Reposting here as my post in the japan travel tips was removed and directed to post here.
My trip to Japan is in 17 days and to say I'm freaking out is an understatement. This is my first time out of the country and my anxiety is skyrocketing with trying to figure out what to do once I am there. I know the best thing to do is to not over-plan and leave plenty of time to wonder around but I am the only one in my group of friends I am going with who has an itinerary and I feel as if I'm putting too much thought into my plans. I have general times that I want to head to each area but am not going to follow them to a T. I made sure to only do 2-3 places per day so I'm not overwhelmed. Is this too much? Am I over planning?
- Tuesday: (Tokyo) Imperial palace, Tokyo tower, TeamLabs Planet (this is the only one I have a set time for because I bought tickets in advanced)
- Wednesday: (Travel day to Osaka) Osaka Castle, Tsutenkaku (observation deck)
- Thursday: (Osaka) Konohana Kan (Botanical Garden), Travel to Kyoto for the rest of the day, Kinkaku-ji, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and surrounding areas
- Friday: (Travel to Kyoto) Higashiyama Jisho-Ji, Kyoto Imperial Castle, Nijo Castle
- Saturday: (Travel back to Tokyo) Tokyo National Museum, Electric town
- Sunday: (Tokyo) Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, Meiji Jingu, rest of the day wondering around Shibuya
- Monday: (Tokyo) Free time wondering around Shinjuku and Shibuya
I am limited on the locations in Kyoto and Osaka as I am going with a group and they had planned to stay in Osaka for 2 nights (Wednesday-Friday) and stay in Kyoto for 1 night (Friday-Saturday.) I personally wanted to spend more time in Kyoto to explore the temples so that is why on one of the days in Osaka I am traveling up to Kyoto. I also picked places per day based on location, so most places are actually near each other and are either in walking distance or a very short train ride away.
by winterstargamer