7 day December itinerary review

6 comments

1. Personally, I would use Kyoto as the base for this itinerary. Would also mix up day 2 and 3, going to Nara after morning visit to Fushimi Inari. They are on the same train line. Note: Nara is not on the Shinkansen line.
   In terms of luggage, send it ahead via a courier service for your bigger travel days.

   Enjoy your trip.

2. Day 1 is not going to be possible in anything other than the most superficial manner. Those neighbourhoods are far from each other and are large areas to explore. Also, shops in Japan only open around 10-11am, so there’s no point in going to Akihabara as the first stop of your day.

3. Nara is a full day in my opinion, I was there last week. It’s 45 mins or so each way by train, plus a 20 min walk from the station to the park and the overall route. So if you want to do something else in the day, you’ll need to start very early.

   Day 1 when you arrive, depending on where you come from, will be a write off due to jet lag. I assume you are arriving from the US or Canada? By the time I got to my hotel I was in no condition to go sightseeing and I do a lot to international travel.

   Overall, I feel you itinerary is extremely rushed, especially if you will be doing it with young kids.

4. Do Meiji Shrine first whenever you do it since it opens at 5am. Probably best to anchor your days around 2 major areas so you can take breaks and not feel rushed. I always recommend doing Tsukiji Outer market in the morning and then Akihabara after since they’re pretty close to each other.

   I do also agree that your itinerary is a little rushed. I think 10 days makes a trip much more flexible, but if you’re limited to 7 I probably would skip some of these all-day trips like Nara and the theme parks.

   Also, what is the plan for your luggage as you’re transferring between all these different accommodations? Or when you’re asking for a base you’re planning to rent that place for the full week and leave the majority of your big luggage there? (This is what we do. Usually I use Tokyo as the base Airbnb and take only a couple days worth of stuff with us when we go to Kyoto/Osaka.) I feel like if you’re flying in and out of Tokyo it only makes sense for Tokyo to be the base, though, that doesn’t help you when the majority of your trip is in Kansai.

5. This is a rather unrealistic itinerary for 7 days in my opinion..

   Tokyo
   – If you are leaving Tokyo 6PM, then really you have 9 hours day (assuming 8AM start). checking out 4 areas that are at least 20-30 minutes apart (car or subway) is challenging to stay the least, that’s at least 2.5 hours in transportation + 1hr for meal and break. Leaves you less about 1hr in each spot.

   – I am not sure if hop on hop off bus is quicker. Traffic vs subway in Tokyo… Hop on hop off I think is just more convenient.. not necessarily time saver. I think just how packed this day is – you likely can just explore one or two area more thoroughly. Maybe Meiji AM start, Akihabara and Shibuya. Shibuya to Odaiba is pretty far.. 40 minutes by train one way, would not recommend.

   Kyoto
   – Since you seem to have more spots to see in Kyoto, id recommend you stay here.

   -Day 2 is also intense. The total commute for that day is 3hrs+ as each attraction are so far apart. Bamboo grove to Kinkaku Ji is close to an hr with bus. Kinkaku-ji closes at 5PM. Maybe I would reverse Kinkakuji first then Bamboo grove.

   – Day 3 is difficult. Kyoto to Nara is already 1 hr one way… with buffer time it could be more. It won’t be realistic just to spend morning here and returning to Kyoto..

   Hmm overall, a very ambitious plan. It can be done but it won’t be as enjoyable as you’ll spend time rushing and on transport.

6. There is no way you can do Meiji, Akihabara, Shibuya and Odaiba in one day, unless you’re hopping off the public transport take a photo and go on. For example we did Meiji, walked Takeshita Dori, Omotesando and down to Shibuya, ate there and spent the afternoon around. It took us +8 hours.

   Also what nobody tells you is that there’s a lot to do around each zone, you don’t just arrive at the Shibuya crossing look at it and go on. There’s ton of stores, restaurants, bars and places you might want to check out. Same goes for every neighborhood; and the transportation is not that fast, at least 20-30 min between each zone.

   I would stick to two contiguous neighborhoods, like Shinjuku/Shibuya or Asakusa/Akihabara for a day.

   Shrines and temples open early and close around 5pm.

   Some restaurants serve Lunch from 11-15 and Dinner 17-20, although there’s other places that serve all day (however check beforehand). Also many restaurants get packed and you need to queue for 20-40 minutes, however it is almost always worth it. Japanese people are very efficient and lines move fast in general.

   In reality you should decide if you want to see more of Tokio or the Parks.

   And just a minor thing, there is no Shinkansen to Nara, there are JR trains that go from Kyoto and Osaka and are covered by the pass, but it is a 30 min ride on a regular train, not a Shinkansen.

   Have fun!