hi all! thank you so much in advance for taking some time to look at this.
28F, visiting for the first time, solo, coming from nyc, don’t speak japanese outside a few travel phrases. don’t mind being touristy, it’s my first visit! interested in gastronomy + culture (particularly buddhist culture) and some shopping. please let me know any thoughts, suggestions, etc 🙂 i tried to plan without being too restrictive so there is a lot of room to deviate. i am so excited!
**questions:**
1. **general:**
1. i am *not* planning to buy any shinkansen tickets more than a day in advance (if that – more likely on the day of) – from my research it seems fine, but is this a bad idea? is it possible that all the seats will be taken on the same day, or is that uncommon? i just don’t want to be stressed about missing a prepaid train reservation and i don’t mind waiting in a station for an hour or two as needed
2. any thoughts about kawagoe city as a day trip from tokyo? i thought it looked beautiful and i am particularly interested in seeing the soy sauce stores there (not the soy sauce theme park, just the shops in town), but wondering if i might be better served spending more time in tokyo itself or a day trip elsewhere like kamakura or nikko? i haven’t seen kawagoe mentioned much in itineraries so not sure
3. for some of the \~fancier\~ cocktail bars in tokyo/kyoto/osaka, do i need reservations just for drinks? can’t figure it out based on reviews and i don’t really see websites for reservations just for drinks rather than meals. will it be difficult to walk in to these places? (e.g. high five, sg club in tokyo, bees knees in kyoto, bible club in osaka)
4. i would love to do a tea ceremony at any time during my trip – i’ve looked at a few in kyoto and nara but i can’t really tell which i should go for – looking to learn about the zen aspect of the tea ceremony and not necessarily interested in a hands-on workshop/experience (also not sure if a kimono wearing experience is out of pocket? or just touristy but not disrespectful?) would love any thoughts and recommendations!
2. **tokyo:**
1. any suggestions for things to do or see by toyosu market between \~630-8am (seeing the auction and then have a tour planned at 8am)?
2. for golden gai, would you recommend doing an organized bar crawl or just exploring solo? seems safe enough without a group but wondering if generally more fun with others?
3. **shibu onsen:**
1. i understand my ryokan has yukuta available for wandering to the onsen in town — sorry if this is a stupid question, but it’s fine to wear these out around town? do i wear my own shoes? should i wear a coat too, or are they generally just worn on their own?
4. **kyoto:**
1. recommendations for fushimi sake village tastings? is it worth it or should i just go for a sake tasting somewhere else (maybe in osaka where i don’t have tight plans) and use the time more for temples in kyoto?
**itinerary:**
* **Tues, Jan 16th: Tokyo**
* 2pm: land at haneda
* \~4pm: check in to hotel intergate
* walk around ginza/kobayashi: check out mitsokushi food hall, get an eki stamp book and postcards to mail through the trip!
* casual dinner: check out ramen street? or coco curry
* check out some bars if not too tired: High Five\*, Bar Landscape, Bar Penguin
* **Wed, Jan 17th: Tokyo**
* 10am: tour of imperial palace
* 12pm: lunch at Sushi Suzuki (reserved)
* afternoon: tokyo station > gotokuji temple
* maybe walk to shiro-hige cream puff factory afterwards
* early evening: see shibuya crossing and walk around shibuya
* dinner: casual dinner in shibuya or pizza savoy
* drink after dinner: maybe bar barrière, gen yamamoto
* **Thurs, Jan 18th: Tokyo**
* early morning: senso-ji
* 11:30am – 1:30pm: asakusa walking food tour (airbnb experience)
* afternoon walk to fukagawa edo museum, temple with fire ceremony, winery
* try to hit akhiabara/kanda shrine after dark? or nap lol
* 8pm: dinner at Sushi Take (reserved)
* **Fri, Jan 19th: Tokyo**
* 5:30am: TUNA AUCTION – won the lottery! (take a taxi there)
* 8-11:30am: fish market + sushi making tour (airbnb experience)
* afternoon: coffee shop/chill/nap/free time. maybe some shopping or visit Tokyo tower and send some postcards, or quick visit to akhiabara/kanda shrine after dark if didn’t hit yesterday
* evening: walk around shinjuku, have a bite
* golden gai/bar crawl?
