Day 1: (1/13): Tokyo
Arrive in Japan. Stay in Tokyo, and prep for departure to Nagano on the 14th.
Activities:
- n/a
Planner's Notes: n/a
Days 2-4: (1/14 - 1/16): Nozawa Onsen
*21-day JR Pass starts on this day*
Massive photo op. There are tons of other things to do while you are here that I will list in the activities section for your consideration. It's really impossible to miss the actual matsuri when you're there, as everyone will be up late and the town is really small, so you can just follow the crowds. There are some really nice small onsen spots scattered throughout the town. Some of them make for really good pictures. There's one that is close to the massive ski lift, where people boil eggs that is particularly picturesque in my opinion.
Activities:
- Dosojin Matsuri (1/15, starts around 7:00PM)
- Miniature, "lucky" onsen spots
- Ski slope
- Togakushi Shrine
- Binzuru-Ichi Market at Zenko-ji
Planner's Notes: When I'm planning trips for clients visiting Nagano, I often visit this website here to get a few ideas to start the process. It's also good for getting directions to some of the locations as well. Everything that I've listed here as suggestions should be on there. Some activities you can even book online there.
Day 4 - 11 (1/16 - 1/23): Nagoya Chubu Area
Takayama, Studio Ghibli Theme Park, Gujo Hachiman, Ise Jingu, Shirakawa-go, Magome, Kanazawa (?), Yoro Park, Ookishima (cat island), Nakasendo Trail
Activities:
- n/a
Day 11 - 15 (1/23 - 1/27): Kansai area
Today will be completely dedicated to the Shoreisai festival, however I wanted to make a food recommendation for this day as well. Saikan is one of the ryokan that is actually on Mt. Haguro. The food served here not only perfectly exemplifies some of the reasons why Tsuruoka was chosen for the UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy award, but it also is an excellent example of shojin-ryouri. The style is different from the vegetarian meals that you would have in Kyoto, or other places (even though the name is the same). There are heirloom vegetables that have been passed down through generations that are unique to this region, like the dadachamame variety of soybeans, and the gomadofu dish (sesame-flavored tofu served with ankake). Both of which can be had here. The matsuri festival activities will start around 3PM at the top of Mt. Haguro and go on throughout the night. I would suggest heading up slightly early and stopping here for lunch (pending them being open).
The Shoreisai Festival is one of Japan's oldest, and coolest, New Year's fire festivals! It has been taking place on New Year's Eve nearly every year for over a millennium at the top of Mt. Haguro. It is run in conjunction with the conclusion of the Winter Peak Ritual (Fuyu-no-mine-iri), in which two Yamabushi from the town pray for a bountiful harvest and prosperity over the course of 100 days. The festival itself is said to ward off a demon called Soranki as well, so there will be many events throughout the day dedicated to that ritual. At 3pm there is a ritual called Tsunamaki in which the straw effigy of Soranki is symbolically sliced dead. Here the straw Soranki is split into two giant mounds, and then some of the rope that made up Soranki is further cut into pieces about 50cm long that symbolize harvest mites. The Matsuhijiri (the two heads of the ceremony) then throw the harvest mites into the crowd. Be careful here as it can get violent! If you do manage to catch one, ask them to tie it so that it can be placed at the entrance to your house and used to ward off demons. If you didn't catch one, don't worry. You still have a chance to sumo wrestle someone for one!
The matsuri will end with the burning of an effigy that is meant to represent the demon, that will start towards the end of the year at 11PM, but there are many miniature events in between. Having a guide on this day will be helpful, but isn't entirely necessary. The day will be filled with food and sake as most matsuri are.
Activities:
- Shojin-ryouri meal at Saikan on Mt. Haguro
- Shoreisai Matsuri
Day 15 (1/27 - ): Ise Bay area + Kumano Kodo
Heading to Tokyo first thing in the morning. Rest day, as things won't really be open today. This will give you guys a chance to recover.
Day 6 (1/02): Tokyo
This day will be completely dedicated to spending time at Disney Sea.
Day 7 (1/03): Nikko
Nikko is a quick day trip from Tokyo, and it is a very special place, as it serves as the final resting spot for the shogun that used to rule Japan. The shrine that houses his spirit is by far the most beautiful that I have ever seen in Japan. It's really spectacular in every sense of the word, and is a place that is fully deserving of the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation that it has received. This particular activity is best experienced with a proper guide to give you guys the history and significance of the shrine.
Edo Wonderland is almost the complete opposite. Based on our call, and your answers to our 'survey', I could tell that visiting theme parks was towards the top of your list. As you will be visiting both Disney Sea, and USJ, I really wanted to put a smaller one in your itinerary that was more "Japanese" if that makes sense. It's both semi-historical, and kind of comical at the same time. It's basically a theme park that is a small recreated Edo-era town. Everyone speaks in Edo-era Japanese, and wears appropriate period clothing. There are impromptu sword battles in the streets, places where you can do Japanese crafts, learn to throw ninja stars, shows (one of the shows has amazing fight choreography). It's a very Japanese addition to the list of theme parks visited, should you wish to have it.
Activities:
- Nikko Day Trip w/ guide
- Toshogu Shrine visit
- Edo Wonderland theme park
Day 8 (1/04):
(I would like to leave this day unplanned)
Day 9 (1/05):
The Studio Ghibli Museum will only be open from the 3rd of January. This is why I've put more of the free days in the Kanto region around this period. If we weren't able to secure tickets for this day, we could get them for another day around this time. As of now, the tickets do seem available, but my concern is simply that there are 9 of you, and so I wanted to leave some leeway for the possibility of making sure we could get all 9 tickets.
