Two week trip to Tokyo/Kyoto in October 2021 – 1st pass/Work in progress itinerary

33 comments

1. So I’m too tired right now to answer every detail. Might come back later for more help but a few things already:

   I’m not sure the borders will be reopened by then. Maybe that’s why many hotels are not letting you book.

   The dates you have chosen are far too early to see any autumn colours in Tokyo (autumn foliage happens late November early December in Tokyo, and mid to late November in Kyoto). If you want to see autumn leaves at that time you need to go up North. The easiest and prettiest around Tokyo is going to Nikkô.

   For kimono rentals, I recommend In Kimono. She’s a Polish kimono specialist and photographer. She has packages where she dresses you and explains the process to you in English and then does the photo shoot. There’s relatively few good kimono rentals accessible in English – and all of her kimono are vintage (and not mass produced Chinese crap). Her studio is in Asakusa.

   You can check out her work [here](https://www.inkimono.com/)

   Ah and for anime stuff also go to Nakano. It’s far prettier and traditional than Akihabara and it’s another otaku corner.

2. Recommend that you “try” the Japanese hot spring resort. I personally prefer the “cheaper” ones where you are fed buffet meals because you get to try many different things that you would otherwise never get to eat. The expensive resorts tend to serve set meals. Caveat: You bath in the nude with other people (same sex).

   You will really Japan.

3. I would use one of your free days or even the Shinjuku day to add the hakone loop. It leaves from ueno or Shinjuku and takes about 1/2 a day. Although most of the museum and rope cars start shutting down around 3-4pm (recommend going early).

   Also if you can squeeze it in I’d recommend Nara, it’s between Kyoto and Osaka and a really fun experience visiting the deer temple.

4. >Day 11: Gion
   >
   >Checking out the Gion area

   Just wanted to note that Pontocho Alley is very close to the Gion area (~5/10 min walking, literally right across the bridge and a little walking). You might be able to tack it on to this day. Depending on what direction you are coming from, I’d also suggest Nishiki Market, which is like a long row of food/ingredient stalls, both raw and cooked. It’s also around 10-20 min from Gion walking. (I’m a fast walker so take all my time suggestions with a gain of salt) My usual routine is something like:
   Kiyomizu-dera -> Sannenzaka -> walk along the river -> Gion -> Shijo shopping district + Pontoncho -> Nishiki Market and Teramachi.
   I enjoy hitting Kiyomizu + Sannenzaka early when theres 0 people, really quiet and nice.

   ​

   >
   Day 12: Temples
   >
   >Is the Fushimi-momoyama castle or the Imperial Palace a good trip to take?

   In my personal opinion, unless you are in the area for other things to see, the Fushimi momoyama castle isn’t quite worth it. As far as I remember, you can’t go inside the castle, and it’s mainly a trip to visit the grounds. (I may be wrong). If you choose to visit, there is an [interesting tomb](https://goo.gl/maps/RMH7V2uxU4LN8tdB6) of a former emporer nearby, but these aren’nt necessarily your standard tourist destinations.

   The train line from downtown Kyoto to Fushimi Castle is also the same line/direction as headed to Uji, so you could also make this into a day trip to go to Uji, and see famous temples such as Byoudoin, and eat matcha haha. But this does add a lot of time into your transportation time, and if you are only there for a couple days you will find a lot of things to do already within central Kyoto.

   If you are truly interested in temples, perhaps a day trip to the Lake Biwa area and going up [Mt. Hiei](https://www.japanvisitor.com/kyoto/mount-hiei) would be a good temple trip. It’s a bit out of Kyoto but the temple complex at the top of the mountain is one of the best and significant in the area. The Keihan line typically has a [special day pass](http://www.keihan.co.jp/traffic/valueticket/global/en/) that is quite cost-efficient.

   Another option for this day is to see Fushimi-Inari and Tofukuji in the same day. They are both on the same train line if you depart from Kyoto Station, and are really close to Kyoto station. Tofukuji is well-known for it’s autumn foiliage, so if you are in the area in Oct you may catch some of that.

