Honeymoon in Japan

Hi everyone,

I will be in Japan for two weeks Oct 29th-Nov 11th. My itinerary is below. Are there any changes/additions/removals anyone would recommend?

10/29- arrive in Narita,Tokyo at 5:20PM

10/30-11/1-tokyo(side trip to Kamakura)

11/2-Osaka(activate 7 day JR pass)

11/3-Osaka(is two days in Osaka too much? We will be staying in Osaka while visting Kyoto, Nara, and Hiroshima/Mijayima before heading back to Tokyo.

11/4- Kyoto

11/5- Kyoto

11/6-Nara

11/7- Hiroshima/Mijayima

11/8-11/11 Back to Tokyo(side trip to Nikko)

11/11- Flight home

watch YouTube vids!

Funny experience in Japan a lot :D

1. When you change your voucher to the JR Pass, buy a speciaal NEX-SUICA card round trip ticket.
2. By Osaka, I assume you mean SHIN Osaka. That's where the Shinkansen terminal is - not Osaka. They are two different stations. From Shin Osaka it's only 14 mins. to Kyoto using your JR Pass on the Shinkansen.
3. It looks as if you are going back to Tokyo from Miyajima or Hiroshima. It is a very long trip. You will be better off to do Miyajima on the 4th, then go back to Tokyo from Shin Osaka.

as it is a honeymoon trip I would advise you to spend a romantic night at an onsen ryokan

Hi,

It seems to depend wether it is your first travel to Japan or you know/have experienced something already.

Nara - capital city built in year 710 - temple city

Kyoto - capital city built in year 794 - temple and shirine city

Osaka - business (trading) city built in late 1500s - now food/party city to death

Kamakura - first samurai capital city separated from Kyoto imperial city - temple city

Tokyo (formar Edo) - second samurai capital city built early 1600s (later imperial capital since 1867 or around) - future city

Hiroshima - a local city tollaly destloyed 65 years ago, no historic temple/shirine but just the pease muzeum

Miyajima - an island with shrine/temple and temple mountain for a thoudand years

Nikko - a shrine and temple mountain founded mid 700s, now famous as the Toshogu temple where the first Edo Shogun's grave is respected


I guess you already know such introductory info for those cities.

Now, I tell you:

1. Do you really want to go to Hiroshima and Miyajima? I would remove them from the itinerary. Hiroshima is not worthwhile to spend 2 hour train ride one way from Osaka unless you are super peace prayers. Miyajima is just a shrine highlighted with a shrine gate in the sea water. You will have sighted many by then in Koyto.

2. Why do you have to stay in Osaka for 6-7 days? One night + half day is enogh there for a party. You or your wife will want to stay in Kyoto instead once you get there.

3. I would add one more day in Nara and stay one night with your overnight travel items only. Do not miss 'Horyu-ji'-world oldest wooden made architecture exists now, 'Yakusi-ji' where you see the national treasure budda statues, 'Todai-ji', Kofuku-ji'. It is a little more than just a deer park. Food is not impressive though.

After all, if you have six nights there, Kyoto is the best place to stay. If any budget reason, yet, you should stay one night each in Kyoto and Nara.

4. Kamakura is another pick for removal. What do you expect there? You will see more shrines and temples in Kyoto. I would recommend one night in Onsen ryokan somewhere, instaad. Onsen ryokan is the best fit to your honeymoon night. No doubt. Unforgettable experience. Don't stay in a western styled hotel... But expensive.

5. When you go to Nikko, do not miss 'Edo Mura' the special district like armish? where samura/ninja still live their lives...

Check this. You are already there.
http://www.edowonderland.net/main.html

Good luck

I'd add a night or two at Koyasan, and stay at a ryokan in Miyajima instead of doing a day trip from Osaka. Otherwise it looks nice to me. Best wishes for your wedding :)

And I do believe the round trip Suica + NEX is only valid for 10 days. You'll have to get the one way package instead, then pay for transport on your way back. Depends on your budget, but my preference is the Keisei Skyliner.

I definitely recommend to leave Miyajima in your itinerary, but recommend to stay overnight in a ryokan on the island, so you can experience the island without the tourist hordes. A Miyajima overnight stay has the potential to be the highlight of a honeymoon trip in Japan.

Definitely leave a nice ryokan stay in Miyajima - romantic. Stay in Kyoto and travel to Osaka rather than move around a lot. Perhaps a ryokan with a hot spring somewhere - Hakone national park or Kinosaki Onsen (2.5 hrs from Kyoto). You could have a look at GetBeneaththeSurface blog for a few 'Honeymoon in Japan' blog pieces and ideas.
Congratulations and have a great time!

I also recommend an overnight stay a night in Miyajima, and also staying over in Kyoto while visiting Kyoto itself and Osaka.

also recommend an overnight stay a night in Miyajima

We will be staying in osaka b/c I read it was a lot cheaper than staying in Kyoto. The side trip while staying in osaka is kyoto for 2 days, 1 day in nara, 1 day in hiroshima/mijayima. We will return to tokyo from osaka on Nov 8th.

How long is the train ride(JR)from osaka to takayama?

I've done a day trip from Kyoto to Hiroshima and Miyajima, and I wouldn't recommend it. We like a fast travel pace, but in hindsight we would have in the very least stayed overnight in Hiroshima.

Also, have a look online for accommodation options. Kyoto is definitely the nicer place to stay, and I don't really think it's more expensive. We stayed at Nagomi Ryokan Yuu, and it was pretty affordable, even with an ensuite. http://www.nagomi-kyoto.com/yuu/room-eng.html There'd be cheaper options out there too.

Oh and it's about 3.5hrs from Shinosaka station to Takayama. Nagoya station has large coin lockers so you don't have to take your suitcase along.

"How long is the train ride(JR)from osaka to takayama?"

3-1/2 to 4 hours.
You never acknowledged my info. regarding Osaka and SHIN Osaka.

2 suggestions...

First, why not stay in Nara instead of Osaka? It's cheaper than Kyoto and very pretty, about a 50 min train ride to Kyoto. Or Otsu (10 min train ride from Kyoto), we stayed at the Prince hotel on Lake Biwa, really good accom and very reasonably priced, great views.

Second, the length of the train ride to Takayama all depends on the transfer at Nagoya, because the trains only leave every hour or two. Check it out on Hyperdia

Sal1980 wrote:-
Also, have a look online for accommodation options. Kyoto is definitely the nicer place to stay, and I don't really think it's more expensive

This might be true outside peak season but during peak season times (especially cherry blossoms and autumn leaves) Kyoto generally becomes expensive and hard to book unless you book well in advance. This is also especially true for Friday and Saturday night stays.

Of course, there are some affordable places if you book far enough in advance. Although now is probably too late for sure.

During peak times we stay in Osaka and just commute in each day. From Shin-Osaka you can catch the Shinkansen each morning to Kyoto in 14 minutes, with a JR Pass. Roughly 30 minutes via normal trains from JR Osaka station too.

Sorry for the slight derail...

Enjoy your honeymoon!

Actually GC3, we stayed in Kyoto during sakura season. That place doesn't seem to change prices for peak times.

Cool, that's handy to know! :)

I'm sure they'd be booked out by now though for Nov 4 and 5.