April 2021 Itinerary Suggestions

23 comments

1. Omg so I went to japan back in December of 2018 for 13 days. We flew into Haneda, best idea ever since it’s so much easier and faster to get into the other areasTokyo from that airport. We did Disneyland and Tokyo Disney sea with a 2 day pass that we had to buy at a Disney store in japan ( you couldn’t get passes online with a US address/phone number) but getting them from the Disney store was super quick and easy, I think it was the equivalent of $120 (USD) for the two tickets. Both parks are so awesome and I definitely recommend journey to the center of the earth in Disney sea and get a fast pass first thing in the morning for the Winnie the Pooh ride in Disneyland (trust me).

   The ghibli museum was okay, but you need to enter an online lottery to get the tickets for the date you wish to go. So make sure you get that ahead of time too, I had to do a lot of waiting and refreshing of the website to do it. It’s also very interesting trying to find the museum, it’s kind of tucked away in the corner of a park.

   I got too excited to answer and forgot to look at your other itinerary lol but I LOVED japan and will 1000% be returning.

   Also I have been following abroad in japan for about 3-4 years, look up his YouTube and podcast he’s a Brit that moved to japan a while ago and has a super sarcastic wit and even has a website to help you plan I think it’s abroadinjapan.com. There’s also sharla in japan she’s Canadian and also moved to japan a while ago.

   I hope you have an amazing time when you go! Let me know if you have any questions!!

2. whats your favorite meal from japan?

3. >Friday 9th
   Visit Teamlab Borderless to experience (and take some shameless photograhs), the afternoon and evening we visit Zojoji Temple and the surrounding area. Might plan on heading out this night also but we will see what state we are in.

   You can easily spend an afternoon or almost the entire day in Odaiba. Megaweb Toyota City Showcase, Aqua city mall, Museum of Maritime Science, fun place to bike around, etc.

   Also, Disney on your second day may be a bit rough depending on how you handle jet lag. I would personally crash midday and it would be a complete waste.

4. Kyoto deserves more than 1 day! It’s my favourite city in the world and luckily I’m only a 2hr train ride away so go there a few times a year. There is soo much to do in that city and many beautiful sights worth a look.

   Brewdog is a Scottish craft brewery in Tokyo. Beers are good but service was incredibly rude when we visited. The aesthetics are really cool though.

   ​

   While you’re in Mitaka for Ghibli be sure to check out Inokashira Park and Kichijoji. Kichijoji and nearby Shimokitazawa are such quaint areas of Tokyo with a lot of personality.

5. Doing Kyoto in 1 day is nuts and is the surest way to completely miss everything that makes the city special. I generally recommend at least 3 full days just for a quick run-through of the highlights–and you’ll be there during the height of cherry blossom season (if you go during the first half of your trip anyway), which would make it even easier to justify even longer (this is also why I recommend staying in Kyoto and doing Osaka as the day trip). I would actually argue that there is more to do and see around the Kyoto/Osaka area than there is around Tokyo, yet you’re giving it basically 2 days (since I wouldn’t really count USJ). I think just for a basic run-through of the best of the best highlights you really need to allocate 3 full days to Kyoto, 1 to Nara (absolutely unskippable), 1-2 to Osaka, and preferably 1 split between Himeji and Kobe.

   I also think it’s very questionable to spend 3 days of a relatively short trip at American theme parks. There is so much to see and do in Japan, and even if you cut all 3 of these days, covering Kansai, Kanto, and Hiroshima in just 13 full days would be ambitious. If it’s really, really important to you I would pick one park at most, and I would even consider cutting Hiroshima (and doing so would give you more flexibility since you wouldn’t feel pressured to buy a rail pass). The more time you spend rushing around, the less time you spend actually seeing and doing things. The most satisfying days are the ones where you spend the most time on foot (or bicycle) actually doing things.

   Edit: Also be sure to go to Maruyama Park at night for hanami if you go to Kyoto during the first half of your trip. There are loads of food stalls or you can bring your own and eat under the blossoms. Many major sights around Kyoto also have special night openings/illuminations at this time that are very worth going to, including Kodai-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Shoren-in, and Nijo-jo. If you don’t end up going to Kyoto until the second half, some places like Nina-ji and Kurama bloom later (although it may still be a bit early for Kurama).

6. A note on Thursday the 15th: Kyoto is a deceptively large city, and the public transit isn’t as comprehensive as it is in Tokyo. It’s still very good, but you’ll mostly be taking buses instead of trains, which take longer. So if you’re going to leave some free time to “explore the city”, I would maybe just pick one area of Kyoto you’d like to explore. Otherwise you may quickly get overwhelmed.

   I would highly recommend exploring the Gion district. In just one evening of aimless exploration, I went to Yasaka Shrine, ate some delicious matcha soft serve, stumbled upon a beautiful small hidden temple where I was the only visitor, and wandered into Kenninji which had the coolest ceiling mural I’ve ever seen. This was all on foot too. None of that stuff was originally on my itinerary, and it was my favorite day. It’s also close *enough* to everything else you’re doing that it won’t add too much transit time.

