Itinerary Check: 2 week trip to Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo in the Spring

24 comments

1. >9 or 10am – Osaka Aquarium – gotta get that seal plushy!
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   >12pm – Get Lunch.
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   >1 or 2pm – Head to Umena Sky Building to see floating garden. Probably do some shopping and site seeing around the area.
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   >6pm – Go on the Tempozan Feris Wheel.

   Probably want to switch the Sky Building and Osaka Aquarium. No reason to backtrack as Tempozan and Osaka Aquarium are next to each other.

   >10am – Check out and put luggage into storage at the train station.

   Why don’t just store your luggage at hotel? Most hotel do same-day luggage storage after checkout.

   And no, you are not going to go to Namba Yasaka Shring and go to Kyoto without 30 minutes. From Namba you are looking at around 1 hour to Kyoto Station.

   >4:15pm – Yasaka Temple if we are feeling up to it.

   You literally walk through it if you walk from Maruyama Park toward Gion. But I doubt you will have enough time that day, considering that you didn’t allocate any time for travelling at all.

   >Day 7 – This day I’m not sure if I have the right order of site seeing. Please let me know what order would be best.

   You should go all the way to Otagi Nenbutsuji and walk down toward Adashino Nenbutsuji. Otherwise the order is fine.

2. Day 11 you are going from Asakusa to Odaiba, then back north to the area in Akihabara again? You’d lost a good amount of time in travel alone.

   I suggest you go see Tokyo Skytree tower or some other places that is closer and change teamLab to another day. Just two hours for it isn’t really enough anyway.

3. Day 2 : I would do Umeda Sky building last, the night view is awesome from there. It also make no sense to go to the Aquarium in the morning and Ferris wheel at the end of the day, just do both when you are in the same area, that is quite ineffective.

   Day 3 : Sumiyoshi shrine is really not in the the same area. Kind of assuming you are saying around Namba, so Sumiyoshi first, then go to the castle and Shinsaibashi (last because store open and close later than shrine/castle)

   Day 4: Ask hotel to keep luggage after check-out, you only have to go back to pick it before you go to Kyoto.

   For Osaka in general, put all the places you want on a map and re-plan based on the location of things. For example, Tsuyuten Shrine in close to Osaka/Umeda station, so why not go the same day as sky building, that is also the same station (but different side), and the only thing in the area that you are planning (from what I could see).

   Day 9 : Rainbow bridge, you can cross it during the day, it have different opening hours depending on the season, but it does not look as you want to cross.

   Day 12 : So you are going to Meiji shrine, that is in Harajuku and maybe after you will go to Harajuku again? As far as I know, there is no longer cosplayers hanging out around Harajuku station during the weekend as it used to be.

4. I would move your Day 13 type plans in the middle of your trip. You will be doing so much walking that your feet will be totally exhausted by Day 5. I looked back at my last trip to Japan and each day I was walking 10 miles/day minimum. I would highly recommend going to onsens in the evening and/or leaving a day or two every 3-4 days for a half day break/people watching.

5. Day 4: you’re gonna want way more time at Kiyomizu-dera than 45 min, IMO. There are tons of shops and cafes on the way up and you may get sidetracked unless shopping/eating really, really isn’t your thing. I also don’t know much about the layout of Kyoto (it’s been awhile) but I do think you’ll want more time than you’ve given yourself for many of those temples.

6. I’d try and hit bamboo grove early. It’s magical when it’s empty.

   Also – Nara is a day trip from Kyoto. It’s a magical place. I might try and work it in and sacrifice some temples if need be. It was one of my highlights.

7. Jesus, this is so much over planning….I don’t know how people who do this can enjoy themselves.

   I went with maybe one activity per day pre-planned and couldn’t have had a better time.

