Feels like I’ve been planning this trip my whole life but I think I finally got to go. I have gotten some invaluable feedback from you all [last year](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/n5wuhz/marchapril_2022_tokyo_kyoto_nara_osaka_itinerary/) before the border was open but I am further refining it and here’s what I have:
Day 1 – JFK to HND and land around 5pm/Check into Hotel in Shibuya/Shibuya Crossing
Day 2 – Yoyogi Park/Meiji Jingu/Harajuku/Shibuya Sky/Shibuya
Day 3 – Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum/Omoide Yokocho/Kabukicho/Golden Gai
Day 4 – Tsukiji Fish Market/TeamLab Planets/Odaiba
Day 5 – SkyTree/Sensoji/Nakamise/Ameyayokocho/Akihabara
Day 6 – Zojoji/Tokyo Tower/Roppongi Hills/Mori Art/Meguro River Cherry Blossoms
Day 7 – Check in Capsule Hotel/Yasukuni Shrine/Tokyo Station/Ginza
Day 8 – Hakone/Hakone Shrine/Lake Ashi/Owakudani/Hakone Open-Air Museum/Onsen
Day 9 – Odawara/Kyoto Station/Kinkaku-ji/Laundry/Pontocho
Day 10 – Fushimi Inari/Nishiki Market/Kodai-ji/Ninenzaka/Sannenzaka/Kiyumizudera at night (Closes at 9pm)
Day 11 – Arashiyama Bamboo Grove/Tenryuji/Kameoka/Riverboat/Iwatayama Monkey Park
Day 12 – Ginkaku-ji/Philosopher’s Path/Nanzenji/Kaege Incline/Yasaka Shrine/Gion
Day 13 – Free Day/Laundry
Day 14 – Nara/Osaka/Dotonbori
Day 15 – Osaka Castle/Umeda Sky/Dotonbori/River Cruise
Day 16 – Shitennoji/Shinsekai/Kuromon Market/Namba Centergai Shotengai/Kyocera Dome Osaka
Day 17 – Namba Yasaka Jinja/KIX/TPE
Here are my questions:
1. Any issues or jarring omissions that you see?
2. Should I scrap Odaiba?
3. Originally I planned to go to Ghibli Museum but I waited 12 hours to get tickets and they are all sold out. I noticed that they are not sold out for Japanese citizens. Do you think I can go to a Lawson while I’m there to get tickets to Ghibli?
4. I would love to get a good cooking knife but I don’t think I can jam Kamata in Kappabashi into my day 5 schedule. Are there any other recommendations?
5. For the Hakone Route, any preference about clockwise or counter-clockwise? I thought doing it clockwise might be less crowded.
6. I would appreciate all the restaurant recommendations. I see places like Gyukatsu Motomura that doesn’t seem to take reservations, should I expect to wait about 1 hour to all the restaurants I plan to go to?
Thank you all so much, I really appreciate this group!