Hello everyone! First I want to thank this subreddit for being very helpful for forming much of this itinerary. I have a 15 day trip in Japan with a friend coming up in July. We wanted to see if there were any suggestions for things to change or any recommendations for things we might otherwise have missed. Also my friend has a gluten intolerance if there are any food recommendations. We have arranged for pocket wi-fi, a JR Pass, and will be getting a Welcome Suica card if they are available when arriving. Also, I’ve heard the recommendations to always have cash on you and maybe a coin purse.
​
Day 1 – Tokyo
* Arrive at Haneda airport around 3:30pm
* Pick up pocket wi-fi at airport
* Get Welcome Suica card and Yen
* Check-in to hotel and explore local area before relaxing
Day 2 – Tokyo
* Spend day at Disney Sea
Day 3 – Tokyo (Shinjuku)
* Teamlab Planets
* Spend day exploring Shinjuku
Day 4 – Tokyo (Akihabara)
* Spend day exploring Akihabara (arcades, cat cafe, food in the area)
Day 5 – Tokyo (Shibuya)
* Spend day exploring Shibuya
* Conveyor belt sushi
* Don Quijote
* Hachiko statue and Shibuya Sky Tower
* Shibuya crossing, Takeshita street, Shibuya cat street
Day 6 – Tokyo (Ginza, Ueno, Asakusa)
* Sushi Dai in the morning
* Tsukiji fish market tour
* Uniqlo Ginza
* Ameyoko shopping district
* Tanabata festival in Shitamachi Tanabata
Day 7 – Tokyo (Harajuku and Shinjuku)
* Aoyama Farmers market
* mipig cafe
* Meiji Jingu Shrine and Yoyogi park
Day 8 – Free Day
Day 9 – Kanazawa?
* Activate 7 day JR Pass
* Use JR Pass to explore Kanazawa or other region of Japan (open to suggestions)
Day 10 – Tokyo
* Ghibli Museum scheduled
* Explore nearby area of Ghibli Museum (Inokashira park, Toho bakery)
Day 11 – Hakone
* Train to Hakone
* Explore Gora Hakone
* Possibly go to Tenzan Onsen
* Spend night in Hakone
Day 12 – Kyoto
* Train to Kyoto
* Explore Kyoto (Fushimi Inari, Rangeo-in Temple, Arashiyama bamboo forest, Yasaka shrine)
* Spend night in Kyoto
Day 13 – Kyoto
* Nara park
* Nishiki market
* More time for exploring Kyoto
Day 14 – Osaka
* Dotonbori street market in the morning
* Osaka aquarium
* Universal Studios Japan for most of the day
* spend night in Osaka
Day 15 – Morning in Osaka then flight to Seoul
* Morning in dotonbori
* Return pocket wi-fi
* Flight to Seoul for one day from Kansai airport
Any suggestions would be highly appreciated. I know we won’t have much time for Osaka and Kyoto. Unfortunately we were only able to get Ghibli Museum tickets on that particular day so we had to extend our stay in Tokyo. Tips for getting the most out of our time in Kyoto and Osaka are especially appreciated. Favorite places to visit in Akihabara and Shinjuku are also welcome. Also, would love any food recommendations whether gluten-free (for my friend) or not. Much of this itinerary was formed using tips from this subreddit so thanks again!
​
​
3 comments
Did you already purchase the JR Pass? It doesn’t make sense for your itinerary.
The JR pass is poor value for your trip unless you go somewhere far on Day 9, maybe Sendai or something.
i just got a suica card on my phone (iphone) and never bothered getting a physical one. it worked well for me.
depending on what you’re into, my favorite areas for shopping in tokyo were naka-meguro and shimokitazawa. could be a good candidate for your free day on day 8.
day 12 sounds heavy in terms of distance covered (getting to kyoto, then fushimi inari and arashiyama are on opposite sides of the city) and activities, but understand that you only have limited time in kyoto! what time are you planning to arrive?
if possible i’d recommend leaving for kyoto the night of day 11 so you can get to fushimi or arashiyama early before it gets crowded. if not try to do one or the other late in the evening when the crowds thin out. we skipped the arashiyama bamboo grove and went to Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple instead, since they have a (smaller) private bamboo forest and there was legit no one else there.