So in October 2023, my husband and I went backpacking in Japan for two weeks! It was an awesome trip and below you’ll find our itinerary in case it’s helpful for anyone else! My overall thoughts will be at the bottom.

Day 1 – Travel
– Leave Atlanta at 1300

Day 2 – Arrive in Tokyo
– Arrive in Haneda Airport, Tokyo at 1250
– Pick up Ninja Wifi (Recommend for navigation)
– Get a bus card (they were having shortages, so we didn’t get one of these and got around almost exclusively using metro passes)
– Take metro to hotel (Nishitetsu Inn Shunjuku)
– Eat at Ichiran Ramen—yum! (Recommend)
Notes: We loved Ichiran Ramen. The ramen is delicious and the place is cool because you order from what looks like a vending machine, hand them your ticket through the window in your booth, and basically could eat dinner without having to talk to anyone—an introvert’s dream.) Our Tokyo hotel was nice and had a great central location, but I think I would stay in Asakusa next time, just because I preferred the more old-fashioned vibes to the business district)

Day 3 – Tokyo
– Tsukiji Fish Market (eat breakfast at Marutoyo – Recommend) & Tsukiji Honganji Temple
– Hamarikyu Gardens
– Ginza (High-end shopping district)
– Itoyo Stationary Store
– Ginza Tsutaya Books
– Stroll Chuo-Dori Street
– Asakusa (Old Tokyo)
– See the view from Asakusa Tourist Info Center (8th floor) (Recommend)
– Visit Sensoji temple & Nakamise Dori (the old shopping street that leads to the temple) through Kaminarimon Gate (Recommend)
– Asakusa Nishi-Sando Shopping Street
– Asakusa Shrine
– Eat lunch at Onigiri Asakusa Yadoroku
– Ueno Park
– Akihabara (Home of all things Anime & Video Games)
– Kanda Myojin Shrine
– Animate & Mandrake (anime shops)
– Chuo-dori (main) street
– Tokyo Leisure Land (arcade)
– Kotobukiya (figurine shop)
Notes: We got a super early start because we were way jet-lagged, and found that Tokyo’s pretty quiet in the morning. I’m not really a big city (or shopping) person, but I enjoyed sampling the food in the Tsukiji Fish Market and just soaking in the atmosphere of Sensoji temple. (The view from the tourist center was great.)

Day 4 – More Tokyo
– Meiji Jinju (Recommend)
– Takeshita Street (Lots of cutesy culture things)
– Shibuya Scramble
– Golden Gai & Piss Alley (Omoide Yokocho)
– Imperial Gardens
– Have dinner with friend!
Notes: Definitely go to things early if you’d like it to be quiet. Definitely enjoyed a dawn walk to Meiji Jinju. Obviously Shibuya Scramble isn’t super impressive though if it’s not busy so we ended up stopping by later in the evening.

Day 5 – Fuji Five Lakes
– Took train to Fuji Five Lake
– Rented bikes from hotel and biked to Arakurayama Sengen Park to see the Chureito Pagoda (Recommend)
– Biked around lakes to Oishi and Nagasaki Park (Recommend)
Notes: Okay, this was an awesome day. I loved just biking around the small town and soaking in the area. We had a gorgeous day and I could *not* stop taking pictures. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip! We stayed in HaoStay, which had a gorgeous view of Fuji right out our window, and I think it was my husband’s favorite hotel of the trip too.

Day 6 – Kyoto
– Took a train to Kyoto
– Strolled around Nishiki Market & Gion (Recommend)
Notes: The atmostphere of Gion (the historical Geisha district in Kyoto) was super cool, and we actually managed to catch a glimpse of a Geisha going about her business. She stepped out right in front of us to cross the street as we were wandering down a quiet alley and it was kind of a surreal experience. We stayed in Kyomachiya Ryokan Sakura – Urushitei which was pretty average in location and rooms, so I don’t know if I’d recommend it. In general, while Tokyo was obviously an ultra modern city, and Fuji Five Lakes has a more rural small town feel, Kyoto definitely has a old, traditional Japan vibe.

Day 7 – Kyoto
– Kiyomizu-dera (Recommend)
– Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
– Okochi Sanso Garden (Recommend)
– Monkey Park Iwatayama (Recommend)
– Kinkaku-Ji (the gold temple)
– Kyoto Imperial Palace (Recommend)
Notes: I really want to reiterate that you’ll get the best experience at places if you go as early as possible. But… you can’t go early to everything, so you’ll have to decide which you one is highest priority. It was really nice to explore Kiyomizu-dera when it was practically empty, by the time we got to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest (still early) it was already pretty crowded), the monkey park was still pretty empty when we arrived, but by the time we got to Kinkaku-Ji it was PACKED. We also stayed in K’s House Kyoto on days 7 & 8 which I actually think we liked better than the traditional Ryokan (and it was way cheaper.)

