: Tokyo (11/18, Monday)

• Arrival at Haneda Airport at 2:50pm
• Check-in Hotel (Hamamatsucho, Minato City Area)
• Explore surrounding area and get dinner
• Probably just relax & chill for the 1st day but if anyone have suggests lmk

Day 2: Tokyo (11/19, Tuesday)

• Tsujiki outer market?
• Teamlabs Planet (10-10:30am admission slot booked)
• Tsukishima Monja St for lunch (not sure if should skip this as it takes some time to backtrack according to Google maps)
• Explore Odaiba (there to see Unicorn Gundam mostly)

Day 3: Tokyo (11/20, Wednesday)

• Yoyogi Park (Might skip)
• Meiju Jingu Shrine
• Explore Harajuku (Tameshita Dori, Cat Street, Ura-Harajuku, shop at pure blue japan, beams plus, etc)
• Tokyu Plaza Omotesando - Geometric mirrors
• Shibuya Crossing/Loft
• Shibuya Sky (7pm reservation)
• Dogenzaka St (Izayaka)??

Day 4: Tokyo (11/21, Thursday)

• Shinjuku National Garden in the morning
• Shimokitazawa
• Dongenzaka St
• Omoide Yokocho + Kabuyukicho (evening)

Day 5: Kamakura/Enoshima (11/22, Friday day trip)

• Tokyo to kamakurakoko-mae station
• hase-dori street, kotoku-in temple, komachi-dori
• Enoshima (escar escalator, sea candle lighthouse)
• Katase-Enoshima station back to Tokyo

Day 6: Tokyo (11/23, Saturday)

• Teamlabs Borderless (9:30-10am admission slot booked)
• Lunch @ Nodaiwa (Unagi) or recs?
• Azabudai Hill
• Pokemon x Kogei event (3pm slot booked)
• Tokyo Tower/Shiba Park?
• Explore Roppongi Hill area in late afternoon-evening

Day 7: Kyoto (11/24, Sunday)

• Shinagawa Station To Kyoto Station (11:23am arrival)
• Drop off luggage at hotel (South of Kyoto station)
• Fushimi Inari (What is recommend? After lunch, at night or next day morning?)
• Explore Uji?

Day 8: Kyoto (11/25, Monday)

• Kiyomizu-Deru (morning)?
• Sannenzaka/Ninenzaka/Hokan-ji
• I want to eat at curry & tempura koisus but open to other options in the area
• Gion/Hanamikoji-Dori
• Nijo Castle/Nikishi Market (if time allows?)
• Pontocho river area in the evening?

Day 9: Kyoto (11/26, Tuesday)

• Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
• Jojakkoji
• Adashino & Otagi Nenbutsuji
• Tenryu-ji temple
• Monkey Park
• Kinkaku-ji in the evening (actually not sure what to do in the evening)

Day 10: Kyoto to Osaka or transfer daytrip to Nara first.. (11/27, Wednesday)

• Local train to Osaka Station (haven't planned arrival time)
• Drop off luggage to nearby hotel in Kita Ward
• Umeda Sky Building, Osaka Castle, and if time allows Aquarium in which order?
• Dotonbori in evening or next day

Day 11: Osaka (11/28, Thursday)

• Namba Jinja Shrine (get coffee around there at Aoma or Lilo)
• Shinsaibashi/America-mura
• Kuroman market or skip?)
• Shinsekai/Tsutenkaku Observation deck
• Namba Yasaka/Den Den Town
• Dotonbori (Evening river cruise?)

Day 12: Osaka or Day-Trip to Nara (11/29, Friday)

Day 13: Kobe (11/30, Saturday day trip)

• Ikuta Shrine
• 12:30pm Lunch Res @ Kobe Royal Mouriya
• Kitanocho
• Nunobiki Herb Garden/Ropeway (one-way or round trip?)
• Kobe Port
• Chinatown (evening/dinner?)

Day 14-18 : Osaka to Tokyo (Sunday, 12/1 - Thursday, 12/5)

Haven't brought train ticket yet

How should I split these up between the five days? Open to other areas of interest to explore

• Ueno Park
• Ameyoko Market
• Senso-ji Temple/Namakise Street
• Akihabara
• Ginza
• Tokyo Sky Tower Area
• Tokyo Station (Ramen, Champion St, etc..)
• Nakameguro/Ebisu?
• Starbucks Reserve Roastery
• Ikebukuro?

My flight on the last day is at 10:55pm (Haneda Airport), Any recs on what to do on last day, what time to get to airport to get last minute souvenir/gifts and if I should ship my luggage to the airport? (Tips on that would be appreciated)

If you got to here. Thank you for reading all of that!

I have posted my itinerary Below. My biggest area of concern is the kanazawa/gifu section of my trip. Is the transportation to and from these locations ideal and realistic with the time I have. I really want to go to these areas because they are more nature focused and I would like to experience a ryokan/onsen.

Day 0 (March 12)

Fly To Japan

Day 1 (March 13)

Arrive at Japan

Suica Card

Check into Hotel/Ueno

Explore a bit and eat dinner

Day 2 (March 14)

sensoji temple /asakuso

nakamise street

ueno park

akihabara

tokyo skytree

Day 3 (March 15)

gyoen/meji shrine

harajuku

Shibuya/shibuya sky shopping nintendo store

shinjuku at night if i have time

Day 4 (March 16)

tsukiji outer market

teamlab borderless

ginza

shinjuku night

Day 5 (March 17)

morning exploring before travel

Travel to Kyoto/check into hotel

nishiki market

Day 6 (March 18)

kinkaku-ji

Arashiyama bamboo groove

tenryu ji

Day 7 (March 19)

kiyomizu-dera

philosophers path

ginkakuji

higashiyama

gion

Day 8 (March 20)

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Day Trip To nARA

Day 9 (March 21)

Travel to Osaka

dotonbori/shinsaibashi night

Day 10 (March 22)

Osaka Castle

kuromon market

den den town

shinsekai

Day 11 (March 23)

umeda sky

osaka aquarium

dotonbori for food

Shopping

Day 12 (March 24)

Travel to Kanazawa

Day 13 (March 25)

Kanazawa Explore

Day 14 (March 26)

Travel to Gifu

Kakurean Hidaji Ryokan Onsen

Day 15 (March 27)

Ryokan breakfast

Travel Back to Tokyo Shinjuku Stay

Free time Exploring Collecting Souvenirs

Day 16 (March 28)

Flight Leaves at 6 PM

I recently came back from my first trip to Japan with my aunt to visit some family and roughly followed the golden route when it came to planning. It was more of a spontaneous decision so I only had about a month or so of prep time. I'm very fond of architecture and exploring as I go so we often just walked around the area. We also spent quite a lot of time shopping :D 

Pre-planning tips and recommendations

• Get Ubigi e-sim: super easy and painless to set up and there is always a 20% off coupon somewhere, it will save you money and time and the hassle of buying a SIM when you arrive. Ubigi worked as soon as I touched down. 
• Yamato Transport: the little black cat saved us the hassle of lugging around multiple suitcases worth of souvenirs and gifts through sometimes very long subway stations and rush hours. 100% recommend. Most staff can speak English if not a little google translate goes a long way. Keep in mind most hotels can only ship luggage for it to arrive the following day to be sure to plan accordingly. It also took us an embarrassingly long time to realize that most convenience stores offer the same luggage shipping services as the hotel and sometimes at a cheaper rate so be sure to check them out. 
• Sugi Drug mart: sells necessary and emergency over the counter medicine and is almost everywhere, we needed it due to a deer allergy at Nara
• Google maps is your best friend but does not do well in navigating buildings with lots of floors.
• Book specific experiences in advance to structure certain days but I wouldn’t stress too much about packing everyday with specific times as it get slightly overwhelming 

(we booked→)

• Tea Ceremony and Kimono Experience at Kyoto Maikoya

• Bus tickets to Shirakawago from Kanazawa) 

• Kaiseki dinner with a ryokan we stayed at Kaga

• Get comfortable shoes: cannot recommend enough if you are not used to walking long distances in the city, the miles really take a toll on you and the last thing you want is to be tired before your trip has even begun.

Itinerary 

Chiba

Day 1

Flew in via JFK and landed around 5 am at Tokyo Haneda and drove to Chiba to stay with my cousins. I decided I would just tough it out with the jet lag after chilling for like 2 hours, and went straight to Kamogawa Sea World for the afternoon. It was more of a local aquarium/sea world so all the introductions and information on the animals were made in Japanese. I also mistook one of the sleeping walruses for a statue -.- I ate the first of many many soft creams on my trip and for dinner we ate at a family restaurant with a set menu, it was so good for the price! 

Mt Fuji Region

Day 2

We headed out early for a road trip to Mt Fuji, visiting Makaino Farm with a huge grassy slope where you can feed sheep and goats pellets and carrots and saw some glimpses of the elusive mountain while eating more soft cream. Stayed in a ryokan with a kaiseki dinner and rotenburo. The dinner included some really good sashimi but I am not a fan of crispy garlic and we were greeted with a cloudy view of Fuji-san in the morning and all you can eat buffet style breakfast. 

Day 3

We checked out Oshino Hakkai, which had crystal clear ponds and gave us the best view of Mt. Fuji up on the viewing platform that cost around $3. Fujiyoshida is awesome for Fuji Q Highland but we just stopped by for its famous street with Mt. Fuji in the background. It was quite the drive back to Chiba.

Chiba

Day 4 

Didn’t do much, just hung out with family.

Day 5

Ventured out on my own for the first time and explored the Peria mall around Chiba station (much prefer the Aeon Malls after completing my trip). Then I traveled to Narita to pick up my aunt.

Asakusa

Day 6   

Arrived around lunch time, checked into the hotel and then walked right into Uniqlo and did some damage. We visited Senso-ji Temple which was crowded for an off-season but still very impressive in its size and structure as it was the first temple on our journey. Then explored the shopping streets in and around Asakusa and got a matcha float. Headed to Shibuya Parco at night, said hi to Hachiko, stopped by the Starbucks at Shibuya Crossing and visited the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo in Meguro.

Day 7

Started the morning off at Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park, the park was pretty quiet in the morning hours and the further into the Museum the less people there were, with a variety of ancient scrolls, paintings, ceramics and buddha statues. During lunch there were several yatai set up for a food festival and we had to get takoyaki and grilled fish. We then went to Ikebukuro for its Animate store and I found I enjoyed it more than Akihabara. Visiting Meiji Jingu in Yoyogi Park was amazing at dusk but the atmosphere walking into the park leading up the shrine was slightly haunting due to a large group of crows that kept on calling which kind of added to the chill of the dense forest. We then stopped by Akihabara at night for a quick walk around and Book Off. 

