Oct ’22 Japan trip Itinerary Check

12 comments

1. Oh man I hope and pray borders are open by October 2022

   Why don’t you fly from beppu to Tokyo?

2. The non-Tokyo part seems a bit rushed (by comparison), but depends on what you’re interested in. IMO days 2+4+6 could probably be condensed to free up more time in Kyoto / Hiroshima.

3. Yeah imo Akihabara is not an entire day, would definitely try to squeeze some of day 7 in there and get to Kyoto earlier

4. Day 7 seems especially busy; maybe do one of those things on Day 2

5. Hidden gem: Bridgestone museum in Tokyo. Amazing art. If you can fit it in

6. Akihabara can be done in an evening or afternoon. Download smartEx for the Shinkansen. Everything else looked good! If we open up by then of course fingers crossed bc my family desperately wants to visit as well.

7. Personally I wouldnt make plans this early if you have to put deposits down on anything.

   All I can add, is I would say rent a car from Omoshiro for the day you want to go to DFPA.

8. Agree with other that day 7 is a bit full.

   Toyota museum, do you mean Megaweb Toyota City Showcase in Odaiba ? It closed in December 2021.

   Day 8, Fushimi Inari and Arashiyama are not exactly on the same side of the city, while it is possible to do, keep in mind that it will take at least 45 minutes to move between the two.

   You do not need to change accommodation between Kyoto and Osaka, you can stay in only one and go to the other city as a day trip.

   Meihan racetrack does not seems to be easy to access, it’s about 1h45 to reach from Nara station by train and bus, that is if you are lucky. To go to a place like that, it would likely make sense to rent a car, but still, I do not think you will have much time go there as well as visit Nara, unless you only go in Todai-ji for a minute, pet the deer and say you’ve seen enough of Nara.

   Why go to Beppu ? Kumamoto is both closer to Hiroshima (1h45 instead of 2h30), will also be closer to Tokyo and closer to Autopolis (50 to 55km instead of 90km, so about 30 minutes shorter).

   And most importantly, I would strongly advise against doing 7h of train just before flying, while it is true that the train system is reliable and on time, sometimes things happen and the train stop and it will be impossible to find an alternative to cross half the country on that day. Instead, I would either go back to Tokyo, sleep there for a night and fly the next day, or fly back to Tokyo from Kumamoto or Beppu.

   Also, where are you flying from to expect landing at 10pm and fly out at 9:30 pm ? From 9pm, flight landing in Haneda are from Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore and the only departure after 8pm is to Honolulu. That seems a bit unrealistic regarding the expecting arrival/departure time. And if you can, do not land that late, you will need to find a place to stay that accept late check-in and if there is anything that take a bit more time at custom/immigration, then in might be hart do reach your accommodation as the train/subway usually stop running around midnight and you do not want to run to catch the last train on your first day in Japan.

9. I went in October 2019 for my 40th with 2 friends. It was AWESOME. October starts to cool down so it’s not ridiculously Humid (no joke, I am from Florida and it was worse than that). We are currently trying to get out there this November and hope for some Fall leaves.
   1) I love how you haven’t scheduled too much on each day. That is Awesome. I highly recommend ONE main attraction for each day followed by a few possibilities and map them out with Travel times and Time to complete either kept in mind or even better short hand noted directly next to it.
   2) As for things to do my recommendations are as follows:
   TeamLabs – we did both Borderless and Planets, unfortunately Borderless closes in Aug. But Teamlabs Planets is open until the end of 2022. This is a MUST DO. It ranks in probably the best attraction I have ever done in my life. https://www.teamlab.art/

   KiKanbo – What can I say, there’s Ramen… and then there’s Kikanbo Ramen. This stuff is on a whole other level. https://kikanbo.co.jp/english They have two locations in Tokyo and both are great, after eating here the bar will be set VERY HIGH. Tsuta is another one, but you have to wake up early in order to get a reservation, BUT it is the world’s 1st Michelin star Ramen shop, and is worth a visit. As for food in general literally try EVERYTHING you can. Takoyaki, Okonomiyaki, and don’t pass on the Tonkatsu w/curry. There is no shortage on great food. It’s harder to find a bad restaurant in Japan than it is to find a good restaurant.

   Kyoto – Literally the best City in the whole world. It has everything, Culture (Gion), History (Castles/museums), Nightlife (Pontocho Alley), Shopping (Nishiki market), Shrines (plenty), Mountains (Fushimi Inari), Forests (Arashiyama), and Onsens; Shimabara Onsen is my fav, be forewarned they have a “Denki Buro” (electric bath), and I am FIRMLY convinced that after using it this is the true secret to how the Japanese live so long, but it is not for the feint of heart. Best 500 yen you will ever spend. But please do your research on proper etiquette before attending an Onsen, especially considering that this is a small neighborhood one and not a tourist trap). I humbly suggest allotting the majority of your time to Kyoto above everywhere else.

   Honestly those are must do’s. I would reconsider the”Hostel” idea personally. You can go onto Agoda.com and find some ridiculous rates (seriously hotel rooms in Tokyo for $30+/-, but the MAIN part is that you want to have easy access to one of the major train lines you. Otherwise the price of Ubers will easily eat away at whatever money you are saving on the cheap Hostel/Hotel. Agoda is also really nice because they will not charge you untill 48hrs out, and you have 72hr Cancellation policy, so if you find a cheaper/ more convenient place you can always cancel your old resv, and rebook the newly desired location.

   I know this has been A LOT of info, and I am sorry for the long post. But man are you going to enjoy Japan. Also one last piece of advice. As you are going alone I highly recommend downloading “meetup”, and see if you can coordinate to meet other Gaijin/ Expats. They have lots of meets at bars or something and can be a great way to meet people and not necessarily be lonely while you are over there.

10. Is something wrong with your space bar?

11. If you can, I would recommend starting your pub crawl at [Bridge DJ bar](https://bridge-shibuya.com/) in Shibuya. Reasonable cover charge, inexpensive draft beers, excellent music, and great view of Shibuya Crossing. Aside from that, drink plenty of Strong Zero and have a great time. I’m planning to head over in October for my third solo trip in four years, so I’m in the same boat as you. Fingers crossed things have reopened!

12. America town is skippable. Just a big mcdonalds and some clothing stores.