UPDATED! 2 Week Tour of Chugoku: Easy 16 Day Itinerary

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How does two weeks in the Chugoku region in western Honshu sound? 

It's here where our next adventure begins. 

In order to make the most of that time, I have planned an itinerary that takes in at least nine locations but, at the same time, doesn't see us crazily running around non-stop. 

Here's the low-down on how my wife and I put the tour together. 

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Chugoku 16 Day Itinerary The Real Japan Rob Dyer

2 Week Tour of Chugoku: Easy 16 Day Itinerary
by Rob Dyer

How we put our Chugoku itinerary together

What we've come up with gives us time to pause, relax, stroll, socialise, spend time with family and friends, and generally chill, drink coffee and eat cake. 🙂

Feel free to use this as inspiration for building your own version. 

Links to a whole bunch of resources that we used can be found at the end of the article.

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Places included

  • Asago
  • Hagi
  • Kobe
  • Kyoto
  • Okayama
  • Osaka
  • Takahashi
  • Tokyo
  • Tsuwano

And who knows where else we might squeeze in a day trip to?  😉

Chugoku Location Map

Chugoku region map

Chugoku region map

The northwestern coastline of Honshu

Given that we only have two weeks we decided to keep our travels limited to the main island of Honshu. That way we keep the distance to travel between destinations relatively modest, so we can see more, do more, enjoy more and spend less time actually doing the travelling bit (though I do love that too!).

Of course, we want to explore the lesser-known destinations, more than the more popular tourist places. So, in preparation, I opened my ageing Rough Guide to Japan to look at the map of Honshu and to see where on the coastline I've not yet been to, and to read about some of the places found there in more depth.

One area stood out: the north-western coastline of Honshu – between Kinosaki and the southern island Kyushu – two areas I've done some exploring in already. Filling in the gap between them felt like a good plan.

SEE ALSO: Discover Honshu (Island Guide)

Kobe Harborland The Real Japan Rob Dyer

Kobe's iconic Harborland district is worth exploring on foot

With friends in Tokyo, a friend's band (Mechanical Cabaret) playing their first gig in Japan in the capital, and the invitation to DJ at a club the following day (I also run an electronic/alternative music review website: dsoaudio.com), we decided to begin our trip by flying into Tokyo for a couple of days, before heading over to Kobe, which we will use as the base for the rest of our adventures.

After our travels around Western Honshu, we'll be flying back to England from Kansai International Airport in Osaka.

RELATED: 5 Days in Kyushu - Itinerary

 

The itinerary

Day 1 – Arriving Tokyo (Haneda International Airport), stay in hotel (in Gotanda)
Day 2Tokyo - DJ-ing. Evening Nozomi shinkansen from Tokyo to Kobe
Day 3Kobe - Chill
Day 4 Kobe - Chill
Day 5Takahashi, stay in ryokan
Day 6 – Return to Kobe from Takahashi (via Okayama)
Day 7Asago (for Takeda Castle) day trip
Day 8Kobe - Chillout
Day 9 Hagi, stay in guesthouse
Day 10 Tsuwano, stay in ryokan
Day 11 – Return to Kobe from Tsuwano
Day 12 Kobe - Chillax
Day 13Kyoto day trip
Day 14Osaka day trip
Day 15 Kobe - Shopping
Day 16 – Depart to England (Kansai International Airport)

 

A comment about our itinerary

Our itinerary was built around using Kobe as our base as we were staying and wanted to spend time with family. You could substitute any city in the region that you want to use as a base. Or you could not have a base at all and simply keep moving to new destinations every day or so. If you'd like me to help you build such an itinerary then check out my Travel Planning Service.

VIDEO: To Hagi From Kobe by Shinkansen and Bus

Highlights from the tour

This trip is about mixing new destinations with familiar ones. The new destinations are all much of a kind, in that they are all off the beaten track (of course!) and are examples of the more historical/traditional side of Japan.

Here's a few highlights from each of them...

 

Takahashi (and Tenchi Muyo!)

Takahashi town in Okayama Prefecture is pretty innocuous. Even by Japan's standards.

So much so, that in 2014 the authorities there invested in developing an anime series, Ai: Tenchi Muyo!, set in Takahasi to help raise its profile and hopefully drive some of the millions of Tenchi Muyo! fans there in pilgrimage.

Tenchi Muyo! creator Masaki Kajishima is from Okayama prefecture. There's a castle (Bitchū Matsuyama) and a Buddhist temple (Raikyū-ji) best known for its Japanese garden. My Rough Guide tantilisingly describes it as “A small, charming time-warped castle town... evoking images of a long-lost Japan”. That sounds like a piece of The Real Japan to me!

Takahashi - Fukiya Bengara Village

Takahashi - Fukiya Bengara Village

Asago (Takeda Castle – the 'Japanese Machu Pichu')

The sole reason for going to Asago is to see Takeda Castle, also referred to as The Castle In The Sky/The Castle In The Clouds. Referred to locally as the 'Machu Pichu of Japan', it is the ruins of a castle built in 1441.