Hakone 

Day 8 

It took absolutely forever to get to our ryokan in Hakone due to the slow bus and traffic in the mountain roads but we managed to visit the Hakone Open-Air Museum and it was honestly quite impressive, as someone who is generally not a fan of modern art, it had great architectural landscaping that allowed each art piece to breathe and did not feel overcrowded at all. The cafe in the center of the park hit the spot even if there were only two food options: hotdog and a muffin. The whole park was really conceptual but very well curated and laid out. 

Hakone → Kamakura → Yokohama 

Day 9 

BE PATIENT, the bus in Hakone is absolutely brutal and if you can drive, DRIVE. We waited for about an hour after bus driver upon bus driver told us the bus was full and that we would have to wait for the next one. But we managed to finally catch the bus and not miss our ride on the Togendai Pirate Ship, which gave us a clear view of the iconic red Heiwa no Torii in the water and took us directly to the cable car leading up to Owakudani. There is also a regular ferry but the pirate ship was just more fun bc obviously. The view of Owakudani from the cable car looked as if there were pockets of steam rising from the mountainside and lowkey looked like forest fire smoke. 

Around mid-afternoon we caught the train to Kamakura to see the Kotoku-in which enshrines the Great Buddha statue, once again, dusk was the perfect time to capture photos and walk around without it being overly hot as fall still hadn’t quite come. I ate more soft serve and headed up to Yokohama for the night. I got a kebab for dinner and it was amazing. 

Osaka

Day 10 

Arrived in Osaka, ate some of the best butter chicken curry I’ve ever had in Nishishinsaibashi, then took a walking tour path from Amerika-Mura to Shinsaibashi Shopping Street which is great for casual streetwear and has lots of international brands. I already liked the vibe of Osaka more, you could immediately feel it was more laid back than Tokyo, the shop staff were more friendly and much more willing to consistently try to talk. We had to pay a visit to Mr Glico Man at Dotonbori, stopped by a small shrine in the heart of Hozenji Yokocho, and saw the fierce facade of the Namba Yasaka Jinja. It was slightly sad that it appeared like an oasis between the high rises because it was facing a hotel I think? that was towering over it but also made it feel like another block on the street. We had to check out the Namba City shopping mall and if I recall correctly, there were quite a few boutiques on the B2 level selling very cute clothing.

Day 11

Started a relatively slow day at Himeji Castle, exploring the castle grounds.I visited Koko-en gardens thinking there might be some fall foliage and I was greeted with absolutely nothing but it was a nice walk. The interior of Himeji Castle is mostly preserved but the rooms did start to get a little repetitive after a while. I’d still say I think it’s good to visit the interior once because there were some insanely steep and slippery wooden steps to climb. We visited Osaka Castle in the evening, saw it lit up with lights and passed by a massive concert being played at Osaka Jo Hall and had some very nice tonkatsu in the park adjacent to the castle.  

Osaka → Nara → Kyoto 

Day 12

Feeding the deer at Nara, we saw some deer fighting, head butting a poor girl off the steps and biting tourists butt for food. Very cute but kind of aggressive. 7/10. Walking all around the Nara Park area, Todai-ji was very impressive, configured in a giant courtyard setting with really huge Buddha and guardian statues inside. We also stopped by the temple buildings of Todai-ji around the area. Isuien Gardens and Museum was serene and quiet but there was a very nice garden a little bit ahead of Isuien that was free and I felt like it was quite similar if not a little bit bigger but nevertheless, worth the walk around the park. Ate a very brunch style late lunch and headed directly to Kyoto afterwards.

Day 13

For our first full day in Kyoto, we booked an all day tour with lunch included with Sunrise Tours and both our tour guides for the morning and afternoon were really wonderful. We first saw Nijo Castle, a residence for the Tokugawa Shogun, then Kinkaku-ji which was expectedly packed, I chatted with our tour guide Yoshi-san who spoke very good english and was also really good at trivia from around the world, listing out language similarities in other countries that were similar to Japanese. The Kyoto Imperial Palace didn’t allow for much sightseeing into the buildings but the grounds were manicured to perfection as befitting of the emperor. Lunch was short but catered to vegetarians and a solid 8/10. We then switched buses and tour guides and saw the Fushimi Inari Taisha, didn't get a chance to hike all the way up though, it would’ve been better in the morning hours. What really impressed me was the Sanjusangen-do Temple, which houses 1,001 statues of Kannon deities, each with multiple heads and arms and the sheer amount of statues was just insanely impressive, but no photos allowed like many temple interiors. Our last stop was the Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Sannenzaka and another soft cream.

Day 14 

I prebooked a tea ceremony and kimono rental at Kyoto Maikoya and our tea ceremony master was a very sweet and friendly lady who gave us a short demonstration of a part of the tea ceremony and she really emphasized the phrase, “ichi go ichi e” “one chance, one encounter” and said that our tea ceremony today was also “ichi go ichi e” and in the quiet of the teahouse, I have to say it did move me a little. Since kimono rental was the whole day, we visited Yasaka Shrine in Gion before returning them. We had lunch near Hokan-ji and then revisited the Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka area to shop for souvenirs.

Day 15

I started the morning off at Arashiyama Bamboo grove and since it looked like it was about to rain, there weren't that many people on the trail. I walked to Sagano Bamboo forest as well before stopping by a secluded temple called Jojakkoji slightly off the main path and then the rain started pouring down. I took shelter in a courtyard house, but since I was really determined to still see the temple, when the rain subsided I was the only person in the quiet groves and stairs. I had originally wanted to visit Tenryu-ji but so glad I stopped by Jojakkoji. Since I still desperately needed an umbrella I stopped by a small pottery studio and shop nearby but slightly off the beaten track and met a very kindly old shop owner who not only sold me a tanuki statue but also deducted the tax and umbrella fee from the total. I swear his shop was something straight out of a ghibli film, especially with the heavy rain pouring down, foggy and damp. But when I walked out onto the main street leading up the station the magic was gone. I met up again with my aunt later in the afternoon to walk the Philosopher's Walk and we visited Okazaki Shrine, Nanzen-ji and a multitude of shrines and temples in the area before stopping at the famous Blue Bottle cafe for a bite before visiting the Kyoto Handicraft center for souvenirs and pottery. 

Kaga

Day 16

Slow morning, stopped by a bakery near the station to eat curry bread and took several trains into the countryside to reach Kaga. We had no major plans besides enjoying the kaiseki dinner and private bath the ryokan had to offer. It was a very quiet, sleepy resort town with affordable prices and frequented by many locals. I really recommend you to find a few spots on your trip without many major online recommendations that look beyond the major cities if you’re a big fan of a more serene escape in nature. They also cater to all sorts of diet restrictions as we ordered one vegetarian and one without sashimi. I would say it was like a holiday within a holiday.

Kanazawa

Day 17 

We may or may not have spent way too much time in the mall near Kaga Station buying clothes because everything was so affordable and very Japanese casual style, with academia vibes and muted tones. I think we spent about 2 hours in the same store. Most of the staff don’t speak English here but it wasn’t that much of an issue and we also managed to ship some items back to my cousin’s place. We then caught the Shinkansen through Fukui and arrived at Kanazawa. We visited the Nagamachi Samurai District and picked up more local Kutani pottery before having dinner at a local family run restaurant which served crab. 

Kanazawa → Shirakawago → Kanazawa

Day 18 

Spent most of the day at Shirakawago, which takes quite some time to get to but it was pretty unique and we had the best butter toast and red bean paste at a very very cute cafe that let you pick out the cup set you wanted to use for coffee and there was studio ghibli bgm. We sat around an open hearth with a pot of red bean soup boiling underneath and it was amazing. 

Kanazawa → Tokyo 

Day 19

Spent the morning exploring Oyama Shrine and the Kanazawa Castle Ruins area before visiting Kenrokuen Gardens, it started to get a little rainy by the time we left Kanazawa to head back to Tokyo. It was already evening by the time we checked in and we headed into Ginza to shop. 

Tokyo → Chiba 

Day 20 

We saw Tokyo Tower in the morning, and again at Zozo-ji before doing more shopping in Ginza and Tokyo station area. We visited Itoya, Tokyu Hands, Tokyo Station Character street and Daimaru at Tokyo Station. Before it got fully dark we headed back to Chiba. 

Day 21

More shopping at Mitsui Outlets, met up with my cousins and then had soba for lunch and visited Uniqlo nearby before a final ramen dinner. 

Day 22

Caught the first bus out to Haneda and flew home

Final Thoughts: I honestly loved the trip, I would definitely come back and explore North Japan or venture south to Fukuoka and Okinawa. I really liked the vibe of Osaka and the cities on the west coast but most importantly, it was just really nice to see family.

I ended up visiting the Mt Fuji region twice with my cousins first and then my aunt because they had already prebooked the stay and I didn't know (it was a last minute trip after all) but since it was different regions I still had a nice time.

A little bit of Japanese will be useful and just look around at what other people are doing, etc you stand on the left on escalators in Tokyo and on the right in Osaka. Trains are also generally quiet and you will realize pretty quickly if a foreigner is talking loud.

Don’t overpack, there is literally everything you could ever need within walking distance so you can bring more clothes and souvenirs back. I want to thank everyone else's itineraries that helped me in planning so its only right I also leave my tidbit.

have fun!

Hi everyone!

I'm (21M) planning a solo trip for the first time in my life, and I've decided to experience Japan for this during January. I've spent quite a lot of time crafting this itinerary, and I'd like to see what you all think of it (recommendations, things not to do, things I missed, etc.)

For some context, I'm mainly visiting Japan for 2 things: To experience the nature and culture, and to go shopping for some nostalgic video game and anime merchandise. I'm sure this would be pretty easy to see in my schedule. Planning to just explore and walk around in the time between the planned activities, as I really want to soak in the area and not fill my days with a ton of planned activities.

I'm a big junkie of historical museums and old temple spots, so please drop any recommendations for ones I have missed in these areas!

If anyone has any experience with some of these, please let me know if some days are too packed! I really want to have relaxed days with 2-4 major things and the rest of the time just exploring interesting things and places.

Day 1: Sunday, Jan 5th (Tokyo)

- Land in Tokyo

- Check into hotel and drop off luggage

- Rest / Explore

Day 2: Monday, Jan 6th (Tokyo)

- Check out the Imperial Palace

- Check out Shinjuku Gyoen Park

- Explore Shinjuku (potentially stores like Suruga-ya, Book Off, etc.)

