Hi hello! Thank you for taking a look at this!
I’m taking a trip to Tokyo for a week, and while I’ve done tons of research, I want some perspective from lived experience.
Some personal info: We are morning people, and don’t have interest in bars or a night scene. My priorities are Ghibli sights (I’m a big fan!), visiting shrines / temples, experiencing nature, and souvenir shopping for my friends and little ones at home. I’m also excited to collect a few stamps at train stations and goshuin, but I won’t go super out of my way to do so. I’ll be with my partner for a few of the days, but a lot of the week I’ll be going solo. My partner isn’t a big foodie, but I am excited to try new foods and fresh seafood. I’ve put scheduled / ticketed activities in italics, and outside of those times I’m not planning to be super strict, just wanted to give myself some guidelines to see all I hope to.
My main questions are:
1. Any advice for these places as a solo traveler?
2. Are the travel times and time spent at various locations realistic?
3. Which of the Donguri Stores would you recommend? Is going to one like going to any, or are there distinct differences between Sunshine City, Tokyo Character Street, and SkyTree?
4. Am I missing out if I don’t get a kaiseki meal, seeing Sumo, seeing a kabuki theater show, or any other glaring misses?
5. For commuting I’ve been relying on the metro and walking. I didn’t really consider using buses because the blogs I read didn’t include them or said tourists don’t need to use them. Is this an accurate assessment?
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**Friday** (w/ partner)
* land HND @ 3pm
* Take Limousine Bus to hotel in Shinjuku, arrive around 5pm?
* Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observation Deck
* Dinner at Omoide Yakocho
* Walk around Shinjuku, see Godzilla head
* Don’t sleep until 9pm!
**Saturday** (w/ partner)
* 8am Walk to Meiji Shrine, explore Yoyogi Park
* 11am Walk to meeting place in Shibuya for Cafe 84
* *Noon – 1:30 Cafe 84*
* Metro to Ueno Park (Tokyo National Museum, Poke Lids, Ueno Toshogu Shrine, Hanazono Inari Shrine)
* Dinner around Ameyoko Shopping District?**OR** go to Akihabara to explore
**Sunday** (w/ partner)
* 7am Metro to Asakusa
* Senso-ji Temple (early before it gets too crazy busy)
* 9am Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center opens
* Nakamise-dori, Sumida Park, explore etc..
* *3pm* \- 6pm *Maikoya Tea Ceremony and Samurai Experience*
* Dinner at Hoppy Street
**Monday** (solo)~~7am Metro to Gotokuji Temple8am Gotokuji Temple9am Walk to Hanegi Park10am Walk to Shiro-Hige’s Creampuff Factory, eat brunch and cream puffs~~
* Spend morning exploring Shinjuku, maybe Shinjuku National Gardens
* 10:30 Metro to Shiro-Hige’s Take out location in Kichijoji
* 11am Shiro-Hige’s opens
* *1pm Studio Ghibli Museum*
* Metro back to Shinjuku to meet up with partner
* Dinner and exploring Harajuku / Shibuya
**Tuesday** (solo)
* 6:15am Train to Kamakura St.
* 8am Arrive in Kamakura, breakfast @ 5 Crossties, then take bus to Hokokuji
* ~~8:30am Walk 30 minutes alone Route 204 to bamboo temple~~
* 9am Hokokuji Temple, bamboo garden and matcha
* Other sites: Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, Kamachi Dori, Sasuke Inari Shrine (walk), Hase Temple (walk), Kotokuin Temple (closes at 5pm)
* \~4:30 Train back to Shinjujku
* Dinner w/ partner at Coco Ichibanya Curry House in Shinjuku
**~~Wednesday~~** ~~(solo)~~ **Thursday** (solo, swapped bc Fish Market isn’t open most Wed)
* 7am Metro to Tsukiji Fish Market
* \~8am Breakfast at the market, Hamarikyu Gardens, Ghibli Clock
* 10:15 Leave for Azabudai Hills
* 10am line up for teamLab Borderless
* *10:30 teamLab Borderless Exhibit*
* Either go to Sunshine City (Pokemon Mega Center, Pikachu Sweets, and Donguri Replublic)**OR** back to Harajuku (Don Quijote, Kiddy Land, Daiso)
**~~Thursday~~** ~~(solo)~~ **Wednesday** (solo)
* 7:30am Take train to Mount Takao
* 9am Park opens, Hike up Trail 6, Walk down Trail 1 to see temple, monkey park, eat lunch, etc… Take cable car or chair lift rest of the way down
* \~1pm Visit the onsen at the base
* \~3pm Head back to Shinjuku to meet up with partner,
* Return to Shibuya to see Nintendo Store or shop in Harajuku
**Friday** (w/ partner)
* 8am Check out and place bags in holding at hotel, Metro to Ginza Station to see Godzilla Statue
* 9am Metro to Imperial Palace
* 9:45am Meet at Kikyomon Gate for Tour
* *10am – 11:30 Imperial Palace Tour*
* Lunch at Ramen Street, Character Street
* Last stops in Shibuya / Shinjuku
* Grab luggage from Shinjuku, and Limo Bus back to Haneda (avoiding rush hour) by \~8pm for an 11pm flight.
Thanks for coming along for the ride! Any input welcome!
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**EDITS:** Thank you to everyone who gave such helpful input!!! I made some edits from the feedback I received. I took out the times that don’t matter much, put squiggles to communicate time approximations (for everyone alarmed by my scheduling lol), and kept the helpful times that ensure I make it to ticketed activities. Overall, I feel a lot better about what I have planned, and I am SO EXCITED. Thanks again!
**I’m still open to further suggestions!!**
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by KitchenWych