Hi everyone! Can I first say that in the last 1 year since we decided that this trip was happening, this page has helped me a lot! We are going to Japan for 16 days from Nov 20 to Dec 5th. A lot of research and reservations were done prior. I wanted to share our final draft here and please feel free to suggest any changes that will avoid back tracking.
In terms of travel style, our vibe is that we want to see as much as we can and spend time in nature / slow living Japan. We also want to thrift loads! We are both vegetarian (no egg) and we will definitely be craving Indian food while away which is why in Kyoto especially, there are more of those suggested. Please feel free to recommend any vegan/vegetarian places. I have saved heaps as well just so I have them handy when we're out and about.
Alright, here we go!
Day 1: Travel to Osaka from Adelaide.
Day 2: Osaka
- Reaching Osaka at 5.30am. Get the Nankai Limited Express train to Namba station.
- Check into Airbnb – Nipponbashi area
- Rest/Sleep
- Lunch at Luu’a Bao
- House of Mina Lima
- America-mura
- Hozen ji temple
- Glinco and Dotonbori
Day 3: Osaka
- Osaka Castle
- Nakazakicho neighbourhood – thrifting!
- Walk south towards Nipponbashi
- Take the train if its late
- Any bookstores / libraries worth checking out?
Day 4: Himeji
- Day trip to Himeji (2 hour)
- Himeji castle, Kokoen garden and Mt Shosha
- Getting the combination ticket that includes a bus round trip from Himeji station to the ropeway station and the ropeway round trip for 1700yen pp.
- Eat: vegetarian-friendly café Sakurasaku
- Back to Osaka
- Dinner and rest
Day 5: Koyasan
- Check out from Airbnb
- Head to Namba station
- Take the Nankai Koya Line from Namba station to the Gokurakubashi terminal station. Buy the Koyasan Heritage physical ticket here
- At Gokurakubashi, transfer to the cablecar which travels up the mountain to Koyasan. The ride takes about five minutes
- From the top station, it is a ten minute bus ride into the town center (Senjuinbashi bus stop). Note that it is not permitted to walk along the street which connects the cablecar station with the town center. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_012.html
- Koyasan World Heritage Ticket: $100 for two people
- Eat at Kadohama Goma-tofu honpo
- Check in to Hojo-in shokubo by 3pm, leave luggage
- Visit Kongobuji and Daimon Gate
- Back to shokubo and freshen up for dinner at 5.30pm
- Early night
Day 6: Koyasan – Kyoto
- Meditation early morning
- Breakfast at shokubo
- Check out at 9am but leave luggage at shokubo (Have checked that this is okay)
- Explore Okunoin cemetery, hike around & eat at Teishaba
- Explore Eko-in since its so expensive
- Head back to shokubo and be at the bus stop by 12pm
- Take the same route back to Osaka
- Take the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line (subway) from Namba to Shin-Osaka (one stop, 3 mins).
- Then transfer to JR Special Rapid Service from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto Station. (THIS IS NOT SHINKANSEN) Time: About 45 minutes total. Cost: Around ¥580
- Check into hotel bell Kyoto
- Rest
- Head out and explore Pontocho Alley and Park, get dinner at VOG Kyoto
- Maybe get a shiatsu massage. Any recommendations? Not overly priced
Day 7: Kyoto
- Try and get a reservation for Wife and Husband. I know its a bit out of the way from the rest of the day but I figured we can start there and head East
- Ginkaku-ji
- Philosopher’s Path
- Honenin
- Anraku-ji
- Okazaki Shrine
- Eikando
- Nanzenin (Temporarily closed?)
- Keage incline
- Gyoja-bashi bridge
- Kita Antique Shops, explore around
- Yasaka Shrine (open 24 hours)
- Kyukyodo bookstore
- Dinner at Tadka 2
- Drink at Café Bibilotic Hello!
- ½ hour walk back to hotel
Day 8: Kyoto – pretty chill day and more room to explore
- Nijo castle
- Kinkaku-ji
- Kyoto Imperial Palace
- Kyoto Goen National Garden
- Eat at Padma
- Explore Nishiki Market
- Maybe a nice hair wash salon experience here? Any suggestions?
