14
Aug 16 → 2913 nights · 5 hotels · 2 people
Two of us · First time in Japan
はじめての日本
Read the thread on Reddit ↗
The thread agreed with the Himeji switch, emphatically.
Seven separate people recommended it over Osaka Castle, unprompted, and several made the same point already on this
page — that the Osaka keep is a modern concrete rebuild while Himeji is an original. Summarised below rather
than quoted; usernames are theirs.
NickJunho, ekek280, Tsubame_Hikari, Temporary_Dot_8888, AquilaFurst, a_over_b, chinaskib all said the same thing independently. Tsubame_Hikari put it most precisely: Himeji is one of only twelve original castle keeps left in Japan, and the most impressive of them. Several called Osaka’s grounds pleasant but the keep itself a museum in a concrete shell.
✓ Already changed — Aug 23 is Himeji
AquilaFurst stayed overnight and found Himeji lovely in the morning before the tour groups arrive — the same logic behind the 7:30 AM Arashiyama start and the 8:00 AM Kiyomizu start already in this plan.
✓ Our 11:10 arrival is mid-morning — could be pulled earlier
Tsubame_Hikari argued a day trip is enough and not worth a hotel change. chinaskib and Makere-b both found Osaka itself underwhelming next to Tokyo and Kyoto.
↔ We went the other way — but the Osaka night now buys Himeji as well, which is a stronger reason than Osaka alone.
a_over_b flagged that the JR station and the shinkansen station are different — about five minutes apart by subway, an hour on foot. An easy way to miss a train.
✓ Aug 24 already routes Namba → Shin-Osaka on the Midōsuji line
muffinhuffinpuffin rated Shinsekai after dark as highly as Dōtonbori, and recommended an evening food tour there.
✓ Aug 23 has Shinsekai at 7:30 PM for kushikatsu
DryManufacturer5393 pointed out these sit on opposite sides of Tokyo — a fair criticism of pairing them in one day.
↔ Deliberate: Asakusa in the morning, Shinjuku for the evening, one crossing between them on the Ginza line. Worth knowing it is a long day.
NickJunho and Turquoise__Dragon both corrected the framing — the post described a two-week trip, but the part being debated is about ten days.
ellyse99 — the Museum of Housing and Living, if she likes museums. CommonMuted — skip Nishiki and Kinkaku-ji; add Byōdō-in and Kōshō-ji in Uji, plus the Tokyo National Museum. 11butterflies — Osaka Castle was brutally hot and crowded in August. AquilaFurst — consider sleeping in Himeji rather than Osaka.
Every day below has an hour-by-hour breakdown — tap “Show the hours” under any day. Times are realistic rather than optimistic: they assume you're not sprinting, and they leave slack for meals and getting lost.
Filled dot = an anchor of the day — the main sight, a check-in, a fixed booking. Build the day around these.
Hollow dot = a flexible step — move it, shorten it or skip it without breaking the day.
Land at Narita around 8 PM, travel to the hotel, eat nearby and sleep. No major sightseeing.
Sleep — ShibuyaShibuya Crossing, the shopping streets and cafés, Harajuku's fashion area, then the large forested shrine nearby.
Sleep — ShibuyaFull day at the park — rides, shows, parade and fireworks.
Sleep — ShibuyaA second, separate park — and the one worth a full day. Fantasy Springs (Frozen, Tangled, Peter Pan) is the newest area in either park and needs a standby pass the moment you are through the gate. DisneySea needs its own date-specific ticket — book it now, August sells out. You keep the Shibuya room, but pack tonight: Kyoto is tomorrow morning and check-out is 10:00 AM.
Sleep — ShibuyaTake the high-speed train down. Check in, then walk the traditional evening district — lanterns, narrow streets, restaurants and old wooden buildings.
Sleep — Kyoto, SanjōPreserved historic streets, a large hillside temple with city views, small shops and cafés, then the traditional entertainment district in the evening.
Sleep — Kyoto, SanjōBamboo forest, the riverside area, gardens and temples in western Kyoto. The more scenic and relaxed Kyoto day.
Sleep — Kyoto, SanjōCheck out of Kyoto and go west. Himeji Castle takes the middle of the day — Japan’s finest surviving castle, an original 1609 wooden keep that was never burned, bombed or rebuilt. UNESCO and a National Treasure, and it sits between Kyoto and Osaka, so it costs no backtracking. Chosen over Osaka Castle deliberately: that one is a 1931 concrete reconstruction with a lift inside. Then on to Osaka for Dōtonbori after dark. The 23rd was always a travel day, so none of this costs you anything in Kyoto.
