April 2023 Travel Tokyo to Kyoto 9-day Itinerary

22 comments

1. Thats quite a lot to do 😂 Not my type of vacation but i hope that everything works just perfect for you and your friends!

2. Hello fellow Canadian!

   I don’t have much to comment on your itinerary, but I do have a few tips on logistics.

   Don’t get your money from the airport ATM. They will be the worst exchange rates possible. Google some exchange rates in Toronto, and get money from there. When you get to Japan, use the ATMs at 7-11 or Lawson’s. Make sure you have a bank card that works overseas (call your bank)

   Have you considered a sim card instead of portable wifi? It’s much more convenient. You don’t have to carry another device around and it doesn’t need to be charged. There are kiosks at the airport, as well as companies that will send it to you. You can even walk into those big electronics stores like yodobashi camera and they will help you set it up. I don’t know why but the portable wifi advice seems to be outdated.

   Good luck with your planning!

3. teamlab borderless is closing August 2022. I believe they are planning on a new installation somewhere in the city in 2023, though.

4. As a note – the TeamLab Borderless Digital Art Museum actually closes on August 31, 2022 with plans to move to a different location and reopen in 2023, but no more info is known so you may not be able to go in April 2023. I believe their Planets location also closes in 2022, but they may have different offerings in 2023!

5. Just a couple suggestions
   1) Get your money before you go. ATM at the airports have terrible rates. You have a bit watch the exchange rates and buy when good.
   2) Hotel in Shinjuku is going to be one of the more expensive areas. We usually stay in Ikebukuro at the Prince Sunshine City it is less expensive. As long as your somewhere on the Yamanote Line it’s easy to get around Tokyo.
   3) JR pass versus Suica Card, you would have to figure out the totals but one Shinkensen ride to Kyoto may not make the JR pass worthwhile, usually if your going to multiple cities it is better priced. You might be better with a Suica Card but again price it out.

6. Sega GiGO in Ikebukuro is closing next month (September 2021), and it sounds unclear what will be put in there in place of it.

   https://soranews24.com/2021/08/03/sega-closing-iconic-tokyo-arcade-thats-been-in-business-for-almost-30-years/

7. Very *natsukashii* travel! And quite busy, indeed. I would not pack Kyoto and Nara in one day, though. Maybe you’re walking fast but I’ve been to those place couple of times and Nara always take almost a full day.

8. Very different from our interests in Japan, so take everything with a grain of salt: Spending more time in Kyoto (unless you’ve been before) seems worth considering. If you aren’t into “old Japan” kind of stuff enough to jettison some of your Tokyo time, I’d cut out Nara and spend that extra time in Kyoto.

   With the current itinerary, you should consider forwarding your bags from Tokyo to your hotel in Osaka (or even KIX directly). Pack a 1-2 day bag for the Kyoto stop and travel lightly. You can specify delivery dates, and I would give the receiving hotel a heads-up to expect your bags.

9. Just a note if your day two is the day you arrive – looking at flights from Toronto, they all arrive in Tokyo after 4pm, so you might need to rethink that day if that is what you mean.

10. This is very similar to my trip pre-COVID, including the flight, but we stayed in Higashi-Ikebukuro, minutes from Ikebukuro Station and Sunshine City. I loved Ikebukuro so much, it’ll definitely be my home base on future trips to Tokyo – and I am aching to return. I realize it is nice to be able to say that you stayed in as iconic a neighborhood as Shinjuku, but honestly, you can stay for cheaper elsewhere in still very nice accommodations, and the Tokyo rail system is so efficient that you don’t have to worry about getting from Point A to Point B – especially for me as I was staying so close to Ikebukuro station, but this would be true for any hotel along the Yamanote line! As for arriving at HND from YYZ, flights land around 4 PM, depending on how you get to your hotel (and Airport Limousine was very efficient for us), you probably won’t get to your hotel before six or seven, and you seem to have a lot planned for your arrival day… But the first thing we did upon arrival was to get Suica cards and loaded 10000 yen on each – it’s not just for public transit, between travel and conbini and vending machines, it was not difficult to use up the balance by the end of the trip – however, we only stayed in Tokyo, for eight days. The second thing was to pick up pocket wifi at the airport. As for money, we ordered cash at RBC before departing. As we were only staying in Tokyo, we found that there were no issues at all with using credit cards in most places, and we reserved a chunk of our cash for emergencies. The next time I go, I’ll probably not bring as much cash, and rely more on 7-Bank ATMs in emergencies, I think.

    Ikebukuro is one of my happy places. I can’t wait to return. I’m informally hoping for Winter Break 2022…

11. I can’t remember the name of the company it was booked through, but my ONE most favourite thing I did when I was in Japan (much shorter stay, and much less structured!) – it was a bike tour (push bike) – took a train from Shinjuku to some town about an hour south of Tokyo where a guy picked us up in a car and took us to some hill (if we’d had time we would have views of Fuji-San from the top of that hill) and we biked down, through rice fields and towns and stuff. My favourite part was stopping at a shrine in the middle of nowhere, there was absolutely NO ONE ELSE there. It was amazing. I’m in the middle of a forest crying, just felt soooo amazing. The best thing I’ve experienced as a tourist.

    TLDR: I’d recommend finding an off-the-tourist-track shrine.

12. The fact you mention covid permitting for a trip in 2023 makes me so sad. I thought I was playing it safe with fall of 2022.

