Hi everyone,
My wife and I (30 and 31) are traveling to Japan from Brazil in May and would like a quick reality check on our itinerary. We want to know if the pacing is realistic and if the day trips make sense.
We will arrive and depart from Tokyo.
May 7 – Arrival in Tokyo
Arrival and hotel check-in.
May 8 – Asakusa
Senso-ji Temple
Walk around Asakusa
Dinner at a local izakaya
May 9 – Shibuya / Harajuku
Shibuya
Harajuku
Meiji Shrine
Omotesando
May 10 – Akihabara / Ueno
Akihabara (electronics, anime, manga)
Ueno Park
Tokyo National Museum
Muscle Girls Bar
May 11 – Nikko (day trip)
Tokyo → Nikko
Shinkyo Bridge and Toshogu Shrine
Rinnoji Temple / treasure house area
Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls
Nikko → Tokyo
May 12 – Tsukiji / Ginza / Odaiba
Tsukiji Market
Ginza
Sumida River cruise to Odaiba
Tokyo Tower
May 13
Tokyo → Hakone
Odawara Castle
Lake Ashi cruise
May 14
Hakone → Kyoto
Gion district
Pontocho alley
May 15 – Higashiyama
Fushimi Inari Taisha
Higashiyama historic district
Kiyomizu-dera Temple
May 16 – Nara (day trip)
Kyoto → Nara
Todai-ji Temple
Nara Park
Kasuga Taisha Shrine
Nara → Kyoto
May 17 – Arashiyama
Hozugawa river boat ride
Tenryu-ji Temple
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
May 18 – Kyoto morning / Osaka
Traditional tea ceremony
Kyoto → Osaka
Osaka Castle
Dotonbori
May 19 – Hiroshima (day trip)
Osaka → Hiroshima
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Hiroshima → Osaka
May 20
Universal Studios Japan
May 21
Namba
Umeda Sky Building
Osaka → Tokyo
May 21–22
Return to Tokyo
Last shopping in Tokyo
Main questions:
Is this itinerary realistic in terms of pacing?
Are the day trips (Nikko, Nara, Hiroshima) reasonable with this schedule?
Are there any days that look too packed or inefficient geographically?
Are we missing any must-see places in these cities that would fit naturally into this route?
by VysmaStar
4 comments
Looks very doable
My only suggestion would be that I think going all the way to lake Chuzenji on a day trip to Nikko is a bit tight. It’s doable, but it’s more time on buses and I think you’ll feel rushed. There’s plenty to occupy you in and around the world heritage site area.
I actually think several of your days are kinda light, but then again there wasn’t much info on what you intend to do in certain locations like Asakusa and Namba.
For May 8, Hoppy street is right next to Sensoji and they serve hoppy beers (special “beer” they made during wartime) and there’s also tons of street food/izakaya right there.
In Arashiyama, if you cross Togetsukyo bridge there’s a monkey mountain you can hike up and feed some monkeys up at the top. There’s also a cute DIY music box making shop in this area.
a cursory look within your itinerary says nothing out of the ordinary.
just treat those destinations listed on your itinerary as trip suggestion, and always adopt a flexible pacing.
but if i may give a few tips on my own:
1. Ueno museum deserves a a half day, and there is actually a complex of **2- 3 buildings** in that museum complex. have you decided which one to visit? if you want to visit them all, consider a through ticket that covers them all. People normally combine ueno with toshogu shrine. If planned properly, one can spend a full day in Ueno itself. do pay a visit to Kamo to Negi in Ueno. it’s my personal favorite.
2. Beware of dining in izakayas in asakusa, always ask if there’s otoshi charge, and check how much is the otoshi charge.
3. Meiji shrine complex is pretty huge. it can easily take 1.5 hours.
4. Hiroshima, if you don’t intend to visit miyajima, could be combined with hiroshima castle. HOWEVER! if you want to see something different, and can depart early in the morning, why not visit rabbit island instead? it’s also a 2hr20 min trip from osaka.
Additionally, i’d like to give a sage advice that was given to me by a fellow experienced traveller: always try to eat when the line isn’t long. avoid lunch and dinner hours to avoid queueing
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