Itinerary Check – 2 weeks in Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka

3 of my best friends and I are taking a trip to Japan in Oct/Nov and this will be our first time going. We’re all big nerds and excited to see the country that has fascinated us since childhood. I fear I may have overbooked some of our days. Any suggestions will be most appreciated.

Friday

* Land in Narita \~3:30PM
I didn’t plan much for this evening as we’ll probably be jet lagged/tired from the flight, but I’d love to just walk around and check out conbi food.

Saturday

* Kick things off with a trip to Tsukiji fish market and try out some food.
* Friend loves Seiko watches, so visit the Seiko museum (and some of the retail stores nearby)
* Art Aquarium looks really neat
* Visit Pokemon center Tokyo DX Ginza
* Spend time wandering Ginza
* Go to Shibuya for a fun night out during Halloween time

Sunday

* Akihabara day. There are a lot of places we have listed to visit here, so we’ll probably just spend the whole day here geeking out. Any suggestions for dining here?

Monday

* TeamLab Planets. I know this place is pretty polarizing, but it looks neat,
* Odaiba. There seems to be a lot to do here, so I planned the rest of the day to spend here.
* Muscle Girls Bar. I saw this place in a youtube video about interesting places in Tokyo and I gotta see it for myself. Looks fun.

Tuesday

* Shinjuku Gyoen National garden. Looks beautiful.
* Harajuku. Wander around and hopefully see some interesting fashions. Not super interested in the area, but it could be cool.
* Shibuya. LOTS to do here, so I’ve planned the rest of the day/night here including Shibuya Sky and wandering through Piss Alley.

Wednesday

* Tokyo Skytree in the morning. I know Shibuya Sky and the Gov building are supposed to be better, but I still want to see the city from the top. I’m super afraid of heights so it will be thrilling.
* Sumo Experience for lunch. I’m not 100% sold this will be worth the money, but I must admit it looks really unique.
* Ueno Park. There are a lot of things to do in this park. I’m not sure how much we’ll see/do. Any recommendations or things to avoid here?
* Yamashiroya Toy Store. Just want to see what a huge toy store looks like.
* Ameyayokocho shopping area
* Golden Gai Tour at night

Thursday

* Ghibli Museum. I hear tickets are very difficult to get. Crossing my fingers we can nab some. If not, maybe buy from a reseller?
* Nakano Broadway. More nerd stuff.
* No more plans for the day. I figure there will be something we pass by that we didn’t have planned that we can check out.

Friday

* Bullet Train to Kyoto. I just found out Friday Nov 3 is a Japanese holiday called Culture Day. I’m not sure if that is going to affect the trains going to Kyoto. I plan on using the JR Railpass to get to Kyoto and that those cars are mostly used by tourists. Should I book seats early?
* Kiyomizu-dera
* Sannenzaka/Ninenzaka
* Kodai-ji
* Ishibei Koji
* Yasaka Jinja/Muruyama Park
* Chion-in
* Nishiki Market
* Shinkyogoku shopping street
* Gion and Pontocho at night
* I have no idea how realistic the above itinerary is. I just copy/pasted it from a very highly upvoted post here.

Saturday

* Arashiyama tour
* Bamboo Grove. Everyone says it is overrated, but should I just skip it even though I’m going right by it?
* Tenryu-ji
* Jojakko-ji
* Gio-ji
* Adashino Nenbutsu-ji
* Sagano Love Train
* Togetsukyo Bridge
* Monkey Mountain! This looks so neat. 100% the most exciting thing for me in Kyoto.
* Visit Kyoto Station at night

Sunday

* Day trip to Nara. The deer look so cute! I can’t wait to get swarmed by them for crackers. I will feed all of them! Planning on spending the entire morning here till lunch.
* Day trip to Himeji Castle. Is it possible to see the castle after lunch? From Nara it will take close to 2 hours to get here. If this is too much, then I’d just go back to Kyoto and see Fushimi Inari since I couldn’t fit it in the prior 2 days.
* Head to Osaka for an evening wandering Dotonbori Street.

Monday

* Namba Yasaka Shrine. Maybe skip? It looks cool, but I don’t know if its worth visiting.
* Osaka Aquarium. I love aquariums and this one is so big! Super excited.
* Shinsaibashi shopping street
* I’d like to try fugu for lunch somewhere. Any suggestions? Its kind of expensive. Is it any good?
* Cup Noodle museum. This looks so cute. I can’t wait to make my own personal cup.
* Umeda Sky Building. It looks interesting.
* Shinsekai at night.

Tuesday

* All day trip to Universal Studios for Mario and Harry Potter.

Wednesday

* Travel back to Tokyo for our final day in Japan.
* Nothing planned so we can do whatever we missed or just have a relaxed day

Thursday

* Fly out at 9am

The Kyoto leg of the trip seems the most jam-packed. I have no clue if it is realistic to get through all that. A lot of people say you get “templed” out, so I could definitely see cutting some out. Feel free to let me know if I made any mistakes.

Also, I haven’t booked my hotels yet. I heard Shinjuku and Shibuya are the best spots for tourists to stay. I am a bit terrified of how massive Shinjuku station is though. Recommendations appreciated.