Is my itinerary too packed?

11 comments

1. Day 10 might be a bit too busy. I really liked Arashiyama and would spend 4+ hours the next time I visit. There is a lot to see and it’s fun to leisurely walk around.

   Is there a reason you want to visit the animate in Kyoto and not the giant store in Ikebukuro?

2. Yes, I do think this is too packed.
   I would never suggest waking up in a different city than you are flying out of. You never know what can happen. Trains can cancel, be delayed, etc.
   It’s never worth the risk.

   I’d say you have to make the choice to cut Osaka or Kyoto. And as the looks of it my guess would be Kyoto since it seems like you’re attending a festival in Osaka?

   Or can you change your dates of travel and add on an additional 3-4 days? The days you’re traveling are already going to be jam packed with packing up, going to/from train stations and checking in/out of accommodations half the day will be shot, if not almost all of it.

3. I think whether or not it’ll be packed also depends on how interested you are

   Ie. Personally I’m not a huge fan of anime anymore so day 2 looks pretty free to me since I wouldn’t take too long at Akihabara, but day 3 looks packed since I would spend a lot of time at sunshine city in ikebukuro (I am obsessed with gachapon and they have a large store there)

4. The itinerary is definitely packed, but it’s not too bad. I would recommend prioritising activities to do, and be prepared to move activities around or drop them in the worst case.

5. I did 10 days too and our itinerary looked pretty packed as well! It’s doable, but keep in mind it’s a LOT of walking. My God, you will not understand how much lol. I did 23k steps in one day. So it really depends if you can handle to be on your feet all day. There’s also not many public benches so if you want to take a rest you’ll have to stop by a restaurant or cafe. I’m flat footed so my lower back was killing me haha. And trains don’t always have available seats.

6. It looks fine to me. Generally speaking, the craziness I see on here revolves around multi-city multi-stop days like people who are in Osaka and plan to train to Hiroshima and see both Hiroshima and Miyajima in one day and then return to Osaka. Doable? Yes. Fun? Very unlikely.

   Assuming this is your first trip, I would just pick a couple must-see stops per day like you have. Keep them close to one another if possible. And leave plenty of time to explore.

7. I do think it’s a little too packed for our style of travel. We usually spend a whole day in each place to soak everything.

   But you should enjoy it the way you’d like.

   We seem to have similar interests with anime and other stuff so feel free to ask me any questions

8. Rule of thumb. If you find yourself asking “is it too packed…” it’s gonna be too packed

9. It is a little too packed. If this is your first time, there are many places surrounding Tokyo that will keep you occupied for 10 days.

   Japan is about exploration so take your time and enjoy instead of following a rigid itinerary, a flexible one would be good. The real experience is when you walked off the beaten path to discover something interesting.

10. Disclaimer first: I haven’t visited Japan in over 10 years, and even that was just Tokyo, so I can’t help with specifics!

    But one thing I noted: Travelling from Tokyo to Osaka looks like approx 3.5hrs. If you’re travelling from Tokyo to Osaka on day 6, you probably won’t have time for a heap of activities there in the afternoon, unless you really do want to be running from place to place.

11. Yikes! For 11 days, and all those things, it’s packed. Your first 2-3 days are going to be impacted by jet lag. I would limit the amount with jet lag. Limit you itinerary to 2 cities or stay in Tokyo and do short trips to Hakone, Nikko, and Yokohama. Me personally, I would Save Kansai for another trip. Or you could do Tokyo+Kyoto trip. I just think 11 days is not enough to do all those things.