EDIT: I understand that currencies fluctuate, that extra $500 odd I added will surely account for that. I want a little advice on the budget, but the itinerary is what I want the most help on. I hope this wasnt removed, thanks.
Hi all, I’m planning a trip with my friend, and we are hoping to go early July next year. Ive assembled a fairly specific itinerary and budget, and want some advice. Im a little concerned that Ive put too much for some days, but I want to see and do a lot. I went to Japan in late 2019 with my parents and my friend has never been and likes anime and manga. Im planning to go to Tokyo (5 days), Okinawa (4 days) and Osaka (4 days), plus Im accounting 1 fupl day for flights. Preferably we’d leave at night and arrive the next morning. Prices are in Australian dollars, per person. Most of the restaurants mentioned are fairly cheap michelin star restaurants, we would need a booking, but Im hoping we could get our hotel receptionist to do that. It seems fairly rigid, but we would be more flexible in practise. Some of the activities are only availible on certain days, so the dsy they are allocated on may change. Tokyo is fairly planned out, but Im open to suggestions for Okinawa and Kyoto. We are just going to stay on Okinawa island and visit the nearby Izena island, for our 2 days in Kyoto we plan on following a 2 day itinerary we found. We would be flying with Jetstar to Tokyo and from Osaka. We would also use Jetstar to go from Tokyo to Okinawa and Okinawa to Osaka.
ITINERARY
1 – Airport to Ginza ($15), visit Tokyo tower ($19), lunch at Ginza Ibuki ($16), imperial palace (free), watch a show at Kabukiza theatre* ($60), dinner at Rozan Ginza (aasume $50), stay the night in ginza ($50 each)
2 – visit Tsukiji / Toyosu fish market (free, $20 breakfast budget), go to Tokyo disneyland ($105), bus to disneyland return ($30), pack lunch from 7/11 ($15), ticket restaurant (around $20), stay night in Ginza hotel ($50 each)
3 – snacks ($10), visit Akihabara, McDonald lunch ($25), shibamata taishakuten ($5), sensoji (free), Tokyo National museum ($12), ueno park (free), ramen ($20), stay the night in Ginza ($50)
4 – watch sumo morning practise in Ryogoku ($107), 7/11 breakfast ($15), Fuji Q highland ($74), climb Mount Fuji (free), stay overnight in a hut ($62), view the sunrise, pack dinner ($15), Mt Fuji and Fuji Q transport costs ($60)
5 – explore Shinjuku, shibuya, snack ($15) see the meiji shrine ($6), robot restaurant ($106), calico cat cafe (assume $20), eat at Ninja Akasaka ($94), spend the night in Shinjuku (assume $50 each)
TOKYO TOTAL – with $20 assumed transport costs per day – $1482 (includes Ghibli museum)
6 – Go to the Ghibli museum in the morning ($12), then fly to Okinawa. Explore Naha, Kokusaidori street, taco rice ($10), onoyama park?, shuri castle ($10), shikinaen garden ($5) – use monorail ($10), cheap dinner ($20) Stay in Naha ($33)
7 – aquarium ($22), bise village (free), lunch ($20) Izena island day trip (ferry costs $41 return), swim – use rental car ($37), dinner ($20), stay in Nago (assume $50)
8 – snorkelling ($60), Nagagusuku castle ($5), naval underground headquarters ($5), lunch ($20), cape hedo – use rental car ($37), dinner ($20). Stay in Nago (assume $50)
9 – Okinawan bullfight ($30, on sundays), karate lesson*?, karate museum ($4), Itoman, hacksaw ridge, urasoe castle ($1), lunch ($20), dinner ($20) – use rental car ($37) Stay in Naha ($33)
OKINAWA TOTAL – not including karate lesson, with $20 assumed additional costs per day – $700
10 – Fly out of Okinawa in the morning, airport to town ($18), checkout is 10 am. Kiyomuzu dera temple ($5), shoren in temple ($6), chion in temple ($6), lunch at nikishi market ($20), fushimi inari taisha shrine ($4), dinner ($25), walk thru Gion, stay the night (assume $50)
11 – explore Kyoto, Arashiyama monkey park ($7), eat at Ten You restaurant ($30), lunch or dinner ($20), snacks ($10), stay the night (assume $50)
12 – day trip to Himeji (Himeji castle $12), Kobe (kobe beef lunch ($35) and Nara (deer crackers $2). Days transport ($59), dinner at a sushi train ($20), Arrive at night to the original capsule hotel in Osaka ($41)
13 – In Osaka, umeda sky building ($18, Tenmangu shrine ($8), eat lunch at Chugokusai S Sawada ($14), go to small animal cafe (ROCKSTAR) ($24), owl cafe (close to the last 3 places) or reptile cafe?
