Hi everyone! As the title suggests, I am traveling solo for about two weeks in Japan in March. This is my first time visiting Japan and I would love some feedback and/or recommendations for my itinerary. For context, my interests include but are not limited to food, nature, cultural sites, anime, and maybe night life. I have not booked anything yet such as flight tickets, accommodations, or transportation passes so the order of some of these days are interchangeable. Forgive me if I make any mistakes in my itinerary.
Day 1:
* depart from the US and arrive in Tokyo in afternoon of Day 2
Day 2 (Tokyo):
* collect pocket WiFi, SUICA card, and JR Pass
* dinner and light exploring of area near hotel
Day 3 (Tokyo):
* Akihabara – shopping, arcades, theme cafes (maid, animals, etc)
* Koshikawa Korakuen
Day 4 (Tokyo):
* Shibuya – Yoyogi Park, crossing, Hachiko, Shibuya Sky, night life
* Harajuku – Tokyu Plaza Omotesando, night life
Day 5 (Tokyo):
* Ikebukuro – Sunshine City, Otome Road
* Nakano Broadway
* Shinjuku – Shinjuku Gyoen, Godzilla, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Omoide Yokocho
Day 6 (Tokyo):
* Skytree
* Asakusa – Sensoji Temple, Kaminarimon
* Ueno – Ueno Park, Ameya Yokocho
Day 7 (Tokyo):
* Nihonbashi – Pokemon Center, Dawn Avatar Robot Cafe
* Tokyo Tower
* Hie Shrine
* Imperial Palace
Day 8 (Tokyo):
* Tsukiji/Toyosu Markets
* Ginza
* teamLab Planets
* Odaiba
Day 9 (Tokyo):
* Chiba
* collect Hakone Free Pass and arrive in Hakone in the evening
Day 10 (Hakone):
* Hakone – ryokan, onsen
* return to Tokyo and board overnight train to Kansai region
Day 11 (Kyoto):
* Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
* Fushimi Inari Shrine
* Philosopher’s Path and Ginkaku-ji
Day 12 (Kyoto):
* Nishiki Market
* tea ceremony
* Gion district
Day 13 (Osaka):
* Dotonbori
* Osaka Castle
Day 14 (Osaka):
* explore Osaka
* flight to the US
Questions:
1. Would a JR Pass be applicable in my case?
2. Are there any activities I should add, remove, or group differently? (I tried to arrange each day’s activities based on locations to minimize travel time)
3. Am I spending too much time in Tokyo area and not enough in Kyoto and Osaka?
4. How far in advance should I book for accommodations and transport (overnight train)?
5. Are there any other activities that will need to have reservations or tickets in advance?
6. Since I am traveling alone, would I be bothering people if I brought a tripod to take pictures or should I ask strangers to help?
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Thank you in advance for any feedback!
2 comments
Def gonna follow this post since I’m planning on going roughly in the August timeframe
If you get a JR Pass and do not start using it on day 1, only exchange it at the airport if there is no line, otherwise, change it in Tokyo on a different day.
Day 3 : Koishikawa korakuen open from 9am to 5pm. Most stores in Akihabara would open around 10-11 am (some even at 12) and close around 8pm…. now, tell me what make the most sense to do first.
Day 4 : Yoyogi park (and Meiji Jingu) are right next to Harajuku… and while yes they are in Shibuya ward, so is Harajuku. Shibuya usually refer to the area around Shibuya station. Again, what order do you plan ? Shops open around 10-11am, while Yoyogi park and Meiji-jingu open much earlier. I would all the thing in Harajuku then finish the day in Shibuya that should have a more interesting nightlife.
Day 5 : Do you want me to repeat when store open ? The kind of obvious start poing it Shinjuku Gyoen as it open 9am to 4pm, but the obvious end point is also Shinjuku as many places in Omoide Yokocho only open if the afternoon, even after 5pm and the area around Godzilla, Kabukicho, is much more a nightlife area. So yes it might not be the most efficient, but I would do Shinjuku Gyoen first, Ikebukuro/Nakano, the order does not matter (if you exit Shinjuky gyoen by the north, taking Fukutoshin line at Shinjuku-sanchome station to Ikebukuro make more sense and exiting south, taking Chuo line at Sendagaya to Nakano make more sense) and finally return to Shinjuku…. and I would consider just not doing the Gov. Building, because Shibuya Sky on the previous day is just better (if you have time and it’s open, fine, but I would be ready to drop it)
Day 7 : Unless there is an event at Tokyo Tower or that you want to go to Red Tokyo Tower, I think that Roppongi Hills Mori Tower have a better observation deck.
Day 9 :…. Chiba?…. what… you want to do a trip to Chiba on the day you take the train to Hakone… ? Sorry… I don’t really understand that.
Day 10 : you should just leave Hakone at the end of the day (most attractions close at 5pm anyway) and take the shinkansen to Kyoto.
Day 11… maybe no… . The 3 things you named are on quite different area of Kyoto. The worst is Arashiyama as it’s about 1h away from the two other. Honestly, you might have to change your itinerary a bit during the day.
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1. It barely make sense to get the 7 days pass if you are to take the shinkansen round trip… You are not clear on if you are flying out of Osaka. If you do, the pass is a total waste of money.
2. I already noted the one I am thinking of.
3. … That is really subjective…. you could spend two whole weeks in Tokyo and it would not be too much, but same can be said about Kansai region.
4. Book when you have your plane ticket purchased ? Hakone if you do a ryokan, they might only open booking 3 months in advance. As for the train ticket… Did you realize that the overnight train does not stop in Kyoto or Osaka ? Again, shinkansen to Kyoto at the end of the day make more sense.
5. I would try to book Teamlab in advance. You might be able to buy tickets online for the observation deck, but most of what you listed is fine just showing up and pay when you get there, several of them are also free, or just general shopping area anyway.
6. Tripod… depend where, if you see a sign that say no tripod or if there is a lot of people… nah. also, how bif of a tripod would it be, it can be a pain to carry a bulky item like that. Yeah, you can ask people to take picture. I personally reached the next level, I ask people if they want me to take their picture, so hey, if you ask people who seem to be tourist, ask them if they want you to take their picture too.