8. Just so you know the Ueno Zoo pandas usually have a long line that results in 3+ hours of just waiting

9. Not to rain on your parade, but this is an official travel advisory for americans travelling to japan:

   The U.S. Embassy continues to carefully monitor the spread of COVID-19 in Japan. The Department of State has issued a level three advisory for Japan recommending that U.S. citizens reconsider travel. Japan has instituted strict immigration restrictions, and **most travelers will not be permitted to enter.** More information is available from Japan’s Ministry of Justice.

10. Take me with you 😭😭😭

11. Switch up akihabara for ikeburuko instead. Much better night life and anime shops imo. There is a great street with tiny 8 seaters bars thats great for bar hopping.

12. As a general suggestion:

    What’s magical about Japan is that it truly represents a unique culture and way of life.

    As you’re spending time there, I would prioritize understanding and trying to immerse yourself in their traditions.

    It’s much more than sight-seeing or bucket list items. If you really allow yourself to experience Japanese society, it can be extremely rewarding & change your perspective on everyday life. I wouldn’t rush to finish a checklist.

13. urg….that Panda line was way too long. i was like nope, i aint waiting there for the whole day.

14. Day 2: reserve 3 hours minimum for Osaka Aquarium or better half a day.

15. Looks like a good trip. If you want take a day trip to Kamakura area/Yuigahama Beach 1 hour south of central tokyo on the local train. Lots of wonderful temples and relaxing ocean.

    Go to team lab if you can. It takes two hours to explore. I liked borderless alot, i never made it to planets.

    If you are in Japan for Sakura blossoming time plan to walk through some of the Sakura areas at night and take part in the night time gatherings.

16. Your itinerary looks similar to ours the first time we went to Japan.

    IMO (only), it’s way too much. You’ll be rushing through and seeing stuff for the sake of seeing stuff instead of taking it all in. Even going from place to place takes time and I think you might be short changing yourself. Eg. I’ve never been to Osaka aquarium before, but I’ve never spent less than 4 hrs at a aquarium in my life.

    I learned from trips to leave a day wide open so you can double back and go to places you want to see more of or just shopping.

    Also, and this particularly applies to Kyoto, there’s a lot of walking. By day 4, we were so tired we pretty much took 3/4 of it off because we just didn’t have the energy anymore.

    Also, Nara for the deer!!

17. Osaka castle was a big let down as the inside is all modern and remodeled. Also, you probably don’t need to see that many temples, after seeing the big ones, they’re all pretty much the same.

18. Seems a good itinerary (except the tattoos bit). The big ferris wheel is super fun. At night it’s lit up with animated lights. Arashiyama is a busy place so if you go early you will enjoy it more.

    Dotonbori is so-so. The girls out on the streets looking for customers for the maid cafes look sad.

    Nara is a lovely place.

19. I can appreciate the planning. Have you been there before ? I think you’re severely underestimating travel time between places. Any train ride includes walking to the station, walking through the station to get to your platform, waiting for the train, then doing it all in reverse to get out. Buses are slower even. Also plan in some down time during the day especially for a trip this long.

20. Sometimes you plan accordingly and when you’re actually there, you get lost in japan and time doesn’t really go your way. You’ll have lots of fun

21. The aquarium and ferris wheel are close together, so I’d do those later in the day. As I recall, the aquarium stays open fairly late.

22. I would be sure to double check certain locations you want to go. This pandemic has caused havoc on the Japanese economy. Many many businesses including huge and old businesses have closed down due to bankruptcy. In Dotonbori a 100 year old restaurant that was considered an icon closed down. Sega Akihabara Building 2 arcade closed down permanently on August 30. Also I see you plan to get tattoos before the onsen. Tattoos at the onsen are usually a no go. They will either see your tattoos and not allow you to enter or you get inside they see your tattoos(lol kind of hard to hide them when you are naked) and kick you out. Some water parks and beaches also prohibit tattoos but it’s much easier to hide them at these places.So while getting a tattoo in Japan is easy and no big deal, having a tattoo is kind of a big deal and has the potential to make doing certain things in Japan difficult. So either get tattoos that are small enough and in a location it is possible to hide it if needed or schedule your tattoos for the very end of your visit. Maybe someday Japan will rethink it’s stance on tattoos but probably not until it’s time to have the Olympics. However Japan is a beautiful and fun country and things seem like they are beginning to try to go back to normal. Good luck and Enjoy your trip!

