Hello! And thanks for checking out my itinerary!
Myself and 3 friends (late twenties) will be in Japan for the first time March 18-April 3. I have studied Japanese a little and am fairly confident with basic conversations, and I’ve been getting my friends to learn all the most common phrases so they can try to communicate as well. This trip is purely for tourism and we had no specific plans prior to starting this itinerary. We would love to enjoy Hanami but have made no specific plans or places to go for it, those recommendations for our cities would be greatly appreciated!
We currently have purchased our flights into and out of Haneda airport, as well as a 7 day JR Pass we think will be cost effective for the middle portion of our trip. I’ll add food options at the end of this itinerary, as it will often depend on mood/location/spur of the moment rather than being planned out. We are interested in all kinds of food, and nightlife, and are open to pretty much anything! I’m a big sake fan so any recommendations for a Gaijin to enjoy some great sake is very much appreciated! I think I have the general structure down well, but what days in a city to do what, and domestic travel logistics I’m still a little unsure on. Thanks again for checking this out, I look forward to your feedback!
**Day 1 – Saturday March 18 – Tokyo**
* Arrive at Haneda around 5:30PM, proceed through customs/immigration/etc.
* Grab portable Wifi – Grab Suica card and load it ($200 limit?) – schedule JR Pass if line is short (maybe make some reservations for shinkansen?)
* Hop on Keikyu line to Ningyocho and check into accommodation
* Grab an easy dinner nearby or hit up a konbini and rest up
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**Day 2 – Sunday March 19 – Asakusa/Akihabara**
This day can be swapped with a less busy one if the jetlag is too much
* Tokyo Skytree (not sure if we want to actually go up)
* Kirby Cafe
* Nakamise street/Senso-ji Temple
* Akihabara for figure shopping/arcades
* Maybe a maid cafe? I don’t know if I’d survive cringing but seems like it could be fun! Recommendations appreciated
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**Day 3 – Monday March 20 – Tsukiji/Ginza**
* Early morning to Tsukiji market
* TeamLab Planets
* Ginza for our high-end shopping needs
* Check out Ginza Aquarium museum
* Fancy place in Ginza for dinner
* Drinks after (Mixology salon/Orchard Ginza)
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**Day 4 – Tuesday March 21 – Tokyo Tower area/Roppongi**
I’m intentionally keeping this day lighter if we need an easy day/we find something else we want to do
* Ship luggage to hotel in Fukuoka via Takuhaibin service (is one day before enough time?)
* Late morning head to Shiba park near Tokyo Tower
* Is RED° Tokyo Tower worth it? Looked fun but I’ve heard negative reviews
* Gotta run up the stairway of success at Atago Jinja Shrine
* Dinner/Drinks in Roppongi, thinking Sushi Omakase
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**Day 5 – Wednesday March 22 – Tokyo Station -> Fukuoka**
We have a domestic flight from Haneda to Fukuoka airport, any advice on taking a domestic flight in Japan is appreciated, we are going to ship our bags the day before to hopefully make it easier!
* Check out of hotel and head to Tokyo Station for foods
* Head to airport and get checked in (flight at 1PM) (are things like toiletries a pain to get through like they are in the US?)
* Land in Fukuoka at 3PM and head to hotel in Nakasu
* Easy dinner at the Ichiran headquarters and maybe grab some drinks nearby (Izakaya/bar recommendations greatly appreciated here!)
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**Day 6 – Thursday March 23 – Tenjin/Ohori**
* Ohori Park/Castle ruins in the AM – Is this a good spot for Hanami?
* Grab lunch nearby (food recommendations appreciated!)
* Tenjin Underground shopping street
* Tenjin Central park
* Yatai stalls for dinner/drinks across the river (Bar Humidor/Bar Moon/Etc.)
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**Day 7 – Friday March 24 – Uminonakamichi Park/Canal City**
* Is Uminonakamichi park worth a visit? The aquarium looks interesting but we’re also going to the one in Osaka so might be overkill
* Canal city for food (Ramen Stadium) shopping and exploring
* Gotta go out in Nakasu for drinks on Friday night!
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**Day 8 – Saturday March 25 – Fukuoka -> Hiroshima**
* Activate JR Pass if not already scheduled and explore Hakata station/grab some ramen
* Arrive in Hiroshima and check in (near Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium)
* Head in town and maybe check out Shukkeien park
* Dinner at Oknomimura and maybe some light drinks in town
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**Day 9 – Sunday March 26 – Hiroshima/Miyajima**
We think we might like to check out the local Toyo Carp Baseball game at 2PM, any logistics on buying tickets/attending a Japanese baseball game is appreciated!