* **Sat, Jan 20th: Tokyo**
* morning: check out farmers market at unu
* \~noon: train to kawagoe city for a day trip (from shibuya station)
* soy sauce store/tour in kawagoe, general exploring
* early evening: train back to the city, walk around shibuya a bit more, shopping
* 9pm: highbury bar in shibuya for arsenal game (COYG!)
* **Sun, Jan 21st: Tokyo > Shibu Onsen**
* \~11am: hokuriku shinkansen to nagano, local train from nagano to shibu onsen
* check in to yamazakiya ryokan and relax for the day
* dinner in ryokan
* **Mon, Jan 22nd: Shibu Onsen**
* morning: ryokan shuttle to snow monkey park
* afternoon: come back to town and spend day onsen hopping
* **Tues, Jan 23rd: Shibu Onsen > Kyoto**
* leave shibu onsen in the morning for kyoto (via nagoya) – shoot for 10am shinkansen
* arrive in kyoto by 2-3pm
* drop off bags (staying in gion) and try to visit philosophers path/ginkaku-ji if not too tired
* casual dinner somewhere
* have a drink if not too tired – bees knees, bar indigo
* **Wed, Jan 24th: Kyoto**
* \~8-9am: kiyoumizu dera
* lunch/walk around ninenzaka
* \~2-6pm: sanjusangen-do, toji
* 8pm: dinner at tempura kyoboshi (reservered)
* **Thurs, Jan 25th: Kyoto**
* early morning: join temple services (staying at temple lodging)
* \~7-8am: fushimi imari
* late morning: walk around fushimi sake village area, have lunch and do a tasting
* \~1pm: kinkaku-ji
* walk over to daitoku-ji. have tea/mochi in the area
* Evening: casual dinner (maybe at hotel)
* **Fri, Jan 26th: Kyoto > Osaka**
* \~7-8am: arashiyama (monkey park) / otagi nenbutsuji (quick bite in the area before)
* take taxi up to otagi nenbutsuji and walk down?
* \~1-2pm: nishiki market, walk around the area
* early evening: get bags and take train to osaka
* check in to hostel (pax in shinsekai)
* casual dinner in shinsekai
* **Sat, Jan 27th: Osaka**
* general exploring day – have a few places bookmarked but no real set itinerary. just walk up towards umeda and explore along the way?
* 6-9pm – bar/food crawl – meet near jr temma station (airbnb experience)
* **Sun, Jan 28th: Osaka/Nara**
* morning: leave for nara – nara park, todai-ji dabutsuden, walk around town, shopping, lunch
* early evening: back to Osaka
* walk around dotonbori at night, bible club bar
* **Mon, Jan 29th: Osaka > Hakone**
* travel day: osaka > kyoto > odawara (shinkansen) > hakone (hotel is by gora station)
* relax in hotel for the evening
* **Tues, Jan 30th: Hakone**
* follow a usual 1 day itinerary: ropeway, lake ashi, etc – don’t forget to get an onsen egg!!!
* **Wed, Jan 31st: Hakone > Tokyo**
* morning: hakone > izu zoo …… seems like a bit of a trek, need to figure out transport for this one. think it is gora > odawara – switch – odawara > atami > ito
* 130pm: capybara onsen viewing at zoo!!!!!!!!
* head back to tokyo and check into airbnb by nippori (hopefully by \~6pm)
* try to do last min shopping and get gifts/souvenirs
* **Thurs, Feb 1: leave :(**
* flight out of narita at 4pm – head out of the city by noon
if you have made it this far, thank you thank you thank you for reading!! very much appreciated 🙂
by -easytofind
