Japan Itinerary: I'm Stuck
July 24, 2015 1:51 PM Subscribe
Hoping you can help me finish out my Japan trip itinerary for late October/early November. I think I've got it all worked out, but need to wrap up with an awesome 2 nights...
Yet another Japan itinerary question: So, we're headed to Japan for 14 days - last week of October and first of November. I've concocted a pretty straightforward itinerary - based in part on my travel preference of staying a least a couple nights in a place, and avoiding day after day train trips between locations. I like to settle into a place a bit. I'm stuck though, on the last couple nights on our way back up from Nara toward Narita. We'll be staying in Narita for the final night, as our flight out is around 11am.
So here's what I've got:
Arrive-->Tokyo (4:45pm)
Tokyo (Shinjuku / Shibuya)
Tokyo (Ueno / Asakusa / Yanasen)
Tokyo (Ghibli)
Tokyo (Kamakura)
Tokyo--> Kyoto
Kyoto
Kyoto
Kyoto (sidetrip)
Kyoto-->Nara
Nara
(SOMEWHERE)
(SOMEWHERE)
Narita-->Depart (11:30am)
I'm looking to fill in the "SOMEWHERE" bits here (and to get any opinions on the overall itinerary). I'd certainly welcome something unique, since most of our trip is pretty mainstream. Looked at Koya-san from Nara... but not sure it fits our scheme. I'm thinking we'd like something in the general direction of Tokyo, so we don't end up with a long last day train ride... but... open to ideas. Thoughts about what we'd like...
Small town?
Hakone?
Nikko? (too far out of our way?)
Gujo? Takayama (too far...?)
Kiso Valley?
Something on the coast? (Looked at Ito... seemed a bit resorty for our taste).
Some awesome town not in my guide books!?
I'm getting befuddled! There are so many neat places...
Thanks for your input!
Yet another Japan itinerary question: So, we're headed to Japan for 14 days - last week of October and first of November. I've concocted a pretty straightforward itinerary - based in part on my travel preference of staying a least a couple nights in a place, and avoiding day after day train trips between locations. I like to settle into a place a bit. I'm stuck though, on the last couple nights on our way back up from Nara toward Narita. We'll be staying in Narita for the final night, as our flight out is around 11am.
So here's what I've got:
Arrive-->Tokyo (4:45pm)
Tokyo (Shinjuku / Shibuya)
Tokyo (Ueno / Asakusa / Yanasen)
Tokyo (Ghibli)
Tokyo (Kamakura)
Tokyo--> Kyoto
Kyoto
Kyoto
Kyoto (sidetrip)
Kyoto-->Nara
Nara
(SOMEWHERE)
(SOMEWHERE)
Narita-->Depart (11:30am)
I'm looking to fill in the "SOMEWHERE" bits here (and to get any opinions on the overall itinerary). I'd certainly welcome something unique, since most of our trip is pretty mainstream. Looked at Koya-san from Nara... but not sure it fits our scheme. I'm thinking we'd like something in the general direction of Tokyo, so we don't end up with a long last day train ride... but... open to ideas. Thoughts about what we'd like...
Small town?
Hakone?
Nikko? (too far out of our way?)
Gujo? Takayama (too far...?)
Kiso Valley?
Something on the coast? (Looked at Ito... seemed a bit resorty for our taste).
Some awesome town not in my guide books!?
I'm getting befuddled! There are so many neat places...
Thanks for your input!
Mount Fuji is between Kyoto and Tokyo...we stayed at a lovely ryokan where the hot baths overlooked the gardens and a lake in front of the mountain...the whole area is beautiful.
If you're in Kyoto on fri/sat, the geisha all go up the hill to the temple in the west before heading back down to work. the best time to walk that path is around sunset.
Have you gotten your Japan rail pass? you can only buy it outside the country in various lengths (3-day, 1 week, 2 week, etc) and it's good for unlimited rides on the shinkansen. we were there for 2 weeks as well, but only got the 1 wk pass (spending the first and last parts in tokyo)
posted by sexyrobot at 4:18 PM on July 24, 2015
If you're in Kyoto on fri/sat, the geisha all go up the hill to the temple in the west before heading back down to work. the best time to walk that path is around sunset.
Have you gotten your Japan rail pass? you can only buy it outside the country in various lengths (3-day, 1 week, 2 week, etc) and it's good for unlimited rides on the shinkansen. we were there for 2 weeks as well, but only got the 1 wk pass (spending the first and last parts in tokyo)
posted by sexyrobot at 4:18 PM on July 24, 2015
My vote is for Takayama, lovely in the fall!
posted by rabidsegue at 4:27 PM on July 24, 2015
posted by rabidsegue at 4:27 PM on July 24, 2015
I just made an account because I ctrl+f'ed "arashiyama" and it didn't come up. You're going to be in the Kyoto area already, you absolutely must go to Arashiyama. It's the perfect season for it, it's going to be all kinds of beautiful.