Sleep — Osaka, NambaA slow Osaka morning, then the long hop east. Be on a train from Shin-Osaka by 11:30 AM — Odawara is mainly a Kodama stop, so this leg is slower than it looks. The ryokan car meets you at Odawara and check-in opens at 3:00 PM: your own open-air bath, yukata, and A5 wagyu kaiseki at 6:30.
Sleep — Hakone ryokanThe full Hakone loop, downhill all the way. Ōwakudani by ropeway, the boat across Lake Ashi, and the torii standing in the water — then down to Odawara and on to Tokyo for the last four nights. Staying up at Sengokuhara means you start at the lake instead of climbing to it.
Sleep — Tokyo Station areaOlder Tokyo during the day: the temple, the shopping street and the river. At night, Shinjuku for neon, street food and the free observatory. No bars — the evening is built around food and night views instead.
Sleep — Tokyo Station areaThe early fish-market breakfast, then Ginza, the Imperial Palace East Gardens for shade and quiet, and the KITTE rooftop looking straight down on Tokyo Station. All of it walking distance from the hotel.
Sleep — Tokyo Station areaThe day built around what to bring home. Akihabara, Ueno Park and its museums, Kappabashi for kitchen goods, and Ameyoko for cheap drugstores — the skincare run. Last full day, so buy it now rather than later.
Sleep — Tokyo Station areaBags at the desk in the morning, then a gentle last outing to the Nakameguro canal and Daikanyama — boutiques, coffee and Tsutaya Books — back for the cases by 3:00 PM, and out to Narita for the 9:30 PM flight.
Narita — 9:30 PMHuge modern city — shopping, nightlife, Disney, temples, food, and completely different neighbourhoods block to block.
The traditional image of Japan: preserved streets, temples, bamboo, gardens and old wooden architecture. Nara is an easy day trip out.
One romantic night at a traditional hot-spring inn. Lake and mountain scenery, maybe Fuji. Relaxation rather than sightseeing.
Every Japanese word used anywhere in this plan, defined. None of it needs memorising — but ekiben, kaiseki, onsen and yukata will make the Hakone night and the train to Kyoto make a great deal more sense.
A boxed meal sold on station platforms. Each region has its own, made with local specialities and designed to be eaten cold on the train. Buying one before the Kyoto shinkansen on Aug 20 is a small ritual worth doing.
The multi-course tasting dinner served at a ryokan — a fixed seasonal menu, plated as art, arriving course by course at a set time. Your Aug 23 dinner.
A Japanese pub that is really a small-plates restaurant. You can eat very well at one without drinking.
Chicken grilled on skewers over charcoal, seasoned with salt or a sweet soy glaze.
A breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet, served with shredded cabbage and rice.
Three noodle types: ramen is wheat noodles in rich broth, soba is thin buckwheat, udon is thick and white.
A savoury cabbage pancake cooked on a hotplate. The name means roughly “grilled how you like it”.
Skewered, breaded and deep-fried meat and vegetables. Never double-dip the shared sauce.
Freshwater eel, grilled and glazed. An Asakusa speciality.
Raw fish or seafood, sliced and served without rice.
Lightly battered, deep-fried seafood and vegetables.
Thin slices of meat swished briefly through simmering broth at the table.
Fried rice wrapped in a soft omelette. Kichi Kichi on Aug 21 is the famous one.
Tofu simmered gently in a light broth. An Arashiyama speciality.
Tofu skin — the delicate film lifted off soy milk. A Kyoto delicacy, often in kaiseki.
Kyoto home-style cooking: small vegetable-led side dishes, seasonal and unfussy.
Buddhist temple cuisine — entirely vegetarian by doctrine, so no fish at all. Kyoto is the best place to eat it.
A savoury steamed egg custard. Often contains a piece of shrimp or fish cake.
A sweet rolled omelette, sliced into blocks. A common breakfast item.
The foundational stock of Japanese cooking, usually dried bonito and kelp. It is in almost every broth and sauce.
Japanese beef, heavily marbled. Hakone sits near good beef country.
Powdered green tea, whisked with hot water. Also a flavour in everything from ice cream to KitKats.
A sweet bun with a crisp cookie crust. Sold on the street in Asakusa.
The food hall in a department store basement. Extraordinary quality, and the best place to buy edible gifts.
A narrow alley of tiny bars and eateries, usually under railway tracks. Omoide Yokochō is on your Aug 19.
A traditional Japanese inn: tatami floors, futon bedding, hot-spring baths, dinner and breakfast included. Your Aug 23.