   >Day 13: Kyoto
   >
   >Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama

   Don’t forget the famous Bamboo forest!!! I’m half-joking because it has many tourists and can be a bit crowded. But if you catch it in the morning it can be really nice.

   ​

   I’ve only lived in Kyoto and not Tokyo, so I can only really comment on that. Too many temples to suggest hahahaha In the end it probably comes down to your transportation time-cost-efficiency and making the most of your time there 🙂 If it seems like I am attempting to live vicariously through travel planning well…. maybe i am

5. Honestly the best anime related shopping I did was in Tokyo Character Street, I’d recommend it.

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7. Base on your list, I think you’re a little light on things you want to do in Tokyo and it appears that this is your first trip to Japan. How about allocating an extra day or 2 to Kansai area (Kyoto/Osaka) and take a day trip to Nara? I don’t see Fushimi Inari Taisha in your list for Kyoto. If you wanna check out a cool temple, I highly recommend Todai-ji in Nara

   I agree with with another poster on your timing. I believe October is typhoon season so it’s best to avoid. Maybe move your dates up 2 weeks to mid-November?

8. It is common for Ryokan to open booking only 3 months in advance. I usually booked less then 6 months in advance and sometime had to wait for booking to open in some places.

   Mixing a bit things, but bus/train pass it depend on your itinerary and usage. For sim card, compare price between what is available and what your carrier offer. Remember that your phone need to be unlocked if you want to use a sim.

   For festival and events, you have to look on sites that list that kind of things as it’s obviously harder to remember all events during the year vs remembering places. For example this is a website I used to have an idea (you will want to wait closer to the date of the event to have 2021 dates is they even take place. [http://yumemakura.travel.coocan.jp/index.html](http://yumemakura.travel.coocan.jp/index.html)

   I think that day 2 is really light and can probably be combined with day 3 for skytree and sumida park. But I think that sumida park is underwhelming, I would probably only advise to go for cherry blossom. Just go to a proper garden instead, like Koishikawa korakuen or hama rikyu. If you are seriously in cooking, you might want to check Kappabashi, that have a lot of stores that sell kitchenware.

   Akihabara for a full day might be a bit much, it depend on people. I would for sure check Kanda Myojin and why not Ameyokocho and Ueno park as extra option. For Maid Café, you might want to stick with the known one like @ home and maidreamin for example, I’ve heard people say that some are a bit scammy.

   To see lolita… go back in time ? More seriously, you might randomly see them on the street, especially during the weekend, but this is a bit of a gamble. Your best bet is probably to go to stores that sell lolita cloth. For example go to the laforet, that do have stores that sell lolita cloth like Alice an the Pirates and Angelic Pretty [https://www.laforet.ne.jp/en/](https://www.laforet.ne.jp/en/)

   You also completely skipped Meiji shrine.

   Most people advise not to go to animal café if you care about animal welfare.

   Meguro river is a cherry blossom spot… that mean it will only be trees in October. You need to go during cherry blossom time to see the flowers, that is usually around mid March to early April.

   In shinjuku, the garden in called “Shinjuku gyoen”, that you can translate as Shinjuku national garden, but it is not called “national garden”, as there is other “gyoen”, like Kyoto Gyoen. I just like when people call thing the right way.

   That is really a light day in Shinjuku, you should check to add more, even if just the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for the free view.

   Disney worth if you love Disney and attraction park. Ghibli Museum if you love their movies (don’t even bother if you have not even seen one of their movies).

   A day trip to a mountain can be nice, but Mount Tsukuba is not the easiest to access. If anything I would look at Mount Takao or Mount Mitake, that are much easier to access.

   ​

   A stop by Mount Fuji on the way to Kyoto would realistically be a stop by Hakone. That is a classic stop. Check out the Hakone free pass and for this, I would probably send my luggage from Tokyo to Kyoto and just bring one change of cloth in Hakone.

   Kyoto, if anything I would put Gion later in the day.

