Hey guys! I would appreciate any tips or alternatives for this itinerary!
Tokyo Sunday 5/21:
FLight lands into Haneda Airport @ 3:40 pm
Head to Shinjuku via taxi and check into Hotel.
7:00 pm- Dinner at Gyukatsu Motomura Ueno, Japan
9:00 pm – Take train to Asakusa, explore Senso-ji Temple at night
11:00 pm – Explore Golden guy (if everyone has energy!)
Tokyo Monday 5/22:
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM for Brunch @ Tsukiji Outer Market
12:30 PM – 3:30 PM Team lab planets
Commute To Shibuya 4:30 PM
5:00 pm – Hatchy and crossing (Shibuya)
5:30 pm – Poke-center and nintendo store in Shibuya Parco Mall (7 min walk from Shib Ststue)
6:30 pm – Shibuya Sky (right next to crossing) (20$ admission)
7:30 pm: if hungry – snack at the basement floor “CHAOS Kitchen”
8:00/9 PM: (Omiode Yokocho) for dinner
10:00 PM – 11:00 PM Head back to hotel
12:00 am – 1:00 am – For anyone who wants to explore/bar-hop/KAreoke/Party shinjuku at night
TOKYO – DAY 3 Tuesday May 23, 2023
9:00 AM – Wake up, have breakfast at 711/family mart
10:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Akihabara browse around
1:30 PM – 3:30 PM: Bifteck KAWAMURA Tokyo Ginza
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM -Otter Cafe – Jingumae 426 Building 3F, 4-26-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM- Souvenir shopping @ Mega Don Kojote shibuya (22 min walk or 15 min train)
8:00 PM – 10 :00 PM – Golden Gai, or a place that is close by
Tokyo – Day 4 Wednesday May 24, 2023
10:00 AM – Take Bullet train from Shinjuku to Ryokan Hotel Kanetamaen /Bessho Sasa
1:00 PM – Arrive At Mt.Fuji/Fujisan Station, Take Ryokan shuttle service, enjoy the hot sprins/onsens
2:30 PM – Hotel Check in
4:00 pm side trip to: (30 min uber ride)
Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nenba (Traditional Japanese Village)
/Open-air museum Iyashinosato
7:00 pm Traditional Dinner at Ryokan
Tokyo to Kyoto Travel Day 5 Thursday 5/24/2023
7:30 AM – Wake up for free breakfast at 8:00 AM, check out by 10:00 AM – Hotel Checkout Board Private transportation @ 11am provided via Ryokan to MISHIMA station. (duration: 1 HR)
11:00 AM Arrive at Mishima Station
11:30 AM – Buy some Ekibens for lunch, Take Bullet train to Kyoto
2:00 pm – Arrive at Kyoto,
3:00 pm – Check in time @ Gion Elite Terrace
4:00 pm – Walk to Kagizen Yoshifusa Shijo Main Branch and Gion Tokuya for snacks/dessert
4:30 pm – Walk to Kiyomizu – Dera, explore shrine (0.12 mi)
5:30 PM Explore Yasaka Shrine (0.37 mi)
6:00 PM – Walk to Higashiyama Ward, explore the area.
Have some Dinner/local shops
6:30 PM – Hokanji – explore the iconic tower from hagashiyama ward
8 pm: Walk back to Hotel and change (Gion Elite terrace)
9:30 pm: Walk to Pontocho Park for dinner/drinks(4 min)
Dinner spots:
1)Omen Shijo Ponto-Cho: Udon noodles, Beef bowl *Bib gourmond*
2)Daitoryo – Traditional Kaiseki Japanese meal
11:00 pm: Drinks at the bars
Hello Dolly: JAZZ BAR!
Kyoto Friday 5/26/23
7:00 AM: LEAVE HOTEL, walk to Lawsons for coffe/bfast, head towards Fushimi Inari Shrine
7:40 AM: Arrive at Fushimi Inari Shrine, hike to midpoint, explore the area.