- Shinjuku Suehirotei Rakugo Show

- Explore Nakano Broadway and do some shopping

- Try out a batting cage

Day 2: Tuesday, Jan 7th (Tokyo)

- Visit Senso-ji temple early to beat the crowd

- Kirby Cafe (if reservation goes well)

- Tokyo Skytree

- Check out Ueno Park

- Explore Akihabara and do some shopping (Mandarake, Beep, etc.)

- Check out the Girl's Muscle Bar (might be a tourist trap, but in all honestly looks like a lot of fun)

Day 4: Wednesday, Jan 8th (Tokyo)

- Go to teamLab Planets

- Quick stop by National Diet Building (since it was featured in one of my favorite video games)

- Check out Akasaka Imperial Gardens

- Suginami Animation Museum

Day 5: Thursday, Jan 9th (Hakone)

- Train to Hakone

- Boat ride on Lake Ashi to see Mt. Fuji

- Tenzan Onsen

- Train back to Tokyo

Day 6: Friday, Jan 10th (Nikko)

- Train to Nikko

- Nikko Tosho-go Shrine

- Nikko Tosho-go Museum

- Temple Hopping

- Train back to Tokyo

Day 7: Saturday, Jan 11th (Tokyo)

- Planning to meet with a friend if schedules line up. If not, just exploring some cool areas

Day 8: Sunday, Jan 12th (Kichijoji)

- Train to Kichijoji

- Ghibli Museum (If reservations work out)

- Explore Inokashira Park

- Edo-Tokyo Museum

- Walk around Kichijoji

- Train back to Tokyo

Day 9: Monday, Jan 13th (Kamakura)

- Train to Kamakura

- Temple Hopping

- Explore Enoshima

- Train back to Tokyo

Day 10: Tuesday, Jan 14th (Yokohama)

- Train to Yokohama

- Sankeiein Garden

- Red Brick Warehouse Shopping Area

- Train back to Tokyo

Day 11: Wednesday, Jan 15th (Kyoto)

- Train to Kyoto

- Fuhsimi-inari Shrine (Try to get there as early as possible)

- Kiyomizu-dera Temple

- Nijo-jo Temple

- Higashi Hogan-ji Temple

- Check out Higashiyama

- Stop by the Pokemon Center Kyoto

Day 12: Thursday, Jan 16th (Kyoto)

- Kinkaku-ji Temple

- Walk in Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

- Walk on Philosopher's Path

- Check out the Gion District

- Nijo Castle

Day 13: Friday, Jan 17th (Uji/Muko)

- Train to Uji

- Byodo-in Temple

- Tale of Genji Museum

- Fushimi Sake District

- Train to Muko

- Bamboo Grove Walk at night

- Train back to Kyoto

Day 14: Saturday, Jan 18th (Nara)

- Train to Nara

- Nara Park (Get there early for low crowd)

- Todai-ji Temple

- Train to Kyoto

Day 15: Sunday, Jan 19th (Kinosakionsen)

- Train to Kinosakionsen

- Onsen Hopping

- Walk throughout the town

- Train back to Kyoto

Day 16: Monday, Jan 20th (Osaka)

- Train to Osaka

- Explore Den Den Town (Book Off, Hard Off, etc.)

- Explore Dotonbori

Day 17: Tuesday, Jan 21th (Osaka)

- Visit Osaka Castle

- Check out Osaka Museum of History

- Check out Kuromon Ichiba Market

- Visit Nintendo Osaka + Pokemon Center

Day 18: Wednesday, Jan 22nd (Osaka)

- Visiting a friend if plans work out. If not, pretty much a free day

Day 19: Thursday, Jan 23rd (Himeji)

- Train to Himeji

- Visit Himeji Castle

- Hyogo Museum of History

- Ropeway to Engyo-ji Temple

- Train back to Osaka

Day 20: Friday, Jan 24th (Himeji)

- Train to Kurashiki

- Kurashiki Bikan Historical Center

- Achi Shrine

- Ohashi's House

- Washuzan (Bridge Sightseeing)

- Train to Hiroshima

Day 21: Saturday, Jan 25th (Hiroshima)

- Hiroshima Orizuru Tower

- Shukkeien Garden

- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

- Hiroshima Pokemon Center

- Hiroshima Manga Library

Day 22: Sunday, Jan 26th (Miyajima Island)

- Ferry to Miyajima

- Itsukushima Shrine (Floating Torii)

- Daisho-in Temple + Mt. Misen

- Check out Mega Spoon (just for the gag)

- Mitaki-dera Temple

- Train back to Tokyo

Day 23: Monday, Jan 27th (Tokyo)

- Explore Ginza

- Explore around local suburbs

- Fukugawa Edo Museum

Day 24: Tuesday, Jan 28th (Tokyo)

- Pokemon Center Mega Tokyo

- Tokyo Character Street

- Nintendo Tokyo

- Explore Shibuya

Day 25: Wednesday, Jan 29th (Tokyo)

- Pokemon Cafe (if reservation works out)

- Pokemon DX Store

- Gundam Statue

- teamLab Borderless

- Explore Harajuku

Day 26: Thursday, Jan 30th (Tokyo)

- Last minute wrap-ups

- Fly out

A couple questions:

1. I'm not too keen on drinking alone since drinking for me is mainly a social thing I do with friends, and I am not sure if a foreigner in local bars knowing nobody would be a fun experience. If anyone has done this and thinks otherwise, please let me know! I can speak Japanese on a Kindergarten conversational level, so I think I may be able to converse well enough with locals, but I'm not sure if people would actively distance from foreigners in bars and izakayas.

2. Does anyone have any great recommendations for day-use onsens in these areas? I don't really want to spend too much on an overnight ryokan by myself, and soaking in the onsen at night then coming back to my hotel seems much better.

3. I haven't planned any dining locations because I'd much rather find local spots and eat there. Does anyone have experiences with a lot of places denying foreigners? I can read Hiragana + Katakana pretty well, but regardless of this do you think many local spots would deny me because of my skin color? If so, I'd like to prep to reserve seats at restaurants.

If anyone has any recommendations that I have not hit, please let me know! Also, I'd really appreciate any feedback on this itinerary. Thank you!

Hi everyone! I’m planning my first winter holiday in Japan, and since I’m from a tropical country, I want to make sure I’ve covered all the essentials. I’d really appreciate your advice and feedback on my itinerary to make sure I’m not missing anything important! 🙏

Details:

• Travel Dates: 31st Jan 2025 to 1st Mar 2025
• Locations: I’ll be traveling around Hokkaido and Nagano, visiting Sapporo, Furano, Asahikawa, Hakodate, Shiretoko, and more.
• Purpose: To experience a snowy winter for the first time, explore beautiful landscapes, enjoy onsen, and try winter activities like snowshoeing and snowmobiling.

Concerns and Questions

1. Weather Conditions: As a tropical traveler, I'm concerned about the winter weather and any unexpected impacts it could have on my travel plans. Are there any weather factors or considerations I should be aware of for Hokkaido and Nagano?
2. Time Needed for Travel: I’ve tried to account for travel times, but I’m unsure if winter conditions might make certain journeys take longer. Any tips on travel time adjustments for winter in Japan?
3. Winter Safety: Do I need specific gear for activities like snowshoeing, snowmobiling, or even just walking around on icy streets?

Packing List for Winter

Here’s a list of what I’ve bought so far. Please let me know if I’m missing any essentials or if there’s anything you’d recommend adding based on your winter experience!

• Clothing: Thermal base layers, fleece sweaters, down jacket, waterproof pants, wool socks, gloves, scarf, beanie, goggles. Have not bought snow boots but intending to get them from Decathlon.

• Essentials: Hand warmers, portable phone charger (as I heard cold can drain battery fast), sunscreen (for snow glare)

• Other Gear That I Haven't Bought: Hiking poles, crampons for icy surfaces.

I haven’t researched food options in-depth yet, so any recommendations for must-try dishes or restaurants in each location would be very welcome! I’d love to know which local specialties to look out for that I absolutely shouldn’t miss.

Final Thoughts

This trip is a dream come true, and I want to make sure I’m fully prepared! If you’ve been on a winter trip in Japan or are familiar with traveling from a warmer climate, I’d love to hear any advice or insights you might have.

Thank you so much for your help! 😊

Hi everyone!

Next Saturday we'll go to Japan for our honeymoon and I'd like to share the draft of the itinerary:

Day 1

Landing at Tokyo Haneda airport at 11.30 a.m.

Leave the bags at the hotel

Afternoon at Senso-ji, then visiting Tokyo Sky Tree mall (not going up the tower)

Day 2 (wife's birthday)

Imperial Palace, then moving to Tokyo Station

1.00 p.m. Owl Cafè (booked)

3.00 p.m. Pokémon Cafè (booked)

VIsiting Ginza (Muji shop / Uniqlo Flasgship store)

Have a look at Miyazaki NTV clock

Dinner at Gyopao Roppongi (booked)

Day 3

Peanuts Cafè breakfast

Meiji Shrine, Yoyogi Park

Shibuya Crossing (visiting nerdy shop, going to Taito Station)

3.30 p.m. Shibuya Sky Tree (booked)

Roaming around

Day 4

All day Nikko visit

Day 5

Tokyo DisneySea

Day 6

Odaiba

10.30 a.m. teamlab Planets (booked)

Immersive Museum/Small World miniature Museum (still not sure on what to do)

Day 7

Moving to Kyoto

Arriving at Kyoto around lunch time

VIsiting Iwatama Monkey Park

Tenryu-ji + Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

Day 8

Fushimi Inari

After lunch visiting temples

Tofuku-ji, Sanjusangendo, Sannenzaka, Ninenzaka, Kiyomizudera

After dinner walk in Pontocho

Day 9

10 a.m. Nintendo Museum (booked)

Visiting nord-east Kyoto:

Ginkaku-ji

Philisopher's path

Nanzen-ji, Heian, Chion-ji, Maruyama Park, Kodai-ji, Yasaka

Day 10

Kyoto manga museum and get our potrait done

Nishiki market lunch

4 p.m. Maikoya Tea ceremony (booked)

Day 11

Moving to Osaka in the morning

Osaka Castle

Walking through Donbori/Den Den Town (Hozenji Temple + Tsutentaku)

Day 12

Universal Studios

Day 13

Nara visit

Wondering what to do in the afternoon/evening

Day 14

Moving to Hiroshima

Peace Memorial Museum

Orizuru Tower

Hiroshima Museum

Day 15

Moving to Miyajima Island

Exploring the island

Misen Mount using the ropeway

Traditional dinner at our ryokan

Day 16

Going back to Tokyo for the last 4 days

Shinjuku

Day 17

Ueno

Renting pond boat

Tokyo National Museum (+ Science Museum?)

