u/Kronos1991

Hi all, my wife and I fly out on Sunday. First time in Japan for both of us. I’d really value a sanity check and opinions on the itinerary we have planned, especially on pace.

Passes: Hokuriku Arch Pass (14–20 Oct), Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass (21–25 Oct), Suica for the rest. Big suitcases go ahead by takkyubin twice (Tokyo → Kyoto, Kyoto → Osaka), so we travel with hand luggage only on the busy days.

Tokyo (4 nights, Higashi-Shinjuku)

• Mon 12: land at Narita 12:55, transfer, sunset from the Metropolitan Government Building, dinner, Early night.
• Tue 13: 07:05 bus to Kawaguchiko (Chureito Pagoda, lake, ropeway), back by mid-afternoon, Tokyo Tower at sunset. 15/10 is the backup if Fuji is clouded over.
• Wed 14: Senso-ji at dawn, Tsukiji outer market, Hama-rikyu, teamLab Planets, omakase in Ginza.
• Thu 15: Meiji Jingu, Harajuku/Omotesando, Shibuya Crossing, Shibuya Sky at sunset, kaiseki dinner in Kagurazaka.

Kanazawa (2 nights)

• Fri 16: Kagayaki from Tokyo, Higashi Chaya, Asano river at sunset.
• Sat 17: Kenroku-en at opening, castle park, 21st Century Museum, Omicho market, Nagamachi, gold-leaf workshop.

Shirakawa-go + Takayama (1 night, ryokan with half board)

• Sun 18: 09:00 Bus to Shirakawa-go (village + viewpoint, about 2.5 h), 13:15 bus to Takayama, Sanmachi before a kaiseki dinner.
• Mon 19: morning market, Takayama Jinya, sake breweries, Hida beef sushi, 11:20 bus back to Kanazawa (booked by the agency), then Shinkansen + Thunderbird to Kyoto, (arriving around 17:15).

Kyoto (3 nights)

• Tue 20: Fushimi Inari at 06:30, Kiyomizu-dera, Higashiyama on foot, kimono rental and photos in Gion, guided evening walk in Gion, dinner in Pontocho.
• Wed 21: Arashiyama at 07:00 (bamboo grove, Tenryu-ji, Okochi Sanso), Kinkaku-ji, Ryoan-ji, kaiseki dinner.
• Thu 22: Nijo Castle, Nishiki market, a glimpse of the Jidai Matsuri, then Shinkansen to Hiroshima and straight on to Miyajima for sunset at the torii and dinner on the island. Night in Hiroshima.

Hiroshima → Osaka (2 nights)

• Fri 23: Peace Memorial Museum at 07:30, Peace Park, okonomiyaki, Shinkansen to Osaka, Dotonbori in the evening.
• Sat 24: Nara in the morning (deer park, Todai-ji, Nigatsu-do, Kasuga Taisha), Osaka Castle in the afternoon, Kobe harbour at sunset and Kobe beef dinner.
• Sun 25: Kuromon market, Shinsekai, Haruka to KIX for a 18:00 flight.

What I’d most like your opinion on:

1. Overall pace. Do you think is manageable? We want some room to breathe and I am not sure how packed this is going to be in real life. Which days would you cut back first (if any)?
2. Thu 22. Kyoto morning + Jidai Matsuri, then Hiroshima and Miyajima by sunset (approx 17:30). Realistic, or should we drop the festival or Nijo/Nishiki to get to Miyajima with daylight to spare?
3. Sat 24. Nara, Osaka Castle and Kobe in one day: too much? Would you drop Kobe and simply eat well in Osaka?
4. Tue 13 → Wed 14. Fuji with a 06:30 start followed by Senso-ji at 06:15 the next day: worth it, or am I setting for exhaustion on day three? Attempt to see fuji is not negotiable, as I really want to see that!
5. Mon 19. The agency booked the vus back to Kanazawa and then trains to Kyoto. Is it worth abandoning that ticket for the Hida Limited Express to Nagoya (not covered by our pass), or is the Kanazawa route fine?
6. Anything you’d swap out, or something we will regret skipping?

Thanks a lot in advance!

Hi all,

I'm heading to Japan for about 15 days in October with my partner and I'm going back and forth on whether to buy a camera, and if so which one. I'd really appreciate some input from people who has used these.

What I want:
Photos and videos of the two of us together, without constantly asking strangers or handing the phone over
Decent video of the trip (walking around cities, temples, food, evenings in Tokyo/Osaka) that I might actually edit into something afterwards
Ideally no selfie stick . I find them a bit of a faff and I'd rather not be waving one around all day.

What I'm considering:
DJI Osmo 360 Adventure Combo: currently discounted to €429. I like the idea of the "invisible selfie stick" shots and not having to worry about framing. But I suspect it basically means walking around with a stick all day anyway, and that reframed footage is softer than a gimbal's.
DJI Osmo Pocket 4 (or the Insta360 Luna Pro): seems better for straightforward video, low light and couple selfies with face tracking. The downside is I have to keep pointing it at things.

What I'm unsure about:
What does either of these actually give me over a recent iPhone ?? Is the difference noticeable in practice, or am I just buying another gadget to carry?
For couple shots specifically, which works better day to day?

For those who've used a 360 camera while travelling: did you actually enjoy the reframing workflow, or did the footage end up sitting on a hard drive?
Anything I'm not considering (a phone gimbal, just a small tripod and remote, etc.)?
I won't have a laptop with me, so anything that needs heavy editing on the go is a minus.