11:00 AM: Leave shrine, head to Nishiki Market and have lunch untill 1:00 pm.
1:30 pm: Take train and arrive at Saga-Arishiyama station, walk to Togetsu-kyo bridge, Explore Arashiyama Monkey park (hike) untill 4 pm.
4-5:00 pm: Explore Arashiyama Bamboo forest.
6:00 pm: Head back to hotel, rest.
9:00 pm: Walk to pontocho/Kamogawa river for dinner.
11:00 pm: Explore Gion at night.
Kyoto to Osaka 5/27/23
8:30 AM: Check out of hotel, head to kyoto station
9:00 AM: Take Bullet train to Nara
10:00 – 2:00 pm: Explore Nara! See the Mochi guys
2:00 – 3:00 pm: Take Bullet train from Nara to Osaka, drop off luggage to hotel.
3:00 – 4:00 pm: Walk to Ichiran Namba Midosuji for RAMEN (Famous Ramen spot, no pork, long line)
4:30 – 7:00 PM: Take Transit to Solaniwa Onsen Osaka Bay Tower (Hot springs museum, relax, enjoy the spas)
7:00 – 9:00 pm: Head to Dotonbori or Kuromon market for Dinner/Snacks/Last day in japan
**Unsure if the last day is feasible, or if we should spend the day IN USJ instead and end the night at dotonbori for dinner
Any alternatives or recommendations are appreciated!
3 comments
Going from Haneda to a hotel in Shinjuku by taxi is expensive and not very effective. I always take the Airport Limousine Busses. When you get out of the area where you collected your suitcase on the left hand side there is a desk where you can purchase a ticket, then just down the elevator on the right and you wait for your bus. They stop basically in front of all major hotels. Never had a problem.
You won’t spend 4 hours in Tsukiji unless you had a bite at every stall IMO.
I was at Planets yesterday and we spent 45 mins inside, it’s quite short. Maybe 90 mins if you spent a long time in each room. You also need to purchase tickets in advance as there isn’t much in the way of same day sales available it at all.
Sorry to inform you but your itinerary is unrealistically packed on almost every day. I don’t have time to go into the details now. But I will make some general comments.
– When you arrive in Haneda usually after a long flight. You tend to be pretty tired to doing all the thing your are planning seems impossible. I would just stick to Shinjuku that day. Plenty of dinner places to choose from and Sensoji can be enjoyed at another point.
– For the other days. Try to imagine that Tokyo is huge and travelling within the city takes up a lot of time. For this reason it is better to stick to 1 or 2 neighborhoods per day to visit and try to visit neighborhoods that are located adjacent of one another on the map. This requires time a planning that you may not have anymore though.
– I see several days where you are planning to visit temples in late afternoon but most temples in Japan tend to close at 5. My experience is that temples are best enjoyed at the beginning of the day. Especially the popular ones tend to be less crowded.
– On the day you visit a ryokan around fuji you want to visit a japanese village at the end of the day. Here i would also recommend to just chill back in the ryokan. Ryokan towns usually shut down around 5 pm because most visitors will head back to their ryokan for onsen and dinner.
– The last few days also seem too busy. I dont understand all the hotel changes. Kyoto, Nara and Osaka are all within one hour reach of eachother so i would recommend to stay at one place. I guess you’ve already booked the places though so maybe you can not change this anymore.
– The last day, like all other days, does seem to busy. You could do USJ but you could also just decide between osaka or nara and enjoy quality time in 1 place instead of rushing through 2.
Many people who visit Japan for the first time tend to underestimate how big the cities are and how much walking they are doing each day. Especially Tokyo and Osaka are notorious for this, but I see the same mistakes being made in Kyoto as well. Kyoto’s public transport system relies largely on buses which makes travel times relatively long. With that being said I wish you and your group a pleasant journey and hope you will make some sacrifices to make your itinerary more breathable.