   I would also say: I think in most circumstances it is absolutely worth it to climb all the way to the top of Fushimi Inari. That being said, if you’re really only doing one day in Kyoto (I would recommend adding at least one more day if not two), then I wouldn’t plan on the full hike. It can easily take up half your day even if you start early.

   Friday the 16th: if you’re interested in ukiyo-e, my favorite little museum was the Ota Memorial Museum in Harajuku. It’s a tiny little building with a beautiful rotating collection of woodblock prints. The inside is very quiet and tranquil. It’s very walkable from Meiji Shrine or Takeshita-dori. I took my sweet time and still got through it all in about 40 minutes.

   Saturday the 18th: just make sure you get to the metro station pretty early if you’re going to rely on coin locker storage. The space, especially for large luggage, is usually quite limited and can fill up fairly early in the morning. You might also want to consider forwarding your luggage to the airport.

7. Not too much to add from me, however, if you are planning on going to USJ or Disney parks I recommend using this Crowd Calendar – [http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/usj/](http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/usj/)

   This may help you tweak your itinerary as certain days are busier than others (due to holidays or events etc). There should be another calendar for the Disney parks as well.

8. Going to Japan is definitely important in life, I miss that so much.

   For the Tokyo part, no problem, just be reminded to do the necessary booking via webs, especially for Ghibli and Teamlab.

   For the super early breakfast, I did it a few times in Toyosu market, great choice
   nice sushi IMO.

   However, no matter how many downvotes given, I will still say it. Do not get greedy and go that far places in a short trip. Travel within 3 prefecture range from your airport.

   Frankly, I personally do not like that harsh in that Kansai part (you even go to hiroshima). Well, if you booked all the accoms and unchangeable, you may stick to that, still doable.

   I spent 50+ days travelling Kansai, not enough AF.

9. I’m a huge theme park fan like you and you will loveeeee the parks. Good god. But as others are saying, Kyoto is absolutely amazing. It’s better than Osaka imo. In any case, cut a tokyo day if needed. Just do 2 nights In Kyoto. Stay somewhere cool and central like Gion.

   Saturday the 17th is a throwaway day rn. Use that to go to fushimi Inari and other stuff in Kyoto. You will not regret it

10. I would check out of Ibis Tokyo Bay after you’re done with Disney. It would be a relatively far and annoying trek to go from there to Mitaka and after 2 (potentially 3) days at Disney, you will likely be exhausted.

    Team Lab Borderless is also huge. I spent 3 hours there last year, but I still didn’t see everything.

    It seems like your trip doesn’t take into consideration jetlag and you’re going to hit the ground running. Keep in mind that you’ll be doing a LOT of walking (perhaps more so than you are used to – not sure what kind of lifestyle you have) so it might be good to have a buffer day somewhere so that you can chill out if you need to.

11. You really have everything planned out. I hope you have a really great time. Please post a few great photo’s!

12. Shirakawa-go is a must!

13. Just to jump in agree with many of the comments, Kyoto deserves more time. I found Osaka quite boring in comparison to Kyoto but it depends on if you’re more into the history or cities!

    Now I’m a massive theme park and Disney nut, I went to Tokyo Disney on my 21st birthday and I was really disappointed 🙁 it’s much smaller than Disney land Paris and on the day we were there many of the bigger rides were closed for maintenance as it was off peak, so be careful! I agree with comments about jet lag too. I fly from Heathrow as well and for each of my 4 trips my jet lag on the first 2 days has been horrible, I certainly wouldn’t be brave enough to walk around Disney all day! If you can I’d shuffle the plan around to cover Disney from day 3 onwards so you can be certain you’ll be ready for it!

    Only other comment is that I did Teamlab Borderless and Planets this year to see the difference and I personally much preferred Planets. Its a much more peaceful experience as I found wandering around the unstructured nature of Borderless really stressful! It’s worth looking in to both and seeing what takes your fancy.

14. I find your itinerary interesting but personally I would add more traditional flavors to it. During your stay in Tokyo area consider doing a 1-day trip to Kamakura, which has many beautiful old temples, especially since you plan to spend so little time in Kyoto. When in Tokyo, I would also omit Zōjō-ji and instead visit much more famous Sensō-ji, one of the most important Buddhist temples in Japan.

    Regarding Kyoto, I think Nijō Palace would be a MUCH BETTER option than the Imperial Palace, as it is more open to the visitors and generally more enjoyable. If you are interested in the emperor of Japan, a tour through the Tokyo Imperial Palace grounds (the part that is open to the public) could be a nice idea.

15. If you wanna do Kyoto in one day, you will have to sacrifice one of the Fushimi Inari Taisha/Imperial Palace/explore the city.

16. I was in Japan late last year, and visited mostly the same places you’re going to visit. I also flew with BA. I posted an [itinerary thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/cyoti2/itinerary_check_14_days_kansai_and_tokyo/) that you can check out. The only change we made during the trip was spending the entire day 6 in Kyoto and pushing Nara to the morning of day 7.

    Things I think you should consider:

    1. Flying to Tokyo and flying back from Osaka, or vice versa (which is what we did). You save half a day by not having to return to Tokyo.

