17 day Itinerary - Koya-San or Miyajima

Hello,

I am planning my first trip to Japan based on very specific building I need to go see (I am an architect) so it may so be the most efficient. I have two day at then end and I am trying to decide how to spend them. I am starting in Tokyo, traveling up to Sendai, then back down to Kanazawa. I know this is inefficient, but we will probably stop at Nikko or some other place along the way to break up the long train ride. From Kanazawa , it is 4 days in Kyoto, with a day trip to Osaka or Nara hopefully. From there I am trying to decide how to spend the last few days. Two days in Naoshima is a must (for the art and architecture). I woukd like to see Hiroshima, but my husband is less enthusiast about Hiroshima/ Miyajima (we are traveling with a small child and he thinks Hiroshima will be too sad). The other idea was to travel from Naoshima back up to Nara, then spend the night at Koya-San. After that, maybe one night in an onsen (Hakone or Izu peninsula) before returning to Tokyo, our flight leaves at 4 in the afternoon, so I think we can leave Hakone or Izu early in the morning and travel by train straight to the airports

Day 1 - arrive in Tokyo
Day 2 - Tokyo
Day 3 - Tokyo, Ghibli in afternoon
Day 4 - Tsjuki Fish market/Disney Sea, night in Tokyo
Day 5 - Train to Sendai
Day 6- Sendai
Day 7- day trip to Nikko/ some other town en route to Kanazawa. Night in Kanazawa
Day 8- Kanazawa
Day 9 - Kyoto
Day 10- Kyoto
Day 11- day trip to Osaka, night in Kyoto
Day 12 -Kyoto
Day 13- Naoshima
Day 14- Naoshima
Day 15 - Nara, night in Koyasan
Day 16 - Onsen in Hakone or Izu
Day 17 - train to Narita airport, fly home

Option 2

Day 1 - arrive in Tokyo
Day 2 - Tokyo
Day 3 - Tokyo, Ghibli in afternoon
Day 4 - Tsjuki Fish market/Disney Sea, night in Tokyo
Day 5 - Train to Sendai
Day 6- Sendai
Day 7- day trip to Nikko/ some other town en route to Kanazawa. Night in Kanazawa
Day 8- Kanazawa
Day 9 - Kyoto
Day 10- Kyoto
Day 11- day trip to Osaka, night in Kyoto
Day 12 -Kyoto
Day 13- Naoshima
Day 14- Naoshima
Day 15 - Miyajima/ Hiroshima
Day 16 - Onsen in Hakone or Izu
Day 17 - fly home!

Thank you for any input!

I forgot nd Day 7 too long. It seems unlikely that you�fll be able to see a lot at Nikko. So add another day there. I�fd also add a day to Kanazawa and maybe for the onsen destination take Hirayu onsen by Takayama. Then come over to Kyoto. You can always add a say to Kyoto if you have too many days.

If you can, try flying back from KIX instead of Tokyo. Or get an internal floor get from Takamatsu to Tokyo after visiting Naoshima.
Just my take on it.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

Thank you so much! So you would skip Miyajima and Hiroshima then? Maybe I can fit in Koya- San before traveling down to Naoshima? And then take an internal flight back to Tokyo? Are those reasonably priced? I will have the jr pass, I was hoping to save money by just using the trains

Hi!

Depending on your interests, you might want to put Nikko off for another trip and stop off somewhere like Nagano instead. I really enjoyed Zenkoji, and Nagano is very much on the way to Kanazawa, BTW the best place to change from the Tohoku shinkansen to the Hokuriku shinkansen is Omiya rather than going back to Ueno/Tokyo. There are other options that could work like Bessho or Karuizawa.

Just a warning even on bad weather days, Disney Sea is super popular. It's considered a "date" park and lines grow very quickly. I was there on a "low crowd" day in the pouring rain and a lot of rides still had 1 hour lines. If you're not just going to walk around you want to get there 30 minutes at least before the official opening time. People will be lined up.

