Hello all, I will be traveling to Japan for the first time this upcoming spring in March. During University there were many times I was meant to go (I even scored a study abroad scholarship!!), but as we all know the earth stood still so now I’m hoping to go now after many setbacks.
A little background about me and this trip: I minored in and have been studying Japanese for about 5 years. I’ve been a huge fan of anime/manga since I was a child and also really enjoy fashion and history, so For this trip I wanted to have a few Must see/Need to see places lined up for a day and then after that just explore the area I’m in. I don’t have to go to every area I have listed, I’m just happy to be in the country finally.
Majority of my trip is spent in the city, but I’d also be open to going to more remote or not as bustling areas as I enjoy seeing the different sides of the cities I’m in. Also open to doing unique things like going to a live show or ceremony or even anything that may require more Japanese knowledge than the average tourist would have.
Questions:
1. I have heard mixed things about the JR pass, I did calculate the cost using the website and found that the 14 day pass would just barely be worth it. Should I just get a 7 day pass instead and rely on other lines?
2. Is there a credit card that is best when traveling internationally? Or is it best to exchange money beforehand?
3. I didn’t really have any restaurant plans in mind as I more or less expected to get food as I walked, are there any must-go-to places I’m missing?
# Tokyo
3/27 – Tokyo
* Stay at: Onyado Nono Asakusa Natural Hot Springs
* Arrive at Haneda airport at 4pm – pick up Suica, pocket Wi-Fi -head to hotel in Asakusa-if up for it, a little exploration around Asakusa and Sumida Park and grab something to eat before heading back to hotel
* 3/28 – Tokyo
* Wake up early (8am) eat and head to Ushijima Shrine (opens at 9am) spend an hour or so here, then head to Shinjuku
* Tokyo Metropolitan Govt. Building
* Exploration of Shinjuku in between no specific plan in mind for this day
* Shinjuku Gyoen Garden
* TeamLabs Planets @ Odaiba in the afternoon and explore around for a few hours (I’ve heard people say that Odaiba is just a mall but I honestly don’t care I think it’ll still be cool to see)
* Kobe Beef Kaiseki 511 (If I can get a reservation, otherwise I head back to Asakusa to find something instead)
* 3/29 – Tokyo
* Ueno: deciding between going to Ueno Zoo or the National Museum of Nature and Science
* Ueno Park to view cherry blossom if any at all, else just walk around (the I’m sure very crowded) park and people watch
* Asakusa and the surrounding areas : Senso-Ji, Kaminarimon, Nakamise Shopping street etc.
* 3/30 – Tokyo
* Head over to Meiji Jingu in the morning and explore until Harajuku shops open
* Harajuku explore around the shops and Takeshita street and maybe find some drip before heading to an animal themed café
* Yoyogi Park, hopefully see some cherry blossoms
* Explore Shibuya, Shibuya scramble, Shibuya sky, Hachiko, pokemon centeretc
* I would like to check out Sangenjaya because yes, of course, I enjoy Persona, but I’ve also heard it has a nice small shops and restaurants as well. Maybe go here before exploring Shibuya…?
# Kyoto and Osaka/Nara
* 3/31 – Kyoto
* Stay at: Piece Hostel Sanjo
* Check out of Hotel in the morning and utilize Takuyuubin to send luggage to hotel in Kyoto
* Train to Arashiyama
* Monkey Park
* I Know these next few locations are in roughly the same vicinity, but I expect to spend a lot of time here since I really enjoy the outdoors and nature.
* Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
* Okochi Sanso Garden
* Kameyama Park
* Jojakko-ji (possibly)
* Train to Gion and find something to eat (restaurant/yatai recs welcomed) then walk to Hotel and check in
* 4/1 – Kyoto
* The Temple Run
* Kinkaku-Ji first since it’s the furthest away
* Kyoto Imperial Palace
* Nishiki Market for food
* Kiyomizu-dera
* Fushimiinari (I know fushimiinari is open 24/7, but I’m thinking of moving this to another day as this day already seems packed with walking/traveling)
* 4/2 – Nara – Osaka
* Day trip to Nara
* Nara park
* Kofuku-ji
* Travel to Osaka Aquarium Kaikyukan
* Depending on how much time I have, explore Denden town for anime stuffs
* go to Dotonbori and explore izakaya and stalls and put my drunk Japanese to the test
* 4/3 – Kyoto
* Katsura Imperial Villa (will reserve tickets in February)
* Toji
* Manga Museum
* Philosopher’s Path
* Eikan-do Temple (Hear there are night illuminations)
# Fukuoka
* 4/4 – Fukuoka
* Stay at: Lamp Light Books Hotel
* Check out of Kyoto Hotel early and take shinkansen to Fukuoka. I have friends that were exchange students who go to Seinan Gakuin located in Fukuoka as well as a friend studying abroad there which I’ll be coordinating with to hangout so Fukuoka days are a skeleton schedule for now, but feel free to recommend places to go!
* Canal City
* Ohori Park
* Momochi Seaside Park
* Fukuoka Tower
* 4/5 – Fukuoka
* Maizuru Park
* Fukuoka Castle
* Nishi Park
* Uminokamichi Seaside Park (would be nice to go but probably won’t happen)
* 4/6 – Fukuoka?
* The next day or so is up in the air as I don’t check out of my hotel until the 7th. I would appreciate suggestions, but also wonder if it would be feasible to travel to Hiroshima for a day and night (though I know that’s not enough time to explore the area).
