Hi all, this is my 1st post here so hopefully I’m doing this the right way. Currently planning an itinerary for November and struggling with some days, so instead of pasting the whole itinerary I would like to ask for help for specific days separately. One of the most “packed” days seems to be Shibuya, Harajuku and Shinjuku so I’m looking for suggestions, maybe some things are not very interesting (I know it’s subjective):
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1. Starting early at Shibuya Station and checking Shibuya Sky to start the day off with a nice city view.
2. Checking the Crossing and Hachiko statue.
3. Wander around the Shibuya 109, MEGA Don Quijote and Spain-zaka Slope areas to find some lunch.
4. After lunch, making my way to Harajuku (mainly Takeshita street, Yoyogi Park and Meiji Shrine)
5. During early evening I was thinking of checking the Shinjuku Gyoen and then explore Shinjuku, mostly looking forward to seeing Golden Gain, Kabukicho and Shinjuku Central Park
Some other questions, is the Tokyo Metropolitan building worth it if I visit Shibuya Sky? Between the 3 mentioned parks, is it worth visiting all of them or should I skip for example Gyoen since it’s so big? Am I missing something very special in these areas?
Thank you 🙂
26 comments
It is definitely possible but is a long day. I would prioritise a few things and have the rest as optional extras.
It’s possible, just depends how long you want to spend at places. Things like hachiko and the crossing will take just a couple minutes. Then get on the train and go to harajuku. For us, this was a very short walk, got some cotton candy, and then we had felt we had seen what we needed there. The only thing that would really be time consuming is some of the shopping but you could always cut back if you’re getting tired. Do look up when the department stores open in advance. Then walk around shinjuku until you get tired. It’s doable.
If you’re serious about shopping I think you would need more time in each of those areas. If you just wanna sightsee then yeah I’d say it’s fine
A couple of points:
– Shinjuku Gyoen is an absolutely wonderful park to wander around for a couple of hours. **However**, between October and March it closes at 4:30pm, with last entry at 4pm, so do bear that in mind.
– Takeshita-dori is an awful, crowded, tacky tourist trap nowadays. Years ago it was quirky and interesting with odd little shops and vintage clothing stores. Now it’s just over-crowded, filled with tacky stores selling rubbish with pushy staff, and overpriced crepe stalls with massive lines (even though the crepe places one street away are just as good, without any lines).
– If you see Meiji-jingu (Meiji Shrine) at Harajuku, you can walk through the back of the shrine grounds, along tree-lined paths and then through suburban streets alongside Shinjuku Gyoen and then to Shinjuku station. It’s a nice way to see some of Tokyo.
Make sure to check out the shinjuku observarion deck, it’s free and open late. And in shibuya the parco building has a gaming floor with Nintendo capcom Pokémon and Shonen jump official stores if you’re into that.
You can walk all 3 of them in a day, I’ve done it many times, just get up early!
So far I’ve spent about 6 months in those three places and I’m still seeing new stuff daily.
Have lunch here. It’s very hard to find (down an alley) but so so fun. We went back several times. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1066456-d1661084-r313763283-Sakuratei-Shibuya_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html
Agreeing with Takeshita-dori being the absolute worse.
Walked through it a few times when I lived in the area, and every time it was overcrowded and lacking the character I thought it would have.
Time has come and gone for it, it’s now simply a tourist trap.
HOWEVER, with this sad, walk through it but I don’t expect you’ll spend much time here so you’ll have more time to spend elsewhere so add extra time for other locations you’ll like to see since you’ll be through Takeshita-dori pretty fast.
Takeshita Dori was garbage in 2016 I can only imagine it is even worse now.
If you’re planning day one in that area I’d suggest Meiji Jingu in the morning and Yoyogi before doing your Shibuya stuff, then Shinjuku in the evening.
We really didn’t have time to do MJ, Yoyogi, Takeshita, and Shibuya. Wound up cutting our Shibuya time on day 1 short because we wasted it wading around Takeshita Dori looking at knickknacks.
I saw only one local eccentric clad in outlandish apparel making a spectacle of themselves, it was not worth it. I would have rather spent that time elsewhere.
Change the order, Shibuya Sky only open at 10, Meiji-jingu open much earlier and Shinjuku Guinea open at 9.
I would only do one observation deck and it would be Shibuya Sky.
Shinjuku Central Park and Yoyogi park are just park, Shinjuku Gyoen is a garden and I would only go there.
So change the order to match opening jours, even if that means taking the train from Shibuya to Shinjuku to go to Golden Gai/Kabukicho.
I prefer Ura-Harajuku over Takeshita for sure even though I shop at neither. Take a selfie at the top or bottom of Takeshita and don’t bother grinding your way through it.
There isn’t much going on at Shinjuku Central Park but it might be a nice detour if you’re at the Tokyo Metro Building. I’m biased since I live nearby and don’t really think much of it though.