   Fushimi-momoyama castle is shit, it’s a replica and you cannot go inside. I would even recomment Osaka castle before that (that some people hate with a passion because it’s a concrete reconstruction) or even Odawara castle when going out of Hakone would be better than that. Instead I would for sur go to Hikone or Himeji to see a real castle.

   Find other things to do in Arashiyama, there is more than the monkeys.

   I would say try to have a hotel with an easy route to the airport for your last night, so it will be easy to get to the airport. For example there is a direct train from Kyoto station. If you select a place that is more expensive for a night, just as a point of reference, entry cost for a ryokan with kaiseki meal and breakfast is around 12 000 to 18 000 yen by person, anything over is getting in the luxury if you want my opinion. Also think think about time breakfast is served if you have to fly that day. If the flight is early, you might miss the breakfast. Actually, if you decide to do Hakone, do the ryokan there and you will get onsen as a bonus.

   ​

   I personally think that many days are quite light so I would have extra options just in case.

9. The best toy shopping for me was at Nakano Broadway. Try to make some time to get out there. Lots of small stores with decent prices (to me at least).

10. I will comment more in detail when I can. DisneySea is totally worth it! Very unique, and best individual themed Disney park. Go to the robot restaurant in shinjuku. It was one of our favorite tourist traps. So much fun. And don’t go to an owl cafe. It’s literally the saddest thing ever. They are on like an inch or two leash, and don’t get to move around. We all felt like shit after visiting it. We did a half day trip to Hiroshima when staying in Kyoto, and I recommend it. It was crazy being where the bomb dropped. There’s a ferry that you can take to a small island where you can see the famous shrine, and a bunch of wild deer. Monkey park was cool.

11. Check out the [Autumn Color Reports](https://www.japan-guide.com/blog/koyo20/) for timing.

12. Hotels: Most don’t open bookings until 3-6 months out, so you are definitely looking too early – they’re not booked out yet!

    Travel: Public transport is definitely the way to go. In Tokyo the train system will get you everywhere you need to go; in Kyoto buses go to more places than the trains. When you arrive you should purchase an IC card each; these are rechargeable public transport cards which will work for most public transport. The ones you can purchase in Tokyo (Pasmo and Suica) will also work in Kyoto, but you won’t be able to refund any remaining balance in Kyoto. However, IC cards stay valid for ten years without use, so if you think you’ll come back to Japan it’s worth hanging onto!

    Owl cafe: Please do not visit one. Owls are not domesticated animals and should not be kept tethered in lit rooms for tourists to take photos of. By visiting one you are supporting the practice. If you want to visit an animal cafe, stick to domesticated animals (e.g. dogs, cats, rabbits) and research the cafe beforehand to make sure it treats its animals well (e.g. time for rest breaks away from public areas, feeding schedules which mean visitors can’t constantly feed them treats, etc.).

    Day 10: Travel between Tokyo and Kyoto doesn’t take all day, so do have some plans. Consider travelling the evening before so you have this whole day in Kyoto; I usually travel in the evening hours to save my daylight hours for sightseeing.

    Gion: In the same area are Yasaka Shrine and Maruyama Park, which lead into Sannenzaka, which leads up to Kiyomizudera.

    “Extra” day: If you spent more time in the Kansai area, you could visit Osaka itself, take a day trip to Himeji to see the castle, or even (though this is a longer day trip) go to Hiroshima.

13. Sorry, you’re planning for October… But want to see cherry blossoms? Am I misunderstanding what “Meguro River cherry blossoms” means?

14. If you don’t want to waste a day on the Shinkansen to Kyoto..take the overnight bus fro Shinkuku. Also do a rail pass. It covers JR trains including Shinkansen but to get the discount you must buy it in the US. Rent or bring a pocket WiFi. You can get one from a vending machine at any Japanese airport or use sky roam a pay as you go IS based company and it works in nearly 200 countries or T-mobile works fairly well in Japan. I prefer to stay in traditional Japanese business hotels they are much cheaper even “love hotels” the ones that typically rent by the hr have good overnight rates. Lots of YouTube videos to family ourselves with how things run. Japan is not really a breakfast country and a lot of places still deal almost exclusively in cash but there’s a 7-11 on almost every corner and a gear place to get cheap, but good food! Enjoy! I used to live there and it’s one of my favorite places. Do wear masks..

