Actually my stomach hurts from excitement right now, context i’m 21 female, solo, first time in japan. This is my final itinerary but simplified (like i only wrote “explore shibuya” instead of listing all the shops lol) can anyone let me know if anything doesn’t work especially with timing and travel between different areas in the city? Thank youuuu <3 also if i missed anything good please recommendations are welcome!!
DAY 0 22/4
– Arrive at NRT 14:10
Won’t activate JR pass yet but based on research, from NRT to Ginza, cheapest option should be less than ¥1500 right?
– Hotel & just stroll around the area
– If possible, might want to go to Mori Tower Roppongi at night
DAY 1 23/4
– Lunch @ Manten Sushi
– Check out thrift stores @ Shimokitazawa. Also interested in Gotokuji Temple, is it worth it due to my limited time? Or skip?
– Shibuya & Omotesando: Shibuya Crossing, Nezu Museum, & shops basically
– Shibuya Sky RESERVED 5 PM
– Continue to explore around the area after
DAY 2 24/4
– Tsukiji Outer Market
– The 1975 concert, planning to go around 2-3 PM
DAY 3 25/5
Activate JR Pass today
– Arrive in Kyoto before noon
– Nishiki Market
– Arashiyama: Bamboo Forest in the evening, Arabica, Miffy Bakery
– Explore Gion area
– Dinner @ Kichi Kichi Omurice – RESERVED
– Explore Pontocho area
DAY 4 26/4
– Fushimi Inari
– Kiyomizu Dera
– Explore Higashiyama & Ninenzaka area
– Dinner @ Gyukatsu Motomura
DAY 5 27/4
– Arrive In Osaka before noon
– Katsuoji
– Izakaya Toyo
– Kuromon Market
– Dinner @ Tsurugyu RESERVED
– Explore Dotonbori
DAY 6 28/4
– Arrive in Naoshima before noon
– Chichu Art Museum RESERVED
– Benesse House, Valley Gallery
– Back to Osaka by ?? PM -> what’s the possible time estimate?
DAY 7 29/4
– Arrive in Nagoya before noon
– The 1975 concert
– Not sure what to do before!
DAY 8 30/4
– Ghibli Park 12 PM RESERVED -> is 2-3 hours enough? Only got the Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse one!
– Arrive in Tokyo by 6 PM ?
– Dinner @ Yoshikawa Sushi RESERVED
DAY 9 1/5
– N’s Yard in Tochigi
– Back by 3-4 PM is it possible?
– Explore Shinjuku, Golden Gai, Memory Lane
DAY 10 2/5
Last day of JR Pass
– Explore Asakusa
– Explore Akihabara & Ikebukuro -> if not enough time, which one is better?
– New York Jazz Bar @ Park Hyatt
DAY 11 3/5
– Flight back at 14:49
18 comments
I haven’t been to Japan yet so can’t offer advice. But your trip sounds like a ton of fun!! Enjoy!! 💖
Only chipping in for the Akiba vs Ikebukuro bit… As a female I like Ikebukuro a lot, so much that I stay here almost every Tokyo trip, even typing this in a hotel here lol. If you like anime themed cafes, Ikebukuro has way more than Akiba, and things in Ikebukuro are more central than Akiba. Have you heard of the Otome Road? If not you can google for more info. There’s also a butler cafe but you need to book well ahead. I also like the Sunshine City Mall as the aquarium is cute and tons of food options, and there’s also a Pokemon Center and Namja Town.
For Akiba, I find the stores to be a bit too scattered and in general I find Akiba more geared towards guys. I usually would only go to Akiba if I’m checking other things nearby; I personally don’t dedicate a day for Akiba.
Another good options for looking for rare anime goods is Nakano Broadway.
But since you’re going from Asakusa… Ikebukuro would be far. Akiba is closer. If you only wanted to look for simple anime stuff, why not go to the skytree? The Solamachi mall has quite a few anime shops and it’s very close to Asakusa. Ll
I don’t have time to look through everything in your itinerary, but just make sure you factor in travel time and always leave extra as this is your first trip, so it is easy to get lost at a subway. Getting out from the wrong exit (east vs west in Shinjuku for example) could end up causing a 20+ min delay… Use Google map and change the time to reflect actual of the day to get a better idea of commute time. Try to group what you’re checking out together in nearby areas to reduce transit time.
How did you reserve dinner reservations?
How did you get The 1975 tickets
Edit: specifically how did you get Tokyo tickets. I want to get those or Yokohama but I haven’t been able to find a reputable way. I saw that Aichi tickets were available to foreigners, though
It’s crazy how our first tokyo day is almost exactly the same and we’re also going to Tsurugyu first day of Osaka haha!
nice, i’m going a week later and will use this as a template if you don’t mind!
Is Yoshikawa meant to be a step above Sushi Manten? It’s double the price and the google reviews are pretty similar.
