Garden walks, a private Hakone bath and a Miyajima inn: nine nights for two.
Split nine nights between Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Miyajima: two, two, three and two. There’s one full Tokyo day, a whole Hakone day, two Kyoto days and one island day. Three mornings move you to the next hotel. Arrive in Tokyo and plan the final flight from Hiroshima Airport; a late-afternoon or evening departure leaves room for breakfast on Miyajima and the mainland connections.
This route suits a couple who want gardens, good meals and a hot-spring stay without changing rooms every night. Hakone is the place to spend more on the bath and bedroom. Kyoto adds walks and tea; Miyajima gives you a waterfront morning before the day-trip boats fill the pier. The island needs a ferry, so it’s a less convenient ending than a city hotel beside an airport railway.
Hamarikyu’s seawater pond rises and falls with the tide, linking this garden beside Shiodome’s towers to Tokyo Bay. Follow the shore paths and bridges in the morning, then return to Ginza for its department-store food floors. The rest of the afternoon is open for the stores or galleries you want to visit.
Hakone Ginyu serves dinner and breakfast in a dining space inside each of its twenty rooms. Between dishes, you can look into the Hayakawa valley, with your private terrace bath a few steps away. The two-night stay gives you a second evening with dinner together in the same room.
Kiyomizu-dera’s main hall stands above the wooded slope of Mount Otowa. From its terrace and the paths towards Okuno-in, you see the hall against the hill, with Kyoto beyond. The climb from Kiyomizu-Gojo brings you through the eastern streets before you reach the temple.
At Ippodo’s Kaboku tearoom, the menu distinguishes thick koicha from lighter usucha. Choose usucha if you want a familiar bowl to sip, or try the thicker preparation if you’re curious about its texture. A confection accompanies the matcha. You can buy the tea afterwards at the same Teramachi store, making this a useful stop for a gift to take home. It’s a tea-shop visit, with room for your questions while ordering.
Iwaso’s detached cottages include Shukintei, built in 1928, with separate tatami rooms and a private indoor bath. The inn also has a newer wing, so a reservation at the same address can mean a different room layout. Choose the building whose stairs, bedding and bathroom suit you. A cottage can appeal if you want older timber and space to spread out; the newer wing offers another way to stay beside Momijidani Park.
April and May, or October and November, suit the mix of Tokyo gardens, Kyoto streets and Miyajima walks. Blossom and autumn-leaf dates can make the smaller inns harder to book. Summer brings humid city afternoons; June can be rainy. Fuji may be hidden and strong wind can halt the Hakone boats or ropeway. Keep the mountain outing flexible, choosing a museum and more time in the room when the transport circuit isn’t running.
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Choose a different ending for an early Hiroshima flight or a flight from Tokyo or Kansai. A beach holiday, theme-park day or several Osaka nights also needs another route.
StartBooker answer
Stay two nights in Tokyo, two in Hakone, three in Kyoto and two on Miyajima. Choose the Hakone room for its bed layout, bath and meals, then use the city days for a garden walk, eastern Kyoto and tea on Teramachi. Reach the island through Hiroshima and Miyajimaguchi, with two dinners arranged at your inn. Finish with a late-afternoon or evening flight from Hiroshima Airport; an early flight needs the last night on the mainland. Individual rail tickets fit this westbound plan.
Use Ginza for Tokyo, Miyanoshita for the Hakone example, central Kyoto for dinners and the island itself for the final two nights. The room choices below explain what each stay adds to this honeymoon.
4 stops · swipe
1
Ginza: dinner and department stores near your room
Ginza keeps dinner and department stores nearby. Marunouchi shortens the Tokyo Station departure to Odawara; Shinjuku is useful if you choose Odakyu’s direct Romancecar instead.
Watch out: A Tokyo Station hotel address can still mean a long walk to the shinkansen gates.
Read the Tokyo guide →
2
Miyanoshita: a private valley bath at Hakone Ginyu
Hakone Ginyu is a short walk from Miyanoshita Station. Each room has a private outdoor bath overlooking the valley. Stay for two nights to enjoy another evening after the museum.
Watch out: Choose the room’s bed layout before reserving; a Japanese room does not imply raised beds.
