Hi all! Super excited to be visiting Japan for my first time. I have a general plan, but perhaps a little too much wiggle room. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. I am in my late 20s, speak extremely little Japanese but will try my best to study and bring translating apps, and love stuff that is weird/dark/alt/goth/punk/etc. Lastly, perhaps most importantly, I have no idea where to stay at for most of these cities. My current plan is just check AirBnb and HostelWorld for cheap places to sleep but if there are places worth the extra expense I’d be happy to pay a little extra here and there and a lot extra maybe once a week for really nice relaxing stays like an onsen.
The current plan is the following, staying extra days where I enjoy most:
Day 1-4 (Nov. 18th) fly into Tokyo, Japan:
– Eat: Yakitori, sushi, sweet bread, Japanese pancakes, uni, shaved ive, Japanese fried chicken
– Visit Tokyo Dome city
– Visit sunshine city
– Visit todoroki keikoku (nature walk)
– Visit Namja town
– Visit team lab borderless
– See samurai musuem
– See robot restaurant
– Shop at: Alice on Wednesday shop, omote sando, ikebukuro, akihabara
– Eat/drink at: Golden gai, kichijoji area, jujo ginza, Omoide Yokocho
– Visit DisneySea
– Go to: Vampire cafe, rabbit cafe, mipig cafe, manga cafe / internet cafe
– Lots more .. Honestly, I have endless things to do in Tokyo, so no suggestions needed unless it’s uncommon or extra cool.
Day 5: Yokohama:
– Cup and noodles musuem
– Cosmo world (next to musuem and free to enter)
– Visit minato mirai mall
– Visit yokohama red brick warehouse
– Eat sushi at animoto izu
– Visit yokohama china town
– Visit Industrial factory area
Day 6: Nagoya:
– Visit uncle
– Do whatever he wants or head to osu shotengai shopping street
Day 7-10: Kyoto:
– Visit Arashiyama bamboo grove (weekday morning)
– Visit Tenryu-ji temple
– Visit kiyomizu-dera (water temple)
– Eat ramen at Sen No Kaze
– Visit Gion (entertainment district)
– Visit fushimi inari (orange gates)
– Visit Eikan-do temple
– Visit yasaka jinja (shrine)
– See suirokaku
– Walk along kamogawa river
– Visit Pontocho
Day 11-12: Osaka:
– Visit Osaka castle
– Visit Amerikamura
– Ride dox quixote ferris wheel
– Visit Shinsekai (old neon lit neighborhood)
– Maybe: Universal Studios Japan, Tempozan Ferris Wheel, Shinsaibashi
Day 13: Kobe:
– Eat at kobe beef ramen yazawa
– Take cable car up mount rokko
– Visit anima onsen
– Visit umie mall
Day 14-15:
– Visit neon underground: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/abukumado-caves/sokushinbutsu-dainichi-temple
– Visit spirited away inspired locations
– Visit cool neon caves: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ryusendo-cave
Day 16 ~ 21:
– Return Tokyo and do anything I missed out on the first time around. [Assuming I will have used up at least a few days staying extra at Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, or an onsen town.. But not sure what and for how long.]
– Fly home
Any ideas where and how to spend the extra days?
4 comments
This isn’t a recommendation per se, but teamlab borderless is closed for relocation. Teamlab planets, however, is still open if you’re interested.
Once you add in cleaning fees and taxes, Air BnB may not be the best option for a single traveler. They are often located further from the train station which is inconvenient after a long day exploring when you’ve got a long walk to your lodging. I’d suggest looking into business hotels as they can be quite inexpensive and have coin laundries.
We really liked the Daiwa Roynet and Mitsui Garden hotel chains but there are others that are a bit cheaper. Business hotels all have coin laundry facilities and are found throughout Japan. Here’s some articles with info on other major business hotel chains in Japan.
– [JapanGuide: Business Hotels](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2025_business_hotels.html)
– [Japan’s Business Hotels for Frugal Travelers](https://blog.gaijinpot.com/japanese-business-hotels-the-frugal-alternative-used-by-locals/)
– [A Cheapo’s Guide to Business Hotels](https://japancheapo.com/travel/guide-booking-business-hotel-in-japan/)
– [6 Best Cheap Hotel Chains in Japan](https://livejapan.com/en/article-a0001458/)
Definitely look into what events are happening in Tokyo or Osaka while you will be there. You might enjoy some of the art/music events or any festivals that may be happening. These sites keep pretty good up to date calendars of stuff happening.
– [Time Out Tokyo](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo)
– [Tokyo Weekender](https://www.tokyoweekender.com/)
– [Savvy Tokyo](http://savvytokyo.com/tokyo-art-scene-looking-in-looking-out/)
– [Japan Cheapo](https://japancheapo.com/)
– [Visit Kyoto: Posts Listing of local events on website.](https://kyoto.travel/en/news/index.html)
If you want to add an onsen town, two of my faves are Kusatsu Onsen (accessible from Tokyo) or Kinosaki Onsen (accessible from Osaka or Kyoto)
– [Trip Report: Kansai Side Trip Himeiji Castle and Kinosaki Onsen](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/sna5au/kansai_side_trip_tattoo_friendly_kinosaki_onsen/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
– [Trip Report: Tokyo Side Trip to Kusatsu Onsen](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/meafbh/trip_report_kusatsu_onsen_in_gunma/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Happy Planning!
For where you should stay, check [this FAQ section](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/lodging#wiki_where_should_i_stay_in_tokyo.3F) to narrow it down.
Kobe has a highly regarded Chinatown that you may want to consider.
In Kyoto, you might want to try staying in a traditional machi-ya while the prices are still relatively low.
For your extra days, perhaps look at Kinosaki Onsen for a night, or a day trip to Hiroshima?
Day 13 looks a little rushed. You might want to have one day for Arima Onsen and another for the rest of Kobe. The rest mostly looks fine to me.
The Robot Restaurant has closed down. You can find shaved ice year round, but it’s more difficult to find outside of summer.