hi! sorry this is going to be very long but i would appreciate everyone who reads/leaves advice! i’m solo (F) travelling to japan during the month of may. (i learned golden week is at the beginning so please feel free edit/suggest changing certain plans on those days). also on which JR pass i should get and which time period since the longest is 21 days. i enjoy walking so anything that’s an hour or less away i honestly wouldn’t mind going to by foot. i overall wanted to get recommendations on things i’m missing/not needed/local spots. i’ve only booked my flight and my first tokyo accommodation so i’m flexible. my interests include art, fashion, music/festivals, drinking/night life, nature/history, and food (want to eat and try as much food as possible) i would also like to know if anyone has suggestions on where i’d be able to hear about underground raves to attend! even areas of japan i haven’t included at all, i just really want to make the most out of my trip and get to see/experience tons. there’s also a few places i’ve seen mentioned that would be great for day trips, please recommend those as well! i’m not sure if beaches will be warm enough to attend but if so i’d love to visit those as well if not then just an onsen i could book for a night that allows tattoos) hotel recommendations as well! lastly, i’d love to meet others on my journey locals or other tourists as well!
JAPAN TRIP ITINERARY
sun, april 30 – FLIGHT TO LA/TOKYO
– flight at 8 am from toronto to la
– 4 hour layover
– flight from los angeles at 2:20 pm to tokyo
mon, may 1 – LAND IN TOKYO
– arrive at narita airport at 5:50 pm
– pick up sim card, JR pass/suica card¿
– train to airbnb to check in
– settle in, go to convenient store for snacks, explore the area/sleep depending on jet lag
tues, may 2 – GARDEN/SHRINES
– shinjuku gyoen national garden 9 am
– yoyogi park 11 am
– meiji jingu shrine 1 pm
– nikusentonya (restaurant 5pm-11pm)
wed, may 3 -THRIFTING
– paradise vintage
– gr8 clothing
– nubian harajuku
– 2nd street harajuku
– ragtag shibuya store
– bingo shibuya
– kindal shibuya second hand store
thurs, may 4 -SHIBUYA
– shibuya sky
– hachiko memorial statue
– shibuya crossing
– daikanyamacho (city)
– ebisu (city)
– teddy bear hot pot
fri, may 5 -ROPPONGI
– roppongi
– tokyo tower
– tokyo sky tree
– izakaya
sat, may 6 -AKIHABARA
– akihabara
– kiyomizu kanno- do temple
– senso- ji temple
– ueno park
– tokyo national museum
– tamaru (cafe)
sun, may 7
– teamlab planets toyko
– rainbow bridge
– le souffle (cafe)
mon, may 8
– ghibli museum
– a tea souhaits (dessert)
tues, may 9
– arashiyama (bamboo forest)
– lake kawaguchi
– mt fuji
wed, may 10
– yokohama chinatown
thurs, may 11
– mount takao
fri, may 12
– bar hopping golden gai
sat, may 13
– shimokitazawa vintage stores
sun, may 14
– hiroshima
mon, may 15 BNB CHECK OUT + OSAKA
– check out of bnb before 11 am
– train to osaka
– check into new accommodation
– settle in/get snacks/evening explore
tues, may 16
– osaka castle
– osaka museum of history
– tsurumaru udon nippombashi (restaurant 7 am- 8 pm)
wed, may 17
– shinsekai market
– small animals cafe
– cafe annon
– kuromon ichiba market
thurs, may 18
– nara deer park
– todai-ji temple
– yakiniku restaurant
– nakatanidou (rice cakes)
friday, may 19
– cup noodle museum
– umeda sky building
sat, may 20
– dotonbori (tons of food)
sun, may 21
– maccha house
mon, may 22
– not sure yet
tues, may 23 KYOTO
– ryoan-ji temple
– kinkaku-ji temple
– daisenin temple
wed, may 24
– fushimi inari shrine 5 am
– coco curry house
thurs, may 25
– pontocho park/alley
– kichi kichi omurice kennin-ji temple
fri, may 26
– arashiyama monkey forest
sat, may 27 TOKYO
– not sure yet
sun, may 28
– ginza
mon, may 29
– not sure yet
tues, may 30
– not sure yet
wed, may 31
– not sure yet
thurs, june 1 flight home
2 comments
Wait I’m confused.
May 9th, what do you mean Arashiyama bamboo forest, then mt. fuji? Are you taking the shinkansen all the way to Kyoto *just* for Arashiyama, then stopping by Fuji Five Lakes on the way back? You’re already going to Kyoto on May 23rd, and are going to Arashiyama anyway on the 26th (and the monkey forest does *not* take all day. It barely takes any time. Same with the bamboo forest).
Going out to Kyoto, back tracking to Fuji and then Tokyo, and then going aaaall the way out to Hiroshima and then back tracking to Osaka and then BACK TO TOKYO is just…so much pointless travel. You’re throwing away hours to revisit places you’ll be going later on anyway.
Also a lot of what you have listed to do for a day can be combined. Shimokitazawa vintage stores will just take a couple of hours. Bar hopping Golden Gai; this is an evening activity, what are you doing during the day? Combine those two days, for example.
Definitely go over your timing and areas you’ll be, put them into Google maps and save the locations, and set things out on a straighter path so you’re not spending hours on a train for no reason. Combine things that can be done in the same day.
Actually screw it, here’s what you should do (according to me, some guy on the internet):
May 1st: You’ll be hit by a 16 hour time difference, you’ll need to rest. “Depending on jet lag”, you will be wrecked. Rest it off.
May 2nd through 4th (**Honestly, if this stuff is you shopping, DO NOT DO IT UNTIL THE END OF YOUR TRIP**, you don’t want to be lugging around all the stuff you bought the whole time and taking up space. Since you’re going back to Tokyo anyway, just…do all that then if you’re intending to buy things): Harajuku is basically just Takeshita St, and it’s right outside Yoyogi Park/Meiji Jingu. Yoyogi Park will not take 2 hours, Meiji Jingu will not take 4 hours.
– Do your gardens and shrines in the morning of the second, hit Harajuku in the afternoon, get dinner.
– Shibuya and Shinjuku are right next to each other. Do all the stuff. Golden Gai or Omoide Yakocho in the evening.
– Ebisu, Daikanyamacho, and Shimokitazawa could likely all be done in one day.
May 8th: Ghibli museum won’t take long. Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum is nearby and could be nice to tack on.
May 9th: Go to Hakone or Fuji Five Lakes. Rest in an onsen. Make a couple of days out of it.
After this, don’t go back to Tokyo. Go from Hakone/Fuji to Kyoto. Do your Kyoto stuff, do Arashiyama, day trip to Nara, etc. *Now* go to Hiroshima; hit up Miyajima island while you’re there. Come back to Osaka and do your Osaka stuff since you’re backtracking anyway. It will break up the long train ride.
Instead of going straight back to Tokyo from here, go somewhere else! Kanazawa for a night or two, Nagoya, things like that. You’ll be there for an entire month, there’s no reason to limit yourself to the biggest tourist traps. Hell, use Kyoto as a base of operations and take day trips out to Kobe and Koyasan.
Go back to Tokyo with a couple of days to spare (or with a week to spare and do day trips to Nikko and places like that), do all your shopping then. Buy a suitcase at Tokyu Hands now that you don’t have to move hotels anymore, and fill it up.
heyhey im from toronto too! will be in Japan may 9-22 🙂 I’m 25F and would love to msg you 🙂 reply to this comment if you feel comfortable with that