I'll be visiting Japan for the first time with my girlfriend in October. This is our trip of a lifetime and we're really looking forward to it!
We've booked 5 nights in Osaka, 5 nights in Kyoto, 1 night in Atami, and 9 nights in Tokyo starting at the beginning of October. We're planning on visiting Kawaguchiko while in Tokyo and have planned for some flexibility based on the weather so we can try to see Mt. Fuji, and I've noted this in my itinerary below. If time permits, we're also considering doing another half-day/full day trip from Tokyo, so any suggestions would be appreciated!
We would appreciate any advice or tips you might have on our itinerary.
Day 1 – Osaka
- Landing mid-afternoon
- Unfortunately my phone can't do e-sim so I'll have to stop by at the airport or at Bic Camera Namba to purchase one. Suggestions are appreciated!
- Limited Express Rapi:t to Namba station then hotel
- Rest & walk around near the hotel in search of dinner
Day 2 – Osaka
- Going camera shopping near Umeda station as I'm looking to buy a film camera early on in the trip
- Umeda Sky Building
- Transit to Osaka Aquarium – we haven't booked a time yet as we're waiting a little bit for this day to become available to reserve on Klook
- Walk around Nipponbashi Denden Town, Kuromon Market & and Shin Sekai if time permits
Day 3 – Osaka
- Osaka Castle first thing in the morning
- Wander around the gardens
- Maybe visit Osaka Museum of History
- Shinsaibashi/Dontonbori for dinner and drinks
Day 4 – Osaka
- Katusoji Temple
- Americamura
- For the rest of the day we want to be flexible to visit/revisit anything that catches our interest
- Or maybe visit a friend if they're available
Day 5 – Osaka
- USJ! A whole day affair. We've already received decent timed entry tickets from Klook, and we're hoping to get an earlier entry to SNW by arriving early.
Day 6 – Osaka > Kyoto
- Hotel check out
- Train to Kyoto
- Nishiki Market
- Wander around Gion (where permitted of course)
- Dinner reservation for 8pm
Day 7 – Kyoto
- Nintendo Museum – entry at 10am. We're very lucky to have gotten such a good time!
- Return to hotel for rest
- Fushimi Inari in the late afternoon/evening. While we won't be there bright and early, I've seen photos in the evening and this place looks just as stunning! If anyone has been here in the later hours, I would love to hear about your experience.
Day 8 – Kyoto
- Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
- Monkey Park
- Train to Umahori Station
- Sagano Romantic Train BACK to Arashiyama. The train is booked for 12:30.
- Kinkakuji
- Ryoanji (time permitting)
Day 9 – Kyoto
- Kiyomizudera
- Genko-an
- Ryoanji (if we didn't get to see if the day before)
- Rest at the hotel
- Kyoto Gyoen National Gardens
Day 10 – Daytrip to Uji
- Train to Uji
- Visit Tsuen Main Branch
- Fukujuen Uji for a matcha making workshop. We haven't yet booked for this activity.
- Byodo-in & Phoenix Hall
Day 11 – Kyoto to Atami
- Hotel check out
- Shinkansen to Atami
- Arrival at hotel- we have booked a beautiful ryokan with a private onsen and we're planning on relaxing and enjoying the hotel's amenities before moving on to Tokyo.
Day 12 – Atami to Tokyo
- Hotel check out
- Shinkansen to Tokyo
- Arrival at hotel. We're staying in Akasaka, so if we have any free time we'll be exploring around our hotel.
- Explore Akihabara
- Mostly just arcades and shopping
Day 13 – Tokyo
- If weather permits, Kawaguchiko:
- Return and arrival via train
- Mt. Fuji Ropeway
- Bike rental. We're mostly there to enjoy and see the area by bike.
- If not – Ueno and Asakusa:
- Ueno Park
- Possibly the National Museum of Nature and Sciences
- Ameyoko Shopping Street
- Walk to Asakusa
- Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center
- Nakamise-dori
- Sensoji Temple. From Googling some images, it looks so stunning in the evening! That's why we're happy to visit later.
Day 14 – Tokyo
- If weather permits, Kawaguchiko (see plans on day 13)
- If not – Ginza and Odaiba:
- Shopping in Ginza
- Transit to Odaiba
- Possibly the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation
- Shopping in Odaiba
- Watching the Gundam Unicorn light show!
Day 15 – Tokyo
- If weather permits, Kawaguchiko (see plans on day 13)
- If not – exploring Akasaka and Roppongi (time permitting) before heading off to Shinjuku:
- Hie Shrine
- State Guest House Akasaka Palace
- Shopping in Roppongi. Any suggestions for this area are appreciated! We're open to moving Roppongi to another day as time might not allow us to do stuff in Shinjuku before they close.
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observatory
- Shinjuku Gyoen before close
- Exploring Shinjuku, includingg Golden Gai and Kabukicho
Day 16 – Tokyo
- Exploring Shibuya
- Depending on when we get the booking for, Shibuya Sky
- Meiji Jingu Shrine
- Shibuya Parco – Pokemon Centre and Nintendo Store
- Shopping in Harajuku
- Misc. shopping across Shibuya
Day 17 – Tokyo
- Potential day trip day
- If not, visiting Ikebukuro:
- Visiting Mejiro Garden
- Sunshine City
- Pokemon Centre Mega Tokyo
Day 18 – Tokyo
- Potential day trip day
- If not, souvenir shopping or revisiting anything we'd like to see again.
- Maybe an evening booking at TeamLabs Borderless?
Day 19 – Tokyo
- Our final full day, allowing for free time to visit/revisit anything we're interested in.
- Looking to reserve omakase for a nice final dinner.
Day 20 – Tokyo > Home
- Hotel check out
- Flight back home at around noon
If you have any suggestions on cool things to do during our final days in Tokyo, that would be great as well! As you can see, it's a bit sparse.
We were having some trouble deciding on when to book for TeamLabs Borderless to allow for flexibility to make our day trips from Tokyo happen, but I think an evening time would be best so we can do something during the day and then make our way back to Tokyo for the booking.
As for day trips, we're looking into places that are a max 1.5 hours out from Tokyo but we're still undecided.
Thanks for making it through this massive post! Again, any advice, tips, or experience you'd like to share would be very much appreciated.
by qwertyman211