I'm in the early stages of planning a trip to Japan for next year.

Rough itinerary so far is: Tokyo > Kyoto > Osaka > Hiroshima.

Probably a week or so in Tokyo (staying with a friend), and then probably 1 or 2 days in the others, depending on how much there is to see and do.

(Also might finish it off with a flight to Seoul and do 2-3 days there.)

Any overall recommendations for what to do, when to travel, best methods of travel, places to eat?

This will be a first time visit to Asia, so gimme all your tips and tricks.

I did almost this same trip and have an extensive itinerary. If you post a way to get hold of you via email, I'll share the Google doc.

Thanks, that'd be great.

Got it, you can take down.

Great stuff, thanks for the doc.

No problem, enjoy your trip!

Never been, but have studied Japan for years given my love of WWII history.

In Hiroshima, I'd visit the Peace Memorial Park: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3400.html
Also the Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome): https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/775

On a more macabre note, I'd want to look for the shadow of the person who was vaporized on August 6. Sitting on some concrete steps somewhere. https://allthatsinteresting.com/hiroshima-shadows

We went last October and did Tokyo -> day trip to Hakone for hot springs -> Kyoto -> Osaka -> Tokyo.

Tokyo has so much to offer that you could spend more than a week there and still have plenty left over to do. The go-kart driving was awesome. If you ask Reddit, those dweebs will tell you to avoid it because it is disruptive and the locals hate it, but we had people smiling and taking pictures as we drove by the whole time. There is a bar called Whales of August which has drinks named after movies. Sometimes the drink doesn't really match the theme of the movie but some of them are fun. The Halloween drink is red and comes with a knife as a garnishment. It is fun to try different drinks based on your favorite movies.

Kyoto is very different than Tokyo and has amazing temples and castles which are fun to check out but it does get a little repetitive.

Osaka was just too much like Tokyo so I would not spend very long there. Aside from the aquarium and Universal Studios there isn't much that sets it apart from Tokyo.

Thanks for the tips. That movie bar sounds right up my alley, right down to the Halloween drink.

Am a local. Hate the ****ing go-carts.

What kind of things are you interested in? I'd be happy to give you recommendations for things in the Tokyo/Yokohama area. A good friend of mine runs food tours, so if that's something you're interested in I'd be happy to get you her contact info.

Email is in my profile. I am wanting to do a trip solo this year but there is so much info and I dont know where to even start.

fire09 said:

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I did almost this same trip and have an extensive itinerary. If you post a way to get hold of you via email, I'll share the Google doc.

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I'd love if you could send me the itinerary. Going with my daughter for about 10 days. Plan to stay in Tokyo and Kyoto.

Larch-scrawny-0e@icloud.com

BackwardsInBoots said:

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Am a local. Hate the ****ing go-carts.

What kind of things are you interested in? I'd be happy to give you recommendations for things in the Tokyo/Yokohama area. A good friend of mine runs food tours, so if that's something you're interested in I'd be happy to get you her contact info.

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Absolutely.

They've actually raised the price of the rail pass to the point that unless you are using the shinkansen a lot, pay as you go is a better value. If you have an iPhone, you can get a suica card in your apple wallet that you can add cash to and just tap when you enter and exit any kind of public transit. If you don't have an iPhone, you can get a suica or pasmo card at one of the train stations and add cash at convenience stores or ticket machines inside the station.

If you want to shoot me an email, username @gmail.com

Sent.

Great info. Thanks.

Captain Winky said:

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We went last October and did Tokyo -> day trip to Hakone for hot springs -> Kyoto -> Osaka -> Tokyo.

Tokyo has so much to offer that you could spend more than a week there and still have plenty left over to do. The go-kart driving was awesome. If you ask Reddit, those dweebs will tell you to avoid it because it is disruptive and the locals hate it, but we had people smiling and taking pictures as we drove by the whole time. There is a bar called Whales of August which has drinks named after movies. Sometimes the drink doesn't really match the theme of the movie but some of them are fun. The Halloween drink is red and comes with a knife as a garnishment. It is fun to try different drinks based on your favorite movies.

Kyoto is very different than Tokyo and has amazing temples and castles which are fun to check out but it does get a little repetitive.

Osaka was just too much like Tokyo so I would not spend very long there. Aside from the aquarium and Universal Studios there isn't much that sets it apart from Tokyo.

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Can confirm. Visit two or three of each, in total, and you're good. When I lived there (exchange student), we visited an Edo-era historical village like a Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia - really cool. Don't remember the name but it would have been within a drive from Tokyo. Do a formal tea ceremony if you have a chance and eat some really top notch sushi. Road-side ramen was tasty.