Hello we’re 29 and 31 with a 7 year old and about to leave soon. Any last tips or thoughts?
June 11 Car booked through Klook for pickup at airport. Explore area around where we are staying, pick up suica card or welcome pasmo (has cute hello kitty card) and pocket wifi or setup eSIM
June 12 Day 2 – Asakusa sensoji temple and shopping street 23 minute walk or 18 minutes and a 2 min train rode. Pick up Goshuincho here. Kappabashi aka cooking street. Ueno park. Yanaka Cat Town then to akihabara(electric town). Super potato store. Kanda Myogin shrine near akihabara (3 gods of fortune)
June 13 Day 3 – Harajuku opens 11am. Meiji shrine and yoyogi park and garden open 9am do first 40 minute train ride no transfers. Takeshita Dori street. Micropig cafe reservation at 12pm made must arrive by 1150 just a 30 minute time slot about a 6 minute walk from Meiji jingu. Cat street. Shibuya afternoon 5 minute train ride or 20 minute walk. 5pm Kuma Chan Onsen dinner reservation. Mega Don Quijote. Hachiko statue at Shibuya crossing. Shibuya sky reservation for 6:40 for a 7ish sunset be aware no hats allowed just phones and stuff in pockets. 109 building mall. Shibuya parco has Nintendo store and shonen jump store and Pokémon center. Shibuya loft store.
June 14 Day 4 – Suga Shrine Your Name stairs 39 minutes. Shinjuku National garden. Hanazono ginja shrine. Artnia Square Enix café opens at 11am 16 minute walk from garden. Book off store. Kabukicho St. has Godzilla a must at night and tokyu kabukicho tower large entertainment complex 11 minute walk from artnia. lots of food cat billboard here. Maybe omoide yokocho “drinking st” shopping just exploring. Shinokubo near by and is a Korea town
* When in shinjuku station make sure to exchange Hakone Free Pass at odakyu sightseeing center.
June 15 Day 5 – Ginza area. If we’re willing to wake up early and be at toyosu tuna sale auction then breakfast at Tsukiji outer fish market 24 minutes from hotel (closed Sundays and Wednesdays). Art aquarium. Department stores. Tokyo Imperial Palace is close if not willing to do tuna sale go here first.
June 16 Day 6 -Tokyo skytree tallest tower. 5th floor has a stamp spot. Contains sumida aquarium. Kirby cafe nearby. Hikifune Takagi shrine (onigiri shrine). Bonsai museum?
June 17 Day 7 – Ship luggage from hotel to Disney hotel the night before and then 45 minutes to Disney area after. Change hotels closer to Tokyo Disneyland and visit odaiba area. There is a water bus near our hotel “Mizube water bus” that goes directly to the odaiba area or 30 minutes by train to TeamLab planets. Small worlds exhibit. Gundam statue and divercity Tokyo plaza mall. 50 minutes to hotel. Have evening weekday tickets for Disneyland maybe try to get in a few rides or do shopping while people are watching evening parade.
June 18- 20 Days 8-10 Tokyo DisneySea x2 days and Disneyland x1 day
June 21 Day 10 – 35 minute trip from hotel to shinjuku station. Ship luggage to Kyoto to Yamato Transport Co., Ltd. Shimmachi Hanayacho Center and take backpacks with essentials. Romancé car from Shinjuku station at 9:20 get there earlier.
Do Hakone loop and hopefully the open air museum on the loop clockwise and then check in to ryokan Hakone Airu.
June 22 Day 11 – Visit the open air museum if we couldn’t the day before and then travel to Kyoto by Shinkansen train from Odawara station about 2 HRs on “Hikari” train leaves at 12:07 pm. take taxi for 15 minute ride or 30 minutes by train to station. When picking up tickets we will each receive three tickets and only two will go into machine at same time. We are on car6 seat A-B. Nishiki market for food they close at like 6pm also Nishiki shrine in market. Nijo castle and shinsen en garden and shrine “dragon queen shrine” nearby. maybe Kamo River night walk. Yasaka shrine and Heian shrine near philosophers path. Maybe manga museum
June 23 Day 12 – Super early start to Fushimi Inari shrine possibly 2-3 hour hike we don’t have to do the whole things there’s a stopping point midway with shops. Okamoto kimono rental 7000 yen each to take home. Gion. Sannenzaka street. kiyomizudera temple high up overlooks town closes at 5pm. kodaji temple (bamboo temple). Higashiyama ward. Tatsumi bridge(memoirs of a geisha). just walk around explore. Arabica Coffee nice view and good coffee. Higashiyama Jisho-ji gorgeous looking temple but a little far.
June 24 Day 13 – Take train to arashiyama station and then taxi to Otagi Nenbutsu-ji temple and then walk down towards bamboo forest early in the morning. Will pass Gioji moss garden and Adashino Nenbutsu-ji which has a bamboo grove too. Tenruji temple. Togetsuyoku bridge to Arashiyama monkey park next and town to explore. -Kinkakuji golden temple. Kifune shrine. Kinda far from everything but closer to arashiyama perhaps do first then taxi to arashiyama-
June 25 Day 14 – Depending on time and energy could go to Nara explore for a bit and then train to Osaka Use special limited express train AONIYoSHI specific for Nara-Osaka-Kyoto. Nara has deer park and a goldfish museum. Train to Osaka. Stay near dotonbori explore or Shinsebashi shopping street Shin sekai area like dotonbori area(has Pokémon cafe and uncle rikerus cheesecake. Maybe do boat tour in Dotonbori. Takoyaki and okonomiyaki. Maybe see Namba yasaka shrine when we arrive this day.
June 26 Day 15 – Universal studios day
June 27 Day 16 – Osaka castle opens 9am buy tickets on Klook ahead of time 40 minutes away. Osaka museum of history. Explore Kita/umeda umeda sky building. hep5 mall and Ferris wheel. Osaka aquarium Opens 10am-8pm 45 minutes from castle. Den den town is close here so maybe end the day there.
June 28 Day 17- Kuromon market breakfast. Americamura shopping/big step shopping mall. Parco store for Ghibli store. Zaou fish your own fish restaurant. Round One arcade. Hopefully Pokémon cafe. anything else we want to explore. Namba Yasaka shrine (Lion head shrine) Denden town (old school gamer area) Maybe Osaka aquarium this day.
June 29 Day 18 – Shinkansen back to Tokyo. 2.5 hour ride check into hotel. Hie shrine near hotel and head over to explore Ikebukuro. Sunshine city mall. Animate store. Anime Tokyo station. Zoshigaya “owl” temple. Harry Potter tour possibly.
June 30th Day 19- Sanrio Puroland about 1 1/2 hours away then about an hour to Yokohama “Chinatown” area. Cup noodle museum here. Red brick warehouse. CosmoWorld theme park you just pay for the attractions you want to get on. Yamashita park chill area near ocean with snack places. UNIQLO park (store and playground)
July 1st Day 20- Ghibli museum if possible. Tickets aren’t out yet. About an hour away. Shiro Hige puff factory early in the morning opens at 11 kichijoji location close to museum. Inokashira park. Corn Barley restaurant. Gotokuji Neko Temple in setagaya area about 45 minutes away.
July 2nd Day 21 – Any last minute things we want to buy. Narita city near the airport has a temple park and cute area to possibly explore prior to flight home also has unagi dishes and small stores. Fly home 6:40 pm out of Narita to LAX
by Cinnyincolor