Finalising a three-week trip to Japan in April and currently have two 'spare' days to plug into the route.
The below itinerary covers all the main things we want to do see in 19 days, and am wondering where to add the extra two days to make things less rushed. Current thoughts are:
- Additional full day in Kanazawa, where the itinerary currently feels a bit crammed. (Possibly find a way to add in Takayama)
- Additional full day in Tokyo at the start, either for a day trip to Nikko or more general time in Tokyo
- Additional day in Osaka which feels rushed/go to Kobe/Kayosan for a day trip
- One-day stop in Hakone before flying home
- Additional day in Hiroshima
Would welcome thoughts on the best options of the above!
Full Itinerary
Day 1: Tokyo (Land at Haneda 7am, explore Ueno Park, Senso-Ji, Asakusa)
Day 2: Tokyo (Shibuya, Golden Gai, Takeshita Street, Meiju Jingu, Pokemon Center)
Day 3: Tokyo (Kamakura day trip)
Day 4: Tokyo (Akihabara, Imperial Gardens, Roppongi, TeamLab)
Day 5: Tokyo (Kawaguchiko day trip)
Day 6: Tokyo to Kanazawa (Travel from Tokyo to Kanazawa, see main sights in Kanazawa, Kenroku-en garden)
Day 7: Kanazawa (Shirakawa-go day trip, general sightseeing in Kanazawa)
Day 8: Kanazawa to Kyoto (Travel from Kanazawa to Kyoto, visit Pochonto Street/Gion area)
Day 9: Kyoto (Eastern Kyoto: Fushimi Inari, Sennenzaka, Kiyomizu)
Day 10: Kyoto (Western Kyoto: Arashiyama, Katsura River, Iwatayama Monkey Park)
Day 11: Kyoto (Golden Pavilion, Philosopher's Path)
Day 12: Kyoto (General sightseeing, relax)
Day 13: Kyoto to Hiroshima (Explore peace park, atomic dome, hypocenter monument)
Day 14: Hiroshima (Visit Miyajima Island, Peace Memorial Museum)
Day 15: Hiroshima to Osaka (General exploring, visit Shinsekai, Dotonbori, Namba Shrine, Osaka castle)
Day 16: Osaka (Nara day trip, general exploring in Osaka)
Day 17: Osaka (Universal Studios day trip)
Day 18: Osaka to Tokyo
Day 19: Flight out of Tokyo
Day 20 & 21: ?
by TezRoll