10 Days 9 Night in Japan First Time

kkoc3 on 02/03/2017 - 10:42
Last edited 03/03/2017 - 10:26

Hi

I am thinking below . I am thinking of buying 7 days JR pass for below

Please help

14th April land in Haneda 10:30PM stay in Haneda

15th April activate my pass and go to kyoto

16th April Kyoto - explore Kyoto

17th April Kyto - explore Kyoto

18th April - Day trip to Nara and return to Kyoto

19th April - kyoto to Hiroshima and then onto Miyajima .Stay in a Ryokan in Miyajima

20th April - Miyajima to himeji explore himeji and then onto Tokyo

21st April - Tokyo sight seeing

22nd April - Hakone day trip and return to Tokyo - EDIT seems like this is not suggested , i will probably spend day in Tokyo

23rd April - Tokyo + souvenir shopping and fly back 11:45 pm

Is it too much or seems legit?

Travel Asia Japan

Comments

  • rover on 02/03/2017 - 10:52
    +2

    You could fly in to Osaka, saving a shinkansen trip on your first day.

    You need left luggage in Hiroshima (there is one in the train station). Also in Himeji (there is one at the coach station (I think) which is just across from the train station)

    • kkoc3 on 02/03/2017 - 11:12

      good idea i will try and see if i can change this

    • teote on 04/03/2017 - 02:10

      It's the best time to visit Japan. It will be awesome everywhere you go.
      Too much cattle visit will drain you out if you don't understand Japanese. There are very little English subtitles available - after visit 1 cattle the others will look the same:) (for me)

      While in Kyoto, it is best to visit Sagga Arassima bamboo forest 1 day. You won't regret it.Remember to hire a bike to get around faster. Visit the riverside dame near by is a must - it is picture perfect

      • belongsinforums on 04/03/2017 - 11:23
        +4

        i agree. japanese cattle are overrated

        • raging on 05/03/2017 - 16:07

          Have you tried kobe beef?

        • teote on 15/03/2017 - 21:01

          @raging: yes it is definitely another experience to try. I love the quality of the food and service but don't really like the price:)

  • Blackfyre on 02/03/2017 - 10:58
    +5

    Only having 1 day for Hiroshima + Miyajima can be rather rushed. I needed half a day in Hiroshima Peace Museum itself and a full day in Miyajima to explore the island.

    Of course that depends on what your interests are. If you haven't already, head over to /r/JapanTravel too

    • kkoc3 on 02/03/2017 - 11:14

      i thought about that and may be i will skip Himeji and explore Miyajima as i would have seen too many castles already

      • idontalwaysnotlie on 02/03/2017 - 12:50
        +5

        I disagree, Himeji is really nice, and you can explore inside and the gardens. Miyajima I did in half a day, as the village seemed touristy and the walk only took an hour or so if you take the cable car.

        • zombrex on 04/03/2017 - 00:33

          Agreed, I spent about 3 hours on Miyajima which was enough to see everything and have lunch. But getting there and back eats up time.

          Himeji should not be skipped for Miyajima.

      • MTWallet on 02/03/2017 - 15:40
        +4

        Himeji is one of the best castles I have seen, I wouldn't leave it out. As you have fast access using the bullet train pass, you could stop there for a few hours on you return travel leg to Tokyo leaving your bags at the station while you explore.

        • kkoc3 on 02/03/2017 - 18:15

          Thanks I will keep that in mind

        • dazweeja on 04/03/2017 - 16:11
          +1

          @kkoc3:

          I've seen many, many Japanese castles. We did Himeji castle in the afternoon and Mt Shosha the next morning. I preferred Mt Shosha. Obviously not as impressive in an architectural sense but peaceful and relatively untouched:

          http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3503.html

  • burningrage on 02/03/2017 - 11:05
    +1

    Disneysea!!!!!!!

  • pantsparty on 02/03/2017 - 11:30

    First time in Japan? If I had nine days for my first time I would do 4 nights Tokyo, 3 nights Kyoto, 2 nights Osaka. I would start in Tokyo, then bullet train to Kyoto, then train to Osaka. On my last day I would book a cheap domestic flight from Osaka to Tokyo to get to my final flight home. Given this wouldn't involve taking too many trains (except for local trips for day to day travel around each city), I don't know if it is worth getting a JR pass?

