Itinerary 16 Days Mid to End November check

Hi everyone,

so excited to visit Japan for the second time and do it solo this time.
I am an introvert and giving solo travel a go because this year is my last year before I'm 30.

I am planning to start my trip in FUK at 14 November morning. I am open to any advice and if there is any event / festival

1-2 Fukuoka (I saw that there will be sumo matches? looks interesting) and second day maybe visit Dazaifu for a day trip

3 Fukuoka - Hiroshima - Miyajima , Stay in Miyajima / Hiroshima ( I wonder if I can add 1 more day to go to beppu instead ?) Start my 7 Days JR pass here.

4 Himeji Kyoto, Osaka - On last trip, I have been to Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara. I guess Osaka will be my place to stay.

5-6 Any suggestion on places to go

7 Kanazawa

8 Kanazawa / Takayama then take the last train to Hokkaido. (or maybe stop at tokyo for a night).

9 my last day for JR Pass. Sapporo

10.Otaru

11. Hokkaido, any suggestion on another day trip, on the evening will take ferry to tokyo. (Just because I want to try the ferry ride as well).

12-16. Tokyo , any advice on surrounding place? (I am thinking nikko, kawaguchiko).

I have been to Hakone so I'm not going there anymore.

Any advice is welcome , and since I am doing solo, I can do change and adapt.

Last question :

is 8:50 AM from haneda better than 10AM from narita for departure?

Kanazawa to Sapporo by train is like 9.5 hour ride (2 Shinkansen and an express), so I don't think you have a time to stop by Takayama. Do Takayama a day before, or stay one more night in Kanazawa. You can stay in Tokyo for one night, but I hate one-nighters because it is too much hassle (check in 4pm, checkout 10am, and all you have time for in between is unpack-dinner-pack-sleep).

1) If you want to see Sumo in Fukuoka (I think it is a great opportunity) try buying ticket ahead of time. Sumo in Tokyo /Osaka sells out within minutes. For Fukuoka I managed to get a ticket some years ago (for a Tuesday) buying it very early. If you manage to get a ticket I suggest to spend most of the day there. The master sumo class will be last. But all the lower divisions are also fighting and just the atmosphere is great.

2) Dazaifu is a great destination for a daytrip from Fukuoka

3) days 5-6 if you donft want to see anything in Kyoto, Nara or Osaka (there is definitely enough to see even if you were there before) other interesting places in the area are: Biwako lake area, Inner Nara prefecture

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search/label/Shiga?m=1I
http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search/label/Nara?m=1

4) the last train from Takayama to Sapporo leaves at 9:38 am! From Kanazawa the situation is a bit better with last train leaving at 11:57 am
Consider not buying JR pass and flying instead.

5) in Sapporo I personally like the open air museum. But I am a sucker for these type of museums

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2017/09/day-6-sapporo-to-kitahi...

6) possible side trips from Tokyo:
- Kamakura
- Chichibu

7) regarding departure from HND or NRT I personally prefer HND but with those two times it shouldnft make a lot of difference. Youfll still need to leave your hotel in Tokyo very early in the morning. It will impact your hotel choice in Tokyo though. If you go through HND try Hamamatsucho area. Very central (much better than Shinagawa) but still very fast to Haneda (20 min). If Narita, Ueno is probably the best place to stay. Unless you want to change hotel for the last night what I did sometimes going to the Art Hotel Narita which has a nice onsen with rotenburo and a shuttle bus to the airport. (The hotel itself is a huge airport hotel. So only worthwhile if you plan enjoying a last night in an onsen.
https://art-narita.com/

Looks a bit like you packed a lot to make the best use of the rail pass, but on some days you are trying to move too fast - when you say Hiroshima to Himeji, Kyoto, then overnight in Osaka, what are you going to see? Hiroshima to HImeji is 1 hour by Shinkansen, but after reaching the castle, visiting the Himeji Castle (if that is your aim) viewing the whole place at a leisurely pace takes 1.5 - 2 hours, and I donft know how long the waiting time is currently to get in. (After that, Himeji to Osaka is under 1 hour) but if you make a detour to Kyoto, what do you plan to see there?

Getting to Hokkaido, yes, i also recommend flying.

You are trying to pack too much in. And soe days are really doable other than being on transport all day. Start over.

For Tokyo sidetrip, agree Kamakura/Enoshima are very nice. I usually stay at Iwamotoro Honkan at Enoshima, very good to have breakfast and watch Mt Fuji come into view.

Otherwise have you considered Izu peninsula? Ito is nice, Shuzenji is very nice. They would be overnight stays.

@everyone

Yea maybe I am a bit more optimistic (or crazy) because I have never travelled alone before, I will definitely rethink the plan. ^.^ I am only planning to bring a small backpack (like a laptop backpack) and a small cabin size luggage.

@likebike
1. Yes I have bought the ticket through buysumoticket, I tried buying through official website, but its japanese only and too much hassle since I need a Japan address. Hopefully I am not scammed.

3. I will definitely check this out. I am interested in exploring other non so well known places. However my main concerns are the language barrier and transportation. I have checked that I definitely cannot drive with my country license.

