Hi all
Myself and my partner are heading to Japan for our first holiday there on November 5th (arriving 6th), and have been trying to best plan our time there to tick off everything we'd like to do. Our itinerary isn't ideally optimised, due to some struggles finding an Ryokan that could accommodate us in Hakone (my partner is Coeliac) – we originally aimed to go there straight after Osaka, but have had to book what was available once we managed to find one, so we're heading back to Tokyo first now.
Would hugely appreciate any advice with what I might have overlooked or not accounted for:
Tokyo
Wednesday 6th Nov (generally a light day because of Jet lag):
- Arrive (8am), find hotel (Shinbashi) and leave luggage.
- Hibiya Park & Palace Gardens
- Akihabara
Thursday 7th Nov:
- Teamlab Borderless (booked for 11am)
- Toshima City (Sunshine city mall/Pokemon centre)
- Shibuya Crossing
- Shibuya SKY observation deck
Friday 8th Nov: (originally intended for this to be a day in Shinjuku/Shibuya, but changed to avoid DisneySea on a weekend)
- DisneySea
Kyoto
Saturday 9th Nov:
- Ginza (Tokyo)
- Shinkansen to Kyoto
- Check into Kyoto hotel
- Yasaka Shrine/Kiyomizu-dera
- Kamo river stroll (evening)
Sunday 10th Nov:
- Arashiyama Park/Bamboo Forest (early morning, before crowds)
- Mikami Shrine, Nonomiya Shrine, Tenryu-ji temple, Gio-ji
- Monkey park (if time)
- Kinkaku-Ji, Kitano-temmangu Shrine (Appreciate this is a shrine/temple heavy day)
Monday 11th Nov:
- Fushimi Inari Shrine (again, early start to beat crowds)
- Nintendo Museum (tickets booked for 11am)
- Nishiki Market
- Tea ceremony (yet to book)
Osaka
Tuesday 12th Nov:
- Nara Park (morning – from Kyoto)
- Travel to Osaka (possibly direct from Nara if I can arrange luggage transfers)
- Explore Dotonbori/America-mura
- Hozenji Yokocho (Evening)
Wednesday 13th Nov:
- Namba Yasaka (am)
- Shin Sekai (am)
- Den Den Town (am)
- Kuromon Ichiba Market (lunch)
- Osaka Castle (pm)
- Umeda Sky (evening)
Thursday 14th Nov:
- Universal Studios (express passes purchased)
Tokyo
Friday 15th Nov:
- Chilled morning before Shinkansen back to Tokyo
- Ueno/Ueno Park & Tokyo National Museum
Saturday 16th Nov: (originally set aside for DisneySea)
- Explore Shinjuku
- Shinjuku Gyoen
- Meiji Jingu/Yoyogi Park
Sunday 17th Nov:
- Romance car from Tokyo to Hakone
- Lake Ashinoko boat cruise/Hakone shrine
- Onsen relax and dinner at Ryokan
Monday 18th Nov:
- Hakone Ropeway
- Travel back to Tokyo hotel
- Free time in Tokyo for anything missed/extra
Tuesday 19th Nov:
- Depart back home
As mentioned, aware this is not the most optimal way of doing this trip, but hoping I can make it work. I personally am not to bothered about DisneySea with going to Universal, but my partner really wants to go, so I'd rather avoid doing it on a weekend if possible, but seems the only way to do that is to move it to the early part of Tokyo.
Massively appreciative of any advice, I've still got a few bits to book (not to mention restaurants to accommodate gluten free allergy).
Some of the days might be a bit light, but I'm conscious to not try to overdo it (few days might be a bit ambitious) and try to keep it a bit free flowing if possible. Haven't planned a huge amount for the evenings.
by SoupTurret