A natural hot spring and the bath built around it. You wash thoroughly first, then soak — naked, no swimsuits.
A private bath reserved for the two of you alone. The workaround if you would rather not bathe communally, or have tattoos.
The light cotton robe the ryokan provides. Wear it to dinner and around the inn. Always wrap left over right.
Woven straw floor mats. Never walk on them in slippers — socks or bare feet only.
The mattress laid directly on the tatami. Staff put it out while you are at dinner.
The high-speed rail network. Tokyo to Kyoto takes about 2 hours 15.
Three shinkansen services, fastest to slowest. Nozomi skips Odawara — take a Hikari on Aug 23.
Rechargeable travel cards. Add one to your phone before you fly and tap through every gate.
Door-to-door luggage delivery. Send big bags ahead rather than hauling them through Hakone.
The gate marking a shrine entrance. Bow once as you pass through, and avoid the exact centre of the path.
A traditional wooden townhouse. The old buildings lining Gion and Pontochō.
The Kyoto words for a geisha and her apprentice. Do not photograph or follow them — they are working.
Literally “not good with”. Used for a food you would rather avoid, but treated less strictly than an allergy.
Japan is forgiving of tourists who are visibly trying, and quietly unforgiving of ones who aren't. Almost none of this is complicated — it's mostly about being quiet, tidy and unhurried. The two that genuinely matter are the onsen and Gion.
No tipping. Ever — it confuses people and can offend. Service is already included.
Pay onto the tray, not into the hand. There's a small dish by every register.
Silence on trains. No phone calls, headphones only. This one is taken seriously.
Don't eat while walking. Eat where you bought it, then move on.
Carry your rubbish. Public bins barely exist — a bag in your daypack solves it.
Escalators: stand left in Tokyo, walk on the right. (Osaka reverses it.)
Chopsticks: never stand them upright in rice, never pass food chopstick-to-chopstick — both are funeral rites.
Slurping noodles is fine. Genuinely. Blowing your nose at the table is not.
Wash thoroughly before getting in. Sit at the shower stalls and clean yourself completely — the bath is for soaking, not washing. This is the rule that matters most.
You bathe naked. No swimsuits. Baths are separated by gender.
The small towel never enters the water. Fold it on your head or rest it on the edge.
Tattoos may bar entry. Many onsen still refuse them. If either of you has one, check with the ryokan when booking and ask about a kashikiri (private) bath — it's a common workaround.
Tie long hair up so it stays out of the water. No swimming, no splashing.
Shoes off at the entrance. There'll be slippers. Separate toilet slippers exist — wear them in there, and remember to swap back.
Never wear slippers on tatami. Socks or bare feet only.
Yukata wraps left over right. Right over left is how the dead are dressed. Wear it to dinner and around the inn — that's expected, not costume.
Dinner is at a fixed time and served course by course. Being late disrupts a kitchen cooking to the minute.
Don't move the futon. Staff lay it out while you're at dinner.
Bow once at the torii gate before entering a shrine, and don't walk down the exact centre of the path — that's reserved for the deity.
Purify at the water basin: left hand, right hand, rinse your mouth from your cupped hand (not the ladle), then stand the ladle upright to rinse the handle.
At a shrine: bow twice, clap twice, pray, bow once.
At a temple: no clapping — just a quiet bow.
Shoes off where there's a step up and a rack. No photos inside halls unless signed otherwise.
Do not photograph, follow or stop geiko and maiko. They are working, usually late, and being chased by tourists became such a problem that Kyoto now fines people on some private lanes.
Some Gion alleys ban photography entirely — signs are posted, and they're enforced.
These are people's homes. Don't enter doorways or courtyards for a shot. Look, walk, keep your voice down.
Say itadakimasu before, gochisōsama after. Small, and always well received.
Wet towel is for your hands, not your face.
Cash still rules in small places, temples and markets. 7-Eleven and Lawson ATMs take foreign cards; many bank ATMs don't.
Don't linger at a counter seat once you've finished — at ramen and small shops the queue outside is the point.
Since you don't drink: nobody will mind. Order oolong-cha or nomimono and no one blinks — soft drinks are standard even at izakaya.
Five stays, five different reasons. The area matters more than the hotel in most of these — a cheap room in the right neighbourhood beats a nice one you have to commute out of. Prices are for the whole stay, two people.