After lunch: Akihabara

Day 18

Hakone trip

Day 19

The Making of Harry Potter

Ikebukuro (Evangelion shop, Gashapon store and other nerdy shops)

Day 20

Leaving Japan :(

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

We'd like to add Nakano Broadway into the itinerary, but we can't figure in which day putting it.

Also if you know of particular restaurants or activity that would fit into the trip, we can definitely get some advice!

Furthermore, considering our itinerary, do you recommend any passes to save some money for transportation?

Thank you in advance!

Greetings! I am working on my Tokyo trip itinerary. Hope it's a trip to treat my clinical depression. Any suggestion or comment would be great appreciated!

Day 1) 18:00 HND T3 > Ikebukuro Station/ Or Takadanobaba Station ⚠️Hotel selection: Ikebukuro Sunshine city Prince (Haunted?) or Vessel Inn Takadanobaba Ekimae

Day 2) Hotel breakfast or Komeda Cafe > Seibuen Amusement Park > Shinjuku CityWalk + Dinner > Meiji Shrine + Shibuya

Day 3) Chichibu city One day trip/ Chichibu Night Matsuri ⚠️How to book a dinner at local restaurant?

⚠️When did Chichibu Night Matsuri ends?

Day 4) Making of Harry Potter > Akihabara shopping > Ueno city walk

Day 5) Shopping > 12:00 Narita T2

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Hi, please add some recommendations or advice! I know it is very touristy...Because I am a tourist.

I know Cherry blossoms are unpredictable, but any recommendations if there happen to be any while I'm there?

March 29: We're Here!

1. Arrive at the airport by 4:30 PM.
2. Depart by 5:45 PM via airport limousine bus to Tokyu Kabukicho Tower (webservice.limousinebus.co.jp).
3. Take a cab to Airbnb and settle in.
4. Find a nearby restaurant for dinner (specific location TBD).
5. Stop by 7-Eleven for late-night snacks.
6. Rest for the night.

March 30: Sleep in and Explore

1. Breakfast at Café AALIYA

Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Notes: Enjoy breakfast and expect a line.
2. Walk to Hanazono Shrine
Time: 11:00 AM - 11:20 AM
Notes: The walk is about 5-10 minutes. Allocate 20 minutes for walking and exploring.
3. Stop by 7-Eleven for snacks
Time: 11:20 AM - 11:30 AM
Notes: Quick stop for snacks and refreshments.
4. Visit Don Quijote Shinjuku Kabukicho
Time: 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Notes: Spend about an hour shopping.
5. Walk to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Time: 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
Notes: The walk is about 5 minutes. Allocate time for the walk and initial exploration.
6. Explore Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Notes: Spend around 1.5 to 2 hours exploring the garden.
7. Lunch at Afuri Shinjuku
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Notes: After enjoying the garden, head to Afuri Shinjuku for a ramen lunch.
8. Airbnb rest..nap.. recoup
9. he can choose

March 31: Shibuya and Harajuku!

1. Departure from Airbnb in Kitashinjuku

Time: 9:00 AM
2. Arrive at Togoshiya for Breakfast
Time: 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
3. Explore Shibuya 109 and Surrounding Area
Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Notes: Visit Shibuya 109 for trendy shopping and explore the nearby streets.
4. Travel to Harajuku
Time: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
5. Lunch in Harajuku
Time: 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Options:
Harajuku Gyoza Lou: Known for its delicious gyoza.
Cafe Crêpes: For a sweet or savory crepe.
6. Picture booth!!
7. Explore Takeshita Street (CROWDED)
Time: 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
8. Visit Meiji Shrine
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
9. Return to Shibuya
Time: 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM
10. Explore Shibuya Crossing
Time: 5:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Notes: Experience the bustling Shibuya Crossing and take in the vibrant atmosphere as the area starts to come alive in the evening.
11. Dinner
12. Late night walking around

April 1: Team Labs Pokemon Cafe (this day can be interchangeable depending if I can get a booking through Fiverr)

1. From Airbnb in Kitashinjuku and walk to a 7/11 for something to hold us over)

Time: 9 AM
2. Breakfast at Pokemon Cafe (will try to book through Fiverr)
Time 10:30 AM
3. Team Labs Planet
Time 12pm - 1:30pm
4. Lunch at Vegan Ramen UZU Tokyo and walk around a little after
5. ERAWAN - AKASAKA Thai Traditional Massage
6. Thousand Toriis
7. Dinner: Champagne & Gyoza Bar STAND-CHAM-SHOKU

April 2: Disney Sea or Disney Land

April 3rd: Sanrio Puroland

1. Leave Airbnb in kitashinjuku
2. Head to Sarabeth's LUMINE 2 Shinjuku Branch for breakfast
3. Head to Sanrio Puroland
4. Explore eat some lunch, etc.
5. Back to Airbnb to rest a little before dinner
6. Dinner at Ichiran Ramen
7. Rest

April 4: Travel to Kyoto!

1. Breakfast
2. 7/11 for some snacks
3. Hop on the train to Kyoto - arrive around 2PM
4. Settle in hotel for an hour or 2
5. Lunch/early dinner at Gyoza Chao Chao - Shijo Kawaramachi
6. Walk around and explore
7. L'Escamoteur for some drinks later in the evening

April 5: Kimono and Shrines and Shopping

1. Breakfast
2. Kimono rental
3. Kiyomizu-dera shrine
4. Inari temple
5. Return the kimonos
6. Lunch: Arashiyama Rilakkuma Tea House
7. Shopping
8. Return the kimonos
9. Rest at hotel for a little
10. Dinner: Noodle shop Rennosuke

April 6: Leave Kyoto To Osaka and a Day trip to Nara!

1. Breakfast
2. Travel to Osaka
3. Go to the hotel have them hold our bags
4. Head to Nara
5. Go to Nara Park and interact with the Deer
6. Todai-ji
7. Lunch at Tonkatsu Ganko Nara
8. Walk around a little
9. Head to Osaka to check-in
10. Rest
11. Dinner at Oretachino-curry Ramen Koji Labo Osaka-namba
12. Head to 7/11 for late night snacks and breakfast

April 7: Universal

1. Wake up really early and arrive at universal

April 8: Head back to Tokyo

1. Breakfast
2. Head to hotel
3. Have hotel hold bags
4. Get a massage
5. Exploring day

April 9: Rest day and last minute shopping

1. Explore
2. Tokyo Imperial Palace
3. Luxury Shopping/thrifting?
4. Akihabara & Ikebukuro for some DBZ stuff?

April 10: Rest day

1. Last minute Exploring
2. Head to airport late in the night

hi there, i'm zee! i have been to japan twice before!

1st with two friends of mine for 8 days (tokyo/osaka/kyoto/tokyo) in 2016.
(absolutely insane itinerary. my feet hurt so much lol.)

2nd with my bf (tokyo/hakone/osaka/tokyo) for 12 days in 2019. it was the best trip ever!

now solo for 20 days in 2024. he's not coming because of a few reasons, but i have always wanted to go to japan for longer than two weeks… that trip was awesome tho, so i'm having trouble not repeating myself lol.

i have already done a lot of the major tourist attractions. i have never done fukuoka / kyushu before so i'm excited about that! as a canadian, the second i heard maple leaf tempura i knew i had to go try that haha, that will be a day trip from osaka. i'm also a big nerd - so lots of anime/manga related shopping. i also really want to find a nice set of knives and bring those home as a souvenir. possibly in namba. the last time i went i splurged on some nice animation cels in nakano broadway. they're framed in my office :)

itinerary:

flight to japan nov 11

• ikebukuro: 12 nov - 16 nov
  • ikebukuro shopping, akihabara shopping, wolf bar (furry meet friday!!), tokyo skytree, asakusa shitamachi (??? idk, lol, i'll think of some more stuff)
• odaiba: 16 nov - 18 nov
  • design festa, joypolis, tokyo disney sea, odaiba mall
• osaka: 18 nov - 21 nov
  • amerikamura, den den town, meiji no mori minō quasi-national park (maple leaf tempura) dotonbori, tsutenkaku tower, shinsekai. this part has a lot of returns, but i love osaka's vibe a lot.
• kakogawa: 21 nov - nov 22
  • visit friends, see himeji castle, toy museum
• fukuoka: 22 nov - 24 nov
  • sumo viewing booked for nov 22! eat all the ramen, yatai, nakasu island, kihinkan hall / tenjin central park
• yufuin: 24 nov to 25 nov
  • cute onsen town on a cute train to relax in!!! seriously look at the train "yufuin no mori"

nov 25 - train back to hakata station to fly to tokyo or shinkansen (i have to decide this rn lol)

• shibuya: 25 nov - 30 nov
  • watch saturday good byes, nakano broadway, shimokitazawa, jojo bar, samurai restaurant (yeah tourist trap i know) ???? idk this part lol, again, filling tokyo is not hard but - too many choices of places to go
• numazu 30 nov - dec 1
  • kinnikuman museum, mt fuji viewing
• kawasaki: dec 1 - dec 2
  • onsen / hotel - relax before flight

flight home dec 2

things i have done before: anime japan, shibuya 109, shibuya crossing, maid cafe, mos burger, otome road, mega tokyo pokémon center, closet child, tokyo metropolitan government building, animate, takeshita street, nakano broadway, hakone mountain, osaka castle, dōtonbori, denden town, tsutenkaku tower, fushimi inari shrine, arashiyama bamboo grove, kyoto - gion, divercity gundam, tokyo tower, hep five ferris wheel, osaka tennoji zoo, a lot of hot springs, tombori river cruise, ate way too much okonomiyaki, monster cafe, nippori fabric town, kimono rental, toei animation museum kyoto, studio ghibli museum, captain kangaroo osaka.

bucket list things that will never happen unless someone in japan i know outright takes me to them lol:

• a musical anime production. i used to be so into the bleach musical as a teenager. i knew literally every song. i know it's niche, but i loved it. i was sad to hear it came back this year but i missed it!! basically, i just love the vibe of musicals and cosplay on stage. i would go see anything, just to say i did it. this website has a lot of them listed: https://www.j25musical.jp/en/
• takarazuka revue. ever since hearing about this in ouran i have wanted to see one!!
• rakugo performance. i don't know much japanese but i would just love to see it performed.
• a live music performance.
• the muscle "macho" cafe closed before i could go in 2019. the biggest sadness!!!

i should say i'm not interested in aquariums or zoos - people keep telling me to go to them lol. i have been to vancouver aquarium, toronto ripley's aquarium, and atlanta aquarium. i'm good for aquariums!! i also live in toronto, and our zoo is crazy good. actually, that's a big problem with traveling in general... toronto has so much. it's hard to find things we don't have as well. like we even had a maid cafe for a number of years lol.

i am also bringing a 2004 mini-dvd camcorder with me to record my time there, so hopefully i can make an artsy lil video about my adventure when i return :) i got a computer with windows movie maker on it too, it's gonna be so old school and crap i am excited haha.

thanks for reading!