    • kkoc3 on 02/03/2017 - 18:22

      Yes first time
      I initially thought of starting in tokyo but then I realised that I should do it other way around as Tokyo will be my shopping spot . Don't want to carry stuff around all over Japan

      • pantsparty on 03/03/2017 - 05:48

        What shopping do you plan on doingin Tokyo? Heavy stuff?

        Also I think a day trip to Hakone is a waste of time. Most days of the years you can't see Mt Fuji due to fog (I have been there twice). Hakones main appeal is as a quaint little ryokan town where you spend a couple of nights in an upmarket ryokan and get a traditional Japanese experience. Plus it would be a 4 or so hour return trip. So much time spent on trains when you could be enjoying the massive city of Tokyo.

        Overall I would say your trip has too much time spent on trains and not enough time enjoying the country. Your planning on visiting 6 or so cities in 9 days. That is a lot. I would rather spend more time in less places. Up to you however!.

        • kkoc3 on 03/03/2017 - 10:31

          Thanks for your comments

          I dont have any fixed shopping list but based on past experiences we tend to buy lot of little souvenirs clothes local lollies and stuff . Considering Japan is full of whacky unique stuff we will buy loads .

          Regarding Hakone others have same opinion therefore i will probably take it out . Best thing is my base is Tokyo so i can decide to take it out depending upon how we are etc .

        • Gina Rinehart on 05/03/2017 - 07:15

          @kkoc3: Don't hold off until Tokyo, though, as you'll find even though there are a lot of the same souvenirs everywhere, there are plenty that you will only tend to find in smaller cities. Both times I've been, the shopping was pretty evenly spread across every city we went to, even though we tried to wait until the end.

      • teote on 04/03/2017 - 02:17

        If you know what you want to buy already it is better and cheaper and easier to shop in Osaka then fly out from there

  • altomic on 02/03/2017 - 13:01
    +1

    skip Hakone and stay in Tokyo.

    • kkoc3 on 02/03/2017 - 13:04

      thanks for responding

      Why is that ? i have read good reviews about Hakone and i wanted to see FUJI

      • altomic on 02/03/2017 - 13:16
        +1

        there is so much to do in Tokyo. plus if you get the shinkansen then you'll go past Mt Fuji.

        Hakone is nice but there is so much to see in Tokyo.

        spend some solid time in Tokyo. infact I'd cut your trip down to Tokyo 2 days—> Kyoto 2 days—> Tokyo —> day trip to Kamakura then evening in Yokohama and back to Tokyo. —> spend a day walking around imperial palace then to Hibiya to Ginza —> do a day of Hato (pigeon) Bus - hop-on/hop-off. spend a day doing shopping through shibuya and walk to harajuku and then yoygi park.

        I lived in Japan for 4 years and saw so little of Japan. rather than trying to see all the "sights" I'd recommend spending more time appreciating

      • belongsinforums on 04/03/2017 - 11:25
        +1

        ur time is limited. i saw fuji from tokyo in jan

      • harley on 04/03/2017 - 23:08

        I really enjoyed my time near Fuji. I stayed near Lake Kawaguchi (beautiful) and it was easy to catch a bus up to mount Fuji from the local train station there. Had to get off the shinkensen to catch the local train in though (easy enough). Very worth it.

    • DarthAntz on 02/03/2017 - 13:15

      Because Hakone will look like a lot of other places you:ll see on your trip. You can see Fuji from the shinkansen, and chances are the weather will be poor and you:ll have poor visibility. Tokyo has plenty to do and see, so spend more time checking out different areas of Tokyo.

      • dazweeja on 04/03/2017 - 16:15
        +1

        I really enjoyed my day in Hakone. Open Air Museum and Lake Ashi cruise were great.

  • DarthAntz on 02/03/2017 - 13:13

    you are coming at the right time, today we have a few plum blossoms showing and cherry blossoms are expected in the last week of may. In in nagasaki, so its a few days later that it spreads across honshu. going to castles during hanami is a great time, but dont try to go to too many castles as it gets repetitive.
    Activate your JR pass the day you take the first trip. Usually it costs about $100 to travel via shinkansen one way from tokyo to osaka, so you will easily be getting your moneys worth. Airports have the $5 a day wifi, and i reckon you:ll get a better exchange rate in Japan at the airport. by 1 or 2c.
    Go to the Matcha cafe in Kyoto, and the Yebisu bar in Yodabashi camera has matcha beer
    https://www.japantoday.com/category/food/view/matcha-green-t…
    And take an empty backpack. by everything here.

    • kkoc3 on 02/03/2017 - 18:16

      Thank you

      Do you think I will be able to see cherry blossom based on my itenaery and locations ?

