Hi everyone, my girlfriend and I are going to Japan from Australia this Friday, and I would appreciate any last minute advice or recommendations you all could give. I am definitely lacking some evening activities. The times are just rough estimates of where and when we will be at places. Neither of us have ever been to Japan before. Also, regarding spending money, how much would you all recommend? We were planning on having a budget of \~$100 AUD per day, is that reasonable?
One thing I haven’t organised is our internet access for Japan, I’m thinking of getting a Ubigi eSIM as I’ve seen people recommend them here, so any advice regarding what internet to get would also be appreciated.
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**15th of July: Day 1 – HOTEL: Asakusa**
Travel
8pm – Arrive at HND airport.
Navigate to hotel -> check into hotel
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**16th of July: Day 2 – HOTEL: Asakusa**
7am – head to teamLAB planets
9am – teamLAB planets
12pm – Senso-Ji temple
1:30pm – Tokyo museum
3pm – explore Ueno park
Evening – Tokyo skytree + dinner
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**17th of July: Day 3 – HOTEL: Asakusa**
Train to shibuya
10am – 2pm – Cooking class in Shibuya
3pm – Shibuya crossing
Afternoon exploring in Shibuya (Shibuya crossing, museum) – Hachiko statue
Evening – dinner in Shibuya
Head back to hotel
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**18th of July: Day 4 – HOTEL: Asakusa -> Gion**
Morning –explore Asakusa
10am – Check out of hotel, head to Tokyo station to activate 7 day JR pass
Bullet train ride to Kyoto (3 HOURS)
2pm – Navigate to hotel, get lunch
3pm – Hotel check in
After check in – Explore downtown Kyoto, Nijo castle, Nishiki Market
After dinner – no plans
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**19th of July: Day 5 – HOTEL: Gion**
6:30am – head to Fushimi Inari Shrine. Walk up the orange gates and explore.
After Fushimi Inari Shrine, navigate to the Golden Pavilion (probably best option is to take a taxi)
Head back to hotel (20 mins), then navigate from hotel to golden pavilion.
9am – Golden pavilion opens.
10am – take a taxi to Tenryu-ji Temple in Arashiyama (the easiest option), a 15-20 min taxi ride.
11am – Arashiyama area DIY walking tour: Tenryu-ji Temple, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Okochi Sanso Villa, Iwatayama Monkey Park, Giou-ji Temple (lots of walking!) (BRING CASH FOR TEMPLE ENTRY)
5pm – Navigate back to gion
Evening – no plans
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**20th of July: Day 6 – HOTEL: Gion (Ryokan)**
8am –check out of hotel
9am – Find luggage locker at Kyoto station
9:30pm – start the southern higashiyama DIY walking tour (approx. 4 hours, maybe 5 if we stop for lunch at a restaurant)
Walking tour: Higashiyama Station, Shoren-in Temple, Chion-in Temple, Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kodaiji Temple, Ishibe-Koji Alley, Nine-Zaka & Sannen-Zaka Street, Yakasa Pagoda/ Hokanji Temple, Kiyomizu-dera Temple
2:30pm – Head back to Kyoto station to collect luggage
3pm – Check in at Kyoto ryokan
Spend evening relaxing in Ryokan
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**21st of July: Day 7 – HOTEL: Gion -> Sonezaki**
11am – check out of ryokan, head to Kyoto station
11:30am – head to Osaka, arrive at shin-osaka station
12pm – Store luggage in luggage locker at shin Osaka station
12:30pm – catch 23 minute train from shin-osaka to Kuromon Market to explore market and get lunch
1:30pm – catch 30 minute train to the Umeda sky building
3pm – catch 15 minute train back to shin-osaka station to collect our bags, then head to hotel
4pm – Check in to hotel
4:30pm – Catch a 30 minute train to Hozenji Temple to start Dotombori & Amerikamura Area Evening Walking Tour
6pm – Explore Hozen-Ji Yokocho Alley (get dinner)
7pm – Head to the Ebisubashisuji Shopping Street Arcade
8pm – Dotonbori Canal (maybe take the boat trip?), and then cross Ebisu Bridge
Late – If we have time and things aren’t closed, visit the Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Arcade, Amerikamura, and Triangle Park – Mitsu Park. Then, 30 minute trip back to hotel
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**22nd of July: Day 8 – HOTEL: Sonezaki**
8:30am – Walk 45 minutes the Osaka castle, it opens at 9am.
