Traveling to Japan solo for the first time in mid February
25M, excited to explore solo and enjoy the cuisine, shopping, and take some film photos.
Spent a lot of time on Viator to find some activities to have some things locked in, but want advice on some other things to see during the trip and if my itinerary makes sense. Additionally, the last 3 days of my trip are open ended, with the idea being that I can backtrack to somewhere I felt I missed out on something, or add something new (Hiroshima, Mt. Fuji, etc.)
**Day 1 – Land at HND at 3 pm**
* Get to hotel in Shibuya
* Eat , try and stay awake until evening
**Day 2 – Tokyo**
* Shopping in Shibuya – Tower records/Bic/Kamakura shirts
* Meiji Shrine/Yoyogi Park
* Shibuya Sky
* Shinjuku Gyoen
* Dinner at Golden Gai
* ZEROTOKYO in Kabukicho Tower if I have any energy left
**Day 3 – Tokyo**
* Send luggage to Kyoto
* Yodobashi Akiba
* Kanda Shrine
* Make my way walking down towards Ginza
* Low-Non-Bar
**Day 4 – Tokyo->Kyoto**
* Shopping in Ginza or anywhere I missed
* Shinkansen in afternoon to Kyoto – get in by 5PM
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**Day 5 – Kyoto**
* Bike tour of city (takes ~6 hours)
* Double back on any landmark I enjoyed or missed/ask tour guide for suggestions (not sure what will and won’t be covered on the tour but I have some shrines bookmarked in the Lonely Planet book)
* Gion in the evening
**Day 6 – Kyoto->Osaka**
* Early tea Ceremony
* No plans other than see anything else I felt I missed the day prior
* Shinkansen at 3PM to Osaka
* Osaka night dining/bar tour
* Hang out around Dotombori
**Day 7 – Osaka->?**
* Lap around Osaka Castle early
* Ebisu-bashi
* Kuromon Ichiba
**Day 8 – ?**
**Day 9 – ?**
* Flight leaving HND at 5PM
For these last two days I was planning on doubling back to whatever I felt I missed, maybe in one of those three cities, another possibility was going from Osaka to Hiroshima for the day then taking the Shinkansen right to Tokyo that evening. I feel like it would be important to see the peace memorial and museum, but I’m already giving Kyoto and Osaka short shrift.
I have a lot of restaurants/stores/bars in the three main cities I’ll be in marked in google maps based on what I read in the lonely planet books, so my plan was to wander around and see what I felt like/had noted nearby. Does my plan seem too thin for now? Anything obvious I ought to see? I am a little overwhelmed planning my first solo trip, so any advice is appreciated!
by Mkenn404