Hello everyone! It’ll be my first time going to Japan and I’ll be staying in Tokyo only from what I’ve been suggested, considering the short trip (9 days). I’ll be going with 1 other friend who has been before, but he’s just going to tag along with the itinerary that I come up with.
I’ve accepted that I’ll probably do another trip out to Japan to explore more in the future. Below is roughly what I have so far. I have no idea how much each thing will take. For the days that look packed, I assume each item won’t take that long.
As for general interest, I’m a foodie and love Japanese food. I’m not a huge anime fan but I’ve watched a fair amount of shows casually and appreciate it. I like any areas that are pretty scenic or anything that’s unique. I also like music (EDM, JPop, KPop) and am thinking of checking out one of the EDM (Womb) or JPop/Anime music clubs (Mogra, etc) if I’m not exhausted by the end of the day.
Note: Everything listed below, I have in chronological order of how I plan to go about my days.
# Day 0 (Fri, 5/19)
– Land in NRT @ ~6pm
– Check into hotel (Tokyu Rei Shibuya)
– Stroll around Shibuya (Mega Donki since its 24 hours?)
– Dinner @ Niku Yokocho, BeBuYa, Nabezo, An-An, or even get something at Conbini Store.
# Day 1 (Sat, 5/20)
## Harajuku
– Meiji Shrine
– Yoyogi Park
– Takeshita St (try comcrepe?)
– Lunch: Sakura-Tei
– Togo Shrine
– Koffee Mameya or LATTEST Cafe
– Omotesando Hills
– Cat Street
## Shibuya
– Miyashita Park
– Tower Records Shibuya / HMV record shop (for Nujabes merch)
– Parco Mall
– Shibuya Crossing
– Shibuya Sky Reservation @ 5:30PM
– Shibuya Scramble Square
– Tokyu Hands Shibuya
– Center Gai
– Mega Donki (if didn’t go on Day 0)
– Hachiko
– Dinner: TBD (debating if I get a Ginza Steak reservation here)
# Day 2 (Sun, 5/21)
## Asakusa
– Nakamise Street Food
– Side Streets (Denpoin St, Nishisando St, Orange St, Shinnakamise St)
– Sensoji Temple
– Hanayashiki (might skip this)
– Walk along Sumida River
## Ueno
– Ameyoko Shopping Street / Food
## Akihabara
– Yodobashi / Bic Cam
– Gachapon / e-earphones / Chabara
## Tokyo Station
– NY Perfect Cheese (Not sure if worth)
РPok̩mon Center Tokyo DX + Cafe (Nihonbashi)
## Ginza
– Ginza Six
– UNIQLO
## Shimbashi
– Explore Shimbashi area (open for recs here)
Also, open to dinner options in the general surrounding area.
# Day 3 (Mon, 5/22)
– Tsukiji Outer Market
## Odaiba
– Diver City Tokyo mall
– Gundam statue
– Statue of Liberty + Rainbow Bridge view along bay
## Roppongi
– Tokyo Tower
– Roppongi Hills mall
– Mori Art Museum
– Explore Azabujuban? (or might replace this with something else)
# Day 4 (Tues, 5/23)
## Yokohama
– Yokohama Cosmoworld
– Cup Noodles museum
– Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse
– Yamashita Park
– Gundam?
## Shinjuku
– Tokyu Kabukicho Tower
– Golden Gai
– Omoide Yokocho
# Day 5 (Wed, 5/24)
## DisneySea all day
– Magellans reservation for lunch
# Day 6 (Thurs, 5/25)
– Koffee Mameya Kakeru reservation @ 11am
– Toyosu Fish Market
– TeamLab Planets @ 3PM
– Tsukiji Sushi Omakase @ 7PM
# Day 7 (Fri, 5/26)
## Fujikawaguchiko
– Check out of Hotel
– Highway bus to Kawaguchiko
– Ide Sake Brewery
– Check into Konansou and enjoy Onsen
# Day 8 (Sat, 5/27)
## Back to Shibuya
– Check out of Hotel
– Highway bus to Shibuya
– Lunch: Gyukatsu Motomura
– Not sure what to do here, maybe check out Ebisu???
– Dinner: The Bellwood Omakase
# Day 9 (Sun, 5/28)
Free day. Nothing planned.
Maybe Hie shrine early morning?
Maybe check out Ikebukuro or go back to previous visited areas if I liked something from previous days.
# Day 10 (Mon, 5/29)
– Flight out of HND in the morning
A few things that’s on my mind is:
– I’m considering dropping Yokohama (Day 4) to explore Shinjuku more since I don’t really have a full day committed to that. Not sure how much there is to see in that area.
– Open to any lunch/dinner recommendation spots for the days I didn’t indicate a food option.
– Would be OK with dropping anything on my list that any of you guys think is not worth the time.
Open to any recommendations/advice/feedback you all may have. Thanks!
Edit: Added a few more details.
4 comments
Generally fine, I think your day 1 & 2 are ambitious unless you plan to really rush through things. It’s very easy to get distracted in Tokyo and do unplanned things so its usually better to just explore a couple of areas each day rather than trying to cover a long list of things to do.
I did whatever you are planning to do, upto day 4 without Yokohama, tsukiji and shimbashi, just last week. Day 2 is ambitious, if you are going to stick with this plan, you must be on your toes on day 1 and 2 especially. But since I was there during golden week, maybe I might have been slowed down. But since you have time on day 8. You could spread first 4 days into 5 days.
Clubbing is a must, since you are going to stay in shibuya, it is easier for you.
Day 2 is straight up impossible unless you literally just want to zigzag everywhere and then immediately leave.
Just a suggestion. Bookmark places you see but won’t have time for on this trip on google maps. Then use that info to plan your subsequent trips. When I was a first timer I spent 2 weeks in Tokyo and felt like I barely scratched the surface. I’ve returned many times and *still* have places to see, places to eat and that’s just in Tokyo! I live in semi-rural Hawaii so I’m all about city experiences – food, architecture, art, etc. I find one’s first trip is the seed for future returns.