Day 10 (1/06): Osaka
Train from Tokyo to Osaka. I think that perhaps a small activity like a visit to Osaka Castle would be good.
Activities:
- Osaka Castle visit
Planner's Notes: I think that this is the day that I struggled not to plan the most. Again, as I'm sure there are things that you guys have in mind that you wanted to do, I didn't want to over plan the 3 days that you will have here in the Kansai area. We can however come up with a plan for this day if you would like us to! This day would also be a good day to visit some of the temples and shrines in Kyoto.
Day 11 (1/07): Osaka
This day will be completely dedicated to enjoying USJ in Osaka.
Day 12 (1/08): Kyoto
Today we wanted to plan some more cozy activities for you guys. All of today's activities are slower paced, but relaxing, and dreamy.There is a beautiful valley river just outside of Kyoto, where there are teams of people who will take you down it on a 3-man boat. This is actually the river that many people used to travel between Osaka and Kyoto in bygone eras. One of the best ways of reaching the area is the beautiful open-air train that travels along the river to get you there.
It's a very nice way to start the day, and is super refreshing. You see a lot of deer along the river too, and there is a really cool boat that pulls up next to you guys (also a traditional boat) with a grill that sells octopus or squid, and beer. The ride is really relaxing and cozy. It ends in the Arashiyama district.
Tenryuji is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has what is considered one of the most beautiful zen gardens in the entire nation. It's located in Arashiyama. The area that is known for its temples and shrines, and the picturesque bamboo thickets behind Tenryu-ji temple (I'm sure you've seen pictures of it without noticing... I'm going to include a picture of it below in the small photo gallery). I'd like to have this portion of your day guided, as it is always better to have someone who actually knows the location with you when visiting historic sites. There are so many temples and shrines that are worth visiting here, but one of my favorites is a small temple that rarely ever gets visited. It has hundreds of statues, and each of them was made by a completely different person. One of the former head monks decided that he would teach sculpting to anyone that visited the temple and wanted to learn (this was in the 80's, I believe). All of the sculptures are spread around the temple grounds, and because he gave his students carte blanche with their designs, you'll see some of the ojizou statues wearing headphones, and holding a walkman or other contemporary paraphernalia. It is a site that is unlike thing else in Japan.
I'd also like to use this day to arrange a tea ceremony for you guys as it is something that you mentioned you'd enjoy on our phone call. There is an excellent place here for that.
Activities:
- Open-air valley steam-engine train
- Hozugawa Kudari (traditional river boat ride)
- Traditional tea ceremony
- Short hike up Iwatayama (mountain where the monkeys roam freely, excellent view of Kyoto from there)
- Arashiyama tour (with a guide)
- Tenryuji Temple Zen Garden
- Otagi Temple (temple with uniquely carved statues)
- Bamboo thicket visit
- Dinner reservation in Kyoto
Planner's Note - For this day, we wanted to reserve a spot at one of Kyoto's banzai restaurants. The restaurant is a platform of tatami mats that have been suspended on top of a river, and the food changes for every season. We thought it would be a good candidate for the 'going back home' dinner, however it is slightly north of Kyoto proper, and so there may be a bit of rushing to get there. There are many other similar restaurants in the city that hover over the Kamogawa River (their location is walking distance from the hotel that we suggested), which also do banzai style meals as an alternative. Also, although this day seems crammed, a lot of the activities are all centered in the Arashiyama district, so it won't take a lot of time to experience them all.
Day 13 (1/09): Tokyo
Return to Tokyo and fly back to the states (flight departs at 4:50PM).
BOOKINGS OVERVIEW:
12/28/22 - Tokyo SkyTree: https://goo.gl/maps/89QQKBB2Y4DASkSa9
(yet to be booked, as you can only book tickets a week in advance, however the tickets should be valid for the entire day, so we won’t be booking a specific time slot, however I think it may be best to visit around sunset after your wagashi lesson)
12/28/22 - Wagashi Sweets Making Lesson: https://goo.gl/maps/AAUmXSv52Heh72KF8
3PM
12/29/22 - TeamLab Planets: https://goo.gl/maps/wArPWGLFoDwUDTCAA
You can arrive at anytime between 11:30 - 12:00 (noon). Please use the link below to gain access to the event (it will only be activated at midnight the day before).
https://teamlabplanets.dmm.com/en/mytickets/3637163779f85ebe97
https://teamlabplanets.dmm.com/en/mytickets/c120c63779e91959c9
12/29/22 - Ginza Steakhouse: https://goo.gl/maps/KcvkqJZgq5AiCExC8
5PM
1/2/23 - Tokyo DisneySea: https://goo.gl/maps/463tXgjGMYYstBBN6
All-day tickets
1/3/23 - Edo Wonderland: https://goo.gl/maps/zinTobjg6A7W4adY7
All-day tickets
1/5/23 - Studio Ghibli Museum: https://goo.gl/maps/MrAeoHsx4MFGQSjp6
We were able to book all 9 tickets for 1PM. This, unfortunately, would be extremely difficult to change. I will send the tickets out to you as soon as they arrive. However, given the mishap with the other package, I was hoping that I could send them to your Airbnb in Japan. Please let me know ASAP.
1/7/23 - USJ: https://goo.gl/maps/zJo6J8Xqcnx3RaSDA
All day tickets
1/8/23 - Arashiyama guide: https://goo.gl/maps/mHARoF12nh71UKqi6
The link above is for the main bridge in Arashiyama. We’ve booked your guide for this day, however they have yet to send us the itinerary. We plan on asking them to meet you at the bridge though. Once we’ve received it from them, I will send you a message with all of their instructions, their plan for that day, meeting time/location, etc.