Hi everyone,

I’m travelling from Canada, currently in Tokyo. I am going back home on Nov 12, but my glucose sensor/transmitter system broke and the backup for that system broke too. I have some extra backup blood sugar test strips, but only enough to last me 1-2 more days.

I’ve been to 3 drug stores and 1 actual pharmacy in Tokyo so far, and all have told me they don’t dispense blood sugar strips.

I am wondering if anyone has any advice on what to do next - I literally just need 20 more strips to get me back home to Toronto.

Thank you in advance, a worried glucose gal.

UPDATE: thanks everyone for your help!

For anyone curious, I use the closed loop Tandem T-Slim Control IQ system with Dexcom G6 normally. I took 3x the amount of Dexcom sensors but turns out those weren’t the problem after I replaced them 4 times. My transmitter stopped working, but I didn’t have a backup since my insurance pays for one 1x/90 days and I’ve never had it fail before.

I ended up talking to a really nice English speaking pharmacist (also helps that I myself am a pharmacist back home). Turns out that they basically don’t see any type 1 diabetes cases and barely dispense any diabetes devices since prevalence in Japan is so low.

The pharmacist here ended up speaking to an endocrinologist working in the same building, who told her that they only give Freestyle Libre devices to their patients and they’re booked far ahead for appointments. They also don’t have a way to order Dexcom - she’s never heard of it. She called around and found a pharmacy in Roppongi that sold me some Japanese brand meter and 30 strips in a set. They didn’t sell any Contour Next or Accu-Check or any other Western brand I’m familiar with. Overall, it cost me $150 CAD.

Life pro tip - take backups of literally everything, even if you think you don’t need it. I had backups of what I thought was prone to failure (even an extra pump!) but what failed wasn’t what I expected.

Hey guys! After a few days in Tokyo, me and my partner are staying in Hakone for a night. We are staying in Miyanoshita, and wanted to do the Hakone mountain route.

This was our original plan:

Odakyu train line from Shinjuku station to Odawara station → local train to Hakone-Yumoto station

Hakone mountain railway from Hakone-Yumoto station to Gora station 

→ Hakone ropeway to sounzan sation

→ Hakone ropeway to owakudani 

→ Hakone ropeway to Togendai, Lake Ashinoko → Sightseeing ferry on lake 

→ get off Moto Hakone port

→ Catch bus to hotel in Miyanoshita.

Does this seem plausible? Or should we do the loop the other way around, starting at Moto Hakone port so we end up at Gora station at the end (a bit closer to our hotel) or does it not matter?

Hello!

I made this itinerary for my family (with kids) for a 6 day Christmas- New year trip.

I'm looking to see if the choices we are making are doable. Also if Kawaguchiko stay is better than Hakone stay.I'm also hoping to see if there any suggestions to be made that can better maximize our trip! 

I have been to Japan previously and visited Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto. We loved it so much so planning to visit again. We start our day early and end the day by 5 PM and prefer to stay at the hotel. Can you please help and critique my itinerary? I am also hoping to get some reviews on the Mizno hotel in Kawaguchiko and the Gate Hotel in Kyoto.

12/25 : flight lands in Tokyo at 6:00 AM / drop luggage at hotel. The making of harry potter experience in afternoon, Roppongi hills christmas market in evening. Grab dinner in Ginza or roppongi hills.

12/26 : I am confused about this day and if I should do hakone or kawaguchiko. I have already visited open air museum in hakone.

So option 1 is to take shinkansen to odawara then go to lake ashi. Take ropeway to owakudani. Take ropeway to souzan station and travel to Gora by evening. Have dinner at our hotel and enjoy onsen at the hotel.

Option 2 is to head to kawaguchiko. Drop luggage at shimoyoshida station. Take a cab to Chureito pagoda, Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengenjina Shrine(optional).Take bus to kawaguchiko station. Lunch near kawaguchiko station. Ropeway (optional).Visit Oishii park. Travel to Mizno Hotel and retire for the day. Have dinner at the hotel.

12/27 : Checkout hotel and travel to Kyoto, stay in Gion area. Visit Kiyumizudera, ninenzaka and sanenzaka. Have vegan ramen. Relax at the hotel.

12/28 : Visit Osaka. Have breakfast at station, explore Namba yasaka Jinja, Hozenji temple, Dotonbori, SHinsaibashi street, osaka castle grounds and if possible harukas 3000 or Umeda sky. I know these are a lot, can you suggest what I can skip. I am vegan so will not spend much time exploring food markets. I am planning to eat one meal at oko okonomiyaki. I was also wondering if the osaka castle winter illumination is worth it. I can chose one between Umeda, Harukas and Osaka Castle.

12/29 : Visit Nara dear park. I am planning to just do the dear park and not the area surrounding it. Head back to kyoto for lunch. Visit arashiyama bamboo forrest and do the sagano romantic train. Head back to hotel. I have already visited Arashiyama bamboo forrest before but we loved it so planning to go again. I was hoping to get suggestions if I can do another day trip here?

12/30 : Travel back to tokyo. Explore Tokyo Skytree, Asakusa Region in afternoon/evening.

12/31 : This day is sort of open. If we do Hakone first, we can do a day trip to kawaguchiko. Or we can spend evening at Disney Sea or explore parts of Tokyo. In the evening we plan to get some desserts and wine from convinience store to the hotel room and celebrate the new year.

01/01 : Search for Lucky bags in the morning. Head for the flight out of Tokyo in the afternoon.

What do you think about this itinerary? We are going with little kids (2 and 4). We want to see as much as possible, without being too exhausted at the end, especially because of the kids. Would you recommend we change, add, or delete anything from our itinerary?

Day 0

Arrive to Osaka airport at 7:00 pm

Day 1 Osaka

Aquarium

Kuma Cafe (Lunch)

Tempozan Ferris wheel

Shinsekai Market/Tsūtenkaku

Day 2 - Osaka

Osaka Castle

Kids plaza

Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street

Dotonbori Glico Sign

Day 3 - Hiroshima

Hiroshima Gate park

Atomic Bomb Dome

Peace Memorial park

Downtown

Day 4 - Miyajima

Miyajimaguchi Ferry Station

Miyajima Matsudai Kisen Ferry Terminal

Miyajima Omotesandō Shopping Street

Itsukushima

Momijidani Park

Miyajima Ropeway

Day 5 - Kyoto

Travel to Kyoto

Fushimi Inari Taisha (muchas escaleras)

Day 6 - Kyoto

Kiyomizu-dera Koyasunoto Pagoda

Kodaiji temple

Maruyama Park

Yasaka temple

Sannenzaka - shopping street

Walk Gion

Day 7 - Kyoto

Nishiki Market

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

Tenryu-ji temple

Okochi Sanso Garden

Togetsukyō Bridge

Day 8 - Tokyo

Travel to Tokyo

Eat / Ramen Street

Tokyo character street

Ultraman world

Pokemon center DX -

Day 9 - Tokyo

Shibuya Parco - mall

Shibuya sky

Hashiko plaza

Shibuya scramble crossing

Day 10 - Tokyo

Shiba park

Zojo-ji

Tokyo tower

Meiji Jingu temple/park

Day 11 - Tokyo

Asakusa

Nakamise-dori street

Senso-ji - temple

Knives store

Don Quijote store

Akihabara electric town

Ueno Ameyoko shopping street

Day 12 - Tokyo

Ginza

Transfer to a hotel close to Disneyland

Day 13 - Disneyland

Day 14 - Go back home

First international trip for me and my partner and I want to give a huge thanks to this subreddit for so many detailed itinerary outlines for us to learn from.

Our flight is tomorrow morning and we already have all of our hotels locked in. We made reservations in advance for shibuya sky and Teamlabs borderless, but apart from that we are pretty flexible/open for anything you would recommend to a couple in their mid 20s traveling together in Japan. Please let us know if there's anything glaringly off in our plan or if you have any awesome food/drinks/restaurants/experiences you would recommend us to check out!! Much appreciation in advance :)

In day 3 after our long hiking day or day 4 in Fujikawaguchiko we would love to relax at a private onsen if anyone has strong recommendations in those areas! A public bath might not be as fun since we would be in separate rooms by ourselves...

In Osaka we also don't have too much of a fixed plan other than exploring the city, but we might decide to check out Universal Studios if we don't have something more interesting to fill the time with.

Day 1 - Friday, Nov 8: Tokyo

• Arrive at 15:55!

• Hotel: Check in at Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel

• Dinner option: Jojoen at Shinagawa Prince Hotel or nearby restaurants in Kabukicho

• Explore Kabukicho for nightlife and drinks

• Late-night snack suggestion: Oden! Oden! Oden!

Day 2 - Saturday, Nov 9: Tokyo

• Hotel: Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel

• Visit Asakusa Temple

• Take a dance class at En Dance Studio in Shibuya

• Explore nearby areas or take time for shopping and sightseeing

Day 3 - Sunday, Nov 10: Tokyo

• Hotel: Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel

• Visit TeamLab Borderless

• Head to Shibuya Sky for city views

• Note: Plan to sleep early to prepare for the hiking day trip on Day 4

Day 4 - Monday, Nov 11: Tokyo

• Hotel: Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel

• Day trip to Takao San for hiking and to see the autumn leaves

• Return to Tokyo in the evening

Day 5 - Tuesday, Nov 12: Fujikawaguchiko

• Hotel: Check in at 富士山の見える温泉旅館 in Fujikawaguchiko

• Travel to Kawaguchiko

• Evening: Relax and enjoy the local hot springs

Day 6 - Wednesday, Nov 13: Kyoto

• Hotel: Check in at Candeo Hotels Osaka Hirakata

• Travel to Kyoto

• Activities: Biking around the lake, possibly visiting Fushimi Inari Taisha at night

Day 7 - Thursday, Nov 14: Kyoto

• Hotel: Candeo Hotels Osaka Hirakata

• Take the Sagano Romantic Train for scenic views or more hiking if train is too busy

Day 8 - Friday, Nov 15: Kyoto

• Hotel: Candeo Hotels Osaka Hirakata

• Open day to explore Kyoto; consider sightseeing, shopping, or more temples

Day 9 - Saturday, Nov 16: Osaka

• Hotel: Check in at The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Osaka Midosuji

• Travel to Osaka

• Free day in Osaka for sightseeing, shopping, or trying local food

Day 10 - Sunday, Nov 17: Osaka

• Hotel: The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Osaka Midosuji

• Potentially Universal Studio's day depending on other options we can find

Day 11 - Monday, Nov 18: Osaka

• Hotel: The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Osaka Midosuji

• Free day in Osaka before departure

• Flight: Depart at 21:10 back home

In appreciation of all of advice I gathered here prior to our trip, I feel obligated to document stand-out locations/activities during our 2 week trip in October.

