Hello!
As the title says, I’ll be visiting Japan with 3 friends from April 9th – 23rd. This will not only be my first time visiting Japan, but my first time traveling internationally (so I’m a little in over my head). I was hoping for some feedback on our current itinerary, if you’d be kind enough to provide it. Without having visited, it’s difficult to gauge how far things really are or how long some activities may take, so I’m concerned we may have unrealistically planned some days. Several of our Tokyo days we tried to keep light as we expect to mostly just wander/shop through whatever district(s) we’re visiting that day. I was also curious if, given these plans, a JR pass would be worth the expense.
Thank you again in advance for reading all of this, your advice and insight is hugely appreciated!
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# Sunday 04/09, Tokyo:
\- Land at NRT, roughly 4:40 PM JST
**Shinjuku:**
\- Visit Lost in Translation Hotel
\- Visit Golden Gai/“Piss Alley” and have dinner
\- Enjoy a tattoo-friendly onsen (*We’ve yet to establish a spot*)
***Thoughts:*** *I fear between getting through customs and taking the train into the city, time-wise this may not be entirely feasible*
# Monday 04/10, Tokyo:
**Asakusa:**
* Sensoji Temple
* Eat at Red Crane
* TeamLab
* Funasei dinner boat ride
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# Tuesday 04/11, Tokyo:
**Harajuku:**
* Meiji Shrine/Yoyogi Park
* Shiba Café / Owl Café/ Pig Café (*One or all, whatever we can make time for*)
* Cat Street/ Takeshta Street
**Shibuya:**
* Shibuya 109
* Shibuya Crossing
* Shibuya Sky
* Parco Building
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# Wednesday 04/12, Tokyo:
**Chiba:**
* Disneysea
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# Thursday 04/13, Tokyo:
**Kichijoji:**
* Ghibli Museum (*Waiting to see if we can get tickets*)
* Eat at Shirohige’s Cream Puff Factory
**Ikebukuro:**
* Muscle Girls Bar
* Sunshine City
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# Friday 04/14, Tokyo:
**Akihabara:**
* Maid Café
* Square Enix Café
**Roppongi:**
* Kill Bill restaurant (Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu)
* Visit some of Japan’s gay scene/bars/clubs (*Leaving this research up to another person in our party, but would appreciate any insight/recommendations if anyone has any!*)
* See a Japanese drag show (*Similarly, if anyone has any information or ideas, they would be appreciated*)
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# Saturday 04/15, Osaka:
* Wake up early and take the train to Osaka
* Osaka Castle
* Pokemon Cafe
* Umeda Sky Building
* Video game bar (*Not yet settled on one*)
* Walk around Dotonburi, eat/drink
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# Sunday 04/16, Osaka:
* Osaka Aquarium
* Aquarium Ferris Wheel
* Rent a bicycle for a bike ride
* Walk around Shinsekai, eat/drink
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# Monday 04/17, Nara/ Kyoto:
* Take train to Nara Park and visit
* Take train to Kyoto
* Kinkakuji Temple
* Toei Studio Park
* Tea Ceremony (*I’ve heard Camellia Gardens is nice*)
***Thoughts:*** *This is another day I’m concerned we may have overpacked, between all of the traveling. I’m not sure how much time one would realistically spend at Toei Studio Park, either.*
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# Tuesday 04/18, Kyoto:
* Sagano Romantic Train
* Hozugawa River Cruise
* Arashiyama Monkey Park
* Tenryu-ji Temple
* Rent a bicycle for a ride
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# Wednesday 04/19, Kyoto:
* Fushimi Inari Taisha
* Higashiyama/ Hokan-ji
* Kiyomizu Dera
* Eat at Kichi Kichi Omurice
* Gion/ Hanamokoji St.
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# Thursday 04/20, Aichi:
* Take the train to Aichi to visit Ghibli Park (We managed to get tickets for 12:00 PM)
* Take the train to Shinjuku and wander/shop/explore (*We were hesitant to plan too much post-Ghibli Park because it seemed the travel time was significant and we didn’t know how long the whole thing would take*)
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# Friday 04/21, Tokyo:
**Chiba:**
* Disneyland
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# Saturday 04/22, Tokyo/Hakone:
* Hike Mt. Takao
**Hakone:**
***Thoughts:*** *Still need to decide what to do here. Half of our party will be leaving Thursday, and I thought I might mostly relax from our adventures in a room with an open-air onsen.*
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# Sunday 04/23, Tokyo/Narita:
***Thoughts:*** *Our flight leaves from NRT at 5:20 PM. I imagine I shouldn’t plan anything, maybe wake up and eat breakfast, stay close to the station, then get to NRT pretty early to be on the safe side.*