Hi, wanted to get some advice for me and my partner (first time in Japan for me, 2nd time for him). We're both very into food hence the very specific food reservations/diversity in trying something new each day but also wanted to hit most of the main attractions (but totally okay to avoid certain ones if they are not worth it). Wanted to get feedback/suggestions, especially in regards to the timing/compactness of our itinerary, the food, as well as just places later in the day that are worth exploring that we could slot in after our dinners.
Day 1 – Osaka (mostly around Dotonburi area)
- Land in KIX at 9AM and head to Namba hotel (Caption by Hyatt)
- Lunch mixed with sightseeing at both Kuromon Market and Dontonburi (really just whatever we see that catches our eye)
- Amerikamura
- Ring making at Glanta
- Shinsaibashi-suji street – misc. shopping (Custom shirt making at Uniqlo)
- Dinner reservation at Tempura Ando at 6PM
Day 2 – Osaka
- Osaka Castle in the morning, explore around the park. We don't care too much about this, but it fit nicely before our lunch in that area and figured might as well knock it off.
- Lunch at Sushi Sanshin at 12:00 or 12:30 (2.5 hours it looks like)
- Abeno Harukas 300 observatory deck (planning to get there around 4PM to catch the sunset)
- Maybe Dontonburi sightseeing at night to get a sense of the vibe or if there is anything else that would be cool to explore at night (either before or after dinner)
- Shinjuku Yakiniku Gyutan no Lemon Osaka for dinner at 8PM
Day 3 – Osaka (Nara day-trip basically)
- Head to Nara Park early, 8:30AMish, explore/hang out with the deer
- Lunch – wanted to do something close to Nakatanidou to see the Mochitsuki. Will be either Udon at Kamaki or Curry at Wakakusa Curry (or any good suggestions near that area)
- Kofukuji National Treasure Hall (30-60mins?)
- Kasugataisha Shrine (1-2 hours?)
- Isuien Garden (last entry is at 4PM)
- Todai-ji Temple + Nigatsu-do (temple first as it closes at 5:30) and then explore Nigatsu-do?
- Dinner – probably somewhere back in Osaka (leaning toward Kusaka Curry Namba if not getting curry earlier, open to suggestions here)
This one, we're unsure if we've crammed too much into one, would like insight on this if possible
Day 4 – Kyoto
- Drop off some of our luggage via luggage forwarding to our 2nd Osaka hotel
- Check into Kyoto hotel (Hilton Kyoto Higashiyama)
- Lunch/sightseeing at Nishiki Market
- teamLab Biovortex Kyoto reservation at 2:00 – 2:30
- Nintendo Store if time before our dinner Reservation at Creative Dining TAKAYAMA at 6PM
Day 5 – Kyoto
- Be at Ryoan-ji at opening (8am, explore )
- Head over to Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavillion when done with the above (sounds like the above isn't too long, maybe an hour?)
- Get rest/drinks at a Golden Retriever Cafe (Cafe De Monca, seems different than the various animal cafes and is rather just the owner's dogs that live there)
- Lunch at Kiyama at 12:00 (looks to be 2.5 hours?)
- Explore Nijo Castle (2ish hours? seen varying lengths, would be good to confirm)
- I had Sannen-zaka + Ninen-zaka here, but I think we don't have enough time as things might close in the middle of walking around?
- Maruyama Park
- Dinner at Karamisitei
Day 6 – Kyoto
- Fushimi Inari at around 7-8AM (2ish hours?)
- Sanjusangendo Temple after (1 hour?)
- Kiyomizu-dera Temple (1 – 2 hours?)
- If Sannen-zaka/Ninen-zaka seem like not doable in the previous day, then I thought about maybe putting it here and this can be our lunch/sightseeing combo, otherwise might try Pizzeria da Ciro since it's near the next activity
- Honen-in Temple & Philosopher's Path (not sure how long this would take)
- Dinner at Hikiniku to Come (probably going to pick a later time like 7:30 to be safe)
Day 7 – Osaka
- Check out of hotel and decide if there was anything in Kyoto that we missed or cut and we can do it here
- Otherwise head into Osaka and check into hotel (Waldorf Astoria Osaka)
- Lunch – Unagi Kushiyaki Izumo
- Explore Grand Green Park + head to Umeda Sky Observatory at sunset
- Dinner – undecided here, was thinking of Fukutaro to try okonomiyaki + takoyaki at Hanadako
Day 8 – Osaka
- Aquarium Day (researching around seems like this is maybe a half day thing)
- Totally empty, was hoping to get some recommendations here? Initially I had us staying in the area and then epxloring Tempozan Harbor Village/Marketplace and doing the Osaka Bay Cruise Santa Maria, but totally open to exploring somewhere new
- Dinner is tentatively Rokkakutei for kushiage, but again, totally open to change this depending on where we end up
Day 9 – Osaka
- Early Breakfast at Onigiri Gorichan
- Shopping at Tenjinbashi-suji street
- Will probably want to do our main souvenir shopping on this day, so any spots recommended near this area or our hotel by Umeda Station
- Osaka Uniqlo Flagship/Hep Five Shopping
- Early Dinner at Yakitori Ichimatsu at 4:00
- More shopping or things to visit/explore? Open to suggestions here
Day 10 – Kobe
- Check out of hotel and head to Kobe hotel (Kobe Brenza near Sannomiya Station)
- Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens Ropeway (cable car near Shin-Kobe station) – observation deck + Rose Symphony Garden
- notes below on things to visit
Day 11 – Kobe
- Himeji Castle and Koko-en Garden in the afternoon
Day 12 – Kobe
- Check out of hotel/leave bags and explore the area
- Get back to hotel at 6:30PM to get our bags in order to head to UKB for 9:15PM departure
I'd say in general, we're a bit unsure on our Kobe stay (it was done so we would be right next to our departure flight and we would've done a day trip here anyways), so any recommendations/help with planning those days would be greatly appreciated.
I'd say what's listed is what we have planned and we just need to slot in Sorakuen Garden/Nankinmachi (Chinatown)/Motomachi Shopping Street/Meriken Park/Port as well as anything else that anyone would recommend to try in Kobe/Himeji (or if any of those places are not worth it). I'd say the only food thing we have planned here is some type of teppanyaki restaurant (leaning toward Mouriya Royal or Bifuteki Kawamura, but we haven't research much into this)
by Comfortable_Bass_729