Hello! I’m trying to plan my first ever solo trip to Japan. I want a moderate-paced trip that doesn’t feel slow or rushed but covers as much as possible. This is what I’ve come up so far, but I am still changing it from time to time. My main concern is whether I’m spending the right amount of time on each place. Any advice would be appreciated!
Day 1 : Local Country–> Tokyo (Shinjuku)
Afternoon: Shinjuku (Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings)
Night: Shinjuku (Kabukicho), Shinjuku (Omoide Yokocho), Shinjuku (Golden Gai)
Day 2: Tokyo (Shibuya)
Morning: Shibuya (Meiji Shrine), Harajuku (Takeshita Street)
Afternoon: Harajuku (Cat Street), Shibuya (Koen Dori)
Night: Shibuya (Crossing), Shibuya (Center Gai)
Day 3: Tokyo (Asakusa)
Morning: Asakusa (Sensoji Temple), Asakusa (Nakamise Shopping Street)
Afternoon: Ameyoko (Shopping Street)
Night: Ikebukuro (Otome Road)
Day 4: Tokyo (Mito)
Morning: Mito
Afternoon: Tsukiji (Outer Market), Akihabara (Anime Street)
Night: Akihabara (Anime Street)
Day 5 : Tokyo –> Kyoto
Morning: Shinjuku (Gyeon)
Afternoon: Travelling
Night: Gion, Yasaka Shrine
Day 6: Kyoto (Central-West)
Morning: Tongetsukyo Bridge, Tenryuji Temple, Bamboo Groves, Okochi Sanso Villa
Afternoon: Iwatayama Monkey Park, Kyoto Manga Museum, Nishiki Market
Night: Pontocho Alley
Day 7: Kyoto (South-East)
Morning: Fushimi Inari Taisha
Afternoon: Kiyomizudera, Ninenzaka, Sannenzaka
Night: Sanjo-Kai Shotengai Shopping Arcade
Day 8: Kyoto (North-East)
Morning: Ginkakuji Temple, Nanzenji Temple
Afternoon: Kinkakuji Temple, Ryoanji Temple, Ninnaji Temple
Night: Funaoka Onsen
Day 9: Kyoto –> Osaka
Morning: Nijo Castle
Afternoon: Travelling, Aquarium
Night: Shinsekai
Day 10: Osaka
Morning: Osaka Castle, Den Den Town
Afternoon: Amerikamura
Night: Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street
Day 11: Osaka (Nara)
Morning: Kofukuji Temple, Isuien Garden, Todaiji Temple
Afternoon: Nara Deer Park, Mount Wakakusa, Kasuga
Taisha, Higashimuki Shopping Street & Mochiidono Shopping Arcade
Night: Dotonbori
Day 12: Osaka –> Hakone
Morning: Sumiyoshi Taisha
Afternoon: Travelling, Hakone Open Air Museum
Night: Onsen
Day 13: Hakone
Morning: Hakone Ropeway, Owakudani, Togendai, Lake Ashinoko, Hakone Checkpoint, Tokaido Road
Afternoon: Moto-Hakone, Hakone Jinja Shrine, Old Tokaido Road, Amazake Teahouse
Night: Tenzan Onsen
Day 14: Hakone –> Tokyo
Morning: Free Time
Afternoon: Travel, Free Time
Night: Free Time
Day 15: Tokyo –> Local Country
Morning: Free Time
Afternoon: Travel
Time: Late Feb – Early March
JR Rail Pass (Day 1 – 14)
IC Card
Hakone Free Pass (Day 12-14)
1 comment
Day 1 : Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings is arguably not the best observation deck in Tokyo, Might want to do Shibuya Sky instead.
Day 4 : Mito like the city in Ibaraki prefecture ? Just the round trip going there will be at least 3h, so kind of make no sense to do that in the morning.
Your Kyoto days might be a bit full, you should make priority and be ready to drop stuff if you do not have time. Try to enjoy what you are doing and don’t rush from one place to the other.
JR Pass… Honestly, no. It would already barely make sense to get 7 days if you were to go to Kyoto then to Odawara (next to Hakone) withing the duration of that pass, but adding a full week to it is just really not worth the cost. Will be cheaper to just get individual tickets.
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I find it a bit weird how you put the are followed by the place you want to see and how it is not consistent. While Meiji-jingu is in Shibuya ward (so is Harajuku), people would usaully consider that Meiji-jingu is in Harajuku. Ameyoko is the name of the shopping street, so if you want to refer to the area around there, then it’s Ueno. Might be a detail, but there I do not know of a place called “anime street” in Akihabara, but the most iconic side of Akihabara is obviously the Electric Town exit of the JR station. It might also sound redundant, but when some places are have the name of the area they are in, so Tsukiji (Market) or Shinjuku (Gyoen) sound wrong, I would write Tsukiji (Tsukiji Market) and Shinjuku (Shinjuku Gyoen).