Hello! Booked a quick trip to Japan from July 20th to July 27th. Mainly staying in Toyko, with 1 night in Kyoto.
Here is the rough itinerary.
**July 21st:**
\-Arrive at Narita Airport at 15:30 JST
\-Take a train to Hotel Gracery Shinjuku in Tokyo
\-Check in and then rest/explore the neighborhood
**July 22nd:**
\-Asakusa District
\-Senso-ji Temple
\-Nakamise Shopping Street
\-Akihabar
\-TeamLab Planets
**July 23rd:**
\-Tsukiji Fish Market
\-District of Ginza
\-Harajuku
\-Takeshita Street
\-Meiji Shrine & Meiji Jingu Gyoen Park
\-Take Shinkansen to Kyoto and check into hotel
**July 24th:**
\-Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine
\-Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
\-Togetsukyo Bridge
\- Nijō Castle
\-Tenryu-ji Temple
\-Take Shinkansen back to Tokyo
\-Omoide Yokochō
**July 25th:**
\-Shibuya Parco
\-Shibuya Crossing
\-Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo
\-Shibuya Sky
**July 26th:**
Tokyo Tower
Shiba Park
Zojoji Temple
Gundam Base Tokyo
**July 27th:**
Last minute shopping and open until departure from Narita Airport at 16:25 JST
Not sure about the Kyoto day plan. We definitely want to go to the Taisha Shrine for the gates but not sure we can git the rest in before we take the train back at night.
Please let me know what you think! Thank you!
8 comments
I would try to stay another night in Kyoto vs trying to go back to Tokyo the same night. Will make everything a lot less stressful.
Arashiyama is its own town and honestly worth a whole day on its own as well as far from other sights, so I’d take out the bamboo forest.
Also, have you by any chance checked the closing times of the places you plan to visit? A lot will close around 5 so your timing will be very tight most days.
I would advise against going all the way down to Kyoto for a one-night/one-day trip, that’s a lot of travel for what is going to be way too short an amount of time to really enjoy Kyoto. Fushimi Inari, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove/Tenryuji/Togetsukyo bridge, and Nijo castle are in three distinct parts of the city, so you’re going to burn up a good chunk of that 1 day just going from place to place, all before taking *another* lengthy bullet train back to Tokyo. For a trip this short, just enjoy Tokyo, and if you feel like getting out of Tokyo, pick one of the many nearby day-trip destinations. Also, are you coming from the US or Europe? If so realize that you are going to have serious jet lag, your July 22nd day is very unrealistic, even if it wasn’t your first day in Japan I’d call it *ambitious*, but for jet lag day it’s just outright not feasible.
I thought that TeamLab Borderless was closed. Are they reopening by that time?
I would recommend doing Gundam together with Teamlabs, they’re both in Odaiba and it gives you an opportunity to ride the Yurikamome. Tokyo Station (I recommend adding this) > Ginza > Tsukiji > Teamlabs > Gundam makes the most sense imo (they’re all kinda clustered in the same area). I also recommend adding in Odaiba Seaside Park after the Gundam.
Also Shibuya should ideally be grouped with Harajuku, they are 1 stop away from each other.
Maybe Omoide Yokocho can go with the Tokyo Tower day, of course it’s closer to Harajuku but that day might be too busy.
I don’t think Kyoto 1 night is a good idea but if you must go, I recommend Fushimi Inari and Maruyama > Ninenzaka/Sannenzaka > Kiyomizudera path. They’re the essentials. Adding in Pontocho for dinner is fun too. Ginkakuji and Philosophers Path if you have more time.
Going to build a similar trip I think. Thanks for this list! Trying to decide if I should stay in one place of pick 2 different neighborhoods in Tokyo
I know you can spend a while in Shibuya Parco but I don’t think Shibuya itself warrants an entire day, you could definitely add on to that.
Definitely wouldn’t do Kyoto for a single night, even on the Shinkasen it’s gonna take two hours and you’re going to be rushing to do anything. If you wanted to get out of Tokyo for a day, maybe go to Hakone or another hot spring town.
Also recommendation if you’re going to Gundam Base Tokyo, there’s an arcade nearby called [Daiba Game Hall](https://goo.gl/maps/vV8g1uc5VThpJJs46), lotta retro arcade games.
I just went to Japan for over a month. I would highly recommend focusing on Tokyo if you only have a week. Kyoto and its surrounding areas deserve more than a day. Your itinerary is jam-packed but I know you want to see as much as possible in a week! Tokyo is a mega city where each popular main station is easily a half day of exploring if not a full day, depending on your interests. If you had 2 weeks, then I’d suggest at least staying 2 nights in Kyoto.