My sister [22F] and I [30F] are traveling for the first time in mid-November! I'm very nervous and excited and have put a lot of thought into this itinerary. Please let me know if you have any thoughts! I know some people are going to think that I've over-planned, but I think this is the appropriate amount of planning for us. If we get overwhelmed and have to drop things when we're there that will be no big deal; it would be a lot more stressful for us to scramble to find things to do if we under-planned.
Where are we staying?
Days 1-6: Kichijōji
Days 6-8: Hakone-Yumoto
Days 8-10: Kyoto
Days 10-11: Nara
Days 11-12: Itami
Meals
I've included breakfast in the hotel stay for every hotel except Kichijōji. Since that stay is longer, I thought we'd want to have the chance to try out different breakfast options instead of eating at the hotel every day. I've made note in a few places where we have reservations or I want to be sure to eat at a certain time/location, but otherwise just assume that we are finding meals wherever is convenient/nearby when we are hungry.
Transportation
I've made notes of where we'll be taking public transportation. Otherwise assume we are walking!
Itinerary
Day 1: Landing
- [~3:30pm] Land in Narita
- [120 min] Bus + Train to Kichijōji
- Check in to hotel
- Go shopping for toiletries/immediate needs. Other shopping/exploration around Kichijōji
- Dinner in Harmonica Alley
- Drinks at Sometime (maybe? I think it would be cool to see a performance here but I'm not able to access their website to see if they have a schedule. We can scope it out when we get there and move this to a different evening if it would work better.)
Note: I won't be able to reserve Ghibli Museum tickets for November until 10/09, so Days 2-6 are based on the very optimistic idea that I'm able to get tickets for the first timeslot in the morning of Day 6, the day that we leave for Hakone. It would also fit well on the morning of Day 2, switching places with Inokashira Park Zoo. If I can't get one of those two time slots, I'll have to move things around in Days 2-6 more substantially. I've avoided making any reservations or commitments in Tokyo so far to account for this.
Day 2: Shibuya
- Inokashira Park Zoo
- [30 min] Train to Shibuya
- Shibuya
- Hachiko
- PARCO (esp. 6th floor: Nintendo, Pokemon, JUMP, CAPCOM, Touken Ranbu)
- Tower Records
- Cat St
- Meiji Jingu [Meiji Jingu can easily be dropped – it's included as an 'if it's convenient' destination]
- Shibuya109 [this will be an 'if we have time'. It's a big landmark for us, but I'm not sure if shopping here will actually be very fun for us, since it's all fashion and I'm not sure there will be anything in our sizes.]
- Drinks at MAG8 (rooftop lounge in MAGNET by Shibuya109)
- [30 min] Train back to Kichijōji
Day 3: Ginza / Disney Sea [if Tokyo days do get switched around, this day has to happen on Day 2 or Day 3 for the Kabukiza schedule]
- [50 min] Train to Ginza
- Explore/shop until 11:00am
- [11:00am] Kabuki Theater (their November scheduling is supposed to be beginner/foreigner friendly!)
- Hit Uniqlo, wander/shop until 4:00pm
- [50 min] Train to DisneySea
- [5:00pm] DisneySea Twilight Passes
- [90 min] Train back to Kichijōji
My sister really doesn't like roller coasters or a lot of theme park rides, so we'll be going to DisneySea mostly to see the parade and any other shows/entertainment they have (which is why we're only doing the Twilight passes). We'll be going right before their Christmas programming starts, which is unfortunate insofar as having options to see, but hopefully will mean there are less crowds.
Day 4: Hino
- Pick up lunch items at the convenience store to eat at the zoo
- [60 min] Train + Monorail to Tama Zoological Park
- Tama Zoological Park
- [40 min] Monorail back to Hino
- Hinojuku Honjin
- Shinsengumi Hometown History Museum
- [45 min] Train back to Kichijōji
- This would be another convenient time to do drinks at Sometime, if the first night didn't work out. There's also a nearby rescue cat cafe, Cat Cafe Calico Musashino, which we would enjoy visiting.
Day 5: Akihabara/Asakusa/Ueno/Ikebukuro
- [40 min] Train to Akihabara
- Akihabara
- Gashapon Bandai (open for an hour before the other destinations we want to see in Akihabara open at 11)
- Ensemble Stars Shop
- Kotobukiya (Official Tales of Shop, + Atlus, Square Enix, Nintendo)
- kakimori (my sister is into journaling, so I think she'll enjoy this)
- Asakusa
- Kappabashi
- Sensō-ji [maybe? This is another 'if it's convenient' destination. If it's overrun we probably won't do it]
- Ueno (as of yet we don't have any destinations we want to see in Ueno; we're mainly walking here to catch the train. Let me know if there's something we should be sure to visit here. Based on what I've heard, I don't think we'd like the Ueno zoo.)
- [30 min] Train to Ikebukuro
- Ikebukuro
- Pokemon Center
- animate
- BOOK-OFF
- Cafe Cinnamon (Ensemble Stars theme cafe) [only if I can get a reservation, which I likely won't]
- [40 min] Train back to Kichijōji
Day 6:
- Check out of Kichijōji hotel
- Ghibli Museum
- [160 min] Train to Hakone-Yumoto
- Check into Hakone-Yumoto hotel
- Wander/shop in Hakone-Yumoto
At the hotel, I want to charter a private onsen for an hour, but I'm not sure what time I'll be able to get. Will adjust plans accordingly.
Day 7:
- [30 min] Bus to Mt Kintoki trailhead
- Hike Mt Kintoki. Lunch at teahouses on summit
- Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands
- Ropeway to Owakudani then the Togendai Station
- Pirate Ship Sightseeing Cruise
- Onshi-Hakone Park [depending on time, can drop if it's close to closing]
- Walk the Tokaido Road
- Amazake-chaya Tea House
- [30 min] Bus back to Hakone-Yumoto
Day 8:
- [150 min] Train + Shinkansen to Kyoto
- Kōen-ji Temple
- Mibudera Temple (these temples are both burial sites for the Shinsengumi)
- Yagi Residence (first garrison of the Shinsengumi)
- Check In At Kyoto Hotel
- [6:00-8:00pm] Dinner Reservation in Pontocho
- Illumination at Nijō castle
Day 9:
- Kyoto Imperial Palace
- [3:00-4:15pm] Wagashi class in Higashiyama
- [6:30-8:30pm] GEAR Non-Verbal Theatre
Day 10:
- Check out of Kyoto hotel
- [30 min] Subway+Train to Fushimi Inari Taisha
- Fushimi Inari Taisha
- [45 min] Train to Nintendo Museum
- [11:30am] Nintendo Museum
- [60 min] Train to Nara
- Check in at Nara Hotel
- Visit Nara Park, general exploring
Day 11:
- Hike Mount Wakakusa
- Check out of Nara Hotel
- [60 min] Train to Osaka Station
- Osaka Castle Gozabune
Not sure yet what else we want to do in Osaka. I don't think we want to go to Dotonbori – it sounds like it would be pretty overwhelming for us. Let me know if there's anything we should be sure to see.
I really wanted to go to the Takarazuka Revue, since our hotel is nearby. But the only show on this day is at 1:00pm, and that means the closeness to the hotel is pretty meaningless, since we'd have to take the train back to Osaka to do any more exploring anyway, and we'd have to leave Nara first thing in the morning… anyway, I've come to terms that Takarazuka is not really going to work.
Day 12:
- Fly out first thing in the morning
by Responsible_Bid_585