In option 1, I think Naoshima to Nara is quite far and then continuing onto Koya-san is even further. Even if you take the 10:25 am Ferry back to Uno, you're not going to be in Nara until 15:03 because of transfers. It's going to take you from Nara another 1.5 hours to get to Koya-san. I think with a car, they're not too far from one another, but the JR lines between Nara and Hashimoto are just not that convenient. Sometimes, Hyperdia even recommends going nearly all the way back to Osaka to change for a Nankai train.

Now if you wanted to stay in Nara overnight, that's another story. Getting from Nara back to Kyoto and then on a the train to Odawara to see Hakone is definitely do-able.

Koya-san to Hakone is also going to be quite far, and I think is going to really short shift Koya-san.

For Option 2

Going to Miyajima, you can get there around 14:30 in the afternoon if you leave Naoshima at 10:25.

Coming back from Hiroshima to Odawara is long, if you leave Hiroshima at 9:55 you don't reach Odawara until 14:35. You could still see Hakone depending on what in Hakone you wanted to see. I think unless you are planning Atami on Izu, Izu would take you longer.

I think internal plane fares can be a great deal I once took one for around 10,000 yen and sometimes discount airlines are even cheaper, but it can be nerve wracking having to fly from say Takamatsu to Narita the day you are leaving from Narita to return home.

I like Hirayu onsen a lot, I've no idea how or where you would fit it in as you would need to cut something. :/ Getting from Kanazawa to Takayama would likely be by bus so would cost additional as would travel between Takayama and Hirayu onsen. You could technically take a shinkansen between Kanazawa and Toyama and then a Hida to Takayama to keep it all on JR but the trains between Toyama and Takayama are not even once an hour and the trip would be slower.

Good luck!

Thank you for you thoughtful reply. I found it incredibly helpful. I desperately want to see Koya-san. Would the following itinerary make more sense?

Day 1 - arrive in Tokyo
Day 2 - Tokyo
Day 3 - Tokyo, Ghibli in afternoon
Day 4 -Tsujiki Fish market/Disney Sea, night in Tokyo
Day 5 - Train to Sendai
Day 6- Sendai
Day 7- Day trip to Nagano en route to Kanazawa. Night in Kanazawa
Day 8- Kanazawa
Day 9 - Kyoto
Day 10- Kyoto
Day 11- day trip to Osaka, night in Kyoto
Day 12 -Kyoto
Day 13- Detour, night in Koyosan
Day 14- Naoshima
Day 15 - Naoshima
Day 16 - Onsen in Hakone
Day 17 - train to Narita airport, fly home

I would love to go to that Onsen near Takayama, but I don't think we have the time.
Also, I wish wish wish we could just skip Disney, but I have an 8 year old that is dying to go!

If you have a 8yo traveling with you. I'd confirm that she is allowed in the auction/wholesale area. I'm pretty sure she isn't. So you'd only be allowed in the outer food/market areas. Which then seems kinda useless going.

Seems like a long day also with both fish market and disney.

Hi,
Doing Tsukiji market and Disney on one day seems like a full on tiring day, bearing in mind as well the travel time between the two (which could be 30-45 min). You didn't mention when will you travel to Japan; I hope you're aware the location of Tsujiki market will change in October.

So why not do Tsukiji on the morning of your visit to Studio Ghibli and you can explore some other areas of Tokyo in between or even do it on Day 2 with other things?

As mentioned above if you are after the auctions check before hand if your 8 year old is allowed in the area.

If it were me I wouldn't skip Hiroshima/Miyajima, I think an 8 year old is old enough to understand the horrors of history (there is even a book series and a TV show called Horrible Histories that's directed to this age group). Surely, it is confronting even for adults but I guess today's generation is exposed to more overt violence in the news and the media than my generation. But you can skip Hiroshima if want and go straight to Miyajima. I think that an 8-year old will have more fun in Miyajima than Koyasan, but it's your child and you know your and his/her interests better.

