Documenting Lovely Moments
Complete 12-Day Itinerary for Visiting Japan in the Winter
Our 12-day Winter in Japan Itinerary highlights include trips to Mount Fuji, Shirakawa-go Village, Dotonburi, Bamboo Forest, Fushimi Inari, Nara, Miyajima Island, Kyoto Village, and Tokyo Metropolitan Areas.
Winter In Japan 12-Day Itinerary
DAY 1
Osaka, Japan
- Arriving in Kansai International Airport, Osaka
- Check into the hotel in Osaka
- Dinner at Ichiran Ramen
- Onsen at the hotel
► Arriving at Kansai International Airport
We arrived in the afternoon and took the train from the airport to Osaka.
► Check into hotel
From there we checked into our hotel at Onyado Nono Namba Natural Hot Spring.
► Dinner at Ichiran Ramen
After freshening up in our hotel room, we walked to a nearby Ichiran Ramen for dinner. Ichiran Ramen is the BEST ramen ever in our opinions. It has many locations throughout Japan, and is a “must-visit” place for ramen lovers.
► Onsen at the Hotel
We went to bed early and purposely woke up around 4 am to try the hotel’s onsen (hot springs), since we were uncomfortable sharing the onsen with many people.
DAY 2
Osaka, Japan
- Breakfast at Kuromon Market
- Culinary day in Dotonbori
► Breakfast in Kuromon Market
In the morning, we walked to Kuromon Market to try a variety of delicious street foods, from fresh scallops, octopus on a stick, and horumon.
► Walk along the river in Dotonbori
Walking along the Dotonbori river in the late morning was nice and pleasant. Of course we had to find the famous “Glico Man” sign, an iconic view of Dotonbori. Snacking couldn’t be helped, so we stopped to get fresh takoyaki and a tasty onigiri burger.
► Lunch
For lunch we went to Chibo restaurant to enjoy an amazing okonomiyaki.
► Dinner at Kani Doraku
The culinary adventure continued with dinner at Kani Doraku crab restaurant.
DAY 3
Kyoto, Japan
- Bullet Train to Kyoto
- Check into hotel
- Ninenzaka and Sanenzaka Slopes
- Kiyomizu-dera Temple
- Kyoto Tower
- Dinner at Kyoto Station
► Breakfast at Kuromon Market
We went back to Kuromon Market to taste some more street food, such as sushi, Matsusaka wagyu beef, and strawberry mochi.
► Bullet Train
After gathering our luggage, we were headed to the train station to ride the cool Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto.
► Check into Hotel
Our next hotel, the New Hankyu Kyoto hotel, was located right by Kyoto station. We were able to walk to the hotel, check in, and freshen up.
► Lunch at Kyoto Station
Kyoto Station was huge and had a lot of food options. We decided to get some ramen before we went to explore Kyoto.
► Ninenzaka and Sanenzaka Slopes
These historic pedestrian-only streets of Kyoto City had been restored to represent Japan’s ancient times. There were lots of souvenir shops, teahouses, and cafes with traditional Japanese-style buildings.
► Kiyomizu-dera Temple
The pedestrian lanes led us to the hilltop Kiyomizu-dera temple, also known as Temple of the Pure Water Spring. We checked out the three-story Koyazu Pagoda, and the cliffside viewing platform. Before we left, we took a sip of the medicinal pure water from Otowa Spring.
DAY 4
Arashiyama - Kyoto, Japan
- Bamboo Forest
- Kimono Forest
- Arashiyama Monkey Park
► Bamboo Forest
We left our hotel very early in the morning around 5:30 am and headed to Arashiyama’s iconic Bamboo Forest (Bamboo Grove) and found amazing Zen. Read more about it >
► Kimono Forest
Not far from the Bamboo Forest, we found Kimono Forest, with a charming display of Japan’s traditional fabric. Read more about it >
► Arashiyama Monkey Park
Our adventure continued with a visit to Arashiyama Monkey Park. We greeted and fed adorable snow monkeys at the mountaintop and enjoyed a beautiful view of Kyoto. Read more about it >
► Back to Hotel
After a long day of hiking, we took the train back to our hotel for a rest.
DAY 5
Kyoto, Japan
- Fushimi Inari Shrine
- Nara Park
- Todaiji Temple
- Japanese Curry
► Fushimi Inari Taisha
Our first stop of the day was the famous Fushimi Inari Taisha, well-known for the thousands of bright red torii gates. Read more about it >
► Nara Park
We then took a train to Nara to visit Nara Park and admiring the wild deers that were roaming free around the park. Read more about our visit to Nara >
► Todaiji Temple
Of course we had to visit the historic Todaiji Temple, the largest wooden building in the world, which was listed as one of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Read more about our visit to Nara >
► Japanese Curry
Before we left Nara, we enjoyed a delicious Japanese curry. Read more about our visit to Nara >
DAY 6
Hiroshima to Miyajima Island
- Train to Hiroshima
- Ferry Ride to Miyajima Island
- The Floating Torii Gate
- Cable Car Ride to Mt Misen
- Eel Dinner
► Train ride to Hiroshima
We took a train from Kyoto to Hiroshima, and from there took a ferry ride to Mt. Miyajima Island.