(assume $30) and depart. Snacks ($10) Leave late that afternoon. Osaka to airport ($14)
KYOTO TOTAL – with $20 assumed transport costs per day – $611
TOTAL PER LOCATIONS – $2793
WITH FLIGHTS – $3983
ROUND UP TO – $4500 to account for insurance, souvenirs, sim card and unexpected costs
14 – plane travel time
*not be available every day
EDIT: Thanks for all the feedback! As I said, my biggest worry was that it was too busy. You all have echoed that. For my copy; I’ve removed sumo morning practise and the robot restaurant to allow more time for Mount Fuji. Also because the robot restaurant might have closed. I’ve removed Rozan Ginza. I think I may remove the kabuki theatre. I might remove 1 attraction from day 3, unsurr tho. I’ll rework Okinawa. I’ll make it that I only do the Ghibli museum, fly to Okinawa and see the main street st night for the first day. I’ll do the castle, garden the next day and I’ll take the bus to Nago and see the aquarium. I’ll move Izena island and Bise village onto the next day and remove a few things off the last 2 days. I’ve removed Kobe. I might try to add an extra day for Tokyo, but I’m unsure. Are there accomadation options near Fuji Q Highland? As some have stated, I do have a bit of a hierarchy for which attractions are the top prority. Added an extra day for Mount Fuji. I’ll go to Fuji Q Highland on day 4 and stay the night near lake Kawaguchi. On day 5 I’ll visit a local onsen and then start the climb.
13 comments
I did the same city itinerary in 2019, and while I know all the cities are definitely possible to hit up and explore in your time frame, the daily itineraries seem too busy. You could easily spend a whole day at the Okinawa aquarium, or downtown naha. It would be really hard to do 3-4 of thise activies in one day. I don’t think himeji, kobe and naha in one day is possible, if that’s what you meant… and if it is possible, you’d be absolutely exhausted. Definitely factor in time to get lost a bit and enjoy the ride. This itinerary is definitely packed to the brim and leaves no time to just explore, enjoy a few drinks and take in the sights. Have so much fun tho! I did all these cities pregnant and with a toddler so I definitely had to take things a bit slower haha.
Your general itinerary looks fine, but some of the days look way too busy to me. Day 4, Day 6, and Day 12 in particular don’t look feasible in my opinion. I get that you want to pack a lot in, I’m the same, but giving yourself time to just explore and rest is important too!
Day 4/5, I think you might underestimate how long it can take to go up and down Mount Fuji, so it might take most of day 4 and 5 if you do it.
Day 5, I Robot restaurant is close and it may not reopen.
Day 12, You will spend a lot of time in the train do to Himeji and Nara in the same day.
​
I did not check everything, but your budget for several things seems to be quite off.
Ginza Ibuki, lunch 2600 yen, so more 30$ than 15$. [https://savorjapan.com/0006037944/menu.php](https://savorjapan.com/0006037944/menu.php)
Sushi Rozan, you said 50$ but the menu on their website is either 8800 or 12300 yen, so this is at least 100$ : [http://www.tsukijisushisay.co.jp/store/r_ginza.html](http://www.tsukijisushisay.co.jp/store/r_ginza.html)
Ninja Akasaka, you are on budget if you take the cheapest course [https://www.ninja-tokyo.jp/menu/menu-en/](https://www.ninja-tokyo.jp/menu/menu-en/)
McDonald at 25$ How much stuff do you want to eat ? You can literally buy two trio for that price, their special teritama burger is only 750 for the set right now. [https://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/campaign/teritama/](https://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/campaign/teritama/)
Kobe beef for 35$, that seems a bit low. To be fait, I saw places that have it for in their lunch menu for closer to 45$. At that price, I would not expect to have A5 meat (I saw A5 Kobe beef at a market sold 65$ by 100g to give you an idea)
Like other commentators, I would reconsider some of this plan. Personally I lived in most of these places (right by the ghibli museum) for a year and …some of these items on your itinerary just don’t sound practical for a good time. Do you just want to take pics there or would you prefer to have a good time? To me, I would consider the traffic, getting lost and happy accidents…that’s what makes travelling so fun!
For example, the ghibli museum isn’t huge but it’s in a suburb with winding back streets, that’s pretty far from a subway, much less to go to the airport with all your luggage…that means it’s a hectic journey to a flight plus will you even get to fully enjoy the grounds, the exhibits, the cafe and the shop (which all cost something so the entrance ticket isn’t the only cost).
Or, Okinawa did not have great transport so…you’ll be waiting a long time for that bus unless you rent a car. For which you need an international driver’s license.