Also, the day you are planning to spend in Osaka will it involve a visit to Universal Studios or the Aquarium given that you will be travelling with a child who maybe interested in these?

Anyway, have a great trip whatever you decide to do

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me, I appreciate the input. I�fm beyond excited about our trip.

Hi AJ!

Glad I could be of some help. Like you, I travel with a child to Japan. My daughter just turned 7 and went to Japan once at 5 and last Summer at 6. We're planning a trip for this Summer as well. We both love Japan.

My daughter did enjoy TDR. We went last Summer for 2 days. She's been to all the US parks many times, but the Japanese parks are really different. We did USJ in 2016 and are trying it again in 2018.

My daughter liked Hida no Sato village (because of the interactive games there and feeding the koi fish) in Takayama but had no interest in the traditional farmhouses, I admit, when I went to ShirakawaGo in '10 it seemed super touristy. My daughter might not be as cultured as some of the other kids on this forum though. She does desperately want to go to Zenkoji to do the underground passage.

My daughter liked Miyajima a lot, but I think she would also enjoy Koya-san and at some point I will take her. She enjoys photography, and misty cemeteries in the early morning in Koya-san make for great pictures. I really like the Osaka History Museum.

Question: What are you trying to do in Sendai? The reason I ask is depending on your Sendai goals you might be able to accomplish everything as a day trip from Tokyo. If you use the Hayabusa shinkansen (which you can take with a JR Rail Pass, but does require seat reservations) Sendai is only 1.5 hours from Tokyo. You could do it as a day trip, it really depends on how much/what you wanted to do there. I like Sendai, and I'm not trying to sell it short, you just have a lot of places you are trying to fit in and some are harder to each than others.

Usually I don't suggest staying in Osaka and I am not overly fond of Osaka, but perhaps this might be a reasonable suggestion for you.

Day 1 - arrive in Tokyo
Day 2 - Tokyo
Day 3 - Tokyo, Ghibli in afternoon
Day 4 -Tsujiki Fish market/Disney Sea, night in Tokyo
Day 5 - Train to Sendai
Day 6- Sendai (Note Decide if you really need 2 full days in Sendai, I don't know your plans if you need them)
Day 7- Day trip to Nagano en route to Kanazawa. Night in Kanazawa
Day 8- Kanazawa
Day 9 - Kyoto
Day 10- Kyoto
Day 11- Kyoto
Day 12 - Osaka (night in Osaka) (If your Osaka plans are USJ then I would really stay there the nights of the 11+12 because unless you buy express passes you want to be there as close to opening as possible and it will take you more than 1 hour from Kyoto Station to get to USJ.)
Day 13- Detour, night in Koyosan (I moved your overnight to Osaka before Koya-san because it does shorten your trip. It's close to 1 hour between JR Kyoto Station and Nankai Namba, and that is if you start at JR Kyoto Station. I am giving you some extra walking time within Namba because I personally find Namba Station a maze and I've been to Osaka many many many times.)
Day 14- Naoshima (please be aware this trip is going to run you like 5+ hours, until the railway is repaired it is taking 2.5 hours from Koya to Osaka and from Osaka it is an additional 160 minutes to Uno, where you then need to catch the ferry.)
Day 15 - Naoshima
Day 16 - Onsen in Hakone
Day 17 - train to Narita airport, fly home

I honestly can't get day 16 to work. The trip from Naoshima back to Odawara assuming once again you take a 10:25 ferry is not going to get you to Odawara until 16:35. You then still need to get to Hakone Yumoto. If you are staying at a ryokan in Hakone that includes meals, it will be tight making it to the ryokan before dinner is served at that point and you're not really going to have the chance to visit a lot of onsen or see anything unless you have a really late flight on day 17.

So what I would do partially depends on what you are doing in Sendai. Do you need most of two days there or did you need the extra time in Tokyo on Day 5? It's OK if you do, I am just trying to find a way to fit Hakone in if you want to go there. Otherwise you just might need to drop it, because I can't really find a good time to take away a day otherwise.

