Hi. As the title says, I’ll be in Osaka-Tokyo during early April this year but I’ve been put in charge of the Tokyo trip and I wanted some advice on the current plan I have (it’s my first time planning an itinerary) and I’m also open to suggestions since nothing is set in stone yet really. For some basic information, I’ll be traveling with 3 family members (all women), and we’ll be staying at a hotel in Makuhari, Chiba. I’m aware it’ll be at least an hour travel to Tokyo by train which is even more reason why I’d like the itinerary to be more organized.
Places marked with \* are non-negotiables as they are part of our travel pass.
TMI: I’m a big anime/manga fan too, so I’d like to go to Akihabara too for sure.
**Day 1**
Arrival at Haneda Airport around noon. (we’ll be coming from Osaka)
Check-in at the hotel, getting settled in and resting from our flight
Ghibli Museum (hopefully tickets will be available, I’m aware it’s highly difficult to get these)
Shinjuku Gyoen
Shin-Okubo
Shinjuku Streets at night
**Day 2**
Tokyo Skytree\*
Spring Parks/Attractions: Ueno Park, Nakameguro River
Starbucks Reserve
Akihabara
**Day 3**
Meiji Shrine
Harajuku Shopping
Hachiko Statue
Shibuya Crossing + Shibuya Skyline\* (around afternoon/sunset)
Yebisu Garden Place (a special request by my family member, filming location for this one jdrama; Hana Yori Dango)
Chidorigafuchi Park
**Day 4**
Asakusa temple visit (Sensoji)
Kimono Rental and Hairstyling\*
Sumida Park
Shimokitazawa
**Day 5**
Tsukiji Market
TeamLab Tokyo\*
Imperial Palace
Ginza
Ikebukuro
Tokyo Tower\*
**Day 6**
Tokyo Disneyland\*
**Day 7**
Tokyo Disney Sea\*
**Day 8**
\- open to suggestions, it’ll be our last day. We will be leaving 1AM the following day.
\- probably will go back to places we want to see again?
\- day trip to kawagoe/kamakura as somebody suggested? Is there a lot to do within the area??
In general, I also want to go to more places that really give off the old traditional Japanese houses vibe?? And also great places to visit during spring. Much help would be appreciated, I’m aware it might still seem like it’s all over the place HFJRHFHR. Thank you in advance!
3 comments
Im not sure if you plan to stay out late some days, but just be aware that if you are not on a train sometime around 11pm, good chance you are not making it back that night via train.
You might want to reconsider some of the timing on your schedule. Another note to be aware of is sunrise in April is around 5:30AM and sunset is around 6PM. Its something to consider when planning, since you can visit shrines, temples, and parks in the morning and have plenty of sunlight. Small shops tend to open between 10AM and Noon.
Day 1 – If you’re arrive at Noon and going to the hotel in Chiba and resting. You might not be able to make the Ghibli Museum (or have very little time to see it). As the Museum closes at 5PM on weekdays, but 7PM on weekends. Makuhari-Hongo Station to Mitaka Station (about a mile walk away from the museum) is about 1.5 hours, but at least its one train. So you might have to settle for staying in the Shinjuku area. Also, if you visit the movie cinemas, like Toho Cinema Shinjuku, they sell program guides for the movies they are showing. They’ll be in Japanese, but have some nice set photos and an odd souvenir for a movie you may like. They usually do this for both Anime and Western Movies. I’ve gotten a Top Gun Maverick guide once, as well as some of the Fate movies.
Day 2 – I can see the route you’re trying to take, but I feel you’ll end up having to choose between Ueno or NakaMeguro. Skytree can be challenging sometimes, in case bad weather bringing clouds or fog in around the tower’s observation deck. Skytree also has a Foreigner’s entrance that will give let you up the tower faster then the normal line. You’ll need your passport for this tho (but you should be always carrying your passport in Japan). And there a shopping center at the Skytree to look through, which includes a Pokemon Center.
Day 3 – Appears more doable. Meiji Shrine opens around sunrise. But the shops in Harajuku probably open closer to Noon. So you might want to consider visiting the parks in the morning, giving you more to shop?
Day 4 – I imagine the Kimono rental is to allow you to walk around Asakusa area in it. So you might end up here for a while, as I imagine they wouldn’t want you to leave the area with them on? Shimokitazawa is quite a bit away from Asakusa, requiring like three trains to get there. So you might end up with limited time there.
Day 5 – I do not think you’ll be able to fit Ikebukuro in this day. Tsukiji Market is open early, so its a nice morning visit. But its also close to Ginza which the shops open later in the morning. There seems to be a bit of back and forth, which makes taking the bus more direct than the train.
Day 8 – I feel you’ll have a few places missed, that you’ll want to make an attempt at. For an anime fan, Ikebukuro has Animate’s new flagship store. Diver City has the 1-1 scale Gundam Unicorn. There also the Nintendo Store in Shibuya PARCO. And the many Pokemon Store throughout Tokyo.
In general, you should prioritize the places you want to go and be ready to drop some in order give more time to others.
Hope you have fun.
You could easily spend an entire day if not two in Kamakura and Enoshima. If you like old temples and traditional Japanese shops, Kamakura is great. Enoshima is a fun place to explore as well, some old temples and lots of little shops all up and down the island with a park and a nice view from the top.