Japan Sample Itinerary thread

[Palaxius]

Noboribetsu for 3N or 2N? 3N would be an overkill but if you’re bringing young ones or elderly, it’ll be more relaxed. Can also do day trip to Lake Toya. There’s two bus services running daily - take the morning bus to Lake Toya and come back in the afternoon one.

Normally I would stay at a ryokan for 2 nights.
Do you have any ryokan recommendation in Hokkaido?

 

[evilerniex]

first time going to Japan in April 2018 with 2 kids (3 years old and 1 year old with stroller) and 3 adults (including me). anyone went Japan before can give some recommendations for places and comments for the below itinerary ? thanks

is it advisable to buy the 14 days JR pass or the 7 days JR pass when travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto and Kyoto to Tokyo?

monday
SIN to HND - arrives at 4PM
HND to Airbnb (stay near Meguro station for 5 nights)
evening time will explore around there for dinner

tuesday
Meguro to Harajuku station
-Shinjuku Gyoen, Yoyogi park, Meiji shrine
evening time will be Shibuya

wednesday
Meguro to Shinbashi station
-Tsukiji fish market
-Tokyo tower
evening time will be Ginza

thursday
Meguro to Ghibli museum
Sensoji temple, Nakamise and Kappabashi shopping street

friday
Lake Kawaguchiko

saturday
check-out at 10am and go to Kyoto via bullet train and stay at Gion Ryokan Q-beh for 5 nights
evening time will go Fushimi Inari Shrine

sunday
Gion-Shijo station to Nara park
Nara park to Osaka
-Kuromon market
-Namba city mall

monday
Gion-shijo station to Arashiyama
-monkey park, bamboo groove
evening will be at tenjimbashisuji shopping street

tuesday
Kinkakuji temple

wednesday
Gion-Shijo station to ikeda-shi cup noodle museum
Shinsaibashi suji shopping , Dotonbori

thursday
check-out at 10am and go back to Tokyo (stay at Hiyori Hotel Maihama for 3 nights)
evening will explore around hotel for dinner

friday
Disneyland

saturday
DisneySea

sunday
check-out at 10am and explore around hotel and go to HND (flight to SIN at 5PM)

7 days pass will be enuf. Mainly to cover the transport from tokyo to kyoto and back, and also for kawaguchi.

Itinerary looks good. But second Tuesday only kinkakuji?

 

[Hellooo]

7 days pass will be enuf. Mainly to cover the transport from tokyo to kyoto and back, and also for kawaguchi.

Itinerary looks good. But second Tuesday only kinkakuji?

yup, for now second tuesday only kinkakuji. you have any recommendation after kinkakuji?

any recommendation is appreciated. thanks

 

[thwysg]

Normally I would stay at a ryokan for 2 nights.
Do you have any ryokan recommendation in Hokkaido?

Not stayed in one in Hokkaido yet. Visiting Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort next month. Perhaps easier to read through the reviews in TripAdvisor for onsen stay in Hokkaido.

 

[evilerniex]

yup, for now second tuesday only kinkakuji. you have any recommendation after kinkakuji?

any recommendation is appreciated. thanks

How abt kiyomizudera or nijo castle?

 

[Hellooo]

How abt kiyomizudera or nijo castle?

thanks! will consider it.

 

[evilerniex]

thanks! will consider it.

U can also consider making a trip to himeji to see the castle. Since it is ur first trip to japan, might be good to see at least one Japanese castle. Can also go osaka castle, but not as nice as himeji

 

[purpleberry]

first time going to Japan in April 2018 with 2 kids (3 years old and 1 year old with stroller) and 3 adults (including me). anyone went Japan before can give some recommendations for places and comments for the below itinerary ? thanks

is it advisable to buy the 14 days JR pass or the 7 days JR pass when travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto and Kyoto to Tokyo?

monday
SIN to HND - arrives at 4PM
HND to Airbnb (stay near Meguro station for 5 nights)
evening time will explore around there for dinner

tuesday
Meguro to Harajuku station
-Shinjuku Gyoen, Yoyogi park, Meiji shrine
evening time will be Shibuya

wednesday
Meguro to Shinbashi station
-Tsukiji fish market
-Tokyo tower
evening time will be Ginza

*thursday
Meguro to Asakusa station
-Sensoji temple, Nakamise and Kappabashi shopping street

friday
Lake Kawaguchiko

saturday
check-out at 10am and go to Kyoto via bullet train and stay at Gion Ryokan Q-beh for 5 nights
evening time will go Fushimi Inari Shrine

