Hi!
After lurking for a while on this sub, I finally booked my trip to Japan a few months ago and came up with the itinerary below.
Background:
This will be my first time in Japan as well as my first time traveling alone. I felt a bit overwhelmed at first, but this sub helped me a lot through the whole process!
* I’ll be traveling during the second half of May
* Flights and hotels are booked
* Simcard received
* JR Pass received
* I’m not into drinking/going out at night so I’ve not included any bars/nightlife, except some sightseeing in the evening
* The hotel I’m staying at in Tokyo is located in Shinjuku
Would love to know your thoughts on this itinerary, if it seems packed or not, and if you have other places to recommend! I tried to stick neighborhoods that are close together when possible.
If helpful, I’m into animes/mangas and books (including some japanese authors).
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**Day 1: Landing \[Staying in Tokyo\]**
* Landing in Haneda at 6pm
* Go through customs
* Get to the hotel
* Check-in
* Have diner
* If I feel like it, explore the nearby area, but will most likely stay at the hotel and go to sleep
Notes: since I’m landing quite late, I think I’ll be exhausted from the long flight, hence this empty first day.
​
**Day 2: Shinjuku \[Staying in Tokyo\]**
* Shinjuku Gyoen
* Suga Shrine (Your Name scenes area)
* \>Head to Shinjuku Station
* \>Lunch
* Nearby area (Takashimaya Times Square, Godzilla… wandering in this area of Shinjuku)
* (Maybe explore northern Shinjuku? Waseda seems to have a Murakami Library)
* Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
* Omoide Yokocho
Notes: I haven’t included too many activities as I’ve read that wandering in Shinjuku in itself is great, but if you have recommendations, would love to hear them! I’ve seen that Waseda has a new Murakami Library which could be cool to visit, but I don’t know if there’s anything else to check nearby. Since this will be my first day I thought I’d stick with one main area.
​
**Day 3: Shibuya + Harajuku \[Staying in Tokyo\]**
* Yoyogi Park + Meiji Shrine
* \>Moving to Harajuku
* Omote-sando + Tokyu Plaza
* Takeshita Street
* \>Lunch
* \>Back to Shibuya
* Miyashita Park
* Main shopping area (Don Quijote, Tower Records, Parco, Center gai…)
* Hachiko
* Shibuya Scramble
* Shibuya Scramble Square (booked)
* \>Diner
* Shibuya Stream (heard the walk along the nearby river is nice)
Notes: I feel like this might be a lot, so I already thought about moving the Harajuku part to Day 2 with Shinjuku, but in the end it felt more natural to keep it with Shibuya as the areas I want to explore are nearby.
​
**Day 4: Ueno + Akihabara \[Staying in Tokyo\]**
* Go through Yanaka Ginza
* Nezu jinja
* Ueno Park (not planning on visiting the Zoo)
* Ameyoko Market
* \>Lunch
* \>Move to Akihabara
* Kanda Myojin Shrine
* Mandarake/Radio Kaikan
* Animate/Kotobukiya
Notes: I’ve read that Ueno Park is huge and am afraid that my Ueno morning might be a bit heavy, but I do not have any interest in the Zoo, so I was wondering if this Ueno part was feasible.
​
**Day 5: Ikkebukuro + some Roppongi \[Staying in Tokyo\]**
* West Gate Park
* Minami Ikkebukuro
* Sunshine Observatory
* \>Lunch
* Mega Pokemon Center Ikkebukuro
* \>Move to Roppongi
* Tokyo Tower
* Mori Tower/Roppongi Hills
​
**Day 6: Tsukiji + Odaiba \[Staying in Tokyo\]**
* Tsukiji Market area for breakfast
* Hama Rikyu Onshi teien
* \>Lunch
* \>Move to Odaiba
* teamLab Planets (booked)
* Diver City
* Daiba Park (might move it before teamLab in case I’m done with Tsukiji earlier than expected)
* Odaiba Marine Park
* \>Diner
* Gururi Park (for the bridge view)
​
**Day 7: Asakusa + Ginza \[Staying in Tokyo\]**
* Senso-ji
* Sumida Park
* Near Tokyo Skytree area (not planning on going to the top)
* \>Lunch
* \>Moving to Ginza
* Imperial East Gardens
* Pokemon Center DX (might be redundant with the one in Ikkebukuro)
* Uniqlo store
Notes: feel like the Ginza part might be a bit empty, I’ll explore of course as in every other area, but I didn’t find much to do here.
