This is just a tentative plan, and is still in the flexible stage, but we’re looking to book for all the necessary spots in 1-2 weeks.
My boyfriend and I will be flying in to Osaka and out from Tokyo, and we’re shooting for Mid-Late May in hopes that the Golden Week crowd has subsided fully by then.
Day 1 (Osaka)
Arrive and check in, sightsee at Dotonbori and have dinner there at Hozenji Yokocho alley.
Day 2
Check out of hotel, leave luggage there or store at train station.
Visit Osaka Aquarium in the morning until afternoon
Visit Nipponbashi after lunch until evening
Pick up luggage and travel to Kyoto. Check in and have dinner.
Day 3 (Kyoto)
Early morning Kiyomizu-Dera and food exploration, wander around the town area
Tea ceremony or Fushimi Inari Taisha during the afternoon
Hanami-koji street in the evening, dinner in the area.
OPTIONALLY: kimono/yukata rental in place of Fushimi Inari Taisha for the tea ceremony
Day 4
Nara Park day trip, inclusive of the Great Buddha statue
Day 5
Philosopher's Path in the morning, side temple visits
Check out of hotel, luggage forwarding to Tokyo (keeping a backpack)
Nishiki Market for shopping and food
Travel to Kanazawa
Check in and rest for the night
Day 6 (Kanazawa)
Omicho Market early in the morning, especially to try Seafood Donburi
Visit Kenrokuen Garden and drop by the crafts shops nearby, have lunch
Nagamachi Samurai District or Ninja Museum
End the day with Higashi Chaya District and dinner
Day 7
Visit Omicho Market area for breakfast, check out
Travel to Tokyo via Shinkansen, take chance to rest
Arrive and check in
Either visit Chidorigafuchi Park or Yokohama Chinatown, depending on where we're lodging.
Day 8
Akihabara, visit merch stores and a maid cafe
Go to Shibuya and see the Hachiko statue, sightsee and catch the crossing
Have dinner early and rest, or catch a skyline view from Shibuya
Day 9
Harajuku area, notably Takeshita Street for sweet treats
Onsen and lunch
TeamLAB Planets in the evening
Shinjuku bars and exploring, quick walk down Kabukicho
Day 10
Check out, buy some final souvenirs and have breakfast, return home
Some extra notes:
-My boyfriend and I are not big shoppers and are more experience focused travellers.
-I’m a foodie whereas my boyfriend is more lax; though he really wants to try good quality sashimi
-We live in SEA, so we’re used to the hot and humid weather
-He’s been to Osaka and Kyoto before and he vastly preferred Kyoto’s atmosphere in his opinion, and since we have Tokyo fulfilling the city life aspect, I reduced the time present in Osaka
Does all of this sound feasible? Let me know if you have any suggestions!
by tightgiraffearsehole
6 comments
I feel like for the first 4 days, you could just stay in Kyoto the entire time rather than having to hop hotels a day in, or the other way around and stay in Osaka the entire time and take an early day trip out to Kyoto. Save yourself the effort of having to check out and lug your luggage around.
I’d agree that you should just stay in Kyoto and visit Osaka as a day trip.
Takeshita Street is an unpleasant tourist trap, so I’d suggest skipping it.
This looks sensible otherwise, though it is a bit on the busy side (changing cities 5 times in 10 days).
10 years ago this would have been ok. Now with the huge amount of tourists doing this itinerary sounds really stressful.
You are trying to do far too much in a short time.
Perhaps stay in Kyoto for half the time, the other half Osaka with a day trip to Nara from Osaka and another day trip for Koyasan. It’s amazing.
Save the other places for another trip
Overall flow is sensible, with Osaka → Kyoto → Kanazawa → Tokyo keeping long rides to a minimum, and your Osaka Aquarium/Nipponbashi-to-Kyoto day is doable if you don’t linger too long at either spot. The fragile segment is Day 5 in Kyoto because Philosopher’s Path plus side temples, Nishiki Market, and then a Kanazawa transfer can get squeezed by walking time and station logistics. If anything slips, Nishiki Market is what tends to shrink first since it’s easiest to “trim.” One clean fix is to do Philosopher’s Path earlier and keep temple stops limited so you can leave Kyoto mid-afternoon without rushing.
We are staying in Osaka in the same hotel for our trip when we visit the area Osaka, Nara. Kyoto and Hiroshima. It’s really doable from Osaka. I wouldn’t switch hotels so often. That looks really stressful.
Looks pretty good in general, just echoing the sentiment about only staying at 1 hotel in either Osaka/Kyoto. And if you guys don’t care about shopping, there’s no reason to go to Takeshita st (it’s literally just an overwhelming amount of tourists and clothing stores, there’s no shortage of sweet treats throughout tokyo)
Also, if you’re not feeling “templed out” or rushed, you could probably fit in Sensoji before Akihabra if you go early enough, but maybe just play that by ear
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