Haven’t booked a flight yet but will be booking Very Soon – I’ll be booking with Air Canada and it seems like they’re offering a free reschedule if things don’t pan out for the dates I am planning (early to mid March). I’ve been to Tokyo before with a friend, but this time I’m going solo! Trying to do some things I really enjoyed last time + some new things that we didn’t get to!
Please let me know if some days seem too packed or not packed enough, I’d love some help as this is my first time going overseas alone (and therefore first time planning something like this alone)! Also if certain things would fit better with others, that would be helpful too. Thank you so much for taking the time to look and help, I appreciate it so much.
Day 1:
Simple stuff, I’m flying into Haneda instead of Narita this time. Have to figure out stuff with pocket wifi + sim cards still (I didn’t plan any of that during last trip, I remember having a pocket wifi but my friend handled it). Any help there would be appreciated. I have an iPhone 11 Max with Verizon if that helps with any information you could give!
Planning to stay at Kimi Ryokan in Ikebukuro because I literally just need a (clean) bed and a (clean) shower to be happy – so basically just check in and wander around Ikebukuro a little bit, grab dinner/water/snacks/etc.
Day 2:
Shibuya | Harajuku (small repeat of my last trip! we stayed in shibuya!)
* LoFT, Tokyu Hands, Donki
* Never went into the 109 building so I am curious…
* Small snack from the Food Show in the Tokyu department store (my friend and I loved it there last time!)
* Shibuya Parco (Nintendo Tokyo)
* Harajuku, Takeshita Street, Exploring + maybe snake cafe (will double check to see if they treat the animals properly!)
* Meiji Shrine (not a huge priority because I’ve already been but I loved it so so much – and I believe it was under construction while I visited!)
Day 3:
Akihabara | Asakusa
* Radio Kaiken, Arcades, Anime Shops, Gacha
* Kakimori Stationery, MT Lab
* Asakusa Shrine, Senso-ji
* Nishi Sando
* Tokyo Solamachi
* Kameido Tenjin Shrine
* Tokyo Skytree (I know it’s not worth it to everybody to actually go up it but… I am so curious! When I first saw it I was in awe at how huge it is, couldn’t stop looking at it from the window of the Narita Express lmao).
Day 4:
Ginza | Tsukiji | Pokemon Cafe
* Pokemon Cafe (small snack & a coffee, want to eat at Tsukiji mostly! Plus I remember it being quite pricey!)
* Wander around the Nihonboshi area a little bit.
* Itoya Ginza (if you can’t tell by now I am a huge stationery lover)
* Ginza Six
* Tsukiji Fish Market
* Back to Ikebukuro for wandering, maybe do Sunshine Mall or Seibu if I still want to shop, otherwise some outside stuff!
Day 5:
Tokyo Tower | Roppongi | Akasaka
* Tokyo Tower
* Zozoji Temple
* Shiba Park
* Roppongi Hills (will do mall, museum, and observation deck)
* Hie Shrine, Nogi Shrine
Day 6:
Shinjuku | Shimokitazawa
* Seikaido (Art/Stationery Shop)
* Kabuchiko (day time, just want to wander – not really into bars) + Samurai Museum, grab food in the area.
* Not sure how long Shimokitazawa would take, or if it’s worth it for me to go! I’m typically a size XL here in the states so I assume most of the clothes wouldn’t fit me, but I love love love shoes/boots and random trinkets so I could definitely still have fun I think!
Day 7:
Ikebukuro | Ueno
* Explore Ikebukuro a bit more if I haven’t already at this point – grab breakfast/lunch, maybe visit the Animate store, stuff like that.
* Ueno Park, Toshoju Shrine
* Nezu Shrine (loved it there last time, was basically empty!)
* Possibly visit a museum or two, maybe the art museum or national museum.
