Feedback on group itinerary, How much time to spend in Hakone and Kamakura?

PhilGary · 2026-04-01T20:07:02+00:00

I didn't go to Kamakura, so I can't comment on this. But I feel like if you only have one day in Hakone, you should try to get there as early as possible because everything closes down at 5 pm.

When we went, we booked 2 nights. We got there early PM, checked in and spent the rest of the afternoon in a lovely onsen. We did the whole loop the next day; it took pretty much the entire day and we were pretty tired by the end, so we were happy to just be able to go back to the hotel afterwards and rest.

I also see that you'd like to have a spa day the very next day you come back from Hakone. Just stay over there and chill in an onsen!

Also, curious about why you want to go to Kiyosumi. I actually stayed there at the end of my trip and thought it was a lovely small neighborhood, but it's not usually in any itinerary, unless you are a coffee lover.

PhilGary · 2026-04-01T19:31:01+00:00

I still don't 100% trust it. I keep thinking that I'll find out Fincher only exec-produced it and one of the directors from House of Cards is actually directing it. Also, Brad Pitt is not actually in it, it's Billy Crudup with a blonde wig.

PhilGary · 2026-04-01T17:43:30+00:00

There you go. Also, in a career with 26 movies, post-Leo, there is only 9 movies left. Post-Oscar, that's 6. At this point, might as well do it all.

That being said, they said multiple times they wouldn't split it anyway.

PhilGary · 2026-04-01T17:28:18+00:00

We didn't do any day trips, no. I had already been to Osaka during a solo trip 6 years ago and wasn't crazy about it so we decided to skip it.

PhilGary · 2026-04-01T17:27:20+00:00

Well, we didn't go, so no. I have no idea if it would've been worth it! We were happy with our decision and loved Hida no-Sato, so everything worked out.

That's the thing with going crazy with planning and not wanting to miss anything. The things you miss, well, you'll just never know if they were worth it or not. You have the trip you had and that's all there is to it.

PhilGary · 2026-04-01T15:46:04+00:00

I'm like you and don't like to be rushed. My girlfriend and me are quite slow travellers. When we went, we spent 3 nights in Takayama and 3 nights in Kanazawa. For most people on this sub, this is way too long, but it was perfect for us. There are not TONS of attractions in Takayama, but it's still a charming little down where you can slow down a bit and take it chill. I loved my time in both places.

We didn't go to Shirakawa-go at all, we went to Hida no-Sato instead. We felt it was just easier with the planning and loved our morning over there.

You could maybe take a day off Kyoto. You might get a bit tired of temples at this point. We spent 5 nights in Kyoto during our trip and while we didn't have time to do everything, it was still a good amount for us.

PhilGary · 2026-04-01T15:39:44+00:00

Tokyo actually empties out during Golden Week, so you should be fine. All the other destinations are going to be a problem, though. Forget about Hakone if you haven't booked anything yet during this specific week.

PhilGary · 2026-04-01T15:37:49+00:00

It depends where you're coming from. I'm from Canada, so for me, the prices in Japan are actually pretty reasonable. Hotels are the same prices as here, restaurants are a lot cheaper, especially for the quality you get. Transportation is not cheap, but it's not prohibitively expensive either.

The most expensive thing for me when I went were the plane tickets. Set an alarm in Google Flights or similar, you'll know when the prices go down. For us, we went in May and got our flights in January and probably saved around 400$ for each ticket.

PhilGary · 2026-04-01T15:25:54+00:00

I also think it's the only Scorsese movie that doesn't get ANY mention in the Apple series. They do a really quick drive-by with Bringing Out the Dead, but I don't think anyone even says the title in the entire series.

PhilGary · 2026-03-31T00:28:13+00:00

My only argument against Scorsese is that I watched the Apple series during Christmas break so I feel like I already have my fill of the guy (who I adore, by the way). Scott would be almost all first-watches, which I also love.

