21 days in Japan - looking for mix of city and rural life
Nov 6th, 2015, 10:25 AM
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21 days in Japan - looking for mix of city and rural life
Hi Everyone,
My husband and I are heading to Japan in less than two months and are starting to put together our itinerary. This has been a dream location for us since we met 7 years ago and we're finally going for our honeymoon!
We're looking for a mix of the fast paced, culturally immersive fast paced city life BUT also the old Japan - where we can immerse ourselves into some of the traditions of Japanese culture and bask in the beauty of the architecture from the Edo period. And at some point relax...onsen. Here is a rough idea. Would love your ideas.
Day 1 - Arrive in Tokyo
Day 2 - Tokyo
Day 3 - Tokyo
Day 4 - Tokyo
Day 5 - Tokyo
Day 6 - Kiso Valley (narai perhaps)
Day 7 - Kyoto
Day 8- Kyoto
Day 9 - Osaka
Day 10 - Osaka
Day 11 - Hiroshima
Day 12 -Hiroshima
Day 13 - Fukuoka
Day 14 - Fukuoka
Day 15 - Beppu/Yefuin
Day 16 -Beppu/Yefuini
Day 17 - Ishigaki
Day 18 - Ishigaki
Day 19 - Ishigaki
Day 20 - unknown
Day 21 - unknown - Depart Tokyo at night.
My husband and I are heading to Japan in less than two months and are starting to put together our itinerary. This has been a dream location for us since we met 7 years ago and we're finally going for our honeymoon!
We're looking for a mix of the fast paced, culturally immersive fast paced city life BUT also the old Japan - where we can immerse ourselves into some of the traditions of Japanese culture and bask in the beauty of the architecture from the Edo period. And at some point relax...onsen. Here is a rough idea. Would love your ideas.
Day 1 - Arrive in Tokyo
Day 2 - Tokyo
Day 3 - Tokyo
Day 4 - Tokyo
Day 5 - Tokyo
Day 6 - Kiso Valley (narai perhaps)
Day 7 - Kyoto
Day 8- Kyoto
Day 9 - Osaka
Day 10 - Osaka
Day 11 - Hiroshima
Day 12 -Hiroshima
Day 13 - Fukuoka
Day 14 - Fukuoka
Day 15 - Beppu/Yefuin
Day 16 -Beppu/Yefuini
Day 17 - Ishigaki
Day 18 - Ishigaki
Day 19 - Ishigaki
Day 20 - unknown
Day 21 - unknown - Depart Tokyo at night.
Nov 6th, 2015, 12:31 PM
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Perhaps flip your time in Tokyo to the end of your trip and just overnight on the day of arrival. Next day begin your itinerary.
You are shortchanging Kyoto if you have never been. I would spend 3 to 4 full days there minimum, perhaps cutting out Osaka unless there is something there you need to do or see. The rest sounds fine, quite a bit of moving around but doable. Congratulations and best wishes.
You are shortchanging Kyoto if you have never been. I would spend 3 to 4 full days there minimum, perhaps cutting out Osaka unless there is something there you need to do or see. The rest sounds fine, quite a bit of moving around but doable. Congratulations and best wishes.
Nov 6th, 2015, 03:45 PM
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Here is what I did last year with three weeks (I have been to Japan before):
3 nights Fukuoka
2 nights Nagasaki
3 nights Kumamoto
3 nights Takamori
4 nights Kagoshima
2 nights Tottori
4 nights Matsue
I spent two weeks circling half of Kyushu, then I spent the last week on the Western side of Honshu. If I could do it over, I would have spent one more night in Nagasaki, and one less in Kagoshima, but all in all, it was perfect.
I think that, for your first trip, three nights in Tokyo would be enough. Then you could head to Tottori and Matsue, and possibly Hiroshima. If you are going to Nagasaki, which to me is much more interesting, since only half the city was destroyed in WWII, then you can skip Hiroshima. Then you can head down to Kyushu from there.
I would skip Beppu, as it is supposed to be quite commercial. There are onsens all over Kyushu, and you could find a more peaceful setting. I would also skip Osaka, as there are much more interesting cities in Japan.
Instead of going to Ishigaki, you can take a day trip from Kumamoto to the island of Amakusa, where you can go whale watching. I thought the island was beautiful, and it was my favorite day of the trip.
3 nights Fukuoka
2 nights Nagasaki
3 nights Kumamoto
3 nights Takamori
4 nights Kagoshima
2 nights Tottori
4 nights Matsue
I spent two weeks circling half of Kyushu, then I spent the last week on the Western side of Honshu. If I could do it over, I would have spent one more night in Nagasaki, and one less in Kagoshima, but all in all, it was perfect.
I think that, for your first trip, three nights in Tokyo would be enough. Then you could head to Tottori and Matsue, and possibly Hiroshima. If you are going to Nagasaki, which to me is much more interesting, since only half the city was destroyed in WWII, then you can skip Hiroshima. Then you can head down to Kyushu from there.
I would skip Beppu, as it is supposed to be quite commercial. There are onsens all over Kyushu, and you could find a more peaceful setting. I would also skip Osaka, as there are much more interesting cities in Japan.
Instead of going to Ishigaki, you can take a day trip from Kumamoto to the island of Amakusa, where you can go whale watching. I thought the island was beautiful, and it was my favorite day of the trip.
Nov 6th, 2015, 07:15 PM
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"We're looking for a mix of the fast paced, culturally immersive fast paced city life BUT also the old Japan"
In that case, you are -- IMO -- seriously shortchanging Kyoto and Nara. I spent 6 full days in that part of Japan -- not to mention other destinations that were of interest to me primarily for their cultural traditions.