Day 8/9:
Would love love some cool suggestions for these days, maybe cool things I’ve missed or things that you loved! Some things I did last time but don’t need to do again are: Sanrio Puro Land, Teamlab Borderless, Ghibli Museum, & the Imperial Gardens.
I loved visiting shrines so if there are any that I’ve missed that you enjoyed, I would love to know!
Also debating filling one of these days with a day trip to Kawaguchiko or Hakone (quick trip, not overnight, the 2 hour trip doesn’t bother me!). Did a trip to Kawaguchiko last time but sadly no Fuji visibility (we wanted to try even if the chance was slim)! I know visibility still isn’t perfect in March but definitely better than late June.. Fuji trip is a maybe, for now!
Possibly thinking of going to a baseball game at Tokyo Dome if they’re playing + walking around the La Qua shopping plaza! Was a total downpour when I was in the area last time.
Day 10:
Re-doing any favorite things before leaving! Definitely another trip to a LoFT, maybe visit some record shops & stuff as well. Last minute arcade fun because I’m addicted to crane games. Gift hunting for friends & family, etc. Probably won’t be in Tokyo again for a while, especially because I really want to do Osaka and Kyoto soon!
Day 11:
Going home! Probably will get to the airport super duper early because I am paranoid so won’t have time to do much this day. 🙂
Thank you so much if you got this far! As you can tell, quarantine has me bored with nothing else to think about. Also, would appreciate any katsudon, pork bun, and/or omurice recommendations! ^ – ^
Edit; Thank you to everybody that’s suggested/helped me out! Definitely going to spend some time looking at places that are about 1-2 hours out from Tokyo by train/bus!! So far, loving Kamakura and Nikko so those will definitely make their way in there. Thank you everybody, you guys are such a sweet community!
Edit 2: Thank you again!! Going through everything now and going to revise my lil itinerary, will probably post again when it’s perfected. ^ 0 ^
27 comments
Shimokitazawa is great, but Koenji has amazing thrift stores too – often cheaper. I find the clothes in Shimo to be pretty pricy for what they are. My friend is plus sized and has no problems finding cute, vintage clothes, so you’ll be fine.
We just booked three of us (well, 2.5 as my son is only 8) for CAD$753 per person for March 11th. If you believe the news articles, prices for airfares are going to start increasing as they start flying again.
The rebooking policy on AC is generous. Travel date up to two years in the future from cancellation.
Our tickets are refundable with a $200 deduction.
If you’ve been to Tokyo before why not get out of Tokyo and visit some different cities this time? 11days is a pretty long time to spend in Tokyo, especially when you’ve seen it all before.
I always recommend Kansai to second time visitors. It’s varied, but still compact enough that you can experience a huge range of stuff in a relatively short time span.
Fly into Kansai airport, and get accommodation in Osaka. Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Wakayama, even Hiroshima at a push, are all in day trip distance from Osaka.
You mentoned that you enjoy temples and shrines, in which case you’ll love Kyoto (obviously) and Nara. Mount Koya in Wakayama is also incredible- staying overnight at one of the temples there has been a highlight of my time here.
It seems you also enjoy shopping and anime type stuff? Osaka has pretty much all the same kind of shops as Tokyo. America-mura is similar to Harajuku but with a bit more edge, denden town is Osaka’s Akihabara, and Nakazakicho has a very similar vibe to Shimokitazawa/Koenji.
you really do not need a pocket wifi, just contact verizon and add international service, it is less costly and less of a hassle than pocket wifi. you’d only need a sim card if you need to have a japanese #
A Ryokan? Tried to get one but they all seem to be book for every day, week, month, and year. How did u manage to book one at ahead of time? We want to experience it and a private onsen.
If you like tuna I highly recommend maguro mart, the area it’s in is cool to see also and not one of the usual spots.
There is a secret shrine hidden in akihabara that will take you two minutes to visit since it’s tiny. But kind of cool to see lodged between the tall buildings and hidden away.