11am – After Osaka Castle, catch the 30 minute train to Namba station
11:30am – Head to Namba Yasaka Shrine (the lions head).
12:30pm – Explore Namba Parks Shopping Mall and get lunch
1:30pm – Explore Denden Town
2:30pm – 10 minute walk from denden to old Osaka area (Shinsekai) and explore
3:30pm – Go to Osaka aquarium
6pm – Get dinner then head back to hotel
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**23rd of July: Day 9 – HOTEL: Sonezaki (nara day trip)**
8am –head to the JR Osaka station
9am – Arrive in Nara at the JR Nara Station
10am – Arrive at the Kofuku-ji temple
11am – Explore the Isuien Garden
12pm – Visit Todai-ji Temple (coolest temple in Nara apparently, its massive)
1pm – Head to the nara deer park (apparently if you bow at the deer then they bow back at you), we can get deer crackers and give it to them
2:30pm – Visit Kasuga-Taisha shrine
3pm- We can have a little shop at the Higashimuki Shopping Street and the Mochiidono Shopping Arcade if you want, there are handmade Japanese clothes and food and ceramics and stuff
4pm – Apparently most of the tourist stuff in Nara closes early, so now we can head back to Osaka and just have a free evening to do whatever.
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**24th of July: Day 10 – HOTEL: Sonezaki –> Shinjuku**
9am – Check out of Osaka hotel, head to shin-osaka station to go to Tokyo (the trip will take about 3 hours)
12pm – Arrive at Tokyo station (drop off luggage at luggage storage)
12:30pm – Explore Ginza
1:30pm – We can check out the famous Tsukiji fish market it’s open until 2pm
2pm – Walk to hamarikyu gardens (entrance comes with an audio guide)
3pm – Catch the train to our hotel in Shinjuku which takes 30 mins, then check in.
4pm – We can head to the Golden Gai in Shinjuku, its an old neighbourhood with bars and stuff.
5pm – We could go to the Shinjuku bowling alley Shinjuku Copa Bowl
Evening – nothing planned
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**25th of July: Day 11 – HOTEL: Shinjuku**
8am – wake up, explore Shibuya.
9am – 30 minutes from our hotel we can walk to the Meiji-Jingu Shrine and Yoyogi Park, and get breakfast on the way. Its the biggest shrine in Tokyo.
11am – Head to Harajuku shopping area, and walk down Takeshita-dori Street, its nearby yoyogi park.
12:30pm – Lunch somewhere
1:30pm – Head through Omotesando Street to the Ura-Harajuku district, it’s apparently filled with cool small shops
3pm – if we have time we could head to the imperial palace, it closes at 4:30pm and it takes 30 mins to get there
6pm – Dinner and drinks somewhere
7pm – back to hotel for a sleep
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**26th of July: Day 12 – HOTEL: Shinjuku (hakone day trip)**
7am – We will catch the romancecar, we will depart Shinjuku station at 7:37am, and arrive at Hakone-Yumoto station at 9:22am
9am – Transfer from Hakone-Yumoto station to Gora Station on the Hakone Tozan Train (40 mins)
Take the Hakone Tozan cable car from Gora Station to Sounzan station (10 mins)
10am – Take the Hakone Ropeway to Owakudani (10 mins) and explore
Then, hop back on the Hakone Ropeway to Togendai Station (20 mins)
12pm – Take the sighseeing cruise from Togendai station to Hakone-Machi port (30 mins)
Rent a paddle boat from the port
Get lunch and check out Hakone Shrine
3pm – Cruise back to Togendai (30 mins)
5pm – Go back the way we came, ropeway from Togendai to Sounzan, then cablecar back to Gora (40 mins)
From Gora, train back to the Hakone-Yumoto Station, and go to a nearby onsen on the shuttlebus (40 mins)
7pm – Shuttlebus back to Hakone-Yumoto station for our train back home (5 min bus)
We are catching the last train home, departing Hakone-Yumoto at 7:50pm and arriving at Shinjuku at 9:26pm
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**27th of July: Day 13 – HOTEL: Shinjuku**
9:30am –last day in Japan, pack up our stuff
11am – Check out of hotel
Between 11 and 5 – we can do anything that we think we’ve missed. If we don’t want to carry luggage, we can leave at a luggage holder at a station.
