Hello! This summer, I was wanting to take my first solo trip abroad and explore Japan. I’ve never been outside of the U.S before, but have my passport and have done some general research on navigating Japan. I have a general list of apps for mobile data, reservations, and other resources. The reason I’m making this post however, is I have no idea if my current itinerary is sensible/realistic.

For starters, my current travel dates are from June 2-16. I have heard June isn’t the greatest time to visit Japan due to the rainy season and humidity, so I am prepared to move my trip up a week into late May if necessary. The earliest I could reschedule for is May 18th to June 1st. Right now though, the plan is to fly out of the U.S on June 2nd, and arrive on June 3rd, in the afternoon I’d assume. Most of that day will be spent recovering from any jet lag and making sure all my stuff gets to the hostel or AirBnB I’ll stay at.

Below is my current itinerary. Specifically which sites/attractions I want to check out each day. Once I have feedback, I plan on revising this with a little more detail on my day to day plans including meals. Apologies for the length. Really just needing a solid critique from anyone more familiar with Japan than myself:

June 3

• Arrive in Tokyo in the afternoon

• Go to Airbnb or hostel in Shibuya

• Drop off luggage

• Eat + relax after flight

June 4–7: Tokyo

June 4 — Shibuya (Day 1)

• Shibuya Sky observation deck

• Walk around Shibuya Crossing, shops

• Shibuya PARCO Shopping Mall

• Yoyogi Park

• BAIA Nightclub

June 5 — Shibuya (Day 2)

• Meiji Shrine

• Monkey Adventure Kart (Shinagawa) (Go Karts)

• Art Aquarium Museum

• teamLab Borderless

• ATOM Nightclub

June 6 — Shinjuku / Tokyo Sights

• Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

• Tokyo Skytree

• Tokyo National Museum

• Sensō-ji Temple

• Kabukicho area (arcades)

June 7 — Odaiba / Tokyo Bay Area

• Nat. Museum of Science and Innovation

• Small Worlds Miniature Museum

• teamLab Planets

June 8-9: Hakone

June 8 — Odawara / Hakone

• Travel from Tokyo (~1 hr 40 min)

• Hakone Open-Air Museum

• Enoura Observatory

• Miyukinohama Beach

June 9 — Hakone Hiking Day

• Hakone Shrine

• Lake Ashi

• Hiryu Falls

• Sagami Bay Observation Plaza

• Hakone Ropeway (Ōwakudani Station)

• Mt. Fuji views / photos

June 10 — Nagoya Day Trip

• Travel from Odawara (2 hrs) in morning

• Ghibli Park

• Explore Nagoya

• Nagoya Monument

• Travel to Osaka (~49 min) at night

This day trip is kind of hypothetical. I really would like to check out the Ghibli Park, but I don’t know if there’s anything else worth checking out in Nagoya. The Toyota museum looks cool. I’d be willing to omit it in favor of an extra day around Hakone or elsewhere if suggested. I also don’t know how far in advance you need to make reservations for Ghibli Park either.

June 11–15: Osaka

June 11 — Universal Studios Japan

• Full day (~8 hrs) at Universal

• Super Nintendo World

• Jurassic Park

• Umeda Sky Building

June 12 — Kyoto Day Trip

• Travel from Osaka in morning

• Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

• Katsura Imperial Villa

• Yumemigaka Observation Deck

• Return to Osaka at night

June 13 — Nature Day Trip (from Osaka)

• Rent a car

• Drive to park (~1 hr 30 min) in morning

• Yoshino Kumano National Park

• Onigajo Rock Formations

• Tategasaki

• Ōhai (大配)

This is another part of the trip I’m a little uncertain about. Essentially, I would like to rent a car and drive down to Yoshino Kumano National Park and check out some of the scenic coastline views. It looks so beautiful down there, but public transport doesn’t seem to get me there in a reasonable amount of time. I just don’t know if a day is long enough, how car rentals work in Japan, or where would be good places to stay nearby if I were to be down there an extra day.

June 14 — Hiroshima Day Trip

• Travel from Osaka (\~1 hr 25 min)

• Atomic Bomb Dome

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

• Return to Osaka

Really just wanting to see the bomb site and museum. Don’t know what else would cool to check out in Hiroshima. Any suggestions?

June 15 — Osaka

• Last full day in Japan

• Prep to leave

June 16 — Return Home

• Train back to Tokyo

• Fly out of Tokyo → U.S.

At the end of the trip, the plan ultimately would be to take a train back to Tokyo and fly back home. I had thought originally about flying one way into Tokyo and then flying back out of Osaka, but it seems cheaper to just buy a round trip ticket out of Tokyo’s main airport. I’d be open to other options though.

So yeah, that’s my current itinerary. Again, I’ve never been to Japan before, so a lot of this may not be realistic. I’m totally open to change things around or completely overhaul. Really just looking to get the most value out of a 2 week solo trip to Japan that has a mixture of both city sights and the impressive natural beauty outside the cities too. Likewise, I’m really trying to not spend a fortune, hence my preference for hostels. I am open to sites that are underrated gems where I could avoid large crowds.

I also am aware again that the weather may not be ideal this time of year. If the outdoor activities I’ve listed would be ruined by high humidity and rain, then I’d be more than willing to do something else.

Another thing I’d greatly appreciate is any info on reservations. I know a lot of the places I’d listed require a reservation ahead of time to visit, so any details on how far in advance I should look into that would be greatly valued. As for my flights, I was book mine within the next month.

Feel free to critique away! Thank you!