5 weeks in Japan in May 2025
 

Hi,

After almost 25 years with my company, I am being made redundant in mid march ( I'm reasonably ok with it -though will be sad to leave my colleagues). I am fortunate that I will get a reasonable payoff and have a reasonable pension ( pension might not cover frequent trip to Japan in the future :))
I have a lot of Hilton points in my account ( was saving them to take my mother away but she is less interested in travel these days so whilst I have Hilton Diamond status this year, probably a good time to use maybe a third of them and visit places in Japan that I like and a few new places.
Not that interested in Sakura so was thinking of 5/6 weeks in May/first week in June ( appreciating that the first week of May will be golden week.) Planning on less time in Tokyo on this trip ( probably come back in Dec for autumn colours/winter illuminations

My initial basic plan would be something like this
3 nights Narita airport hilton ( inc arrival night) with 1 day exploring Narita town and 1 day taking the skyliner to ueno station and visit the park ( if i end up flying into Haneda, I'll switch to either odaiba or yokohama
Narita express to Yokohama ( Hilton)- visit the Sankeien garden and day trip to Kamakura. 3 nights in yokohama
2 nights Hilton Nagoya - visit the castle and garden- never been to Nagoya
5 or 7 nights in Kyoto ( 2nd visit to kyoto but would like to explore it in more detail and visit sites i missed in May 2024 ( ie Nijojo castle and imperial palace as well as the kiyomizu dera area at night ). Day trip to Nara. Probably at Doubletree kyoto station ( would like to try the new Hilton Kyoto but it is a bit pricey points rise ( ie 95k pn on some nights -would rather spend 5k extra per night for the Conrad or WA osaka
2 nights Himeji ( visit the castle and garden ) -probably the nikko hotel
5 or 6 nights in Hiroshima ( Hilton -love the hotel) . Use hiroshima as a base for daytrips to Iwakuni, Kure, Sankeien garden at the Airport, Okayama, Onomichi ( for the temples ) plus mitakidera in Hiroshima and explore parts of hiroshima I have not visited
1 night on Miyajima island for the experience at night time without a lot of day trippers
5 nights in Nagasaki ( hilton) .Explore Nagasaki, relaxing time at the hotel ( do laundry also) and maybe some day trips. I do like the hilton nagaski hotel
Possibly 1 night at the Nikko Huis ten bosch park ( hopefully less rain than in April 2024)
5 nights in Osaka ( conrad or waldorf astoria on points ( get 5 nights for 4 nights of points at hilton hotels) .Maybe 1 or 2 days at the Expo,some osaka sightseeing and some relaxing
2 or 3 nights either in Odaiba or Tokyo bay for Disney


Had considered a few days in okinawa ( naha ) or sapporo but probably not on this trip
some reasonable fares from the UK on Cathay ( could visit HKG for a few days on the way back) or Qatar ( few days in Doha on the way back)

Regards

TBS

Commiserations/congratulations on the early retirement. Did you find award availability for those stays? I guess you know what you like by now, so I don’t know if you’re looking for any advice but here’s my take. My preference would be for less time at Narita. Also, while I love Nagasaki, i think Fukuoka might be a more practical base for exploring other parts of the wider region. Final thought is that while you have good reason to stay at Hilton properties you might want to throw in a night at a non Hilton hotel to take in sights that are better suited to an overnight visit than a day trip. I guess Miyajima is one of those cases. Perhaps the Goto islands near Nagasaki would be another.

While I generally agree with you, as Nagasaki is a bit isolated in the southwest, surrounded by seas and inlets that make it time-consuming to travel to other parts of Kyushu, based on his proposed schedule, I don't see that he plans to visit anywhere else in Kyushu. As a tourist destination, Nagasaki has more to offer historically and culturally than Fukuoka, IMO.
Actually, you can fly to the Goto Islands from Fukuoka too. But from Nagasaki, you can both fly and take the boat.

I am sorry to hear your situation. I have gone through up and down of working in corporate world, also. I do think it will be great that you will take time off and spend five weeks in Japan. You can figure out your next step later. I understand that you are planning to use your Hilton Honor points. But I agree with jib71 about stay at non Hilton Honor properties in Japan since you will be in Japan for five weeks. There are no Hilton Honor properties in Tohoku and Shikoku, and I think it will be good to plan few days at Shikoku and Tohoku also.

