Hey all, long-timer lurker here and first time posting! My sister and I (both 20s) are travelling to Japan for 2.5 weeks in mid-October and would greatly appreciate feedback on our itinerary!
We are super excited for all the shopping, sightseeing and eating but concerned if there is too much packed in each day so we are open to all recommendations and/or tips! We will also not be purchasing the JR pass but considering area passes instead.
I have a couple questions below which are **bolded :)**
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**Day 1 (Thursday) – Tokyo**
*Harajuku and Shibuya*
• Arrive at HND Airport at 6:45am and drop off luggage at hotel in Shinjuku
• Explore Harajuku & Omotesando
• Shopping: Takeshita street, Kiddy Land, cosme, Tokyu Plaza, Omotesando Hills
• Food: Reissue, Marion Crepes
• Head to Shibuya
• Shopping: Miyashita Park, Shibuya Parco, Shibuya 109
• Starbucks
• Hachiko Statue
• Dinner at either Kura Sushi or Uobei
**Day 2 (Friday) & Day 3 (Saturday) – Separate day trips from Tokyo**
Buy Fuji Hakone Pass (covers 3 days)
*Lake Kawaguchiko*
• Chureito Pagoda
• Oshino Hakkai
• Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway
• Oishi Park
• Music Forest Museum
• Try Houtou Fudou somewhere
• Back to hotel in Shinjuku
*Hakone*
• Trekking from Shinjuku once again
• Hakone Loop (ropeway, pirate ship, open air museum etc.)
• Try the black eggs
• Gotemba Premium Outlet (if there’s time)
**Questions:**
**- Is it easy to get around via public transport or would it be better to book separate days tours?**
**- Is it possible to visit the above areas in Lake Kawaguchiko in one day? Looks far apart on the map.**
**Day 4 (Sunday) – Tokyo**
*Asakusa, Akihabara & Ginza*
• Nakamise-dori shopping street
• Sensoji Temple
• Lunch at Wagyu Ichinoya and Cremia ice cream for dessert
• Explore Akihabara
* Super Potato
• Explore Ginza
* Uniqlo , GU
• Dinner at Manten Sushi Marunouchi (to be booked)
**Day 5 (Monday) – Tokyo**
*Shimokitazawa*
• Browsing vintage stores in Shimokitzawa
• Visit Shiro-Hige’s Cream Puff Factory
• Free time to visit places we missed on previous days.
**Day 6 (Tuesday) – Tokyo**
*Odaiba, Disneyland or Disneysea*
• TeamLab Planets at 9am (Earliest timeslot)
• Explore Odaiba : DiverCity (See Gundam and spend all my money at Doraemon Future Department Store) , Takoyaki Museum
• Disneyland or DisneySea at 5pm (Weeknight passport)
**Question**
**- Are Duffy and friends merchandise available in the merchandise store outside of the parks)? Or is it exclusively inside Disneysea only?**
**Day 7 (Wednesday) – Sapporo**
*Sapporo*
• Head to HND airport and flight to CTS arriving 12pm
• Activate Sapporo-Noboribetsu Area Pass
• Check-in and drop off luggage at Sapporo hotel
• Lunch at Nijo Market
• See Sapporo TV Tower, Clock Tower
• Head to Hokkaido University Ginkgo Avenue for autumn leaves
• Mt. Moiwa Ropeway and observation at sunset
**Day 7 (Thursday) – Day trip from Sapporo**
*Otaru*
• Visit and eat at Sankaku Market
• Popura farm for melon ice cream
• Sightseeing around the canal
• Visit Snoopy Cha-ya
• Visit Kitaichi Glass
• Visit Music Box Museum
• Back to Sapporo and shop around at Tanukikoji Shopping Street
**Day 8 (Friday) – Day trip from Sapporo**
*Noboribetsu*
• Hell Valley and sightsee surroundings.