Kamakura! So close but so many nice places and such a relaxed atmosphere when I went. Nikko and Hakone are also really doable day trips, I have to admit I enjoyed Nikko but didn’t get too much out of Hakone.
One thing a friend and I did on my first visit was take the train down to Yokohama and check out the Cup Noodle Museum. Even if that’s not your thing (and understand it’s kinda niche) the area around it has a massive amll and also a fair ground/carnival style attraction on the river front and the train trip is only about 90 minutes or so iirc.
Another thing is to definitely head over to Odabai, again lots of malls but also things like the Toyota World if you’re interested in cars along with so many dog friendly cafes for looking at people enjoying a meal with their puppers.
Doing a day trip to Hakone with the free travel pass (not actually free) will take up most of the day going across Lake Ashi, up to a volcano where you can buy black eggs, riding a skyrail, seeing massive torii gates and sites. Again it’s about a 90 minute train ride and about 5000yen (last year) but it’s worth it if you enjoy site-seeing and country villages.
Finally I’d suggest going to the Japanese sword museum, just taking in the quality of craftsmanship and seeing swords that are possibly older than your nation (not yours specifically, just in general) is really mindblowing, or was to me.
Those are some of the less obvious things that I didn’t expect to find or enjoy on my trips but are great ways to spend some time and see a little more of the country than just Tokyo without needing to take extended journies.
You might want to look into Asakusa’s neighbour, **Kuramae** [(here’s an outline of what this district is like)](https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-asakusa/article-a0000661/) if you like stationary and crafts, even though I’ve never been there. Could plug this into Day 7 with Ueno or alter your Asakusa Day.
If you like shrines, **Kamakura** is a great day trip destination. Do some research and pick your favourites. Could pair it with a night out in **Yokohama**, a beautiful portside city with pretty night lights in the Minatomirai district.
From Ikebukuro, Kawagoe is one train away. A daytrip to a suburb city with the nickname, Little Edo might be worth looking into based on where you will be staying. Buildings mimic Japanese medieval age architecutre and there are great food spots there.
In Harajuku, make sure to visit the Galaxy Store, they have VR stuff and cool photo ops (learned this from Lost LeBlanc’s videos)
Also near Tokyo Tower/Zozoji is Atago Shrine – probably the best shrine in Tokyo with a clean koi pond (especially in the winter) but beware the “Stone Steps of Success”
If you’re concerned about Fuji visibility, try the Shizuoka/Kanagawa side. From the Yamanashi side the mountain would be shadowed by opposite light in the afternoon whereas that is not an issue in the south, so Hakone might be a better option than Kawaguchiko.
I would recommend going to an onsen in hakone. If you are lucky, you can see mt fuji from the train. There is a lot of stuff to see there, but I was too tired that day to go to the other attractions, the experience was still great tho
Day 2: Start in Harajuku; Meiji Shrine is open well before the shops, so you can start your day earlier. Shops typically don’t open until 10, sometimes 11, and then that’s half a morning wasted!
Given how close Haneda is to Tokyo, depending on the time your flight is you could easily still do something on your last day. Hang out near a station with direct connections to Haneda if you’re really worried!
Day 4, I do not know if things are in order you want to do, but you should shift Tsukiji much earlier, this is more a morning/lunch destination, store typically close not long after lunchtime.
Tokyo is not exactly the best known city for shrine and temple, but you have many of the known ones in your list. I could suggest Kanda Myojin close to Akihabara and Hanazono-jinja in Shinjuku.
Obviously, as other people pointed out, Nikko and Kamakura are great destinations for temples and shrines.
The agenda looks great. I would suggest a few days to Hakone / Gora area. Picasso / Open Air Museum is such an amazing place. Definitely a must see if you are in the area.
Have you ever been to NamjaTown in Ikebukuro? It’s so fun. Also, obviously the Shinjuku Metropolitan Government Building for the free sky-high view?