*sunday
Gion-Shijo station to Nara park

monday
Gion-shijo station to Arashiyama
-monkey park, bamboo groove
-Kinkakuji temple

*tuesday
Osaka
-Kuromon market
-Tenjinbashisuji Shopping Street
-Namba city mall

wednesday
Gion-Shijo station to ikeda-shi cup noodle museum
Shinsaibashi suji shopping , Dotonbori

thursday
check-out at 10am and go back to Tokyo (stay at Hiyori Hotel Maihama for 3 nights)
evening will explore around hotel for dinner

friday
Disneyland

*saturday
Ghibli museum

sunday
check-out at 10am and explore around hotel and go to HND (flight to SIN at 5PM)

*some changes

You can combine Harajuku, Omotesando, Meiji Shrine, Yoyogi Park and Shibuya together in one tiring day. Lots of walking but doable in one day. Shinjuku Gyoen is out of the way. Plan frequent stops and snacks to keep your kids "entertained".

Tsukiji market may be difficult with a stroller but if you can just shop around at the outer area, it might be possible. Certainly not inside the market itself. After this you can stroll along Ginza and Yurakucho. I think you should skip Tokyo Tower. Nothing much there imo.

From Asakusa, you can go to Ueno which is a few stops away. There's a nice park and zoo but it might be too cold for Feb.

Arashiyama looks fine. Just take note that it's a 30-45min climb to the monkey park.

For DIsneyland/Disneysea, do avoid Fridays and definitely weekends at all costs. Try to visit Tue-Thu for lesser crowd. Have you bought the tickets to Ghibli museum? YOu can try online but if you intend to get it there, it will be too late.

 

[deodorant]

Normally I would stay at a ryokan for 2 nights.
Do you have any ryokan recommendation in Hokkaido?

I would recommend Dai Ichi Takimotokan. It's a tad "touristy" (as in it's more like a ryokan-themed hotel-resort rather than actual ryokan). But the indoor hot spring is amazing (huge and has 7 different types of water in different temperatures), and overlooks the main jigokudani valley so the view while you're soaking is top notch. If you so wanted to you could literally stand on the edge of the outdoor pool and flash all the tourists walking around jigokudani.

Male and female onsens are separate but there's a combined swimming pool area.

 

[thwysg]

Kanto + Hokkaido - Jan-Feb 2018

D01 - SG > Tokyo > Kawaguchiko
Kawaguchiko: Kawaguchiko Winter Fireworks
D02 - Yokohama: Yokohama Bay, Red Brick Warehouse, Grand Plaza winter illumination
D03 - Yokohama > Kamakura
Kamakura: Ofuna Kannon, Tokeiji, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, Winter Peonies Festival
Enoshima: Enoshima Hōseki winter illumination
D04 - Yokohama: Kirin Beer Factory tour, Chūkagai;
Tokyo: Roppongi Mori Tower - Space Invaders Exhibition + Super Moon Eclipse
D05 - Tokyo: Yurakucho winter illumination, Ginza
D06 - Tokyo: Shinjuku Love Object
D07 - Tokyo: Fujifilm Square, Shinjuku Terrace winter illumination, Caretta winter illumination, Hina Tsurushi Kazari Festival
D08 - Tokyo > Toyako Onsen
Toyako Onsen: Toyako Winter Festival
D09 - Toyako Onsen: Toyako Grutto Sculpture Park, Usuzan Ropeway
D10 - Toyako Onsen > Sapporo
Sapporo: Moiwa Ropeway, Sapporo Snow Festival (Odori Park)
D11 - Sapporo: Sapporo TV Tower, Sapporo Snow Festival (Odori Park)
D12 - Sapporo: Asahi Beer Factory, Shiroi Koibito Park + winter illumination, Sapporo Snow Festival (Susukino)
D13 - Sapporo > Otaru
Otaru: Otaru Snow Light Path Festival, Otaru Canal, Otaru Orgel Museum, LeTAO Honten
D14 - Sapporo > Asahikawa
Asahikawa: Asahikawa Snow Festival
D15 - Asahikawa: Asahiyama Zoo, Sounkyo Onsen Ice Fall Festival
D16 - Asahikawa > Obihiro
Obihiro: Rokkatei Honten, Tokachi White Swan Festival Sairinka
D17 - Obihiro: Toyokoro Jewelry Ice, Tokachigawa, Otofuke Jinja, Shikaribetsuko Kotan
D18 - Obihiro > Hakodate
Hakodate: Hakodate Bay
D19 - Hakodate: Tsutaya Hakodate, Goryokaku Tower
D20 - Hakodate > Tokyo
Tokyo: Atami Itogawa-zakura Festival, Cat Street, Takeshita Lane
D21 - Tokyo > SG

