devildetailspt

Jun 23, 20237 min read

Japan - 2 Weeks Itinerary & Photo Spots (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hakone, Nikko, Nara)

- Itinerary

-Tokyo Day 1,2,3

-Hakone Day 4 & 5 - Hakone 2 day trip (Mount Fuji & Lake Ashi & Odawara Castle) + Kamakura - Great Buddha

-Nikko Day 6 - Day Trip to Northen Honshu - Nikko

-Kyoto Day 7,8

-Nara Day 9 trip to Nara

-Osaka Day 10, 11, 12 + Himeji Castle + Universal Studios

Tips:

*Cherry blossom it is better to plan to go later than early, at least they’ll be on the ground

*Rent a pocket Wi-Fi or online Esim which is what I did with the Airalo app

*Convert cash

*Check outlet adapter

*South Korea is two hours away ~€200 (We did three days in Seoul before Japan, and our flights from europe had stopovers in Seoul anyway. I have added that to another post here)

Where to stay>

Capsule hotel

Stay at least one night in Ryokan – a traditional Japanese inn

Book a room with a private onsen or a hotel onsen (bear in made the dresscode is in the nude) in Hakone

Jr Japan rail pass:

Check first: jrpass.com/farecalculator to see if it is worth it

You can ride the Shinkansen/bullet train( take the hello kitty)

7 day JR Pass €230 / 14 day JR Pass: €333 (luggage limit changed 2022 - this means if you are over the limit you'll have to make seat reservations otherwise it is optional to reserve, but of course useful if you are travelling in rush hour)

Other Passes I used: Hakone 2 Day Pass €50: 2 days is the minimum pass and the JR pass doesnt cover the trip there. The pass covers travel from Tokyo to Hakone and the cable cars in Hakone. If you are also buying the JR Pass you might want to place hakone in the beggining of your trip, assuming you begin in tokyo, so you don't use your jr pass those days in tokyo, this is how i managed my trip. I payed for the airport tranfer to tokyo, then after 3 days in Tokyo -> Hakone with the 2 Day Pass -> Tokyo -> Activated the JR Pass to go to Nikko -> Kyoto->Nara->Osaka-> Osaka Airport

Souvenirs:

Kit Kat! ( Bought to wish someone good luck)

Bucket List:

Attend a tea ceremony

Buy a kimono 👘

Tokyo Disneysea €50 targeted at adults & it’s the only one in the world (Tokyo)

Osaka Universal Studios

Ghimbli Studios (designed by the creators of Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke etc)

Izakaya = Japanese pubs

Kawachi Fujien Wisteria Garden- very photogenic but only open twice year and it is Fukuoka, too far away from where we were going so we didn't include it

Robot restaurant has closed down! You have probably seen it on every list but good news there is a replacement: Dawn Avatar Robot Cafe (it is a different concept, the robots/avatars are people with disabilities)

Eats:

Cherry blossom and Matcha ice cream

Shabu shabu

Mochi

Japanese Cheesecake

Japanese Pancakes

Tokyo

*where to stay? Shinjuku/shibuya

*book in advance: Team Borderless, Disney, Ghimbli

*cherry blossom views: nakameguro, yoyogi park, meguro river

Restaurants:

Gyu An (best Kobe steak)

Warayakiya Shinjuku

Uobei- Conveyer belt sushi

Izakaya alley/Memory Lane (Omoide Yokocho)

Ninja restaurant akasaka

Hedgehog cafe / migpig cafe (harajuku)

Harajuku (Santa Monica crepes)

Karaoke in shinjuku

Golden Gai-Tokyo nightlife -Japanese whiskey

Dawn Avatar robot cafe (the robots are disabled people’s voices)

Omoide yokocho-“memory lane” narrow alley with small restaurants

*Shinjuku after dark : (in walking order) :

Omoide yokocho

Yasunidori (izakaya)

Kabukicho (red light, red torii gate) + Toho building with Godzilla statue

Don Quixote (pick up everything from wine to a nurses costume)

Golden Gai + ramen at Nagi

Itinerary:

Day 1 in Tokyo -Western Tokyo: "the new tokyo"

Meiji Shrine

Yoyogi Park (occupied by US was known as Washington Heights 45-64)

Shinjuku

Shibuya

Harajuku: Takeshita st: hedgehog cafe, mini pig, Santa Monica crepes in Takeshita-dori (shopping street)

Omote sando street (architecture /dior & Prada boutique)

Shinjuku

Shibuya (shibuya sky for the view it’s new)+ hachiko (view from mags park or starbucks)

Roppongi -like an open air museum of modern art very cool district; nightlife and Mori Art Museum with amazing modern art and the spider sculpture in front

Day 2 in Tokyo -Central Tokyo "Heart of Tokyo"

️ Imperial Palace from the outside becuase no tours available according to website (Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan’s imperial family moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. Most of the palace was destroyed during World War II, but it was rebuilt.)

Tsukiji Market (oldest fish market in the world)

Hamarikju gardens (10m🚶‍♀️) see the Nakagin Capsule Tower (architectural movement of Metabolism- post war reconstruction of Japan led to new ideas centered on being able to grow and shrink according to the ever changing needs)

Ginza + Art Aquarium (**Book €16)

18:30 TeamLab Planets (closes at 20)+ Odaiba (RX-0 Gundam Unicorn Every 30 minutes this “life size” robot statue will come alive for a free show that transforms its armour.)

Day 3 in Tokyo -Nothern Tokyo

-> Hie Shrine + ( use the train station to get there that’s where the decor is)Harry Potter cafe *RESERVE

->36Ⓜ️Tokyo National Musuem (5€ oldest museum in Japan) + Ueno Park (Good for cherry blossom viewing(hanami). Park built to negate evil spirits from the northeast. It has a shrine, Tosho-gu.)