For context, my husband [29M] and I [28F] are not huge city people, but definitely nerds that love tech, cars, and anime/manga. I always try and hunt down some nature-y spots whenever we go on vacation, and Japan was definitely a winner for both the hobbies and nature checkboxes.

While my understanding of simple spoken Japanese isn't awful, I can only speak very broken basics. It was fun to use what I did know all the same, and received plenty of excitement and appreciation for the attempts.

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Day 1 - Flew in to Haneda: The airport was easy to navigate, and, although the customs line was long, it moved very quickly. Be sure to complete the customs questions via the Visit Japan site for your QR.

We purchased Pasmo cards (Suica were sold out) from the manned desk next to the Keikyu line entrance and then headed to Shinjuku via Shinagawa for our first night's hotel. Regrettably, this was right around rush hour (5:30P) and the trains were packed. Future trips I will absolutely pay more attention to flight arrival/departure times to avoid rush hour congestion.

As Western Union was running a no-fee promo, I sent $1,000USD in advance to be picked up in yen, which I did at a shop just by Shinjuku station with no fuss. I just provided my passport and confirmation number that was sent via email.

WPÜ HOTEL in Shinjuku was very tourist friendly, with staff we met speaking native-level English and willing to chat and give advice. Room was small but clean. Pretty standard for Tokyo from what we saw.

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Day 2 - Travel to Kamikochi via Matsumoto: Before checking out of our hotel, we forwarded large luggage to our Kyoto hotel at the front desk (super simple and worth it, ~$30 for our two large suitcases), keeping only backpacks with the necessities for a couple of days. We ended up getting a late start this day, as the 9A and 10A ltd express trains on the Chuo line to Matsumoto were full. We purchased seats on the 11A train, and wandered around Shinjuku a bit longer. Note that, if you're interested in Matsumoto or Kamikochi, we chose Shinjuku as our landing point for the first night specifically to take the Chuo line up to Matsumoto. There are also expressway buses direct to Kamikochi if you prefer.

When we arrived in Matsumoto, we headed to Matsumoto-jo by foot. Although we did not go inside the castle, the grounds are beautiful. If you're a fan of Koi, there were many in the surrounding ponds. After stopping in a few shops, we headed back to the station to take a train to Shin-Shimashima and bus from there to Kamikochi. This was a combination ticket purchased at the Matsumoto station.

We arrived in Kamikochi and checked in at the Konashidaira campground for a stay in one of their "cabins". This was a townhome style 3-unit building. In our unit, there was a small sink/toilet, kitchen, and tatami room with futons that the camp office gave us sheets for.

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Day 3 - Explore Kamikochi and travel to Nakatsugawa: I absolutely advise anyone interested in Kamikochi spend the night at either the campground or a hotel, as it's so gorgeous and quiet in the mornings before the day visitors arrive. Wandering around the trails and marshes of this little mountain town was probably the highlight of our entire trip. I can only imagine how gorgeous the red maples would have been if we arrived just a few weeks later. They were just starting to turn during our visit. We also saw over a dozen Japanese Macaques (aka "snow monkeys") jumping around in trees and fishing in the river. The onsen hotel offered free footbaths outside of their public onsen. We tried our darnedest, but our weak american feet could not handle more than a toe dip of that heat.

Once we'd had our fill of trekking, we took the same bus/train combination ride down in to Matsumoto, then a train to Nakatsugawa. We didn't spend much time in Nakatsugawa, as our activity planned the next morning was the Magome-Tsumago Nakasendo hike, but we enjoyed an awesome yakiniku meal for dinner between the station and our accommodation.

Our accommodation was an old residence that was recently ikea-renovated for vacation rental by the owners of the cafe next door. This was one of the most affordable, but very large, spots we stayed.

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Day 4 - Hike the Nakasendo and travel to Kyoto: The next morning, we locked our backpacks in lockers at the Nakatsugawa station and hopped on a bus to Magome-juku.

If you're unfamiliar, the Nakasendo trail connected Kyoto and Tokyo (Edo) during the Edo period. Parts of it are very scenic, and the Magome -> Tsumago stretch (roughly 8km) is one of the most commonly hiked. Magome and Tsumago are both pretty historic post towns, and it was fun to explore both along with other small establishments in between. Note that several travel sites suggest this is a "gentle" hike. In many areas, I'd agree; but there is quite a bit of elevation change throughout the trip as well as relatively precarious rocky stairs. Be sure to wear some trusted footwear and prepare for a decent bit of up and down to tucker you out.

The trail intersects with modern roads in several places. Along one of these intersections, we stopped at a little restaurant named Juri a few km out from Magome for some yummy goheimochi (grilled soy/miso mochi found in Gifu and neighboring prefectures in the Chubu region). Then, closer to Tsumago, we encountered a beautiful old tea house offering a spot to sit and free green tea.

When we arrived in Tsumago, we explored a bit before deciding it wasn't worth waiting half an hour for the bus in to Nagiso (the nearest town with a train station). We opted to continue on the Nakasendo trail another ~4km, which also wove its way into Nagiso.

After taking a train down into Nakatsugawa to collect backpacks, then Nagoya, and our first shinkansen to Kyoto, we settled in to Hotel ARU Kyoto Sanjo Kiyamachi-dori where our luggage was waiting for us. This was a great hotel that was spacious for the city, clean, and had a decent size tub to soak in the room. Location was also great, with food/necessities all around and right across the river from two differing direction stations.

We finished the night with a yummy hotpot and gyoza dinner at Nikunabe Chiba just down the street from our hotel. It was fun, yummy, and very hospitable.

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Day 5 - Day trip to Nara: Unfortunately, I discovered that my previous day's runny nose had evolved into a full-blown respiratory cold the next morning. My husband, who knows not a word of Japanese, volunteered to go pick up some OTC cold meds and masks around the corner. Masks were acquired at Lawson, who advised him to go to the drug store when it opened - even for OTC meds. The pharmacist attending the drug store pulled out an english translated questionnaire sheet asking several questions of him when hubby tried to buy the cold meds. He must have answered incorrectly, as he was unceremoniously ejected from the store. I waddled my way in (masked) shortly after, asking for cold medicine recommendations in broken Japanese, and walked out 2 minutes later with my haul and no questionnaire pulled out for me, which I considered a big win haha.

We'd slated this day for Nara, and cold be darned, I wanted to visit Nara. So, off we went to Nara park via train. We took it easy, feeding some deer that didn't believe us when told we were out of crackers. There are quite a few hangry pocket nibblers, beware. We saw Todai-ji and several other spectacles before calling it a day and heading back to the hotel earlier than planned. I was quite drained by the cold - regrettably.

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Day 6 - Koto Lesson, Nijo-jo, Gion: Thankfully, taking it easy the night before paid off and I was feeling about 90% myself the next day. We started the day by taking a Koto lesson from Harumi-sensei at Soushunan. This was super fun, an absolute highlight of the trip. After about an hour of lesson, and performing 3 simple songs with her accompaniment, we settled in for tea while Harumi-sensei gave a beautiful private performance. She then sat with us to tell us stories of the old house we were in, owned by her grandparents.

After saying goodbye, we headed to Nijo-jo. This was the first castle we were able to go inside of, which was very neat. It was interesting to walk through the castle's wood floors and hear an kind of pretty singsongy chirp with every step. Signage explained this was due to the construction of the floor. The nails in the floor sliding around as steps were taken. The english signage was quite detailed explaining how the various rooms would have been used in their hayday. We did not enter the inner-most castle, but toured the gardens and grounds surrounding it. Overall, certainly worth the visit.

After a famichiki-pancake sandwich lunch (husband's addiction during the trip...) we headed to Maruyama park and explored the surrounding temples/shrines. Kodai-ji was very neat to tour, along with the relocated old houses and bamboo forest behind it. We then wandered around the very walkable streets just south of Kodai-ji (Ninen Zaka, Sannen Zaka) before grabbing an early-ish dinner at Smile Burger and taking the train down to Fushimi-Inari Taisha.

I had read that it's very pretty to visit Fushimi-Inari as it's lit up at night. While I do agree, most (if not all) vendors are closed at sundown. It also doesn't make for great photos at night if you don't have a camera capable of nice long exposure shots. We didn't trek all the way up the mountain, but went up a decent way under all the torii gates.

Along the way up, we met a handsome black and white kitty. On the way back down, we stopped to say hi to him again. Coincidentally, an older gentleman stopped by that the kitty was very excited to see. He opened a can of cat food while I asked the cat's name. His name was Gyoza, and he is 10 years old. Gyoza's dad (12yo) also lives on the shrine property. It was a very fun exchange. Please give Gyoza plenty of pets if you happen to see him on your trip!

Shortly after leaving Gyoza, we came across a wild boar in the middle of the walkway. We hung back and gave him wide berth before he wandered back off into the trees. I don't believe this is an uncommon sighting in the mornings or evenings.

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Day 7 - Shopping and travel to Hakone: On our last day in Kyoto, I was (as you might expect) wishing we had booked at least a few more nights. There's a ton to do and see, and we hardly scratched the surface. We forwarded our large luggage to our hotel in Tokyo (near Ueno station), and headed out to tour some shops. Yodabashi camera was a fun visit, as was the Nintendo store and pop-up Hokkaido market. A cafe was running a Inu x Boku SS collab, and I'm still kicking myself for not sitting down for a cute drink.

The shinkansen from Kyoto to Odawara was hassle free. The T line bus from Odawara station up to our hotel took quite a while due to traffic. We arrived to check in to Shinanoki Ichinoyu's annex Kintoki room. It was very spacious with a quite sizable private open air bath. Absolutely great bang for your buck (~$350/night) comparative to most private onsen rooms that I've seen.

Just a short walk away was a small soba restaurant (箱根茶寮深山) that we visited for dinner. We enjoyed hot duck soba and mixed tempura. Both were very yummy. I'm still not sure exactly what the included appetizer was. It seemed to be a pudding-like consistency tofu with soy based sauce drizzled over top.

After a washing off the day's travels and an incredibly wonderful soak in the onsen, we headed to bed.

