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Potential itinerary 2020/5/21 07:37
Hello, I just purchased a ticket to japan for 3/25 of next year, and I am excited! I didn't buy the return yet because i am still mapping out a potential itinerary. the plan is 35+ days. I went last year and did a lot of the main spots such as tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, nara, hiroshima etc... I am re doing Tokyo because I didn't spend nearly enough time there. but aside from that, all of the places listed below are new for me! I want to see city, culture, countryside, coast, museums everything! how does this itinerary look? are some of the time in the places too short? let me know, thanks!

Tokyo 3/ 25th - 4/ 3 9 nights
Hakotade 4/3-4/5 2 nights
lake Toya 4/5 – 4/6 1 night
Sapporo 4/6 – 4/9 3 nights
Sendai 4/9 – 4/11 2 nights
Hakone 4/11 -4/13 2 nights
Toyama 4/13 -4/16 3 nights
Kanazawa 4/16 – 4/18 2 nights
Osaka 4/18 – 4/22 4 nights
Tattori 4/22 – 4/24 2 nights
Naruto 4/24 – 4/26 2 nights
Fukuoka 4/26 – 4/30 4 nights
by Bran85  

Re: Potential itinerary 2020/5/21 19:42
If you did it in the reverse (Fukuoka first, Hokkaido last), you could follow the cherry blossoms all over the country, traveling north along with them. Readjusting the Tokyo days could make it even better for the cherry blossoms.

The current itinerary is not bad, but the Hokkaido and Tohoku portions will likely have the ugly deadness of winter.
by Rabbityama rate this post as useful

Re: Potential itinerary 2020/5/21 19:53
Thanks for your feedback. Although you are right, Ifve seen the cherry blossoms last year and Ifm
Ok with not really catching cherry blossoms everywhere. I planned my entire trip around them last year and it was beautiful.
by Bran85 rate this post as useful

Re: Potential itinerary 2020/5/21 21:10
Just my opinion but I think that it seems rushed and you are trying to fit a lot in even for a long stay. Moving hotels every two or three days is no fun. If it were me I would pick 4 or 5 places at the most and spend a week or so in each, in order to really fully appreciate what they have to offer without constantly feeling like "I need to be out of here and on my way to the next place in like, 36 hours". For example, is it really worth spending two nights in Sendai when you could instead double your time in Kanazawa? If there's something you desperately want to see in Sendai then I get it, but you understand the point I'm trying to make. Again this is just my opinion, maybe some people enjoy travelling like this, but you're definitely going to lose an awful lot of time on trains, hotel check-ins, etc. which could otherwise be spent doing interesting things, or just relaxing.
by Quiz (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Potential itinerary 2020/5/22 23:30
lol Quiz, Ifm one of those people who travel like that. Yes, I do agree with what Qiuz said gyou're definitely going to lose an awful lot of time on trains, hotel check-ins, etc. which could otherwise be spent doing interesting things, or just relaxing.h Your looking to stay 35 days +. You are doing a lot of hotel moving around but that is normal because your following a flow and not looking to go back.

I travel in and out of Japan every year and I lose half the day to pack up go, pack up and go. It takes a lot of discipline to keep that luggage maintain to just up and go without losing time to fix the luggage and pack it correctly and go.

With the days you have to travel, Ifm surprise you donft have Aomori and Akita on your list

I have two opinion.
1 Turn your hotel room into a base by staying there longer, like 1 week or 1 week and a half. Stay in a city where you can go 3 to 4 hours Shinkansen ride out, completely your sightseeing by the afternoon and enjoy the city/ countryside and return back to your hotel at the end of the night. This will work if you are willing to 1 wake up early 2 take the 1st or 2nd train out of the city/countryside and take the last train/ Shinkansen back to the city your staying in. This donft work to well for the countryside because your doing a lot of train hops and the train to the countryside is slow, so your sightseeing would have to be very limited spots but it still can work.

2 Pack super lightly. Because your not staying at the same place for a long time and seeing people like friends or friends family. Just pack lightly, forget the winter jacket and winter thick clothing that takes up a lot of space. Just bring two thick and light hoodie as your jacket or coat, few shirts and pants and lots of underwear. This work will but you have to asked the hotel your staying do they offer dry cleaning service or a near by laundromat or if they have a washing machine. Word thing is with laundromat you lose time waiting for them to open and some donft open early.

For me, option 1 works because, I love to interact and see the 5am 6am people. I hate being on the 7, 8, 9am crowded train with the people going to work (Aggretsuko anime.) I love taking the last train in because less people, light foot traffic on my way back and I can talk with the JR Station workers. They are fun to talk to and they talk about the city and someone happy to talk to you.

Sorry for the long writing.
by Visitor (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Potential itinerary 2020/5/23 07:57
Tokyo 3/ 25th - 4/ 3 9 nights
Hakotade 4/3-4/5 2 nights - Did you consider flying Tokyo to Sapporo and then working back to Toya/Hakodate. (Personal opinion is that Aomori is worth a stop.)
lake Toya 4/5 – 4/6 1 night
Sapporo 4/6 – 4/9 3 nights
Sendai 4/9 – 4/11 2 nights - Sapporo to Sendai is a long travel day. Two nights is pretty brief, it has a lot to offer, especially at that time of year.
Hakone 4/11 -4/13 2 nights - going from Hakone to Toyama is a PITA and back-tracking. Either re-schedule Hakone for when you are in/around Tokyo. (or skip, it's over-rated)
Toyama 4/13 -4/16 3 nights - I assume you have specific things planned for this stop. Five nights in Toyama/Kanazawa is a lot IMO.
Kanazawa 4/16 – 4/18 2 nights
Osaka 4/18 – 4/22 4 nights - Osaka is a double-up on Tokyo in many respects - for time in this part of the country I would still be concentrating on Kyoto.
Tattori 4/22 – 4/24 2 nights
Naruto 4/24 – 4/26 2 nights - The order here looks odd (Osaka-Tottori-Naruto-Fukuoka). Reconsider the travel as you are bouncing around a lot here. Also consider stops at Takamatsu, Okayama/Kurashiki - makes the onward trip to Fukuoka easier.
Fukuoka 4/26 – 4/30 4 nights
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

Re: Potential itinerary 2020/5/23 11:33
Hello everyone! Ive updated my potential itin. to this,

Tokyo 3/25 -4/3
Hakotade 4/3 - 4/5
Sapporo 4/5 - 4/9 (Day trip to Lake Toya)
Sendai 4/9 - 4/12
Toyama/Kanazawa 4/12 - 4/17
Osaka 4/17 - 21 (day trip to tottori)
Takamatsu 4/21 - 24 (trip to naruto)
Fukuoka 4/24 -4/29


by Bran85 rate this post as useful

Re: Potential itinerary 2020/5/24 07:40
Sapporo 4/5 - 4/9 (Day trip to Lake Toya)
Just as an observation on visiting Lake Toya (having done a day trip to Usuzan for the volcano and crater a few years back), it is a long day trip. But it also means you do the trip between there and Sapporo four times rather than just two.
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

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