      • DarthAntz on 03/03/2017 - 11:02

        14th-23rd, you:d be very lucky if you do see them, im going to say no. most schedules are for the popular varieties, ie the most beautiful and plentiful pink cherry blossoms. Guides say it:ll start march 24th this year in tokyo, and the cherry blossoms last for 10-14 days.
        If you are lucky, you:ll visit a castle on your trip and find trees with piles of flowers at their base, but all the fresh stuff will be long over. 春休み, spring holiday, is the last week of march, and thats the main cherry blossom viewing week, as students start their new jobs or education, and the school year ends and starts.

  • [Deactivated] on 02/03/2017 - 13:16
    +1

    That schedule is pretty tight for Tokyo. If you are fit you can see a lot by bike. What are your main interests there?

      • [Deactivated] on 02/03/2017 - 15:35
        +1

        West looks good. Odaiba I would probably only do on 7+ day stay. I would personally prefer walking from Ginza past the Emperor's palace through electric town Akihabara to the Ueno lotus lake. Plan your nights well so you see Shinjuku's neon and maybe Akihabara or Shibuya by night. Just my own opinion but Japan is ultra safe, kids play in streets at 10:30pm no problems. I don't think any part is dangerous, except maybe parts of Shinjuku…even then I used to deliberately ride through Yakuza districts to feel hardcore but it still felt safe :( You can plan long safe days/nights in the country of 99% conviction rate or whatever.

        PS the main train Yamanote line is a loop. Take a full circle plus a couple of stops and you only pay for the couple of stops. You'll see heaps and imprint the JR train tunes in your brain.

        • kkoc3 on 02/03/2017 - 18:18

          Thank you

          I am planning on staying in shinjuku or Shibuya

          Akihabara I want to do on my last day

        • SaberX on 02/03/2017 - 19:38

          @kkoc3:

          How many in your party? I went to a decent affordable place, the only catch is it's 12 midnight curfew to get home and booking initially can be abit more difficult.

        • kkoc3 on 02/03/2017 - 21:20

          @SaberX: 2 of us

        • SaberX on 03/03/2017 - 15:50

          @kkoc3:

          I stayed at Keiunso - in Shinjuku. Abit of google translating, but yeah the prices for the tatami style floor beds was pretty decent. Nice location too, apart from the midnight curfew. But for the price I couldn't find anything like it.

        • teote on 04/03/2017 - 02:26

          @kkoc3:
          There some parts of Shinjuku like Kinh Cross in Sydney where it is noisy polluted . Other parts are fine.

          Shinjuku Central garden is awesome for seeing cherry bossom.

          Do your own research.

      • DarthAntz on 03/03/2017 - 11:09
        +2

        plenty of dodgy foreigners throughout kabuchiko in shinjuku and around rappongi hustling for their bars and tourist traps. if someone on the street offers you to come to their bar, keep walking. look up tourist traps in tokyo on youtube.

  • SaberX on 02/03/2017 - 14:07
    +6

    order a yokoso sim card off their ebay Australia store. you'll be glad - the sim works once you arrive in Tokyo, as did mine. Internet good to go off the bat! It works wonders. Particularly just google map where you want to go, times etc. will popup.

    • kkoc3 on 02/03/2017 - 18:18

      Thanks very good tip

      • SaberX on 02/03/2017 - 19:38

        Make sure you loook into and order asap. It comes very quick but better to be safe than sorry.

        • belongsinforums on 04/03/2017 - 11:29

          sim card vending machines at airports there now

        • snivy on 06/03/2017 - 01:30

          @tomkun01: for some reason they jacked up the prices at those vending machines. Just get it from the minimart at the airport instead.

        • SaberX on 15/03/2017 - 19:16

          @snivy:

          Just order the yokoso sim card as I mentioned above from ebay, and you'll have it at your aus address. I had internet as soon as I was on the runway in Tokyo… was then easy to find my way to the bus terminal to get into town.

  • aragornelessar on 02/03/2017 - 15:22
    +1

    One trick I learnt you may might useful is the hotels will forward your luggage onto the next for you for a small fee. Beats lugging suitcases around on the trains!

