Working on trip for next year – first time in Japan for us (2 adults and 17 year old) all anime/toy fans.
This is the plan do far – any recommendations for other areas to visit/shop in?
Day 1 arrive from Scotland so will just be checking in – Hotel in Ikebukuro. Will just explore area and find food
Day 2- Akihabara will spend HOURS there
Day 3 – Yokohama hoping to go to World Porters and maybe Red Brick Warehousr- ideas?
Day 4 – Nokano Broadway – all day as lots to see
Day 5 – travel to Osaka and staying overnight near USJ
Day 6 – USJ
Day 7 – Shibuya will try for Shibuya sky and potentially Pepper Parlour Cafe
Day 8 – Odaiba and Diver City
Day 9 – Nokano Broadway to buy more stuff
Day 10 – Akihabara for more Anime fun
Will be visiting Sunshine City a lot as we are in Ikebukuro and we will be going to Kamen Rider Diner (teens fave show).
Have left lunches/dinners mostly flexible as will find places as we go.
Will be using JR pass as that should cover majority of travel but will get Suica cards as well and a portable WiFi.
Any feedback or suggestions welcome as this is very new to us.
7 comments
Even if you’re big anime fans not sure if there’s 2 full days worth of stuff to do in each of Nakano/Akihabara, also bear in mind that merch is very aligned to what’s out at the time and does just sell out. There’s some anime stores in Shibuya Parco on the same floor as the Nintendo Store that might be of interest to you guys. Also shops open later than they do in the UK, so Akihabara isn’t great in the morning as lots of things are closed.
Joypolis in Odaiba often does anime collaborations, I did an Attack on Titan one a few years back and got some great merch there too, they sometimes do discount tickets for travellers if you show your passport.
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Yeah, I don’t think you will be seeing very much of Tokyo with 2 days Akihabara, 2 days Nakano Broadway, and 1 day on travel (to and from USJ). Really, you are just spending 3-4 days on everything else in Tokyo and Osaka.
Osaka has much to offer – Tombori river, Dotonbori, DenDen Town (Arcade), Tokyo has so much more to offer too – Shinjuku, Shibuya area, Asakusa, etc.
Ikebukuro and sunshine city are further out, so this is going to make your travel time to other parts of tokyo longer.
Ive been twice now and I agree with other post that unless you just plan to comb through every store in Akihabara then one day is enough.
I would suggest shinjuku and hakashita dori area for another day. Still lots of shopping and fun. (Akihabara is not the only place with anime stuff.)
Have fun on your trip.
My husband and I are also planning to go in March as well! We are still trying to figure out if getting the JR Passes will be cost-effective after the October 2023 price hikes, so we may or may not get JR Passes.
As a huge anime & games fan I’d like to offer a dissenting opinion on the Akihabara comments here, my first trip I spent just over 2 weeks in Japan and ended up in Akihabara on 4 different occasions, I loved all the anime stores (I bought a bunch of figures in Kyoto though as they were cheaper) but I spent SO much time in the arcades, there’s so many games that aren’t really available outside of Japan, so if you wanna go to Akihabara a bunch I say go for it. Even outside the main Gigos and Game Panic there’s a ton of smaller arcades I loved
Looks like we’ll have to pace ourselves with the anime shopping! Thanks for the tips, fellow otaku!
Look up Animate and Mandarake in Shibuya (or other locations)