15. From my experience.
    You won’t see cherry blossoms in October. It happens annually usually last week of March first week of April.
    Also be aware that is the end of typhoon season. Expect rain.
    Themed cafes aren’t worth it.
    Disney sea is cool if you like Disney. It’s not like any other Disney park.
    Hit up nishiki market in Kyoto.
    Give yourself a full day or two in Osaka.
    Nara, nikko, and enoshima are good day trips.
    Check out nakano Broadway while in Tokyo

    Do what YOU like and take everybody’s (including mine) with a grain of salt. You’ll likely want to go back again and again

16. Just so you’re aware, we have no idea if Japanese borders will even be open in October. Keep that in mind with all this planning you’re doing.
    Edit: spelling

17. Regarding lolita fashion/Harajuku. Best place to check out is La Foret basement level where the major lolita brands are (Angelic Pretty, BTSSB/AATP, Meta etc). I wouldn’t recommend going to AP during Saturdays because that’s when they do their weekly release and it’s a shitfest of girls trying to get a lucky number for the release. However if she just wants the experience of dressing up and not paying 300+ bucks on a set of clothes, best to check bodyline on takeshita dori for budget lolita. There used to be a service that would let you wear rental lolita clothes, the whole makeup look + wig but i believe it’s gone now (was also in the la foret basement). I think theres another rental one called Maison Style . You can order a coord and get it shipped to your hotel in advance. Although most lolitas don’t really hang out in Harajuku due to constant tourist harassment but you might be lucky to see one or two in la foret!

18. 1. Transport is very easy. JR rail pass also works on their buses and ferries. All trains are on time.
    2. Disney is very busy so check for the quiet days in advance. Their fast pass is simple so you can’t organise them in advance.
    3. Kyoto doesn’t have subway trains like Tokyo so use buses & surface train for Arashiyama if going there.
    4. For your lady, loads of women dress up in kimonos so there are hire places around town. You can hire male traditional robes as well.
    5. Onsen is a Japanese must do I think if you can find a traditional one. Traditional hotels are lovely. We had Japanese robes provided fresh daily.
    6. You will probably love Japan and go more than once.

19. Hi! If you’re going to Ghibli museum I recommend going to Kichijoji too!! It’s a nice break away from the busy parts of Tokyo and there’s a nice park called Inokashira koen.
    If you’re timing is just nice, the autumn leaves in the Park is really beautiful. There’s also nice food,shopping and cafes in the area as well. 🙂

20. Hotels: Many Japanese hotels open bookings 9, 6 and 3 months before your stay. Some, because of pandemic, open bookings as late as possible to avoid dealing with refunds etc.

    Train/bus passes: Have your itinerary set in a stone, before deciding on any of train/bus passes.

    Days 2 and 3 can really be combined together, unless you are doing insane amount of shopping at Kappabashi, or plan to visit Ryogoku area (Edo-Tokyo Museum, Ryogoku Kokukigan, Sumida Hokusai Museum) before getting to Oshiage/Skytree.

    Day 4: If you can get in a reservation for a spot a theme cafe – go for it. I would advise against going to the animal cafes as those located in popular hubs (Akihabara, Shibuya, Shinjuku) would really mean supporting animal cruelty and exploitation. Note that there is no real streetfood in Akihabara area, and well… for a decent meal you would have to move to Ameya Yokocho, Uguisudani or Kanda.

    Day 5: Owl cafe: and this is one type of cafe that genuinely equals animal cruelty with owls tied on a string, sedated and being kept up during the day (they are nocturnal animals). Note that Takeshita-dori is almost always crowded and if you have plans to visit shops/places seen in YouTube videos, you are going to run into long queues.

    Meguro river area: while it is a nice area to visit, there will be no cherry blossoms outside late March/early April. There are a couple of places, where winter cherry blossoms do appear (most notably in Shinjuku Gyoen in November).