23. I’m going to zag on what a lot of people are saying here. I don’t think over-planning is a problem…I planned my last trip in time blocks also. Just don’t be married to your schedule, things will come up and you might miss some things. That’s OK.

    I totally agree that the magic of traveling in Japan is the backstreets and exploring small neighborhoods. I still enjoyed every temple, garden, and castle that I visited.

    My point is not everyone travels the same, not everyone enjoys the same things. Take everyone’s advice with a grain of salt, ya know? Enjoy your trip.

24. Hi! Hoping I can provide some solid advice on a few of your days.

    Day 2: Definitely get to Osaka Aquarium on opening (~10am) you can also grab a pass at metro stations called the Osaka Kaiyu Ticket, this gives you entry plus unlimited metro travel for the day (and some other discounts, potentially the ferris wheel too). This also means you don’t have to line up to buy a ticket when reaching the aquarium. Potential to do shinsaibashi whilst in the dotonbori area as well 🙂

    Day 3: Would highly recommend walking from Kamigata > Kuromon Market > Sumiyoshi through Den Den Town > Shinsekai (really cool/different district plus this can all be accomplished in several hours). Also can really easily get the metro back to shinsaibashi from here if you would like to revisit.

    Day 4: Honestly would skip the temples to get to Kyoto as early as possible, or possibly choose one? I followed ths southern higashiyama walking tour for Kyoto ([https://nerdnomads.com/kyoto-itinerary](https://nerdnomads.com/kyoto-itinerary)). This provides a really great route to experience/see everything you have listed. I would say we spent ~4 hours exploring everything along the way.

    Day 5: Good – maybe leave this day as free as you can to allow for more rest/relaxation.

    Day 6: Nishiki Market is not overly large (Kuromon is definitely larger in terms of size) and it’s VERY busy. I would recommend a nice walkthrough, see if there is anything you want to try but the best part is that you are situated in downtown Kyoto and there is some really awesome shopping/food to try in this area. Big yes for pontocho, it’s a great area to explore.

    Day 7: Definitely agree with anyone saying to head to Arashiyama first. You can also walk over Togetsu Bridge and enter through Tenryu-ji Temple grounds and come out in the Grove. If you aimed for an 8am arrival, you could then hit the other Temples by say 10am and then head back to the monkey park. This could definitely be a full day or it could be a half day depending on how you feel – I would say you MIGHT be a little templed out from Day 4/5/6 though.

    Day 9: I would recommend leaving straight from your accommodation to Kyoto Station > Tokyo. Kyoto’s transport isn’t AS convenient and it will probably take you 3-5 hours from leaving to arriving at your hotel in Tokyo.

    Day 10: The Imperial Palace is situated in a very beautiful/different/modern area of Tokyo. I would suggest walking on through to Ginza and exploring that area for lunch! Also I am not sure if controversial but I really did not enjoy Ueno Zoo (I found the enclosures VERY small and almost sad compared to a lot of other zoos). However, Ueno Park area is beautiful and there is a lot to see and do in this area.

    Day 11: Agreed with trying to organised Asakusa and Akihabara together. Would suggest teamLab early at Odaiba and then head back to Asakusa/Akihabara (these are both close to Ueno though so I guess it depends on how your Day 10 goes too, perhaps karaoke in akihabara?).

    Day 12: Would recommend Meiji > Harajuku > Shibuya. Could fit in Yoyogi at any given point but there is a really nice walk from Harajuku to Shibuya that starts on Cat Street.

    Day 13: Nice! 🙂

    I also really love planning and find it’s really great as part of the process to understand what you might enjoy! I hope this gives some better guidance on timing/what you can accomplish.