First time in Japan for both of us | 2 (couple) travelers – Mid to late 20s | Interested in shopping, nature, exploring the city, bar hopping, fine with doing touristy things
Budget is about 2-3k each (Not including flight and hotels), we don't plan to spend all of that, but if we find something we love, we'll treat ourselves.
Hoping to make sure I'm not making any blunders in our planning, like too much in one day, or missing something that would be interesting that we'll be right by anyways. I only mention specific restaurant/bars if we have that in mind for that day, otherwise, food/drinks is completely open where we go
April 10-13 – Tokyo | Hotel: Tokyu Stay Shimbashi
Day 1 (April 10) – Flying to Tokyo, arriving at Haneda Airport at 4 PM
- Get to the hotel and find dinner nearby and explore close to the hotel (Possibly explore Hamarikyu Gardens?)
Day 2 (April 11): Shibuya
- Start our day a teamLab Borderless
- Head over to Shibuya and explore/shop
- Then end our night in Shimokitazawa for dinner and bar hopping.
Day 3 (April 12): Kamakura
- Start at Hokokuji Bamboo Forest
- Kotoku-in temple
- Enoshima Iwaya Cave
- Probably have dinner somewhere in Kamakura.
April 14-18 – Kyoto | Hotel: Hotel Tavinos Kyoto
Day 4 (April 14): Start day in Tokyo then over to Kyoto
- Start early and go to Gōtokuji Temple and Hie-jinja Shrine in Tokyo
- Get the Shinkansen to Kyoto
- Once in Kyoto, explore Shijo-dori
- Samurai Ninja Mueseum
- Explore Pontocho Alley, get drinks at the Bee's Knees
Day 5 (April 15): Nara
- Todai-ji temple
- Lunch at Sanshu-tei
- Hozan-ji Temple and the surrounding landscape
Day 6 (April 16): Kyoto
- See the sunrise at Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
- Arashiyama Monkey Park
- Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple
- Explore Ukyo Ward
Day 7 (April 17): Kyoto
- Do the Kifune to Kurama hike
- Start at the Kifune Shrine and go to the Kurama Hot Spring and soak
- Do a class on wood block printing at Karamaru
Day 8 (April 18): Kyoto
- Kiyomizu-dera Temple
- Tōfuku-ji Temple
- Fushimi Inari Temple
April 19-20 – Kanazawa | Hotel: Chisun Budget Kanazawa Ekimae
Day 9 (April 19): Start day in Kyoto then train ride over to Kanazawa
- Hōkan-ji Temple in Kyoto
- Train ride over to Kanazawa
- Explore Kenroku-en
- Get dinner and enjoy Higashi Chaya District
Day 10 (April 20): Kanazawa
- Kanazawa Castle Park
- Omicho Market
- Nagamachi Samurai District
- Get dinner at Okina Sushi
April 21-24 – Tokyo | Hotel: WPÜ HOTEL in Shinjuku
Day 11 (April 21): Start day in Kanazawa then over to Tokyo again
- Train ride from Kanazawa to Tokyo
- Meiji Jingu and it's surrounding area
- Shop in Harajuku
- End the night bar hopping Shinjuku Golden-Gai
Day 12 (April 22): Tokyo
- Nakano Broadway
- Harry Potter Studio tour in Nerima City
- Dinner and drinks at 0-second lemon sour Sendai Horumon Yakiniku Barbecue Tokiwatei Takadanobaba (Recommended by our friend who's been before)
Day 13 (April 23): Tokyo
- This day is still open, we're not sure what doing yet
Day 14 (April 24): Leaving Tokyo for flight out of Haneda at 6:25 PM
*More than likely get breakfast somewhere and leave for the airport around 1-2 PM
Specific questions about our itinerary:
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Our hotel is a 15 minute walk from Hamarikyu Gardens, I can't get a good idea of it, would it be possible to go there on our first day? Or is it much bigger than I'm looking at online and we should dedicate more than an hour or so to it?
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Is our plan for Nara too much? Starting in Todai-ji and then heading (according to google maps) an hour across the city to see that temple and hang out in that area?
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With our plan of going from Kyoto to Kanazawa, is it better to add the Kanazawa Castle Park onto exploring Kenroku-en or leave it for on a separate day like we plan to now? Taking into account that there will be a 4ish hour train ride there in the first place
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Any major gaps or things I should add/skip?
Thanks for any advice given in advance!
by HornieTiger