-> 20m Ⓜ️ Senso-iji (oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo- In AD 628, two fishermen found a small gold statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, from the Sumida River. First, their master built a shrine to Kannon, then, in 645, the holy man Shokai built a temple to her. due to WWII bombing its main buildings were rebuilt. The 5story Pagoda contains the ashes of the Buddha)

(*on the way there walk through the asakusa nakamise shopping street which is 3m)

Look (from afar) Tokyo sky tree -detour across the sumida River

->25mⓂ️ Akihabara (now with neon should be night time) (arcade place) and anime

Yanusen see old Tokyo , Odaiba,

Kabuki (traditional theatre thing) Sumo

Park Hyatt hotel (lost in translation)

Aman tokyo

Ghibli Museum

Disneyland & DisneySea

Day 4 & 5 - Hakone 2 day trip + Kamakura - Great Buddha

Hakone Free Pass;

Hot springs/Onsen with Mount Fuji view

Go up the Ropeway Owakudani (eat the black egg which is boiled in the sulfurous waters, this egg is said to give 7 years of life)

*photo place-heiwa no torii

Odawara Castle

Lake Ashi, there is a boat ride available that will take you to a spot on the lake where you can see Mount Fuji

Odawara Michelin restaurant 10€

+ chureito pagoda but it’s 2/5h not worth it maybe

+Kotoku-in big buda 1/45 away + visit also Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Temple and Komachi Street

Day 6 - Day Trip to Northen Honshu - Nikko

Nikko means "sunlight". The first temple was built in 766- Rinno-Ji

Takinoo Shrine- draws women and those looking for love, toss a stone through the hole in the top of the torii and into the shrine grounds and your wish will come true.

Tosho-gu Shrine- built by Tokugawa for his grandfather. Don’t miss the Tokugawa armor in the Treasure Hall or the painted doors in the Museum of Art.

Taiyuin-byo is the mausoleum of Tokugawa built modestly to not eclipse tosho-gu.

Kyoto

*downtown Kyoto for shopping

Kaiseki (jap haute cuisine )

*Geisha apprentices are Maiko before they become Geiko

*even the Starbucks looks different you sit on the floor

Sakura view-> maruyama park

To-ji pagoda

Restaurants:

-Kitcho Arashiyama

Visit: jojakkoji (see their photo spot) tenryuji

Nishijin Textile Center has kimono shows every 10mins

Day 7

Arashiyama bamboo grove (takes an hour non stop walking)

Jojakko-Ji

Kiyomizu-dera temple-> 18🚶‍♀️Maruyama Park (sakuras):on the way:

Hokan-ji Temple pagoda +Kodaji?

-> pass through gate of Yasaka Shrine into Gion : wooden buildings in Hanamikoji-dori + streets ninenzaka sannenzaka

Nishiki Market

Nijo castle (best known for its unusually ornate interiors and “nightingale floors.” This ingenious flooring is so called because it was designed to make bird-like squeaking sounds

when walked upon, a warning of possible intruders.)

Konchi-in, Nansen-Ji+ philosophers walk ending in Ginkakuji temple of the silver pavilion

Chino Ji “vatican of Buddhism”

Day 8

Red Torii gates of Fushimi Inari Shrine (dedicated to Inari the shinto god of rice and sake (the area is Japans second largest producer of sake). The thousands of verminion tori were donated by individuals and companies and their name and date were inscribed on the back of each gate. Torii gates are usually located at the entrance of a shinto shrine and they symbolize the transition from the mundane to the sacred)

Imperial palace (book tour)?

Daitokuji (very zen) + daisenin (zen garden)

->15🚶‍♀️ kinkakuji-golden pavilion

Ryoanji (best zen garden);

End your day in Pontocho Alley

Day 9 trip to Nara

(30m away and trains every half hour)

A symbol of tranquility. the tame deer are regarded as messengers of the gods.

Daigoji temple & Todai-Ji & the great buddha

*buy deer biscuits

Tea fields?

Restaurant: Ramen sen no kaze; mochi in Nakatanidou

-> Osaka 50m

*More: Yoshino- great for cherry blossom has Yoshimizu-jinja Shrine and Hanayagura Observatory.

Osaka

Osaka is the capital of street food.

Make sure you go to Dotonbori at night. This entire street is a blaze of neon signs and many of the facades of restaurants are covered in enormous crabs, squid, dragons and pufferfish (fugu)

Eat: chibo; Wanaka Honten - signature dish Tako-Yaki (octopus dumpling), black ice cream

Day 10- Osaka + Himeji Castle

Morning: Himeji castle day trip (50m) - Built in 1609, it is a military marvel, it resembles a bird taking flighs and a symbol of the Tokugawa shogunate’s newly consolidated power. Built to withstand attack it carries angled chutes set at numerous points in the walls for stones, boiling oil, and water to be dropped on the heads of any invaders. On the roof, dolphin-like shachi-gawara motifs were thought to protect the donjon from fire, while the portholes, in the shape of circles, triangles, and rectangles, were used by musketeers and archers.

The main donjon appears to have five floors, but it actually has six.

Osaka Castle- sits in the middle of a park in central Osaka. It was built in 1583 and has huge historical importance, having played a major rule in the unification of Japan

Shinsekai -city night with neon lights

Umeda sky building (360 rooftop)

Kuromon market - black ice cream; takoyaki (octopus balls)

Ichiran ramen

Continue to ->3h Miyajima & Hiroshima?