I’m here right now until May 1st and did most of the things on your list! It looks good to me but make sure to bring some good shoes! I also didn’t know you could get Ghibli tickets online 🥴
Please enjoy Ghibli Park for me. We weren’t able to get tickets that day. 😭
Gotokuji is fun. I’m not sure it’s cool enough to structure a day around on its own, but since you also wanna go to Shimokitazawa and they’re nearby each other it makes sense to visit Gotokuji.
For Ghibli Park we spent about 4 hours in the Grand Warehouse (this will really depend on line length the day you go, we also ate lunch at the cafe so that added time). You can’t go into the other sections but if you follow the signs for Dondoki Forest there is an overlook you can access where you can see Satsuki and Mei’s house from the outside. We also wandered around looking for it hidden items (we only found 5). We spent a total of about 6.5 hours in the park.
Nagoya yay!!! I live in Nagoya and I’m always happy to see it on someone’s list haha. Osu is a really cool old shopping arcade that has fun shopping (thrifting/unique finds), and street food! For more upscale shopping, Sakae is nearby and has some fun department stores to check out.
I also enjoy Tsuruma park, and meijo park (by Nagoya castle) for something more nature-y!
Wow we totally missed out on Kichi Kichi Omurice reservation! We also plan to visit Miffy Bakery they have so many cute bread!!
Hey! So I went to Shimokitazawa like a week ago and it was a beautiful little town! But, underwhelmed with the thrift shops, they’re all just American clothes and usually expensive brands like Supreme. I’m used to thrift shops in America where it’s really just anything. So basically, if you want cheaper clothes you won’t find it here, its all still priced pretty high for higher end brands. Still cheaper than new, but won’t find any “cheap” cute clothes to get.
From Nagoya, there’s a really beautiful and cute preserved town called Magome-juku. Look into it! Not sure if you have time to fit it in, but it was one of the things I enjoyed doing when I got to Nagoya!
It was about an hour from Nagoya station, to get to the post town. People super kind, its much more of a quiet town in the mountains and wow its beautiful for pictures!
Check out the 8 story animate for anime related things. May be standard MSRP or more. You can go to different book offs for second hand anime stuff too
Hopefully your tummy settles. Mine stayed upset for 3 days and I missed out on so much food. Akihabara for me was just a couple hours and then there wasn’t tons to do save for arcades and stuff. The train takes you to Ikeburuko pretty quickly from that station so if you have time maybe both, they did open the NEW Animate store in Ikeburuko last month.
Do y ou need reservations for New York Jazz Bar? I think that’s the one in Lost in Translation.
DAY 0 22/4
According to Google, it’s ¥1150 to take the Keisei line from Narita to Ginza station.
I took the Narita Express (JR Pass), so can’t give my opinion.
“- Hotel & just stroll around the area
– If possible, might want to go to Mori Tower Roppongi at night”
Roppongi was disappointing to me and my husband and we ended up going to a basement izakaya joint in Ginza that night Instead. Roppongi I as just drunk young tourists for the most part and not very interesting. Mori Tower has the cool spider sculpture outside but we didn’t go up. We saved up for Shibuya Sky views which were well worth it.
DAY 1 23/4
“- Lunch @ Manten Sushi
– Check out thrift stores @ Shimokitazawa. Also interested in Gotokuji Temple, is it worth it due to my limited time? Or skip?”
shimokitazawa was a cool walk but as someone else said, it’s almost all Americana thrift stores and super overpriced for someone coming from the thrift stores in North America. I got bored fast.
“- Shibuya & Omotesando: Shibuya Crossing, Nezu Museum, & shops basically
– Shibuya Sky RESERVED 5 PM
– Continue to explore around the area after”
Lots of time here
“DAY 3 25/5
Activate JR Pass today
– Arrive in Kyoto before noon
– Nishiki Market
– Arashiyama: Bamboo Forest in the evening, Arabica, Miffy Bakery
– Explore Gion area
– Dinner @ Kichi Kichi Omurice – RESERVED
– Explore Pontocho area”
This is a lot in one day but a lot of it is close together. Arashiyama is quite a train ride from Kyoto though and will eat Into your day. Monkey park is cool too but you don’t have time here.
Gion is cool. Mostly shops and tourists lol
“DAY 4 26/4
– Fushimi Inari
– Kiyomizu Dera
– Explore Higashiyama & Ninenzaka area
– Dinner @ Gyukatsu Motomura”
Fushimi Inari and Kiyomizu Dera are must dos for sure. Fushimi Inari is WAY better if you can find the back entrance. Hardly anyone makes it to the top so great views of the tori gates up there.
Lots of time on this day.
“DAY 5 27/4
– Arrive In Osaka before noon
– Katsuoji
– Izakaya Toyo
– Kuromon Market
– Dinner @ Tsurugyu RESERVED
– Explore Dotonbori”
Kuromon and Dotonbori are insanely busy but amazing. So much food and shopping. Highly recommend Pablo’s cheesecake or Rikuro’s Namba Fluffy cheesecake. Amazing!
I don’t have much insight into the rest of your trip. I didn’t love Akihabara, but I’m not an anime fan either.
Have fun and don’t be afraid to switch up your itinerary once your there when you see something cool!
I just got back from 14 days yesterday and I already miss it!