Itinerary Review – 18 Days (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Aomori)

Hi everyone, my girlfriend and I are going on our first-ever real vacation in early May, and are very excited to be spending it in Japan! To deal with the elephant in the room, the first week is Golden Week (had no choice), and we really want to see cherry blossoms. Because of that I’m saving some places I really want to see (Nikko, Izu) for next time, but we’re going allll the way up to Aomori to see a cherry blossom festival. Might have to give up on it if the forecast is pretty unfavorable of course. Aside from that, I’ve gathered we should pretty much remain in Tokyo if possible through Golden Week because the locals tend to travel outward, so I’ve saved the Kyoto time for as soon as it’s over.

As I’m planning this trip, I’d love some advice for things I can add or might be overdoing it on certain days. I’m very open to suggestions to better flesh out some days, as I just have some major items with the intent of exploring wherever we go.

# Tokyo Part 1

**Apr 30** \- Arrive at Haneda, settle in at hotel, walk around Shinjuku if we’re not too tired

**May 1** – Meiji Jingu, Harajuku, Shibuya at night

**2** – Akihabara all day

**3** – Wake up very early, Shinkansen to Aomori

# Aomori

**3** – Cherry Blossom Festival in Hirasaki, stay at a nice ryokan

**4** – Hiking or National Park exploring (Takayama Inari, Ashino Park, etc.)

**5** \- Head back to Tokyo

# Tokyo Layover

**5 –** Arrive in Tokyo, explore Skytree area, Kirby Cafe (if we manage a reservation)

**6** – Guided day trip to Hakone (Might be a rough day, **willing to take suggestions here**)

**7** – Travel to Kyoto

# Kyoto

**7** \- Settle in at hotel, Explore Gion, Kawamarachi, Dinner in Pontocho Alley

**8** – Arashiyama Monkey Park, Bamboo Forest, Tenryuji, Kinkaku-Ji

**9** \- Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu-dera, Nishiki Market

**10** – Early Morning Nara, hit anything we might have missed on Day 8 or 9

**11**\- River Ride, Sagano Train, **would like some suggestions here!**

**12** – Travel to Osaka

# Osaka

**12** \- Osaka Castle, Dotonbori, Pokemon Café (if we can get a reservation)

**13** \- Universal Studios all day – Nintendo World is a MUST

**14** \- Travel to Tokyo

# Tokyo Part 2

**14** \- Check into final hotel, explore Ikebukuro, Nakano Broadway

**15** \- Teamlab, Pokemon Café (if we can get a reservation), explore Ginza

**16** \- Final shopping day, hit any city we enjoyed most

**17** \- Fly home, cry because it’s over

# Questions I have:

* How should we handle buying merch? Is shipping items we buy back to the US easier than buying extra bags and carrying them around?
* I’ve got a million things on the to-do list for traveling, but which activities should we reserve in advance? I’m tracking Teamlab, Kirby and Pokemon Cafes.
* I think we’re technically losing money if we go for the 14 day JR passes with this itinerary. Would a few thousand yen difference be worth the hassle it might save us buying single tickets?
* Food suggestions! Taking any and all of your favorite spots.

Thanks for any help y’all!

edit: Changing up some things based on recommendations!