First time poster hopefully I’m doing this correctly!
My friend and I are planning on going to Japan April 17-27. Planning on doing Osaka-Kyoto-Tokyo. We’ve purchased plane tickets already, but theyre refundable because of the state of the world right now lol
I’m just looking for some ideas of things for us to do, or to change things I already have planned.
I get overwhelmed very easily and am prone to over planning, so I am purposefully keeping our days light on attractions I would rather under plan and look for things to do while we are there rather than plan too many things to do and get burnt out.
April 17- fly into Haneda and take the bullet train into Osaka (I know this is an inconvenient way but for our area it is too expensive to fly direct to Osaka :/)
Then taking it easy maybe some close sightseeing near our hotel
April 18- unsure, thinking universal studios? Only really interested in Super Nintendo World. Can be moved around
April 19- unsure, we want to do a day trip to Kyoto. We are interested in seeing some of the temples, but I don’t think we would need to spend more than a day there
April 20- general sightseeing, open to suggestions? Thinking Osaka castle and the nearby park
April 21- would like to check out the shopping areas? Maybe Shinsaibashi-Suji Street but always open to sight seeing ideas this is definitely bare bones right now
April 22- not sure eventually will be taking the bullet train back to Tokyo not sure what else were doing our hotel is in shinjuku- definitely going to harujuku
April 23- maybe thinking about disneysea? Ive never been to Disney but it can be skipped neither of us are that into disney
April 24- we want to hit up Tokyo tower and akihabara, and any sights nearby
April 25- ?? We want to see shibuya and ikebukuro
April 26- I have an idea to go to Kawasaki since its nearby, but not sure if we will
April 27- fly home around 4ish
Sorry if this is long and a bit vague we just want some ideas
Thanks!!
9 comments
>so I am purposefully keeping our days light on attractions I would rather under plan and look for things to do while we are there rather than plan too many things to do and get burnt out
I personally prefer the third option, some some extra option and keep them as option, you do not have to do everything on the list and burn yourself. I just find it easier to find things to do before when I have time at home then once you are on the other side of the world. One thing that can work it to get a list of specific attractions and shops you would be interested to see in a specific area.
Kyoto for a single day is possible, especially if you do not have a strong interest for temple/shine, but you will have to limit yourself on how much you can see of the city. With 3 days you would just be able to touch the major touristic attractions in the different area of Kyoto. Popular day trip from Osaka also include Nara.
For sightseeing in Osaka, to get some ideas, check the Osaka amazing pass, it can be worth if you do enough of the included attractions. For shopping area, there is also a lot around Osaka/Umeda station and around Namba even going a bit south to Denden town.
For your return to Tokyo, you can keep in mind at what time you want to take the train, I personally prefer to be in the train either in the morning or at the end of the day soo I can still spend time doing something during the day instead of just waste it in the train.
Tokyo Tower is arguably not the best observation deck in Tokyo, I would go to Roppongi Hills Mori Tower or Shibuya Sky instead
Kawasaki ? What do you want to see there ? Yes it’s nearby, but also… not especially known for anything. Most people who go that way would just go to Yokohama or Kamakura.
Area not in your itinerary include Ueno, Asakusa and Odaiba, so you might want to check if there is anything you would like to see there.
Personally when I visited Kansai for the first time, I stayed in Kyoto for most of the time (BTW, yeah there are a lot of temples but there’s so much more to see in the city, like the arashiyama bamboo forest, philosopher’s path etc.) and spent 1 night in Osaka (you could do a day trip too). Kyoto is really spread out and it will take time to travel between the sites, whereas Osaka is more of a dense city i.e. kinda similar to what you’ll already experience in Tokyo. I think for a first trip to Japan you might get more out of it if you spend more time in Kyoto, and then you can come back to explore more of Osaka on a future trip.
Shibuya and Harajuku are right next to each other, I would combine those both and then do Ikebukuro on a separate day (it’s closer to where your hotel is). A logical combination might be Harajuku during the day (shopping, nature etc.) and then Shibuya (food/nightlife) later in the day.