    Day 6: This is generally half day worth of itinerary. You can combine it with trip to Ghibli Museum, Nakano Broadway, Kichijoji.

    Days 8-9: In October, Nikko or Karuizawa could be nice day trips. Alternatively you can take on Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route and visit Kanazawa (or visit Unazuki Onsen/Kurobe and Kanazawa) going to Kyoto via Hokuriku.

    Day 11: Frankly speaking, this is a day, when you could easily visit Gion, do your southern Higashiyama temples (including Kiyomizu-dera and Kodaiji) and you will still have enough time to do the Philosopher’s Walk and visit main adjoining temples.

    > Is the Fushimi-momoyama castle or the Imperial Palace a good trip to take?

    Imperial Palace: generally no. Fushimi-Momoyama castle makes only sense if you are doing a full day Fushimi/Uji itinerary, eg. Byodo-in, tea shops in Uji in the morning, Fushimi-Momoyama castle and Fushimi sake distilleries in the afternoon and Fushimi Inari at dusk.

    Arashiyama ryokan: are there worth it? It really depends on what you expect. Generally, high end ryokan in area with good reputation for kaiseki cusine that will cost upwards of $500 per person per night would make sense if you have money to spend and want to experience top-level service. And if you want to something budget friendly, then a ryokan in Kurama Onsen or Ohara (with a private onsen) would make more sense; or you could also stay at a restored traditional machiya in Higashiyama.

21. Halloween in Shibuya… bring a costume. Hopefully the pandemic has subsided by then.

    November is better for the autumn colors. October is nice but more possibilities for typhoons.

22. A few of the Tokyo neighborhoods you can actually do in one day especially with the JR pass.

    Ghibli museum was okay in my opinion. I’m a huge Ghibli fan and I thought it was disappointing.

23. If you’re planning to go in October Meguro River won’t have cherry blossoms. The river itself is nice, but not so exciting for tourists. If you go to Nakameguro there are lots of cafes, incl. Starbucks Roastery Reserve which is cool (but detracts from Nakame vibes). This neighborhood is more of a local place.

    Is Disney Sea worth it? Yes. 100%, no other Disney park like this in the world.

    Is Ghibli museum worth it? Yes, but only if you are a ghibli fan, otherwise you’ll be confused by the references. It’s a pretty place regardless.

    Tokyo Sky Tree- there’s not much in the area, it’s just a large shopping complex surrounded by residential areas. The view is nice if you have time. Combine with Asakusa.

    But most importantly, please wait to travel until Covid is contained in Japan and you are vaccinated. This likely won’t be until the end of 2021 for Japan at the earliest. Vaccines have only started trials here and there’s insufficient testing.

24. • Odaiba Oedo-Osen Monogatari is quite a nice place, although it might be quite crowded there are many types of baths, including sauna. The thing is men and women’s areas are separated so you and your wife would need to enjoy it on your own. They have a nice Edo style dining area where you can grab a bite after bath. However if you prefer enjoying together it’s better to do like the comments, stay in a traditional Japanese guesthouse that has private bath.

    • Ghibli Museum is usually very popular normally, if you decide to go it might be better to book tickets one month in advance though I’m not sure if you can do it from outside Japan. The museum is inside a large park called Inokashira park which should be very beautiful during autumn. Nice place if you want a relaxing day.

25. With the Tokyo Skytree it may have long queues for the Skytree and if the day is cloudy then you may not get a view of the city if thats the purpose of the visit other places that have an observation deck are Bunkyo Civic Center and the goverment building in Shinjuku.

26. Looks pretty good – visiting Japan will be a life changing experience for you as it was for many of us. I agree with most of what the other posters said, and make sure you reserve your Ghibli museum ticket way ahead.

    https://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/tickets/

    Can’t remember but I think ticket sales open 2-3 months ahead. If you miss the ticket window, you will be able to find “deals” on Klook.com and govoyagin.com that will be reselling tickets for $50-60 vs. The $10 that you can buy direct. Also check Klook for discounted Disneysea tickets – when I went I was able to score like $20 off face value thru Klook!

