Hi all! My boyfriend and I are taking a 10-day trip from April 14-24 and would greatly appreciate any feedback on our itinerary! We will mostly be using the 7-day JR Pass to get around. Our schedule is pretty much decided except the last 2 days, but we always welcome any comments or suggestions!
I do know that this is quite the packed schedule, but these are all things that we are really hoping to be able to do.
**Day 1- Tokyo → Osaka**
– Fly from LAX to Haneda. Arrive at 3:25 PM
– Get luggage, activate JR Pass, and take a train to Osaka (I know it’s not ideal, but we need to end our trip in Tokyo, so we decided to activate it and go to Osaka first to get the more expensive trips out of the way)
– Rest in hotel
**Day 2- Osaka**
– Tsuyunoten Jinja (Shrine of Lovers)
– Osaka Aquarium
– Dotonbori
**Day 3- Osaka + Hiroshima**
– Hiroshima Peace Memorial
– Head back to Osaka to eat dinner
**Day 4- Nara + Kyoto**
– Nara Deer Park + Nakatanidou (mochi pounding!) in the morning and afternoon
– Fushimi Inari in the afternoon
– Sannenzaka in the evening
**Day 5- Kyoto**
– Still deciding whether to go to Arashiyama Monkey Park
– Nishiki market for lunch
– Miyako Odori (Geisha show) after lunch
– Philosopher’s Path
**Day 6- Osaka → Tokyo**
– Take Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo
Settle down in hotel (Shinjuku area) and head to – Shinjuku Gyoen National Park
– Shibuya crossing to see Hachiko!
– Harajuku (maybe)
**Day 7- Tokyo**
– Meiji Jingu Temple
– Mameshiba Cafe
– teamLab Planets Tokyo
– Tsukiji Outer Market for lunch
– Hang Out
**Day 8- Tokyo + Yokohama**
– Ueno Park
– Asakusa
– Senso-Ji
– Travel to Yokohama for Chinatown + Cup Noodle Museum
**Day 9- Tokyo**
– This day is pretty free as we don’t have too much planned in Tokyo
– Meguro Parasitological Museum?
**Day 10- Tokyo**
– Our flight takes off at 9:05 so we have the better part of the day to burn
– Ikea? Yoyogi Park? We are open to suggestions!
– Head back to Haneda airport at 5-6 PM
Any advice for first timers in general? I know a bit of Japanese (conversational) and can read/write Hiragana, Katakana, and some Kanji so I don’t expect toooo much of a language barrier. TIA!
3 comments
Meiji Jingu is right by Harajuku, so if you want you could squeeze it in at the end of Day 6, or move Harajuku to Day 7.
I think your Day 7 needs a bit of tweaking, assuming you’re listing things to do chronologically – it looks like Mameshiba Cafe is only open from lunch? Depending on where you plan to eat at Tsukiji, might be worth going to TeamLabs first thing in the morning, THEN Tsukiji Outer Markets *or* Toyosu (Toyosu is closer to TeamLabs Planets), then head back towards Meiji Jingu/Harajuku in the late afternoon.
I’m not sure why you want to go to an IKEA in Japan, but you do you I guess?
I’d recommend hitting up the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (“TMG”) building – they’ve got an observation deck with free entry that gives you an amazing view of the metropolis, and if you’re lucky and the sky is clear that day, Mt Fuji. You can also choose to do a boat tour from Hama Rikyu Gardens that takes you by many of Tokyo’s bridges. The Gardens are also worth a stroll through, tbh.
>Day 3- Osaka + Hiroshima
Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Head back to Osaka to eat dinner
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Honestly, going to Hiroshima just for the Peace Memorial is not worth it because there’s more to Hiroshima than that.
If you really want to go to visit Hiroshima, I suggest making the most out of your day like including at least Miyajima Island to your itinerary. You can go here first (maybe a half-day trip would do) before going to the Peace Memorial. Then go back to Osaka.
You can also buy ekiben (train lunch boxes) and drinks outside the platforms and have dinner inside the shinkansen just for the experience.
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For Tokyo, I suggest going to Odaiba. There’s lots of things to do and places to visit there.
Day 5: Arashiyama Monkey Park is a fun experience, but it’s a bit out of the way from the other attractions you’re visiting in Kyoto. If you’re tight on time, you might want to skip it and focus on other sights in the city such as some of temples and shrines in Higashiyama.
Day 7: teamLab Planets Tokyo is a popular attraction and can get quite crowded. You might want to book tickets in advance to avoid long wait times.
Day 9: If you’re interested in the Meguro Parasitological Museum, make sure to check the opening hours as it’s not open every day. You might also want to consider visiting the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku for panoramic views of the city.