I would suggest spending at least 1 of your days, or at least part of the day exploring Shinjuku itself and surrounding areas (Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Kabukicho/Golden Gai for nightlife, Park Hyatt bar if you are a Lost in Translation fan, there’s good shopping around Shinjuku as well). Since you’re already staying nearby…
Kyoto and Osaka were my favourite places!! Definitely worth a night or two. Temples in both were amazing. Loved Osaka castle and the golden pavilion temple in Kyoto. I found Tokyo overrated, I spent 2 weeks there and would have been happy with a few days. Smaller towns had nicer people, better food, better temples and they were overall more interesting!
Universal studios was cool, but I only rode 2 rides because the lines were so long. Probably wouldn’t go back
If you’re not much into disney, how bout onsens? Instead of going to Disneysea, take the train to Hakone. There are traditional onsens or the more modern Yunessun resort where you can bathe in wine, coffee or sake etc. There’s Lake ashi and also a ropeway that takes you over Owakudani sulfur field.
Suggest you get the Hakone Freepass from Odakyu as the transport to get around the area is a bit expensive. The pass covers transportation in the area, i.e. busses, ropeway, cablecar and trains and discounts at local establishments including the resort. The 2 day pass is 6100yen if you buy from Shinjuku and 5000yen from odawara station. The train ride from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto station is 1220yen one way, so that’s 2440yen. I recall the bus from Ashinoko to Hakone-Yumoto station was 800yen. I think even if you only spent one day in Hakone, it’ll be worth the price of the pass.
Talk about passes, suggest getting the JR pass if you haven’t planned so already.
Love Kyoto! It’s one of the most magical quaint old town japan feel to it. if you can, plan a day without anything to do but just be in the park, and also go into meditation parks and just soak the tranquility and aesthetic of it. It’s surreal. Enjoy!
In my opinion TeamLab is a must visit if you are in tokyo, everything else comes second. There are two different ones (borderless and planets), i recomend going to borderless, also the area where it’s located (odaiba) is pretty nice.
Asakusa shrine is also a very famous spot and ueno zoo and the museums around it.
Universal is a lot of fun, but the most popular rides take around 3-4 hours to get into, if you take the solo line it will be much faster but you and your friend wont ride it together.
In osaka there’s a spot (bokura no hiroba), where you can see the entire city. And at night it’s absolutely magical (a sea of lights from up above), it’s a serious pain to get there but totally worth it.
If you are hopping off a plane in Tokyo to immediately travel to Osaka, just fly. You are already at the airport, cost is about the same, and it’s faster. You will get a chance to ride the trains in the return part of the trip.
Why USJ? I mean, why an American thing in Japan? Go to Nara. Kobe. Kyoto. No more than a day in Kyoto??!! Spend the night. Do the philosophers walk and then head to Arashiyama or to to Kurama in the north. Shopping? Temma – the shotengai. Go underground near Ogimachi Koen and walk all the way to Umeda.
>April 18- unsure, thinking universal studios? Only really interested in Super Nintendo World. Can be moved around
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>April 23- maybe thinking about disneysea? Ive never been to Disney but it can be skipped neither of us are that into disney
I would just stop and question if you really want to do two different theme parks (no right or wrong answer, just something I would urge you to put more thought into). Maybe just plan to go to USJ if you are passionate about seeing Super Nintendo World and not as fussed about Disney. Do you both genuinely enjoy roller coasters/rides or are you wanting to go more for how thematic they are?
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>April 26- I have an idea to go to Kawasaki since its nearby, but not sure if we will
May I ask what in Kawasaki you have a strong desire to see? It was an easy enough day trip when I went, but time may be better spent elsewhere depending on why you’re wanting to go there.
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Hard to really recommend much else to be honest as you’ve not really said much about you both and your interests or the type of travel you’re looking to do/what has drawn you to Japan.