I’m planning a solo trip to Japan in the nearish future (because I’m tired of trying to coordinate domestic trips with my friends); currently looking at 8 days and 9 nights. I haven’t decided on whether I want to do mid-late April (for cherry blossoms) or November (for fall colors) but I know I want to go in 2023 for the 40th Anniversary festivities at Tokyo Disneyland. This is what I have so far:
Days 1-3: Tokyo – I haven’t really begun to group stuff together for my days in the city, but I want to hit the usual stuff; SkyTree, Asakusa, probably Odaiba, maybe the National Museum. I’m thinking of staying in the Shinjuku area since it’s close to the trains I’d need for the next stage:
Day 4-5: Kawaguchiko – I suppose it might be easier to make a day trip to Hakone instead, but I understand it’s easier to see Fuji in the early morning, so staying overnight seems prudent. Also, I just like the look of the area.
Day 6-8: Tokyo Disney – In honesty, TDL is why I wanted to come in the first place, but I knew I had to see more of the country than just that.
I’ve heard from plenty of people that you need at least 5 days in the city. I don’t really need to see everything, but I’m hoping I can do a lot with what I have available to me. A lot can also change in 25 months, lol.
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>SkyTree, Asakusa, probably Odaiba, maybe the National Museum. I’m thinking of staying in the Shinjuku
Doesn’t make sense to stay in Shinjuku, if you mainly do sightseeing in the east side.. even if it’s closer to you next destination, because that is negligible compared to having to go across Tokyo from the hotel to the sightseeing spots for 3 days…
Either focus on sightseeing around Shinjuku Shibuya with a day in the Asakusa area, or choose a hotel in the east, like Asakusa or near Tokyo station..
Also, I’m not sure where you are coming from, but if it’s far, the first day is basically wasted because of jet lag.
>Day 4-5: Kawaguchiko –
Sounds good. I recommend night bus, so you don’t waste too much time on traveling on such a short trip..
>you need at least 5 days in the city
Sort of. But if you don’t have that much you really want to see, then it doesn’t matter.
I kind of disagree about staying in Shinjuku because of the trip to Kawaguchiko.
I would rather select a place that is convenient in general, for example all the places you named would work much better from Asakusa and doing Asakusa-Shinjuku in about 25 minutes in the subway.
Select Shinjuku if you want to be next to the nightlife and bars. Personally, I am not especially attracted to that and Shinjuku is a really big station, so you might waste time to reach your platform compared to a smaller station. But I know that many people love Shinjuku area so…
Mount Fuji is not easy to see, personally in 3 days around Hakone and Kawaguchiko, I could only see it the last day and best was end of the day. So it depend what is the most important to you. If the most important is to see Mount Fuji, I would be flexible and go the day the weather is best. The earlier you can be there should be around 9AM if you take the earliest train or bus (bus is cheaper and take about as long).
Staying the night at Hakone or Kawaguchiko would be great if you want to experience a onsen, but in theory, they are both about as easy to do as a day trip from Tokyo.
Unless you have experience with public transit, Shinjuku Station will overwhelm you.
I had no experience, but arrived in Kyoto first and figured theirs out easily. But the routes and things… you basically have to do some puzzle problem solving in Shinjuku, and you still might mess up and miss a stop or something.
Plus the main Shinjuku area is def cool and fun to be around at night, but there’s also a seedy side to it. It’s definitely a nightlife area. So unless you’re planning on going about all that lifestyle, idk.
Honestly, I love the main area of Shinjuku because you feel like you could try restaurants for months and still not make a dent. And you can be up late at night and there’s still a sea of people out wandering the city. But using it as a hub is not recommended. I’ve literally gotten overwhelmed with their train system my first few days there, so I’d recommend not using it.
So it’s kind of conflicting because I personally do like Shinjuku even as someone that doesn’t drink and has no interest in the red light district. But I guess it seems like it doesn’t serve your purpose well. Plus if you’re sleeping there, I’m assuming it would be quite loud if you’re used to a more rural setting. Even in lesser cities in Japan, I’ve generally had to sleep with earplugs if you’re anywhere near a main road.
Also, Skytree costs quite a bit of money. There are shops inside you can explore, but you have to pay more to actually start going up. And honestly I think it’s kind of a waste to spend money on traveling to a different country just to go to a Disneyland, unless you’re not from a country that has a Disney park.
Odaiba I personally was kind of lost on what to do there. I had possibly the best ramen of my life there though. Maybe with friends it would be more fun.
National Museum is great, highly recommend it as well as the Edo Tokyo museum which isn’t too far from it if I remember correctly… I did both of them in one day.
First of all, you will have a wonderful time! I keep planning and re-planning hypothetical trips to pass the time. What was supposed to have been my third trip got cancelled by COVID so I’m looking at 2022 or 2023 as well.