3
Shijo and Kawaramachi: three evenings beside the Kamo
Shijo and Kawaramachi put dinner streets and Kamo River walks nearby. Higashiyama brings eastern temples closer; Kyoto Station makes the westbound train easier.
Watch out: Central Kyoto and Kyoto Station are different bases; include the connection before the Hiroshima train.
Read the Kyoto guide →
4
Island evenings beside Momijidani Park
Iwaso sits beside Momijidani Park and offers free pier pickup. Book dinner and breakfast for evenings after restaurants close. Room baths use tap water; shared hot-spring baths are reached by stairs.
Watch out: Tell Iwaso about food allergies at least seven days ahead; its kitchen handles other guests’ ingredients too.
Days three, five and eight change hotels. Leave those mornings for the journey and a meal, then enjoy the new base after dropping your bags. The last day uses Hiroshima Airport, with the flight time chosen around the ferry and bus.
From Haneda Terminal 3, take Keikyu to Shinagawa, ~15–20 minutes and ¥330 by paper ticket or ¥327 with an IC card. For Ginza, take the JR Yamanote Line towards Tokyo to Shimbashi, then the Ginza Line towards Asakusa one stop to Ginza. Add the station changes and the walk to your actual hotel. If arrival formalities leave time and the shops are open, spend an hour or two around the department stores after dropping your bags. A food-floor bento or sushi makes an easy first dinner; on a late arrival, go straight to the hotel and eat nearby, with an ordinary meal allowance of ~¥1,000–2,500 per person before drinks. Save the hotel’s Japanese address on your phone so you can show it if you need help finding the entrance.
Base: Tokyo
Give Hamarikyu about two hours for the tidal pond, bridges and garden paths. Adult entry is ¥300 at the gate; Tokyo Parks lists the entrances and opening hours. Visit after the garden opens at 9 a.m., then spend the afternoon shopping in Ginza. Have a rice bowl or noodles nearby, allowing ~¥800–1,500 for a simple lunch. Keep about two to three hours for Ginza browsing, then return to change before dinner. If one of you wants more shopping, the other can choose a café without sending both of you across Tokyo.
Base: Tokyo
Book a stopping Hikari or Kodama from Tokyo Station to Odawara on SmartEX: ~30–45 minutes and ~¥3,400–4,000 Ordinary reserved. Continue to Hakone-Yumoto, then ride the mountain railway ~25–30 minutes to Miyanoshita. Allow about two to three hours from the Tokyo hotel to the inn. Hakone Ginyu’s check-in starts at 2 p.m.; use its arrival directions for the short station walk. Eat soba or yuba near Hakone-Yumoto on the way, keeping lunch light enough for the included dinner. Agree your arrival and dinner time with the inn before booking the trains; if delayed, prioritise check-in over the lunch stop.
Base: Hakone
After breakfast, take the mountain railway towards Chokoku-no-Mori for the Hakone Open-Air Museum. Allow about two hours among the sculptures and galleries; adult entry is ¥1,800 online or ¥2,000 at the counter. Buy through hakone-oam.or.jp, then walk two minutes from the station. Return to Miyanoshita for lunch and a short browse around the bakeries near Fujiya Hotel. Watanabe Bakery is known locally for a beef-stew bread bowl. Give the rest of the afternoon to your room and bath. That leaves a second inn dinner without a long lake circuit between breakfast and evening.
Base: Hakone
Enjoy breakfast, descend to Odawara and take a Hikari stopping there for Kyoto. The shinkansen part is ~2h–2h20, ~¥11,900–12,500 Ordinary reserved; book the service on SmartEX and allow about three to four hours from the Hakone room to Kyoto. Buy an ekiben at Odawara for lunch, since Ordinary cars have no onboard food service. Leave bags at your central Kyoto hotel, then take about an hour along the Kamo River and Shijo streets. Have udon or a set meal close by and collect the suitcase sent from Tokyo before settling in for three nights.