Sounds okay. However, do Meiji shrine in the morning, throw away Shinjuku Central Park, because it’s worthless (also maybe Takeshita Dori, because it doesn’t have any value at all), also if you go to shibuya sky Tokyo metropolitan building will be just a waste of time. Shinjuku Gyoen is a must, throw something out but visit it for a relaxing evening.
I feel kinda bad that people seem to hate Takeshita St. as a tourist place on this sub. I personally think it’s kinda fun, because there’s a few stores that are fun to walk through, spend one or two hours, and move on. It kind of depends on your expectations.
I personally like to snag a silly/cheap hair accessory or pair of earrings from one of the shops, snoop through one of the few vintage places left, and see the goofy snack places besides crepes. I went to my first Cosmé there, so that’s fun (its not on Takeshita St but its very close). There’s also a big Uniqlo nearby with exclusive anime/gaming apparel.
If you’re not interested in shopping for feminine styles at all, though, you can probably skip it. I’m biased bc I’m a girly girl and like the ¥300 accessory stores lol…
As you are going to be in shinjuku, i can recommend the 3d cat billboard near the east exit of shinjuku station, i saw it when i went in June, it is really amazing,
I’d start the mornings in the park since they open early.
Harajuku and Shibuya don’t really up til like 11-11:30 AM.
I would do Yoyogi/Meiji in the morning, aim to hit Harajuku around 11 AM. Go up Takashita-dori, go down Cat Street, maybe find lunch there, but you can walk down Cat Street almost all the way to Shibuya proper. Lunch can also be had in Shibuya. by then everything should be open. Also the crossing will actually be populated (its pretty sparse in the morning). After you’re done with Shibuya you can head back up to Shinjuku Gyoen, look for dinner, and think about Kabuchiko etc after dinner.
Yup, we never made it to Harajuku and that was the day we only had there and Shibuya on the agenda
Go to harajuku and be sure to stop at this cute cafe where they sell the YUMMIEST fresh cream strawberry mochis!!! I forgot the name I’m sure it’s in google but it has Cinnamorol drawn outside back in October
Hello, thank you for planning your trip to Japan. As a Japanese, I have some suggestions on your itinerary:
Shibuya Sky offers nice panoramic views, worth visiting. The Metropolitan building is also good, you can choose one. Takeshita Street in Harajuku and Cat Street are nice for experiencing youth culture. Omotesando is great for fashion shopping. Shinjuku Gyoen has charming scenery with gardens of varying sizes. You can see the neon night scenes at Kabukicho and Golden Gai. Your itinerary mainly covers Tokyo’s major modern and traditional cultural spots. If time allows, consider adding Akihabara to experience tech culture. Overall this is quite a substantial and fulfilling itinerary. Hope you have a nice trip
I think it’s doable depending on how much you’re gonna explore. Like another comment said, I can spend a whole day in Shibuya itself easily, so it really depends. Shibuya comes alive at night and cooler than Shinjuku imo. For Shinjuku though I recommend Suica Penguin Park for train watching and clock tower, esp at night.
In Shibuya, my favourite places are Miyashita Park and Mark City with the Taro Okamoto mural (big fan of his work), it’s also a tourist spot for the crossing. Other things I like: Chuo Gai and Dogenzaka is fun to walk around at night, Sakurazaka is just one slope but it has donuts and Hoshino’s!
For Harajuku, Cat Street and that whole Jingumae area is really cool, I recommend it.
I think you’ll probably be able to see most of the things you want to see in a day. Your plan sounds fine.
I did a similar type of thing in one day, although I didn’t end up spending as much time as I would have liked in Harajuku. It was like 38C outside and I didn’t really have any desire to keep walking around the boutique stores surrounded by blazing hot concrete.
Totally doable in one day. Sounds like a busy and fulfilling visit to this part of Tokyo.
As with many things, I believe the pendulum has swung too far regarding the opinion about takeshita dori. I don’t think it’s as bad as the general opinion is.
We still enjoyed it, especially the street food. Saying that, I would recommend it if you’ve never been but I wouldn’t feel the need to go a second time.
We are also the types to really like to explore every nook and cranny of each place and soak in the atmosphere. We spent a whole day each at Shibuya, Harajuku, and Shinjuku.
Shibuya is my favourite in terms of vibes. I don’t know why but we ended going back multiple times.
Meiji shrine closes around 5ish. I planned a similarly aggressive day and I didn’t realize this, and we missed it. Kind of a bummer. Shibuya Sky was terrific.
I could spend an entire day in Shibuya alone and still not be satisfied..
If you get a chance, check out the dancing Elvises at Yoyogi park. I think only Sundays
I personally loathe ever having to walk through Takeshita, however, my experience is biased. I do think you should experience it, for its legacy at least–but it is very crowded, so just prepare yourself. I would add the Urahara area/Catstreet, also in Harajuku, to your list as well. It’s more “fashionable” and nicer to walk though.