Me and 2 of my siblings are going to Japan for the first time soon in early June and would appreciate guidance. We’re going for 3 weeks between 4th-24th June and visiting Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya and Okinawa.
Hoping to get our itinerary for Tokyo checked since this city is the most packed and we want to make sure we haven’t missed anything that we should include for first-timers in Japan. Also welcome any recommendations for activities in Tokyo other than sightseeing, fyi we don’t drink or visit clubs and are aged 19-26.
Thank you!
**4th June**\- Arrive in Tokyo and check in to hotel in Shinjuku in evening (post 10pm)
**5th June**\- Shinjuku- Shinjuku Chuo park, Tokyo Metropolitan Gov building, Shinjuku Gyeon National Garden, Suga Shrine staircase, explore nightlife at Omoide Yokocho, Golden Gai and Kabukicho
**6th June-** Meiji Jingu shrine, Yoyogi park, Harajuku, Omotesando hills, and Shibuya- crossing and Shibuya SKY, in evening- check in to hotel in Edo, Koto city
**7th June**\- Hakone day trip
**8th June-** Asakusa-Sensoji temple and shopping in Asakusa, Ueno park, Tokyo National Museum, Hijiri-bashi Bridge, Akihabara, Tokyo Skytree (at night)
**9-20th June**\- Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, Osaka and Okinawa (will post separate itinerary for these)
**21st June**\- Travel back to Tokyo from Okinawa (arrive at Narita at 6pm) – evening= check into hotel on Italia street, explore Haramurikya gardens (will this be closed?) and Tokyo tower
**22nd June-** Tsukiji market, Caretta Shiodome, Ginza- uniqlo and MUJI flagship, Itoya, art aquarium (is this worth it?), Marunouchi, Imperial Palace, Roppongi Hills
**23rd June-** Tokyo teamlabs, Odaiba, Meguro city (Starbucks reserve and roastery)
**24th June (Last day in Japan)** \- Need to get to Haneda before flight at 10:30pm- nothing planned but likely revisit our favourite places in Tokyo, welcome recs for activities for last day
1 comment
Is there a reason you’re moving from a hotel in Shinjuku to a hotel in Koto on the 6th? Everything you’re interested in seeing in Tokyo should be easily accessible from Shinjuku, and you save time and effort by staying based in one place.
If you don’t drink, you might not get as much out of Golden Gai. I can’t say for sure because I’ve never been there because I also don’t drink.
June 8th _could_ be a bit of a cramped day, depending on how long you plan to spend at each area. If they’re all short visits its probably fine, but you could easily skip a few of them and still have a full day with how much there is to do/see in those areas. Also, you can probably save some time by doing Asakusa and Skytree next to each other since they’re walking distance apart, but If you intentionally want to do Senso-ji in the morning and Skytree at night, it’s understandable.
> explore Haramurikya gardens (will this be closed?) and Tokyo tower
According to google maps, the gardens close at 5PM and Tokyo Tower closes at 10:30PM. Considering you arrive at Narita at 6PM and still need time to travel to Tokyo and check into your hotel, you might be able to head over and check out Tokyo Tower for a couple hours before it closes, but that’s it.
23rd looks a little light. Might want to keep it that way in case you end up missing something earlier in the trip and want to fit it back in.
> 24th June (Last day in Japan) – Need to get to Haneda before flight at 10:30pm- nothing planned but likely revisit our favourite places in Tokyo
This is a great idea. I suggest keeping it open for exactly the reasons you specified.
This is just a personal opinion, but do you really need to visit the Metro Gov Building, Skytree, _and_ Tokyo Tower? Unless you have a hobby of seeing things from above, I would just visit the mall at Skytree, and then check out the observatory deck at Tokyo Tower and skip the Govt building. (Govt building is the only observatory deck I’ve personally visited, and while it was cool, I don’t feel like it was essential sightseeing, and Skytree and Tokyo Tower have more going for them other than just the observation deck.)