Haven’t decided the exact dates I’ll go to Japan. I’m going in summer as I’m still in college and don’t want to miss a chunk of classes and I also don’t wanna go during the winter in the holiday season.
Day 1-3: Akihabara
Anime and gaming stores, animate Akihabara, Akihabara Gamers, Maiddreamin cafe, Mandarake store, Shrine, animal cafe, pandemonium
Day 4: Asakusa
Sensoji Temple, Nakamise street, underground shopping street
Day 5: Harajuku
Takeshita Street, Daiso, Tokyo Plaza
Day 6: Edogawa
Aquarium, kasai rinkai park, bonsai museum, ichinoe sakaigawa shinsui park
Day 7: Saitama
Musashi Ichinomiya Hikawa Shrine, omiya park zoo, Osaki park, Tsuki Shrine
Day 8-9: Ikebukuro
Animate Ikebukuro, sunshine city, Otome road, butler cafe, cat cafe, kamikawaguchiya, Seibu
Day 10: Ichikawa
Shapo, botanical gardens, Nikke Coltonplaza
Day 11: Shinjuku
omoide yokocho, kabukicho, Shin okubo, shopping
Day 12: Roppongi
Roppongi hills, tv asahi
Day 13: Shibuya
Diesel Art Gallery, malls, Niku Yokocho, Yoyogi park, Meiji Shrine
Day 14: Go home
Day of departure, may just wind up staying in the airport until flight is ready to leave
The reason I’m staying some extra time in Akihabara and Ikebukuro is because I’m a huge nerd. There’s so much I want to see and do in those places I didn’t even list and I don’t like the idea of rushing around the whole place trying to do everything before the day is over.
I’d really appreciate any suggestions for things in these areas that I should visit, places to avoid, and restaurant/food place suggestions. And let me know if any of the stuff listed here has been closed because sometimes the stuff I find online is outdated and I don’t know until someone tells me.
6 comments
This is totally doable. Methinks it is a bit too slow paced. For example, I don’t think you need 3 days for Akihabara, even if, you are really into Anime/Manga things. And, it’s very intersting you chose Ichikawa as your destination becuase the place is not the typecal destination for a tourist.
Is there any reason you do not plan to travel other part of Japan(or at least, day-trip for places like Kamakura etc.?
I think you’re planning on spending too much time in Akihabara. It’s not a very large area, and there’s no need to go to every single store. It would also make more sense to separate Shinjuku over several days and evenings. Most places in Kabukicho don’t open until the evening, and Omoide Yokocho and Shin-Okubo are better at night. Akihabara doesn’t really have much to offer at night other than the few otaku-themed bars, which generally aren’t very accessible if you don’t speak Japanese. If you still want to spend all 3 days there, I would suggest that you at least spend the evenings elsewhere. Transportation in Tokyo is excellent, so don’t be afraid of spending days in multiple districts or being more spontaneous. It’s definitely good to be flexible with your plans, especially since you’re likely to be there at the start of the rainy season.
You could see do everything In akihabara In half day. It’s very small
Asakusa is very small as well. My recommendation is you See Asakusa and Ueno in same day.
Harajuko and Shibuya in the same day as Harajuko is not that big
If you’re into anime and/or retro games.
* Add Nakano Broadway that is a shopping mail with anime and retro games shops.
* In Ikebukuro area look for Super Potato’s second location and Mikado Arcade has purely retro arcade machines.
* The Surugaya in Shinjuku has a bigger selections of items than the ones in Akihabara.