Japan itinerary tips

Hi!

I am trying to plan a trip to japan for me, my boyfriend and brother.
My bf and I are staying two weeks and my brother will be staying an extra week.
I�fve been trying to plan the trip but because I have never been there, I have no idea what the best thing to do is.

Maybe you have some tips for us? ❤🙏🏽


This is what I have so far :

April

7 Shibuya-
8 Shibuya - disney
9 Shibuya -
10 Shibuya -> osaka
11 osaka - day trip naoshima
12 osaka -> Kyoto
13 Kyoto - yasaka pagoda - fushimi inari
14 Kyoto - Arashiyama Bamboo Grove/Kameyama-koen Park - sagano railway
15 Kyoto - nara / Mount Yoshino
16 tokyo -
17 Tokyo Mario kart / robot restaurant / Akihabara
18 shinjuku - ghobil museum
19 shinjuku -
20 shinjuku - light museum
21 shinjuku -

22 Kanazawa
23 Hiroshima
24 Hiroshima / miyajima
25 Okunoshima
26 Tokyo


Here bellow the things we want to fit in the blanks. we might need to skip one or two ? But no idea which one...


nokki Kegon Fall
fuji Mt. Kachi-Kachi Ropeway or hakone
Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

Itinerary is weird. Why Hiroshima towards the end?

It you do all those locations before returning to Tokyo. You'll have and extra 2 days to play with.

So... Your brother wants to go to Hiroshima, Miyajima Island, and Bunny Island... and plans to do this after you leave. Kanazawa would be done at the end, just before returning to Tokyo.

You should place your trip outside of the Tokyo area at the end, so that your brother can leave for his additional places after the Osaka/Kyoto area, as you return back to Tokyo. You and your boyfriend can get a one week JR rail pass, and your brother would get a two week JR rail pass.

It seems that you have a lot of time in Tokyo. I would have suggested including Hakone, before going to Osaka/Kyoto, and do the round course, which includes a Ropeway. Unfortunately, the Tozan railway, and the cablecar are out of service at this time. The cablecar should be fixed by the end of March.

I might choose the Fuji Five Lakes area, if you were planning a little later in the month, so that you would include the Shibazakura (Moss Phlox) festival.

I like Nachi Taisha, and Nachi Falls. It�fs south of Osaka, and a little out of the way. There is a nice resort hotel (Urashima), with cave hot springs, that might be of interest to you. If you only get a seven day pass, it would be difficult to include.

If you want to add additional time outside of Tokyo, you might think about adding Takayama. Takayama has a bus line (Nohi), that has highway busses to and from Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto area. There is a festival mid-April, which might make hotels difficult on 14th-15th, but you might be able to get hotel before that, and then depart for Osaka/Kyoto. I would suggest going to the Nohi bus line website, and looking at what tours that you can do from here, like Shirakawa-go, the Alpine Route, and the Shinhotaka ropeway.

Take a highway bus to Takayama, do things there, then take a bus to Koyto, and do things there. THEN activate a 7 day (14 day for your brother) JR Pass to go places after this. This can stretch time outside Tokyo at a lower cost. You could include Nachi Taisha with the extra time.

Is this the help that you are asking for?

Good luck, in planning your trip.

There are additional tweaks, but I think your overall plan need to be revised. Mount Yoshino is probably a full day trip, and Nara will have to be done on another day.

You will probably want Kintetsu rail pass to get to Nara, Mount Yoshino, and then Osaka. On the Japan Guide website, go to Planning Your Trip, Transportation, Rail Passes, and look at some of the possibilities. Transportation also has links to the Nohi Bus line, in the highway bus links.

It is possible that if you do take the Nohi bus to Takayama, and then to Kyoto. You and your boyfriend will not actually need a 7 day JR pass at all. Depending on what you do outside of Tokyo. You brother would change from a 14 day JR pass, to a 7 day. You could get a single Shinkansen ticket back to Tokyo, even if you want to visit Nachi Taisha. Would you like me to elaborate on this?

@ebaychucky

Thank you so much for your fast and elaborate reply.
The reason why we�fve got Tokyo on the end for now is because we didn�ft want to carry our shopping with us while going to Kyoto etc.
There are so many things we would like to do but have to be realistic with time.
I would love to experience the nature of japan and have the time to really enjoy what the city has to bring as well. At first we had Hiroshima in our schedule before Tokyo but it just seemed too cramp. So I had Putten those things at the end for my brother. But to be honest he is open to any plan.

7 Tokyo
8 Tokyo Disney
9 Tokyo
10 Tokyo 5 lakes
11 Tokyo
12 hakone
13 Tokyo
14 Kyoto
15 Kyoto
16 Kyoto
17 Kyoto /osaka
18 osaka
19 Tokyo. (Brother - osaka)
20 Tokyo (Brother - Hiroshima )
21 we leave ( Brother - Hiroshima / miyajima )
22 takayama
23 takayama - shinhotaka railrope/alpine route
24 tokyo
25 Tokyo -> brother leaves

It seems like we spend a lot of time in Tokyo but we�fll be gone for Disney sea, Fuji, Hakone etc..

