Hey there, just as the title says, my friends and I are planning a golden route Japan trip in early October, with the standard handful of nights in Tokyo, ryokan in Hakone, handful of days in Kyoto and Osaka, then back to Tokyo. My sister and I really want to do Ghibli Park in Nagoya and we all really want to go to see the Takayama Autumn festival. Just wondering on the best way to fit this in. Obviously in between the Hakone and Kyoto legs of the trip, but…. do you think it's possible to do both things in one day, head back to stay the night in Nagoya then leave the next morning? That's sounds ideal from an itinerary perspective, but is probably too unrealistic and rushed. The other option is to give a whole day to each one of those things, but then that eats away at another day in the trip, and leaves us with like a 10'ish day golden route (thinking of international travel days). What do you guys think is the best and cleanest way to fit those two things into the trip? If we have to sacrifice an extra day, which of the main 3 cities should we take that day away from? Really appreciate any advice.
by wYsock