Boyfriend and I (both 24) are super excited for our first trip to Japan after cancelling in 2020 🥲 Was hoping to get some general thoughts and recommendations for improvement!
We’re mostly down for anything, but especially interested in food, figurines (blind boxes, gachapon, gunpla), anime, and museums. Not super interested in art galleries or nightlife but my mind could be changed!
**Day 1**
– Land in NRT, get Suica, pocket wifi
– Check into hotel in Asakusa around 4 PM
– Shop along Nakamise Street, see Kaminari Gate if it’s still bright out
**Day 2**
– Check out Sensoji Temple, Asakusa Shrine in the morning, then commute to Shibuya
– Meiji Jingu
– Shopping at Parco, Pokemon Centre
– Konno Hachimangu
**Day 3**
– Ghibli Museum @ 11 AM (it’s a Thursday, hopefully not too busy?)
– Maybe explore Kichijoji in the afternoon
– Head to Odaiba for Gundam Base Tokyo **OR** Ginza?
**Day 4**
– Head to Akihabara for the day
– Final Fantasy Eorzea Cafe
– Mandarake Complex, Sega Arcade
– See Imperial Palace if we have time
**Day 5 **
– Day trip to Mt. Fuji with some friends (residents with a car)
**Day 6**
– Overnight trip to Nikko
– Still planning this out, open to suggestions!
**Day 7** (start of Golden Week, kinda nervous!)
– Travel from Nikko to Kyoto (hoping to only use one shinkansen here, Shinagawa to Kyoto Station) — pick up Kansai version of IC card (?)
– Check in at hotel 3 PM, store luggage in station lockers if they can’t store prior to check-in
– Kyoto Imperial Park (Kyoto Imperial Palace, Sento Palace, Nijo Castle)
– Kyoto Manga Museum
– Sanjusangen-do Temple
– Eat in Nishiki Market?
**Day 8**
– Day trip to Osaka for Nintendo World, hoping to avoid shinkansen
– Get to USJ park at around 8 AM
– Explore the city if the park doesn’t eat up too much of our day
**Day 9**
– Kinkakuji Temple
– Philosopher’s Path
– Head to Kibune
– Kifune Shrine
– Kibune 1 hr hike → Kurama-dera
**Day 10**
– Head to Arashiyama
– Bamboo Grove
– Tenryuji Temple
– Kimono Forest
– Togetsukyo Bridge
– Monkey Park Iwatayama
– There’s a bunch of other temples we want to check out past Saga-Toriimoto Preserved Street but we might be fatigued by then?
**Day 11**
– Day trip to Nara, again hoping to avoid shinkansen
– Nara Park
– Todaiji Temple
– Heijo Palace
– Naramachi (Gangoji Temple, Naramachi Lattic House)
– Check out museums (toy, crafts, etc.) time permitting
**Day 12**
– Was thinking of Himeji but feel like this week is a lot of traveling, super down for a chill exploring day
**Day 13**
– Tofukuji Temple
– Fushimi Inari Shrine, 2-3 hr hike to summit of Mt. Inari
– Head to Higashiyama District
– Kiyomizudera Temple
– Yasaka Shrine
– Eat in Pontocho Alley
**Day 14**
– Overnight trip to Hakone (taking shinkansen from Kyoto to Odawara)
– Check in to ryokan (with private onsen!) at 4 PM
– Hoping to arrive before check-in, maybe check out Komagatake or Hakone Railway?
**Day 15**
– Do what we couldn’t in Hakone day before
– Pit stop in Yokohama, maybe store luggage at the station?
– Gundam Base
– Cup Noodle Museum
– Ramen Museum
– Head back to Tokyo (Asakusa) for check-in
**Day 16**
– Day trip to Kawagoe (really want to make chopsticks here lol)
**Day 17**
– Fly back to YYZ at 4:55 PM
Here are some of my questions, any advice is super appreciated!
– Do we have too much planned? My only non-negotiables are Nintendo World, the Ghibli Museum, i.e. stuff we’ve paid for already. For my boyfriend, Gundam Base in Yokohama is a must for him.
– Are there any transit passes we can take advantage of? I don’t think JR 7-day works here as we’re travelling back to Tokyo on the 8th day.
– We don’t really mind 1h+ commutes (used to it from the GTA lol) but anywhere we could potentially bike to get around?
– Is there a specific dish in each city/district we absolutely cannot miss?
Thanks so much for any and all help! 🙂
