What do you think of my itinerary??
 

Hey guys, a lot of you give some great advice so I wanted to see what you though of this basic itinerary for my trip in March/April...

8 nights tokyo (based in Ueno). In no particular order this is a few ideas to spend our days

-Shibuya/Daikanyama/Naka Meguro
-Ghibli Museum/Yokohama
-Aoyama/Harujuku/Roppongi Hills
-Ginza/Akihabara/Shinjuku/Marunouchi?
-Disneyland
-Disneysea
-Hakone/Mt fuji day trip

1 night @ Kumara Onsen in Kyoto

8 nights Osaka (based in Namba). In no particular order this is a few ideas to spend our days

-Hiroshima/Miyajima day trip
-Mt Koya day trip
-Kyoto day trip
-Nara/Himeji
-Osaka Aquarium

Clearly i need more things to do in Osaka! Can anyone reccomend a good way to approach checking out the Osaka areas and which would be good to do together in one day and which places in another? I have been able to do this with Tokyo because I am a little more familiar with the areas.

Anything else I am missing?? Thanks!!

You are in Namba, so you'll want to check out "Ame-mura", especially on a weekend. Nara is a day, and you will not be going to Himeji in the same day. If you go to Osaka Castle, you probably don't need to go to Himeji Castle (Himeji Castle is bigger, but much further away). You could do 2 days in Kyoto (try Monkey Mountain!) and have at least one meal in Kobe.

Second what MMM said, Kyoto day trip is rather short. If you are going to visit the Osaka castle you can skip Himeji and spend another day at Kyoto. Climbing the Fushimi Inari trail is quite an experieince on its own

What do you plan to see in Hiroshima? Miyajima is quite far from Osaka, a day trip will only give you access to either or, not both places...

I agree with the comments above. Especially about Fushimi-inari. Just do it! Go see Osaka castle and skip Himeji. Spend more time in Kyoto ( a day trip is ridiculous) and visit Fushimi-inari, Nara and etc.

You didnt say if you were going with kids or anything ? but i would skip the entire disneyland and disneysea thing. There really isnt anything there worth your time. Your in Japan and you should make the most out of your trip and experience Japan...not disney... If you have kids well...maybe...but i would skip it none the less and spend time where they could experience something japanesse instead.

About Ghibli Museum. You have to purchase tickets in advance, sometimes months before, and it cannot be visited without a reservation. The tickets you biuy will be for a specific date and time. So if you want to see it make sure to get tickets ASAP. I learned it the hard way.

The official site of Ghibli Museum, Mitaka in Japan - TICKETS

Have you already been to Tokyo ? If so i suggest to spend less time there and expend your horizon. I also think 8 nights in Osaka is too much.

heres my suggestion: (oh well here i go again trying to plan a trip) Keep in mind this is only my opinion. At the end of the day your gonna have a nice trip anyway. But heres my opinion none the less. Oh ! and unless your on a very tight backpacking budget theres no reason no to move A LOT MORE.

*** its a absolute MUST SEE!!! You cannot miss this
** very nice! do it
* nice!
everything else is still very worthwhile but those with *stars* are my favorites.


Osaka 4 days/3night:
Nice foods, Aquarium*, Namba*, Castle, etc.

-> 1 day at Kinosaki onsen town sleep over

move -> Mount Koya stay over night. Perhaps temple lodging*. Oku-no-in graveyard and forest***.

-> Kyoto : 5 days/4 nights
Fushimi-inari***, Kinkaku-Ji**, The Walk of Philosophy**, Kokedera*, Arashiyama** and many more great sights, gardens, museum and area*

then you could go to Tokyo but i would consider a 1 day trip/sleep over to Takayama to visit the old town* and the Hida no Sato*** village.

on your way to or from tokyo...depending-> Kamakura
to see the great Buddha***

-> Tokyo Xdays/xnights
We all now whats there to see. The possibilities are endless. ***

-> Matsumoto (3 hours from Tokyo)
Museum and castle**

-> Hakone
National parc and Fuji-san view**

You should spend the rest of your time travelling around using Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo as hubs or discover these towns even more. Maybe climb Fuji if its possible in march/april. Up to you.

Anyway that only my opinion and it pretty much depends of: budget and interest. You dont have to take everything i say but maybe you can get a few ideas out of it. If i could make this trip i would still find a way to do Kamakura, Koya-san, Fushimi-inari and Kyoto.

Have fun planning your trip !!!!!

Hi guys, thanks for all of the replies!

And to fill in the gaps I am 23, have been to japan over 10 years ago with school. This trip I am going with my girlfriend and two of our friends. Our accomodation is pretty much locked in - it's just what we do with those days - especially in Osaka, that need some thought.

OK, i will skip Himeji castle and do Osaka castle only. Great!

At this stage we were spending one night in Kyoto at a Ryokan (Kurama Onsen) and then going back from where we are Based in Osaka to spend the day there. Since there there seems to be some free days in Osaka we will go to Kyoto again for another day trip. Fushimi Inari trail looks great, will deifnately slot that in.

As for Hiroshima it was basically only the peace museum that my friends wanted to see i think, I have been before. Is there anything else worth checking out? Isn't Miyajima island easily accessed from hiroshima? I figured we could easily check out the peace museum for 1 hour or so and spend the rest of the day at Miyajima? This is not plausible?

As for Disneyland I am mostly going because my friends want to go. I was interested in disneysea however as i have never been there so we are just doing both. I know it isn't japanese or anything but it is still a bit of fun to go on rides and muck around.

I have already organised Ghibli tickets :)

I have been to Tokyo yes, but i love the fashion, design and music scene there and there are a lot of shops, galleries, art spaces, record stores and clubs i want to visit. Honestly i wish i had more time there to network with local designers and music producers etc as i am a fashion designer here in sydney. Also, my friends have never been and are excited by a lot of the things there.