Day 8 – Kyoto
– Fushimi Inari Taisha (Recommend)
– Higashiyama Jisho-ji (Recommend)
– Philosopher’s Path
– Nanzen-ji Temple (Recommend)
– Nara Park (Recommend)
– Todai-ji
– Isuien Garden
Notes: Loved the Fushimi Inari Taisha and got there first thing in the morning so it wasn’t crowded at all. Same with Higashiyama Jisho-ji. Nanzen-ji Temple was a spur of the moment thing since it was around the end of the Philosopher’s Path, but it was super peaceful and pleasant. And Nara Park is totally worth it for the bowing deer alone.

Day 9 – Start Kumano Kodo Multi-Day Hike (Recommend)
– Take Train to Kii-Tanabe
– Take Bus to Hongu
– Hike From Hongu to Yunomine Onsen
– Stay at Minshuku Yunosato Recommend
Notes: Long travel day, but definitely enjoyed the history behind this pilgrimage trek and staying in the small rural towns. Relaxing in the onsen in Minshuku Yunosato after a long day and an amazing meal was perfection.

Day 10 – Hike Kumano Kodo
– Bussed from Yunomine Onsen to Ukegawa
– Walked Ukegawa to Koguchi
– Stayed at Shizen-no-Ie (recommend)
Notes: Super pleasant hike and fun to catch up with fellow hikers at the middle school turned lodging. It’s next to a river in a small town and just super pleasant and peaceful.

Day 11 – Hike Kumano Kodo and take train to Osaka
– Walk from Koguchi to Kumano Nachi Taisha
– Took bus from Nachisan to Kii-Katsuura Station
– Took train from Kii-Katsuura
Notes: We way overestimated how long it would take us to get to the train station. This leg took us around 6 hours to hike and I think I estimated 9 for our train tickets, so we didn’t end up getting to Osaka till late. We also saw two snakes today! One looked like a harmless grass snake and the other was a pit viper that scared the crap out of me before it took off into a rock wall. I thought it would be too cool for them in mid October but beware!

Day 12 – Miyajima
– Take train to Hiroshima & drop bags at hotel
– Take train & ferry to Miyajima (Recommend)
– Take cable car up Mt Misen
– Daishoin
– Momijidani Park
– Stay in Hiroshima (Hotel Granvia Hiroshima – recommend)
Notes: So I originally thought we’d have time to see Osaka castle before we left, but our train times didn’t work out that way. It’s the one thing I wished we’d see that we missed! But just a heads up, the deer on Miyajima don’t bow like the deer in Nara.

Day 13 – Hiroshima
– Hiroshima Castle
– Peace Memorial Park, Museum, & Atomic Bomb Dome (recommend)
– Shukkeien Garden (recommend)
– Take train back to Tokyo
Notes: The museum is, of course, sobering, (and the park was filled with Japanese kids on school trips) but in general I was kind of surprised by how vibrant Hiroshima feels.

Day 14 – Tokyo
– Teamlab Planets (recommend)
– Go see the giant Gundam (recommend)
– Buy pokemon stuff for the kids
– Lunch with friends
– Visit the graves of the 47 ronin (recommend)
– Dinner with writing critique partner!
Notes: If you, too, are looking for Pokemon (and all kinds of other) souveniers for your kids, I recommend Tokyo Station. The Pokemon store there is way less crowded than the Pokemon center, has most of the same stuff, and is less out of the way. Also, I originally wanted to check out the Ghibli creampuff factory, but heads up you need to make your orders or a reservation in advance because they sell out! We were able to swing by and at least buy a few cookies though.

Day 15 – Travel home!
Final thoughts: We had a great time on this trip and covered *a lot* of ground (I think we walked on average around 13 mi a day.) I think the Kumano Kodo or Fuji Five Lakes were my favorite places, and Tokyo was probably my least favorite. As someone who’s not into crowds or shopping, it really just wasn’t my scene. Because everything’s so crowded, we actually ended up eating at 7-elevens a lot. (Which was delicious, but you know, nothing fancy. Definitely recommend getting reservations if you’d like to eat at a restaurant.)

But Kyoto, Miyajima, and Hiroshima were also *all* well worth the visit, and I really just enjoyed soaking in the culture of Japan. The two things I wish we’d had time for are hiking Fuji (the hiking season is from end of June to beginning of September, so it just didn’t line up with our dates) and seeing Osaka castle. If we ever go back to Japan, I think I’d definitely like to do more natural beauty / outdoor stuff off the beaten path or maybe even head up to Hokkaido. Though in October, we were there in the shoulder season, and definitely had some pleasant mornings, after around 10 things get so incredibly crowded, it’s a little overwhelming.

But it’s a *long* 14-15 hour flight to make it over there, so I’m not sure if we’ll be able to venture to that side of the world again any time soon! Still, super grateful to have been able to go, and if you have any questions, just leave a comment!

Also if you want to check out our other travel itineraries from past destinations you can find them here. Thanks for reading!