First trip to Japan: two weeks in December
 

We're a fairly well-travelled couple but haven't made it to Japan before now. We'll have two weeks (from the start of December to mid-December) and would love advice about our draft itinerary. We're in our late 50s/early 60s, fit and active, with preferences for quiet places and as much cultural immersion as such a short trip allows.

We're currently thinking of the following: arrive Tokyo; 3 nights in Tokyo (including day trip to Kamakura); 2 nights in Takayama; 2 nights in Kanazawa; 4 nights in Kyoto; 3 nights in Nara; depart Osaka (train from Nara).

I would perhaps consider dropping one night from Nara and add it to Kyoto.

Tough, though. I would be alternatively tempted to drop Kanazawa and add a night onto Tokyo and a night onto Takayama. I liked Kanazawa, I just feel one full day in Tokyo isn’t nearly enough, and I loved Takayama. I also think that would be a fantastic time of year for an Onsen resort.

no really bad choices, I guess. But I would definitely want one more night in Kyoto.

another option you may like- someone suggested kurashiki, and I really enjoyed it.

That's fabulously helpful: thank you, marvelousmouse!

You’re welcome!

Also- too early for you to go to the actual event but this is near Takayama- and I would like to stay in one of the Shirakawago farmhouses someday-

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5956.html

(I am not necessarily recommending this, as I don’t know if December is a good time, and I did not, unfortunately, make the trip myself as I was having too much fun in Takayama. I just think it looks amazing so I thought I’d share!).

I'm sure you listed your itinerary in the order you will be traveling this December. We did all of those cities, and more, in March and April of this year. Takayama for 2 nights and then Kanazawa for 2 nights, one can take the bus between the 2 and stop for a few hours in Shirakawago. There are lockers at the bus stop in Shirakawago.

While we enjoyed both towns very much, if you find you need more time in other cities, I would drop Kanazawa. The garden there is beautiful, as we were there during cherry blossom season, but found the old town in Takayama much more impressive.

3 nights in Nara is a lot unless you are really into the many temples, the deer and the park. We did a day trip there, which we enjoyed very much despite the massive crowds. Again cherry blossoms! 2 nights max would be my suggestion. I would add another day to Kyoto and look into a day trip, perhaps Hiroshima and Himeji Castle. You can take the Shinkansen to both.

It was our first time in Japan as well; we immersed ourselves in NHK television station before we went to learn about the customs, traditions and food. Happy to answer any further questions you may have.

Thanks very much, gailscout: this is really helpful!

Peruse japan-guide.com for anything interesting.

Use Hyperdia.com for train scheduling.

If you're going west of Osaka (Hiroshima, Himeji, others), you should be considering JR passes.

Generally, I'm thinking you cannot schedule too many nights in Kyoto, but it's easy to schedule too few.

Russ what would you say to 7 nights in Kyoto for someone who is not going to visit very many temples? Someone who prefers to walk around absoring the atmosphere, poking into interesting old-school shops, sampling snacks and food in many places, and not pushing too hard??

Week in Tokyo and week in Kyoto, more or less?? Wonder if the OP should concentrate with those two on first trip??

Thank you so much, BigRuss and ekscrunchy. Following your advice, and that of others on this forum, we've changed our itinerary to provide the (slightly) deeper immersion in a smaller number of places. We're now looking at this:

• Arrive Tokyo
• 3 nights in Tokyo (inc. day trip to Kamakura)
• 3 nights in Takayama (inc. day trip to Matsumoto)
• 5 nights in Kyoto (inc. day trip to Hiroshima)
• 3 nights in Nara (inc. day trips to Horyuji, Toshodaiji or Yakushiji)
• Depart Osaka (train from Nara)

With the day trip to Hiroshima, are you planning to include Himeji Castle or Miyajima Island? I would not suggest all 3 in a one day but the train goes right by the Himeji Castle and then it is a short cab or bus ride to the castle and large grounds; Miyajima is a lovely island that one can take either a train/ferry to the island or a ferry direct, Aqua-Net, from Hiroshima park, depending on the tide schedule.

I would allow 2 hours at the Peace Park, longer if you are including the museum; I don't know if the larger museum will be reopened by December, but the smaller one is open at one end of the park. You can take transportation to both ends of the park so you don't need to retrace your steps. We took a bus from the train station to the museum end of the park and walked towards the dome. Then took a tram back to the station.

Also, have you selected a lodging in Takayama? We stayed at the Hotel Ouen, but I'm not sure I would recommend it. I'd look for someplace between the train station and around the river.

Hi gailscout, we're now thinking of staying in Hiroshima for at least two nights and including a visit to Miyajima Island. We might visit Himeji Castle as one of our day trips from Kyoto.

I did have my heart set on 3 nights in Takayama, but am now concerned about the likelihood of snow (we're travelling in the first two weeks of December). We're not skiers: we want to be able to walk around the old city. Any advice on this for us?

