Comment from @user-sh5pc8ji7r
1 day ago
If you`d like to save this guide in a quick notes sheet -

Stay in Asakusa - historical district ( 1-2 days explore askusa ueno and akihabara)

Day 3. Kamakura (Kyoto of East Japan)
Kamakura daibutsu (43 ft buddha statue)
Hokokuji Temple  (temple with stunning bamboo forest)
Komachi dori (bustling shopping street - try Giraffa curry bread)

Yokohama ( second largest city)
Minato Mirai Harbor ( Futuristic Waterfront district)
CupNoodles Museum
Chinatown ( the largest in the world)

Day 4-5
Kanazawa (A town nestled in the mountains, a golden city, that wasn`t bombed or hit by natural disasters)

Kazue Machi Chaya Tea District
Omicho Market ( try unagi grilled eel )
Nagamachi Samurai Distrcit
Matcha desserts
Higashi Chaya-gai Geisha District
Stay in a Machiya town house
try gold leaf ice cream
Kenrouken garden
Kirari sushi (conveyer. very good quality of fish and price)


Day 6 Shirakawago village (very beautiful mountain village)
try their pudding in a glass jar

Day 6-7 Takayama (Mountain city, Chris`s favorite town)
Take in the views over the Miyagawa River
Stroll around Takayama old town
Try the many Hida beed street foods
Takayama Showa-kan Museum
Stop for tea at Bagpipe
Hida Fold Village (if you skipped shirakawago)

Dat 8-9 Kyoto

The best stay is Higashyama (stay in Kyomachiya - a traditional Kyoto wooden townhouse)
Fushimi Inari Taisha ( ancient shrine famed for its thousand of tori gates)
Tempura endo yasaka (serving cripsy golden tempura battered dishes)
Arashiyama Scenic Mountain District
Sagano Bamboo Grove ( walkable 24 hours of a day for free
Tenryuji temple (Zen Buddhist temple originally constructed in 1339)
Kinkakuji (golden pavilion. zen temple originally home to 14th-century shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu)
Wasaka Pagoda (five storey pagoda dating back to 1408)
Kiyomizudera temple (one of Kyoto`s most celebrated temples founded in 780)
Pontocho Alley (atmospheric narrow alley packed with restaurants)

Nara is 45 minutes from Kyoto by train (ancient capital)
Nara Park (with deer)
Tomogi Mochi (rice cake flavored with Japanese mugwort leaves)
Todaiji Temple (eastern great temple originally founded in the 8th century)
Kasiga Taisha (Nara`s most celebrated Shinto shrine)


Day 10-11 Osaka (Japan`s nightlife capital)
Dotonbori (downtown Osaka)
Takoyaki (Osaka's beloved battered octopus balls)
Osaka Castle ( epic in scale and completed construction in 1597)
Shinsekai (retro district built in the 1920s) (try kushikatsu  - deep fried skewers - fish meat , veggies)

Day 12 Hakone ( hot springs)
Ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) and kanseki (traditional multi-course dinner)
Kashikiri (reserved private bath)
Owakudani (the great boiling valley)
Hakone shrine on the shores of Lake Ashi

Day 13-14 Tokyo again (Kabukicho, Shinjuku)

Omoide yokocho (maze of narrow alleyways crammed with 60+ bars and restaurants)
Shibuya
How to experience Tokyo:
Stay in a capsule hotel’
Stay in a love hotel
Karaoke
Mori Tower
Game Center
Odaiba
Ginza ( souvenir shopping)
Ueno park, shinjuku park
Go retro second-hand shopping
Eat some ramen (Ichiran, Ippudo, or just a random family-run ramen shop)