August Itinerary check (first draft)

Hey folks, firstly **thank you** for all the incredible posts and feedback on this subreddit. Its always a blast reading stuff here.

My(42m) background, currently living in the Seattle with wife(40f) and kid (9f), I’ve lived in Japan countryside in the past (2005-2010) and still speak Japanese rather fluently, and can mostly read/write basic stuff too. I’ve been dreaming of this vacation for so long as you can imagine, first time going back after i left Japan also first time for my family there. Kid is so stoked!

I just finished booking hotels for our 2 week vacation, the rough plan is East Tokyo(3) > Kyoto(3) > Hakone(2) > West Tokyo(3). I’m somewhat well travelled in Japan, so I sorta know what things I’d like to do and my family to do too. Here are some of the things on my list I’d like to check off.

– a family friendly Onsen
– Tokyo Disney Sea
– Shinkansen ride
– Shinjuku streets
– Shibuya streets
– Kyoto (kiyomizu dera, fushimi inari, maybe a tea ceremony)
– Outlet for shopping
– Ginza streets
– Harajuku (overhyped?)
– a summer festival
– Hakone
– Ryokan
– maybe a fireworks festival
– some simple hiking
– renting a car for a few days to drive into the countryside
– TeamLab Borderless/Planets in Tokyo
– meet old colleagues from Ibaraki for a family dinner party

– lots of conbini food
– not so fancy belt sushi
– lots of ramen
– shabushabu
– Indian food
– niku udon or good soba
– yaki niku
– Coco ichibanya
– famiresu (cocos, saizeria, dennys, etc.)

Here’s my first stab at a rough itinerary. I know not everything is going to be possible given the holiday time and the summer heat. I’d personally go for a very different vacation (Hokkaido/Tohoku), but I think what we have here is a good first intro to Japan. Looking for some feedback from you fine folks here at r/JapanTravel

**8/4 日 Drive to Vancouver 🚗**

* Airport hotel with extended parking
* Eat good Chinese food in Richmond, BC

**8/5 月 Fly to Japan 🚌🛫🚇**

* Shuttle to YVR
* Morning 10:45am flight to NRT

**8/6 火 Arrive in Narita 🛬**

* Touchdown @ NRT at 12:25pm
* Narita Express to Ueno, then Yamanote to Akihabara
* Check in Akiba hotel
* Walk around Akiba, Yodobashi, find some good food, fight Jet lag.
* Alternatively, head to Tokyo Eki or Ginza pedestrian paradise

**8/7 水 Tokyo (Akihabara) 🚇**

* Quick Odaiba
* Or quick Toyosu market
* Tokyo Disney Sea
* ikspiari, if too crowded
* Sky Tree at night

**8/8 木 Tokyo (Akihabara) 🚇**

* Asakusa and Senso-ji
* Sky Tree
* Ginza shopping

**8/9 金 Shinkansen to Kyoto 🚄**

* Rest, food, recharge

**8/10 土 Kyoto 🚇**

* Kiyomizudera
* Fushimi Inari Shrine
* Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

**8/11 日 Kyoto 🚇**

* Uji/Nara day trip?
* Osaka day trip
* Gion
* Kimono rental

**8/12 月 Shinkansen to Odawara 🚄**

* Nishiki market
* short simple hike
* Shink to Odawara and rent a car there
* Check in to hotel in Sengokuhara

**8/13 火 Hakone (car rental) 🚕**

* Volcano eggs
* Yunessen
* Ropeway
* Drive around Hakone area

**8/14 水 Hakone to Tokyo 🚕🚇**

* Drive to Gotemba Premium Outlets
* Return car in Odawara
* Train to Shinjuku
* Checking to Shinjuku hotel

**8/15 木 Tokyo (Shinjuku) 🚇**

* Shibuya Sky
* Shibuya shopping
* Shinjuku shopping + food
* possibly meet friends form Ibaraki in Tokyo

**8/16 金 Tokyo (Shinjuku) 🚇**

* possibly meet friends form Ibaraki in Tokyo
* Teamlabs Planets

**8/17 土 Fly back to Vancouver 🚌🛫🛬**

* Last minute shopping (Donki, etc.)
* Afternoon flight (3:40pm)
* Time travel and arrive early morning in YVR
* More Richmond, BC food
* Drive back to Seattle

by Adysan