​
**Day 8: Moving to Kyoto and some East Kyoto exploration \[Staying in Kyoto\]**
* Take the Shinkansen to Kyoto
* Check-in
* \>Lunch
* Nishiki Market
* Pontocho
* Kiyamachi dori
* Gion & Ninen/Sannen zaka
Notes: don’t know whether this afternoon is too optimistic or not, and this applies to every Kyoto day, as I have less time there I might have packed the days a bit more than in Tokyo
​
**Day 9: East Kyoto \[Staying in Kyoto\]**
* Kiyomizudera
* Higashiyama Walk
* Yasaka Shrine
* Nanzenji
* Philosopher’s Path
* Ginkakuji
Notes: same as Day 8
​
**Day 10: West Kyoto \[Staying in Kyoto\]**
* Arashiyama bamboo forest
* Tenryuji/Togetsukyo Bridge
* Daihikaku Senkoji Temple (didn’t find a way to get there from Tenryuji, is it even possible?)
* Iwatayama Monkey Park
* Sagano Romantic Train
Notes: aside from the how to get to Senkoji Temple question, I don’t really know when to have a break
​
**Day 11: Rest of Kyoto \[Staying in Kyoto\]**
* Kinkakuji
* Ryoanji
* \>Lunch
* Fushimi Inari Shrine
​
**Day 12: Osaka \[Staying in Kyoto\]**
(JRPass activated)
​
**Day 13: Nara \[Staying in Kyoto\]**
​
**Day 14: Koyasan \[Staying in Kyoto\]**
Notes: The past 3 day trips are places near Kyoto I’d love to go to, but as my Kyoto days seem quite packed, would it be better to drop one of those day trips for another full day in Kyoto?
​
**Day 15: Back to Tokyo \[Staying in Tokyo\]**
Notes: I have nothing planned for this day, was thinking of exploring Shimokitazawa which seems cool, or go for any Tokyo area I would have skipped or didn’t have the time to explore during my first week in Tokyo.
​
**Day 16: Kamakura+Enoshima \[Staying in Tokyo\]**
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**Day 17: Last day \[Staying in Tokyo\]**
Notes: as this is my last day I thought I’d go back to my favorite places and pick up some souvenirs.
​
**Day 18: Flying back \[END\]**
(JRPass ends)
\-Flying back home in the morning
​
And that’s it for my itinerary! Thanks for reading!
3 comments
It’s just my opinion but your staying a lot in two cities and could see other places
you activate your JR pass on day 12 but u dont really travel much except back to tokyo. have you checked to see if its worth?
Too much city imo and i think most of the items on your list you might find it not as wonderful as you anticipated them to be.
Some options which i feel are better which you might want to explore:
1) mt fuji, kawaguchiko. i think this lake has one of the better views compared to the other lakes or hakone. truly one of the better sights in japan
2) kamikochi, easily accessible from masumoto,pristine and beautiful.
3) disneyland, universal studios? have you been to any of those theme parks before? a day spent there beats any itinerary in the city imo.its fine to go alone i guess, i saw many individuals when i was there.
4) okinawa area, islands (miyakojima etc). many many smaller islands near the okinawa area that offer pristine beaches, sea activities, wonderful local food at their izakayas and a really nice place to chill.
5) alpine route, quite a nice way to catch the sea of clouds
6) ryokan stay, pricey but usually worth it. Choose wisely, one of the best ways to recharge mid way through your trip.
18 days is a massive amount of time, you can do so much with it.
Unless I am missing something your JR Pass does not produce a saving. One long trip back to Tokyo and 3 short return trips from Kyoto.
https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/ for a calculator. It’s hard to make a lot of JR trips within Kyoto itself.