Hilton Tokyo is more expensive than Hilton Narita but might be worth squeezing out a few more points to stay there. It would be a good choice to use a free night award. You would have access to the executive lounge. Better location.

You could drop Nagoya or, better yet, add to it. Definitely daytrip to Inuyama for the castle. It is a gem. Stop to visit the garden/ochaya on the way. A lengthier daytrip would be to walk the Nakasendo or maybe just visit Magome (I have done neither). Gifu has a little castle, a reconstruction but it would have nice views on a clear day. You could also see the cormorant fishing in Gifu in May.

Himeji would be an easy daytrip from Osaka (JR rapid train). IDK about the Osaka hotels except to say that the Hilton sure is convenient to the station.

I have the feeling you have been to Japan a lot so you probably know more than me.
However I would say that Nagoya warrants more than 2 days, you could do 3, by adding a day trip to Inuyama, which is a great place. Nagoya itself there is the old town which is very underated but very nice, the Osu-Kanon temple and market around, the science museum if that is your thing and the train museum if that is also your thing. And try to get a Morning Service for a Nagoya breakfast (free breakfast offer if you order a coffee between 7 and 9 AM), I recommend Coffee House Kako near the train station since they do their Ogura and jam homemade. Nagoyaisnotboring.com is a good resource for what to do in the city.
Nara is also valuable to stay a night to feel the atmosphere once the tourists have left, roam with the deer at dusk in the park or Primeval forest.

Hi,

Thanks for all the good wishes
All the advice is greatly appreciated and is excellent.
So many places to see , not enough time ( you could spend years in japan and not see everything)
Whilst I have a general idea of the major cities (the suggestions around Nagoya are excellent) I did have to google up Tohoku and Shikoku

Will aim to give up Narita and spend longer in Yokohama towards the end of Golden Week
Will spend an extra day in Nagoya with a day trip to Inuyama /Gifu
I saw that Fukuoka is close to Hakata station ( I changed trains there iirc when travelling between Hiroshima and Nagasaki so might be worthwhile for a couple of days

Using Japan-guide .com to search Shikoku I saw Matsuyama ( Castle) and Takamatsu ( Ritsurin koen Garden) and saw the ANA crown plaza in Matsuyama for around Y7000 which is very good so was thinking of getting the hispeed ferry from Hiroshima port to Matsuyama then couple of nights in the area and visit Takamatsu before the train back to Okayama/Kobe/Osaka

Have stayed at the Hilton tokyo ( would probably use the extra points for the Conrad) and Nikko north of tokyo looks fascinating

Thanks for all the advice.

Regards

TBS

I like Matsuyama. If you go there, you could also make a day trip by train to nearby Uchiko and Ozu, which are charming, historic towns. From Ozu, you could continue to Yawatahama to take the ferry across to Beppu, in Oita prefecture, Kyushu (or do the reverse).

>> from Hiroshima port to Matsuyama then couple of nights in the area and visit Takamatsu before the train back to Okayama/Kobe/Osaka

Matsuyama is where I fell in love with Japan. It was ephiphanous. That was in 2001 on my first trip to Japan. I very much liked my stay at Hotel Patio Dogo which is basically across the street from Dogo Onsen (famous, historic, must visit).

Am not sure of your routing now. Matsuyama would fit where Himeji is in the itinerary in your OP. Route from Kyoto would be shinkansen to Okayama then a l'ex across the Seto Ohashi Bridges (very cool) to Shikoku and on to Matsuyama. Do that trip in daylight. I crossed the bridge at sunset and the views of the Seto Nai Kai and islands was stunning (but then it was dark on the Shikoku part of the ride).

Then go from Matsuyama to Hiroshima on the fast boat (at sunset).

I enjoy visiting Fukuoka. Not a fan of the Hilton location unless going to a Hawks baseball game. I very highly recommend going to a game even if you are not a baseball fan. You want to sit in right field. Not being a baseball fan is not a reason not to go to a game. It is fun and something of a cultural experience, real Japan.