Why Shibuya: Aug 17 is a walking day that never leaves the area — the Crossing, Shibuya Sky, Harajuku, Meiji Shrine. Staying here means you walk out into your itinerary instead of commuting to it. It also costs you nothing on the two Disney mornings, which are a train ride from anywhere in Tokyo. The trade is that Shibuya rooms are small for the money — central Tokyo charges for space.
| Band | Rating | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Our room, 6 min from the Crossing 140 sq ft · 6 min to the Crossing · booked | 8.4 | $401 |
| Tokyu Stay Shibuya 215 sq ft, washer/dryer · but 10 min uphill | 9.4 | $538 |
| Shibuya Excel Hotel Tokyu 323 sq ft, inside Mark City above the station | 9.2 | $900 |
Why the river, not the station: measured against all 15 Kyoto stops, 9 are walkable from Sanjō and only 1 from Kyoto Station. Both Gion evenings and the Kichi Kichi dinner are on foot from here. The catch is Karasuma — 700 m west and it halves the walkable count, while describing itself identically in listings. Everything on this itinerary is east.
| Band | Rating | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Traveltine Kiyamachi on the canal lane beside Pontoōchō | 9.6 | $125 |
| Our room, by the river Pontoōchō 1 min, Nishiki 7 · booked | 9.2 | $234 |
| Nohga Hotel Kiyomizu best-rated in Kyoto, but east and off the rail | 9.8 | $429 |
Why Namba, not Umeda: you arrive from Himeji late afternoon and the evening is the reason you are here — Dōtonbori, Shinsekai, Hōzenji Yokochō, all walkable from Namba. It is also a straight 17-minute Midōsuji ride to Shin-Osaka for the 11:30 train on the 24th. Umeda is the business end; you would be commuting to your own night out.
| Band | Rating | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Toyoko Inn Osaka Namba 3,598 reviews · plain but reliable | 9.0 | $78 |
| Cross Hotel Osaka on Dōtonbori itself · the pick | 9.4 | $129 |
| Swissotel Nankai Osaka above Namba Station, nothing closer to the train | 9.2 | $223 |
Live prices for Aug 23 → 24. Not booked yet.
Why up the mountain: Sengokuhara costs about an hour on arrival and gives it back the next morning — Aug 25 starts at Togendai on the lake instead of climbing from Yumoto. It is also the only night of the trip bought for the room rather than the location, which is why the private open-air bath decided it.
| Band | Rating | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Tensui Saryo, Gōra cheapest with a private bath | 8.8 | ~$266 |
| Hotel Indigo Hakone Gōra excellent hotel, but not a ryokan — no kaiseki | 9.4 | ~$288 |
| Our ryokan, up the mountain A suite with its own open-air bath, wagyu kaiseki | — | $840 |
The two alternatives are Aug 23 prices, gathered before the date moved — treat them as indicative.
Why here and not somewhere livelier: unlike Kyoto, no Tokyo address walks to your days — the best anywhere manages 5 of 20 stops, because you range from Asakusa to Shinjuku to Daikanyama. So this one is decided on rail, not walking. Three hard dependencies land at Tokyo Station: you arrive from Odawara, Kamakura would leave from there, and the Narita Express home goes from there. The Kyōbashi–Nihonbashi strip is half a kilometre away, and livelier in the evening than Marunouchi, which empties after work.
| Band | Rating | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Intergate Tokyo Kyobashi 2,012 reviews · best value in the band | 9.0 | $423 |
| remm Tokyo Kyobashi 2,135 reviews · strong all-rounder | 9.2 | $463 |
| Daiwa Roynet Kyobashi PREMIER larger rooms than the Tokyo average | 9.4 | $700 |
Live prices for Aug 25 → 29, four nights. Not booked yet — and it blocks the Aug 23 luggage forwarding.
Three of the five stays are booked, so this is now part fact, part estimate.
Booked figures are what you actually paid. Everything else is a planning number, built at
¥163.5 to the dollar.
Not included: international flights, shopping and souvenirs.
Two Disney days is the other change. Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea are separate
date-priced tickets at ¥7,900–10,900 per adult per day, so two days for two people is roughly
¥35,000–43,000 (~$215–265) on its own.
Trains went up with Osaka. Osaka → Odawara is a longer, more awkward leg than
Kyoto → Odawara was, and Aug 23 now adds Kyoto → Himeji → Shin-Osaka. The ¥14,000 ryokan car and
the ¥12,000 Hakone Free Pass are both in that line.
Treat every estimate as ±15%.
Skip the nationwide JR Pass. It's ¥50,000 for 7 days (rising to ¥53,000 on Oct 1, 2026), and your two long hauls — down to Kyoto and back up to Tokyo at the end — fall more than 7 days apart, so no single pass can cover both. Buy individual shinkansen tickets instead.