Tentative Itinerary for July/August 2022 for 18 to 20 days

6 comments

1. Things are obviously not in order within the day as clearly you want to finish by Golden Gai/Kabukicho and not do it in the middle of the day. Best way to do this day for me would be to start with things that open early, like Meiji shrine. So logically next would be Shibuya crossing as you want to finish by Shinjuku. Actually, you can remove Gov. Building and replace by Shibuya Sky if you want to have an observation deck. Yes it is paid, but will be easier to fit in the itinerary. Next would be Shinjuku to end the day. Samurai museum that is if the re-open.

   Personally would say that Yoyogi park can be a skip. I would only consider going in the weekend to do some people watching (like check out people dance and such) otherwise, it’s just a park, not a garden, so would pass and do a real garden.

   Speaking of garden, if you do Tsukiji, then you can easily check Hama-Rikyu garden. Tokyo Tower would also not be my first choice of observation deck, so if you want to do a second, I would highly consider Roppongi Hills Mori tower, that have a view on Tokyo Tower, an open roof and an art museum.

   Again I guess not in the right order as I would see Ebisu garden as a end of day thing to go dring a beer.

   Ueno Zoo is a zoo. From what I’ve heard, people tend to say avoid any attraction that involve animals in Japan if you really care about animal welfare. This is a zoo, it have nothing to do with wildlife (on the other hand, yes the monkey of Arashiyama are wild). Akihabara is also not really a morning destination as store start to open around 10-11am (actually, anything that involve shopping likely does not opven before 10-11am), so I would consider doing Ueno park first, option to walk by Ameyoko to Akihabara up to Akihabara station, then use the smaller streets to reach Suehirocho station to go to Asakusa.

   Would recommend doing the overnight stay in Hakone, the kaiseki meal and onsen experience is really nice.

   Kinkaku-ji can work well with Arashiyama, but you already have plenty on that day, especially if you take the shinkansen in the morning and only have the afternoon for what you listed. If you are ok to be there as it open, then could make sense to start there and next take a bus to the botanical garden, or directly to Ginkaku-ji.

   Kind of interesting that you do not have Higashiyama in your plan, like Kiyomizu-dera, sannenzaka, Yasaka-shrine, Gion.

   Clearly if you want to do Shibuya 109, you should do it while in Shibuya, not when you are in Osaka 😉

   Hiroshima/Miyajima can be done as a day trip, but it will be a really full day. Instead, I would consider taking the train early in the morning, stop by Himeji (like even be at the castle at 9 am if you can) get a bento box to eat in the train to Hiroshima, check out peace museum, sleep there, then next day go to Miyajima. If you do not want to carry your luggage, then forward it from Kyoto hotel to Osaka hotel and just bring one change of cloth for Hiroshima.

   Obviously, do some research about festival with your real dates and include it where it make sense.

   You should also consider changing the order so you can do at least from Hakone to Kansai as well as trip to Hiroshima within 7 days. You do not really need JR Pass for Nara, moving between Kyoto/Osaka or any other local destination. Pretty sure it would be cheaper to get a 7 days pass and pay for the rest individually (use an IC card) than to use a 14 or even worst 21 days pass.

   Would really make sense to fly out of Osaka. Otherwise, yes 14 days pass can still make sense, and if you round-trip by Tokyo, then try to save some shopping for the end of the trip when you return to Tokyo.

   My base budget for food, local train, attraction and hostel is 10 000 yen, so you should not have too much problem, however, keep in mind that some activities like Teamlab are a bit pricey, so it can use a good part of the daily budget. Also restaurant with Michelin star can be expensive, so if you want to do a couple, might plan extra budget for it. At least check the menu of the places you want to visit to have an idea of the price (lunch menu can be cheaper), and might be a good idea to make reservation.

2. Mid-late July in particular is a MASSIVE festival season in Kansai–Including the Gion Festival (all of July, with the biggest events from the 15th-17th, and other large events from the 22nd-24th), Tenjin Festival (24th-25th–especially the 25th) Motomiya Festival (21st-22nd), and Mitarashi Festival (last 10 or so days of July). I also highly recommend Kobo-san at Toji on the 21st and/or Tenjin-san at Kitanotenmangu on the 25th, though I wouldn’t sacrifice going to the Tenjin Festival just to go to Tenjin-san Market.

   That said, these festivals are among the ONLY good reasons I come up with to suffer through the heat of summer if going at another time of year is feasible. If you’re not really planning to enjoy such festivals to their fullest, I would strongly recommend picking another time of year (mid-November to early-December or mid-February to mid-April are my top recommendations). Also keep in mind that attending festivals takes time away from doing other things. Typically I would recommend roughly at least a full week just for a quick run-through of the highlights of Kansai (Kyoto/Osaka/Kobe/Nara/Himeji area), but given the sweltering heat of the late summer and the extra time needed for festivals, I would give it 10 full days or more if you’re going around this time (again, just as a starting point).