Day 9: Kyoto
- Train to Kameoka Station – San-In Line (410Y pp)
- 7 min walk to Hozugawa River Boat Ride entrance (9am ticket booked)
- 2 hour boat ride
- Tenryuji Temple – Shigetsu lunch – booked and paid for 12pm
- Explore Tenryuji
- Okochi Sanso Garden
- Arashiyama Bamboo Forest (Understand this will be midday by the time we get here but we are happy to walk through and explore)
- %ARABICA Kyoto
- Gioji temple
- Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street
- Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple
- %ARABICA Kyoto Arashiyama
- Rest, chill, Take the bus to dinner at Itadakizen Kyoto
- Walk after dinner a little and head back to hotel via train
Day 10: Kyoto
- Check out and leave luggage at ryokan which is 3 min away walking from hotel
- 8am: have breakfast at Tadka 1 (15 min train ride) (We really want to have dosas)
- Head to Fushimi Inari Taisha
- Tofuku-ji temple
- Toji temple
- Shosein-en garden is 4 min away from our ryokan – explore
- And head to ryokan to check in by 3pm
- Enjoy the ryokan
- Dinner outside as ryokan doesn’t cater to vegetarian food
- Early night and early morning up to access bath
Day 11: Kyoto – Tokyo
- Check out
- Eat something at Veg Out
- Head to Kyoto Station. 1pm train ride – NOZOMI to Tokyo
- Expected time arrival 3.15pm
- Take the train to hotel in Ueno
- Check in
- Relax, chill
- Dinner at Vegan Gyoza which is 5 min from hotel
- If not too tired, walk to Kototoi Bridge and back
Day 12: Tokyo (Ueno, Asakusa, Ginza)
- Ueno Park
- Tokyo National Museum
- Visit Kappabashi Knife Gallery, Senso ji, Chikyudo Books
- Head to Ginza
- Ginza Itoya, Uniqlo, Muji
- Second hand shopping too
- Massage at Buasawan Ginza?
Day 13: Day trip to Nikko
- Train from Tobu Asakusa station (2 hr journey) // 7.00am, reach at 9am
- Shinkyo bridge
- Kanmangafuchi Abyss (40mins to 1 hr)
- Cafe Bell has a shojin ryori set
- Nikko Coffee
- 40 min bus ride to Kegon Falls
- Ryuzu no Chaya
- Have kakigori and yuba as they are local delicacies
- Ryuzu falls
- Bus back by 5pm, it takes 40 mins
- Train back to Tokyo
Day 14: Day trip to Kawaguchiko
- Depending on weather, will move things around
- Bus from Shinjuku Expressway
- Get the 1 day ticket pass for 2400Y for 2 people
- Mt Fuji Panaromic Ropeway – 2000Y for 2 people
- Walk back to Kawaguchiko Station. You have to take the train from Kawaguchiko station to Shimoyoshida (10-15min). When you get off there, follow the signs for Arakura Sengen
- Chureito Pagoda
- Take train back
- Take the bus to Saiko Iyashi-no Sato Nemba
- Saiko lake
- Kawaguchi Lake
- Back to Tokyo
- Dinner at Pizzeria Capoli – 5 min from Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal
- Head back to hotel via train
Day 15: Tokyo (Koenji, Shibuya, Shinjuku)
- Depending on thrift finds so far, decide whether to go to Koenji or not
- Otherwise, just explore Shibuya, Shinjuku and Harajuku for the final day
- Yoyogi Park
- Also, last chance for hair spa and massage and any last minute shopping
- Try BAJA (Mexican)
Day 16: Travel back to Adelaide from Tokyo
- Bus to Narita Airport
by Illustrious-Soft7356
6 comments
I honestly found Himeji a bit underwhelming.
But we had bad weather so maybe that was it.
I always say Hiroshima is a must do, but looks hard to include.
I think for Tokyo, it’s spelled ‘Week’, not ‘Day’.
You have a *lot* of things for each day. I myself would take three days to do what you have listed for each day in Tokyo. As I live in Tokyo, I can’t speak to the other cities you’re visiting, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the same obtained with those places.
My suggestion is to choose one place for the late morning on each day and one for the afternoon and early evening and leave it at that. There is plenty to do, see, and enjoy everywhere in Tokyo, including relatively close to whatever place you choose for a particular morning.
You are currently spending most of your trip in huge cities and are planning fast paced days, so this doesn’t seem to line up with your preference for a focus on nature and slow travel? It’s also surprising that you’re not prioritising Koenji if you’re interested in thrifting: it has some of the best thrift shops anywhere. The Orange Street area of Osaka is also great.
We went to Japan and most of our energy was spent looking for vegetarian food. Things were spread out and it became deviation fast to hunt vegetarian food. Good luck!
My 2 cents when you find vegetarian food, pack extra for the next meal.
I’m in Japan right now and my only recommendation is that if you in any way like musicals you should try and see a Takarazuka Revue show. You will need to get tickets in advance and they do sell out fast so you need to be quick about buying them but I’m sure it’s going to be my favorite experience by far. I’m a fan of musicals and the show was super fun and easy to understand with my very poor Japanese and my wife felt the same with no Japanese at all.
You’ve packed a lot into those days. Some of the places you intend to see are really large. You can probably do it if you just want to take a photo of the front gate then move to the next place though. Otherwise, you might find yourself running out of time. It’s hard to get a handle on this before visiting so I’d suggest seeing how it goes the first day and being prepared to slim down your itinerary if necessary.
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