I am going on this trip with my wife in mid October. I’ve out together an itinerary and was hoping someone with experience could give their view on it and whether I have planned too much. Also, whether anything I’ve included is actually not worth the hassle or similar to something else.
About us… Mid 30s. I am not a fan of crowds (they bring my heart rate up) and am aware that many of the places on the itinerary are crowded but my wife really wants to go to Japan so here we are. My favourite holiday activities are things like kayaking and nature walking (moderate hikes are fine with us) – I love nature and beautiful scenary. To be honest, I’ve struggled to incorporate these things into the itinerary so if there’s any suggestions people may have for activities close to where we are going I’d love to here them. I saw you could kayak in Okutama but all I could find is group things and we really don’t like group activites.
I have one request for food suggestions which is a fancy dinner local to The Gate Hotel in Ginza on Day 13 (But not so fancy that jeans/smart shoes are needed as we won’t have those).
Neither of us are into anime but the wife likes pokemon.
We are flying from the UK. Flight departs at 7.20pm so we expect to sleep on the plane.
Day 1 – Monday 16th October – Tokyo – Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi
Land at 5.15pm. Check in at hotel and go to Asakusa / Senso-ji / Sumida Park
Day 2 – Tuesday 17th October – Tokyo – Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi
Teamlabs 9am. Pokemon Cade midday. Shibuya Sky 4.30pm. Shinjuku in evening (getting all the reservation places done in one day)
Day 3 – Wednesday 18th October – Tokyo – Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi
If the weather is nice, we will do the Hakone Round Course recommended by Japan Guide, ending with using the onsen at Yuryo.
If it’s cloudy we will do one of the following day trips: DisneySea, Nikko, Okutama, Takao (I’ve looked at all of these but none of them really grabbed me)
Day 4 – Thursday 19th October – Tokyo/Kyoto – Good Nature
Checkin at 3pm. Nishiki Market (right next to hotel). Walk to Kiyomizu-Dera and Yasaka Pagoda. Then Pontocho Alley for food.
Day 5 – Friday 20th October – Kyoto – Good Nature
Arashiyama bamboo at 7am. Row boat on river. Walk to Otagi. Then Sakyo-ku if not tired. In the afternoon/eve, head to Shinbashi-Dori / Shirakawa River Walk
Day 6 – Saturday 21st October – Kyoto – Good Nature
Have a lay in due to early rise yesterday. Either rent a bike and roll around or spend the day at Kibune (any suggested bike routes for a Saturday?). Another alternative is a river boat but I’ve struggled to find ones other than the rapid one near Arashiyama which we don’t want to do. In the evening, go to Koda-ji.
Day 7 – Sunday 22nd October – Kyoto/Osaka – Swissotel or Fraser Residence
Fushimi Inari at 6.30am. Checkin 3pm, travelling via Kyo-train Garaku if we can. In Osaka – Shinsekai in the afternoon and go to Dotombori in evening.
Day 8 – Monday 23rd October – Osaka – Swissotel or Fraser Residence
Minoh Park (is this too similar to Kibune?) 10am to 1pm. Then Sumiyoshi Taisha and Dotombori in evening.
Day 9 – Tuesday 24th October – Osaka – Swissotel or Fraser Residence
Universal Studios. Umeda Sky Building in evening.
Day 10 – Wednesday 25th October – Osaka/Tokyo – Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi or Dai-ichi
Checkin 3pm. Tokyo Dome / Akihabara
Day 11 – Thursday 26th October – Tokyo – Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi or Dai-ichi
If we didn’t do Hakone on Day 3, we’ll do it here regardless of weather.
Otherwise, one of the day trips mentioned in Day 3: DisneySea, Nikko, Okutama, Takao
Day 12 – Friday 27th October – Tokyo – Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi or Dai-ichi
Another one of the day trips: DisneySea, Nikko, Okutama, Takao
Day 13 – Saturday 28th October – Tokyo – Gate Hotel
Checkin 1pm. We are switching hotels as this one has a cool, big room and a hot tub on a terrace high up. Plan is to chill during the day and go for a fancy local dinner in the evening (suggestions for dinner would be great) then chill in the hot tub with the city lights.
Day 14 – Sunday 29th October – Tokyo – Gate Hotel
This is technically the final day as we will be checking out at 11pm to travel to the airport for a flight that leaves at 2.45am on Day 15. Plan is Harajuku and Yoyogi Park during the day.
The only bits I have listed on my spreadsheet that I’ve not included in the above are going to Hamarikyu Gardens and going to the tea house and getting a ferry, plus seeing Rainbow Bridge. I’ve struggled to fit these in.
Thanks for reading!
3 comments
Had a quick look – assuming JR pass here considering you’re going Tokyo and around. Make sure you get reservations early for your trains!
1. You really are going a lot of crowded places, and day 2 sounds super stressful in the morning. Not 100% sure how teamlabs queues are anymore but that 3 hour window between reservations seems quite tight to me to look around teamlabs and then still make your Pokemon cafe reservation.
2. Those day trips are pretty far, an hr minimum travel each way – I know you want to fit a lot in, but those days are just going to be even more exhausting on top of your Kyoto days. Maybe find some things in metro Tokyo that’s indoors for your rain contingency plan?
3. Gaddang those Kyoto days are pretty oof, but don’t let your dreams be memes I guess
4. Your days 9-14 look kinda sparse compared to your loaded front end. Would suggest again finding things in metro Tokyo that you might like to do and balance out the front and back a little.
5. No ryokans?
I am sorry to say that no matter where you go or what you do things are going to be crouded.
Tokyo
Check out Ueno Park there are six museums, a zoo (one of my favorites) and a couple of shrines.
If you are going to do a day trip go to Nikko! Omg for the time of year that you are going to be there it will be breath taking! It’s a beautiful area and all the trees will be changing color. Love the shrine there!
Kyoto
Make sure to go to the Palace it’s so pretty and the Nightingale floors are fun.
All shrines and temples are worth going to
Osaka
Go to the aquarium! Coolest aquarium ever! It’s 5 stories tall and has whale sharks!
The castle is totally modern inside but has some really good displays so still worth going to.
Loved the natural history museum as well.
The zoo is nice but I like the one in Ueno Park better.
Have fun!
I am here at the moment, doing a similar trip and I flew from Ireland. My advice would be not to underestimate the jet lag and how bad you’ll feel after the long journey. We had also intended on sleeping on the plane but couldn’t. We nearly cried tears of joy when we got to the hotel, walked around in awe of the place, and just got noodles and snacks in 7/11. I wouldn’t have been able for anything else that evening. Also Senso-ji (and a lot of temples and shrines) closes at 5pm. I think it would be difficult to decide to go to disneysea on the day, as you need to book tickets in advance – you can’t buy tickets there.