**Day 9 (Saturday) – Day trip from Sapporo**
*Jozankei*
• Walk around and sightsee
**Question**
**- Not sure if there is much to see here. Would it be better to visit other areas such as Furano or Biei instead? Our objective is to view scenary/autumn leaves.**
**Day 10 (Sunday) – Kyoto**
*Philosopher’s path*
• Head to CTS for flight to ITM
• Drop off bags at Kyoto hotel
• Head to Ginkakuji to start Philosopher’s path (Nanzenjin, Keage Incline, Heian Shrine)
• Souvenir shopping at Compasso Teramachi
• Eat at A Happy Pancake
**Day 11 (Monday) – Kyoto**
*Kiyomizu-dera and Gion*
• Kiyomizu-dera
• Kimono rental **- suggestions?**
• Explore/shop around at Sanneizaka and Nineizaka
• Eat matcha cloud cake at Kumo no Cha
• Kodai-ji temple
• Dinner at Kichi Kichi Omurice (to be booked)
• Eat dessert at Maccha house
• Explore Gion at night
**Day 12 (Tuesday) – Kyoto**
*Arashiyama*
• Sagano Romantic Train
• Hozugawa River Boat Ride
• Coffee at %ARABICA
• Explore Arashiyama (Bamboo grove and stores). Skipping the monkey park as we’ve been there before.
• Walk around and sightseeing temples (Jojakko-ji, Gio-ji, Dai-kaku-ji, Adashino Nenbutuji Temple
• Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street
• Relocation from hotel to ryokan (check-in from 3pm)
• Dinner at Ryokan
**Day 12 (Wednesday) – Kyoto/Uji**
*Kyoto*
• Forward luggage from Kyoto to hotel in Osaka
• Explore Nishiki Market
*Uji*
• Visit Byodo-in Temple
• Mission to eat and buy as much matcha as we can. **Suggestions?**
• Check in at hotel in Osaka and explore Dotonbori depending on time.
**Day 13 (Thursday) – Osaka**
*Universal Studios*
**Day 14 (Friday) – Osaka**
*Osaka*
• Solaniwa Onsen Osaka Bay Tower
• Round1 Stadium
• Try Gyukatsu Motomura
• Explore Dotonbori at night and shopping at Don Quijote
**Day 15 (Saturday) – Osaka (Last day)**
*Osaka*
• Free day and last minute shopping/packing before heading to KIX for flight home at 5pm.
Thank you for those who have read this far!
2 comments
Duffy and friends merch is inside the park from what I saw in April, make sure to queue up early at any of the stores so you won’t have to wait too long. Disneysea only. Though if you go to the store near the Indiana Jones ish area It was a super short wait.
You can find some used Duffy and friends merch outside the parks at certain used stores (Dollyteria) but it will mostly be Duffy and Shellie, and mascots merch, but you won’t find new and it is still limited in scope compared to in the parks.
Right now, Linabel is the most popular character (she’s also the newest, but Cookie Anne was never this popular!) and her merch can sell out.
We didn’t have to queue up in either December or June, but it still popular. My daughter wanted Linabel ears in December which were sold out, but we got a pair in Aulani for 3x the price.
If you’re going for rides, just know that if the park closes at 10, they will start closing restaurants and line queues early so that they can really close by 10. The only exception to this is the merch shops at the front of the park. So Soaring, the most popular ride in Sea, often has its line queue closed by 9:00 pm.
I’ve not used one of the evening passports since Covid, but when I used one before Covid, people starting lining up before they were allowed admission, so if you show up at 5, expect to wait at least 30 more minutes to enter. We found the late admission wasn’t worth it. I would just use the app in September and keep an eye on the lines. The lines now will be longer because it is a school break.
Make sure you get to Happy Pancake early enough, Last Order is 7:40 pm.
We rented kimono from Okamoto. It felt more like wearing a kimono vs. dressing up in a kimono and I liked their extensive fabric options.