Last night I was reflecting on our great time in Takayama, but I see the average temperature in December is 43°. Hiroshima is 53°. I'll tell you what we did in that area. We spent 3 nights in Okayama @ the Crown Plaza, which is attached to the station. We arrived the first afternoon, checked in and then took at a day trip to Kurashiki, which has a delightful old town area, similar but smaller than Takayama's. You can walk from the train station.

The next morning we toured the Korakuen Garden, near the Castle and then took an afternoon trip to Himeji Castle. The last day, we took the Shinkansen to Hiroshima and changed trains to Miyajimaguchi, where one gets the ferry to Miyajima. We spent too much time on Miyajima as we found we could not take the Aqua Net ferry directly to The Peace Park due to low tides. Though we did get to see the Torii at both high tide and low tide. Reversing our efforts to Hiroshima station, we took a bus to the museum at the Memorial Peace Park, walked through the park towards the dome (it was late and did not get to the museum nor the hall). At the dome, we took a tram back to the station, then train to Okayama. In December, closing hours may vary from what we experienced in early April.

In Kyoto, I would plan at least a 1/2 day trip to Arashiyama to see the Bamboo forest, perhaps the monkeys, and the town; on the way back you can take the Randen tram, oldest tram in Kyoto and check out Ryoan-ji and Kinkaku-ji, which are close to each other.

Happy to help!

Thanks again, gailscout! We're still longing to see the Alps, but this gives us some great alternative options.

Thanks again to everyone who helped us plan our itinerary for our first visit to Japan. On our first day, we arrive in Tokyo early in the morning. We'll take the train from Narita Airport to Tokyo Station, but we will have a few hours before we can check in to our apartment.
What would be the best way to spend those few hours? We'll have our suitcases with us.

Are you sure that you can't leave your luggage at the place before you check in? If it was a hotel then you could use a same day takkyubin (Yamato) and perhaps you could do that if there is any staff at the apt building to accept it.
Another option is to use coin lockers at Tokyo station.

Luggage-forwarding is called takuhaibin; here's the info:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html

And here's some information on lockers at train stations:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2274.html (scroll down)

For a first trip to Japan I think you’ve done quite a good job with realistic planning. A few thoughts:

1. Horyu-ji is an easy 1/2 day from Nara. I visited Todai-ji (both lower and upper complexes) at leisure in the morning and then spent 2 1/2 hours that afternoon at Horyu-ji. All with extremely painful tendinitis in my right shin. My point-Horyu-ji is only a 30 minute or so train ride away.

2. I haven’t been to Takayama but heartily recommend Matsumoto and the castle. I’ve been to 3 of the 4 great castles in Japan and Matsumoto’s is my favorite.

3. Rather than spending two nights in Hiroshima and day tripping to Miyajima, I’d recommend the other way around. Miyajima is wonderful during the crowded daytime but even more wonderful at night after day trippers from Hiroshima leave. And there are some wonderful ryokan options to choose from. Any of us here can give you ryokan advice if you choose this option.

I know you will have an amazing trip no matter what you choose and like many of us, will go back for a second trip. Honestly, I’m dreaming towards a third trip perhaps in 2021.

Oh gosh, I just realized that I never commented on your itinerary as I was off-line at the time! I certainly don't have unusual wisdom to share, but FWI:

Horyu-ji is, as MinnBeef noted, very easy to reach from Nara, and Chugu-ji, home to the beautiful Miroku Busatsu, not to mention Japan's oldest extant embroidery -- is well worth visiting IMO and is just inside Horyu-ji's entrance. It's small, and so visiting wouldn't take long.

If I understand your latest plan -- and I'm not sure you do! -- then your visit to Hiroshima would be a day trip? If an overnight is an option, I'd also recommend a night on Miyajima. And visiting Himeji-jo en route would also be worth considering if the timing works.

Hope that helps1

What did you decide for your final itinerary? I have some suggestions for Takayama, if you included this city.

Also, are you planning to get yen before you leave the US? We got a variety of bills including the "coveted" JPN ¥2000 note. Almost all small shop owners we paid with this note, were so delighted as many had only heard of it when it was printed in 2000. Their reactions were so joyful for us as well.

Thanks so much, gailscout, and everyone else who has so kindly offered itinerary suggestions. We've finalised our itinerary now and have decided to keep it very simple and contained: this is only our first trip, so we don't feel compelled to move about a great deal.

After 3 days in Tokyo, we move to Takayama for 3 days: gailscout, I'd love any suggestions you can share about our visit here. We then go to Kyoto for a week. We've rented a beautiful house and intend to 'settle in' a bit, seeing Kyoto but also doing day trips along the lines that many people have kindly suggested. Finally, we return to Tokyo to fly back to Australia.

In Takayama, definitely make a point of eating the Hida beef - it's memorable: we actually ate at a shop behind a butchery where they sold the beef by weight and then one sits with a grill set into one's table and grills one's own beef, a wonderful experience.

