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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/DoctorOfMathematics on 2024-12-09 08:14:21+00:00.
As you can see a very packed itinerary. I actually avoided posting my plan on this sub because I knew it would be discouraged for being too busy. But honestly it worked out really well and I’m happy with how much I got to see.
Day 0 (Nov 24): arrive at Tokyo at night. Get some 7/11 food and go to bed.
Day 1 (Nov 25): Senso-ji, Asakusa, team labs borderless and Akihabara. Tried out that Instafamous fluffy pancakes place (meh) and Ichiran (yeah!)
Day 2 (Nov 26): Ueno (museums, etc), Shibuya, did some rock climbing at b pump, some shopping, Shinjuku, met a friend who lives in Japan for dinner. Some more shopping.
Day 3 (Nov 27): Meiji Jingu (favorite shrine in Japan!) Ginza, Imperial castle area, Intermediatheque museum, went to a viewpoint, etc.
Day 4 (Nov 28): Day trip to Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park. It didn’t snow (it snowed the very next day 😑) but it was still absolutely fantastic. I was on the fence as reviews were mixed but a highlight of the trip. Returned to Tokyo and explored a quieter area of Tokyo (Yanesen I think?) to pick a nice dinner.
Day 5 (Nov 29): Morning train to Takayama. Had so much food at skewer stalls and stuff, walked around the historic neighborhoods, checked out some museums, onsen.
Day 6 (Nov 30): Morning bus to Shirakawa Go. Heavy snow gave it a unique vibe. Spent a few hours there and took another bus to Kanazawa. Explored Kenroku En, the fish market, and had some gold foil ice cream. Finally an evening train to Kyoto. That’s 4 cities in a day! Busiest day of the trip but honestly it worked out very well. I had a limited list of things that I really wanted from all these places and I feel I really got everything I wanted.
Day 7 (Dec 1): Kyoto. Got my portrait done at the manga museum (an unexpected highlight, my favorite trip souvenir of all time, highly recommended). Fushimi Inari, climbing Mt Inari, explored Pontocho a bit. Went to a fancy ramen place with a 2 hour wait.
Day 8 (Dec 2): Day trip to Nara in the mornings. Amazing time with some deer, got the famous mochi, went to Todaiji and explored a bit idly. On my way back I noticed Uji was slightly along the way so I thought fuck it let’s go. Went to the main temple (forgot the name) and then a smaller temple recommended on Reddit where I struck up a really lovely conversation with some old Japanese couples who taught me how to write my name in Katakana and Kanji, and we exchanged emails. Great experience. Had plenty of matcha and returned to Kyoto. On a whim walked into the Samurai museum (meh) where someone convinced me to take the Samurai class (also meh). Needless to say incredibly tired at the end of this day.
Day 9 (Dec 3): Arashiyama - crowds were super unpleasant. And then just kinda rested a bit and regained energy. Went to a Gion corner show and took an evening train to Osaka.
Day 10 (Dec 4): Morning/afternoon journey to Koyasan where I had an overnight temple stay booked. Didn’t really do much this day but travel sadly due to some traveling/booking mishaps. Probably the only wasted day but even then got to participate in my temple’s evening ritual.
Day 11 (Dec 5): Morning rituals at temple. Koyasan exploration. Very small place so basically saw everything there was - the cemetery and the mausoleum were the highlight. Surprisingly good food. Returned to Osaka, explored Americamura a bit.
Day 12 (Dec 6): Osaka aquarium and Dotonbori area. Evening train to Hiroshima. I’ll admit Osaka was a bit untapped but not a lot really jumped out to me while planning anyway which is why I went to Hiroshima.
Day 13 (Dec 7): Day trip to Okonushima (rabbit island). Felt like I was in the Mediterranean or something, great seascape. Rabbits were cool and the island in general was interesting. Went to Miyajima straight from there. Explored the main shrine and surrounding area, had some food. Returned to Hiroshima, had some Okonomoyiki (I think I prefer Osaka style!)
Day 14 (Dec 8): Hiroshima exploration - the nuclear bomb memorials and museum, and the castle. My return flight was actually in Tokyo so I took an evening train back to Tokyo.
Day 15 (Dec 9): Morning flight out of Japan.
I won’t deny that it’s super busy, but apart from Osaka (which I was never big on to begin with), I never felt like I missed much. In fact I feel very happy that I’ve managed to get such a broad range of experiences dowm in two weeks without things becoming too overwhelming or feelings too over planned - a lot of the overstuffing was due to spontaneity actually. I’ll admit I did get tired at times and I did let myself relax when I needed to!
Overall absolutely fantastic trip, let me know if you have any questions.