honeymoon january 2 week itinerary

Hi everyone. I have been attempting to plan a honeymoon to japan, but have yet to pull the trigger on flights and accommodations. My wedding is on the 30th of December and I am planning to be in japan from the 1st to the 14th of January, possibly leaving on the 31th of December depending on the flight I pick. I have read the section on this site regarding visiting around that time so I am aware of some of the events and limitations around that time.

I have read about the accommodations on this site, but I am still nervous on making the purchase. My plan was to keep it very simple. Arrive in Tokyo and spend about 7 to 10 days there and then travel to kyoto to spend the rest of the time. The flight will be returning from tokyo so I was thinking going from kyoto straight to the airport although I am afraid that might be foolish because of the distance.

I am also concerned that I am cheaping out on the accomodations and it being a honeymoon I would not want to cheapen it too much, but my budget is 3k USD. Could someone please give me some tips?

Some of the things we would want to do while there is visit some theme parks like tokyo sea disney, ghibli museum, the one piece theme park in tokyo tower. We like hiking so we would probably also want to visit some temples and shrines and I have heard going to nara and seeing the deer is a great experience. While in tokyo we plan on walking around the shibuya district. I love ramen and she loves sushi and I am thinking tokyo would be a good place explore and easily find those things.

So I have a general idea of what we want to do, but I am worried about the details which I am not very good at. Should I get several different hotel accommodations? or go for 2 different ones splitting between tokyo and kyoto. I would appreciate any help. Neither of us have really travelled anywhere before.

Hi. 7 -10 days in Tokyo is a really long time and it is also one of the more expensive places to stay. Really, I'd cut it back. It is nice there, but in my view the more country parts of Japan are much nicer.

If I was taking my lovely wife to Japan for a honeymoon at that time of year, I'd probably do :

1. 4 - 5 nights in Tokyo, staying at Dormy Inn Premium at Shibuya;
2. activate JR 7 day pass, go to Bessho Onsen for a night at a ryokan;
3. come back to Tokyo then go on to Kyoto for 3 nights;
4. go off to Nara for 2 nights (we stay at Nara Hotel, awesome, but there are cheaper places);
5. go from there to Hikone (just off the shinkansen station at Maibara), see the castle;
6. either stay the night at Hikone or continue on to Yokahama;
7. from Yokahama go to Kamakura and Enoshima, and spend the last couple of nights there. We stay at Iwamotoro Honkan which is nice.
8. go to the airport direct from Kamakura (the NEX leaves from a nearby station)

That would be a pretty efficient use of the 7 day pass provided that you were back close to Tokyo on the last day of it.

You will be traveling in the coldest and snowy month. Be prepared.

Also if you can plan to start on the 2nd of Jan. You'll save yourself a little pain. While it is not an issue to travel around at new years. Accommodation costs rise, transport is heavily booked and/or sold out and lots of museums are closed.

Keeping things simple is good. With that concept, splitting times about 50-50 (Tokyo-Kyoto) is good, with some side day-trips from those bases. Note that a lot of stores will be closed the first 3 days of the new year.

If US$3000 budget is for accommodations only, that translates to about $210/night average (assuming 14 nights). You can get pretty decent rooms for that amount. Or you can decide to splurge in Kyoto and keep things simpler in Tokyo.

Check some of the travel sites (e.g., Expedia, Agoda, etc.), and you will find better deals than booking directly at hotel sites.

Hi
First of all, congrats!

For your travel if you want to keep it simple splitting the time between Tokyo and Kyoto as you did sounds fine. I would take one hotel in each location, so you don't need to move around.


My plan was to keep it very simple. Arrive in Tokyo and spend about 7 to 10 days there and then travel to kyoto to spend the rest of the time. The flight will be returning from tokyo so I was thinking going from kyoto straight to the airport although I am afraid that might be foolish because of the distance.

It depends on the tone of your flight. But if it is in the afternoon going directly from Kyoto to Haneda or Narita is doable. If you haven't booked the flight yet, check out ic you can book the return flight from Kansai airport.

Some of the things we would want to do while there is visit ... ghibli museum, ...

Check out on the internet for tickets for Ghibli museum. They are very hard to buy. But you might be still just in time. I think JBT opens sale about 3-4 month before. Just check it out, because tickets get sold out within hours.

I have heard going to nara and seeing the deer is a great experience.

Yes,Nara is great. I would also advise to go to Inari shrine in Kyoto. It is a wonderful place and in the first days of the year it is very peculiar. Packed with people but all an experience. (However per your current plan you will be in Kyoto too late for this experience. But even then, don't miss it)

While in tokyo we plan on walking around the shibuya district. I love ramen and she loves sushi
If you have the extra budget for a dinner at Kyubey (Ginza) , don't miss out. It is probably going to cost about 40-50,000 yen, but it is the best sushi you can offer to your bride.

Enjoy your honeymoon in Japan!