Hi
Apologies in advance for the long post, but I’m just after some tips/an itinerary check for my first trip to Japan next year
Notes:
– my boyfriend and I will be 30. We love spending the day exploring and spending the evening hanging out in a nice bar. We love places with nice views (e.g. observation decks) & I’ve recently gotten into travel photography so I like nice photo ops. We both love the culture overall and have interests in browsing record & book stores and streetwear stores
– I know that a lot of accommodation won’t have availability showing for next April just yet
– I’ve essentially read a lot of different ‘first time to Japan’ itineraries and taken bits from different ones but not sure if everything flows
Day 0: Thur 17 April
* Flight from UK to Tokyo
Days 1-4: Tokyo
Stay in Akasaka
Day 1: Fri 18 April
* Flight lands at Haneda in the evening
– There is the option to get a flight that arrives in the morning but think we may be too tired to do anything that day
* Check into hotel, get some snacks/ light dinner nearby & and try to sleep to adjust to time difference
Day 2: Sat 19 April
* Ueno: Ueno Park, Nezu Shrine, Ameyoko
* Akihabara
* Ginza – shopping
* Tokyo City View – night time city views before dinner
* Roppongi Hills (for dinner and drinks)
Day 3: Sun 20 April
* Nikko day trip
* Back to Tokyo early evening
* Anniversary dinner and drinks)
Day 4: Mon 21 April
* Shibuya/Harajuku – Shibuya scramble, Hachiko Statue, Shibuya Sky, Yoyogi park, Meiji Shrine, explore streets like Cat Street & Takeshita Street
* Shinjuku – Omoide Yokocho, Kabukicho
Days 5-6: Hakone
Stay at Kinnotake Tonosawa
Day 5: Tues 22 April
* Tokyo > Hakone in the AM
* Hakone Open-Air museum
* Relax in the afternoon
* Odawara Castle (illuminated in the evening?) (May go on day 7 in the AM before heading to Kyoto instead)
Day 6: Wed 23 April
* Lake Ashi
* Hakone Shrine
* Hakone Checkpoint
Days 7-9: Kyoto
Stay in Shimogyo District (potentially Hotel Granvia or The Blossom)
Day 7: Thurs 24 April
* Hakone > Kyoto
* Fushimi Inari Taisha
* Kiyomizu-dera Temple
* Explore the Higashiyama District
* Yasaka Shrine
* Explore the Gion District
* Maruyama Park
* Dinner in Pontocho Alley
Day 8: Fri 25 April
* Nara day trip:
– Todai-ji
– Nara Park
– Kasuga Taisha Shrine
Day 9: Sat 26th April
* Kinkaku-ji
* Ryoan-ji Temple
* Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
* Tenryu-ji Temple
* Togetsukyo Bridge
* (If enough time): Monkey Park Iwatayama
* Dinner & drinks in Kyoto Station area
*Visit To-ji temple in the morning on day 10/Sun 27 (before getting the train to Osaka)
Days 10-12: Osaka
Stay in Umeda (e.g. Hotel Hankyu RESPIRE OSAKA) or Namba (e.g. Swissotel Nankai Osaka)
Day 10: Sun 27th April
* Kyoto > Osaka train
* Check into hotel
* Shitenno-ji
* Tenoji Park
* Abeno Harakus
* Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade
* Explore Dotonbori in the evening
Day 11: Mon 28th April
* Universal Studios
Day 12: Tues 29th April
- Osaka castle
- Osaka aquarium
- Unmeda Sky Castle
Days 13-14: Tokyo
Day 13: Wed 30th April
* Osaka > Tokyo train in AM
* Spend the afternoon/evening doing anything we didn’t get to do at the start or anything we want to do again
Day 14: Thurs 1 May
* Asakusa – Sensoji Temple
* Nakamise shopping street
* Tokyo Skytree
* Possibly Studio Ghibli museum in the afternoon – more research needed
* Shinbashi (dinner and drinks)
* Tokyo Tower
Day 15
Day 15: Fri 2 May
* Tokyo > London flight
Questions:
1. I know this is somewhat subjective, but are there any glaring ‘must see’ for first timers activities/sights I’ve missed?
2. Should I spend more or less time in any of these places?
3. Does anyone have any record store recommendations in any of these destinations?
4. Does anyone have any jazz bar recommendations in Tokyo?
5. Is the Studio Ghibli museum a recommended experience for non-Japanese speakers? My partner and I love Studio Ghibli, but at read that most of the information is in Japanese only
6. Day 3 in Tokyo is our 10 year anniversary – do you have recommendations for any nice dinner and drinks spots? Somewhere intimate and upmarket but not too pretentious
7. Do the days in Kyoto look too condensed?
8. Does it make more sense/utilise time better to do a day trip to Nara from Kyoto or from Osaka?
by tiashanice