This will be our first time in Japan! We’re landing in Osaka on April 4th, spending time in Kyoto & Osaka until April 10th. We’re spending April 10th through 15th in Tokyo, after which we’ll take the bullet train back to Kyoto & fly home from Osaka. Our guides have helped us plan a little, but I wanted to see if you all had any hidden gems or hole-in-the-wall restaurants we should check out!
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**April 4th – Day 1**
We’re scheduled to land around noon, so we scheduled an easy day to get used to the extreme time difference. Our AirBnB is in Joyo.
\- Nara Park
\- Great Buddha
\- Horyuji Temple
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**April 5th – Day 2**
\- Full day spent at USJ
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**April 6th – Day 3**
Our hotel is in Kyoto.
\- Kinkakuji
\- Myosinji Temple
\- Toei Studio Park
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**April 7th – Day 4**
\- Fushimi Inari Shrine
\- International Manga Museum
\- Ningbo Castle
\- Imperial Palace
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**April 8th – Day 5**
\- Kiyomizudera and yasaka shrine
\- 33 gendo temple jishu shrine
\- Ginnkakuji temple
\- Kiyomizedera with Sannen Zaka and Yasaka shrine
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**April 9th – Day 6**
\- Arashiyama with bamboo forest
\- Okochisanso
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I’d really like to include a day trip to the Kurama Onsen, but I’m not sure which things I want to take out to accommodate that.
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**April 10th – Day 7**
Our AirBnB is in Shinjuku.
\- Bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo in the morning
\- Tokyo Station
\- Akihabara
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**April 11th – Day 8**
\- Harajuku shopping spree for the husband (Takeshitadori Street, Brahms’ Alley, Mozart Street, Ura-harajuku, Raforet Harajuku)
\- MAISON ABLE Cafe Ron Ron
\- Inokashira Park
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**April 12th – Day 9**
\- Ghibli Museum
\- Lunch at Straw Hat Cafe
\- Kichijoji
\- Shiro-Hige Cream Puff Factory
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**April 13th – Day 10**
\- teamLab Planets
\- lunch in Toyosu Fish Market
\- Pokémon Center in Nihonbashi area
\- Ginza (Dinner at the Japanese restaurant in Ginza, as per our guide’s recommendation)
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**April 14th – Day 11**
\- Shinjuku Gyoen Park
\- Apartment TOKIWA in Ikebukuro area
\- Mandarake Shibuya
\- Sen-to Kosugi-yu
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**April 15th – Day 12**
We have a little bit of time in the morning / early afternoon before our flight to see some things or relax at the Kyoto station foot baths.
\- bullet train back to Kyoto
\- flight home from Osaka
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Any tips or recommendations are appreciated!
1 comment
If you’re traveling from more than 6 time zones away, your first day really shouldn’t have any planned activities, as jet lag is a monster.