Japan Itinerary (19 days): Tokyo, Kamakura, Nagoya, Takayama, Kanazawa, Nagano

For my third trip to Japan I decided to see more of the Chūbu region, which is the bit in the middle of Japan’s main island, between Tokyo and Kyoto. So, for my Japan itinerary this time, I spent five days revisiting my favourite spots in Tokyo, before going in a circle around Chūbu and then back to Tokyo. 

My route round Chūbu was fairly straightforward as there are train lines connecting each location the whole way round. I made an exception when I went to Kanazawa from Takayama though. Here I went via Shirakawa-go by bus and left my luggage at a locker at Shirakawa-go bus station to explore before continuing on to Kanazawa.

It’s worth bearing in mind that whilst I think that the itinerary below is probably enough time to spend in each area, it was quite a lot of travelling in a short space of time. You may want to use a luggage-forwarding service, or miss out some locations to give yourself a bit more time to explore others.

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Tokyo

Having stayed at the B:Conte Aparthotel in Asakusa and at the Shibuya Granbell Hotel in, well, Shibuya previously, I opted to stay in Ginza this time as this was central to everywhere I wanted to go. I would definitely recommend using Ginza as your base location. I stayed at the Super Premier Hotel Ginza, which was very reasonable (especially for Ginza), super modern, and best of all, it had a sento, or public bath! (A sento is basically the same as an onsen but the way in which the water is heated differs. Throughout this itinerary I’ll just refer to it as a public bath).

I’ve also stayed at Sotetsu Fresa Inn Ginza Sanchome, which is great if you’re on a budget. I hadn’t realised this before I booked, but for breakfast, instead of a continental breakfast or western buffet you get the option of having sukiyaki or yakiniku instead! I had sukiyaki, which involves dipping meat (and veg) into a hot bowl of soy sauce, mirin and sugar to cook it, before you dip it in an egg and eat it with rice. It was a really unexpected (and delicious) culinary experience!

Here was my plan, anyhow:

Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo!

Arrive at lunchtime. (My room wasn’t ready so I went for a walk past Tokyo Tower and visited some shrines/ temples in the area. I also went to Ikebukuro for the Pokémon Centre. I’m not quite sure why as it was 35 minutes away by subway – I should have just gone to the store in Shibuya. I blame jetlag).

Day 2: Odaiba

Head to Odaiba for the Poop Museum (yes you read that right) and Teamlab Planets, which is an amazing digital art museum. (I had visited Borderless, Teamlab’s sister exhibit, on my last visit). In the evening, head over to Shibuya for the Pokémon Centre and Nintendo Store, as well as Loft, Muji, and Tokyu Hands.

Day 3: Harajuku and Shinjuku

Go back to Harajuku to visit Meiji Jingu, Omotesando and Takeshita-dori; afterwards, take the train up to Shinjuku to see the 3D cat billboard(!) and local shrines.

You can read my blog post about Harajuku here.

Day 4: Back to Asakusa and Akihabara

Wander around Asakusa to see Sensoji temple and then head up to Akihabara. Look for some Pokémon cards, play some games at one of the arcades, and visit Kanda Myojin temple.

You can read my blog post about Asakusa and Akihabara here.

Day 5: Hakone (again)

Take a day trip to Hakone to finally see the shrine! (I completely missed it the first time round due to terrible planning on my part).

You can read my blog post about visiting Hakone here.

Kamakura

Here I stayed at Guesthouse Shibafu in Hase, which is about five minutes by train to Kamakura.

Day 6: Tokyo to Kamakura + Enoshima

Travel from Tokyo to Kamakura area; spend the afternoon on Enoshima to see the shrine and sea caves! (This was probably my favourite place of everywhere I visited on my trip).

You can read my blog post about visiting Enoshima here.

Day 7: Kamakura and Hase

Head to Kamakura for Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū shrine and the Komachi-dori shopping street in the morning; return to Hase in the afternoon for Hasedera temple and the Giant Buddha statue.

You can read my blog post about visiting Kamakura and Hase here.

Nagoya

Here I stayed at the Royal Park Canvas Nagoya which is only a five minute walk from Nagoya station and also has a public bath!

Day 8: Kamakura to Nagoya

Take the train from Kamakura to Nagoya (this was a bit of a faff as you have to double-back on yourself a bit but it wasn’t too onerous). Go to the SCMaglev and Railway Park, and the back to the Pokémon Centre in Nagoya afterwards.

Day 9: Nagoya + Nabana no Sato winter illuminations

Spend a day in Nagoya (seeing Nagoya castle, Osu Kannon and Osu shopping street) before heading to Nabana no Sato for the Winter Illuminations. (If you’re travelling to Japan in Autumn/ Winter time this is well worth a visit!)

Takayama

At Takayama I stayed in the new Orinkaku wing of the Hida Takayama Onsen Takayama Green and it was very fancy indeed. Not only was my room massive but they have an outdoor onsen too.

Day 10: Nagoya to Takayama

Take the train from Nagoya up to Takayama (this takes about 2.5 hours). See Takayama Jinya, the preserved street, Showa-era museum, Sakurayama Hachimangu shrine and Matsuri Yatai Kaikan (the Takayama festival museum).

You can read my blog post about visiting Takayama here.

Day 11: Takayama

Have an easy day. Visit Hie Shrine, and get the Sarubobo bus to the Matsuri no Mori museum, which is also about the Takayama festival (I recommend going to this one if you have time!)

Day 12: Takayama to Kanazawa via Shirakawa-go

Take the bus from Takayama to Kanazawa via Shirakawa-go. Explore Shirakawa-go. (This was scuppered slightly as I went on the day that the main museum was closed, ugh!)

Kanazawa

At Kanazawa I stayed at the Square Hotel Kanazawa, which was about a fifteen to twenty minute walk from the station but closer to the main sights of Kanazawa. It had an outdoor and indoor public bath so you could take your pick!

Day 13: Kanazawa

Explore Kanazawa, see Kenrouken garden, have some green tea in the Higashi Chaya district and visit the Yasue gold leaf museum.

You can read my blog post about visiting Kanazawa here.

Nagano

I stayed at the Sotetsu Fresa Inn Nagano-Zenkojiguchi, which was absolutely perfect location-wise. It was across the road from Nagano station so there were plenty of shops and food options. The bus station is also just in front of the station so it was easy to get to all the places below!

Day 14: Kanazawa to Nagano

Travel from Kanazawa to Nagano. Explore Zenkoji and surrounding temples and shopping streets.

Day 15: Day trip to Togakushi

Take a day trip out of Nagano to visit the five shrines of Togakushi.

Day 16: Day trip to Yamanouchi Monkey Park

See the snow monkeys of Yamanouchi!

Tokyo (again)

Day 17: Nagano back to Tokyo for work

I won’t bore you with the details.

Day 18: Day trip out of Tokyo to Mount Takao

Take a day trip to Mount Takao. Go up on the chairlift(!), see the temple/shrine village and get some amazing views from the top of the mountain.

You can read my blog post about visiting Mount Takao here.

Pick up luggage and travel to the Henn na Hotel Tokyo Haneda. (Not only was this super cheap and perfect for the airport, but you’re greeted by robot dinosaurs who will help you check in!)

Day 19: Home

Fly home from Tokyo.

For other itinerary ideas you can check out my ‘Golden Route’ itinerary (i.e. Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima here).