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Day 8 - Tour Hakone and Head to Tokyo: We enjoyed a provided large Japanese breakfast at the onsen hotel before taking one more soak and checking out. My skin had never felt so wonderfully soft and supple.

We headed up the mountain via the Tozan cable car, then hopped on the ropeway across the volcano to Togendai port. Although we were planning to take a ride on the pirate ship, the line was seemingly hours long. We opted to head out via bus to Odawara and train to Ueno after a little more exploring in this area.

The choice to stay near Ueno park/station was made after quite a lot of back and forth, and we weren't disappointed. It was very easy to navigate to other parts of Tokyo from Ueno via train or metro. The only change I might make would be to avoid pedestrian bridges (stairs!) between the station and our hotel just to make schlepping luggage a bit easier.

We stayed at APA Ueno Ekimae. This was the smallest room we'd stayed in so far, but that was expected. It was clean and had a an open air bath on the roof (I believe most APA have this) if that's of interest to you. I'm not sure I would suggest staying here, but I also wouldn't warn strongly against it.

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Day 9 - Kiwaya and Akihabara: I am an ukulele player, and visiting the Kiwaya showroom and museum was high on my bucket list. I was expecting to put my name on a list to come back for a tour, but upon entering the shop and asking about their museum, I was immediately offered to come upstairs and view it. There were several display cases of very neat vintage instruments. I purchased some Worth strings (Japanese made, my favorite strings, and much cheaper than having them shipped to me in the US) as well as a Kiwaya keepsake.

We visited several tech shops as well. Most notably Yusha Kobo Keyboard Specialty Shop. My husband and I both enjoy building custom keyboards, and we'd never been to a shop solely dedicated to this hobby. It was definitely a fun experience.

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Day 10 - Asakusa, Woodworking Shop, Super Viva Home and DisneySea: This day we visited Senso-ji (way too touristy for us), decided to skip going up the skytree after appreciating it from the riverfront, and head toward more unique shopping experiences.

My husband enjoys woodworking. We visited a small family owned shop called Inoue Hamono. It was very neat to peruse, and my husband picked up a couple of hand tools.

Next, we spent quite a bit of time in Super Viva Home Toyosu. This is an incredibly large store that, as its name suggests, sells just about everything for the home. From large construction project materials and tools to pets, kitchen goods, and gardening supplies. I guess owning chipmunks as pets is commonplace over there?

Finally, we headed to DisneySea and arrived just before 5:00P to use our evening-only tickets. If you aren't huge Disney people, but want to check that box, these tickets are great. The evening tickets range around ~$30-40 depending on the day, and grant you entry to the park at 5:00P until closing. I was thrilled to be able to check out the new Tangled area and ride in Fantasy Springs, as it's one of my favorites. I would consider a full day ticket if you want to be able to hit the whole park, though.

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Day 11 - Souvenir Shopping: I like edible souvenirs personally, so that's what we opted for in bulk. Lotte Ghana Black Chocolate is one of my favorites, so we loaded up on those as well as a variety of other small unique candies. We also raided DAISO for inexpensive made in Japan chopsticks and petit block kits. The petit block kits were a definite hit, and impressive for only 100Y each. I may have also gone a bit too far with the gacha machines, although collecting enough for our friends back home to draw from randomly was very fun.

For collectors of anime/comic/disney/cars/trains, Nakano Broadway was very fun. My husband hunted down an elusive Tomica model of his car that he'd been pining after for only 700Y still sealed. Sunshine City was neat, particularly if you're a Pokemon fan, but not quite worth all of the hype to me. I could say the same about Animate in Ikebukuro.

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Day 12 - Ueno Park Zoo and Fly out of Haneda: After checking out of our hotel, we were grateful that they were willing to hold our bags in the lobby while we visited Ueno park. This was worth the visit for us, but likely not for all if you don't want to be swarmed by little kids on field trips if you go on a weekday. It was an inexpensive fun time, although this visit didn't quell many concerns I'd heard about animal welfare in Japan.

We picked up a few last minute goodies (oops - those dark chocolate KitKat didn't last long), quick lunch, then collected our bags and headed to the airport. This trip was 10x more pleasant than the rush hour trip we had coming in. Please don't make my mistake.

For those traveling from the USA, I strongly advise downloading the MPC (Mobile Passport Control) app for customs coming home. This made our trip through customs at MSP about 20 minutes versus the 2+ hour general line. We absolutely would have missed our connecting flight home without it.

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Wow, that turned into a novel quickly. If nobody reads through this in its entirety, I don't blame them. Hopefully there's some value to be had either way.

I knowingly crammed a bit too much into our itinerary, and was not unhappy with the outcome. We walked a ton, saw great sights, ate great food, and had an overall wonderful time.

tl;dr key takeaways:

- Be sure to avoid rush hour around flight arrival and departures.

- Kamikochi is 1000% worth the visit for the nature-inclined.

- For those interested in music, a Koto lesson was one of the highlights of this trip for me.

- Any medicine must be sold by a drug store. You will not find even ibuprofen at a convenience store.

- When choosing hotels, investigate how many stairs are between it and public transit.

Hey! So I'm planning on going to Japan soon and was was hoping for any insight on our trip plan. For the record, we aren't foodies or too into the anime themes, so we don't have much of that planned. We also aren't too keen on visiting Disneyland or Universal studios, so I feel that our plans might be a bit lacking/empty compared to some others, as most people have one or both of these included in their itineraries, so please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Additionally, we are hoping to check out a couple of the major temples/shrines but not every single one in a city.

All intra and inter-city transportation will be done through public transportation (i.e., we're not renting a car).

Day 1 (Tokyo)

• Arrive at NRT at 2pm

• Arrive and check in at hotel at 4pm

• Nakamise Dori Street and grab dinner nearby

• Tokyo Skytree and walk around the area

(Alternative Day 1 plan)

• Arrive at NRT at 2pm

• Arrive and check in at hotel at 4pm

• Toyosu Senyaku Banrai

• Wakasu Seaside Park and enjoy the night views

Day 2 (Tokyo)

• Uneo Park

• Imperial Palace + Gardens

• Downtown Ginza

• Tokyo Tower

• World Trade Center

Day 3 (Tokyo)

• Meiji Jingu Shrine

• Shibuya Scramble Crossing

• Hobby stores/malls near the Scramble Crossing

• Miyashita Park

• Shibuya Sky (this probably will be the first thing that we do for the day as we can only get morning tickets at this point)

Day 4 (Tokyo/Osaka)

• Check out from Hotel and take the train to Osaka (side question, we have 2 medium sized luggages that are ~140 cm, would we have a problem putting these on the racks on top of the seats?)

• Check in at Hotel at 3pm

• Kita area

• Umeda Sky Building + Observation deck

Day 5 (Osaka)

• Osaka Castle

• Shinsaibashi-suji area

• Tstenkaku tower

• Dontonbori area in the evening

• (time permitting) Shinsekai area in the evening

Day 6 (Osaka)

• Daytrip to Minoo National Park

or

• Seaside Promenade

• Maishima Ryokuchi Park

• (and Shinsekai area if we didn't go the day before) + more TBD

Day 7 (Kyoto daytrip)

• Train from Osaka to Kyoto

• Fushimi Inari Shrine

• Kiyomizudera Temple

• Streets of Ninezaka/Sannenzaka

• Nidec Kyoto Tower

• Wander around downtown area near the JR station before heading back to Osaka

Day 8 (Nara daytrip)

• Todaiji, consisting of Todaiji Park, Todaiji Temple, and Todaiji Garden

• Tbh didn't find much more on this city besides more temples, and from what I've read, Nara typically seems like a half-daytrip? If so, head back to Osaka earlier and figure out more stuff to explore?

Day 9

• Early afternoon flight out of KIX

Hey guys! I'm going to Japan for the first time with my partner in 3 weeks, with our first 4 days being in Tokyo.

This is our itinerary draft. We decided to keep it to 1 or 2 confirmed activities per day and then just have a list of other activities for the rest of the day so we aren't too stressed. Any other suggestions or critiques??

Day 1 - Arrive

Night: Arrive in Tokyo (NRT) at 17:55 local time

Day 2 - Harajuku + Shibuya

Morning: Takeshita st, Harajuku

Afternoon: shopping in Shibuya (Shibuya 109 shopping mall, Kiddy land etc.), walk around, chill

Night: Shibuya sky

Day 3 - Ginza

Morning: Art Aquarium Museum 

Afternoon: Walk around & shop (Uniqlo, Loft, GU, Sanrio store, Muji etc)

Day 4 - Asakusa

Morning: Sensoji temple - kimono hire 

Afternoon: Cafe capyba (capybara cafe)

Day 5 - Currently empty

Disneyland?? Bit unsure what to do on this day...

Hi my partner and I are going to Japan for the first time from the 1st-15th of December. I have been interested and slowly learning the culture and nature of Japan for the past few years so I want to explore a little beyond the touristy side. We do plan on coming back eventually so I am intentionally skipping a few things this trip. I would love to hear everyone's feedback on what they experienced based on the activities I have planned and if they recommend any local must-see places.

Day 1:

Osaka - Arrive at 10am

Explore Osaka, eat, light shopping

Buy warm/thermal clothes for Nagano

Namba-Yasaka Shrine?

Aquarium Kaiyukan late afternoon (is this a bad idea? im not sure what the crowds are like since it will be a Sunday but its the ideal time for us so will have to stick with it)

Evening stroll/see city light up

Dotonbori

Day 2:

Osaka - Universal Studios

Probably dotonbori for dinner if we really like it

Day 3:

Nara Park - Deers & Picnic

Head to Kyoto

Higashiyama Ward/Gion

Kodaiji Temple for Night Illuminations

Day 4:

Tenjuan Temple

Nishiki market

1pm Kurama-dera hike

5pm Kifune hike & shrine

Pontocho

Day 5:

Fushimi Inari Taisha early morning hike!

Saga Toriimoto Street

Goiji

Wander area

Sagano Bamboo area & Train Crossing

**Idk how to fill in the time here, suggestions welcome please!**

Internet Café while waiting for night bus @ 11:30pm

Day 6:

Kawaguchiko - 8am Fujiyama Onsen rest stop

~10-11am Fuji Q

Day 7:

Cycling - Lake Kawaguchiko, Kanayama falls & parks around

Bus to Shinjuku or Shibuya after lunch

Explore the area (shibuya crossing if shibuya & maybe shopping at Lumine or somewhere if we feel we need anything)

We have a friend showing us around for some places to eat in Tokyo :P

Day 8:

Tsukiji Fish market? (ik its touristy but probably still worth seeing)

Teamlabs borderless

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Day 9-11:

Tokyo: Recommendations are welcome heree! Preferably not the touristy stuff like Akihabara, Tokyo tower, Asakusa etc. as we already have some of those planned and we just want to venture out a bit.