For TDR make sure you don't go on a week end or holiday and for Naoshima make sure you're not there on a Monday. We were looking at a trip there at one point, but we were going to be there on a Monday when most things are closed.

Depending on how you pack, if you need to forward on bags I would do the following:
Your choice between NRT and Tokyo, it depends on where in Tokyo you are staying.

From Tokyo, I would forward them to Kyoto (so they are waiting for me)
From Kyoto to Naoshima probably or onwards to Narita.

Good luck and I hope this is useful!

Hi there,

I am going to Sendai to see one building. I won an architectural travel grant and I have to see the Sendai Mediateque as part of my trip. But if it can be done in a day trip that is brilliant! I was told it was way out the way. But if I could just make it a day trip that would really free up my itinerary to do other things like Miyajima or Takayama or Koya San!!!

I found a sample itinerary on Pinterest and it recommended going to Naoshima, then making a trip to an Onsen closer to Tokyo. The idea is to get the long train ride out of the way, and then relax in an onsen in the morning, before heading back to the airport. My flight is at 4:30 in the afternoon from Narita.
Thank you than you thank you.
I am going to rework this itinerary and see if I can dramatically cut done my time in Sendai so I have more time for the other places.

One more thing, I found a ryokan in Izukogen which looks great! Is this too far off the beaten path? Thought it would be a nice splurge at the end of the trip. Thanks once again. I sincerely appreciate everybody�fs help. Our trip is in late May so I am scrambling to book hotels. They book up so far in advance!

Hi AJ,

I'm not an architect and I don't know how long you want to spend at the Sendai Mediatheque, but from Tokyo Station it should take you about 2 hours to get there. It's a 7-10 minute walk from Kotodai-koen subway station or a 25 minute walk from Sendai Station. If you want to splurge on a cab you can probably be there even faster.

It's totally a day trip from Tokyo unless there are a lot of other things you want to do in the area. I want to stress now, I have been to Sendai and liked it a lot and loved Hiraizumi as well, but haven't made it back recently and you have a really long list of places you want to go to some of which are harder to reach.

I guess the next question is what are you trying to do in Kanazawa? I like Kanazawa and I am going back next trip to give it more time, but it can be done as a day trip from Kyoto as well. It just depends on how early you leave and what you want to do.

Are you and your spouse willing to split up? Your spouse could take your child to Tokyo Disney and you could visit the Sendai Mediatheque while they are doing so. If you have cell phones, it is easy to stay in contact. I'm from the USA (NYC Metro Area) and my cell phone works in Japan and I don't pay ridiculous amounts for phone calls/texts/data. I actually travel without my spouse who has no vacation time. I went to TDR alone with my daughter. My daughter is short and I think now makes all the TDR height lines.

I guess that is the other question, where are you traveling from? I can tell you from the NYC area, the time change to Japan is hard and my daughter is up super early and crashing by dinner time. You can use this to your advantage.

Pintrest is full of ideas that in practicality do not work.

For Izu Kogen there are around 2 trains an hour back to Atami, so it takes around 100 minutes to get from Izu Kogen via Atami to Tokyo Station where you can transfer to a NEX to Narita. But a lot would depend on when you leave Izu-Kogen. I guess it would also depend on how far your ryokan is from the station. There seems to be a lot of places within 5kms of IzuKogen Station. I think you would be hard pressed to make it from Naoshima for dinner though. Give me a bit to think and I will see if I have any new idea for an itinerary.

Make sure you spend some time with Hyperdia making sure transit times make sense. I know my daughter gets bored on trails after about 2 hours. I love my daughter and I think she is a great kid, but I do think it is important to be realistic about what your child can handle in terms of travel. Some kids are fine doing 5+ hours on a train. I know for my daughter that doesn't work well.

I don't know your budget but the following are some hotels for ~$200 a night or a little less that might have availability that I would recommend.

