Hi All,
This would be my first trip to Japan. Would like to get feedback on the itinerary.
8th May – Arrive in Narita. Take a Shinkansen to Kyoto.
9th May – Northern Higashiyama area: Nanzen-ji Temple, Eikan-do Temple, Path Of Philosophy, Ginkaku-ji Temple. Southern Higashiyama area: Shoren-in Temple, Chion-in Temple, Yasaka Shrine, Kodaiji Temple, Kiyomizu-dera Temple
10th May – Arashiyama area + Kinaku-ji shrine
11th May – Fushimi Inari Shrine in the morning + day trip to Nara
12th May – Take a Shinkansen to Tokyo. Hotel is in Asakusa. I am planning to visit Sensoji and Tokyo skytree.
13th May: Meiji-Jingu shrine, Yoyogi Park, Shinjuku Gyoen Park, Hachiko Statue, Shibuya Cross
14th May: Ueno, Akhibara
15th May: Teamlab planets\[already booked\] + Odaiba
16th May: Disneysea
17th May: Day trip to Lake Kawaguchiko/Hakone
18th May: My flight is at 7pm. I might spend the first half doing some last minute souvenir shopping.
It would be very helpful to get recommendation for the following:
1. Souvenir shops in Tokyo and Kyoto. In particular I am looking for a yakuta for 3 year old girl.
2. Indoor activities if it rains.
3. I am not very sure about Odaiba. Should I replace it with something else?
5 comments
You’re checking itinerary less than a week before your flight?
May 9th is impossible. You want to do Ginkakuji and Kinkakuji together, not Arashiyama.
Indoor activities include shopping, eating, onsen, arcades, shows.
If Gundam Unicorn/Diver City doesn’t interest you, Tsukiji is close by.
Are you going straight to Kyoto from Narita? You might be a bit tired from the flight. Shinkansen takes a bit over 2 hours, so it’s doable but personally I’d want to crash in Tokyo.
For souvenirs I bought a few things in Kappabashi street, which is where you can buy kitchen stuff, knives etc. It’s fairly close to Senso- ji. Would recommend Tokuzo for knives.
My last trip I got a ton of souvenirs at the Donquijote in Asakusa since I also stayed there. It’s convenient to go to the one nearby then you can go early to avoid the crowds to actually shop and see things. The evenings are insanely crowded. My first trip I stayed in Shibuya and the location there is the MEGA Donquijote which is even bigger!
In Ueno, there’s a street market called Ameyokocho. There’s a variety of shops including some children’s clothing. You can probably find an economical yukata there. Also, are you familiar with a jinbei? It’s usually a summer outfit, but relatively comfy and might be better suited for a young child. If all else fails, check out Toys R Us. It’s interesting to see what domestic toys and clothes they have.
I feel this is mostly a ambitious but sensibly so itinerary
the 9th of may wont work like that though. thats more like 2 days
and I myself would recommend combining kinkakuji with arashiyama. although I just found out the time to travel from kinkakuji to arashiyama or ginkakuji is more or less the same.
fine, so I will say. north higashiyama as well as arashiyama are both very dense with POIs. finishing a already began day in either, you just pick the one where you either spend less time if you have a second full day for the other location, or go where you would prefer if its you only chance.
or maybe you let the bus decide when you exit kinkakuji, take the next one going either to ginkakuji or to arashiyama.