20 days winter itinerary, final tips

Hello friends,

We are a couple from Argentina and we will be traveling to Japon for first time next late January/February.

After investigating a lot, and making the main reservations, we share our itinerary to tell us if it is OK, if something can be improved, etc. Especially if there are things that to be winter should change them.
Thanks!

Jan 29 (MON). Tokyo (#1). Arrive Haneda 5pm. Hotel in Asakusa (Khaosan Original). No plan.

Jan 30 (TUE) Tokyo (#2). Meiji Shrine / Shinjuku Gyoen / Shinjuku / Tokyo Metropolitan Building / Shibuya crossing (afternoon) It�fs doable? Worth It Shinjuku Gyoen in Winter?

Jan 31 (WED) Tokyo (#3). Asakusa (Nakamise street / Senso-Ji temple), Tokyo Skytree (only outside probably). Afternoon: Akihabara

Feb 1 (THU) Tokyo (#4). Imperial Palace (only with inside tour reservation) / Tokyo Station / International Forum / Ginza.

Feb 2 (FRI) Tokyo (#5) Tsukiji Market (No auction) + Odaiba (until night)

Feb 3 (SAT) Tokyo (#6) Ueno Park / Tokyo National Museum / Ameyoko street / Tokyo Tower (afternoon)

Feb 4 (SUN) Tokyo (#7). Kamakura & Yokohama full day (Minato Mirai, Chinatown) (JRP #1)

Feb 5 (MON) Kyoto (#1). Shinkansen arriving 9.14am. Sanjusangendo / Gion / Pontocho Alley (JRP #2). Hostel: Fujitaya Kyoto (under revision)

Feb 6 (TUE) Kyoto (#2). East zone: Higashiyama / Kiyomizu-dera / Kodaiji (JRP #3)

Feb 7 (WED) Kyoto (#3). West zone: Kinkakuji / Ryoanji / Ninnaji / Arashiyama (Bamboo groove). (JRP #4)

Feb 8 (THU) Kyoto (#3). Mijayima & Hiroshima full day trip. Shinkansen arriving 9.05 to Hiroshima. 1�‹ Miyajima, then Hiroshima (Peace Memorial area). Night in Hiroshima (Luggage stored in Kyoto) (JRP #5)

Feb 9 (FRI) Kyoto (#4). Shinkansen to Himeji (arrive 9.24am). Himeji Castle. Then: Osaka (Dotonbori/Namba Area). Night: come back to our base-hostel in Kyoto. (JRP #6)

Feb 10 (SAT) Kyoto (#6). Nara & Fushimi-Inari. Full day trip. Send luggage to Tokyo (ta-q-bin)(JRP#7)

Feb 11 (SUN) Takayama. Hida View arrives 10am. Takayama Old quarter. (JRP #8)

Feb 12 (MON). Shirakawa-go. Full day trip. Plan A: Night in Shirakawa-go (farm house). If we can't get accommodation: last bus to Kanazawa (We have now reservations in Kanazawa, for caution). (JRP#9)

Feb 13 (TUE) Kanazawa. Omicho Market / Kenroku-en garden / Higashi Chaya / Samurai quartier. Night: Tokyo (Shinkansen leaves Kanazawa 7.18pm). (JRP #10) Worth it Kenroku-en garden on winter?

Feb 14 (WED) Tokyo. Disney Sea World (JRP #11)

Feb 15 (THU) Tokyo. Gala Yuzawa full ski day (JRP #12) Night in Tokyo (unless we get a cheap accommodation in Gala)

Feb 16 (FRI). Tokyo. Repeat: Gala Yuzawa full ski day #2 (JRP #13). Night in Tokyo.

Feb 17 (SAT) Tokyo. Half day only. Shopping in Takeshita Dori (Harayuku). Fly from Haneda 6.45pm (JRP #14)

Thanks a lot for your help and comments!

Hi Ariel,

This is a great itinerary, you've obviously done your research well, the timings all look good to me.

Shinjuku gyoen isn't so special in winter imo... if you have time then sure check it out, but if you miss it it isn't a big deal... I'd say to definitely visit the garden in Kanazawa though, as it's one of the prime examples of a Japanese garden

Agreed Kenrokuen is really pretty in winter. With Shirakawa-go, dont bother with a full day, it is really something that you can deal with in 2 - 3 hours of daylight, so I'd plan to get there at 2 - 2.30PM. It gets very slippery there so take those things that make your boots grip on ice. I must have seen 10 people fall over when I was there.

Takayama park is pretty under snow - if you have the time walk to the top.

when you are at Kamakura, try to fit in Enoshima. It is a great place.

Have fun!

Hi Simon & Lazy for your comments.

I'll cut Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo and I'll add Enoshima for the tripday to Kamakura.

About Kamakura + Enoshima + Yokohama. It�Ls doable in one full day? We are not especially interested in temple (maybe only in the most importants). I'm a little confused about the itinerary for this day, maybe need more research.

About S-go, I'm little excited about spend a night in a gassho style house. I've read that is a amazing experience. I think that all depend if there is accommodation. If no, no problem, the S-go we go directly to Kanazawa.

Thanks!

Hi. If you arent interested in temples then that will cut down a lot of Kamakura, in fact I dont really know much else to do there, because we usually walk and train between temple areas. Enoshima has heaps of hawks, some cats, a garden and lookout (and great italian restaurant) at the top, and caves at the other side. I'd probably allow 2 hours for it, maybe more. So all up for Kamakura and Enoshima you'd probably want 5 hours at a moderate pace, plus lunch.

