I have been lurking this sub for the last few days so I know I will definitely get some flak for my itinery – but I think I really need the feedback to reign things back.
I get pretty bad motion sickness so I want to limit the amount of travel on trains/buses/subway as possible – but I know it's impossible to absolutely not relay on those modes of transportation so I will be popping Dramamine daily.
November 17 – November 27
Day 1 (11/17) – Tokyo
– Arrive at HND in afternoon
– Pick up IC card, SIM, ATM
– Subway or bus to Shinjuku
– Check into hotel
– Grab dinner and explore Shinjuku (Golden-Gai?)
– Rest up to recover from jetlag
Day 2 (11/18) – Tokyo
– Wake up early
– teamLab Borderless at 9 AM
– Shibuya (crossing, Shibuya station, Shibuya Sky)
– Harakuju (Yoyogi Park, Meiji Jingu)
– Back to Shinjuku
Day 3 (11/19) – Tokyo
– Breakfast at Tsukiji Market
– teamLab Planet at 9 AM
– Asakusa (Senso-ji Temple)
– Ueno (Ueno Park)
– Akihabara
– Back to Shinjuku
Day 4 (11/20) – Kyoto
– Shinkansen to Kyoto
– Drop off luggage at hotel
– Nijo Castle
– Nishiki Market
– Potentially Imperial Palace, Kyoto Gyoen
– Check into hotel
– Gion if time allows
Day 5 (11/21) – Kyoto
– Early trip to Fushimi Inari
– Kiyomizu-dera
– Gion
– Pontocho Park
– Back to hotel
Day 6 (11/22) – Kyoto
– Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
– Tenryu-ji Temple
– Iwatayama Monkey Park
– Togetsukyo Bridge
– Back to hotel
Day 7 (11/23) – Osaka
– Check out of hotel
– Take train to Osaka
– Drop off luggage
– Umeda Sky Building
– One or more of: Shinsaibashi-suji, Dotonbori, Shinsekai
Day 8 (11/24) – Nara
– Bus to Nara
– Todai-ji Temple
– Nara National Park
– Kasauga Taisha Shrine
– Kofuku-ji Temple
– Naramachi District
– Head back to Osaka
Day 9 (11/25) – Osaka or Kobe
– Day trip to Kobe for Arima Onsen, or stay in Osaka
– If in Osaka, Osaka Castle, and anything missed on day 1
Day 10 (11/26) – Tokyo
– Check out of hotel
– Shinkansen back to Tokyo
– Probably forwarded luggage day before to hotel in Haneda
– Spend half day in Tokyo with anything I missed
– Transit to Haneda and explore
-Relax and early night to get ready for flight in AM
by Novel-Pineapple-2131
11 comments
Male sure your Ueno day isn’t following a holiday. Ueno is closed on Mondays, but of that Monday is a holiday… they will be closed on Tuesday. I can vouch for many of the sites you want to go to, but found Sensoji and Shinsekai kind of tacky.
Your itinerary actually looks pretty doable. My only suggestion would be to just stay at your hotel in Kyoto. You can change hotels if it’s a luxury/aesthetic/motion sickness thing, but traveling with luggage just sucks lol
Also, it’ll be quicker to Nara, and back, from Kyoto. Going to Kobe will take a little bit longer though (about half an hour).
Either way, I think you’re pretty much set to hit all the tourist spots. Don’t forget the bus system and take taxis if things get too tight.
Also, might be easier to take the Train to Nara.
Recommend using taxis when needed in Kyoto.
I had a similar schedule and found so much time was saved by using taxis here and there.
There is (almost) nothing to eat in golden gai, it’s not a place to have dinner, most bars open late-ish (9pm or after) and going out for a night of drinking on your first night may not be a good idea. Keep that for another day.
*Potentially Imperial Palace.* The palace is mostly reconstruction. I’d suggest [Katsura Imperial Villa](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3914.html) instead, though you’ll need to reserve the tour before hand and tickets go fast.
For Day 9 I also recommend Himeji. Spent 2.5 days there, definitely enjoyed the slower pace
Looks good. Heads up that parts of Teamlabs can be quite motion sickness-inducing. But you can just move on if that happens.Â
I just got back from a ten day trip in Japan and loved it. Already planning to go back in a few years.
I would recommend a trip to Uji (birthplace of Matcha) and Nara from Kyoto. A short train ride with the Nara line. You could do both in one day or even just a morning/afternoon in Uji.
A lot of walking in Japan and you’ll find yourself tired so I wouldn’t try to pack too many things into one day. I’d say one main thing in the first part of the day and then another at night and give yourself plenty of time to just explore and walk around.
If you’re into stationary, there’s an 18 floor stationary. Store, Ginza Itoya, that you could spend a week in.
I would recommend trying to just take it all in nice and slow and if you can’t get all the things done that you wanted, just go back again.
Also highly recommend a day trip or a stay in Hakone if possible. There are hotels with private onsens if you’re not into public ones.
Feel free to message me for any other info. Japan is now my favorite travel destination.
damn let loose a little
Doing stuff in Tokyo at 9 am means you’ll need to travel there during the worst of the morning peak periods, which involves horribly crowded trains. It’s generally best to avoid travelling in the morning and afternoon peak periods.