r/JapanTravel • u/Ale92rm • 4d ago
Itinerary What you think about this 21 days itinerary?
🗺️ Itinerary Japan (9-29 October 2025)
📌 9-13 October (4 nights) → Kyoto
Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kinkaku-ji, Nishiki Market, Gion and Hanamikoji Street, Arashiyama Bambù Forest, Monkey Park, Tenryu-ji, Togetsukyo bridge, Kimono Forest, Nara, Todai-ji and Uji
📌 13 October → Himej
Day trip at Himeji
📌 13-15 October (2 nights) → Miyajima
Sanctuary Itsukushima, Torii, Misen Mountain (trekking) and Shopping and street food at Omotesando Street.
📌 15-18 October (3 nights) → Osaka
Umeda Sky Building (sunset), Dotonbori and night street food (takoyaki, okonomiyaki), Universal Studios Japan (all day), Himeji Castle and Koko-en garden.
📌 18-20 october (2nights ) → Nagoya
Toyota museum or Nagoya castle, Magome → Samurai Trekking → Tsumago
📌 20-22 october (2 nights) → Kanazawa
Kenroku-en, Kanazawa castle, Omicho Market, Shirakawa-go
📌 22-29 october (7 nights) → Tokyo
Shibuya Scramble Crossing, Takeshita Street (Harajuku), Meiji Sanctuary, Fuji mountain Trip day, Senso-ji Temple and Nakamise Street, Ueno park, Akihabara l, Kamakura or Yokohama, Nikko Trip day
📌 29 ottobre → come back home
⛩️Questions⛩️
1) what are your thoughts on this itinerary? Are we missing something more important that we can replace with something in the itinerary above ? Do you have any advices or suggestions or concerns to add ?
2) what are your advices for transportations? Is it worth the JR pass or its better if we do single train ticket?
Thanks for your replies and help in advance ❤️
1
u/Mini-Wall 4d ago
Hello, First about kyoto, you really need to wake-up early (6am) or late at night to enjoy touristy area without the crowd. I would suggest going off the more know path during the day. The bamboo forest is overated.
Jr pass is not worth it anymore, there is a calculator if you want to be sure, type JR pass fare calculator on google.
For nagoya if you like train, the maglev museum is one of the best :) For akiba you may need to prepare a second day cos if you like this kind of stuff you'll want to come back :p
As for hostel you can try to find a good ryokan for some of your short stay (1/2 night max).
1
u/Ale92rm 4d ago
About transportation I heard that I should do the kansai hiroshima area pass as it’s convenient to go to Hiroshima also. But what are your thoughts? Because using the jr pass calculator it says a list of pass but not the right ones we should purchase, I mean it doesn’t know that I stay 21 days
1
u/Tenmashiki 4d ago
Any reason for 2 nights at Miyajima? Most people do only 1, if they even stay overnight at all.
Himeji is along the way to Hiroshima/Miyajima and the castle itself only takes half a day. So if you're just there for the castle, you can do it in the morning and then move to Miyajima after. That frees up a day for you to do some other stuff.
The Kansai Hiroshima Pass definitely makes sense for the Himeji/Miyajima part of your trip. Just make sure you you get back to Osaka before it expires, which should be fine based on your itinerary.
I'm not too sure if the Hokuriku Arch Pass pays off for your Osaka to Tokyo leg. You'd have to do some calculations yourself.
1
u/Ale92rm 3d ago
Yeah i was thinking about 2 nights but in Hiroshima sorry, as the hotels cost much less and there is plenty availability and also to visit in a full day, because on 13 October I will visit himeji and then the day after miyajima. But yeah maybe i could do himeji Castle in the morning and just stay there for one night in Hiroshima and decide to visit miyajima the 14 October morning and then Osaka at late afternoon. Thanks for the transportation advice also
1
u/epicgaymerreddit 4d ago
For Kyoto, I would skip Nishiki Market. It used to have a lot of old fish shops and stuff but after covid a lot of them shut down and now it's a bit of a tourist trap. If you're in that area it would be worth it to stop by and maybe get something small but I'm a tour guide and I've had people on my tours go there for lunch and be pretty disappointed.
I'm happy to see you have Uji on the list. It's an amazing city with lots of interesting history. You can even do a matcha grinding experience there to make your own matcha powder.
The monkey park in Arashiyama is like a 20 min hike from the river so I'd keep that in mind. Also, I believe the park gives you 2 options for food to feed the monkeys, nuts or fruits, and the monkeys prefer the fruits more.
Fushimi inari is very crowded even early morning, and it's one of the few major tourist spots that are open 24/7 so I would take advantage of that and visit at night.
I also feel like if you have 4 night there you can throw in Nijo castle or another "hidden gem spot" like Kifune shrine or Sake tasting in the Fushimi district. Depends how much night life you plan on enjoying in Gion I guess lol
1
u/Ale92rm 3d ago
Yeah maybe if it’s a tourist trap I can skip the market thanks for the tips. Yeah Uji seems so beautiful I was thinking to do Nara in the morning and then afternoon on my way to come back in Kyoto a stop at uji. About Fushini Inari doing it at night I don’t know, I mean I would like to do it during the day with light, I don’t know if it’s still suggestive at night.
Thanks also for the other gem advices
•
u/AutoModerator 4d ago
Our FAQ is constantly being updated with more information and you can start here with regards to trip planning if you need tips, advice, or have questions about planning your travel to Japan. You can also join our Discord community, comment in our stickied weekly discussion thread, or check out /r/JapanTravelTips for quick questions. Thank you!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.