We recently got back from our first trip to Japan—our first time in Asia, actually—and this is the itinerary I came up with after almost a full year of research, saved here for future reference. More detailed posts on some of the destinations are linked in the text!
Some context
In truth, Japan was never at the top of my travel destinations list, and the only reason this trip even happened is because my sister is currently studying abroad in Kyoto. She’s there for a full year, so we had our pick of when to visit, and we settled on November, for a variety of reasons: I’m a sucker for autumn colors, and generally speaking (it depends on climate and weather factors, of course) it’s the best month to catch peak foliage. Temperatures are also still pleasant—no longer hot, not yet cold, the rainy season is well past, and there aren’t as many crowds as during cherry blossom season. My sister, who’s seen the seasons change first-hand, has confirmed that autumn’s been her favorite time of year so far, so I feel confident in recommending it as the best time to visit. We got one evening of hard rain, and one late afternoon of drizzle, otherwise the weather was fantastic over the course of almost an entire month!
It was clear from the start that this would be an extensive trip for us, hence 25 days—of course, if you’re only planning on hitting Tokyo, and maybe Kyoto and Osaka, with some side trips on the way, two weeks (or even less) will suffice. My travels are also of the active kind, so we had days on which hiking and biking featured prominently, often in somewhat off-the-beaten-tourist-path locations, so this itinerary definitely isn’t for everyone, and I’m not claiming that it’s the best way to see the country for the Average Joe, but it was for us avid walkers (we averaged almost 25k steps a day!). We did all of our traveling from place to place exclusively by train, with a 21-day Japan Rail Pass.
The itinerary
Day 1 · Tokyo
We landed at Haneda airport at ~7AM after an 11 hour flight. I sat on the left side of the plane and caught a glimpse of Fuji! We got a “Welcome SUICA” card at the airport to use during our first few day in Tokyo, until our JR Pass would become valid. Pros over the regular SUICA (or PASMO) card: designed for tourists, so there’s no deposit, and it automatically expires after 28 days. Cons: You won’t be refunded any remaining balance left on the card if you don’t use it up, so charge it in smaller increments, as needed.
After leaving our luggage at the hotel, we got started straight away with a three hour walking tour by Tokyo Localized that began in Akihabara and took us to Ueno Park. It was a good way to passively soak up some cultural info after a long flight, but I wouldn’t exactly recommend it, we found it a bit sparse on historical facts, especially considering its duration. It lasted even longer than planned, and we missed the afternoon tour we’d had planned, so we visited the Asakusa area, including Sensoji temple, on our own. Tip: Go to the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Centre across from Sensoji for free views of the temple complex and the Skytree.
Day 2 · Tokyo
A full day zig-zagging all over the place. We started with a stroll through the Imperial Palace Gardens, before moving on to Tsukiji fish market and the nearby Hamarikyu Gardens to experience a “casual tea ceremony”. Being the massive cat lady that I am, we went a bit off the beaten path to Gōtokuji Temple, which, according to legend, is the birthplace of the maneki-neko (beckoning cat) good luck charm. Then back to the Shinjuku area, where we just aimlessly walked around, hitting the obvious must-visit spots: Kabukichō, Omoide Yokocho, Golden Gai, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for its free observatory.
Day 3 · Tokyo
Took another Tokyo Localized walking tour, this time of Meiji Jingu & Harajuku, and enjoyed it much more than their flagship tour we’d done on our first day, then walked down to the Shibuya area.
Day 4 · Tokyo
Spent the day on Odaiba, including a visit to the teamLAB Borderless Digital Art Museum.
Day 5 · Day trip to Lake Kawaguchi
First validity day of our JR Pass. We rented a bike and did the circuit of Lake Kawaguchi first, before walking up to the nearby Chureito Pagoda for the famous postcard shot (pictured in the banner of this post).
Day 6 · Day trip to Hakone
Spent the day in Hakone (a supplement to the JR Pass is required to get there). Owakudani wasn’t accessible due to dangerous volcanic activity, so we had time to visited the Hakone Open Air Museum instead.
Day 7 · Day trip to Nikko
Spent the day in Nikko, the northernmost place we visited on this trip, where we got the first proper glimpse of peak autumn foliage. Visited Toshogu Shrine, walked around in the woods, and took a bus to the viewing platform of Kirifuri Falls.
Day 8 · Day trip to Kamakura, (Kawasaki), and Yokohama
Early start to Kamakura, mainly to see the Great Buddha at Kotoku-in temple. Walked around town a bit, stopped by the ocean and many shrines and temples, including Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. Hopped on a train to Kawasaki for the sole reason of visiting the Anata No Warehouse game arcade before it permanently closed its doors a week later. Backtracked to Yokohama, where we watched the sunset and night views at the port (we saved the Cup Noodles Museum for Osaka, but will check Yokohama’s out next time, it looked much bigger!). Tip: To get the below view of Cosmoworld, go up to the rooftop of the World Porters mall.
Day 9 · Osaka
Got to Osaka around noon. Explored the Dotonbori and Shinsekai areas on our own (a walking tour of the former was planned, but I stupidly got the time wrong, so we missed it).