Nikko was annoyingly busy with foreign tourists when I finally visited there in November 2019. It was just too much and I was disappointed.

Hi

Thanks for that mrwunrfl and jib71
Lots to think about:tu::)
with the additional options , i have not decided on my exact routing yet but will work on it over the next week

Regards

Tbs

Sorry to hear that. Are you just going to retire?

With that big a chunk of time, maybe you could consider adding in some social/physical activities and experiences, in addition to Hilton stays and tourism. Attending baseball game is a good idea although, if you’re more into football, you might instead try a J-League game (I get bored watching baseball live, and enjoyed J-League match a lot more than the one Fighters baseball game I went to). If you go to Shikoku, Kochi is famous for watersports . How about island hopping via bicycle from Onomichi to Shikoku? Tons of great hikes everywhere. Visit a uni campus like Todai or Waseda and eat in their cafeteria. Cooking workshops…

I don’t know if you’ve done any onsens before. If not, how about starting now? Kusatsu would be a great introduction. But my favorite ones are up in the central/northern Alps near Kamikochi/Hirayu area.

Out of left field : Have you been to Yakushima ? Amami ? How renting a kei truck and slowly rolling around Kyushu ? Thing about a kei truck is that they don't go too fast and are uncomfortable enough to force you to stop every few hours. :cool:

I rented a kei truck for a trip in Kochi a couple of years ago - very cheap from the construction equipment rental service "k-center". No one-way rentals, unfortunately.
https://k-center.jp/

Forget karting around Tokyo, stinking the place up with two-stroke engines, while filming yourself in a stupid costume. Touring the inaka in a kei truck should go on the list of "real Japan" experiences. Misery and romance at the same time.

It is possible to visit Nihon Sankei (日本三景). Nihon Sankei is Miyajima, Aamano Hashidate, and Matsushima.

Miyajima:
Looks like you have visited Miyajima.

Amano Hashidate:
It is possible to do a day trip from Kyoto.

Limited Express Hashidate No. 1
Kyoto: 08:38
Amano Hashidate: 10:40

Limited Express Hashidate No. 6
Amano Hashidate: 15:51
Kyoto: 18:07

Matsushima:
Can do a day trip to Matsushima from Tokyo

Shinkansen from Tokyo to Sendai. Recommended to depart from Tokyo by 7:00 a.m. to maximize the time at Matsushima.
Transfer to JR Senseki Line at Sendai. To Matsushima Kaigan station.

You can check off the list that you have been to Nihon Sankei.

Just a few thoughts:

I honestly can't imagine spending 3 nights in Narita town even on a longer trip like yours. But if they are still in print, get copies of "Day Hikes near Tokyo" and "more Day Hikes near Tokyo." One of them has a decent day hike around Narita. Also there is the National History museum not far from Narita on the Keisei line. It has a good English headset tour.

I've done the night in Miyajima. If you've been during the day already, I don't think it's worth returning. Also unless things have changed recently, the hotel rooms are hugely dated and well overpriced for what you get. Also pricey is the only restaurant on premisses open for dinner.

No Hokkaido? Should be manageable in May. You're missing 1/3 of Japan if you've never been. But distances are longer than elsewhere and lots of it is best seen by rental car. Should be even easier for you, you come from a place that drives on the left! Sapporo is definitely not among the most interesting places to visit in Hokkaido. Unfortunately, those are in Northern Hokkaido, national parks and such. You can get there fastest by flying to Memanbetsu and renting a car at the airport.

One night at Himeji is plenty to explore the castle and environs. For me, even too much. Better yet, an easy day trip on the way to or during your stay in Hiroshima. Japanese castles in general are far better to look at from the outside than to visit.

For me, 5 nights in Osaka would be 4 nights too many. Have you thought of trying to stay at a ryokan or two in the vicinity instead?

When in Nagasaki, I thought it worthwhile to take the boat excursion to Gunkanjima, the "battleship island." They say they are going to land but when I went they came up with an excuse not to. Still worth it to circle the place close up. There also is a Gunkanjima museum that might be worth visiting before the excursion to get some context in advance.