Realistic itinerary for 9 days?

Hi all,

I'm visiting Japan next month for 9 full days - it's my first time visiting, and there's SO much I want to see and do but I'm not sure I'm planning my time realistically.

As it stands I'm looking at:

Saturday - morning in Osaka, trip to Kobe from around lunchtime/in the afternoon, then back to Osaka for the evening
Sunday - trip to Nara in the morning, then back to Osaka for the afternoon and evening

Monday - travel to Koyasan, stay 1 night in Koyasan

Tuesday - Back to Osaka to travel onwards to Kyoto
Wednesday - all day in Kyoto, stay in Kyoto

Thursday - travel to Hakone, stay in Hakone

Friday - morning and lunch in Hakone, travel on to Tokyo
Saturday - all day in Tokyo
Sunday - all day in Tokyo

I don't mind early mornings or changing accommodation more frequently (I will be staying in hostels anyway).

However, there are many more things that I would love to be able to do - like make it to Naoshima Island, and visit Lake Kawaguchi.

Can anyone give me any tips on my itinerary and suggest how to better spend my time? Or do I just need to save these other bits for my next trip? :)

Thanks in advance!

If it is your first time to Japan? I think you are rushing Kyoto (1.5 days) and Tokyo (2.0 days).

1/2 day for Nara is a rush. Only Kobe and Koyasan look like regular visit times.

Most first time travelers would spend 4 days in both Tokyo and Kyoto at a minimum normally. Up to you what you wanna do. But 9 days for 6 locations means you miss a lot. I would consider dropping a few locations. Hakone is between Kyoto and Tokyo, so you could keep that one. But I'd reconsider Kobe and Koyasan.

You can keep the itinerary the way it is also. As you have stated that you are coming back. Just don't be disappointed at the end of your trip that you have spent more time on public transport than sightseeing.

I think you will fly in to KIX and out from TYO (NRT or HND). If so, you don't need to consider Japan Rail Pass which will not pay off. Weather in Japan is not stable in general so you should be flexible for your itinerary: If you visit Hakone or Kawaguchiko in the rain you will not see Mt Fuji at all. Honestly it is not good season to see Mt Fuji (of course you can see it in fine days).

So my recommendation is as follows.

Day 1 Stay in Osaka. See Osaka or Kobe or Nara.
Day2 Move to Kyoto (maybe via Nara. Please pack light, with 3 days of clothes. You can wash them every 3 nights).
Day3-5 Stay in Kyoto. Kyoto has so many things to see. With 3 days you can see less crowded sites in Kyoto such as Nanzenji, Shin-en in Heian shrine, Honen-in, Daitokuji, Kikoku-tei, etc.
Day 6 Move to Tokyo. If weather is fine, go to Hakone on the way.
Day 7-9 Tokyo. If you catch good weather you may want to go to Kawaguchiko or Hakone to see Mt. Fuji.

Yes, your itinerary is a bit hectic, but generally doable. It wouldn�ft be my itinerary.

One thing I would change for sure in the itinerary is to go after Koyasan directly to Kyoto. No reason to stay in Osaka again.


I personally would do a quite different itinerary and drop Osaka completely and do as a PP said:Kyoto , maybe Koyasan or Hakone and Tokyo with possible site trip to Nara from Kyoto. But it�fs your trip and if you want to go to Kobe it works in the schedule you have.

Naoshima: you would need time for that. It�fs a brilliant place, but it might be hard to get accommodation on the island (the triennial is on this year) which means you�fd best stay in a place very close to the island the night before. You need at least 1 full day on the island to enjoy it. So if you are willing to drop something else, sure you can go to Naoshima. If anything I would drop Hakone/Fuji5Lakes and also Koyasan (because it takes so long to get there) IF you want to include Naoshima.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

As others mention, you are seriously shortchanging Kyoto.
For your first Saturday, you might want to expand more - see Himeji for half a day and Kobe for the rest. Himeji has Japan's finest original surviving castle, and the Kokoen Garden near it is superb.
https://goo.gl/65ZtRi

You can get a one day Kansai Area Pass to save some money since other passes like the full JR Pass would not pay off.

For Nara Park, half a day will be just fine.
https://goo.gl/LfvWnL
But just a morning is not enough. Whatever you decide, do not miss the Todaiji Temple. It is one of the very finest in the whole country.
For Koyasan, the Big Kahuna is the Okunoin Cemetery - don't miss it.
https://goo.gl/uAi9oX
You can in fact see it twice if you want - at night it is a very different experience, and the 200,000 residents don't mind at all. If you do that though, be sure to pick a temple with no 9 PM curfew.
https://awesome-tours.jp/en/tour/night-tour-return-bus/
You don't need to pay for any tour - you can just go yourself. As said above, you don't need to return to Osaka - just go straight on to Kyoto. For Hakone, you can get a Hakone Free Pass if you will be doing the Loop Course. That said, Lake Kawaguchi is not Hakone - it's on the other side at the Fuji 5 Lakes. While you could see either place (at least the highlights) in a day, it is impossible to do both. So pick one or the other (and getting to the 5 Lakes would be even more time consuming).

I wouldnt bother with Kawaguchiko. I'd spend more time in Nara. I'd consider dropping Kyoto altogether if you only have a day there. The issue with Kyoto is that the big ticket items are so crowded, racing from one to another over a day you'll only end up running though a concrete blocky city from one crowd to the next. On the other hand if you stayed in Nara, you could wake up to the pretty park and deer running around. Not knocking Kyoto - it is brilliant - but I wouldnt bother if it is only a day, I'd go somewhere more compact.

OP here - thank you all so much for your responses! So helpful.

I've heard such varied opinions on Kyoto that perhaps I wasn't giving it enough credit in my original itinerary! I am going to adjust accordingly.

I have a second travel-related question, if anyone knows the answer:

I've worked out rough estimates on travel costs and agree that the JR pass isn't worth it (I'm not doing a return trip between Kyoto and Tokyo, or travelling from Narita airport). Therefore, is it a good idea to get a Suica card instead? Can this be purchased on arrival or does it need to be ordered beforehand from the UK, like the JR pass? And does this card cover any train/bus/metro within the areas I am travelling or is it specific to just one or two areas or cities in Japan (like a London-only Oyster Card)?

Thanks again for your help :)

For the IC card questions, see here:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_003.html
There is negligible savings from one, but it is very convenient.

There are regional passes that can help for Koyasan and Hakone.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html

Therefore, is it a good idea to get a Suica card instead?

If you land at KIX, you can not buy Suica card there. You can buy ICOCA card instead which is almost identical to Suica card. And in general getting a ICOCA card is a good idea. You may better consider some local passes though.

Can this be purchased on arrival or does it need to be ordered beforehand from the UK, like the JR pass?

You can buy Icoca at Kansai airport.

And does this card cover any train/bus/metro within the areas I am travelling or is it specific to just one or two areas or cities in Japan (like a London-only Oyster Card)?

Icoca can be used several areas like Kansai and around Tokyo, but you cannot travel between Kansai and Tokyo via Shinkansen using Icoca card. There is "Smart EX" service which enables you to take Shinkansen with the IC card, but this is for some countries and at present UK is not included. Of course you can buy Shinkansen ticket with cash or your credit card at almost all of JR train stations such as Kansai airport, Osaka and Kyoto.

Enjoy your trip in Japan!