    I have traveled to Japan as a solo traveler quite a lot for multi-week trips and am happy to chat about any questions you might have, and recommendations – specifically for food. I spend embarassing amounts of time researching food (and have some food-obsessed friends in Japan who like to chat to me about food) before I travel and can recommend a lot of things that I have personally tried, covering all price points/budgets from street food to Michelin starred restaurants that go beyond the typical listicle “foodie” blog recommendations. Food and cooking are a passion of mine haha. Feel free to DM me! 🙂

27. I’m afraid you might be disappointed spending a day in akihabara – it’s not what it used to be. If it’s vintage anime/manga/toys/video game stuff that interests you, the mandarake shops above Nakano Broadway are going to be a much better use of your time. And the old shopping streets around Nakano are a great place to find a more authentic izakaya style dining/drinking establishment in the evening.

    I typically avoid – Roppongi because it’s very, very upscale and the shops are mostly western boutiques like Ralph Lauren and Tiffany. I prefer a day spent in Shimokitazawa which has great thrifting and filled with younger hipper Japanese locals.

    Asakusa is a must see but it’s always extremely crowded. If you get there in the early evening you can see it as it empties out and becomes a spectacularly lit ghost town at night. Speaking of ghost town, the old amusement park there Hanayashiki has a great traditional Japanese Haunted House that’s well worth the price of admission.

    My favorite shrine is Nezu. It’s off the beaten path in the Yanaka area, but much less crowded and worth the trip for its path through red Tori gates. Walking around Yanaka is also a great afternoon to see the rolling hills of graveyards and old traditional Japanese houses there.

    Enjoy your trip.

28. I bought a JR line pass in American that allowed me to use the metro and some of the bullet trains. Definitely saved us some time and money.

29. Not sure if it’s been mentioned. If by “themed” you mean a maid cafe, check their menu. Went to one with friends in 2016. It was pay by the hour on top of food costs.

30. This ain’t going to happen chief,

31. I did Asakusa and Akihabara in one day and I was not rushed. Akihabara shops start to repeat after a while and they often sell the same trinkets.

    I do recommend looking at the shops in Akihabara ahead of time and making a Google map of the route to take. I am into scale modeling so I had 4 places I wanted to visit and planning ahead of time with Google Maps and saving the URL to reference later saved me a lot of time.

    As already mentioned, Nakano Broadway has old school items but it is crazy expensive. They have store after store of little figures that are actually antiques and not copy/paste made in China 2 month ago figures.

    Have fun.

32. We did a trip in 2019. Around same time frame too. First full day in Tokyo typhoon hit so that day was ruined. We didn’t know the full damage but most areas were closed.

    DO eat at cocoichiban curry house. Took my wife for the first time as soon as we checked in and we ate at about 7 different locations after that because she liked it.

    If you’re going to go to Ghibli ,unless there is an easier way, the tickets go on sale a month in advance and it was Very difficult to get the tickets . Website slowdown because of high volume think almost like buying a PS5 on release day.

    Also, think about travel time. Something we didn’t think about but I wish I had planned it . We were staying in asakusa area ( about 5 min walk to temple) and it took almost an hour and some to get to our destination.

    If you would like to get a headstart you can download the suica app and start loading it with funds. I believe I used around $50 but you can add as you need to but for me it’s good to already have that set aside. It’s one per person also .

    Oh lastly, almost all shops open after 9 or 10 so buy snacks at 7-11 to hold you over until you find a restaurant that’s open.
    Maybe it was just us but my wife woke up early around 3 am and woke me up also. Since we had a pocket wifi she would call home all the time.

    A big must is using Apple Maps or google maps. They will tell you what train to get on or bus to get to your destination. Wait times , departure time etc. it was really helpful.
    I’ll answer any other question you might have if I have the answer.

33. i would suggest you to take a half or even a full day trip to kamakura on your way to kyoto

    it’s a really nice place to visit