Hi everyone! My boyfriend and I are traveling out of the US for the first time ever and decided to go all in on 2 weeks in Japan! I am not much of a planner usually, but since this is a large expense, I am really trying to make the most of our time. I have done some researching through this thread, on TikTok, Instagram, and just googling popular things to do, so I think I have a pretty decent plan here. We are going in August so I know it is going to be hot and humid and am just worried that I might be killing us with days that are too full. Please let me know if I am delusional for any of these days. I look forward to writing a trip report when we return!
I know that ideally we would do our shopping at the end of the trip, but we are packing light so we don't have to check luggage coming in and thus plan to buy clothes at Uniqlo, so hopefully we manage to only add one check size luggage to our stuff to carry throughout the rest of the trip as we are trying to save money by not forwarding our luggage between hotels.
I have left the days fairly unstructured as I plan to just walk around and stop for food/drinks whenever we feel like. I know temple/shrine fatigue is a thing, so if we end up getting tired or lost or whatever and don't hit certain spots, I will be okay with that. I have also tried to plan one indoor activity a day so that we can go inside when it is peak heat.
Sat. Day 0 – Arrive at HND 9:05pm, take transit to hotel in Ginza, grab some snacks if needed and knock tf out.
Sun. Day 1 – Tsukiji Hongwan-Ji Temple, Namiyoke Shrine, Tsukiji Market, Uniglo Flagship, Muji Flagship, Onitsuka Tiger, Ginza Clock Tower, Italia St., Art Aquarium Museum
Mon. Day 2 – Narita Park, Yuhi Falls, Ometesando St., Great Pagoda of Peace
Tues. Day 3 – Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa Shrine, Five Storied Pagoda, Hikan Inari Shrine, Nakimise-dori St., Sumida Park, Samurai Ninja Museum
Wed. Day 4 – Ueno Park, Shinobazunoike Benten-do, Tokyo National Museum, Edo Castle Ruins, Imperial Palace, Godzilla Statue
Thurs. Day 5 – Inokashira Benzaiten, Aquatic Life House, walk around Inokashira Park until ticket time at Ghibli Museum (2pm). Open to a nightlife suggestion or a great omakase experience we can do after this as I currently don't have anything in particular on the schedule
Fri. Day 6 – Meiji Jingu and surrounding area, Gyoen National Garden, Cat Board, Godzilla Head, Omoido Yococho, Tokyo Metropolitan Gov. Building if unable to get Shibuya Sky ticket, otherwise Golden Gai to finish the night. This day is admittedly kind of a clusterf when I map it out, so we'll see what happens
Sat. Day 7 – Harajuku, Shibuya shops, Crossing, Shibuya Sky if able to get tickets
Sun. Day 8 – Whatever we want to do before traveling to Kyoto. Wander around Gion, then head over to Nidec Kyoto Tower. Any omakase suggestions welcome here too
Mon. Day 9 – Arashiyama, Romantic Train, Kimono Forest
Tues. Day 10 – Nara Park, Uguisha Waterfall, Todaiji, Mausoleum of Emperor Syomu
Wed. Day 11 – Nishiki Fish Market, Glanta for custom rings, shop until making commute to Osaka, once in Osaka, explore the nearby area
Thurs. Day 12 – Tsutenkaku, Shinsekai Market, DenDen Town, Dotonbori
Fri. Day 13 – Hiroshima Castle, Peace Memorial Museum, A Bomb Dome
Sat Day 14 – Osaka Castle and surrounding area, Osaka Aquarium, Amerika-Mura, Dotonbori (or any other night life suggestion?)
Sun Day 15 – Back to HND
Edit: Removed Kaminarimon "Temple" since it is not a temple.
by Cautious-Tomatillo75