Itinerary Check: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka & Back to Tokyo Early June 16 days

Repost because questions were unclear:

To preface this trip has Friends A, B, C & D joining at different points because of schedule constraints. In particular Friend D joins us on Day 12 for Osaka & the return leg to Tokyo.

My questions are as follows:

* Before departing Kyoto-Arima by bus on Day 8 at 9:30 am we would like to travel light and deliver our luggage to Osaka-Namba Station to be collected next day. Is this possible with Yamato Transport service? Googling and chatgpt didn’t give any concrete answers as to where the storage facility is in the Namba area. Also we will be staying at an airbnb in namba.

* Is it worth chasing Himeji Castle the day after Arima via Kobe (Nunobiki Herb Gardens) if we are planning to visit Osaka Castle as well?

* we have 3 flexible days in Osaka with tentative plans for Osaka Castle & Ise. What other areas can we explore aside from Dotombori/Den-den Town, Umeda and USJ?

Below is the itinerary:

**Day 0 (Tokyo) :** I arrive late night in Haneda Airport, stay in First Cabin Haneda

**Day 1 (West Tokyo):** Make my way to Ginza, probably stop by Diver City for some hobby shopping, and then meet up with Friends A & B who just flew in the morning at the hotel in the afternoon. After we check-in to the rooms take the train to Shibuya for the sights (Crossing, Arcades, Takeshitadori) and then continue to Ikebukuro (Animate, Sunshine City) where we have dinner & shop

**Day 2 (Central Tokyo):** have breakfast in Tsukiji Outer Market, explore central area until nighttime when Friend C joins us and have early dinner & rest.

**Day 3 (Central Tokyo):** wake up 2.30 am, make our way to Sushi Dai @ Toyosu Market from our hotel. If the boys aren’t too tired afterwards we can continue to TeamLabs Toyosu, or return to the hotel and rest until lunchtime. Spend the rest of the day in Shinjuku (Artnia, Tokyo Metropolitan Building) .

**Day 4 (Akiba):** dedicated day in Akihabara for the boys. Head north to Ameyoko Shopping Street for eats and Ueno Park, Tokyo Museum if there is time. We will be taking the night bus to Kyoto on this day.

**Day 5 (West Kyoto):** arrive at Kyoto Station at approximately 8:30 am. Store our luggage in coin lockers and then take the train to Arashiyama (Bamboo Forest, Tofu, Tenyu-ji). Kinkaku-ji if there is time. Late afternoon we have a scheduled check-in with the AirBnB host. Spend the night walking around Gion.

**Day 6 (North Kyoto):** we head up north to Mt. Kurama and try the Nagashi Somen while there. This should take us most of the morning. Rest of the day spent exploring downtown Kyoto (Nishiki Market) & head to Kiyomizu-dera in the evening.

**Day 7 (Nara):** depending on how tired we are the previous day we might do an early morning Fushimi Inari run to beat the crowd before taking the train to Nara. Standard 1 day Nara itinerary (Deer Park, Temples) from there. Spend the night in Gion again.

**Day 8 (Arima):** we have booked the 9:30 am bus tickets from Kyoto to Arima. However if possible we are planning to send luggage to Osaka Namba via Kuroneko/Yamato Transport where we will be staying at an AirBnB the day after. Spend the day exploring Arima (Gin & Kin no Yu, Ice Cream) & check-in to our ryokan at the appointed time.

**Day 9 (Kobe):** take the bus to Shin-Kobe station & head up to the Nunobiki Herb Gardens in the morning. Depending on how much time we have afterwards we might opt to just have lunch in Kobe, walk around some and then head to Osaka, else continue to Himeji Castle. Once back in Osaka we collect our luggage and check-in to our Osaka AirBnB.

**Day 10 (Osaka)**: this is probably a relax day for us after all the traveling. Will explore the Dotonbori/Den-den Town area at the minimum.

**Day 11 (USJ):** since its Friend A & B’s first time in Japan, we let them hit up USJ while Friend C and I who have been there opt to visit Ise (tentative or just free time for us).

**Day 12/13 (Osaka):** Friend D flies in and at this point we just wing it or do the stuff we skipped the days before. Osaka Castle and Park is on the list.

**Day 14 (Tokyo-Ghibli Museum):** previously Day 13 was another night bus trip from Osaka to Tokyo but we decided to catch the morning shinkansen back to Tokyo and straight to Ghibli Museum which we already booked. Afterwards we will check out Kichijoji nearby and continue to Nakano Broadway. End the night with drinks in Ikebukuro.

**Day 15 (Asakusa-sunset Odaiba):** explore Senso-ji and the Tokyo Skytree area in the morning/noon. Take the water bus from Asakusa to Hamarikyu. Try to catch the Gundam Statue transforming in the evening.

**Day 16 (Tokyo):** last day for me & departing from Haneda at night so most of the day is catching up on souvenir shopping. Might stop by Yokohama (Chinatown, Cup Noodles Museum) if there is time.

EDIT: more concrete locations and less maybes