If you’re interested in watching some super fun YouTube channels while you’re in quarantine, I subscribe to “Paolo from Tokyo”, “Abroad in Japan” and my favourite “Simon and Martina”. I watch these channels a lot and they have so much info for Japan lovers like us. Check ‘em out!
I would 10/10 recommend going to Kyoto! They are known for their gyoza and also their mascot, Kumamon, is awesome! Also, if you have the chance, I would recommend going to Nikko. Lake Chuzenji and mount Nantai are beautiful! There’s also a really pretty shrine.
I would say a major district missing from your list is Odaiba. Aside from Teamlabs, it’s got several malls, several museums, the giant Gundam, Joypolis, and onsen Oedo Monogatari. The new fish market and Tokyo Big Sight are also nearby. It’s easily a whole day of activities.
If you’re into old school pop culture, also drop by Nakano Broadway. It’s on the same train line as the Studio Ghibli museum and is good for at least a couple of hours.
Pocket wifi is super super easy, Just order one online now already and you can just pick it up at the post office at the the airport (that’s the difficult part, finding the post office, altho they usually send you a route plan on how to get there). Turn it on and you can find the password in the device itself, as long as it’s on it’ll give you wifi and it has unlimited use. 1 charge will last you the entire day so just charge it at night, if you forgot to, no worries! You can just connect to a powerbank while you use it. At the end of the trip just put it in the return envelope (they’ll give you at the post office) and put it in post box at the post office at the airport again
Tonkatsu rec : [https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g14134274-d3789710-Reviews-Yamabe_Okachimachi-Ueno_Taito_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html](https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g14134274-d3789710-Reviews-Yamabe_Okachimachi-Ueno_Taito_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html)
If you’re at all interested in woodblock prints, I highly recommend visiting the Ukiyo-e Ota Museum in Harajuku. It’s a short walk from Meiji Shrine, and it only takes about 30 minutes to get through the whole thing, even going at a slow pace. It’s a quaint but extremely well-curated rotating exhibition of traditional woodblock prints. Probably my favorite place in Tokyo.
Also, if you’re interested in stationary, have you heard of Kakimori Inkstand? You can set up an appointment to create your own custom color of ink.
If you can squeeze it in during your day in Ueno, head over to Yanaka-Ginza. It’s a 10-ish minute hop on the Yamanote line from Ueno station and a really sweet neighborhood worth exploring. Great onigiri stand there, too.
is AirCanada any cheaper at the moment because of everything?
Awesome Itinerary.
Thank You Very Much!
Re baseball you need to check the season and book way in advance assuming crowds are attending.
re: your dates check to make sure that there are no major holidays when you are there. Sometimes this can be a benefit though not usually. eg: We were in Tokyo on a day they opened up the Imperial gardens so there were huge crowds but it was so well managed we got in and through daily quickly.
We were there for Sakura season which is a major spring event in Japan so highly recommended.
On Your Day 6 I would recommend going to Shimokitazawa it will be interesting and not very far from Kabukicho. If you do go I would recommend trying soup curry there there are several restaurants.
I would also look into Nakano Broadway and Kichijoji they are in the same direction and again not very far so you don’t waste time travelling. Nakano Broadway has interesting toy stores and Kichijoji is where many locals prefer to live because it’s close to the main city, but peaceful. Neighborhood is interesting to walk through (If you do try Satou Kichihijoji a very tasty meatball) and Inokashira Park is there which is where Ghibli Museum is on the edge of.
If you need some inspiration, I have a [google map](https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?hl=de&mid=1hPhgoU0kb4B2fSfkDEIORksEv_8&ll=35.71547804666086%2C139.7498031623005&z=11) you can check out. Maybe you find some restaurants, cafe or other things you would like. 🙂
Do you have any more info on the rebooking?
I found a flight for 500 CAD and I want to bite the bullet. I do have money to throw away but i hate the idea of it.
Planning to go end of March-mid April 2021 . Hopefully it’ll be open! Been waiting to go to japan forever :/