Japan 2015, Week 3 - Itinerary

I've never been away from home for more than 2 weeks so I wonder if I'll be homesick by the time we get to week #3...I think I'll probably just be craving real American food - like pizza that DOESN'T have corn and mayo on it.

These plans are still very much in the development phase so I don't have many details to add, but here's what we have so far...

Week 1     :     Week 2

Day 16: Kyoto

• Southern Kyoto
• Fushimi Inari Shrine - we missed this last time so we are excited to see it this time.  I dig anything en masse.  ☺

 

Day 17:  Nara/Osaka

• Shin-Osaka Station to Nara Station
• Visit Nara - Nara is such a cool place.  It feels like a small town (compared to Tokyo and Kyoto, at least) and there are a ton of friendly deer who flock to you for "deer cookies."  We went here in 2013 on a rainy day - it'd be cool if we could have nice weather this time!  It'd also be cool if John can avoid falling and subsequently surrounded by extremely kind and helpful Japanese people...but that's another story.
• Explore Osaka - We spent one very crazy and confused evening in Osaka in 2013...and most of that was underground in the maze-like train station.  We are definitely going to try to see more of Osaka this time!

Day 18: Osaka

• Visit Himeji Castle - This was under construction in 2013 and is finally re-opening March 27, 2015.  Another new site we are excited to see!

• Explore Osaka some more (We need to research Osaka a lot more or probably end up walking around in circles again!)

Day 19: Osaka?/Travel/Tokyo

• We may finish seeing Osaka before we head back to Tokyo
• Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka Station to Shiomi Station in Tokyo
• Check into APA Hotel Tokyo Shiomi Ekimae ($63/night via Booking.com) - We chose this hotel because it's right on the JR line and only 3 stops away from Tokyo Disney.  Since it's a couple miles out of central Tokyo, it's cheaper, but its proximity to the JR line means it's still very convenient...not as convenient as we'd like for touring Tokyo, but perfect for our last couple days since we plan to spend those at Tokyo Disney!
• Do everything we missed in Tokyo and everything we need to do one more time before we leave.
• I'm guessing this will include a major trip to Daiso  ☺
• Visit Ikspiari - this is a shopping mall-type thing that is sort of the Japanese equivalent of Downtown Disney.  We purchased our Disney passes online and this is where we will pick them up.
• Ride the Disney monorail and visit the Disney resorts.  The Disney resorts in Japan look pretty incredible, but we can't imagine paying $400/night for a room we'll spend very little time enjoying so we'll just spend some time enjoying the lobbies and gift shops.  

Day 20: Disney Sea

• Disney Sea is unique to Japan and from everything we've heard, it's pretty awesome.  Can't wait to see it!

Day 21: Tokyo Disneyland

• We only spent half a day at Tokyo Disneyland in 2013 so a whole day should be super cool!

Day 22: Tokyo/Travel

• Finish any last minute touring needs in Tokyo
• Fly home from Narita 

...and that's it...think we'll have enough to do?  ☺