Shirakawa is still worth seeing even if you arent staying, but 2 hours or so would pull it up. At Kanazawa we stayed at Hotel Hakuchoro which is very nice and has onsens with blackish water.

Thanks again Lazy.

Let me explain a little more. Last year, we were in Thailand and Cambodia. We have seen a lot of temples (mainly in Bangkok and Angkor), and at the end of the trip the feeling was that was a little repetitive.

We are looking to avoid that feeling in Japan. We are interested in temples, but our fear is get boring because repetition. We currently have Senso-Ji, Meiji, the most importants in Kyoto (5), Nara and Miyajima (fast pace). That's why we've even left out Nikko.

We plan to go to Kamakura just to see one or two main temples, and then move to Enoshima enjoying the trip in the Enoden, and spend evening/dinner in Yokohama.

What do you think?

Thanks!

Yeah I think that will work. Ultimately what I like best about Kamakura is the train trip along the seaside to Enoshima and I suppose that you dont want to miss the big bronze Buddha. We got lost last time and found a lot of caves in the area and carvings etc especially in one of the cemetarys, but that was in a day wandering about. I'd probably just see the Buddha then continue with the train to Enoshima and walk across the bridge to it, then walk over the top of the island to the caves which is a fun walk with nice views, then if you have more time you can see something else.

But I'm a little biased - Enoshima is one of my favorite places - we usually spend 2 nights there at the end of our trips, if we are leaving from Narita.

Thanks again Lazy.

So, out itinerary will be:

-Tokyo-Kamakura (early moring)
-Kamakura Daibutsu
-Enoden train to Enoden
-Lunch in Enoden
-Back to Kamakura, go to Yokohama

I�fm looking photos of the trip in http://travelenoshima.jp/enoden.html and looks amazing. I hope in winter it's still worth it!

I'll be leaving for Japan in less than 2 weeks for 16 nights. Towards the end of my trip I have Kamakura/Enoshima/Yokohama planned (last day of my JRPass, might as well make use of it). I have similar plans as you (actually, whole itinerary is very similar just mines compacted into 16n/17d).

Leave Shinjuku real early to arrive in Kamakura (aiming to arrive between 7:30- 8AM)
- breakfast in Kamakura
- visit Daibutsu
- visit Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
- by 11A, take the Enoden Line to Enoshima (this is what I'm actually looking forward to as my highlight for the day...lol)
- walk the bridge to the island (caves, to the top - hoping for clear skies so can see Mt. Fuji), or just aimlessly walk all over the island
- splurge and have lunch somewhere on island and maybe do the spa
- leave before 4pm for Yokohama, visit Minato Mirai area then onto Ramen Museum
- back to Shinjuku

Sounds great, but you will be very lucky to see Mt Fuji - we usually stay at Iwamotoro Honkan on the island and see it from the hotel from maybe first light up to about 8AM, after that it is a bit hazy and harder to see. Looks amazing though. If you reshuffled your day to get to the island by 8AM, you might see it at the lookout.

One final question to avoid opening another thread.

What do you think can be a great place for last minute shopping?

I had thought about Takeshita Dori, but I read that it is not so interesting, that there are too many people and very focused on teenagers (and by the way we are not)

Some interesting mall? The area near Tokyo station? Another interesting street? (I do not consider Nakano Broadway because I�fm not a big fan of animé/mandarake, I like but not a lot)

We have half day (our plane leaves Haneda at 6.45pm, so I think that we start the travel to the airport near 2.45pm)

Thanks again!

I'm not really a shopper and I find shopping in Tokyo and Osaka to be expensive with not much interesting stuff. I dont recommend anywhere near Tokyo station. There are centres there but not much going on. I found Takeshita street particularly grungy and uninteresting and just a mass of people. The other main street leading up to Meji Park has some decent shops with a good chocolate shop, but really Shibuya is where it is at. But ultimately everything costs a bomb and the sizes dont really cater for westerners - as you'd expect. If you get bored, pop out to Narita and check out Narita-san. It is pretty nice in Narita town and they have an awesome Okinawan restaurant there.

Thanks so much for your reply Lazy. The problem I see is that our return is via Haneda, and we have only about 4-5 hours free that day at the most (9am-1pm aprox).

Perhaps the best strategy is simply to repeat that place that we liked the most in the previous days, right?

I've been to enoshima twice of my three trips to Japan, first time is using the train and the second time is by car, it's a nice place to visit, just a tip, but many do know, if you intend to visit the caves and temples, you can get a 1 day ticket for access to all for about 1000 yen, also I see you are staying at Khaosan Original in Asakusa, if you have extra cash to spare, you can consider http://www.toukaisou.com/index.html at 7200 yen for two in a private room with private bath and toilet, and the location is very close to shops nearby and the tsukuba express is a few minutes walk.

Personally I cant get enough of Kamakura and Enoshima and there is plenty of shopping there especially at the end of the trip. Also agreed with above poster re Asukasa (or was it Asakusa, I always get them confused).

My next coming trip to Japan is in December, if I wasn't going to Fukushima area, I would want to visit Enoshima again, kind of like seeing those cats run around freely, but there are fewer cats these days.
A day visit to Enoshima is a must and not to be missed.