Central Japan - 14 Day | Itinerary

Chiba prefecture - Kanto Region

October 29, 2024 

Arrival in Japan! Our flight gets in early evening, however the flight is often delayed by a couple hours. We will be staying in a cute town 10 minutes away from the airport to avoid having to travel a long distance after our 10+ hour long flight.

We will be forwarding our luggage from the airport to our Karuizawa hotel. Forwarding luggage is a super convenient luggage shipping service that will deliver your luggage within 1-2 days for an affordable price. For my carry on luggage it will be about $20 CAD.

In Narita, the hotels are affordable and there are a bunch of easy to access izakayas (bars). 

Naritasan

@lauramurray

Old fashion temple town with a market street. Near the airport. Good spot to spend the night in case the plane arrives too late.

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Nagano prefecture - Chubu Region

October 30 - November 2, 2024

We will be hopping on a 2 hour long train ride towards Karuizawa after we've explored Narita-san.

This is the location of Hitomi's wedding. We will be hanging out here for awhile while doing the odd wedding thing with the group! The plans are pretty scattered so we will just be area exploring whenever we get a chance.

Karuizawa

@lauramurray

The 'forest' city. There is a lot of western influence on the cuisine and architecture.

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November 3, 2024

We will be forwarding our luggage from Karuizawa to Tokyo, and just taking a day pack on our mini trip into the mountains!

One 3 hour train ride and we will be at a historic post town and scenic hike. 

Nakasendo Torii Pass

@lauramurray

A hike between two historically preserved post towns along the Nakasendo route. We will be walking from Narai-juku to Yabuhara-juku and then a train to Kiso-Fukushima.

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November 4, 2024

After relaxing at our ryokan post hike, we will be heading backwards towards a castle town we passed on our way in. Three options in Matsumoto.

1. Takayama + Castle only: Take the 1pm bus out of Matsumoto. This would let us enjoy the views along the bus ride and get us into Takayama at 4pm. The hotel has private onsens that you need to line up for, so this might be a better option if we want to do the onsens. 

2. Takayama + Castle and town: Take the 5:45pm bus out of Matsumoto. We would be arriving in Takayama at 8pm. This gives us more time to explore the Matsumoto town area and the cute wells.

3. Tokyo + Castle and town: We can skip Takayama/Shirakawa-go if we prefer to have three days in Tokyo. Also if we aren't a fan of doing multiple long highway bus rides. Could be relaxing though!! (I prefer 1-2 days in Tokyo...)

Matsumoto

@lauramurray

One of the oldest unburnt castles in Japan. Originally built around early 1600.

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Gifu prefecture - Takayama, Shirakawa-go & Gokayama

TBD - November 4-5 OR 6, 2024

To be determined, but we could take a 3hr highway bus from Matsumoto into the mountain town of Takayama. 

Takayama

@lauramurray

A quiet town in the middle of the mountains. Some refer to the village as 'mini Kyoto'.

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From Takayama we'd hop on a 1 hour bus the next day to Shirakawa-go. Two options from this point: 

1. More Tokyo Days: Leave Shirakawa-go at 4pm to take transit into Tokyo - arrive at hotel at 9pm. This option would give us two full days in Tokyo.

2. Slow down rural vibes: Stay in Shirakawa-go overnight. This would let us see the stunning sunset in the mountains and a gorgeous misty morning view. The hotel has bike rentals to cruise around the area. This option would give us one day and one evening in Tokyo.

Shirakawa-go

@lauramurray

A world-heritage site for a traditional village in the Japanese Alps. The village has lots of yummy food stalls and cafes.

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Option 2 would give us a chance to do a 2 hour stop over in this quaint hidden gem village in Gokayama along the route back to Tokyo. We would arrive in Tokyo around 5pm on November 6th. Just in time for some izakaya eats in Ueno!

Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village

@lauramurray

Tiny version of Shirakawa-go with empty streets and beautiful views of the nearby mountains.

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Tokyo Prefecture - Kanto Region

November 6-7, 2024

Two days in the Tokyo area or one day in Tokyo and one day trip. Plans will depend on our mood but click below for a couple area inspo guides around the Tokyo area. I'm sensitive to noise and lights so I tend to avoid the main areas as they are too overwhelming for me. I'll be wearing ear plugs in the main Tokyo stations to try to deal with the onslaught of noise. 

Tokyo

@lauramurray

The lively and overwhelming Tokyo! Click here for a couple smaller neighbour guides to explore.

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Optional: November 7, 2024 - Day trip

This is a day trip from Tokyo into a nearby rural valley. Lots of cool hikes to explore and a footbath at the end!

Akigawa Valley

@lauramurray

A valley popular for bbq, swimming, and fishing.

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Tochigi Prefecture - Kanto Region

November 8-9, 2024

We are forwarding our bags to Kamakura and taking a day pack into the mountains again. This time we will be exploring Nikko! Nikko is famous for its glorious waterfalls, interesting theme parks, and a world heritage temple. We are skipping the waterfalls because I'm not a fan of carsickness. But we will be checking out a bunch of other amazing sights in the area.

Nikko

@lauramurray

A mountain destination with many hidden gems to explore.

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Kanagawa Prefecture - Kanto Region

November 10-11, 2024

Last stop of the trip! The beach town of Kamakura. This was once a political hub city during medieval Japan. There are lots of historic sites hidden along hiking routes. We will be exploring a few different shrines and cafes.

Kamakura

@lauramurray

A laid-back seaside town with many gorgeous temples, shrines, and gardens to explore.

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We will be heading out from Kamakura around noon to make it to the airport in time for our 6pm flight out of Japan.