Me and my sister are going to Japan for the first time and would like some feedback on this itinerary we made. Some days may be too much but that’s why we’ll be flexible about it. We already booked USJ tickets and accommodation but plan to book for other things like the gundam factory as the tickets go on sale. For wifi we will be using the Ubigi esim. I’ve put the routes into JR pass calculators for 14 day passes and seems that i save around $30 to $60 per pass so i was wondering if the JR passes are worth it? (Day 11-16 will probably be moved around or changed)
DAY 0
* Departure flight
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DAY 1
* Land in HND at 3:40pm (JST)
* Head to Osaka
* Check into hotel (Osaka)
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DAY 2
* Universal Studios
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DAY 3
* Head to Hiroshima
* Itsukushima Jinja
* Hiroshima Castle
* Peace Memorial Park
* Himeji Castle
* Head back to hotel (Osaka)
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DAY 4
* Umeda
* Osaka Castle
* Dontonbori
* Den Den Town
* Namba Parks
* Check into Townhouse (Kyoto)
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DAY 5
* Nara Park
* Todaiji Temple
* Kasuga Taisha
* Kōfukuji Temple
* Horyuji Temple
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DAY 6
* Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
* Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama
* Tenryu-ji Temple
* Ryōan-ji Temple
* Kinkaku-ji Temple
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DAY 7
* Kiyomizu-dera Temple
* Hokan-ji Temple
* Kodai-ji Temple
* Yasaka Shrine
* Chion-in Temple
* Gion (Hanami-koji Street)
* Nishiki Market (lunch)
* Heian Shrine
* Higashiyama Jisho-ji (Ginkakuji)
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DAY 8
* Fushimi Inari Taisha (Senbon Torii)
* Toji
* Nijo Castle
* Kyoto Imperial Palace
* Kyoto Tower/shopping
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DAY 9
* Check out of hotel (Kyoto)
* Head to Nagoya
* Meet up with sister’s friend who lives in Japan
* Check into hotel at night (Yokohama)
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DAY 10
* Check out of hotel (Yokohama)
* get coin lockers for luggage
* Minatomirai 21
* Gundam Factory
* Hokokuji Temple
* Meigetsu-in Temple
* Check into hotel (Tokyo)
DAY 11
* Roppongi
* Tokyo Tower
* Tokyo Skytree Solamachi
* DiverCity
* teamLabs planets
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DAY 12
* Akihabara (On Sundays, Chuo Dori street is closed?)
* Ikebukuro
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DAY 13
* Asakusa
* Ueno Park
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DAY 14
* Shinjuku City
* Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
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DAY 15
* Shibuya City
* Harajuku
* Tokyo Midtown
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DAY 16
* Imperial Palace & East Gardens
* Yasakuni Shrine
* Marunouchi
* Tsukiji Outer Market
* Nihonbashi
* Ginza
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DAY 17
* Free morning
* Flight back home at 5:40
2 comments
You’re going to get tired of seeing temples. One or two a day is more than enough honestly.. I do recommend going to Kiyomizu-dera very early, it opens at 6am. It has great peaceful views of Kyoto but the temple and street with shops leading up to it gets crowded fast.
So just food for thought, it’ll take you at least an hour to clear the airport and then likely at least 4 hours to get to where you are going in Osaka from HND. All assuming your flight arrives on time. You may be better off staying in Tokyo that night or getting a connecting flight from HND to KIX or ITM.
You will not have time to do much on Miyajima other than go “oh look it’s the shrine in the water” with that itinerary on day 3. Also if you’re doing Himeji Castle (the best castle ever) I’d not bother with Osaka Castle.