Royal Park Shiodome Tokyo
Royal Park in Kyoto (there are two now, I've only stayed at one, but the other looks lovely)
Hana Touro Hotel Gion

There are some really lovely options in Kyoto now, I've been using Booking.com because they include taxes in their prices. I've only been to Koya-san once, I would not recommend where I stayed and I can not remember what it was.

For splurges I think the Tokyo Station Hotel is the greatest hotel I've ever stayed at and many people on this forum have recommended Bennesse House.

Hope this helps!

Oh! And be aware, when I was looking into Naoshima for this Summer, I think there was either none or very limited bikes for rent that fit children. So don't count on being able to necessarily be able to get around by bike there.

I am traveling from Memphis. I think the idea to split up and let my husband go to Disney, while I get Sendai out of the way is pure GENIUS.
Kanazawa is another similiar situation, I want to see one building (the 21st Century museum of art) and the Kenrukuen garden. Tokyo, Kyoto and Naoshima are non negotiable as far as visiting buildings of note. There is also one other building, the KAIT or Kanagawa Institute of Technology building that I would love to see, but it is not mandatory. I am trying to decide how to split us the rest of my time. Knocking two days off from the Sendai detour would make a massive difference. Maybe I could plan my trip as follows:
Tokyo (4 days- one day apart from the family visiting Sendai), Kyoto, with day trips to Kanazawa, Osaka, Nara (5 or days maybe), Miyajima/ Hiroshima (1 night), Naoshima (2 days- I have booked the Bennesse house for days 14 and 15, a Wednesday and a Thursday, although I can probably only afford to stay for one night and then do something more afforable the next night.) I would love to fit a trip to a decent onsen somewhere in there, and if at all possible, a trip to Koya-san. Once again you are such a help, thank you!!!!

Hi AJ

Is it possible you could give me the actual dates and I can see what I can come up with? I think it might make sense, to say do some time in Kyoto, then go to Naoshima, then come back do Osaka/Koya-san, then find somewhere else as a stop over before going to Izu and doing your last night there before flying out of NRT. I'd love the actual dates so I can make sure I don't do Naoshima on a Monday.

We're going to Kanazawa because I want to go back to Kenrouken. My daughter loves gardens.

I think your child is free at Bennesse House, which is pretty awesome as most places charge for kids over 6.

Sometimes splitting up can be the best thing, especially when you have two people with different interests. Having cell phones that work in Japan though is imperative. I am on Project Fi and it honestly costs less to use my phone in Japan than to rent a portable WiFi device.

I bet we can move things around to make either the place in Izu work or someplace in Hakone. It sort of depends on what you want. My child liked Hakone, we were going to go again in July but I have a bunch of things I want to do so it didn't work. (We're going to Matsumoto, Kamikochi, Nagano, Kanazawa, and to Licca Castle in the middle of nowhere.)

Did you get a 2 week or 3 week pass and did you already book the Ghibli Museum? Because if you've not, you might not be going there. I know on the 1st they released dates for June and I can't remember when the tickets via Lawson go on sale, but I imagine it is soon. I'm waiting until 4/1 to get my tickets for July.

and I am glad I can help. :D Just be aware unless your child is really good with International Travel to Asia, They will have time change issues. Mine is often up by 5 or 6:00 am often and exhausted by 17:00/18:00. We travel cross country quite frequently and that isn't much of an issue and Hawaii was only a problem for a day or two, but Japan takes a good week to adjust to. I try to take advantage of her jet lag and do things that open early and get an early start on travel. :) If you have a 3 week pass have you thought about starting West and working East or do you need to do the Tokyo/Sendai tings specific dates?

Hope this helps!

Regards you Sendai day. You could include Yamadera and you building viewing in the one day. It is a mountainous temple. So potentially dropping other temple locations out of you itinerary.

May24- June 9

Thanks so much!

Do you currently have Ghibli tickets or are you still hoping to get them?

Also, I have not yet purchased my rail pass. I think I need to send you some kind of thank you gift after this.

I do not have Ghibli tickets yet, I think they go on sale May 1