Fun things to do there:
-A park where you can see some monkeys if you don't mind climbing a hill
-A pretty bridge
-An even prettier bamboo forest
-A bazillion times prettier temple called Ten-Ryuji temple
-A super cool scenic train ride
-A really weird museum that said "piano museum" but when I went inside it was all antique trains and there was a lady singing old american folk tunes??? (cannot vouch for this one being a thing.)
You may not have time for all of those things, I strongly suggest the temple and bamboo forest as priorities. I can't possibly imagine a better use of the time you've suggested.
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 8:19 PM on July 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Fun things to do there:
-A park where you can see some monkeys if you don't mind climbing a hill
-A pretty bridge
-An even prettier bamboo forest
-A bazillion times prettier temple called Ten-Ryuji temple
-A super cool scenic train ride
-A really weird museum that said "piano museum" but when I went inside it was all antique trains and there was a lady singing old american folk tunes??? (cannot vouch for this one being a thing.)
You may not have time for all of those things, I strongly suggest the temple and bamboo forest as priorities. I can't possibly imagine a better use of the time you've suggested.
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 8:19 PM on July 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you are in Nara, you are next door to Mie. Visit the Ise Shrines, have some Matsusaka beef, see Mikimoto pearls, and stay at an onsen on Ise Bay. I do this trip almost annually and can give recommendations if you like.
posted by Tanizaki at 9:19 PM on July 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Tanizaki at 9:19 PM on July 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
I really liked the Kiso Valley and doing the day hike between Magome and Tsumago. It was especially nice after a lot of time in Japanese cities. It is not difficult (about 8km) and you can have your luggage sent on by the tourist information office for a small fee. Along the way, there are beautiful forests, waterfalls, little hobby farms, quite different to what you see while you are in the cities.
I stayed one night at each end - I didn't like Magome much, but Tsumago is lovely. Even though it is yet another 'restored traditional street', it has a lovely feel to it, I loved all the little floral arrangements that each building had out the front, there is a cool little coffee shop, some slightly more interesting tourist shops than I saw elsewhere and a few little restaurants too. In Tsumago, I stayed at Fujioto Ryokan which was lovely and served an amazing dinner, some of the best food I ate in Japan.
I didn't stay in Arashiyama, just did a day trip from Kyoto, but it was interesting and I would consider staying there next time I go to Japan. I did the riverboats trip, the bamboo forest and really enjoyed wandering along the river and back lanes.
posted by AnnaRat at 11:37 PM on July 24, 2015
I stayed one night at each end - I didn't like Magome much, but Tsumago is lovely. Even though it is yet another 'restored traditional street', it has a lovely feel to it, I loved all the little floral arrangements that each building had out the front, there is a cool little coffee shop, some slightly more interesting tourist shops than I saw elsewhere and a few little restaurants too. In Tsumago, I stayed at Fujioto Ryokan which was lovely and served an amazing dinner, some of the best food I ate in Japan.
I didn't stay in Arashiyama, just did a day trip from Kyoto, but it was interesting and I would consider staying there next time I go to Japan. I did the riverboats trip, the bamboo forest and really enjoyed wandering along the river and back lanes.
posted by AnnaRat at 11:37 PM on July 24, 2015
I'll be in Japan again at the same time and a colleague recommended Himeji to me just yesterday. It's not that far from Kyoto.
posted by LoonyLovegood at 1:03 AM on July 25, 2015
posted by LoonyLovegood at 1:03 AM on July 25, 2015
This is around the perfect time for viewing fall leaves. Kurama is just a bit north of Kyoto, has some nice onsen, and also some wonderful temples.
I think Himeji is very nice, but I did it out of Osaka as a daytrip, and Arashiyama is also do-able as a daytrip out of Kyoto.
Nikko is doable as a daytrip from Tokyo as well, and well worth a visit because it is beautiful! If you want to go back to the Kanto area for a while before you depart from Narita, Nikko is worth a go, and if you don't have any other onsen trips planned, Hakone is a must.
posted by the_wintry_mizzenmast at 1:48 PM on July 26, 2015
I think Himeji is very nice, but I did it out of Osaka as a daytrip, and Arashiyama is also do-able as a daytrip out of Kyoto.
Nikko is doable as a daytrip from Tokyo as well, and well worth a visit because it is beautiful! If you want to go back to the Kanto area for a while before you depart from Narita, Nikko is worth a go, and if you don't have any other onsen trips planned, Hakone is a must.
posted by the_wintry_mizzenmast at 1:48 PM on July 26, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Looks like you only have 2 full days in Tokyo though. You might consider just exploring Tokyo with those 2 days.
posted by rsk at 1:57 PM on July 24, 2015