► Floating Torii Gate
We checked out the famous Floating Torii Gate in Miyajima Island.
► Cable Car to Mt Misen
We hopped on the Miyajima Ropeway cable car going up to Mt Misen, and continued hiking to the top to find a spectacular view.
► Eel Dinner
After a cable car ride back down to the base, we walked around the village to find food. We decided to stop at Mame-tanuki to try the local’s specialty conger eels.
► Back to Kyoto
We took a ferry ride back to Hiroshima and a train ride back to our Kyoto hotel to pack and get some rest. We would be moving to Takayama the next day.
DAY 7
Takayama
- Train to Takayama
- Check into Takayama Green Hotel
- Hida Beef Dinner
- Onsen
► Bullet Train Ride
We took a bullet train (Shinkansen) from Kyoto to Takayama, with a quick transit at Nagoya. The kids thought it was the coolest train ever.
► Check into hotel
We checked into our hotel, Takayama Green Hotel, which we loved so much. Read more about it >
► Hida Beef Dinner
The hotel package that we booked included the Hida Beef Kaiseki Dinner experience. Read more about it >
► Onsen Experience
After dinner, we went back to the hotel to get some sleep. We woke up at dawn to enjoy the hotel’s amazing onsen all to ourselves.
DAY 8
Shirakawa-go Village
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Bus to Shirakawa-go Village
- Exploring Shirakawa-go and lunch
- Lazy afternoon
► Breakfast at the hotel
To start the day, we had breakfast at our hotel.
► Bus Ride to Shirakawa-go
We headed to the bus station and got on the Takayama Nohi Bus to go to Shirakawa-go Village.
► Exploring Shirakawa-go
Walking around Shirakawa-go in the winter time felt like being in a Christmas snow globe. We also stopped for lunch in the village.
► Back to Takayama
With another bus ride, we were back in Takayama and enjoyed the rest of day relaxing and packing since we would be moving to Tokyo the next day.
DAY 9
Tokyo, Japan
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Train ride to Tokyo
- Check into hotel in Shinjuku
- Exploring Shinjuku
► Breakfast in Takayama
Before leaving for the train station, we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel.
► Bullet train to Tokyo
We rode the Shinkansen bullet train going to Tokyo.
► Check into hotel
Arriving in Tokyo, we checked into our hotel, Century Southern Tower in Shinjuku.
► Exploring Shinjuku
Shinjuku was our favorite area to stay in Tokyo because of its great location. We walked to get dinner at Ichiran Ramen and did some shopping in the area.
DAY 10
Mount Fuji
- Bus ride to Lake Kawaguchiko
- Mount Fuji
- Fujisan Sengen Temple
- Holiday lights in Roponggi
► Bus ride to Lake Kawaguchiko
We booked a round-trip bus tour to Lake Kawaguchiko, which was a great place to view the magnificent Mount Fuji.
► Mount Fuji
Walking along Lake Kawaguchiko was pleasant and we got to snap a lot of gorgeous photos with Mount Fuji as a backdrop.
► Fujisan Sengen Temple
Viewing Mt Fuji from the lake was amazing, but we decided to also get a taxi to go to Chureito Pagoda. Climbing up the stairs to get to the top was worth the iconic postcard photo of the pagoda with Mount Fuji behind it.
► Roponngi
After a bus ride back to Tokyo, we headed to Roponggi to enjoy a nice holiday light display.
DAY 11
Tokyo, Japan
- Harajuku
- Shibuya Crossing and Hachiko Statue
- Shopping in Ginza
► Harajuku
This quirky area in Tokyo features eclectic street art and fashion, unique boutiques, and fun food such as crepes, rainbow cotton candy, and animal-shaped ice cream.
► Shibuya and Hachiko Statue
Crossing the iconic Shibuya Crossing, the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world. We also took a picture with the statue of Hachiko, famously known for his unwavering loyalty to his deceased owner.
► Ginza
Afterwards, we spent the rest of the day shopping and eating dinner in Ginza.
DAY 12
Tokyo, Japan
- Transfer to Narita International Airport
► Transfer to Narita International Airport
The trip had come to an end. We took the Narita Express train to the airport and were ready to fly back home.
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I'm a happily-married mom of two. Our family enjoys an active lifestyle and spending quality time together. We love creating memories through travel, learning about different cultures around the world.
