Hello,
First time going to Japan with wife and 10 yr old daughter. We are traveling from Mar 23 to Mar 31. We are planning to take in some cherry blossom spots and also delve into anime related activities.
Not buying JR pass.
Day 1
Arrive at Narita ~6PM
Check-in hotel in Shibuya.
No plans for this day as i am sure it’ll be a late check-in
Day 2
– Shibuya sky (reservation at 10AM), its a quick walk from hotel
– Harajuku Street (bus/train)
– back to hotel for rest around 2PM (bus/train)
– Akihabara around 4PM (bus/train)
– dinner (reservation at 8PM) (bus/train)
– back to hotel
Day 3
– Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (pre-booked tickets), will get there before it opens at 9AM. i expect it to be packed since its peak cherry blossom season. By bus/train. Spend 2-3 hours
– Anime Festival (Tokyo Big Sight, pre-booked tickets). By bus/train. Spend 2-3 hours
– back to hotel by 4PM
– Pokemon Center mega (bus/train)
– Meguro River Cherry Blossom festival at night
– back to hotel
Day 4
– early morning get to Shinjuku station to take the 830AM train to Kawaguchiko. <— bit worried this will be full. Anyone experienced in traveling on this during cherry blossom season?
– check into hotel around 11AM.
– 3 hour tour around kawaguchiko
– back to hotel
Day 5
– spend morning enjoy hotel views and around 10 head to kawaguchiko station
– take bus to tokyo station and then nozomi to kyoto , get there around 5PM
– check-in to kyoto hotel. No real plans but maybe walk around and explore at night. Any suggestions welcome.
Day 6
– wife daughter have geisha makeover in ginza at 9AM
– explore ginza afterwards
– back to hotel around noon for quick break
– 3 hour tour starts at 3PM inlcudes philosophers walk, golden pavillion and fushimi inari shrine
– back to hotel
Day 7
– early morning bamboo forest
– back to hotel and leave for osaka
– check in hotel around 11AM
– universal studios (pre-booked tickets)
– pokemon cafe osaka (reserved 545PM)
– back to hotel
Day 8
– back to tokyo and check in probably by 11AM
– tokyo skytree reserved for 4PM
– teamlabs planets reserved for 730PM
– back to hotel
Day 9
– early morning Ueno park and Tokyo national museum
– ready for airport, flight at 10PM so we will try to get to airport by 7PM. So maybe train to narita by 530PM.
I decided against JR pass as i didnt feel 7day was worth it. But i am worried about seat reservations and luggage space in peak season. Especially for train to kawaguchiko.
Any advice appreciated.
6 comments
What hotels are you staying at that you can check in at 11 am? Or are you just planning to drop off bags and go out?
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Generally speaking. The cost of a round trip ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto is more than the JR pass. Plus the JR Pass is good on all the local JR trains. So I’d think it would be worth it economically.
It also appears you are using hotels.
You can check with your Tokyo hotel to see if they will ship your luggage to your next hotel.
Maybe try shipping your luggage to Kyoto on Day 3/4. And taking an overnight backpack for Kawaguchiko.
AnimeJapan is a fun convention. They usually show off all the Anime for the coming year and give out some nice promotion items. There also a shopping area to buy stuff as well.
It appears you might not have much time at Universal Studio Japan. It can get quite busy in the afternoon. Hopefully you paid the extra for express passes. Nintendo World, Harry Porter, and Wonderland require area tickets to enter at a certain time without the express passes. Using the USJ app and scanning your tickets into it on the day you go can help get area and ride tickets, but it might be geolocation restricted to the park?
Hope you have a great time.
Hi!
If the train is busy, it’s because the Japanese have school break then, not because of sakura. Fuji Five Lakes doesn’t usually have its blossoms open until after peak has ended in Tokyo, and as per Japan Guide first opening is expected to be April 5th, long after you have left.
Unless you have express passes expect to maybe go on 2 rides during your time in USJ. You’re going during a school vacation in Japan. Unless you are staying at one of the hotels on City Walk, you won’t be getting to the park until 11:30 or later. You then can only stay in the park until 5ish because you really don’t want to miss your Pokemon Reservation and it’s over in Shinsaibashi.
I’ve only been to USJ 2x, but both times it took far longer than I expected to get there from JR Osaka Station.
I TakQbin my bags. I don’t like taking a lot of bags on public transport, I don’t want a large bag near my feet, and I don’t want to worry about reserving the space behind the last row of seats. I travel with just my tween, my husband doesn’t like to travel. We bring 1 check in sized bag sometimes 2, 1 carry on sized wheelie, two personal sized backpacks and a violin.
If you are staying in the same hotel in Tokyo for the start and end of your trip, you can ask them if they are willing to hold a bag for you until you come back. I’ve had hotels offer. Otherwise I send some luggage ahead and use my carry on for immediate purposes but I’ve not idea what you are bringing with you.
Have you looked into whether you can just buy your tickets 1 month out on the JR East website for Kawaguchiko? (aka right now?) I’m pretty sure the tickets can be bought ahead of time Internationally and since you’re not dinking with a pass, I’m not sure why you would not.
Hey!
We’ll be going with a similar itinerary late March. Not sure if this can help your situation but we booked seats on a bus from tokyo station to kawaguchiko for 2000 yen. I also did see other buses departing at shinjuku to kawaguichiko too. Could be an option if youre worried about seats on the trains, though there may be better alternatives given the situation.
We re travelling from osaka to kawaguchiko however and this seemed to be the most convenient way with less transfers.
This is not exactly peak travel season, yes it is one of the most popular periods for foreign tourist, but they only make a fraction of the people using the train. Japanese people would usually go see the cherry blossom locally, the popular activity being hanami, that is often go eat with your friends or family under the cherry trees, so you often do that locally. Of course there is also people who will travel for it, especially the weekend, but there is no holiday dedicated so you do not get the same movement volume as during the real peak.
For the train to Kawaguchiko, if you mean the Fuji excursion, check if you can buy on https://www.eki-net.com/fr/jreast-train-reservation/top/Index