    2. Make Hiroshima a day trip from Kansai. I loved Hiroshima but checking in and out of hotels is a hassle and a waste of time. If you stay in Kansai and wake up early you can spend the whole day in Hiroshima and even visit Miyajima before returning to your hotel.

    3. Spend more than 1 day in Kyoto. It’s absolutely gorgeous and you’ll regret not spending more time there. Osaka is cool but honestly there’s not that much to see compared to Kyoto. I think must-go places there are Fushimi Inari, Kinkaku-ji and Kiyomizu dera/Higashiyama ward in general. You can skip the bamboo groove in Arashiyama imo.

    4. Disneyland/Disney Sea is going to be super packed. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually the best days to visit, but be prepared for 3+ hour waiting times on some rides. It’s way busier than Disneyland Paris. I also wouldn’t go on my 2nd day there, you’ll probably be tired from the trip.

    Feel free to ask any questions

17. IMO, if it’s possible, remove Hiroshima from your itinerary and enjoy these 2 days extra in Kyoto.

18. Test events for the Olympics will be held in April so expect there to be a bit of a price jump in airfares and accommodations.

19. I appreciate were you come from it’s a novelty and same where I’m from so it’s a must visit, but I personally wouldn’t waste anymore than one day in Tokyo on theme parks. There’s so much more of the Japanese culture to see. Also note your time around Kyoto is very tight so a day would be very valuable there. Would recommend 1 day at Disneyland and don’t go to DinseySea which we didn’t think was that great. Disneyland had the more “Disney” experience and better rides. The parks are always packed and you’ll spend most of your day walking around and queuing and maybe ride 3 or 4 rides max. We spent half a day around the NY period just gone at Disneyland and only managed to get on 1 ride! Unless you are a Disney fanatic or have you kids, there are so much better things to do! But appreciate that everyone has different styles. Good luck and enjoy your trip. Also does your budget include accomodation? If so I’d save a bit more. Keep to the local Izakayas they are relatively cheap to eat at, 2 people and drinks about 30 pound.

20. To me Disney parks in a shortish Japan trip is silly, no matter how daft for them you are. Disney Paris is close enough to Scotland if you need another fix. There is a lot more things to see that might be new to you in Tokyo and more rewarding. Of course, I won’t stand in line 2 hours for anything, much less a theme park ride.

    Kyoto is much more interesting imo than Osaka. I’d stay in Kyoto and visit Osaka as a day trip. I found the aquarium the most interesting site there.

21. I think if you get a chance I’d make use of one of the days your in Tokyo instead of 3 Disney days use one to take a short day north into iwate and see stuff there. Or go to Aokigahara among other places

22. If you do get more time in Kyoto, the Kyotomangekyo museum is very pretty and takes less than an hour to check out.

23. I would say that, unless you guys are the most intense Disney nuts ever (and I say this as a fan of Disney), you don’t need three days of Disneyland. I would strongly suggest a weekend trip to Disneyland Paris at some other time, and just do DisneySea, which is unique to Japan (and completely worth going just for the aesthetics), or if you’re really ambitious, get the nighttime ticket for the regular disneyland.

    My answer would be different if you guys were spending a month in Japan, or this was your second trip (if you guys are planning on coming again, then I’d also change my advice). But 3/16 days is a lot, and the regular Disneyland in Japan is pretty much the same as HK and California Disneyland’s. The disneyland area is more out in the suburbs, and your hotel would be a pain in the butt to get back to if you guys end up going elsewhere.

    We stayed at a small business hotel (Horidome Villa) in central Tokyo, and it was decent for getting to everything.

    I also second everyone else in that 1 day in Kyoto is just not enough. We did go to Hiroshima, but we were in Japan for a month that time, and went all the way down to Yakushima for our trip and Hiroshima was a stop on the way back. I would cut Hiroshima and add the days onto the Kyoto/Osaka area, but you can ignore this if you really really want to go there.

    That being said, if you do keep Hiroshima, you should swap what you’re doing for the 10th and the 11th. Travelling from your hotel in Tokyo to your hotel in Hiroshima will take 5 hours at minimum. The shinkansen is a chill way to travel, but there is no way that travelling five hours, checking into your hotel in Hiroshima, then getting back on transit for another 40 minutes to go to Miyajima is going to be appealing (30+ mins train, 10 min ferry, plus a bit of walking, not to mention an additional 40 mins to come back in the evening – that’s 7 hours on trains in one day…..). And I don’t even know what your luggage situation is…

    You’re better off visiting the peace park during the evening of your arrival (there’s a lot of good restaurants around there, so you can go to the peace park and find a good dinner pretty easily, and using the next day for a day trip to Miyajima.

    Going into the Kyoto stuff, the Imperial Palace tour is fascinating and well done, and ties in well with the audio tour that you can rent from Nijo castle if you’re a history buff. However, there is no way you could do Fushimi Inari and the imperial palace in the same day. They’re over an hour apart on transit.

    TBH we spent 13 days in Kyoto (7 exploring the city proper and 6 spent using it as a base for daytrips to other cities), and we kept finding cool stuff to do and explore.