Hi, I’d like to get some feedback on my itinerary. I will travel in August as a group of 9 student friends to Tokyo. We want to have a rather flexible itinerary where we can walk around and decide spontaneously what we are doing, except 1-2 planned things per day. Also we don’t know if we should buy the rail pass or not. If we only include the cost of traveling to Kyoto and Osaka and back it is not worth it, but i don’t know how to buy Shinkansen tickets when in Japan and how stressful it will be.
We will most likely split into groups of 3 in the morning and meet up and one of the planned attractions.
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Day0 : Arrival
Day1: Minato + odaiba: Tokyo Tower, Prince Shiba Park, Tsoyoji Shrine, Team Labs, Gundam Base
Day2: Akihabara +? : Anime/Games Stores (Not all people will need all day here)
Day3: Shibuya+Shinjuku+kabukichu: Shibuya before lunch (Shibuya Crossing, Shopping,…), Shinjuku afternoon, Evening Shinjuku+kabukichu: maybe Bar hopping
Day4: Chiyoda: Tokyo Imperial Palace +?
Day5: Mitaka +Nakano: Ghibli-Museum, Nakano Broadway?
Day6: Kyoto: Early with Shinkansen Tokyo -> Kyoto,
Day6/7: Osaka: Day6 Evening Kyoto -> Osaka Dotonbori, Day7: Osaka Caslte,… Osaka -> Tokyo late evening
Day8: Yuigahama Beach trip on a friday
Day9: ?
Day10: ? All you can Drink Sake in the Evening? but where?
Day11: Sumida SkyTree, Tokugawa, Asakusa, Sea Life?,
Day12: Kawaguchiko/Hakone: Day Trip to Mt fuji (not sure if we climb a bit or just stay in a City with a good view)
Day13: ?
Day14: Departure
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As you see we have some Days with a little bit to much maybe and some where we don’t Know what to do. We kinda want 1-2 Days open so we can decide if we saw something but had no time for, that we can go there in the second week. But im quite sure that we have missed many things that we should definitly go see.
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Money Planning: without flight and Hotel
FOOD: 600€
Travel Cost without(Osaka/Kyoto): 100€ + Shinkansen: 205€ / or 7 Day Railpass
Attractions: About 40€ per day without Arrival/Departure, 520€
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Any Feedback would be appreciated and if you have Things that we must visit in Japan and missed please Tells us. 🙂
3 comments
Concider Ueno park while in Tokyo. There are six different museums, a zoo (my favorite one), a couple of shrines. Depending on the day there can also be street preformers. Or you could do Disneyland /Disney Sea if you are into the big parks. I prefer the Tokyo parks to the ones in the US.
The castle in Osaka is totally modern inside. There are some really awesome displays but it’s not old like some of the others in other parts of the country. If you have time go to the aquarium! It’s by far the coolest one that I have ever been to. It’s five stories tall has a central tank that is at least four of the stories, and they have whale sharks!
The Ghibli museum you have to buy tickets in advance. You can’t just show up and get in. You can get them from Lawson’s starting on the 10th of the month before. Tickets are limited and can sell out quickly. You will have a set time for entry. Don’t be late for the entry time or you will not be let in even if you have a ticket. There is no time limit once you are inside.
Day 1 sounds great if you have a helicopter
Buying tickets for the Shinkansen is super easy. They have specific ticket booths in Shinjuku station with the option to select different languages. However, if you find that daunting you can also go into the ticket office and have a member of staff book it for you – there are a few different trains you can get to Kyoto/Osaka. The benefit of buying is you can choose to take the express/Nozomi, which is excluded from the JR Pass.
Mentioned this in other comments, but I’d highly recommend a day trip to Kamakura and Enoshima (using the enoden). Cannot count the amount of times I’ve been and I still enjoy going. From Enoshima on a clear day you get some beautiful views of Mt Fuji.
Golden Gai is probably your best bet for a cheap night out drinking. Other than that, around universities you’ll find some student places. I’ve been to a few in Baba (Takadanobaba) that were memorable! There are clubs in Shibuya that are interesting.
I loved the Ghibli museum, just remember you have to buy the tickets in advance from a Lawsons.
Also, something I’ve personally never done but friends have really enjoyed – watching a rl sumo match.
Be careful around Kabukicho, I know people who have been pocketed there – they target tourists. I’ve never had any issues and even had my iphone returned to me after leaving it on the train (I got off at Nagoya and collected it two days later in Osaka), but you don’t want to be in the small percentage of people that do!
For shopping I tend to do most of mine in Shinjuku, but for a day out (and for younger shopping) I would get off the Yamanote line (green one) at Harajuku, down Omotesando and then walk over to Shibuya. Soooooo many shops and restaurants. Hotspot for quirky places, too.
Odaiba is also really fun. You get on a monorail that takes you over the rainbow bridge. There’s an indoor theme park there and a bunch of other activities. There used to be a gundam, but the really big one (which is being taken down next year) is in Yokohama – if you’re into all that. I know I’ll be taking my bf when we go this Christmas!
Also, just to bare in mind that Tokyo is HUGE. It’s easy to underestimate how far each destination is from one another… I’ve fallen into that trap many times. Managed to get myself lost in Shinjuku station many times, too (albeit, before they started putting up signs in English) The underground passages can get very disorienting.
Everyone always says to go to Akiba for Anime and games stores, but I think Ikebukuro is on par, if not better. It’s where my cousin (a uni student) would generally hang with his Friends.
For the non vegans/veggies amongst you, deffo find yourself a place to have oniku (where you cook the meat over the grill). Osaka is one of the better places to get Kobe beef more reasonably priced.
Seriously, get yourself to an onsen. I get that most people would disregard it because you obvs have to be naked around lots of other people, but it’s so relaxing! There’s a great one in Tokyo overlooking the city. I went at night and the pretty city lights added to the vibe. If you’re going to Hakone, take advantage and stay in a Ryokan with an onsen. You won’t regret it.
Could go on… but then I’d be writing an essay. Have a great time and make the most of it!