Base: Kyoto
Start at Kiyomizu-dera, allowing about two hours for the hall, terrace and grounds. Budget ~¥500 adult entry, as listed by Kyoto City Tourism Association, and buy at the temple gate. Kiyomizu-Gojo is the rail approach: board a Keihan service that calls there from Gion-Shijo, travelling south. The remaining climb takes about 25 minutes. Continue down Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka, leaving about an hour or two for the shops and a seated lunch in Higashiyama. Try tofu or a noodle set before returning to the hotel. The descent includes stone steps, so save the slippery-soled dinner shoes for another outing.
Base: Kyoto
Choose the Kyoto sightseeing order around Ninomaru Palace and Ippodo’s calendars; days six and seven can trade places before you book dated tickets. If open, spend about two hours at Nijo Castle: ¥1,300 covers the grounds and Ninomaru Palace. If the palace is closed on both dates, visit the grounds when open or spend the morning in central Kyoto. After lunch, take the eastbound Tozai subway from Nijojo-mae to Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae for the walk to Teramachi; if already downtown, walk from there. Ippodo’s Kaboku tearoom closes on the second Wednesday of each month and takes last orders at 4:30 p.m. Choose another tea stop if neither date fits. Ikuyo-no-mukashi usucha with a confection costs ¥1,430 on its current menu; ask when ordering about the hands-on brewing option. Allow ~45–60 minutes for tea and buying a gift.
Base: Kyoto
Take a Kyoto–Hiroshima Nozomi, ~1h36–1h43 and ~¥11,700–12,500 Ordinary reserved on SmartEX for regular-to-busy dates. Change to JR for Miyajimaguchi, ~27–28 minutes and ¥420, then walk to the JR ferry. The crossing takes about ten minutes, ¥200 plus the ¥100 island-entry tax. Allow about three to four hours from Kyoto hotel to island inn, including connections. Buy lunch at Kyoto Station before boarding, then arrange Iwaso’s pier pickup if staying there. Reach the inn before its 7 p.m. dinner-arrival deadline and leave the shoreline walk for after you’ve unpacked.
Base: Miyajima
Visit Itsukushima Shrine’s waterfront corridors, ¥300 adult entry at the gate; allow about an hour and use the island tourist association’s tide table for the torii view. Continue through Momijidani Park to the ropeway, ¥2,000 return, allowing about three hours for queues, rides and the upper paths. Miyajima-ropeway.info lists the peak dates requiring an online reservation. The summit walk adds about an hour return on steep paths. Start it only with enough time for the 4:30 p.m. last descent and the inn’s dinner; the last ascent is 4 p.m. Tide preferences should not delay that return. If wind or another suspension closes the ropeway, stay around the waterfront and lower Momijidani Park. Have anago rice for lunch in the town and a maple-shaped momiji manju afterwards, then return for your second island dinner.
Base: Miyajima
After breakfast, take the JR ferry back to Miyajimaguchi, about ten minutes and ¥200, then JR to Hiroshima, ~27–28 minutes and ¥420. Walk through the station to the north-side Shinkansen Gate bus stop 5 for the airport bus, ~50 minutes and ¥1,500. Leave within the inn’s 10 a.m. checkout time. Work back from airline check-in using selected ferry, train and bus departures, with time for the station transfer, bus queues and road delays. Use JR machines or an IC card for the train. Allow about two to three hours from the island pier to the airport, plus your airline’s check-in time. A late-afternoon or evening flight fits this ending more comfortably; an early flight needs a mainland hotel the night before.
Base: Miyajima
Travel through Odawara, continue west to Kyoto and take the ferry after Hiroshima. The fares below use an Ordinary reserved shinkansen seat, with local transport paid separately.
3 transfers
Tokyo Hakone
Choose a Hikari or Kodama that stops at Odawara, ~30–45 minutes from Tokyo Station and ~¥3,400–4,000 Ordinary reserved. Change for Hakone-Yumoto, then take the mountain railway ~25–30 minutes to Miyanoshita.
Booking note: Reserve the shinkansen on SmartEX. Buy local fares separately, or an Odawara-area pass if your Hakone plans justify it.
Hakone Kyoto
Miyanoshita → Hakone-Yumoto → Odawara, then a stopping Hikari to Kyoto: ~2h–2h20 on the shinkansen, ~¥11,900–12,500 Ordinary reserved.
Booking note: Select the Odawara stop on SmartEX; Nozomi trains skip it. Leave time between local trains and the reserved departure.