# Back to Tokyo
* 4/7 – Fukuoka -> Tokyo
* Stay at: Super Hotel Premier Akihabara (open to changing this)
* Travel from Fukuoka to Tokyo (6 hour train ride sounds awful, would a domestic flight be better?)
* check in and Rest
* Might use this day to decompress and visit places at a slower pace. Maybe check out ikebukuro and nakano broadway, koenji then shinjuku
* 4/8
* Enoshima Island
* Enoshima Shrine
* Koya Restaurant
* Kamakura
* 4/9
* Kanda Myojin Shrine in morning
* Akihabara no specific stores and shops in mind atm (will probably search for themed cafes closer to the date), but I’m probably just gonna spend the whole day here, nerd out, and do most of my shopping. This day is a sunday, and I know the street gets closed for just pedestrians to walk so I think that would be cool to see
* Tokyo skytree at night possibly
* 4/10
* Ghibli Museum (Plan to reserve tickets using either a friend in Japan or Fiverr). Will most likely be a full day
* Inokashira Park
* Head to Kichijoji and explore around (sunroad, parco, etc.)
* 4/11 – Departure
* My flight leaves at 6pm, so while I still have time to explore a little, I’d rather be close to Haneda airport and not cut it close. As of now I have no plans for this day, so any suggestions would be appreciated
7 comments
Odaiba is no longer accessible, and TeamLab is only in Toyosu. Is that what you meant?
It was definitely more than a mall imo, but the entire area is closed down.
> I have heard mixed things about the JR pass, I did calculate the cost using the website and found that the 14 day pass would just barely be worth it. Should I just get a 7 day pass instead and rely on other lines?
Seems like you really only have about 7 days of long distance travel and that is where the JR pass excels in value. While you’re in Tokyo it is better just to have an IC card and pay as you go. Since there are so many transit operators in the area by limiting yourself to only JR lines you may not be using the fastest way to get to your destination.
> Is there a credit card that is best when traveling internationally? Or is it best to exchange money beforehand?
You’ll want to look for a credit card with 0 foreign transaction fees. Beyond that a credit card that offers points on purchases with bonus categories is good to have on top of that. You can get by most of the time in larger cities with just a credit card and IC card. You do want to carry some amount of cash on you to cases where it is cash only.
What sort of fashion are you interested in? I’m hoping to visit Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo. They have a bookstore/fabric store and a museum that is open to the public.
I’ve also got a list of fabric stores in Nippori, and another list of vintage clothing stores. Let me know if this is any interest to you and I can share.
Seems like you have a lot of parks to visit in Fukuoka. Uminonakamichi is a huge park and could take up a significant amount of time to travel to and visit.
Dazaifu in Fukuoka is pretty popular if you want to visit a shrine.
Canal City for me is pretty meh. It’s just another mall. Eat at the yattai nearby for dinner is nice but otherwise, meh.
Shinkansen from Hakata to Hiroshima is definitely doable if that is something you want to do. It would also help break up the length of the train ride back up to Tokyo
The Shinkansen from Fukuoka to Tokyo is not bad, it goes pretty quickly. Get an earlier train, grab an ekiben and you’ll have a full stomach and in Tokyo by mid afternoon.
Sangenjaya is rad, I recommend going at night after you’re done exploring Shibuya and just wandering around the back alleys some. Find an izakaya and have your evening meal there. Akaoni is a good one. The batting Center from Persona 5 is closed at the moment, not sure for how long.
Looks like you’ve done a lot of great research and planning!
Tokyo itinerary seems pretty good. If you care about getting a few “best of” meals in there, do your research and make those reservations. If you do think you might get “city fatigue”, you can plan some day trips out of Tokyo (I really love Kamakura’s temples and light hikes, or perhaps an early climb up Mt Takao). If you’re
Kyoto itinerary is a little busy. It’s feasible, and I would recommend an early rise for some of those days, so if that’s your preferred pace, then no worries. But my 2c would be to split up the temple run day into 2 days. You mentioned in your post you want to get off the tourist track a little bit and have some deeper, more unique experiences – which is definitely doable in Kyoto, but you have to bake in that time to explore and hunt.
The day trip to Nara and Osaka is a bit busy IMO. I would dedicate a day to each if you really want to see them. People do it, but I think you’d be rushing through Nara a bit to get in and out with enough time to much Osaka stuff. And you have to train back at night, which may cut short your night in Osaka.
Fukuoka is cool, and I know you have your friend there, but if it was me, I’d split my time to have more time at a few stops on the way. Maybe 2N in Fukuoka. Some considerations – Okayama is really cool, it has a great castle and park, a great denim scene, really good knife / blade shopping if you’re into that, and this kind of cool hipster vibe. Hiroshima and Miyajima island are great, most tourists just see the shrine and the memorial and go, but there’s great views / hiking / street food / shrines on the island. I also love the food in Hiroshima – cheap student food as well as great “budget” omakase’s and tasting menus from chefs that kind of put their own spin on things. There’s also Kobe, Himeji, etc, which could be good stops on the way down or up.
Why not do Arashiyama on the Katsura Villa day instead of going to the west side of kyoto twice? Do the 9am tour then take the short train ride from Katsura station to Arashiyama
Get a credit card and a debit card with no foreign transaction fees. Non japanese Visas seem to be having issues with online transactions in Japan so a mastercard or amex might be a better option