Two days in Hiroshima could make sense, depending on your interests. I spent the better part of a day in Hiroshima, en route to Miyajima, where I spent the night and most of the next day. I was glad to spend time in Hiroshima's very moving monuments; I was very glad to relax that night, and most of the next day, in a peaceful and lovely setting (Miyajima).
curiousgo raises a good point about your arrival and departure options -- if you can put all of your time in Tokyo in one chunk before your departure, it would say you a checkin/checkout. Even if you are tired upon arrival, pushing on can be worth considering.
I trust that you have consulted http://www.japan-guide.com ? It is, I believe, the best single source of info on traveling to Japan.
There are LOTS of planning threads for Japan on this board, and I strongly recommend that you consult them -- they can be FAR more valuable than trip reports, which tell you what people ended up doing, not the advice they got in advance.
Good luck!
In that case, you are -- IMO -- seriously shortchanging Kyoto and Nara. I spent 6 full days in that part of Japan -- not to mention other destinations that were of interest to me primarily for their cultural traditions.
Two days in Hiroshima could make sense, depending on your interests. I spent the better part of a day in Hiroshima, en route to Miyajima, where I spent the night and most of the next day. I was glad to spend time in Hiroshima's very moving monuments; I was very glad to relax that night, and most of the next day, in a peaceful and lovely setting (Miyajima).
curiousgo raises a good point about your arrival and departure options -- if you can put all of your time in Tokyo in one chunk before your departure, it would say you a checkin/checkout. Even if you are tired upon arrival, pushing on can be worth considering.
I trust that you have consulted http://www.japan-guide.com ? It is, I believe, the best single source of info on traveling to Japan.
There are LOTS of planning threads for Japan on this board, and I strongly recommend that you consult them -- they can be FAR more valuable than trip reports, which tell you what people ended up doing, not the advice they got in advance.
Good luck!
Nov 7th, 2015, 01:44 AM
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I agree, Kyoto merits a lot more time. It offers a very beguiling mix of fast-paced urban Japan and beautiful historical districts, crafts, temples... We did 5 nights there on our first trip (plus another in Nara), 6 or 7 on the second trip and have a full 7 nights booked there for our upcoming third trip.
I didn't fall for Osaka on either of my two trips, and if I had the benefit of hindsight I'd do a single day trip from Kyoto and that would be that. For me, Dotonbouri was underwhelming, though we're not into nightlife so perhaps I'm the wrong demographic! I did love Kurumon food market in Osaka. The Sendai knife museum was also disappointing in my opinion. We also planned to visit the fish market but it's open/ closed dates didn't marry up with our schedule.
Nara is lovely, I'd like to visit again to see some more of what we missed. I loved our ryokan there too, http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/01/kai...o-in-nara.html
Tokyo has much to see, of course, and 5 nights isn't too much. I'd split it to a couple on landing and the other 3 just before departure (or the other way around), and stay in a different district of Tokyo for each segment.
Beppu is quite an unattractive town, though of course the Hells are well worth seeing. For me, the rest of it, not so much. And Yufuin, perhaps I'm on my own here, but I found it a middle-of-the-road destination: the traditional old town bit of it is actually very tiny indeed and the rest is a very small town. The wider area is beautiful, we loved driving around Kyushu in a rental car, the winding mountain roads and roads through flat agricultural areas were just so beautiful.
For onsen, and for charm, perhaps Kurokawa Onsen might suit you better, it's similarly small but very attractive, with beautiful onsen ryokans to choose from. Getting there is probably easiest by rental car, though I'm sure others here can advise on public transport options.
We also liked Kumamoto for both the castle and Suizenji Joju-en Park.
I didn't fall for Osaka on either of my two trips, and if I had the benefit of hindsight I'd do a single day trip from Kyoto and that would be that. For me, Dotonbouri was underwhelming, though we're not into nightlife so perhaps I'm the wrong demographic! I did love Kurumon food market in Osaka. The Sendai knife museum was also disappointing in my opinion. We also planned to visit the fish market but it's open/ closed dates didn't marry up with our schedule.
Nara is lovely, I'd like to visit again to see some more of what we missed. I loved our ryokan there too, http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/01/kai...o-in-nara.html
Tokyo has much to see, of course, and 5 nights isn't too much. I'd split it to a couple on landing and the other 3 just before departure (or the other way around), and stay in a different district of Tokyo for each segment.
Beppu is quite an unattractive town, though of course the Hells are well worth seeing. For me, the rest of it, not so much. And Yufuin, perhaps I'm on my own here, but I found it a middle-of-the-road destination: the traditional old town bit of it is actually very tiny indeed and the rest is a very small town. The wider area is beautiful, we loved driving around Kyushu in a rental car, the winding mountain roads and roads through flat agricultural areas were just so beautiful.
For onsen, and for charm, perhaps Kurokawa Onsen might suit you better, it's similarly small but very attractive, with beautiful onsen ryokans to choose from. Getting there is probably easiest by rental car, though I'm sure others here can advise on public transport options.
We also liked Kumamoto for both the castle and Suizenji Joju-en Park.
Nov 7th, 2015, 06:23 AM
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Ishigaki in the Ryukyu Islands? That's a long way to go for three days and there isn't much there unless you are looking for a beach in December. Taketomi is worth a visit, though, if you are there.
Your list of places is a little idiosyncratic so you might get better help if you explained your thinking. I've been to all of the ones you mention and I would not put anything from Day 9 onwards very high on my list of places to return to.
Your list of places is a little idiosyncratic so you might get better help if you explained your thinking. I've been to all of the ones you mention and I would not put anything from Day 9 onwards very high on my list of places to return to.