4. I think even if I fly, Jr Pass is still worth , based on the calculator. FUK - osaka area - Kanazawa - Tokyo.
5-6. Thanks I will check these out.
7. Great idea with the onsen hotel !

@AK
Yes I can see that. For Himeji part , I am thinking of taking morning train to Himeji and visit the castle and after that go to Kyoto for kiyomizudera and spend the night at osaka as my base for a few days.

OK here is the revised plan.

1. Fukuoka
- arrive at 8AM
- getting food + explore the city
- 1PM go to sumo
- Dinner

2. Dazaifu
- day trip here
- is there an onsen town / places that is close / on my way here?

3. Hiroshima
- start my jrpass here (DAY 1 JRPASS)
- my main objective here is to visit Hiroshima and buy some food that I really like previously.
- if I have enough time, maybe Himeji
- as for hiroshima, I am happy to skip this. or even go straight to osaka for the night

4. Biwako Lake (DAY 2JRPASS)
5. Nara + Uji if possible (DAY 3JRPASS)
6. Reserve for anything that I miss. (for example, if I miss Himeji / Kyoto) (DAY 4 JRPASS)
7. Osaka to Kanazawa and explore kanazawa (DAY 5JRPASS)
8. Kanazawa - Tokyo (DAY 6 JRPASS)
9. Tokyo (If I choose to fly , I will extend 1 more day here or day trip) (DAY 7 JRPASS)
10.11.12 Hokkaido, at 12 evening take ferry to Tokyo
13.Tokyo / Day trip area
14.Tokyo / Day trip area
15.Tokyo / Day trip area
16. Holiday ends.

I am trying to make the itinerary as flexible as possible. What do you guys think of not booking accommodation for some days? I heard / researched that November is pretty calm and not touristy. However, since the border has just opened. November may just be the busiest time in japan.

I canft say good or not, as i canft quite tell what you want to do in each city (if any). Visiting Hiroshima can take up one full day for some people, not for others. Visiting Kyoto just for Kiyomizudera may sound like a good plan to you, not for some others including myself (Ifd spend at least one full day, if not more, for Kyoto, though Ifm a resident in Japan). So I really canft comment on the itinerary.

About hotel accommodation, as domestic travel is returning, I expect that popular (affordable) places might get pretty full - I recommend getting accommodation booked for each night. And for that, you might want to decide on your priority/preferences first, so that you would not be back-tracking too much or end up not being able to visit where you really wanted to. Being flexible is good, but it might come with the con that you might end up with accommodation more expensive than youfd planned for. ENjoy planning AND traveling!

Your luggage plan is good and doable. November can be quite cold especially later when the winds pick up and brown off the leaves, you will need a decent jacket.

My wife and I have done 2 week trips with just carry on sized luggage our past 3 trips (one case, a little laptop type bag each), it is fantastic because you can just chuck the cases in the racks above your seats, no stress and faffing about. You are moving about a lot but I also think that is doable. While I could spend a week in some places you are doing overnight (eg Nara), there is always next time if you want to spend more time. Also your plan has relatively short travel days - probably 2 hours or so - which lets you see a fair bit and you can have a rest while you are on the trains.

Regarding hotels, I think it depends how strict your budget is. When I travelled through Japan 2 months by bicycle I normally only booked one or max 2 days ahead. But for that you need to be a bit flexible both in price and quality (in both directions) and location a bit. It did definitely work out for me. But I remember a few days, eg in Kyushu when I had a hard time finding an accommodation in a place I wanted to stay and had to detour. But then I was also staying in smaller towns with less accommodation. For the towns you are talking there shouldnft be a problem. And although Japan just opened to international travelers, there always were a lot of domestic travelers so I donft think it will be too difficult to find a hotel.

Thanks,

Yea I am very surprised that many OTA offers free cancelation even 1 day before the check in date !!!
WAW I actually just booked them all . its free cancelation after all if I find a better accommodation or change my plan.

In regards with HOKKAIDO plan , I decided to do the FERRY on my way there and take the return flight to haneda.

At least I can use my JR pass to the fullest , because I will use it to OARAI ferry terminal , Although I think it only covers the journey to Mito station.

@Likebike, do you own a bike? how does one get a bike? do I have to find a hotel that rents it?
I have not decided, but that seems fun for a day especially if I am in a small town. Do you need some kind of license ? or accessories?
@like

Random question , What are the chances I can see snow fall during mid to end November ? or is it impossible? even if it is <10% chance , what would be the best place to bet?

I live here (again since May) and yes, I do own a bike (actually 3).
You donft need a license to ride a bike.
For renting bikes it is getting more common. HOWEVER most places that rent bikes have mamacharis.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=safari&hl=en-gb&sxsrf=ALiCzsZHS...

It is definitely an experience to ride them (once) but itfs not very good riding. But you get around and it can be fun. I rented some of them in the past. Eg in Karuizawa:

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2018/09/relaxing-karuizawa.html

Here a bit more about bicycle rental in my experience although I havenft used it a lot as I mostly had my own bikes.

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2018/09/rental-bicycles-in-japa...