Heya everyone! Doing my (25M) first solo trip to Japan soon and plotted out a rough itinerary already with this subreddit’s help. I’ve got a decent idea for the first half but would like to get a sanity check for it and the second half;
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**Day 1 (Saturday)**
* Arriving in Narita Airport @ 5:30pm
* Estimated to check in at Sotetsu Fresa Inn Tokyo-Kanda by 8pm
* Dinner @ Kikanbo, Kanda
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**Day 2 (Sunday)**
* Walk to Akihabara and reach by 9:45AM
* Checkout Don Quijote first, then rotate around other stores as they open between 10-11am
* Lunch @ Ippe Koppe, then resume shopping
* Leave Akiba for Ikebukuro & Sunshine City at 5:30pm
* Dinner in Kanda Tamagoken, Ikebukuro, then shop in area until closing time
**Day 3 (Monday)**
* Head to Tokyo Station Mall via train at 9AM
* Brunch @ Rokurinsha
* Wander Character Street and rest of Tokyo Station Mall
* Tokyo Station or Depashinko Food Courts for dessert
* Train to Shinjuku @ 12pm
* Meiji Shrine
* Pokemon Center Mega Tokyo
* Leave Shinjuku between 4-5pm, then train to Shibuya and tour around until 9pm
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**Day 4 (Tuesday)**
* Leave for Asakusa at 7:20AM
* Walk around Senso-ji grounds & temple, goshuin, then browse Nakamise-Dori
* Leave Senso-ji/Nakamise-Dori at about 9:40, stopping by Mitsumine Jinja (goshuin?)
* Shop at Kappabashi
* Early Lunch @ Asakusa Unana
* Reach Ueno Park approx 12:00 and wander
* Tokyo National Museum & National Museum of Science, about 2 hours each (worth checking out Art Museum? Not a very good appreciator of traditional art tbh)
* Leave Ueno for Tokyo Skytree approx 5:30pm, catch dinner and browse
* Walk along Sumida River at night then head back before trains close
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**Day 5 (Wednesday)**
* Harry Potter Studio Tour at the 9:30am slot, estimated 3-4 hours duration
* Grab lunch anywhere close by then head to Nakano Broadway
* Unsure how long I’d need at Nakano, whether its worth it (see bottom cliff notes) and where I should go next if Nakano doesn’t need to last until dinner time
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**Day 6 (Thursday)**
* Head to Tsukiji Fish Market at 8am to beat the crowds
* Snack around and have early lunch
* Drop by Namiyoke Shrine
* Rest of day TBD
* Not sure what would be complementary to Tsukiji assuming I’m finished by 12pm; Ginza is an option but not a big fashion person aside from wanting to check out brands like Uniqlo at most. Open to suggestions!
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**Day 7 (Friday)**
* Jinbocho
* Shimokitazawa
* Intended to be a chill day, and I’d like the idea of visiting more vintage places & jazz bars. Very keen to hear jazz bar recs for Shimo especially
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**Day 8 & 9 (Weekend)**
* Attending event at Makkuhari, full day itinerary
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**Day 10 (Monday)**
* Free Day, meant for either revisiting anywhere I felt was insufficient time to shop like Akiba or Skytree plus any other places I might have missed in the first round planning
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**Day 11 (Tuesday)**
* Check in to ryokan at Old Narita City and explore until the flight tomorrow
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Some additional context for what kind of traveler I am and my interests;
* Pretty big anime/games fan for stuff starting from late 90s to mid 2010s; any more retro than that will be a 50/50 on whether I like it. I understand Nakano might skew earlier than that era, so was wondering if it’s still worth dedicating an afternoon to (I think I’ll have fun browsing still!) Will be stopping at most major game company shops like the PokeCenters
* I’m down to wake up earlier (7am – 8am) to tackle big spots before the tourist volume gets overwhelming, but I wouldn’t want to do it every day so I’ve planned that as best as I can
* Was thinking of gambling on Ghibli Museum tickets, but truthfully I’m only fond of the major films and not the lesser known catalogue. Heard it’s much shorter than something like Harry Potter
* Not a big nightlife/party person so Shinjuku at night is most likely a skip. Jinbocho and Shimo were shortlisted since I saw good reviews of both areas being nice places to chill
* Japanese food is a big draw so I plan to make quick snack breaks anywhere suitable along the way. Very open to recs!
* Keen to pop into shrines along the way with a new goshuin book from Meiji Jingu onwards; also would love to hear any hidden shrines that I should detour to for the history/goshuin!
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Thanks for the help in advance! Can’t wait to be able to share my own advice after I go.