What if you discover something that wasn’t listed but looks fun to go to? My whole time there the best times were down random ass alleyways.
I promise you do not need to fill every second. You won’t be bored!
Agree itinerary seems too full, particularly for a trip with a first-timer. One of the joys of traveling is being able to ‘soak things in’ and linger a little longer here or there, or to decide to explore an interesting laneway, temple, store or park you happen to wander by. If you can manage an extra few days and make the most of Kyoto (2.5-3.5 days), Tokyo 6-7 days (including 2 days for mt. Fuji including hike), Osaka 3-4 days, 2-3 Okinawa, it will make things easier.
Disney is really an all-day thing, and you will likely be exhausted by day’s end and might not get money’s worth if you only take a half-day. I would say even moreso for Fuji-Q Highland. The lines can move slower, and there can be a lot to see and do (particularly if you want a couple of repeat tries on the big coasters).
In terms of accommodation, obviously your choice of venue might vary, but in my mind for a nice hotel (not hostel) that is clean, maintained, and well located, $50 pp pn is a bit on the low-side. If doing hostels, certainly achievable. If you can bump up your per night hotel budget by another $20 per person / per night, and give yourself another $50 per day spending / emergency budget, you’ll be far better placed. I can do two weeks as a single person in Tokyo, on jetstar sale fares, for $4000, generally off peak times, but it becomes harder with cost of internal flights or trains, peak accommodation pricing, theme parks the odd ‘bigger’ nights out with more expensive food or a couple more drinks etc., and particularly if your friend wants to bring back a lot of souvenirs or anime merch too, that will add up for them pretty quick.
I just want to confirm that you’re saying the minimum price is roughly $2,793 and the maximum price is roughly $4,500.
This is combined for 2 people, right?
my advice is, save longer and go at a later time.
If you have to calculate everything like you just did. You’re not gonna have a good time.
For Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea – a lot of the best rides run out of fast passes very quickly; if you’re essentially not there for when things open, you’re going to miss out on some things (plus it’s a very expensive day out if you’re not maximising your park time). I’ve not done Fuji Q, but friends who did said the transport options to get there made it tough and the queue length really made it a full day not part day.
Only two hours for Ghibli doesn’t seem like very long? Especially if your friend hasn’t been before. My partner isn’t even a Ghibli fan, but said the four hours I’d pencilled in didn’t feel like enough to take everything in.
It’s already been said, but day 12 seems like a heck of a lot in a single day. Cheap Kobe beef isn’t great; it’s really worth doubling that budget or even tripling to get something better quality but memorable.
I’m not sure about your level of activity or preparedness but I would say that “go to an amusement park then casually climb a mountain” sounds like a rough time.
Just like everyone else is saying, packing so many things in one day is a recipe for being exhausted. I would also like to add that you mentioned you’re planning this for the month of July. Please keep in mind that the humidity in Japan in July and August is generally oppressive and you will need to take things slower as a result.
I would trim down your itinerary to not more than 3 or 4 locations total for the whole trip and build your days around those focal points instead of cramming multiple focal points in per day. It’s not a race and you do not want to spend all this money and time planning if you will not be present in the moment.
Every time you leave one place to go to another, expect it to take 60 – 90 minutes to get from one location to the next. ,000 on top of that. I looked at the prices you mentioned… I think you may manage it some days, others will end up being 30% – 50% more when you tally up at the end of the night.
Every time you leave one place to go to another, expect it to take 60 – 90 minutes to get from one location to the next. I’ve commuted and traveled through Japan for years. Smooth train transfers can eat up 20 min, (you arrive on the platform just as the doors are shutting) and the path from one ticket gate to another can make it take double that. Just saying, the “4 min” from one train platform to another is BS. Minimum 8 in you know the way and don’t need to buy a ticket. People don’t realize how much time is blown in a transfer.
I’m not saying you can’t plan an itinerary as tight as you like, I’m just saying if you plan 5 things to do in a day, be ready to make a choice of which 3 are must do and which 2 can be chucked if necessary.
Also, Tokyo Disneyland will wipe you out. If you are in your twenties you can soldier on. If you aren’t you will need a slow day every few days.
All I’m saying is it’s not a marathon where “it only counts” if you do everything. The trips where I ran like a was in a marathon were not more enjoyable than ones where I allowed myself flexibility and the ability to relax rather than ran myself into the ground.
That seems like a lot and since you’re planning every dollar I would either say cut down on what you’re doing or bring more money
Instead of renting a car consider just getting a subway card for Tokyo and Osaka. Japan’s public transport is very good and unless you’re going out into the country alot there’s no reason to get a car. I’m saying this as an aussie thats been to Japan 5 times. I understand getting one on Okinawa however.