I need help creating an itinerary for a mid-October 2023 trip to Tokyo!

On an impulsive whim, I’ve booked a solo trip to Japan for October 8-18, 2023. I’m landing in Tokyo at about 5am on Monday and I am overWHELMED with the options I have for what I can do with my time.

I would like to maximize my time and cash by spending on experiences and cut reasonable costs by staying in hostels, and perhaps a private ryokan at least one night. Definitely want to squeeze in a visit to The Studio Ghibli Musuem. I am a foodie who will eat pretty much *anything* (but more into the traditional than the super trendy/novelty eats, à la Sanrio Puroland), and I enjoy hiking and cultural sight-seeing (shrines, etc), and photography.

Ideally, I’d like to break up the trip by spending 1-3 days to focus my time in specific cities/prefectures so I don’t exhaust myself trying to get from point A to point B in short time frames. I definitely plan on getting a JR pass and am not opposed to taking myself a few hours out of Tokyo for an overnight trip.

A few considerations for my trip:

* I am a woman, traveling alone
* I have tattoos, and I understand this can affect some ryokan/hot spring options
* I’d like to have an economical budget; I’m not a huge fancy pants looking for minimum $100/night stays. I love a bang-for-your-buck meal :p

If anyone can share travel tips, luggage must-haves, example itineraries, good hostels, favorite cities, restaurants, sights, nightlife activity locations, and museums, I would be SOOO grateful! I don’t know many people who have traveled there before so it’s hard to plan on my own.

Thank you!