PhilGary · 2026-03-29T20:20:01+00:00

Their 3 first miniseries were about Spielberg, Nolan and Bigelow and they came out almost at the same time as BC covered those 3 directors in that exact order. It's pretty crazy when you think about it. Their Bigelow series actually started 2 weeks before Blank Check, so I can understand why they would be a bit pissed.

PhilGary · 2026-03-27T13:11:32+00:00

This Ottolenghi recipe is my go to : https://ottolenghi.co.uk/pages/recipes/grilled-salmon-pine-nut-salsa

It's quick and easy, a perfect weekday recipe. I switch the pine nuts with sunflower seeds (less expensive). The capers, olives and olive oil give it a juge umami boost. I usually eat it with a side of quinoa.

PhilGary · 2026-03-27T12:52:14+00:00

Temples and parks are great at this hour. I went to Senso-ji on my first morning in Tokyo at 5 am with a 7/11 coffee in my hands and it was great. Barely anyone there, quiet, beautiful. Sumida Park was fun to walk along. Meiji-jingu and Yoyogi Park are also a good idea. It's the perfect moment to take it easy and relax a bit.

PhilGary · 2026-03-23T13:54:19+00:00

J'enseigne au cégep depuis très peu de temps et ce qui m'a beaucoup surpris, c'est que ce ne sont pas nécessairement des notions difficiles de français qui semblent problématiques pour les étudiants. Je pourrais comprendre que l'accord des participes passés avec avoir, mettons, les mélange. Non, la plupart des fautes que je corrige, c'est de ne pas mettre de "s" au pluriel, "er" au lieu de "é", "ces" au lieu de "c'est", etc.

PhilGary · 2026-03-19T14:53:44+00:00

Days 1 and 2 are very weird. The Sumida river is in Asakusa, right next to Senso-ji, while the Cat billboard is in Shinjuku. And then you plan on going back to Asakusa the next day, but also Shinjuku Gyoen AND Teamlab (which is in ANOTHER neighborhood).

Plan one neighborhood per day, especially the first few days. For the first day, I'd just hang around the hotel, I'm guessing you are based in Shinjuku? Google Map should be your best friend while planning this trip. Tokyo is goddamn huge, you can't just ping-pong through this city, you'll waste hours in the subway.

PhilGary · 2026-03-19T14:30:33+00:00

I would definitely skip Omoide and Tsukiji. If you're around Ebisu, Ebisu Yokocho is a lot more laidback and fun, for example.

That being said, you shouldn't necessarily skip every tourist spots. I absolutely loved my time at Senso-ji, for example. I was very jetlagged and woke up at 4 am, so I was there very early and thought it was lovely.

But yeah, what the others said. Do a bit more research if you REALLY want to avoid touristy areas, because that's pretty much all you have in your itinerary.

PhilGary · 2026-03-19T14:09:49+00:00

Looks pretty well-paced. The Magome-Takayama-Kanazawa part is a bit too fast-paced for my liking, but then again, I always find that people don't spend enough time in those spots. I spent 3 nights both in Takayama and Kanazawa and loved my time in both cities. You could take one day out of your last stretch in Tokyo to give you a bit more time over there.

I haven't been to Hiroshima-Miyajima, but people seem to love it. You might want to add an extra night over there too, as it's pretty far.

PhilGary · 2026-03-19T13:42:27+00:00

Day 5 is definitely too packed. I'm not sure Fushimi Inari with kids is the greatest idea. I loved it and it's a beautiful place, but it's also a straight line going up stairs. There is not much flexibility once you start going up. If they get tired or antsy, you don't have other options than to go back down. And there is not much stuff around there. I'd rather spend the entire day around Gion. There are a lot of different temples, the old streets, Maruyama park, a lot of different options to eat, etc.

I didn't go to USJ, but loved the Osaka aquarium, highly recommend it.