Tokyo Disney: Aaaaahhh you will have such a fabulous time. If you don’t already read the [Tokyo Disney Explorer Blog](https://tdrexplorer.com/blog/), definitely do because he is a wealth of resources. Since you know when the anniversary is I’m guessing you’re pretty well-versed, but I’ll just say I feel it’s worth it to stay in a hotel on the monorail loop so you don’t have to commute to the park super early in the morning to be in line early for rope drop. Have fun eating all the flavors of popcorn!
Kawaguchiko/Fuji: I haven’t been to Kawaguchiko, but I have been to Hakone, and I felt it was worth the overnight trip for a few reasons. First, the Hakone loop is really fun if you enjoy silly tourist traps or novel transportation methods at all. And if you do go, spend the extra money to take the train, not the highway bus. The bus is fine but you might as well make the most of every hour you have. I made the mistake of accidentally being there at the start of a holiday weekend so DON’T do that, but the whole area was gorgeous and I loved having most of two days to enjoy the boat, train, ropeway, and bus, and spend some extra time around the lake to explore the checkpoint museum, the Hakone shrine, and the cedar path. The sheer density of novel things to see and do along a dumb-tourist-proof loop is really nice. I stayed at a ryokan hotel on the lake in a Fuji-view room, and it was a total splurge but the ryokan meal and onsen experience was fantastic and waking up early to look out at the mist over the lake and Fuji emerging from the clouds was just amazing. Obviously seeing Fuji is a gamble, but the view of the lake was nice enough that I wouldn’t have felt ripped off if it had stayed cloudy. You can also sometimes see Fuji from some of the observation decks in Tokyo (though obviously from much further away), so if the weather is very clear and dry when you’re in the city, you can try that! I was going to recommend the World Trade Center building’s deck as an underappreciated gem with an additional great view of Tokyo Tower, but it looks like it’s being torn down. 🙁
Tokyo city: I agree that Shinjuku is INTENSE. The station is harder to navigate, the surrounding area is kind of a lot. I preferred Ueno for proximity to major rail hubs while also not feeling quite so overwhelming. I also thought Ikebukuro was pretty convenient while also being affordable for a solo traveler. But either way, if you’re on the Yamanote Line, it’s really not that hard to get anywhere during a short trip.
And for stuff to do in the city:
* I preferred the Edo Tokyo museum to the National Museum, but I like history more than art.
* I saw some other comments about jet lag – you probably will wake up stupidly early the first day, and I know the big thing a lot of people do is go to the fish market and get sushi, but I actually prefer getting coffee and bread from a convenience store for breakfast and then going on a little self-guided walking tour before rush hour. A lot of shrine grounds are open early, even if the shrine office is closed, so as long as you don’t need to buy omamori or get goshuin, it’s a nice quiet time to explore some of the big touristy places like Meiji Jingu and Senso-ji before the crowds and tours show up. You’ll be tired and probably go to bed early that day, but you can definitely do some things in the morning through early afternoon.
* I agree that Skytree is overpriced and overrated, but if you want to do it, go for it! The mall is also worth walking around if you’re already there; some decent places to buy souvenirs or grab lunch.
Have all of the fun!
Just FYI if you’re aiming for sakura season in Tokyo, its usually closer to late March-early April. For example, this year they’re predicting that the flowers will be full bloom around March 22nd in Tokyo. This year’s peak is a bit earlier than average, but even in an “average” year mid-late April would be too late to catch them and most sakura varieties will be finished blooming by then.
I’m not a super Disney fan (visited the US sites years ago), but I’ve heard from people here that Disney Sea is better to visit as it’s different from the US parks.
I stayed at the Tokyo Disney Hilton last year while the park was closed. Way overpriced IMO, but I had a free night credit to use.
Ok, it sounds like you have a decent idea of what you want to see. Here are my thoughts…
Since its your first time, try to get familiarized with where you are staying. Add time beyond the travel time to account for getting lost.
Everything works on a schedule and make sure to get reservations or tickets for things you want to do like dining and the like.
Build in a day to explore without any plans.
There are some really nice things to see in shinjuku, for example the new york bar and grill has an amazing view of the city. And once you figure out the multi level enormous shinjuku station its not that bad.
There is a kitkata ramen near the station (by memory lane)
I really enjoy Nakano station and the nearby neighborhoods.. we went to a dog cafe/rescue place nestled in a neighborhood about a mile away.. we stayed in an airbnb there and felt what it was like to live there.
Id recommend going to mt takao as a day trip. Its really pretty and left a lasting impression. Met a father and daughter that were hiking up preparing to hike mount fuji.
At Odaiba there is this teamlab thing that was cool and they have this motorsports thing there which i missed out on since my family was tired.
Hakone is really nice if you enjoy laidback small towns. We got the Hakone Free Pass which covers the train ride from Shinjuku and a bunch of other fun activities in the area. My teenage nephews and their friends had a good time there too. We stayed at a great ryokan thru AirBnB for a decent price. Whatever you end up doing have a great time!