If anyone could be so kind as to review this itinerary, that would be great. I have been to Tokyo before, 8 years ago, but am really wondering about the temple count in Kyoto, seeing the Evangelion there, and getting to Hakone. And the Gundam in Tokyo.
Thank you!
Day 1 (Friday, June 30, 2023)
* Land at ITM at 6:30 PM. Limousine bus to hotel in Shinsaibashi.
* Might got for a walk depending on how late we check in. Then sleep. Or just sleep.
Day 2 (Saturday, July 1, 2023)
* Train to Cup Noodles Museum (47 minute train ride). 9:30 AM
* Train to Osaka Castle (1 hour)
* Recharge at hotel (36 min)
* Explore Shinsaibashi (area near the hotel & main shopping area).
* Walk down Shinsaibashi, pop a block over to the large Don Quijote Dotonbori, and then check out food and shopping options down Dotonbori to Ebisubashi. Will also see the Dotonbori Glico (running man) billboard.
* Continue south through Nanba to Nipponbashi Denden Town.
* Continue south to Shinsekai and see the tower and park.
* Train to Umeda Sky Building (30 min). Umeda Sky Building – see the skyline view at night. 5 PM.
Day 3 (Sunday, July 2, 2023)
* Travel to Nara (50 min)
* Pass through the grounds of Kofuku-ji temple on the way to Nara Park.
* Walk around Nara Park, fawn over the tame deer.
* See Namdaimon Gate at park edge.
* Go east in the park to Kasuga-Taisha shrine and north in the park to Tōdai-ji temple.
Visit Nakatanidou (rice cake shop & demos)
* Return to Osaka
* Tombori River Cruise by night
Day 4 (Monday, July 3, 2023)
* Namba Jinja – shrine 9 min walk from hotel
* Check out of hotel. Take the rail to Kyoto
* Check into Super Hotel Kyoto Shijokawaramachi (as early as 3pm)
* Walk to Nishiki Market (20 min) for tasty snacks and on to Pontocho Park (7 min) for views of the Kamo river and old houses.
* Cross the river and walk to Gion, the geisha district (13 min).
* Continue to Kiyomizu-Dera shrine. Famous old street (Matsubara-dori) on the way there.
Day 5 (Tuesday, July 4, 2023)
* Train to Arashiyama (30-45 min)
* Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
* Walk across Togetsukyo Bridge to Arashiyama Monkey Park (15 min walk)
* 9 AM Arashiyama Monkey Park. 20 minute hike to the top of the hill, enjoy the view and feed the monkeys
* Continue to Daihikaki Senkoji Temple (13 min walk)
* Tenryu-ji Temple
* Gio-ji Temple
Day 7 (Thursday, July 6, 2023)
* 3 PM Check into ryokan Ichinoyu Honkan
Day 8 (Fri, July 7, 2023)
* Check out of ryokan (after Japanese breakfast at hotel)
* Train to Tokyo
I am going to itinerize Tokyo, but was just wondering if anything is worth skipping. I heard Team Labs is worth skipping if you live in a major city? I mainly just want to walk around outside of these things. Staying 4 nights in Shibuya and then 2 nights in Asakusa. I’ve seen most of these things, but my wife has never been to Asia.
Shibuya Crossing
mipig cafe Meguro
teamLab Planets
Yanaka Ginza shopping street
Asakusa neighborhood
Senso-ji Temple
Rainbow Bridge
Tokyo Skytree
Tokyo Tower
Daikanyama neighborhood
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Odaiba
Akihabara
Shinjuku
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7 comments
Day 2 seems a little intense…an hour train, an hour(?) at the museum, an hour train, an hour at Osaka castle (or more depending on crowds), back to the hotel, lots of walking around, then another 30 min train to get somewhere by 5pm? Don’t forget to factor in jet lag, too.
Getting to Hakone isn’t bad, we went from Kyoto to Odawara station. There are some ryokan shuttle buses that leave from there or Hakone station so see if your spot is on there.
First day is extremely full if you ask me.
Curious about what Evangelion in Kyoto.
Hakone you should add things to do, yes a ryokan is nice, but you can take the train early and have some time to visit and no need to be at the ryokan exactly at 3. By the way Hadia known for being a Evangelion location.
Do not understand why you would skip teamLab if you live in a big city, unless you have a teamLab installation where you live, I doubt it is something you could experience that easily.
If you are really into Gundam, there is the base in Yokohama, where there is also a cup ramen museum so you could consider not doing that in Osaka, I guess it depends how full your Tokyo days are.
Finally not necessary to change hotel in Tokyo.
Day 2 seems a bit back and forth in travel easily losing an hour to it. Being able to rest at your hotel is a good backup, but I’d consider instead planning on a carefree lunch at a family restaurant or something to recover. I’d do
Morning shinbashi exploring, then Osaka castle, then the museum, so you can visit the sky tower on the way back. Fit in a restaurant visit whenever you want a rest, they are everywhere. You can stay in for hours with the 200 yen free refills drink bar and nobody will pester you so it’s good to relax in.
Check out of hotel. Take the rail to Kyoto
Check into Super Hotel Kyoto Shijokawaramachi (as early as 3pm)
Likewise for the above you’ll likely have to check out at 10am and Kyoto is only an hour away, you have four hours unaccounted for. You could see if you can drop your bags off early, most hotels allow it, then go straight to exploring.
I enjoyed team labs and so did my friend. It’s close to odaiba, so you’re already in the area. And it’s walkable along some quite nice rivers and bridges if you have the time.
>Recharge at hotel (36 min)
Lmao
I made a “skip team labs if you live in a city” comment yesterday, so I feel like I should chime in. IMO, you can find the same style of immersive art attraction all over the US now. I quickly searched and found two exhibits close to me — something called Inter in NYC and Wonderspaces in Philly. TeamLabs may be the originator, but I don’t think it offered anything particularly better or different.
Tokyo itself was a more successful immersive experience for me, personally. So many wildly new and interesting environments to explore (and for free!)
I can join you on this . I am planing. Lot similar
Don’t forget to factor in the temperature and humidity during the time you’re visiting. I’m currently in Kyoto and spent the day yesterday in Nara. It has been in the mid to high 80s here and that makes it more difficult to walk around because we have to stop a lot. In Nara yesterday, we saw what we wanted to see, but it took most of the day due to also taking the time to appreciate the sights and walking around the city.
Regarding your itinerary, if it’s your wife’s first time to Japan I would suggest spending more time in Kyoto. This is my last day (been here for 5 days) and I wish I had more days. Just so much to see and take in. I also stayed in the Shiko Kawaramachi area and it’s such a great location close to all the action, the River and the shops.