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Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/21 15:17
Well lets start with the basics.
never travelled to japan before and have booked flights for our honeymoon arriving 29th September and fly back 10th of October.
what im not sure about is if ive over packed the trip and will end out missing things when in country? so my trip looks like this..

29th - Tokyo (arrive 6am)
Akihabara
ueno park/zoo
30th - Disneyland
1st - skyhop bus
odaiba
Tokyo tower
2st - ghibli museum
travel to Osaka
dontombori night
3rd - tempozan wheel/mall
aquarium
Osaka castle
4th - travel to Hiroshima
peace park
5th - miyajima
travel to Kyoto (arrive 830pm)
gion night
6th - golden pavilion
Kiyomizudera Temple
Fushimi Inari Shrine
try and fit Sagano Scenic Railway/boat
travel to kanazawa (arrive (730pm)
7th - kanazawa
travel to Tokyo
8th - travel to hakone
ropeway/boat round trip
9th - yussan
relax.....
10th - back in Tokyo until head to airport for 8:30pm flight out.

im finding Kyoto is my most sketchy bit... as we want to go not just north or east Kyoto but have stuff in all directions.

ive had thoughts of moving miyajima to the 4th and making peace park the 5th ( meaning arriving Kyoto earlier and hopfully doing something like Kiyomizudera Temple or Kinkakuji to reduce crazy travel on the 5th.

any idea's suggestion's. maybe's or while your there's would be apriciated. as we want to get 110% into this trip :D

matt.p
by gsxman  

Re: Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/21 16:20
One basic thing: always do your long-distance travel in the evening unless absolutely necessary. This is because night falls early in Japan, so by doing your travel in the evening you don't lose sightseeing time (unless you want to do night-time activities, of course).

So for example if you want to visit Hiroshima on day 4, then it's a lot better to travel from Osaka in the evening of day 3 (again, unless you specifically want to spend it in Osaka). If you do that, you can do the Peace Park in the morning and then something else in the afternoon (Tomonoura, for example, especially if you are Ghibli fans).
by Firas rate this post as useful

Re: Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/21 17:23
thanks Firas.
so travel to Hiroshima on the 3rd. do peace park and miyajima then go for Kyoto? sound better?
by gsxman rate this post as useful

Re: Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/21 17:34
Hmmm, I think that the 6th is your problem. I'd think about a half day around Kiyomizudera then you could fit something else in, but probably not Fushimi Inari which is essentially the other direction. Personally, I'd do away with Kanazawa this trip and spend the extra day in Kyoto (maybe squeeze in Nara?), though Kanazawa is fun, there is good shopping there for youngish people and the garden is very nice. But 2 hours to get there, and it adds to the time to get back to Tokyo, really I'd cut it out and spend the time in Kyoto, then go straight from Kyoto to Hakone. I tend to think that Kanazawa is better done in a trip when you are not going to Kyoto, because everything in Kyoto is a bit more elaborate, the subtlety of Kanazawa can be a bit understated.
by Lazy Pious (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/21 17:35
One full day for Miyajima is necessay (IMO).
by Firas rate this post as useful

Re: Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/21 22:17
I guess it depends on where your interests lie (and possibly on whether you think you'll be able to ever visit Japan again).

If I drew up a list of "must-do" things in Japan, I'd include things like:

- stay in a luxurious ryokan (especially if it was my honeymoon)

- see at least one really good Japanese garden (Kyoto and Kanazawa will help you with that)

- spend at least a couple of days in Kyoto (where you can get a mixture of modern city life and temples/old buildings/heritage)

- think about staying longer and doing side trips from Kyoto (Koya, Nara, etc)

- make sure I don't spend too much time in big cities (once you've been to the top of a skyscraper at night, and once you've stood at a big crossroads in Shibuya/Ginza at rush hour - then basically that's it. Japan has so much to offer that I'd find it a big shame to spend too much time in cities).

- think about spending a day or two somewhere rural (or at least in a small town). If you cut out Osaka, and cut out some of your time in Tokyo, for example (nothing against Disney, but it's maybe not top of the list of "things that are unique about Japan"), you could free up an extra 2 or 3 days and do Takayama -Shirakawa -Kanazawa, which would be a complete contrast to the rest of your trip.

- think about whether Hakone is really the best place you could go for a relaxing break. It's nice, but I don't think it would be anywhere near as popular if it wasn't relatively close to Tokyo. Yes, you might be able to see Fuji, IF the weather's clear, but you stand the same chance of seeing it from the shinkansen window on your way to/from Kyoto.

