September Itinerary

7 comments

1. That is a lot to do in such a short amount of time, are you sure you’ll be able to keep up?

2. This looks good but a bit too crammed. I’m in Tokyo right now and heavily overestimated the speed I would be going through things and amount of stuff I’d see a day. So I ended up extending my stay here and delaying going down to Kyoto. But I’m the type of traveler that likes to get lost and take it’s time instead of just gogogo to the next thing, you may be more efficient. One thing is for certain, you will have a blast, this place in incredible.

3. I realize that you want to do as much as you can but really how much are you going to remember if you just rush thru everything? Don’t go to the zoo only to see the red pandas. It’s a very nice zoo and worth seeing all of it. It’s one of my favorites.

   You will only need one day to do the Disney parks. They are not as big as the ones in the US. Do Disney Sea during the day and then switch to Disneyland after 6pm. They don’t do park hopping tickets but they do discounted prices after 6. Disney Sea is more for teens and adults and so is busier in the evening. So you do that one during the day and switch to Disneyland in the evening when it’s not as busy.

   Depending on how big an anime fan you are, your shopping budget can easily be blown on one figure. Akihabara is a big area with shops on every floor of all the buildings.

   Have fun!

4. I feel like you’re severely underestimating the cost for food, shopping, and entertainment

5. I don’t know the level of comfort you demand when you travel but the green pass for Jr feels totally unnecessary to me as someone who just spent 3 weeks here… the regular cars have easily twice the leg room of your flight, chairs are comfy, there’s overhead racks (don’t carry your suitcases, mail them) tables, power outlets etc

   Day 4 is definitely where you could do the Tokyo metro building, it is a 45 minute train from day 3 that you wanted to then take back for ameyoyokocho at night / not ideal, but it is a single stop away from golden Gai. Definitely don’t skip GG either – it is not beer heavy. Honestly most places aren’t. At the most barren selection there was usually beer/lemon sours/whisky highballs. The latter of two were both delicious. But most places especially in GG offer full bars. You’ll be able to get whatever you like. Places are TINY but all incredibly unique and will make it very apparent they are friendly to travelers. It was one of the only places we made friends during our trip 🙂

   Personally – skip philosophers path, as you’ve got a tight schedule. Maybe it’s a bit prettier in autumn (though I think Sept might be early for that?) / I know it’s popular for the cherry blossoms, but it was a quite sad stretch that wasn’t nearly as scenic as quite anywhere else in Kyoto in my opinion. I walked the whole length and constantly encountered other tourists saying “my maps says it’s right here! Where is it” because it was really just a little path alongside a not very impressive canal.
   On that day, if you get up early enough, do Sagano romantic train / or stroll around by the river there in Sagano/Arashiyama if you want a much more dramatic and beautiful walk. Also closer to Kinkakuji but that’s a relative term since it’s still 30-45 minutes by bus.

   You don’t have Fushimi Inari on the list which is arguably the most popular attraction in Kyoto – and well worth it especially if you climb a decent ways up it where the people are not. Especially if you go to Arashiyama/Sagano the first day rather than Philosophers Path, fill this on Day 7.

   The fish market is in Toyosu now. I have no interest in sushi so we didn’t go but from what I understand it is a VERY early day to go there 5/6am. Tokyo tower observatory isn’t worth it (you’re in 1 of the most iconic buildings so it’s missing from the landscape) but there is a very cool arcade there called Tokyo Red which had a bunch of different AR/VR using your whole body type games.

   I’m safely assuming when you say Asakusa you mean to include Sensoji here. It is one of the most stunning temples we saw. It is also close to the sky tree and I thought the view there was incredibly worth the price + there’s so much in sky tree town!

   Hakone -is- doable as a day trip if you can’t find accommodation. We stayed at Enblem Flow which is categorized as a hostel but has private rooms and hot springs. Overall I felt like I didn’t need to stay there and I saw many people doing the loop in one day from Tokyo. If hot springs are what you’re looking for, you can find them in Tokyo or nearby on other day trips. There’s a hot spring resort in Chiba? I believe that looks like an old edo style festival // the name is escaping me right now.
   If you combine the Disney days, perhaps a day trip to Yokohama is up your alley for the cup of noodle museum and the Giant gundam since you mentioned anime as an interest. It moves and it is IMPRESSIVE. The whole site is dedicated to robotics and filled with interesting information too. Yokohama was another city I found just so refreshing and lovely – waterside, vibrant China town, Redbrick district was very “hip”.

   I don’t think your itinerary sounds too cramped. For the most part I utilized the advise here and cut / slowed down my itinerary when I went and definitely felt like I could’ve done more some days. That being said I had 3 weeks so I had the privilege of a slower pace also. Only you know what your body can upkeep. Get good shoes, you’ll walk a lot and there are WAY more stairs and inclines than I feel like I expected. That being said, most things you don’t need to book more than a day in advance ( besides trains ) so giving yourself the flexibility to swap days or things around is a life saver if you find yourself sore or tired.

   Just be mindful of closing times for temples (4-5pm) late opening times for stores (most don’t open till 11am / not very many breakfast places at all) and just in general how long it can take to get from one place to the next. You don’t have any crazy travel in Tokyo really except the Tokyo metro building i mentioned above, but I always estimated 30 minutes to get most places when you factored walking, finding the train, catching the train, walking again. Apple Maps IS your friend, google was hit or miss on the android. Get an ESIM or a pocket Wi-Fi. Couldn’t imagine doing this trip without access to maps/translate.

   If you’re looking for a great meal that doesn’t necessarily have to be Michelin but IS a very unique experience, stop in Kobe after Himeji and have a Kobe beef dinner. Best steak I’ve ever eaten. They took it in front of you as well. Also the city of Kobe was just so wonderful.

   Safe & fun travels!

6. Personally I think, this travel is too hectic. Day 4 for instance – to cover Shinjuku, Shibuya, Meiji Shrine and Harajuku is just not feasible in a day. Shinjuku has lots of POI (Tokyo Kobukicho Tower, Godzille statue, interesting streets, roof top gardens), Shibuya has tons of attractions there other than the crossing (Nintendo store, Shibuya 109, Shibuya Sky, etc). Meiji Shrine is vast and take time to explore…

7. You only need a 7-day JR pass (for days 5-11), the JR pass is not worth it for the other days. Also, as you seem to be on a budget, consider if you really need a green pass – the ‘normal’ cars are perfectly nice and serviceable.

   Delete Osaka castle as it vastly pales in comparison to Himeji castle. In fact, unless you’re super into the history of specific castles or collecting stamps of all 100, I would say that once you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all.

   I also think Philosophers Path is a waste of time in September especially since you are not doing anything else nearby (Kinkakuji is on the other side of Kyoto).

   If you are interested in Fushimi Inari, go there on the Tokyo-Kyoto travel day (it’s one stop on the local train from Kyoto station).