Honeymoon! 14 nights, first-time Japan (Tokyo → Hakone → Kyoto → Kanazawa → Tokyo), early November
Background on us: Couple in our mid-20s, honeymoon, first time in Japan. In and out of HND.
Dates: Early-to-mid November, 14 nights.
Pace/feel: Early mornings, loose afternoons. Most mornings are anchored, many days free after 4pm.
Interests: Photography, architecture, vintage/thrift, whisky, anime.
Budget: Mid-range. Mostly Hyatt points, one ryokan splurge, one nicer last night.
Constraint: Wife has a few small tattoos → ryokan needed a private in-room onsen.
Neither of us has ever been outside of North America, so advice on the schedule, as well as general etiquette would be appreciated! We already emailed all the hotels and let them know it would be our honeymoon (to try and get some free upgrades too haha).
We have global precheck (I think called global entry) and passports already, so we are good on that front.
TOKYO — 3 nights · Hyatt Regency Tokyo (Nishi-Shinjuku)
Day 1 — Arrival
Land mid-afternoon, Airport Limousine Bus to hotel
Suica + cash at airport
~19:00 Ichiran, early night
Day 2 — West side
06:30 Meiji Jingu at sunrise, buy goshuincho
08:30 Yoyogi Park
10:00 Omotesando architecture walk
12:00 Takeshita St + Brandy Melville
14:00 Shibuya vintage (Kinji, Nadia, Nuir)
16:00 Perfume blending at Yuen, Aoyama
19:00 teamLab Borderless (late slot)
Day 3 — East side
06:30 Toyosu Market, sushi breakfast
08:30 Sensoji before the crowds
10:30 Kakimori, Kuramae
13:00 Akihabara (Mandarake, Super Potato, Animate)
18:30 Omoide Yokocho
Ship suitcases ahead to Kyoto this morning — backpacks only for the mountains (takkyubin to Kyoto)
HAKONE — 2 nights (Gora) Night 1: Setsugetsuka Bettei Suiun · Night 2: Hyatt Regency Hakone
Day 4 — Into the mountains
~10:30 Romance Car from Shinjuku
12:00 Soba in Hakone-Yumoto
13:30 Tozan railway up to Gora
15:00 Ryokan check-in, private cypress onsen
19:00 Kaiseki
Day 5 — North Hakone
09:30 Hakone Museum of Art at opening (moss garden)
11:00 Sengokuhara pampas grass + Choan-ji (rakan statues)
13:00 Tofu-katsu at Tamura Ginkatsutei
15:00 Change hotels
Evening free
Day 6 — Weather Dependent → Kyoto
☀️ Clear: Izu Panorama Park via Mishima for Fuji, then Kyoto (~3hr detour)
🌧 Cloudy: Moto-Hakone torii → old Tokaido stone road on foot → Amazake-chaya (400-yr-old teahouse) → Hatajuku for yosegi marquetry → Kyoto
Either way: arrive ~18:00, Gion at lantern hour, Pontocho dinner
KYOTO — 5 nights · Hyatt Regency Kyoto (Higashiyama)
Day 7 — Inari + Nara
06:30 Fushimi Inari
09:30 JR to Nara: Todai-ji, deer, Kasuga Taisha
15:00 Back to Kyoto
Evening: ring-making workshop
Day 8 — Arashiyama + kimono hunt
07:00 Bamboo grove
08:30 Tenryu-ji at opening
10:00 Matsunoo Taisha
13:00 Gion side: vintage kimono hunt (she’ll wear it in Kanazawa), engraved chopsticks at Ichihara Heibei Shoten, hanko seals on Teramachi
16:00 Ippodo for sencha
Day 9 — Kurama → Kibune
07:30 Mochi at Demachi Masugata
08:30 Eizan line north through the maple tunnel
09:30 Kurama-dera, then the ridge trail
12:30 Lunch over the stream in Kibune
16:00 Back in the city
Evening: Eikan-do illumination if dates line up
Day 10 — Osaka day trip
09:00 Kaiyukan at opening
13:00 Amerikamura vintage
15:30 TALEX in Ikuno-ku (polarized lenses)
18:00 Dotonbori
Ship suitcases to Kanazawa this morning
KANAZAWA — 2 nights · Hyatt Centric Kanazawa
Day 11 — Transfer + weather dependent
☀️ Clear: 07:50 Thunderbird → drop bags → Shirakawa-go day trip, back ~17:00
🌧 Cloudy: slow Kyoto morning, midday train, Oyama Shrine at dusk
Crab izakaya either way
Day 12 — Kimono Photo Shoot! (We are taking our own photos)
06:45 Kenroku-en at the free early gate, before official opening
10:00 Kimono dressing + hair in Higashi Chaya
11:30 Self-shoot in the chaya lanes + Kazuemachi
14:00 Gold leaf workshop
15:30 Omicho Market
19:00 Snow crab kaiseki
TOKYO — 2 nights · The Strings by InterContinental (Shinagawa)
Day 13 — Back to Tokyo
08:00 Omicho breakfast
11:00 Shinkansen → check in ~14:30
15:30 Kichijoji: Temari no Ouchi cat cafe + Inokashira Park
17:30 Koenji for vintage
19:00 Nakano Broadway (used Seiko hunt), dinner nearby
Day 14 — Last full day
09:00 Flea market at opening
12:00 Ginza: Uniqlo sale, Itoya, Onitsuka Tiger, leather wallet
18:30 Omakase
21:00 Bar High Five → Zoetrope
Day 15 — Out
Slow morning, 16:00 late checkout
Hama-rikyu garden
Evening flight
Questions:
Day 5 — too much with a hotel change that afternoon?
Kurama → Kibune in November: is 2 hours realistic for the trail, or should I budget more?
We cut Takayama for two extra Kyoto nights. Good call? Probably too late to change it.
Swapped Shimokitazawa for Koenji + Nakano based on advice here, right move?
Been lurking for a while, so it’s nice to actually have a plan to post!