Hey everyone! My partner and I are planning to visit Japan for the first time in late March for 8 days. We’ll be staying at a hotel in Shinjuku and plan to use public transit/walk to get around. We’re interested in anime, eating good food, and seeing the cherry blossoms (hopefully they’ll bloom while we’re there). We mainly wanted to explore Tokyo but we do have a couple free days (possibly one day can go to a day trip out of Tokyo?). Let me know if this itinerary is too ambitious; I’m open to suggestions and advice on how to spread everything out so that we don’t feel rushed. Thank you!
**Day 1**
* Arrive in Tokyo in the evening
* Withdraw money from ATM & pick up Suica card
* Check into hotel in Shinjuku
* Grab dinner from konbini
**Day 2**
* Shibuya
* Explore while waiting for conveyor belt sushi place to open
* Hachiko Statue
* Shibuya Crossing
* Lunch at conveyor belt sushi place
* Harajuku
* Get desserts on Takeshita Street
* Meiji Shrine
* Yoyogi Park
* Dinner (probably at Ichiran)
* Walk around Center Gai
**Day 3**
* Asakusa
* Sensoji
* Street food for brunch at Nakamise Shopping Street
* Tokyo Skytree
* Ueno Park
* Akihabara
* Shop at Animate & Don Quixote
* Dinner at maid cafe
**Day 4**
* Brunch at Tsukiji Outer Market
* TeamLab Planets
* Pokémon Center Tokyo DX & afternoon snack at Pokémon Café
* Go back to hotel to change
* Dinner at Kobe Beef Kaiseki 511
**Day 5**
* Shinjuku
* Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
* Lunch (either Udon Shin or Fuunji)
* Maybe some souvenir shopping in between?
* Piss Alley
* Izakayas/yakitori
* Kabukicho
* Drinks/bar-hopping in Golden Gai
**Day 6**
free (maybe reserved for souvenir shopping/exploring freely)
**Day 7**
free (possible day trip out of Tokyo?)
**Day 8**
* Check out of hotel by 11am
* Free until we have to head to the airport in the afternoon
* Return flight in the evening
2 comments
>seeing the cherry blossoms (hopefully they’ll bloom while we’re there)
I know you said late March, but what days?
This may be slightly ambitious especially when adding in transportation times. The things that stick out to be are Day 2: conveyer belt sushi places can get very packed very quickly so add in up to 30m wait time at lunch. Day 3: sticks out to me as the most ambitious. Asakusa, Ueno, and Akihabara in one day is a lot. Food on Nakamise Shopping Street is getting more thin, mostly just sweets left on the northern end near Senso ji and you may need to search the nearby streets for more “street food” type things. I would personally cut out Skytree and if you’re just going there for the views, I’d sub in the Tokyo Metropolitan Bldg. in Shinjuku at dusk on Day 5. Day 5: Id be sure to walk down Omoide Yokocho at night and grab a drink there before heading to Golden Gai. This is all my personal opinion based on going to Tokyo a few weeks ago.