    • kkoc3 on 02/03/2017 - 18:18

      Thanks I will try that

      • nubix on 02/03/2017 - 18:40

        if you have lots of luggage, might just be worth leaving it at the hotel in kyoto when you go to hiroshima and pick it up on the way back to tokyo. hotels were happy to keep for a few days

        • uggugg on 04/03/2017 - 08:57

          staying in Kyoto next month. Our accommodation have said we can store luggage at i-satellite near the station for free. Only thing is they close at 2100 and after that you'll have to wait the next day to retrieve your luggage

      • SaberX on 02/03/2017 - 19:37
        +1

        I beg to differ. Luggage forwarding on a short tight trip wirh different stops is too risky. It comes within the next day but say your moving from city to city your luggage will be playing catchup. Frankly if its a short 10 day trip you shouldn't be carrying too big a suitcase so i would just take it with you. Luggage forwarding seasoned travellers tend to forward their main bags and have small carry or interim bags until they arrive, but for a short trip like yours why bother?

        Whatever your comfortable with though.

        • aragornelessar on 02/03/2017 - 20:27

          Yeah, it does depend on your itinerary (which I didn't look at closely) - I just found it was one of the better tips I had from my time there a while ago… all the trinkets added up from each city and we had Tokyo near the end. Suitcases during peak hour wouldn't have been fun! Then again, it puts a tourist label on your head and people may stop and help randomly

        • SaberX on 03/03/2017 - 15:51

          @aragornelessar:

          Lucky it's japan and not elsewhere… when I had my big 'large' suitcase, the worse was getting on the train from Tokyo to Hakuba. IT was a shinkansen but somehow I'd ended up not with the ones with the big space in the middle to hold my bags, but rows of seats. basically there was no way I'd be comfortably sitting down with my bag bar the nice guys who moved/shuffled their bags so I could squeeze into the slot behind the last row of seats for 'bags'. If there were a few tourists with suitcases I would have been gone though.

          Apart from that my trains from Kanazawa to Kyoto etc. all had nice spacious areas for my bags, so wasn't an issue. But yeah definitely prepare for the worse or do some research on the train type.

    • PVA on 05/03/2017 - 12:59

      About how much is a small fee?

  • Meconium on 03/03/2017 - 23:28

    Looks like a good itinerary to me OP. Drop the Hakone trip, and don't bother with Kamakura on your first trip either. If you have a day extra to spend somewhere, spend it in Nara or Kyoto. Don't miss Himeji Castle. Hiroshima is a very nice city (you could say it's the bomb) and Miyajima is worth a visit. Hope the weather is good.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/03/2017 - 23:37
      +1

      Is your memory of Kamakura just seas of people and a rather standard temple? I would far rather go to Kiyomizu in Kyoto again.

      • Meconium on 04/03/2017 - 10:46
        +1

        It's historically important, but not the most interesting place for first-time visitor to Japan. There is so much to do in Kansai that I wouldn't recommend people spend the time wandering around Kamakura (or even Tokyo unless they knew what they wanted to see). It's a huge and rich Country, and most people only make it to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and maybe Hiroshima. Everybody seems to miss out on beautiful places like Kurashiki, Kanazawa and all of Kyushu and Shikoku!

      • dazweeja on 04/03/2017 - 16:17
        +1

        I thought the Buddha was sufficiently large ;)

  • Cheapsize on 03/03/2017 - 23:52

    4th trip is coming up for me.
    My advice is Tokyo is nuts, it took 2 weeks to fully explore Shinjuku and that's one district.
    (literally shopped for 10 hours straight one day)

    You could look at something like this for convenience. Hanada to Yokohama or Nagoya via shinkansen, stay in either. Yokohama/ Nagoya to Kyoto stay in Kyoto base there a few days 40 mins to Osaka few hours to hiroshima. After that is done base yourself in Tokyo for the remainder of the time.

    Its easier to follow the shinkansen line criss crossing across country can take a really long time. If you can take flights 1 hour vs 4+ hours on the train. Something to think about.

  • pat0809 on 04/03/2017 - 00:12

    That itinerary is a bit too intense for me. There is so much to do in each city and I feel like you have very little time to experience it. But each to their own.

  • zombrex on 04/03/2017 - 00:44

    Hakone day trip from Tokyo is possible if you really want to, but you have to be aware of train times.
    I visited Odawara castle and Owakudani in one day then returned to Tokyo.

    You could consider visiting Yokohama and Kamakura for something a bit easier.

  • jennyy on 04/03/2017 - 05:19

    I would def recommend visitng osaka and staying near dotonburi street if you're a foodie!! if you have a JR pass, you can just take the shinkansen from osaka to nara and kyoto and make them day trips instead!