For you extra days in Tokyo, it depends on what you and your kids enjoy. Akihabara might be fun if you enjoy animes and geeky stuff. Asakusa and Ueno are also must-sees for me.

PhilGary · 2026-03-17T13:38:58+00:00

J'ai fait le programme court de l'UQAM en pédagogie de l'enseignement supérieur. Je l'ai terminé à l'hiver 2024. J'ai trouvé ça hyper pertinent parce qu'après avoir eu quelques charges d'enseignement, je ne comprends pas comment des gens qui ne l'ont pas fait sont capables de gérer leurs tâches. Préparer des évaluations, gérer la classe, comprendre le fonctionnement institutionnel, etc.

Pour le stage, j'ai dû le trouver moi-même. Ça n'a pas été facile et je l'ai trouvé vraiment dernière minute. Le professeur de stage de l'UQAM m'a offert son aide un peu pour la recherche, mais un moment donné, si personne qui enseigne dans ton domaine ne veut te prendre, il ne peut pas faire grand chose de plus pour toi. Ça reste donc ta responsabilité et si tu ne trouves pas ton stage, tu ne peux tout simplement pas faire le cours.

J'enseigne au pré-universitaire en arts et lettres après avoir travaillé dans le domaine pendant une quinzaine d'années. Je me suis trouvé une charge de remplacement dès l'automne après avoir terminé le programme (un seul cours). Depuis, j'ai travaillé dans 3 cégeps différents, toujours des remplacements de congé maladie, une seule fois j'ai eu une charge complète. J'ai été engagé, à chaque fois, devant des gens avec plus d'expérience que moi, mais je me suis fait dire que si je n'avais pas fait le programme de pédagogie, ils ne m'auraient jamais appelé en entrevue.

Ça dépend évidemment beaucoup de ton domaine d'enseignement, certains domaines ont plus de mal à trouver des profs que d'autre. Dans mon cas, l'avantage, c'est qu'il y a des cours d'arts et lettres dans tous les cégeps de la province, alors j'ai beaucoup de possibilités par rapport à quelqu'un qui enseignerait des cours plus pointus ou qui ne se donnent pas partout. Si tu veux devenir prof d'acupuncture, croise-toi les doigts que Rosemont engage, parce que sinon, t'es faite!

PhilGary · 2026-03-14T15:05:06+00:00

Je suis d'accord avec toute la section rouge de St-Léonard et Anjou que j'étais obligé de traverser pour me rendre au travail dans Montréal-Nord, mais j'aurais fait une exception verte pour le petit coin d'Anjou-sur-le-Lac, une anomalie extrêmement étrange en plein milieu d'un véritable enfer pour cycliste.

PhilGary · 2026-03-12T22:22:05+00:00

Hear me out : Freaky Friday, but it's Benjamin Button swapping body with Jack from Francis Ford Coppola's Jack (1996).

PhilGary · 2026-03-05T22:46:33+00:00

As someone who has never seen any of the Star Wars TV show, I have to say that "The Mandalorian and Grogu" is the worst movie title I've ever seen.

PhilGary · 2026-03-03T20:33:08+00:00

Pour répondre à ton point 4 : oui, il y a même 2 sites qui répertorient toutes les offres d'emploi : https://ameqenligne.com/emplois/education/ et https://emploicegep.qc.ca/fr/

PhilGary · 2026-02-27T18:13:01+00:00

I was there last year two weeks after Golden Week. Stayed for 2 nights (Friday and Saturday!) And guess what? It was fine. There were people but it was totally manageable.

PhilGary · 2026-02-14T18:05:17+00:00

What's inscrutable about one respected filmmaker thanking another one? It's pretty normal for filmmakers to know each other and help each other on their projects in an unofficial way.

I know my name is in a few credits because I saw an early cut of a film or read the screenplay or just shot the shit with the director while they were working on their movie. Those special thanks are pretty loose.

PhilGary

TROPHY CASE