Hello! I've been extremely thankful for this subreddit as I've taken some great tips from everyone in my previous trips and I've also been able to provide a few Trip Reports. As of now I've gone to Japan 3 times where I've visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Takayama, and Kobe. While each trip has been different and enjoyable, I can't seem to top my first time going back as an adult. At this point maybe I'm trying to "chase that high" but I'm hoping that I can make my 4th trip as enjoyable and memorable as my first time.
To be less specific, for this trip I plan to arrive in Haneda, head over to Hakone, go back to Tokyo for a concert and then fly to Sapporo for a couple of days. My trip is from Feb 3rd to the 13th so that doesn't really give me a huge amount of time to go everywhere I want to go. I think I may have to skip Hakone but I'll keep it in this itinerary either way. I've got the first 9 days figured out but my final 3 days in Tokyo need to be fine tuned. Ill break it down day by day to see if I can get some suggestions from you guys.
Feb 3
- Arrive at Haneda and take the train to Hakone
- Plan to stay at Yutaerlo-an, take the evening to enjoy amenities and roam around
Feb 4
- Visit the Open Air Art Museum
- Eat at the Gyoza Center
- Chisugi Waterfall
- Hakone Shrine
Feb 5
- Komagata Ropeway
- Enjoy stay at Ryokan and prep for departure to Tokyo
- Check in at Far East Village Hotel
- Wind down and explore surrounding area
Feb 6
- Head over to Shibuya and get clothes to prep for Sapporo
- Tokyo Garden Theater – My Bloody Valentine
Feb 7
- Flight to Sapporo
- Check in at Solaria Nishitetsu Hotel
- Explore surrounding area
- Visit Olympic Museum
- Mount Moiwa Ropeway
- Odori Park – Ice Festival
Feb 8
- Sapporo Beer Museum
- Visit Otaru, go to LeTao
- Visit Museums
- Nikka Whisky Distillery
Feb 9
- Food Day, find places to eat (any recommendations?)
- Explore surrounding nature
Feb 10
- Check out and fly back to Tokyo (Ginza or Shibuya?)
- Wind down and reenergize for the next few days
Feb 11-13
- I'd like to visit Omotesando, Ueno, Asakusa and Nakameguro
- Still need to figure how to organize these days
Final Notes
If you have made it this far to my itinerary then I really appreciate the time you've given to help me out. The last few days are still undetermined since I want to manage my time the best and in my experience, when I plan too many things I burn out and get frustrated. I'm also partly tired of the shopping aspect of Japan which many go for. I'm at a place where id like to enjoy my trip with my wife, eat good food and really take in my environment as I only go for a few weeks once a year. Let me know what I should remove or add to my trip and thanks again!
by markcheng