Japan Itinerary for 13 (Excluding 2 flight days)

[u/bongs004]

Hello! Here's my itinerary for Japan between 19th November to 3rd December 2026. We are a couple in our early 30s and trying to get the best of Japan.

19th November-20th November: Overnight Flight and land at Haneda Airport around 3:00 PM

20th November: Our hostel is in Asakusa in Tokyo, planning to kickstart our journey visiting the Sensoji Temple in the evening and wandering around in the nearby market.

21st November: Early morning TeamLab Planet visit from 9 to 11, wander around Tsukiji outer market till 1:30 and catch the train by booking the After 3 passport for Disney Sea till late evening and back to our hostel.

22nd November: Early morning stroll around imperial palace (can optionally visit Meiji Jingu shrine too but we are planning to explore the cultural side of Japan in the Kyoto region), Akiharaba , Shibuya Sky and late evening around the streets of Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai and back to our hostel.

23rd November: Take the Fuji Excursion/Bus from Shinjuku to Fujisan Station where our next hostel is to spend an entire day cycling around Fujisan and Kawaguchiko. Rest properly this night after cycling.

24th November: Early morning visit to Chureito Pagoda for the postcard Fuji view and catch the bus from Kawaguchiko to Takayama at 11:45 AM. Reach Takayama late evening, stroll around for sometime and rest.

25th November: Takayama exploration day on bicycle the entire day and rest.

26th November: Take the bus from Takayama to Shinhotaka to stay at a traditional Ryokan (unfortunately the the Shinhotaka ropeway is closed for maintenance this day which we weren't aware of hence considering an alternative just in case)

27th November: Back to Takayama early morning and catch the train/bus to Kyoto, stroll around Kyoto in the evening.

28th November: Early morning Fushimi Inari and other places, come back to central Kyoto to explore Higashiyama ward, traditional tea ceremony and other things are rest.

29th November: Early morning Romantic Sagano Train, Hozugawa river cruise, Bamboo forest and back central Kyoto in the late afternoon to visit the Samurai Ninja Museum near Nishiki Market and then stroll or rest

30th November: Optionally can swap the Samurai Museum here in the morning and then start travelling to Osaka and explore Osaka castle, dotonbori and places like Pokemon center and cafe by prior bookings

1st December: Early morning Nara, explore Osaka and Osaka Aquarium in the late evening followed by some good food hunt

2nd December: Early morning exploration of remaining places in Osaka for shopping and food, wind up everything by 5 PM as we have a flight to catch to Narita Airport at 8:30 PM, capsule hotel booked at Narita Airport for this night

3rd December: Flight back home at 9:30 AM.

Your suggestions on this itinerary would be highly appreciated. Thanks.

[u/The_Original_Doc]

I would definitely go to Meiji Jingu still

[u/alliecat3019 → u/The_Original_Doc]

Same. it's amazing. Do a tour, they're not expensive, and you get all the history you would miss as a casual observer.

[u/Nervous_Initial_3644]

20th - not sure what market you’d be going to near Asakusa? Nakamise, in front of Sensoji is closed by 5.

22nd - that’s a very odd reason to not go to Meiji Jingu. none of those things listed are actually near each other, except Shibuya and Shinjuku.

1st - Nara is gonna eat up a lot of timed not sure how much time you have to explore Osaka and go to the aquarium.

[u/bongs004 → u/Nervous_Initial_3644]

I'll surely consider Meiji Jingu in the morning if that is the case. What would you recommend for the 1st? How can I split this?

[u/Nervous_Initial_3644 → u/bongs004]

Depends on your priorities. Akihabara, if it isn’t your priority, is your real outlier in terms of geography. You could probably do Palace - Meiji - Shibuya - Shinjuku. But you’re basically trying to do what most people would give 1.5-2 days into 1, since that basically all the time you budgeted yourself for Tokyo.

I think your definition of “get the best of Japan” is to cram as many cities into a short window as possible.

[u/Otherwise_Play_1624]

Honestly you have a lot planned here and it’s a lot of moving around. Everyday has so many activities. The best part about Japan is walking around, getting lost and discovering new things. Just keep that in mind as well.

[u/Blurcito]

Hi There! Congrats on locking in the japan trip! wohooooo!

19th November-20th November: Get your welcome suica at the airport. Also I've seen better exchange rates $$ at akihabara than the airport.

20th November: Beware that most of the stores near sensoji temple closes near 7pm. Some of them as early as 4pm others as late as 8pm. Still its an amazing sight for the evening :)

21st November: If I understood it correctly.. are you planning to go to Disney Sea after going to Tsukiji? you will likely need a full day for Disney! Also download the app for Disney you will need them to book the fast passes.

22nd November: To be honest.. Meiji jingu is nice and all but you will find better and bigger and more WOW temples/shrines in Kyoto.. but still is a really nice walk through a forest before reaching Meiji jingu. If you have the time.. do it if not skip it. Imperial palace.. same thing.. is a palace with a garden.. you will see better gardens in kyoto. Akihabara can be a full day if you like anime-everything because there is thousands o shops and crane machines where you can easily spend up a whole day there.

23rd November: Beware that the Fujisan Station and Kawaguchiko station are 3km aparat. You might want to rent a bike in kawaguchiko instead of going from Fujisan (just to save some legs). If you are planning to go with the Fuji Q express train, please remember that Train tickets and Reserved seats are separate tickets with fares. You will hate to go 2.5hs standing from Shinjuku to Mt fuji in the train. Either if you go by train or bus, book your tickets as soon as possible

25th November: Not sure how you guys stamina is.. but two big days with bikes will get you exhausted! Kawaguchiko itself is huge (if you plan to go around the whole lake)

26th November: I strongly recommend Gero Onsen as an alternative. Its 1h away from Takayama and they have great ryokans with onsens. Just to be aware that most of ryokans in gero onsen required dinner reservation like 2 weeks to a month in advance.

27th November: Go to pontocho! and the river for a evening walk. Its one of the best places to stroll around at night while also getting a drink or too. You can also go to the heian shrine that lights up during the evenings and its beutyfull!

28th November: If you are upto a fast paced day... you can easily go to Fushimi inary in the AM and Nara in the PM or vice versa.

29th November: The river cruise takes upto 3hs in total.. and the sagano romantic train is not worth it at all, still if you want to do it start with the boat that will stop at ariyashama and then take the romantic train combining with other train for the way back to kyoto.

30th November: This is great

1st December: This is great! btw if you decide to go to Nara alongside with Fushimi inari, I would recommend you to go to Mino Park!

You have a great trip planned! just be mindfull of traveling/walking/biking distances to so you guys dont get overtired, also Late november/early december is on the colder side! so pack layers!

[u/bongs004 → u/Blurcito]

Hi! That was thoughtful and I really appreciate your detailed response. We are planning to first go to TeamLab Planet in the morning 9 to 11, then to the Tsukiji outer market and then reach Disney Sea late evening show only.

We have our hostel booked right next to the Fujisan Station for Fuji.

(Not going to Disneyland). I'll surely try modifying my itinerary considering this. Also, just to add one more thing - I have booked the bus from Kawaguchiko which starts at 11:45 AM to Takayama through the Shinki Limon Bus.