13. I ***STRONGLY*** recommend picking either Kanto or Kansai, not both. For a trip that is only really 6 days, there is absolutely no way you won’t just be constantly rushing and skipping massive things if you cram in both. Typically I would recommend roughly 6 full days just for the highlights of one of them. Between the two, Kansai would be my preference, but no matter which way you go I think you’ll get more out of your trip if you stick to one of them then than try to rush through both.

    You could easily, easily spend 3 full days in Kyoto alone just for the highlights of the main urban sightseeing areas–you’re giving it basically 2 half days. Planning a first trip to Nara (or Kansai in general) without a visit Todai-ji should be a jailable offense. I also wouldn’t go to Osaka without going to Shinsekai. Amerikamura, on the other hand, is relatively skippable.

14. I’d very strongly consider skipping Nara and sticking to Kyoto! There’s just so much to see in Kyoto, and while Nara is nice, even local Japanese would admit that for a first trip to Japan, Kyoto would be better. If it’s wisteria you want to see Byodo-in is a temple in Kyoto known for beautiful wisteria in April/may. I also personally recommend Shimogamo shrine as it’s one of the oldest shrines in japan and is a lot more calming and relaxed compared to the other temples on your list, but for some reason (or at least when I busted) I barely saw any foreign tourists there.

15. >Day2 Haneda Airport/Tokyo:
    At Airport

    >Get cash at ATM withdrawal machine in Airport

    >Send luggage to Hotel with forwarding service (Look for black cat/Yamato Transport)

    >Get mobile Hotspot/Wifi (If in Business Hours)

    >Get to Shinjuku

    >Get to hotel in Shinjuku

    No reason to forward your luggage here. As far as the plan here to me looks like you’re just going to Shinjuku then straight to hotel. Take a limousine bus which the workers put your luggage underneath for you and hand it right to you at your stop. imo much more cheaper like $10 per person and depending on the hotel/area in Shinjuku some stops are right at the bigger nicer hotels, if not check the list where they stop and I am sure there is a route/stop near where you’ll be staying

16. “Convenience store breakfast” -my son and I stopped at convenience stores and stocked up our hotel mini fridge so that we had snacks available at night after a long day and so we had breakfast ready to eat before heading out.
    Saved time. Highly recommend.

17. I wonder sometimes if I just had a blah time in Osaka I feel like I’m the only one that was like eh.. I found myself just being like.. I want to be back in Kyoto haha

    The osaka aquarium was pretty cool though

18. I hope you have a good trip. I think you are being realistic about 2023 given how slowly things are moving.

    Just a minor point about the Toronto airport, there is a TTC bus called the 900 Express that leaves from Kipling Station and takes about 45 minutes to get to the airport. It is a bit of free-for-all getting on and off what with all the luggage and people blocking the aisle. The bus visits each of the airport terminals and the fare is the regular TTC fare. There is also the Union Pearson express (from Union station and various stops along the way).

    As to picking up the WiFi appliance at Haneda, if you have arranged for one ahead of time, you can pick it up at a designated pick up spot outside of business hours. The vendor will tell you where it is. I did this the last time I was at Haneda.

    Picking up a Suica or Pasmo card is a good idea. I got a Pasmo card from a service desk at Haneda and I found it very useful for travel and buying small items at convenience stores. I believe there are also mobile apps that serve the same purpose but I have not used them. Both cards work in other cities; I used them in Kyoto and Osaka.

    Last, my bank advised me that a four-digit PIN is required for my bank card to use at Japanese banking terminals. I was able to get cash from the 7-11 cash terminals and I have been told that the Japanese post office also works without incident. The 7-11 store are everywhere so getting cash is not a problem.

19. Day 2, as you will likely get there in afternoon, just focus on visiting something in the area of your hotel. You likely will not have that much time and maybe not that much energy to do a lot. And if you go check in at hotel first, you might as well bring your luggage yourself, it make more sense to send it to Kyoto.

    Day 4, you listed Hanazono jinja after dinner, but you should check when they are open, it will likely close at 5pm. This will also be true for Yasaka Shrine.

    Day 5, you might be mixing Shibuya Sky and Tokyo Sky Tree.

    Day 6, if anything I would try to do Fushimi Inari later in the day to avoid the crowd (likely at the cost of no gishuin if you get there late).

    Day 7, choose Kyoto or Nara. doing both is not that realistic. Also do not miss Todai-ji in Nara.

    Day 9, Just for one day spent in Osaka, you could actually stay at the hotel in Kyoto for the whole time, but yes changing can can give you the experience of both cities. First, change the order of things, Dotonbori should be done last as it will open later and is better experience at night.

    Also, you should consider the time when things are open. For example, it is useless to plan to go to places dedicated to shopping like Akihabara or Ibkebukuro *edit : in the morning* as shops usually open around 10 to 11 am. So instead of of those morning you can check to go to Hanazono jinja for your goshuin (as it likely open at 9am) then you will have about an hours before the store start to open.

    ​

    I would also agree that 7 days is not that much to cover both Tokyo and Kansai. Ideally, I would do both if you have 2 weeks, or just do 1 of the region if you cannot go longer. I would only do both in 7 days if you are sure that you are not going back to Japan.

20. Nice Itinerary. I just wonder if there’s any olympic-related stuff to see?

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22. looks better than I did than when I got stabbed in Japan 😂 two hours just walking around holding a bleeding arm because I didn’t know how bat the injury was 😂