At 353 meters above sea level, meaning that in autumn mornings clouds form below the peak it sits on, forming a ring of clouds below the castle – making the castle appear to be floating on the clouds.

I'm not sure if this place gave inspiration to Hayao Miyazaki for the Studio Ghibli film Laputa: Castle In The Sky, but images of it suggest it may have (but either way I love and recommend that film).

 

Hagi: samurai houses and merchant quarter

Hagi in Yamaguchi Prefecture was chosen to fulfil my insatiable desire to wander around places in Japan that have barely changed in hundreds of years.

Hagi old town

Hagi old town, Photo: Ungo

Hagi is home to samurai houses and merchants' quarters dating back to 1604. A place where traditional crafts, such as the Hagi-yaki pottery that the town is famous for, and regional specialities like the whitebait caught in the Matsumoto river which divides the town, are maintained to this day. Hagi offers all of this.

VIDEO: Morning View Over Hagi From Our Guesthouse Balcony

Tsuwano: street canals teaming with koi

Like Hagi, nearby Tsuwano was also chosen to revel in the ancient, traditional side of Japan. Tsuwano is older than Hagi and sits below the 908-metre Aono-yama volcano, and is known for its picturesque main street, 'Tonomachi' which is lined with Edo-era buildings and canals teaming with koi.

Tsuwano The Real Japan Rob Dyer

Tsuwano is a hidden gem - a small valley town surrounded by mountains

The old town with the streams running through it reminds me a little of Hida Takayama in Gifu Prefecture

You could visit Hagi and Tsuwano in a single day but you wouldn't have enough time in each, so we opted to travel to Hagi first, stay there overnight, then spend the next full day in Tsuwano, where we will stay in a ryokan.

 

Kyoto's amazing train station

Not off the beaten track and a well-known international tourist destination, but with good reason, Kyoto is always worth a visit if you have the time. The main area of interest, including the shrines, temples and old town, is relatively compact and a lot can be covered on foot in just one day.

In stark contrast to the traditional temples and shrines Kyoto is famous for, the interior of its train station is a jaw-dropping example of modern Japanese architecture at its finest. You should allow some time to linger inside, taking in the striking design and engineering of the vast atrium spanning its 15-storey high interior.

There's also a shopping mall, restaurants and even a cinema if you want to spend a few hours here (and you easily could).

SEE ALSO: Exploring Kyoto's Train Station

Exploring Kyoto's 15 Storey Train Station

Kyoto's stunningly designed 15 storey train station

Our pre-planning checklist

  • Re-read ageing Rough Guide to Japan for inspiration based on areas of Western Honshu I've never been to before.
  • Little bit of additional internet research to fill in the details on and refine our short list of possible destinations.
  • Checked late train and flight options from Tokyo to Kobe on Day 2. Opted for Nozomi shinkanesen train as they are super fast and frequent. Not much difference in price between plane and train, and not a lot in it duration wise, door to door either. Also, going by train allows us to stay in Tokyo a little longer. (The Nozomi tickets worked out at just under ¥15,000 per person.)
  • 7-day Japan Rail Pass purchased in advance in the UK. Which we will 'activate' on Day 5 with our train from Kobe to Takahashi.
  • All accommodation researched online via Jalan.net (see Resources links below) booked in advance. Even so, a suitable (ie affordable) ryokan in Hagi was not available, so we have opted for a more humble (and much cheaper) guest house there.
  • International flights booked using Skyscanner.com. Flights from London Heathrow to Tokyo Haneda with ANA. Return flights with Lufthansha (code share flight with ANA) from Kansai International Airport (Osaka) to Frankfurt, Germany, then to London Heathrow worked out to £687 per person.

SEE ALSO: How To Plan Trips To Japan

To read how this trip actually panned out you might want to read this follow up article:
Changing Travel Plans, Discovering New Places

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Chugoku 16 Day Itinerary The Real Japan Rob Dyer
Rob Dyer The Real Japan

About the Author

A writer and publisher from England, Rob has been exploring Japan’s 6,800 islands since 2000. He specialises in travelling off the beaten track, whether on remote atolls or in the hidden streets of major cities. He’s the founder of TheRealJapan.com.

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Leave A Comment / Ask A Question

  • Eric Larsen says:

    Jalan.net looks like an awesome resource.

  • Regina Rianelli says:

    Dear #RobDyer,

    #Konnochiwa… great Article that makes us join the whole trip: #Cheers !

    We only have ten days, kindly leave an e-mail addy so we can shrink the trip proposed above and still be very happy to be part of it !

    As a suggestion, we’re so much in fond of Teas : High Tea, Matchá, green teas… that perhaps You could also suggest a cool place where you can see a beautiful garden, colorful fish swimming within a visible range from our table and enjoy the view of peaceful stuff like that…

    Please kindly include price ranges, so a student wouldn’t be caught short handed !

    Sayonara !
    Regina Rianelli

    • Thank you Regina – good to hear you enjoyed the article so much!

      I’ll bear your suggestions in mind for future articles.

      I’d be happy to suggest revisions to this itinerary for your visit. 🙂 You can email me using the contact form here: https://www.therealjapan.com/contact/

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