Hello All,
this is my 3RD time trying to post on this sub so i'm crossing my fingers this time it won't get removed as i truly need help …..
I am going to japan for the 1st time in January for a 3 weeks trip, and i have managed to create an itinerary that mixes both city and nature.
HOWEVER, after deleting and recreating that itinerary several times, and realising that no, i can't do so much in 3 weeks, i still need some reassurance on the doability of said itinerary before booking my hotels.
Itinerary is as followed :
Tokyo
Arrival in the afternoon and 4 nights stops with the followed activities planned :
– Ikebukoro for the anime vibes , the arcades (big fan of durarara anime)
– Gotokuji, asakusa, senso-ji, zojoji temples
– Rainbow bridge and maybe shibuya tower at sunset
– Super early hike to mount Takao to catch the sunrise
– Kuramae to have an arts and craft activity
– Yayoi kusuma and ghibli museum
Kyoto
3 nights stop with the followed activities :
– Eikando temple, fushimi inari (only if not too crowded)
– Mount Kimono-o
– Kimono dress up, as well as craft making workshop (possibly bookmaking ?)
– Day trip to Uji for more temple sightseeing
Osaka
4 nights stop with the followed activities :
– Dotombori
– Either the osaka museum or the osaka aquarium
– Midosuji avenue to see the illuminations at night
– Himeji day trip to see the castle and the city
– Nara day trip and katsuo-ji temple
– Minoh day trip to see the minoh falls
Kinosaki onsen town
only 1 night :
– onsen hopping and just enjoying the picturesque view of the onsen town with hopefully some snowfall covering the river !!
Wakayama
2 nights with the following activities :
– Wakayama Castle
– seigantoji temple and nachi falls
Kawaguchi
3 nights with the following activities :
– Bike renting to bike around all 5 lakes
– oishi park
– kawaguchiko craft park for workshops
Return to Tokyo
3 final nights with following activities :
– Anything skincare, makeup (nail art, facial, lash perm etc)
– Vintage and regular shopping in harajuku, shibuya, shimo and koenji (hoping to score some vintage Vivienne Westwood as i am also a huge Fan of NANA)
My questions are as followed :
– in terms of transportation how doable does this seem ? i'm particularly anxious about the transfer from wakayama to kawaguchi
– Is 3 nights in kawaguchi too much ?
– Wanted to add chichibu to see the Ashigakubo winter icicles, so maybe add one more night in Tokyo to access that ?
– I split tokyo in 2 parts because i am afraid if i do it in one block in the beginning i'll go crazy with shopping, and will be left with a huge luggage for the remaining 2 weeks. Is that a smart move or just a hasstle ?
For more context i'm in great shape, love exercise, and i want to do many crafty activities !!
Also, i'm a shopaholic…
Please help as best as you can, and bring some sense into me if this seems unreasonnable or undoable ^^'
Thank you
by noeminnie