  • Geordiejohn110 on 04/03/2017 - 10:28

    Go go-karting around Tokyo streets dressed as Superhero/Mario characters. It's absolutely superb and relatively cheap. Best 3 hours of fun.

    • Caped Baldy on 04/03/2017 - 13:24
      +1

      too bad ninty is in the process of suing them :(
      I want to do it for an upcoming trip

    • belongsinforums on 04/03/2017 - 13:40

      saw people doing it in kyoto too.

  • belongsinforums on 04/03/2017 - 11:14

    Seems fine. Obviously 7 days is rather constricted. To make the most out of it, you'll pretty much want to plan every hour of your trip.

  • belongsinforums on 04/03/2017 - 13:40

    make sure you go maiko hunting in kyoto at night. much easier than the blogs would have you think and great, free fun!

    • kkoc3 on 04/03/2017 - 19:18

      I am actually going for a geisha show in kyoto

      • belongsinforums on 05/03/2017 - 08:59

        bit expensive, but you'll probably find it's worth every yen! have a sweet mattcha and green tea parfait at tsujiri honten. unbelievably good.

  • Stolniik on 04/03/2017 - 22:46

    Hey,

    We visited Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto (13 days) and loved every bit of it. Kyoto was great for 2 day, Osaka is probably worth visiting for a couple of days as well, but Tokyo was insane. So much to do and see, we spent a week there and didn't have enough time!

    Shinkansen are $$$ and local travel is quite cheap. In Tokyo you might find that you may need to catch a subway as opposed to a JR service which you cannot use the JR pass on.

    Find the 7 day period where you will be using the most Shinkansen and activate it then. Use google to determine the pricing to see how much you will save. It was cheaper for us to fly in and out of the same airport, so we made sure to have he JR pass activated at the end of the trip to take avatnage of travelling for free between Osaka and Narita airport.

    If you need any ideas for your holiday have a read of our 13 day travel itinerary :)

    http://snapshotsoffood.blogspot.com.au/p/travel.html?m=1

    It sounds like you are in for some fun!

    • PVA on 05/03/2017 - 16:17

      Great blog. I like the cruise post too.

  • gmail92 on 04/03/2017 - 23:48

    I would recommend a day less in Kyoto and Skipping Nara, and spending any extra time you have in Tokyo. Kyoto is I did both Nara and Miyaijima, and you will see deer also in Miyaijima, which makes visiting Nara pretty redundant (especially given the short time you have.

    I did do Hiroshima and Miyai in one day and it was pretty rushed, but as you are staying a night it should be OK.
    If trying really nice beef is something you might like, you can try Kobe (Wakkoqu - the restaurant in particular).

    EDIT: I also went to see Rabbit Island on the way back from Hiroshima (Okunoshima), but may not be for everyone :)

  • rodinthink on 05/03/2017 - 12:47
    -1

    18th : Hentai

    19th : Tentacle

    20th : Showing symtomp of extreme Weeabooism

  • payless69 on 05/03/2017 - 12:52

    enjoy them Onigiris once you figure out how to open them. We spent 22 days in 07 on a 21 day rail pass seen all 4 islands and loved every minute of it! I would do Tokyo on a separate trip too much to see and the rail pass is not cheap. Loved Shikoku island and managed to get free rides on non covered trains. Kyushu volcanoes and Nagasaki we enjoyed too. Managed to talk to bomb survivors in Hiroshima very moving. Nozomi the fastest Shinkansen was not covered but great to ride looking forward most times. Next time I hire a push bike on Hokkaido. Folks are so friendly there and we accidentally ended up sleeping at an aged home by mistake and it was perhaps the funnies experience we had given that they try so hard to help despite the language barrier. Being bargainers we also managed to sleep twice at an internet cafe but they did complain about me snoring….

    One more thing about paranoia: Last day out of pass we found 7 ticket machines with all different train prices. Of course we bought the cheapest and on the train the conductor was so apologetic but made sure he collected the extra few cents we owed them!

  • figarow on 05/03/2017 - 16:35
    -3

    I would not visit Japan at all based on recent revelations, you can't smell, taste or feel the stuff but its everywhere. People are getting sick, mass fish dieoffs, if not for the incubation period of cancer more people would be aware….. enter at your own risk, watch this and get informed.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eCF_X7vZHU

  • lollyball on 05/03/2017 - 21:47

    Not trying to be dumb but is there anywhere where you can see Godzilla? Even if it's fake stuff musuem I don't know… ?

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join