Hi everyone, we (24 M, F) are planning our first trip to Japan in early September 2023. Only thing booked at the moment are plane tickets. It is my first time in Japan and her second time. We’re hoping to get our preliminary itinerary looked over, as well as some questions we have.
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Day 1: Arrive at NRT at 3PM, customs, pick up JR Pass, portable wifi, then take Shinkansen to Osaka. Check in to Osaka hotel (thinking of booking Best Western Hotel Fino Osaka Shinsaibashi, it is very cheap and close to train station). Explore around if we have energy and rest.
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Day 2: Kyoto, but nothing planned, she has a friend in Kyoto who offered to show us around the city. We are not really into shrines and temples, so there aren’t specific places we need to go this day. Maybe explore Osaka in the evening.
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Day 3: Nara Park, chill with deer, Todai Ji in the morning/lunch, then head back to Osaka to check out Osaka Castle and Dotonbori
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Day 4: Check out of Osaka hotel, train to Tokyo in the morning. If it’s too early to check in to our hotel (planning to book Hotel Sunroute Asakusa), then store our luggage in a train locker (are those safe?) and explore things nearby like Senso-ji and Ueno Zoo and Park.
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Day 5: Full day in Shibuya. Check out Shibuya Crossing, Shibuya Sky Scramble, Nintendo store, Tokyo tower (not sure if it’s a bit redundant to do both scramble and tower same day?)
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Day 6: We’re both into Japanese games, anime, manga, etc. so dedicating a full day to Akiba. Go to various stores, maid cafe, Radio Kaikan, arcades, etc.
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Day 7: DisneySea, not sure if this will take a full day, we’ve been to Disneyland California in the past few years?
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Day 8: Look at cute stuff in Harajuku and animal cafes in the AM, then explore Shinjuku and Kabukicho in the PM.
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Day 9: Go to TeamLabs, then Gundam Base in Odaiba. I don’t think these will take too long, so maybe go to other places like Nakano Broadway and Tokyo Station (Pokemon Center, Ramen Street).
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Day 10: Studio Ghibli Museum and Ikebukuro
Day 11: Nothing planned, revisit stuff?
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Day 12: Revisit more things in the morning, then go to NRT by 2PM and fly out at 5PM.
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Other Questions:
1) Is our first leg of the trip too time crunched since we are only allocating 3.5 days to Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto including travel time? Would you recommend spending another day in Osaka, or scrapping it altogether and only doing Tokyo?
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2) Do we need Suica cards to transit in Tokyo and can the 3 day metro passes be loaded onto the cards? I’m a bit confused on these cards in general, but would appreciate if someone could explain how it works.
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1 comment
A lot of comments I have seen suggest that you can do Shibuya Sky OR Tokyo Tower with many people preferring Shibuya Sky. If you aren’t into temples and shrines, but want to visit that friend in Kyoto the time that you allocated outside of Tokyo makes sense.