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Itinerary Check - 10 Days (First Time) 2015/5/27 12:12
Hi All,

My family and I are heading over to Japan during the Christmas break. It is the first time any of us have been there and looking to experience as much of Japan as we can. We are planning to arrive in Tokyo and fly out from Osaka. Here is our plan so far:

Day 1 - Late Arrival
Day 2 - Tokyo (Tour)
Day 3 - Tokyo (Free Day)
Day 4 - Tokyo to ryokan in Izu
Day 5 - Izu to Kyoto
Day 6 - Kyoto (Tour)
Day 7 - Kyoto (Free Day)
Day 8 - Kyoto to Osaka
Day 9 - Osaka/Nara (Tour)
Day 10 - Fly out in the afternoon

We are thinking of removing one day in Kyoto and possibly spending another day in Tokyo/Osaka, but we are not too sure yet. There are also some thoughts of getting rid of the ryokan in Izu, but we are thinking it is a worthwhile experience that we should keep.

Hoping to get any advice/suggestions :)

Thanks in advance,
Mark
by markqt  

Re: Itinerary Check - 10 Days (First Time) 2015/5/27 13:43
IT might be possible to spend that extra day in Kyoto, then you can choose to spend an extra day in Kyoto, Osaka or even Nara when you are there. Both locations are close to Kyoto (40 or so minutes from memory)
by mfedley rate this post as useful

Re: Itinerary Check - 10 Days (First Time) 2015/5/28 02:21
Maybe something like this:

Day 1 – Late Arrival

Day 2
Comfort pace:
Sensoji Temple, Tokyo SkyTree (Could just take a photo from Asakusa Sumida River side if you want to save some time and money), and Shopping in Ginza.

or

Fast pace:
Sensoji Temple, Tokyo SkyTree (Could just take a photo from Asakusa Sumida River side if you want to save some time and money), Akihabara, Imperial East Gardens and Shopping in Ginza.

Day 3
Comfort pace:
Shibuya crossing, Harajuku 100 yen store Daiso, and Shinjuku

or

Fast pace:
Shibuya crossing, Meiji Shrine, Harajuku 100 yen store Daiso, Shinjuku, and Government Building observation decks

Day 4
You probably want to get to Ryokan before 4pm so depending how far of train ride into Izu, you might still have a morning in Tokyo.
Train to Izu area for Ryokan

Day 5
Your probably will be having breakfast meal and then checkout probably around 10am, so you could be in Kyoto about 2pm.
So maybe going to Fushimi Inari Shrine in the evening might be cool with the lights, just remember to wear warmer clothing as nights well be cooler.

Day 6
Comfort pace:
Kiyomizudera Temple district, Gion, and Kinkakuji

Or

Fast pace:
Kiyomizudera Temple district, Gion, Kinkakuji, and Arashiyama


Day 7
Explore Kyoto without a plan! Just walk around or ask locals. Kyoto is so laid back, I love it! Or just use this day to shop in Kyoto. Maybe go back to Gion for a Tea Ceremony.

Day 8
Comfort pace:
Umeda Sky Building, and Namba

Or

Fast pace:
Umeda Sky Building, Osaka Castle and Namba

Day 9
Nara day trip

Day 10
Fly out in the afternoon


Some of my suggestions for a first time. Don't worry about trying to get everything the first time. You can save it for next time!
However even though I put a fast pace for you, I recommend doing the comfort pace as it is Christmas season!
1) You might be looking around at the nice Christmas setups all over Japan.
2) Possible lineups everywhere
3) We have last minute shoppers thus shopping might be busy

Most importantly, don't be afraid to drop a plan location if it seems like you want to stay at different location.

We did that sometimes at our trips to Japan. Example: plans where to go to Kamakura near the end of the trip, however during our planned shopping time, we needed more time shopping so we dropped Kamakura for more shopping time.

Its okay as we will eventually go there one day!

Hope this helps!
Have Fun!
by Koohii2wii rate this post as useful

Re: Itinerary Check - 10 Days (First Time) 2015/5/28 04:25
Between Christmas and New Years you will find some museums (and the Imperial Palace East Garden) have limited hours. I would suggest that if there are "must sees" on your list that you check their schedules and rearrange your days to match.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2276.html has the 2014/2015 dates but it gives you the idea.
by SkipperL rate this post as useful

Re: Itinerary Check - 10 Days (First Time) 2015/5/28 07:12
What you could do is take the extra day and go see Hiroshima/Miyajima. You get a two fold benefit of expanding your trip into some very good places, as well as making a 7 day JR Rail Pass cost effective.
Since you are already seeing Tokyo, you can largely skip Osaka during the day. After the temples of Kyoto close down around 5PM, you can zip over to Osaka for the evening. At night the city comes alive and has some great places to see, such as [Dotonbori](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COJ_MeXbeow "Dotonbori"), plus the night views from the [Umeda Sky Bldg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb1wuyAGgyQ "Umeda Sky Bldg"), and [Abeno Harukas Bldg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AyUZmGbW8g "Abeno Harukas Bldg") are wonderful.
Keep Nara and also add half a day to see Himeji with Japan's best castle.
by Ken (guest) rate this post as useful

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