..but we've all got different interests, and my suggestions reflect mine (and probably not yours).

Happy honeymoon.
by Winter Visitor rate this post as useful

Re: Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/22 08:36
If you are a fan of Disney Parks, I would suggest Tokyo DisneySea instead of TokyoDisneyLand since it is the only one in the world, or better yet, spend one day at each park. Both are usually always crowded, weekends being the worst, but Disney Sea is a little less crowded.
by 56Premiere rate this post as useful

Re: Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/22 10:20
I might visit again but wife to be isnt too keen. But friends are :D

- we are staying in a ryoken at hakone.

- we plan on going to a few parks in tokyo and osaka

- sooo many have said to stay longer in kyoto I will try and extend the kyoto stay.

- the missus has a short list of must do's.
tokyo disneyland
Osaka aquarium
Hiroshima peace park
Gion/ teahouse
Samurai village
Hakone /yassun spa themepark

So ive got a little room to move stuff. But if it involves skipping one on that list I think it would be like seppuku :S

So. Now I got a good idea of where to fix my trip.

I have 2 side questions.

1. Storage on bullet trains. If we both take large suitcases will they become a problem?

2. Anyone have recomendations for breakfast near tokyo station? Like a kickass bakery or something.
by gsxman rate this post as useful

Re: Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/22 10:44
I know someone suggested skipping Kanazawa, but if a samurai district is a "must see" then it's the only place on your list that has one. Samurai houses and districts are most common in former castle towns, which you are not planning to visit, so if you can keep Kanazawa, you can prevent your wife's wrath. It's a nice district:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4204.html

I also think Kanazawa makes a nice place for newlyweds and honeymoons in general. In some ways the geisha quarters in Kanazawa are nicer than Gion, because it's less crowded. You can also tour a few.

by Rabbityama (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/22 11:04
I have been in Japan many times...

29th - Tokyo (arrive 6am)
Akihabara
ueno park/zoo
Dont do soo many things on the first day. Take a rest after the flight and relax.
Ueno Zoo/Park is very small, but it should be only visited at the morning/afternoon/evening. Otherwise quite hot. Akihabara can be visited during noon.

30th - Disneyland
1st - skyhop bus
odaiba
Tokyo tower

Too much within one day. Do disneyland on ONE day!! Odaiba (Shopping) or Tokyo Tower (best: 9 pm) can be visited during night. ;)

It is really hot, soo take some rest time!!

2st - ghibli museum
travel to Osaka
dontombori night

You need to book Ghibli Museum tickets in advanced... If you havent done it now... it might be too late..

3rd - tempozan wheel/mall
aquarium
Osaka castle

Aquarium is really nice for noon. Castle place is very hot...

4th - travel to Hiroshima
peace park


5th - miyajima
travel to Kyoto (arrive 830pm)
gion night

6th - golden pavilion
Kiyomizudera Temple
Fushimi Inari Shrine

Golden Pavilion is on the other side of Kyoto of the Inari Shrine... Going by bus to the Pavilion? they are really crowded and hot during summer...

Fushimi Inari Shrine takes with climbing the hill about 4-5 hours... During summer really hot...

Too much within one day...

try and fit Sagano Scenic Railway/boat
travel to kanazawa (arrive (730pm)
7th - kanazawa
travel to Tokyo
8th - travel to hakone
ropeway/boat round trip

After taking the boat trip. TRy to get into a onsen. ;)

9th - yussan
relax.....
10th - back in Tokyo until head to airport for 8:30pm flight out.
by Same (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/22 11:30
1. Storage on bullet trains. If we both take large suitcases will they become a problem?

I assume large to mean 28-29" approx.? It will be too big to place them on the top compartment and you need to place them behind the last row of seats of each cabin.
by CLLR rate this post as useful

Re: Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/22 17:26
Same -
im going start of October so wont be summer. hoping it wont be hot(30+ is hot)

I think you missed the part of Disneyland being on the 30th and the rest is on the 1st. so it is by itself. I don't think I do anything after Disneyland hehehe.
and I already have the ghibli tickets.


CLLR-
if behind the seats are taken already you think it will fit in leg space? missus is small build.
by gsxman rate this post as useful

Re: Second pair of eyes and opinions 2014/7/22 17:45
if behind the seats are taken already you think it will fit in leg space? missus is small build.

They may fit if they are carry on size or smaller. Otherwise you can check the adjacent cars for luggage space. Just be sure to notify the conductor.
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

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