Here is my current itinerary where not much is for sure yet. You can ignore most of the text too. Currently planning tokyo 31st – 12th, kinosaki 12th, kyoto/osaka 13th-19/20th, tokyo 20-23rd.
8/21
8/22
8/23
8/24
8/25 –
8/26 –
8/27 –
8/28 – Seoul
N Seoul Tower & Namsam Park
Lunch – Mongtan
Bongeunsa Temple & Starfield library / COEX Mall
Dinner and hang around in Gangnam
8/29 – seoul
Jogyesa Temple
Lunch – Woo Lae Oak
Changdeokung Palace + Secret Garden Tour
Bukchon Hanok Village
Gwangjang Market & Euljiro
8/30 – seoul
Maekgolli tasting you can do it at Sool gallery, they provide seasonal tasting options, and i go there every few months or so. Sool gallery is free tasting, so you can just email them for a reservation. Opens every month on the 24th. English tasting sessions are only 2 per day, and there’s only 5 – 6 slots each hour, so try to email them as soon as you can.
Gyeongbokgung Palace – surrounded by Bukchon Hanok Village
explore one of the neighborhoods right nearby the palace: Insadong, Ikseongdong, Cheonggyecheon Stream, etc.
Myeondong
08/31 – Day 1 – tokyo
Arrival to Haneda airport, midday. Pick up things (Suica Card, JR Pass, Internet)
9/1 – Tuesday, Day 2 (Tokyo – Shibuya) – good for shopping
Meiji Jingu, Yoyogi Park
Harajuku, Shibuya, stores (Nintendo Tokyo, Don Quijote, etc.)
Takeshita street
Taekshita Dori
Shibuya crossing
Shibuya Scramble Square
https://tokyoanimecenter.jp/en/about/
Parco – pokemon center (terrible food), shonen jump store, Radio eva store
Meiji Shrine
Hachiko Statue
Mega Don Quijote
9/2 – Wednesday, Day 3 (Tokyo – Akihabara)
Shinobazu no Ike Pond
Akihabara, anime stores, arcades, video games
Melon books
Amiami, mandarake
Crane games
Book off
9/3 – Thursday, Day 4 (Tokyo – Taito, Sumida)
Senso-ji, Asakusa – oldest temple
Asakusa, Senso-ji & Nakamise Shopping Street (8/10): Again, getting there early is critical. We arrived around 7am, and felt like we had the place to ourselves. By 9am, it was packed solid. We also visited again after 8pm, which was great for photos.
Mokuhankan Gallery Asakusa (10/10): This gallery specializes in wood block prints. I highly recommend their YouTube channel. It’s what originally got me hooked. You can book a “Print Party” in advance, where you’ll get to make your own woodblock print to take home. The staff are all so warm, welcoming, and helpful. It was one of my favorite moments of the trip.
Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo Solamachi mall, Kirby Café, Tokyo Skytree
9/4 – (Tokyo – Shinjuku) – good for drinking
Shinjuku marui annex for art
Ghibli museum (dependent on getting tickets this day), Inokashira Park
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Shinjuku Ni-Chome (bars, shops)
Dinner in Omoide Yokosho
Nakano broadway
It’s a cool building with shops and right outside of it are fire bars
9/5
Ikebukuro – a little bit of everything.
Go east side, west side is sketchy
North of the Sunshine City shopping center is Otome Road. On this street, you can browse thousands of titles, exclusive collector’s items, and games.
inside of the P’Parco department store – Eva store
Surugaya is a general store for second-hand and overstock merchandise.
k-books
9/6
Kanagawa – hakone onsen (close to tokyo. Shinjuku to hakone in an hour)
Eva stores in the train station. Where eva was filmed
Visit fuji
9/7
Shimbashi area (9/10): Probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but wandering the area around Shimbashi Station was a highlight of the trip. It’s not as clean or savory as other portions of Tokyo, but I liked the more gritty, relaxed atmosphere. We ate at Ichiran and then roamed the alleys, where we stumbled upon Karasumori Shrine, tucked away in a back street. It’s almost like someone ‘plopped’ it out of the sky. Its architecture is unlike any I’ve seen at other shrines. One article I read described it as ‘brutalist,’ which I think is accurate.
9/8
Free day
Make your own Chopstick – town from tiktok
9/9
Free day
Teamlab borderless – digital museum
Crystal world
Forest of lamps
9/10 – tokyo
Nikko day trip
9/11 – tokyo?
9/12 – kinosaki?
ryokan
9/13 – Kyoto – arashiyama
Kyoto Station ASTY Kyoto Kyoto Anime Goods Store”.
in the commercial facility “ASTY Kyoto” at the Hachijo Exit of Kyoto Station, in the section next to the “Shinkansen Hachijo Exit” ticket office on the 1st floor of Tokaido Shinkansen Kyoto Station.
Arashiyama bamboo grove – very busy, go in morning
Tenryu-ji = right by bamboo grove and one of most important temples
Katsura river – walk up it to senko ji temple
Iwatayama monkey park
Quick stop at kinkaku ji temple
9/14 – kyoto
Fushimi inari shrine
Thousand of tori gates. Walk up for less people
Nanzen-ji temple (not that cool)
Eikan-do temple – garden and pond
Pontocho – dining and bars
Steak and wine restaurant
09/15 – Osaka
Dotonbori – different during day and night. Heart of osaka
Namba
Nipponbashi anime
Tenjimbashisuji shopping
Sky building
Amerikamura for shopping
shinsekai
9/16 – osaka or anime at kyoto
Universal studios
Botanical gardens at night – digital garden art
or
Kyoto international manga and anime fair
9/17
Kyoto international manga and anime fair
9/18 – kyoto
Nishiki market
Gion / gionmachi traditional entertainment district / higashiyama
Go to gion at night for lanterns and everything
Historical Streets like ninenzaka and sannenzaka, hanami koji for tea houses and working geisha
Kiyomizu dera temple?
9/19 –
Nara day trip
09/20 – Mount fuji?
9/21 – tokyo?
9/22 – tokyo
9/23 – Fly Home
1 comment
Easy. Kyushu.