Sendai In / Kansai Out 3 Nights 4 Days Cebu Travel Plan~!

This Japan trip is a 3-night, 4-day itinerary to Sendai. This is my 9th trip to Sendai, and on the 4th day, I will return home via Kansai Airport. On day 1, I stay in Sendai; day 2, in Nasu Kogen; and day 3, in Kobe.

The theme of this trip is to have a variety of experiences in a short time. Most of my trips have had this theme, but this time I made it spectacular like never before. I invested nearly 100 hours studying in advance.

I booked the outbound trip for April last December. I purchased a one-way ticket from Incheon to Sendai using mileage. The return trip was booked around mid-January. The decision to return via Kansai Airport was made while purchasing tickets for the Osaka Expo opening two weeks.

While going to Sendai, I also want to collect two types of Kitty manhole cards distributed in Nasu-Shiobara, Tochigi Prefecture. Because of the Kitty manhole, I also planned a 3rd trip to Nasu-Shiobara with accommodation to deepen the travel experience and try Nasu Kogen for the first time.

Thanks to the variety, I will participate in afternoon tea once a day. The locations are Sendai, Shiobara, Kobe, and Osaka. I planned to collect about 15 manhole cards. I also plan to visit Starbucks at least once a day. Cultural activities are scattered throughout.

Thus, an incredible 3-night, 4-day itinerary is completed. On day 1, I will go to Sendai to collect Miyagi Prefecture manhole cards and try gyutan at the top-ranked places on Tabelog & Google and the top-ranked place on Yahoo Japan, then visit the number one place on Jalan.net.

Since the schedule overlaps with the Conan movie release, I also plan to watch the movie. On day 2, after breakfast, I will take the Shinkansen to Fukushima. I will collect one or two manhole cards from cities in Fukushima Prefecture and then move to Nasu-Shiobara in Tochigi Prefecture.

The Kitty manhole card distribution site is a mountain paradise, so I will invest 2 hours round trip by bus to get one spring edition card. The other autumn edition card is somewhere else, so I have to go again the next day. I sent an Instagram DM to the Shiobara Onsen cafe to reserve afternoon tea.

After enjoying afternoon tea, I plan to revisit the Nasu Starbucks partner who drew Kitty after 6 years. Although that partner may no longer be there, it is a place remembered as a beautiful memory, so I will stop by.

For accommodation, I will move to Nasu Kogen. The last shuttle time is around 4 PM, so I will spend time at Shiobara Onsen and Starbucks, then choose to travel alone by public transport to the hotel. I have to climb over 2 kilometers on a two-lane mountain road without shoulders.

It is a resort hotel with hot springs, including breakfast and dinner. This is my first stay with the Itkudaia upgrade 💎. The hotels I booked until October, which are non-refundable and a bit expensive, have all been upgraded to the Diamond version and rebooked.

On day 3 morning, I will greet the day with a morning hot spring at Nasu Kogen. After joining breakfast at 7 AM, I will visit the famous day-trip hot springs in Nasu Onsen. In the morning, I will enjoy cultural activities by visiting the three major art museums in Nasu Kogen.

I will also visit the Michi-no-Eki roadside station. I will call a taxi to go up to the mountain paradise on the opposite side from the previous day to get the autumn edition Kitty manhole card. Then I will move to Nasu-Shiobara Station and take the Shinkansen to Koriyama Station.

Here, I will take a breather with a Starbucks coffee, then head to Fukushima Airport to take a domestic flight to Osaka Itami Airport. Since Kobe’s 9 PM afternoon tea requires at least two people, I will pay for two and participate solo.

I booked a Kobe hotel with a harbor view to fall asleep looking at the sea. On day 4, I will spend the morning visiting the Osaka Expo, enjoy afternoon tea at a new Osaka hotel in the afternoon, then head to Kansai Airport to return home. Thank you.