Day 10 · Himeji / Osaka
Took a train to Himeji, but just walked the free perimeter (many people had told us that it’s not worth paying the entrance fee, although I now regret it, if not for the empty castle interiors, then just for getting closer to take in all the detail of the exterior), and visited the lovely nearby Kokoen Garden. Not going inside freed up time though, so we explored the Osaka Castle Park (which had been planned for the day prior, but we hadn’t found the time for it during daylight).
Day 11 · Kyoto
We’d planned on renting a bike and exploring some of the shrines and temples further away from everything else, but rain had been forecast, so we slept in and took a later train. The rain surprisingly stopped when we stepped out, so we improvised and shuffled our plans around, and explored the Higashiyama and Gion districts, including Kiyomizu-dera.
Day 12 · Kyoto
Explored the Arashiyama area, including the Sagano Bamboo Grove, the Iwatayama Monkey Park, and the cute Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple, which is off the beaten path, but worth the detour to see its whimsical 1200 disciples of Buddha statues—no two are alike! Once back in the city, we also managed to squeeze in a visit to Kinkaku-ji just before sunset.
Day 13 · Kyoto / Day trip to Nara
Got up extra early to experience Fushimi-Inari Taisha without throngs of people, then moved on to Nara. Visited Tōdai-ji, then spent some hours feeding rice crackers to the deer in the Park.
Day 14 · Kyoto
I caught a cold the day before, and was knocked out for most of the day. Went back to Fushimi Inari Taisha in the late afternoon for a more thorough visit, and followed the torii gates almost all the way to the Mount Inari summit (we turned back when it got dark, the torii density decreases the further up you go, and it’s not as well lit).
Day 15 · Takashima / Kyoto
Took the train to Takashima on Lake Biwa and walked to the Shirahige Shrine and its floating torii (honestly, for the sole reason that I was still under the weather and not up for much else, but didn’t want to just sit around and waste the day, and because we knew that the one on Miyajima was under renovation, so this was our surrogate). Then back to Kyoto, where we walked the Philosopher’s Path and visited Ginkaku-ji.
Day 16 · Hiroshima
Arrived in Hiroshima in the late morning. Visited the area around the Peace Memorial Park and A-Bomb Dome, including the Peace Memorial Museum. Strolled around the Hiroshima Castle grounds and the downtown area, including Hondori Street.
Day 17 · Miyajima
Ferry to Miyajima (the only ferry covered by the JR Pass!). Since the floating torii is under renovation, we skipped visiting the shrine, and hiked up to the Mount Misen summit for the views of the bay instead—up via the steep Momijidani route, and back down via the Daishoin route that passes by the Shiraito Falls and Daishoin temple.
Day 18 · Onomichi to Imabari
Rented a bike and cycled the Shimanami Kaido Cycling route across six islands in the Seto Inland Sea, almost 75km.
Day 19 · Onomichi / Katsuura
Explored the Senkoji park and temple in Onomichi in the morning, before a long day spent on trains to reach Kii-Katsuura in southern Wakayama. We had originally planned on hiking the complete Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route, but my partner injured himself a couple of weeks before the trip, so we changed our plans (Shimanami Kaido and Koyasan were last minute additions), but still decided to hit two of the spots on the route that wouldn’t involve strenuous hiking.
Day 20 · Kumano Kodo, Part 1
Hiked up the Daimon-zaka and explored the Nachisan area of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route, including the Nachi Taisha shrine, Seigantoji temple, and Nachi Falls. Then onwards to Shingu, where we spent the night.
Day 21 · Kumano Kodo, Part 2 / Osaka
Based in Shingu, we took a boat tour down the Kumano River on a traditional wooden flat bottom boat, and visited the Hayatama Taisha as well as the Kamikura Shrine before taking the train back to Osaka, where we explored the Umeda area.
Day 22 · Koyasan
Hiked up the Fuso-zaka pilgrimage trail to Mount Koya, and spent the day exploring Koyasan before having the unique experience of “shukubo”, a temple stay.
Day 23 · Koyasan / Osaka
Took part in the Buddhist morning rituals before hiking back down and taking the train back to Osaka, where we visited the Cup Noodles Museum.
Day 24 · Tokyo
Back to Tokyo in the morning, visited the new exhibition at the Mori Art Museum on Roppongi Hills, and took in the night views at Tokyo City Views.
Day 25 · Tokyo
Last full day before our 2AM flight back. We were actually out of planned things to do (Kawasaki and Yokohama had been planned for Day 24, but we’d already done them on Day 8, and the things we actually did on Day 24 were supposed to be Day 25) and hadn’t come up with anything else (we’d considered Disney, but our favorite attraction wasn’t running, and it frankly sounded too exhausting—next time). Instead, we took it easy, and milked the last day of our JR Pass for all it was worth by doing a loop on the Yamanote line, revisiting and saying goodbye to spots we’d visited before, including Akihabara, Ueno, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya, and the Tokyo Tower area.
watercolorstain 
Wooow! These are beautiful photos! And you just answered my question of where you took that amazing photo of Yokohama Cosmoworld. Looks like you had an amazing trip to Japan!
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What an awesome itinerary, and stunning photos!! WOW! We are planning a trip there now, and you really made me soooo excited 🙂
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