Hi there!
First trip to Japan for me and my husband (30s) and my father in law (60s). We are used to walking a lot. We like to have ideas of things to do, but keep it flexible. So I’m not tied to all of this, and if we feel overwhelmed on the trip we are willing to cut stuff.
Tokyo: 4 nights at hotel in Takadanobaba (breakfast included)
Friday September 25
– arrive to hotel in evening
– walk around takadanobaba and get dinner
Saturday September 26
– meiji jingu
– takeshita st
– shinjuku national garden
– golden gai
Sunday September 27
– senso-ji
– nakamise st
– sumida river terrace
– kakimori (and other shops)
– akihabara electric town arcades
Monday September 28
– studio ghibli museum
– edo-tokyo open air architecture museum
Kameoka: 1 night at a farmhouse with local host (breakfast included)
Tuesday September 29
– bullet train to Kyoto
– train to Kameoka
– settle in and explore area around farm
– ride bikes
– grab dinner in town
Kyoto: 4 nights at hotel in Gojo (breakfast not included – planning on convenience store breakfasts)
Wednesday September 30
– breakfast at farm
– train to hotel in Kyoto
– tea ceremony and walking around
Thursday October 1
– fushimi inari taisha
– kiyomizu-dera temple
– sannenzaka & ninenzaka
– gion
Friday October 2
– nijo castle
– nishiki market
– philosopher’s path
– yamazaki distillery
Saturday October 3
day trip to Kobe from Kyoto
– takenaka carpentry museum
– nunobiki falls and herb garden
– kitano-cho
– sannomiya
– motomachi
Questions/notes:
– is it reasonable to go with the flow on food and just find places that look good as we wander?
– any suggestions for one fancier meal in Tokyo and one fancier meal in Kyoto? I would reserve these once we drill down dates for Ghibli and the distillery tour.
– any days where we’re doing too much logistically?
– any tourist stuff I’ve left off that you think we should make time for?
– order of days might be rearranged depending on ticket lotteries
– we will plan on convenience store breakfasts in Kyoto
– would love more suggestions on stationery/pen stores
Things we love:
being outside
quiet early mornings
places of worship/temples/shrines
coffee/tea
local eats (one of our fav things about travel – down to try all kinds of stuff; we especially enjoy sushi)
stationery and fountain pens
japanese whisky
traditional woodworking
hiking
Things we don’t love:
teamlabs style exhibits
deep fried food (makes me super sick unfortunately)
kitschy shopping
things that you can see in every big city (a fancy shopping district, a tall building to view the city, etc.)
thank you for taking the time to read and time to give feedback!
by Zestyclose_Hyena_427