Itinery October
 

Im going to Japan with my boyfriend for the first time. :)
We are arrving at Narita airport 2 October and we are leaving from the same place on 31st October.

This is our preliminary itinery. I would be really glad for advice, suggestions, ideas etc. :)

The first 3 days we are planning to stay in Tokyo.
2-4 october.
4 october-12 october Kyoto (we are doing daytrips to interesting things and city around, for example Osaka)
12 october-15 october Hiroshima and Miyajima
16-17 october Fukuoka
17-21 october Kagoshima
21-22 october Beppu
22 october Okayama
23 october Nagoya
24-31 october Tokyo (daytrips to Yokohama, Mt Fuji, Nikko)

This is just a preliminary plan, cuz we still have some readings to do and traintimetables to read.

We want a nice mix between citylife and wildlife. I would like to do some daytrip hiking tours to kamikochi etc.

What do you think about this plan? What should we change?
I really appreciate all answers!:)

First let me say I hope your relationship is solid. I know best friends that spent a month in Japan together, and have never spoken since. This will be a test of your relationship.

Tokyo 2-4 october.

Sounds good

4 october-12 october Kyoto (we are doing daytrips to interesting things and city around, for example Osaka)

This is long for Kyoto, and you might want to split it around Kyoto (3 days) Osaka (3 Days) and maybe a day or two in Kobe and Nara. Osaka is the central city in Kansai, and makes more sense as a central base, but Kyoto is smaller and cleaner. I just think 8 days in Kyoto is a bit much.

12 october-15 october Hiroshima and Miyajima
16-17 october Fukuoka
17-21 october Kagoshima
21-22 october Beppu
22 october Okayama
23 october Nagoya
24-31 october Tokyo (daytrips to Yokohama, Mt Fuji, Nikko)

I don't know what you are going to do for three days in Kagoshima, but maybe someone else does.

We have been together for more than 3 years so yes we are very solid. :) and we have done much longer trips than this one so im not worried.

About Kagoshima, we were thinking of doing daytrips to different islands, Yaku-Shima for example, but we might spend the night there as well.

Should we do Mt Fuji the first few days in Tokyo or during the last few days?
Weatherwise, what do you think would be the nicest? :)

Probably earlier in the trip will be safer.

Are you going to　the summit?Ｉt is said that beginners should climb only in Jul and Aug.Climbing from October to May is very strongly discouraged,unless you are veteran　alpinist.

no we are not going to climb it, we would just like to spend the day there and see it. Do you think its less cloudy earlier or later in october?:)

Later.Because autumn rainy season usually ends on mid-Oct.But it never means only fine days in late Oct and only cloudy days in early Oct.It's all a matter of luck.

Hehe, interestingly enough my boyfriend and I are also going to Japan for one month, starting next week. And we're also from Sweden (which I dare say TheSwede probably is, too). Why is a month in Japan so strenuous on a relationship, according to you?

TheSwede: Seems like you're going to see quite a lot and still have time to stay a few days at some of the places, nice. We're going to spend our first and last week in Tokyo and then travel around in Kyoto, Osaka, the Tottori area, going to visit some islands etc. Nothing's set in stone, though. We might suddenly end up in Hokkaido watching the autumn colours, who knows :D

I think a month in such a foreign place affects different people in different ways. There can be frustrations about food, getting place to place, language barriers, lack of familiar anchors, feeling very far away and disconnected... all kinds of things. If the pair are not a real support to each other, it can hurt the relationship.

The first time I went to Japan I was a teenager, and I spent three weeks there. After about two weeks my "host brother" who was an exchange student from my school in the US, started getting tired of translating for me. In a way it was like the batteries in a hearing aid running out. This heightened my stress and made me feel disconnected and frustrated.

I saw a similar thing happen a couple summers ago with two friends who traveled Japan together for a month or so. It wasn't more than a couple weeks before they were on each other's nerves.

I am not saying this will happen, but it might not be a bad idea to mentally prepare yourself and talk about it with your boyfriend in advance, so that you can catch yourself before doing or saying something you might later regret.

I went five years ago to Tokyo for 10 days with my best friend. After 3 days, I felt all he was doing was tagging along everywhere I went. I didn't know if he wanted to go elsewhere-he wouldn't say. I wasn't sure how long I should stay at each place, or if he even wanted to go there. The last three days we spent them doing our own thing. I think it was more the fact I went prepared with some sort of idea of what to do and where to go while he just literally tagged along that perhaps made his experience not as fulfilling. Added to that, one of his shoes squeaked (not his fault!) made things worse, as the constant squeaking drove me nuts.... At least I knew he was behind me. Even many of the photos we took were about the same things from a slightly, and I mean very slightly different angle. (He was behind me most of the time)

I'm headed back there for another 10 days in a few weeks and I'm going alone. That way I can do what I want, when I want and for how long I want. No one to answer to. We are still friends, but not as close as we used to be. And I've know him for years-nearly nine now....

MMM is right. A foreign place, a foreign language-these things can really test any relationship....