I’m going to Japan in May (11-16) for 15 days but all I have currently is just a Tokyo rough itinerary draft prepared, and hoping to be critiqued in regards to efficiency, is the place worth it? I am traveling with 8 friends, we live in Australia and our flight arrival time aligns with all of our normal wake-up times, so very low chance we will have jet lag. We also don’t get tired (I frequently travel with this group, an anecdote of our energy is we did an early morning hike, then amusement parks in Australia in 35-degree weather followed by heavy drinking, back to back for 2 days and no one complained.) I say this as I have gotten itinerary critiques “this is too much, you’ll get tired”, I understand if it’s too much in regards to too many places and not a lot of time to fully enjoy it.
Our interests are drip, nightlife, anime, bars, street food, any food experience (like omakase), parks (walks). We are not interested in stuff like arcades, the Godzilla statue, art museums unless it’s like teamlab planets.
TLDR: budget isn’t an issue, tiredness isn’t an issue, jet lag isn’t an issue,
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**DAY 1: THURS**
\- Arrive at NARITA airport at 8am
\- Get SUICA card / can also put it on phone
\- Get SIM card, or pocket wifi (what’s more worth)
\- Exchange Yen currency about 13000 yen
\- Catch a train to Shinjuku Station, drop off luggage at the AirBNB at 11am
\- EXPLORING STARTS at 1130AM
\- Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (how long will this take?) and (is it even worth spending time here?)
\-Meiji Jingu (also how long will this take?
\-Yoyogi Park
\- ONE-PIECE GYM (opens in march I believe, Shibuya)
\-STARBUCKS RESERVE ROASTERY
**NIGHT TIME**
\- Which tower/high point view should we go to?
\- New York Bar (Shinjuku probs need a reservation) (IM TRAVELLING with 2 19-year-olds, can they enter and not drink?)
\- or any other nighttime bars rooftop, recs please
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\*\*DAY 2\*\* FRI
\- Akihabra (anything specific we can do here)
\- eat at ICHI NISAN (gyukatsu restaurant, meat katsu) (might possibly take too long, put it on another day?)
\- Namakise St
\- Sensoji
\- Sumida park
\- Asahi Beer tower (worth it?)
\- Golden Gai (bar hopping)
note: Is it better to go akihabra or sensoji area first, if so what time is optimal? is this day too packed to fully enjoy Akihabara and asakusa?
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**\*\*DAY 3\*\* SAT**
\- Toyosu Fish Markets (maybe)
\- Team Lab Planets
\- Uniqlo in ginza, KAGARI GINZA (ramen)
\- Odaiba (any recs to eat/do here?)
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**\*\*DAY 4\*\* SUN**
\- SHIBUYA DAY (open to any recs on what to do in shibuya and it’s surrounding area)
\- Harajuku
\- What other things/activites can we do?
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**\*\*DAY 5\*\* MON**
\- Disney SEA (this is a Monday, so less crowded?)
\- Night Dinner (any food/ restaurant suggestions?)
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**\*\*DAY 6\*\* TUES**
\- IKEBUKURO shopping (idk, I just threw it in)
\- what else can we do?
\- Catch the JR to Kyoto
note: we’re spending another 1-2 days in Tokyo at the end of the trip
THANKS, OPEN TO ANY CRITIQUE AND RECOMMENDATION
2 comments
Day 1 sounds very rich of spots which are hard to do in one day. Leave Meiji Shrine for Shibuya day, because it’s near Harajuku. Same with Yoyogi park, although I don’t think it’s worth visiting at all.
Shinjuku Gyoen needs 2-3 hours at least. By the time you leave and get to Harajuku, Meiji Shrine will be most likely closed. Meiji Jingu requires about two hours too.
Perhaps take Golden Gai for this day, since it’s in Shinjuku, completely not in Asakusa area and it’s meant for evening.
Speaking of a high point, Roppongi Mori Tower is a good one, although a tiny bit expensive. Also, Yokohama landmark tower views are good, but it’s in Yokohama. Why don’t you visit it there too other day?
Akihabara is never packed, but might be a little bit crowded on a weekend. Asakusa is always packed, but weekdays are always better.
Ikebukuro shopping is a weird one. Ikebukuro isn’t famous for shopping, Ginza and Omotesando, perhaps Shinjuku and Shibuya are. Ikebukuro isn’t.
Speaking of Ginza, perhaps spend some time to explore its backstreets. It’s a high street fashion area, so Uniqlo sounds a bit weird there, since you can get it anywhere.
>Exchange Yen currency about 13000 yen
You might want more than $140.