* Ship luggage to Tocen Goshobo for tomorrow
* head to Peace park and visit Atomic bomb dome/Peace Museum
* Hiroshima Castle if time permits?
* Lunch nearby, maybe Hiroshima Tsukemen?
* Go to baseball game if doing so
* If not going to game/after game, take ferry to Miyajima from Miyajimaguchi station
* Watch sunset at Itsukushima Torii and grab a nice dinner nearby
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**Day 10 – Monday March 27 – Hiroshima -> Arima Onsen**
* Visit any of the above we may have missed if necessary
* Hop on Shinkansen towards Shin-Kobe Station
* Visit Kobe and maybe grab some Kobe beef for lunch?
* Hop on train/bus (what’s the best method here?) to Arima Onsen and get checked in
* Enjoy dinner and a nice Onsen bath
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**Day 11 – Tuesday March 28 – Arima Onsen**
* Lazy onsen day, maybe explore the town for lunch
* Bathe a lot, eat some good food, drink some good sake
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**Day 12 – Wednesday March 29 – Arima -> Kobe/Osaka**
* ship luggage to hotel in Tokyo (skipping Osaka)
* Head back down to Kobe and maybe explore if we feel up for it (Herb Gardens, Chinatown, Meriken Park, Harborland)
* Ride over to Osaka and check in near Nagahoribashi Station
* Swing down to Dotonbori to enjoy the views/grab some street food
* Head up to Shinsaibashi and grab some drinks (Bible Club/Bar Gear/Etc.)
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**Day 13 – Thursday March 30 – Osaka**
* Umeda Sky building
* Osaka Aquarium
* Osaka Castle (this is still a maybe)
* Shinsekai
* Maybe Dotonbori again
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**Day 14 – Friday March 31 – Osaka -> Tokyo**
* check out and head to Shin-Osaka station
* Grab an Ekiben for the Shinkansen ride to Tokyo
* Head up to Shibuya and check in at The Millennials
* Shibuya Sky
* Shibuya Crossing
* Dinner and drinks/Tokyo Pub Crawl/guided barhopping (anyone done one of these before?)
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**Day 15 – Saturday April 1 – Shibuya/Ikebukuro**
* Shibuya Parco – Pokemon center/Nintendo store
* Miyashita Park
* Check in at hotel in Ikebukuro
* Sunshine city for more mall things + dinner
* Drinks in Ikebukuro? (need recommendations here)
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**Day 16 – Sunday April 2 – Shinjuku/Harajuku**
* Head down to Harajuku Station and check out Yoyogi Park
* Takeshita Street/Cat Street, grab some lunch here as well
* Do some souvenir shopping/visit a Donki
* Grab a fancy dinner in Shinjuku
* Drinks at Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai
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**Day 17 – Monday April 3 – Tokyo -> home :(**
* Filler for anything we may have missed/more souvenir shopping
* Get to Haneda Airport around 2 and get checked in
* Grab dinner at airport and board flight for home at 5PM 🙁
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Misc. food spots I have saved from years of browsing this sub/watching vlogs etc. These are not the only places we’ll go to, but just a list of places for convenience sake if we’re in that area/craving that dish etc. If any of these places are bad or not recommended please let me know!
Tokyo:
Kikanbo – Rokurinsha – Ushigoro Ginza – The Sushi – Akiba Zettai Ryouiki A.D. 2045 – Onigiri Asakusa Yadoroku – Asakusa Gyukatsu – Nabezo Asakusa – Asakusa Yokocho – Han-no Daidokoro Bettei – ZeroTokiwa – Tsukemen Yasubee – Katsudon-ya Zuicho – Zauo Shibuya – Micasadeco Cafe – Harajuku Gyozaro – Udon Shin – Momo Paradise – Edomae SS – Tenkane – Rokkasen – Isana Sushi Bar – Jomon Roppongi – Nodaiwa Azabu Iikura Honten – Mutekiya
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Fukuoka:
Ichiran – One Karubi Premium Nakasu – Yoshizuka Unagi – Wang Gyoza – Ramen Stdaium – ShinShin
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Hiroshima:
Okonomimura – Tsukemen Karabu Tokaichimachi – Yakigaki no Hayashi – WADA – Miyajima Brewery
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Kobe/Osaka:
Kobe Beef Ishida – KOKUBU Steak House – Rikuro-Ojisan No Mise – Kushinbo – Ramen Zundo-ya
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Once again thank you for reading through all that! This trip has been my baby for the past few years so I’m trying to tow the line of planned out well but not over planned. Can’t tell you how excited for this trip, so any feedback positive or negative will be much appreciated!