Would you advise us to go to hakone instead of the Fuji mountains/Kachi rope way ? Is the view of Fuji still worth it from hakone :) ?

How about Nikko ? The waterfalls?
Or better we go to nachi falls ?

Is Nara worth going? Or should we go to mount yoshino?

Sorry for the thousand questions, I�fm very happy someone is actually able to help us.

Hotel Urashima looks amazing.
Haha I�fm starting to feel a bit hopeless again.
Maybe two weeks just isn�ft enough. We will definitely have to revisit.

With all your tips and our idea�fs.
What do you think for a first time visit incl one week tokyo would be the best thing.

What about flying into Osaka and flying out of Tokyo if shipping in Tokyo is so high in the list.

Alternatively if you are shopping so much, if you finish shopping and Tokyo 1 week or less before your departure you could simply send all the shopping in a suitcase or box to the airport. Takyubin companies accept shipments I think 1 week before your pick up date. Then you can do the rest of your trip with only small bags and pick up all your shopping at the airport before checkin.

Eg you could fly into Tokyo, do all your shopping and sightseeing. Then leave for Kyoto and other places, within 1 week fly out of Osaka picking up you shopping luggage at the airport, while your brother (hope he isn�ft shopping too or you could bring stuff back for him) continues further South to Hiroshima and Miyajima.

I would not go to Hakone, or the Fuji Five Lakes. The Hakone Tozan railroad has track damage, and the cablecar might be repaired before you arrive, but I am not sure of that. It will be a little early to go to the flower festival at the Fuji Five Lakes area.

My suggestion was to add Takayama instead, and to use busses to lower the cost of travel. And YES, Nikko IS another option, and worth considering. If placed at the end of the trip, the Nohi bus from Takayama back to Tokyo would also work to extend your brother�fs time outside Tokyo. He would be able to get a 7 day JR pass, and complete travel by bus.

Are you wanting the Onsen experience? Do you feel comfortable going to a hot springs. Most baths are gender separated, but you may not want to bathe with other women. The hotel Urashima is more a resort, and has baths, but the multi course meal will be replaced by a buffet, and the hotel rooms have beds, not futons. The bonus side for the buffet at Urashima is the tuna carving demonstration, and fresh sashimi. KiiKatsurra is a fishing town, and you will have the freshest sushi you have ever had.

When I went to Nikko, I stayed in Kinogawa at a Onsen. If you want that experience, and wanted to add Hakone or the Fuji Five Lakes to get this, you can add Nikkō to add the Onsen experience. I somewhat prefer the resort experience, regular beds, and the buffet.

I will mention that I did get multi course meal one time, when I expected the buffet, and was pleasantly surprised. In Shirahama (a hot springs beach resort town near KiiKasturra), I didn�ft know that I had booked my beach resort hotel at the same time as a Junior High School retreat. The student were given the buffet, and I was upgraded to the more private restaurant, with the multi course meal.

Takayama also has Onsens, if you want it.

So... it�fs your vacation. You will not be able to get everything packed into 14 days. What are the most important experiences do you want to have?

You could also add more time by taking night busses, but that means you are able to sleep on a night bus. There is actually a night bus from Tokyo to KiiKatsurra, which is another way to add Nachi Taisha in.

I would not change hotels from Kyoto to Osaka for one/two nights. Just stay in Kyoto and do the day trip and visit Osaka from there. This will save you the trouble of additional check-out/in and un-/packing. The cities are very close together.

For my taste, the day in Tokyo including "Mario-Kart / Robot Cafe / Akihabara" seems much too packed. I would skip MK and RC entirely (as IMO they are two of the most stupid activities ever created by mankind... but again, just MHO ;) cause if you are into anime/manga and shopping you will definitely need an entire day in Akiba.

As for the Ghibli Museum: Do you already have tickets? You cannot buy them on site.

As for Nikko: I would always prefer a day trip to Kamakura over one to Nikko as it is much closer to Tokyo and even offers nicer sightseeing spots (again, in MHO).

First of all, thank you again!

So for our wishes ; one week in Tokyo, like that we have the time to experience it in an easy paste. Perhaps a day trip or two?

I would love to see what the japanese nature has to offer, like the (Fuji) mountain, waterfalls.. I was excited about taking the cable cars :)

Then have 3 nights to explore in Kyoto
2 nights in Osaka and then come back.
( I think this will be more realistic time wise)

For my brother continue his trip to Hiroshima and then Kanazawa and back to Tokyo.

Hope to hear from you!

Sorry I didn�ft see the second message!
The reason we wanted to stay in osaka is because my brothers wishes to experience a night out in Osaka..

Kamakura instead of nikko it is then! :)

We�fll skip robot cafe haha.

Will buy our tickets in advance for the museum, thank you for the tip!
And very much into manga/anime! So we�fll take a whole day there then :)))

Since you wanted a night in Osaka, I am going to assume Namba and Dotonburi. Here is my suggestion:

5 or so days in Tokyo. I am not going to specify where to go on what day. If it rains, go do something indoor (museum, Akihabara, maid cafe), if it�fs sunny, outdoor (Disney, Kamakura and Endoshima Island). I am including Kamakura & Endoshima as a Cherry Blossom viewing location (Kamakura), and a beach location (Endoshima), so that you can get curry at a beach side cafe. If you like Anime, you have to have seen this many times.