Flights
SIA

Hotels
Kozantei Ubuya
Yokohama Royal Park Hotel
Keio Plaza Tokyo
Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort
Richmond Hotel Sapporo Ekimae
JR Inn Asahikawa
Lodge Lucky Field
Sharoum Inn 2
Keio Presso Inn Tokyo Station Yaesu

 

[deodorant]

NOTE: This is our 5th time visiting Tokyo so we didn't do any touristy stuff, just shopping and cafe hopping. If it's your first time you shouldn't follow our Tokyo portion of the plan.

But do follow the zao onsen / zao fox village part though

cost breakdown / details on blog (blogwh0re alert!!!!!)

 

[JAson1980]

Hi, Planning a trip to Japan from 5th to 16th Dec returning on 17th Dec Afternoon flight. 12 full days,

Intend to fly into Osaka/Kyoto 5 days then 7 days in tokyo (Including a trip to Gala ski resort if its open)

Any recommendations as to what to do in Osaka/Kyoto?

can we get around easily using the suica card?

We would be traveling to Tokyo from Osaka on the Shinkansen. Is it better to buy the JR Rail pass or just get the tickets over the counter?

 

[thwysg]

Hi, Planning a trip to Japan from 5th to 16th Dec returning on 17th Dec Afternoon flight. 12 full days,

Intend to fly into Osaka/Kyoto 5 days then 7 days in tokyo (Including a trip to Gala ski resort if its open)

Any recommendations as to what to do in Osaka/Kyoto?

can we get around easily using the suica card?

We would be traveling to Tokyo from Osaka on the Shinkansen. Is it better to buy the JR Rail pass or just get the tickets over the counter?

Flying into KIX and out of TYO? Might not need to get a JR Pass, depending on your itinerary. But if the only long train ride is just Osaka to Tokyo, then no.

 

[JAson1980]

Flying into KIX and out of TYO? Might not need to get a JR Pass, depending on your itinerary. But if the only long train ride is just Osaka to Tokyo, then no.

Yes, already got my return tix from Narita.
Haven't book the flight into Osaka yet.
Will only be taking a train from Osaka to Tokyo on the shinkansen.
Traveling within Osaka/Kyoto can use Suica card?
No problem with Tokyo for me as i go there twice a year for work. But will be going Osaka/Kyoto for the first time.

 

[thwysg]

Yes, already got my return tix from Narita.
Haven't book the flight into Osaka yet.
Will only be taking a train from Osaka to Tokyo on the shinkansen.
Traveling within Osaka/Kyoto can use Suica card?
No problem with Tokyo for me as i go there twice a year for work. But will be going Osaka/Kyoto for the first time.

So long as the transportation says IC cards accepted, you can use them within the cities.

 

[JAson1980]

So long as the transportation says IC cards accepted, you can use them within the cities.

Thanks for the info!

 

[melaugh]

Hi intending to book a return flight from Singapore to Osaka. Trip around 9days.

Should i do Osaka>Kyoto>Osaka or any other suggestion ?

 

[evilerniex]

Hi intending to book a return flight from Singapore to Osaka. Trip around 9days.

Should i do Osaka>Kyoto>Osaka or any other suggestion ?

Yes, osaka and kyoto are usually done together coz they are just 30min away by train from each other. Other places u can consider in the kansai region are nara, kobe and himeji

 

[pdsubbu]

It will be helpful, if you can share the best restaurant around this area.

Yes, osaka and kyoto are usually done together coz they are just 30min away by train from each other. Other places u can consider in the kansai region are nara, kobe and himeji

It will be helpful, if you can share the best restaurant around this area.

 

[thwysg]

It will be helpful, if you can share the best restaurant around this area.

Best is a very subjective word. What if evilerniex suggested something which happens to be your allergy or dislike? Why not just do a search on TripAdvisor or Tabelog or Gurunavi or even Google? I’m sure there’s bound to be lots of blogs and articles on food.