We're skipping Tokyo Disneysea/Disneyland as we have been before during Christmas time and don't need that kind of crowding again 🥲 maybe next time

For context we are anime fans but dont really collect any figurines etc maybe just a cute trinket or shirt here and there. I want to see the serenity of Japan of course (as do most) and don't really mind skipping the main first time must-do's as I know I will come back one day :))

Day 11:

Shinkansen to Nagano

Check in at Hotel

Explore Nagano City (Recommendations will be graciously accepted here too ^-^)

Day 12:

Togakushi Hike - maybe only Okusha Shrine or 1-2 more as its a full day trip.

Head to Yamanouchi where our ryoukan is

Relax in onsen~

Day 13-14:

Yamanouchi - Hopefully if theres snow we will be trying Snowboarding at Shiga Kogen for a day or two :)

Not much planned just slow paced with some sight seeing. If you have any must-sees then we'll gladly check them out

Day 15:

Back to Tokyo

Last minute activities/shopping that we didnt want to miss (will decide when there)

Haneda airport by 9pm

Hi! I'm leaving to Japan soon and would love to hear advice/suggestions on my itinerary please :)

The times I listed are just approximate and more just for me to estimate/keep track of time. It's my first time traveling to a foreign country, so I'm trying to prepare as best as I can, but I'm flexible in case something doesn't work out. My main interest is food lol, and just exploring.

Day 1 (Ginza)
3:30 PM: Land in NRT airport
4:45 PM: Go to hotel in Ginza
7:00 PM: Look around & explore
9:30 PM: Manten sushi hibiya reservation
11:30 PM: Go back to hotel & rest

Day 2 (Ginza, Toyosu, Hiroo)
5:00 AM: Sushi Dai at Toyosu fish market (optional/if we feel like it)
9:00 AM: Toyosu fish market and Senkyaku Banrai
12:00 PM: Design Festa
2:00 PM: Tsukishima Monja Moheji
4:30 PM: Glitch coffee or Bongen (optional)
5:30 PM: Shopping in Ginza
7:30 PM: Go back and refresh at hotel
8:30 PM: Keisuke Sannanbou Hiroo reservation for dinner
10:30 PM: Go back to hotel & rest

Day 3 (Tsukiji, Yokohama, Minato)
8:00 AM: Tsukiji fish market (optional/if we feel like it)
9:30 AM: leave for Yokohama
10:00 AM: Cup noodle museum
12:00 PM: Find lunch & explore (Chinatown, World porters, red brick warehouse)
3:45 PM: Head to teamLab
5:00 PM: TeamLab Borderless
7:30 PM: Sushi Onikai Kake 2 reservation for dinner
10:00 PM: Go back to hotel

Day 4 (Akhibara, Asakusa, Nihonbashi) 
9:00 AM: Sensoji temple
11:00 AM: Nakamise-dori Street
1:00 PM: Explore Asakusa
2:30 PM: Gyukatsu Ichi Ni San/Gyukatsu Motomura
4:30 PM: Explore Akhibara
7:00 PM: Nihonbashi Tonkatsu Hajime Hanare reservation for dinner
9:30 PM: Ueno Ameyoko Shopping Street (optional)

Day 5 (Harajuku, Shibuya)
9:00 AM: Gotokuji temple (optional)
10:30 AM: Meiji Jingu
12:00 PM: Find revolving sushi for lunch
2:00 PM: Explore Harajuku (Find IM Donut)
6:30 PM: head to Shibuya and watch Shibuya scramble
07:15 PM: HikiNiku reservation
9:00 PM: Shibuya sky reservation
10:30 PM: Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai (optional)

Day 6 (Shibuya, Shinjuku)
10:00 AM: Explore Shibuya and Harajuku more
4:00 PM: Udon Shin reservations
5:30 PM: Explore Shinjuku
9:30 PM: Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai (optional/if we didn't get to it on day 5)
11:00 PM: head back to hotel

Day 7 (Ginza, Shinjuku, Hakone)
10:00 AM: Check out of hotel & transfer luggage
11:00 AM: Ginza Hachigou (if I can get reservations & in line early enough to get ticket) or explore Shinjuku more.
2:00 PM: Travel to Shinjuku
3:00 - 4:25 PM: Romance car to Hakone Yumoto station, then take taxi to ryokan
5:00 PM: Check into ryokan
5:30 PM: Dinner at ryokan
8:00 PM: Onsen & explore ryokan

Day 8 (Hakone)
7:30 AM: Breakfast buffet
10:00 AM: Shuttle to Gora station
Hakone loop:
Hakone Tozan cable car
Owakudani
Hakone ropeway to Togendai
Pirate cruise ship
Shinto Shrine (optional)
Hakone rope way to Souzan Station
Cable car to Gora station
4:00 PM: Shuttle back to ryokan
5:30 PM: Dinner at ryokan
8:00 PM: Onsen & explore ryokan

Day 9 (Hakone, Kyoto)
7:30 AM: Breakfast buffet
8:30 - 10:00 AM: Onsen and check out
10:30 AM: Open air museum or Sengokuhara Pampas Grass Field (optional)
12:30 PM: Explore Gora and find lunch
02:00 PM: Gora station -> Odawara Station -> Kyoto station
05:00 PM: Check into hotel in Gion, Kyoto
06:00 PM: Explore Gion (ninenzaka,sannenzaka, hanami-koji)
07:30 PM: Find dinner in Gion
09:00 PM: Yasaka shrine
10:30 PM: Go back to hotel

Day 10 (Arashiyama & Kinkakuji)
8:00 AM: Arashiyama bamboo grove
9:30 AM: Tenryuji Temple
11:00 AM: Iwatayama monkey park
12:30 PM: Find lunch
2:00 PM: Kinkaku-ji temple (optional)
4:00 PM: Head back to hotel and rest, or go to Nishiki Market
6:00 PM: Pontocho alley for dinner

Day 11 (Fushimi, Uji)
7:30 AM: Fushimi Inari
08:30 AM: Fushimi Inari Market
10:00 AM: Go to Uji
11:00 AM: Explore matcha shops & restaurants
2:00 PM: Byodo In Temple
3:00 PM: Head back to Kyoto
4:00 PM: Nishiki market
7:00 PM: walk around Gion or Pontocho Alley

Day 12 (Nara, Dotonbori Osaka)
09:30 AM: Check out and head to Nara
10:45 AM: Sanjodori street
12:00 PM: Nara Koen Park (Deer)
1:30 PM: Todaiji temple
3:00 PM: Katsuga Taisha shrine/explore Naramachi
04:30 PM: Head to Osaka
05:30 PM: Check into hotel
06:00 PM: Dotonbori night market

Day 13 (Namba, Shinsaibashi, Umeda)
9:00 AM: Namba Yasaka Shrine
11:00 AM: Shinsaibashi shopping
1:00 PM: Find lunch
2:30 PM: Amerikamura (thrift shopping)
4:30 PM: Explore Umeda
6:00 PM: Umeda sky building
7:30 PM : Find dinner at Hozenji Yokocho
Hozenji temple (optional)

Day 14 (Himeji, Kobe)
9:00 AM: leave for Himeji 
10:00 AM: Explore Himeji castle & Koko-en garden
1:00 PM: Head to Kobe and find lunch in Chinatown
2:30 PM: Herb garden Kobe
5:30 PM: Find kobe beef teppan dinner
7:30 PM: Head back to Osaka
9:00 PM: Dotonbori or Hozenji Yokocho (optional)

Day 15
10:00 AM: Kuromon market
12:30 PM: Osaka Castle
3:00 PM: Izakaya Toyo (street food)
12:00 PM: explore denden town
5:00 PM: Shinesekai (street food)

Day 16
10:00 AM: Check out of hotel & find food
11:30 AM: Head to KIX airport
3:00 PM: Flight out of Japan

Thank you in advance :)

Hi all

Planning a 17 day trip to Japan with my partner in Dec/Jan, both 20s from Australia. Would love some feedback with our itinerary. This is my first time going so keen to check out all the main sites, particularly interested in food, cultural sites with some shopping.

Specific questions:

1. Is it worth going to both Hakone and Fujikawaguchiko? Current plan is to visit Kawaguchiko to check out Mt Fuji and then staying a night in Hakone to get the ryokan/onsen experience.
2. Since we're going around Xmas/New years, any advice/things I should be aware of particularly around closures etc

Day 1 (20/12): fly into Narita and check into hotel

Day 2 (21/12): Ueno/Asakusa/Akihibara

- Morning: Tokyo National Museum and Ueno Park

- Afternoon: Senso-ji. Wander around Asakusa and Akihabara in the evening

Day 3 (22/12)

- Morning: Meiji - jingu and Harajuku. Walk around Yoyogi park and down Takeshita St

- Afternoon: Shibuya sky, scramble crossing. Mega donki. Undecided on doing the go karts

Day 4 (23/12):

- Morning: Tsukijii fish markets

- Afternoon: Ginza, shopping. Kabuki - za

Day 5 (24/12): Day trip to Fujikawaguchiko

Day 6 (25/12):

- Morning: Imperial palace

- Afternoon: Roppongi to check out all the xmas illuminations and markets

Day 7 (26/12): day trip to Yokohama/kamakura. Undecided if we should do both or choose one over the other

Day 8 (27/12):

- Morning: Shinujuku Gyoen Garden, Tokyo Metropolitian building, Kabukicho ?thrifting

- Afternoon: head to golden gai/omoide yokocho/clubs at night

Day 9 (28/12)

- Morning: Sumo stables

- Afternoon: Team labs borderless

Day 9 (29/12): go to Hakone, Hakone Loop

Day 10 (30/12): travel to kyoto

Day 11 (31/12):

- Morning: Fushimi Inari

- Afternoon: Maybe go to Uji in the afternoon, Byodo-in Temple, Koushouji Temple

Day 12 (01/01):

- Morning: Arashiyama bamboo forest/monkey forest. Take Sagano romantic train

- Afternoon: Kinkaku- ji

Day 13 (02/01):

- Morning: Wander around Sannenzaka/Ninenzaka and Kiyomizu-dera. Rent kimonos

- Afternoon: Tea ceremony. Wander around Gion in the afternoon

Day 14 (03/01): Travel to Osaka. Do Nara deer park/

Day 15 (04/01): Osaka castle, Shinsaibashi shopping district, Dontoburi

Day 16 (05/01): USJ

Day 17 (06/01): Leave