Highway bus to Takayama. This is your outdoor/nature part. Go do the Alpine, or the cablecar. I�fm not going to specify how many days. Pick how many days you want to be in nature.

Highway bus to Kyoto, probably for 2-3nights. Once again, you will have to plan what is best for you. Kyoto is best toured with day bus passes.

Get a two day Kintetsu train pass.
Day one: check out of Kyoto, go to Nara, and drop off luggage at hotel, then continue to Mount Yoshino for the day. Return to Nara hotel.
Day two: Check put of Nara Hotel, and have them hold you luggage, visit Nara, then pick up luggage and travel to Osaka Namba with the Kintetsu pass.

Additional time in Osaka... Again, tailored to your wants and needs. Maybe going to the new Nintendo Land in Universal Studios?

Get a single Shinkansen bullet train ticket back to Tokyo, for you and your boyfriend. Get a 7 day pass for you brother, and he will be heading to Hiroshima to continue his Journey.

I am not going to specify days at each location, because this needs to be tweaked by your tastes.

If you really wanted to include Nachi Taisha in the mix, you would need to include an Ise-Kumano-Wakayama area pass, which includes train and bus transportation In one pass. I would not suggest this, if the only thing you plan is Nachi Taisha. If your want to also go to Shirahama Hot Spring Beach Resort town), Hongu Taisha & a mountain Onsen, the Ise grand shrine & possibly the Pearl diving and Aquarium in Toba. Your plan is already pretty full, so I think this might be a �gsecond trip to Japan�h idea. I do suggest going to the Japan Guide - Transportation - Rail Passes - and check out this pass. You can click on the map�fs locations, and look at what you can do.

Once again... your trip... This is just a general framework for a trip. You will need to tailor it to your desires.

I really don�ft know how to thank you, couldn�ft thank you enough. 🙏🏽

Having read ebaychucky311's excellent itinerary I'd like to emphasize that spending a night in Nara is an excellent idea. The place tends to get terribly crowded around 10ish. So getting up early and enjoying the city with far fewer tourists around is highly advisable.

Just a thought about spending several days in Kyoto: The city has become immensely popular with tourists these days and everybody I talked to who visited in the past few years including myself was horrified by the crowds everywhere.
Not to say you shouldn't go, but just be prepared and maybe keep it in mind while planning your trip.
(Corona might ease the situation a bit though.....)

Nintendo land at USJ isn't opening until Summer 2020. I like USJ but don't go there in April assuming you can visit it. I believe the current estimated time for opening is mid to late July.

Read the section on this website for tickets for the Ghibli Museum, they do sell out.

Make sure to look at a crowd calendar for Tokyo Disney. I personally prefer visiting in bad weather the lines are shorter.

I would not refer to the the character car trips as Maricart, that is why the company just lost a huge lawsuit and they no longer offer costumes based on Nintendo characters.

Good luck

I�fm going to first say I might have put too much of my desires into the itinerary. This is somewhat my plan for next year, but I am going slower. You never mentioned Takayama in your original post, and I steered you to it, as an alternative due to construction.

Next year, I plan to take the highway bus to Takayama on May 13th, the day before the festival. My plan is to stay a week. I plan to also do the cablecar, and the Alpine Route, as well as attend a drum festival in HidaFurukawa on the 18th & 19th. It is 15-20 minutes away from Takayama.

I plan to take the highway bus to Kyoto, and spend time there.

I was then going to get the 5-day Kintetsu pass, and visit Mount Yoshino, Nara, Osaka Namba, Iga Ueno to see the Ninja Museum, before ending up at Ise.

After that, I was getting the Ise-Kumano-Wakayama pass for five days, and heading towards KiiKatsurra.

So... I gave you part of my idea. It is sound, and will cost less than a 7-day JR pass. Takayama also filled in as an good alternative to Hakone, or, the Fuji Five Lakes. I have traveled to Japan several times, so I have figured out how to get around some places.

I have also found that the JR pass is not the end-all golden ticket for traveling around Japan. Local transportation is usually not done by JR pass, but there are exceptions. Municipal transportation, like busses and subways, are not covered. At most tourist attractions, some independent local vendor has built something, and charges you.

So... If you were going to Mount Yoshino, you were going to need a Kintetsu two day pass, or better, because JR doesn�ft go there. I still think I gave you a good framework for your trip.

Ok... that said, I wanted to mention having a larger Kintetsu pass, because it gives you buses in Osaka for any additional day spent there, and the Ninja Museum at Iga Ueno. If, while reading this post, you stopped and went, �gWhoa... a NINJA MUSEUM!!! I gotta go there!�h, get the bigger Kintetsu pass, add another day in Nara, and take a day trip there. The pass also allows you to use busses in Osaka, for days after you get to Osaka Namba, so it has additional value. It could also be used to end up in Nagoya, so that the Shinkansen Bullet train ticket back to Tokyo is less.

Once again, good luck, in planning your vacation.