Another vote for Hida beef -- and local wild mountain vegetables. :)

Ros, I see you are from Australia not USA. I think I got your original post confused with another's post. I will work on a Takayama plan for you this weekend. You may want to consider a 1/2 day bus trip to Shirakawa-gō. There you can experience eating bear (we did not) and enjoy the traditional thatch houses. Especially if there is snow - magical!

I trust you've consulted japan-guide.com and the JNTO website?

Your new simplified itinerary sounds great! I think giving yourself the extra time in Kyoto, and using it as a base for day trips, works well.

For Takayama, here's the Hida beef restaurant we enjoyed, plus a post on a snack we'd not seen before, at the morning market, and another on the morning market itself.
https://www.kaveyeats.com/2012/12/hi...ama-japan.html
https://www.kaveyeats.com/2012/12/ow...-takayama.html
https://www.kaveyeats.com/2012/12/mi...-takayama.html

I have some content on Kyoto, Koya-San, Miyajma, Tokyo, Kamakura, and others, plus some general guides such as a beginner's guide to understanding sake. Shout if you need any of them.

Our favorite restaurant was Sakarajaya which is outside of the area around the train station, the river, and the old section. The food is outstanding especially the fried tofu (so creamy in the inside). We still talk about it many months later. Must make reservation before you get to Takayama - though in the winter I'm not so sure. The owner/chef is amazingly friendly and his mother helps out. The food comes out as it is prepared and the wait time between may be longer that you wish. That said, the food and friendly atmosphere will leave you with happy memories!

Coffee shop that has 25 comments with 5 stars on Google is Cafe Courier. Pour-over coffee and homemade cheesecake. The husband and wife owners are so friendly and fun, with their sketch books of all major, mostly independent, coffee shops they traveled to before opening their travel themed coffee shop. Out of the way, but a good morning walk, Boulangerie Noboriya. French schooled pastry chef with a touch of the Japanese playfulness on several of the delicious pastries. You may think you are in Paris!

Up from the older area of Takayama is an area of temples, museums and exhibit halls: Higashihayashiyamadaio and Sakurayama Nikkokan are just a few of the sites. The float exhibit hall, the miniature replications of many of Takayama's temples, shrines, etc. and walking around the area are not to be missed.

In the older area of Takayama are many saki, miso, beer tasting sites; great gift shops with local items, and just a really well preserved area. Unfortunately, my google docs with all my information have disappeared so I am unable to give you more specific information.

In Kyoto, you may want to take a tour focused on Geisha in the Gion. Kentaro, who just opened his own tour company, is a wonderful young guide. We met him through AirBNB experiences. kenstours.com I see he now does other tours. You can read about him on TripAdvisor.

Feel free to chime in if you have any more questions!

Great post for my planning for our first trip to Japan. Thanks all who commented. I hope OP comes back with feedback from her trip which I gather could still be going on.

Hi yestravel, we've only just returned from what was a fabulous first visit to Japan - my grateful thanks to everyone who shared suggestions and advice on this forum!
I don't yet have the time for a detailed account, but can say that each of our three destinations (Tokyo, Takayama and Kyoto) were extremely rich and rewarding places to stay: we could have spent more time in each of them. In particular, the decision to stay in Kyoto for a week was just the best. We did do two day trips (Nara and Hiroshima), but neither were as great as the days that we simply spent in different areas of Kyoto.

Glad you had such a great trip. Where did you stay in Takayama?

At a beautiful ryokan called Oyado Koto No Yume.

yestravel, are you looking for a hotel in Takayama?

Here is an option for a modern hotel near Takayama train station where I stayed this past October and can highly recommend it.

The hotel is "Spa Hotel Alpina Hida Takayama". We booked a 217 sq-ft twin room on high floor and non-smoking, and was assigned a room on the 8th floor with views to the mountains. The hotel is modern, clean and with a very nice onsen on the 9th floor. It is 5-min walk from JR Takayama station. If breakfast is not included in your room rate, just pay 1200Yen/pp at the front desk each morning to buy a breakfast voucher.

I stayed in the Spa Alpina back in 2010. Very nice.

Reading54 -- thanks! Yes, I am searching for a place during the October festival. Thanks for your suggestion. It seems many places are booked with only room without private bathrooms available or they haven't opened their booking yet for that far out. thursdaysd, appreciate your vote of confidence in it.

Yestravel, if you are considering including Takayama in you trip then do take a look at Sumiyoshi Ryokan. We stayed there back in 2008 and loved it. Some photos on our blog https://accidentalnomads.com/2008/04...ans-miso-sake/

Along with the monastery stay in Koyasan, probably our favourite lodgings in Japan.

Hi crellston! Thanks! Given the small Fodor's world, I got that recommendation from someone you gave it to (Internetwiz). I have contacted them in both English & Japanese, but have not heard back. I'll look at your blog for other hints.

And if you're going to Takayama don't miss the Art Nouveau museum.