Kyoto Miyajima
Kyoto → Hiroshima Nozomi: ~1h36–1h43, ~¥11,700–12,500. JR to Miyajimaguchi adds ¥420 and ~27–28 minutes; JR ferry adds ~ten minutes and ¥300 including entry tax.
Booking note: Book Nozomi on SmartEX, then use a JR machine or IC card for the local journey. Keep the island inn’s dinner time clear.
Approximate adult one-way rail fares vary by service and travel season; connections and hotel walks take additional time.
City estimates below are per shared room; ryokan plans are often per guest. Compare both adults’ totals, and subtract included dinners and breakfasts before adding restaurant meals. Flights, drinks and shopping are extra. Tokyo and Kyoto accommodation taxes are extra. Kyoto’s taxable room charge includes room-related service fees but excludes meals and consumption tax; divide a shared charge between the paying guests. Tokyo’s rules change on 1 April 2027. On Miyajima, Hiroshima prefecture charges ¥200 per person/night when each guest’s nightly taxable room charge reaches ¥6,000.
Booking tips
Compare central Shijo and Kawaramachi rooms with a Kyoto Station base. Look at the bed layout and the walk home after dinner as well as the nightly rate.
The four markers show Tokyo, Miyanoshita in Hakone, Kyoto and Miyajima town. The final airport is on the mainland beyond Hiroshima; keep the ferry and bus in your departure plan.
Kyoto
No. Its hot-spring baths are shared. Private room baths use tap water, including the baths in the named cottages and newer wing. Choose Hakone Ginyu for a room with a private outdoor hot-spring bath, then book Iwaso for the island room and meals.
Yes, with a different last-night plan. Move the final island night to a mainland base suitable for that flight and allow for the longer rail journey. This nine-night version ends on Miyajima and uses Hiroshima Airport. It does not include a last Kansai hotel night.
Yes. Go from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto in ~85–110 minutes on a direct service. The reserved express surcharge is ¥1,200 on paper or ¥1,150 on EMot, in addition to the base fare or eligible pass. Continue by the mountain railway to Miyanoshita.
Yes, but use it as the day’s main outing instead of the museum. Allow roughly five to six hours via Gora, Sounzan and Owakudani to Togendai, then the boat to Moto-Hakone. The three-calendar-day Odawara Freepass is ¥6,400. From Moto-Hakone, choose a platform 1 bus towards Hakone-Yumoto via Miyanoshita and alight there; select the return before setting out so it fits your inn dinner. The operator bars the Sounzan–Ubako ropeway section for certain heart, lung and asthma conditions, pacemakers and illness; pregnant or sensitive riders should consider avoiding it. Read its health restrictions before choosing this outing. Announced maintenance closes Sounzan–Owakudani on 7–24 December 2026 and Owakudani–Togendai on 12 January–26 February 2027. Replacement buses add queues and road travel; check the chosen date’s route and last services. If weather or maintenance makes the loop impractical, keep the museum-and-room plan.
Only with different room and outing choices. Iwaso’s communal baths are downstairs without a lift, and Miyajima’s ropeway cannot carry wheelchairs. Kiyomizu-dera has accessible routes. Ask for the specific room’s entrance and bathroom access before booking, and replace the Misen outing with the waterfront.
No. Advance reservations apply on the peak dates listed by the operator. For other dates, follow its ordinary ticket instructions. The steep summit walk is optional, even if you have reserved the ropeway.
No. The temple prohibits wedding, cosplay and model fashion photo sessions, as well as tripods and monopods. Ordinary visitor photos are a different activity. Arrange a portrait location that permits the shoot before paying a photographer.
No. The island tourist association uses below 100 cm as the guide for walking towards it; the floating appearance is clearest above 250 cm. Use its tide table for the day. A tide described simply as “low” can still leave water around the gate.
Reviewed by StartBooker
Last checked 2026-10-04
Updated
How this route was checked: Room and bathing details checked with Hakone Ginyu and Iwaso, transport with the operators, and visits with the attractions. Recent tariffs and calendars, plus independent honeymoon and ryokan coverage, informed the practical choices. Named photographs were visually checked.
66 references reviewed
Some photos provided by Pexels.
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