3. Unless you’re coming from a super hot, super humid climate yourself, be prepared to be hotter than you’ve ever been in your life. I lived in Japan for 18 years: summers are the worst.

4. TeamLab Borderless is pretty big, I’d expect it to take half a day. It’s also pretty far from Ebisu. Also, I’ve not been to Planets but honestly they’re likely similar enough that I think you should probably just go to Borderless and use the extra time to checkout a different point of interest.

   Meiji Jingu, Yoyogi Park, Shibuya, Harajuku, and Omotesando are all very close, you can definitely walk between all of them. That being said, you can easily kill a whole day in that area. You’re not gonna have time for Golden Gai, Kabukicho, etc. in that same day, I think. Also, while the shopping in that area is fun (especially if you have an interest in fashion) but I’d recommend planning out which stores you want to visit. I recommend the Comme des Garcon store near Omote-Sando and some of the “Ura-Hara” shops like Neighborhood if you’re into Japanese street fashion. If you’re less into the fashion and just want to experience all the wild stores, La Foret in Harajuku is very good.Ueno Zoo is very much a proper zoo. Ueno Park and Zoo alone could take up a whole day, especially if you visit Ameyayokocho (which I would recommend). Depending on how much interest you have in games and anime, Akihabara could also be an all day thing. I’d recommend Ueno in morning/early afternoon, late afternoon/evening in Akihabara, and visiting Sensouji and Skytree on a different day. Remember, many shops and restaurants in Tokyo close around 8PM, and many open around 10AM. Even if you’re ready to wake up at 7 and stay out until midnight there’s not gonna be much to do besides drink past a certain point.

   Spending a night in a ryokan in Hakone is, in my opinion, one of the best experiences you can have in Japan. I would recommend cutting back on some of the museums in order to make the time to spend two days and a night in Hakone. Absolutely make the trip up the mountain to the kuro-tamago, more for the experience and sights than anything else.

   On a similar note, Enoshima is a beautiful, extremely fun island to visit just outside of Tokyo. I would highly recommend making a day trip there a priority.

   Tsukiji market has closed, I believe. It relocated somewhere but I can’t recall where.

   Anyway, that’s my advice. I’ve lived in Tokyo for about 4 years now, and as much as I love the city, I think that it suffers from a really big problem both in terms of living here and visiting. Most of what Tokyo has to offer revolves around shopping or eating. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love shopping and eating and the experience of both in Tokyo is great. However, after a couple of days of that I think people tend to burn out. I’d recommend dropping certain museums because in my experience the museums in Tokyo are either excellent or tourist traps. I can’t speak for the Samurai or Manga museums, I haven’t been to either, however I can tell you the Edo-Tokyo Museum and National Museum of Modern art are both excellent. I love Ueno Zoo, I think it’s excellent, however I also don’t think it’s too significantly different from a zoo in any other city.

   I think your schedule is pretty tight, and in my opinion the most fun you can have in this city is just exploring and seeing what you can find. While having specific destinations is a good idea, I would also recommend that maybe you choose one or two “main events” for each day and then just see what else you can find in the area.

   I’m rambling at this point. Sorry, I think I’ve inadvertently offloaded two years of travel advice I’ve wanted to give to my friends and family but haven’t been able to because, y’know.

   And seriously give some thought to Hakone and Enoshima.

   EDIT: Saw you had Shibuya 109 down later. As someone else pointed out, that’s in Shibuya. It’s also kind of a skip, to be honest. Visually it’s iconic and a big part of the image of Shibuya, however the shops inside are extremely underwhelming. Instead you should visit Shibuya Parco, which has a basement floor filled with interesting restaurants and a variety of shops ranging from Japanese luxury fashion like Undercover to the Nintendo Store and Pokemon Center.

5. If it’s your thing, Fuji Rock festival is at the end of July and I gather a group of people to go every year. There’s more info at /r/fujirock headliners are announced around end of Jan.

   Otherwise, I suggest you either cut Hiroshima or cut some other time and give Hiroshima at least a full day. The museum is rather heavy and not something to rush through. Miyajima is really nice and it’s nice to be able to take your time.

6. In my experience at least arriving on Narita or Haneda, our flights arrived in at 3PM or 6PM. So make sure to book a hotel that has a free shuttle from the airport so you have time to rest.
   The one I stayed at was Narita View Hotel. They had an outdoor tea onsen (yup tea water) which was pleasant surprise

   There is a paid bus service that will bring you to the 23 wards of Tokyo and even drop you off certain Hotels. Its called Limousine Bus and heres the website https://webservice.limousinebus.co.jp/web/en/BusStopList.aspx

   The only problem is that they have canceled/postponed some routes including Ginza. But I believe drop offs to Disneyland and Ikebukuro are still running. This is a HUGE plus if you dont want to lunge heavy luggage after a long flight.

   My seasoned traveler buddy also said- make sure when booking hotels- get the ones with a meal/breakfast package. Since some meals are served until 11AM or 1PM , you always have food paid for at the hotel and breakfast.