JJapan Trips

3-week Japan honeymoon/anniversary itinerary (Nov–Dec 2026)

  • January 20, 2026

My husband and I visited Japan for the first time last April from London – we did Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, and Kyoto, with a couple of day trips, and got engaged in Osaka! Now we’re planning a honeymoon/1-year wedding anniversary trip later this year (Nov–Dec 2026) and I’d love feedback on our current draft itinerary, especially regarding logistics/order, pacing, and transport.

A few notes upfront:

  • We have friends in Tokyo and Yokohama, which is why we’ve scheduled 5 nights at the start and 2 at the end (that, and our international flights will be return London Heathrow-Tokyo Haneda so will be starting and ending in Tokyo).
  • We know Osaka is a bit out of the way geographically and may not be somewhere people say is a must-visit during a second time visit, but we want to celebrate our first wedding anniversary there (16 Dec) and go to Universal Studios, which we didn’t manage last year. We may also try and do a Himeji day trip.
  • We’re open to suggestions on accommodation, order, and whether anything feels too rushed.
  • We're planning on booking our flights with JAL – has anyone booked international flights + domestic flights in the same booking and can confirm that the domestic flights are free?
  • I know the exact travel details may alter depending on where exactly we'll be staying (e.g. Kanazawa to Hakone).
  • I haven't put a day-to-day itinerary breakdown because the feedback I'm after concerns overall logistics and travel order rather than what we'll be doing in each place.
  • For some context on our travel style and what we're interested in: we love exploring cities, trying food, and visiting cultural sights, but we also really want to slow down and spend time in nature this trip. Last time we didn’t do an onsen or spend much time just taking in scenery, so this time we’ve deliberately included Hakone, Lake Toya, and Ginzan Onsen to balance the days spent in cities.

Here’s the current draft:

Dates: Fri 27 Nov – Sat 19 Dec 2026 (Depart London Thurs 26 Nov evening)

Thu 26 Nov

Evening flight: London → Tokyo (overnight, JAL, approx 14 hrs)

Stop 1: Tokyo – 5 nights

Fri 27 Nov – Wed 2 Dec
Base: Shinagawa

Things to do:

  • See friends (Tokyo, Kawasaki, Yokohama)
  • TeamLab Planets
  • Observation deck (Shibuya Sky)
  • Studio Ghibli Museum visit
  • Vinyl bars

Travel:
Wed 2 Dec – Tokyo to Sapporo

  • Domestic flight: Haneda to New Chitose

Stop 2: Hokkaido – 5 nights

Wed 2 Dec – Mon 7 Dec

Sapporo – 2 nights:

Things to do:

  • Clock Tower, Odori Park, TV Tower
  • Nijo Market, Susukino
  • Otaru or Asahikawa day trip

Lake Toya – 3 nights:

  • Train Sapporo to Toya

Things to do:

  • Accommodation ideas: Lake Suite Ko No Sumika, The Windsor Hotel TOYA
  • Onsens, scenic winter lake views, nightly lake fireworks (are these really every night?)
  • Mt Yotei views from surrounding areas (any suggested viewpoints that are relatively easy to get to without a car?)

Luggage forwarding: planning on forwarding large luggage from Sapporo to Kanazawa for 9 Dec check-in and will take only a small bag to Ginzan Onsen.

Travel:
Mon 7 Dec – Sapporo to Yamagata

  • Domestic flight: New Chitose to Yamagata
  • Yamagata Airport to Ginzan Onsen (bus/ryokan transfer)

Stop 3: Ginzan Onsen – 2 nights

Mon 7 Dec – Wed 9 Dec
Accommodation ideas: Ginzan-so or Fujiya

Focus:

  • Atmospheric onsen village
  • Ryokan stay + kaiseki meals

Travel:
Wed 9 Dec – Ginzan Onsen to Kanazawa

  • Ginzan to Ōishida (lbus)
  • Ōishida to Ōmiya (Yamagata Shinkansen)
  • Ōmiya to Kanazawa (Hokuriku Shinkansen)

Stop 4: Kanazawa – 3 nights

Wed 9 Dec to Sat 12 Dec

Things to do:

  • Kenrokuen Garden
  • Kanazawa Castle
  • Higashi Chaya District
  • Samurai District
  • Excellent food scene

Luggage forwarding: will forward luggage from Kanazawa to Osaka (for 14 Dec check-in) and take a small bag to Hakone.

Travel:
Sat 12 Dec – Kanazawa to Hakone

  • Shinkansen: Kanazawa to Odawara (via Hokuriku + Tokaido lines)
  • Odawara to Hakone (local train/bus or ryokan pickup)

Stop 5: Hakone – 2 nights

Sat 12 Dec – Mon 14 Dec

Focus:

  • Ryokan stay with onsen
  • Scenic views of Mount Fuji
  • Relaxed pace / slow reset before city visits

Travel:
Mon 14 Dec – Hakone to Osaka

  • Shinkansen: Odawara to Shin-Osaka

Stop 6: Osaka – 3 nights

Mon 14 Dec – Thurs 17 Dec

Things to do:

  • Dotonbori & Namba
  • Kuromon Market
  • Cocktail / vinyl bars
  • Wedding anniversary night: Wed 16 Dec
  • Universal Studios day trip
  • Day trip ideas: Kyoto, Himeji, Kobe

Travel:
Thurs 17 Dec – Osaka to Tokyo

  • Shinkansen (Nozomi/Hikari) or domestic flight (Itami/Kansai to Haneda)

(If going to Tokyo via bullet train, we'll forward our luggage from Osaka to Tokyo – maybe directly to the airport?)

Stop 7: Tokyo – 2 nights

Thurs 17 Dec – Sat 19 Dec
Base: Shinagawa or near Haneda

Things to do:

  • Final shopping
  • Packing
  • Optional last meet-up with friends

Sat 19 Dec

Tokyo to London (morning international flight from Haneda)

Questions / advice I’m looking for:

  • Does the travel order make sense, or would you swap anything?
  • Are we trying to fit in too much? Would it be better to cut something?
  • Any accommodation recommendations along the way?
  • Anything we’re missing for Nov/Dec winter sightseeing (weather, closures, transport)? I did initially put Nagano in but we think we may do this during a future trip in the midst of winter

Thanks in advance!

by tiashanice