5pm – Head to Haneda airport, check in, have dinner at the airport
9:45pm – Depart Tokyo Haneda
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**Notes:**
I have a 7 day JR pass from the 18th to the 24th, this should cover our trips to Kyoto, Osaka, Nara
I have not yet booked the Hakone freepass or the Hakone Romancecar tickets, does anyone have any advice on if the Hakone freepass and/or the romancecar tickets are worth getting?
9 comments
sounds exhausting…don’t underestimate travel times and a lot of these places you may want to actually stay a bit longer a check them out but you have everything down to the hour.
for me it’s too structured, give yourself time to just enjoy the place.
enjoy your trip
I agree with the other commenter, this seems really packed! For your first day, just FYI, team labs planets is very out of the way. It will take at least 50 minutes, if not longer, to get from there to Senso-ji, and a decent amount of that time will be spent outside in the sun. Senso-ji to Ueno isn’t a bad trip, but if it’s over 90 degrees be prepared to suffer along with your fun! The national museum was not very air-conditioned when I went a few days ago and the walk to and from the station was a lot of direct sunlight. Make sure you’re budgeting in time to walk to stations, time to chug water bottles, time for snacks/lunches, and time for getting lost/dealing with google maps inaccuracies!
Hey there! I’ll be in Japan (my second time, solo because GF is pregnant) during most of the same time you’re there in the same cities around the same time. 14-17 Tokyo, 17-21 Kyoto, 21-26 Osaka, 26-31 Tokyo.
I know this is random but if you two are down to grab a bite or drink let me know. I’m from California. DM me if there would be any interest. If not, no worries. Regardless, safe travels.
Off the top of my head:
Day 7 – it makes absolutely no sense to store your bags in a locker at Shin Osaka when your hotel is close to the Osaka Station/Umeda area. Either drop it off for your hotel to hold until you check in or leave it in a locker at a station close to your hotel
Day 10 – your time stamps for this day are impossible unless you are spending like 5 minutes at each place
Internet – I have not needed anything but my iPhone 14 (USA). Through AT&T it’s an extra $10 a day. For the convenience and fast internet, I think it’s worth it.
I would expect to be absolutely exhausted. Buy Japanese sunscreen with a high SPF (50+) and reapply a LOT. Bring non-cotton, loose, long-sleeve shirts and loose pants, preferably with a UPF rating. For women, long pleated skirts are in style. You will be dripping sweat. I wouldn’t bother bringing anything except for clothes that you can walk in. I overpacked thinking we’d need cute dinner outfits and all we can bear wearing is sun protection clothing. I missed sunscreen on my neck and it is charred.
Even on day 2, it doesn’t look doable. You’re jumping around Tokyo – team lab alone will take u till the afternoon by the time you reach senso Ji it’ll be too late.
It’s really packed. When we were there we picked one main thing to do that day and fit in other stuff around it depending on where we were and the time.
So teamlab planets would be the main thing that day and then just go with the flow for the rest of the day.
We even left a few days empty and just did what we felt like, those were some of the best days we had as it was spontaneous.
We missed some things we wanted to do but we didn’t care as it gives us an excuse to go back.
Also no jet lag as being from Australia is the best.
Good luck with the trip – you’ll have a blast no matter what you do.
So cool testing this as I’m living it now. But reverse. Team labs day is doable but tiresome. And we’ve been doing 15 hour days.
Thanks so much everyone. Perhaps I overestimated how many things we would be able to get done. I’m accepting that I might not be able to do everything on the itinerary, and the time stamps in the itinerary are just tentative approximations so I could map out the days in my head. I’m okay with not getting everything done, I’m going to choose some things that are most important to me, make sure I do those, and then do the rest if I have time.