I love the look of mt Koya and the graveyard etc - is a day trip there OK? I dont really have any other options at this stage i.e lodging there for a night but I am curious if it is worth while. My girlfriend is a proffesional photographer and i think she will get a lot of great shots.

Oh oh, one more question. I keep getting mixed information about the weather during that time (March/April). I was planning on wearing jeans, tee, medium weight hoodie and a Leather hacket most days - does this seem suitable?

Oh oh, one MORE thing. We will be there when the cherry blossoms are in bloom - do you think we will see them often enough when we are travelling around, especially since we will be staying right near Ueno Park, or should we plan to visit a specif spot to check them out.

Hmm one more. Have any of you been to a restaurant in Tokyo called Tofuya Ukai?? I was planning on taking my girlfriend there for a romantic dinner as our 5yr anniversary falls whilst we are in Tokyo. Is it good? Romantic? etc etc.

Thanks again!!!

The Peace museum is more than an hour, and the entire museum should be experienced (from the bottom to top floor). Give yourself a little more time than that, and be prepared to be emotionally drained by the end.

ok thanks - i have been before but i really dont remember and at 13 i dont think i was really that into it. Do you think that doing both that and Miyajima is definately a no go or just not ideal but still doable??

Depends on how early you get started...

ok well that explains a lot :) Your gonna have a LOTS of fun none the less and even tho its not my cup of tea (japanesse one please) disneysea might be fun if your into it :)

Sorry i never went to that restaurant you mentionned.

Is it worth while ? ABSOLUTELY. As for sleeping there...it all depends. I loved it. It wasnt what i would call fun but definetely interesting. I didnt looked but maybe theres some nice budget hotel around as well. Most people stay in a temple lodging as part of the "experience" but some are disapointed.

I think that an EARLY day trip would be a good idea from Osaka. it takes less then 2 hours to get there and you might want to purchased the round trip tickets which gives you transportation from Mamba to koya-san (round trip), access to koya-san buses as well and some rebate on admission in town. If its still in order you can get it at the Nankai station for 2800 yen.

The fact that your girlfriend is a pro-photographer just means its another no-brainer. You have to go. Take a look at my picture gallery from mount koya at the bottom of the page: Le mystérieux Mont Koya et une nuit avec les moines bouddhistes

If you were looking for things to do while in Osaka a day trip to Koya-san is definetely a MUST DO. Besides if you dont want to sleep in a temple with monks. A day trip is enuff time to see the forest-graveyard and the temples in town.

seeya

almost forgot. pay close attention to whatever MMM says. He helped me a great deal when i was planning my trip and everything he said turned out to be pure gold. :D

No kidding? I am happy to hear that.

If the cherry trees are in full bloom at that time, you definitely should take a trip through the Yoshino Valley. It's in the southern part of Nara prefecture, easy to get to from Osaka, and has tens of thousands of cherry trees. One of the best places in all of Japan to see them.

well the museum opens at 8:30 so setting out from Osaka at about 7am would get us there for the opening. I just looked up some info on the museum and it is a huge place, especially if you include the park and surrounds.

Don't push yourself or overbook yourself. I have taken tours with people that wanted to do that...to see EVERYTHING...and after a few days everything started looking the same...because it is SO different.

you will be here in time for Sakura?

Then I suggest not to miss Kyoto: Philosophers Path, Botanical Garden, Arashiyama, and Yasaka Shrine , among the places where you can watch some great sakura. Usually in Yasaka they have light-up there until around wee hours in the morning. The big sakura ( forget the name ) is being lighted, its really really beautiful so don't forget the tripod.
Arashiyama, don't miss out the place its really amazing there on spring.

If you are going to Osaka Castle, try to pass by Sakuranomiya also. Just outside the station is the river and both side of it are all Sakura trees. The place is full of people till wee hours in the morning drinking under the sakura tree.

Osaka to Hiroshima Bomb Museum?
You have to take the first shinkansen out of Osaka which is 6AM to make it in Hiroshima around 8 AM.

good advice. some days are pretty full but there are some relaxed ones too - and there is the evenings to relax over dinner and a few drinks. The night at the ryokan in the middle of the trip should be great.

thanks to samurai and samokan for the idea's for sakura viewing!

my only other question really is about weather and if jeans, tee, light hoodie and a leather jkt will be good???

That should be fine.

yeah basically it would be sufficient, but sometimes it at night temperature (sometimes) usually drops a bit..

excellent. thanks all. i will be doing lots of shopping so if it is colder then i have planned for (i am packing VERY light) i can just buy something.

How long do you plan to stay in Miyajima? you probably want to give yourself 2 hours to travel from Osaka to Hiroshima. So assuming you get there at 9. 2.5 hours at the museum itself, 11:30. Skip lunch, another 1.5 hour at the park, that will bring you to 1:00. Take the train to Miyajimaguchi, 30 minutes, ferry over to Miyajima (you can also take the ferry straight from Hiroshima), another 45 minutes, you won't get to Miyajima till around 2:45. I spent a good 3 hours in Miyajima when i was there, so assuming you walk fast, you will still need 2 i think. I don't know when does the last ferry depart Miyajima. MMM???

the wiki travel page for miyajima (Miyajima travel guide - Wikitravel, for those interested) is telling me that the last ferry back to Miyajimaguchi departs at midnight which is good news. it will be nice to be there for sunset and perhaps dinner.

Oooh.. sunset will be nice... and staying there at night is going to be fun... i don't know whether this is the right season for the low tide, if so, you can even walk up to the Torii and take a picture under it.....

Yeah, if the last ferry departs midnight, then definitely go there..... and there is no reason for you to leave that early then...