Hey all – spending about 20 days in Japan in late October/November. Appreciate the advice on my last post.
Looking for advice on our time in Tokyo (which for me has certainly been the most overwhelming area to plan). I’ve tried my best to organize things by neighborhood. My partner and I are not into anime, manga, or similar things, so we can safely ignore those areas. We like areas with good food, nightlife, city views, and historical culture. My partner enjoys video games. And a good hike – hopefully we can find that in Nikko. If it matters, we also have a final day in Tokyo at the end of the trip before we leave for home.
Questions:
1. Too busy a schedule? We are reasonably fit and don’t mind moving quickly, but we don’t want to overbook ourselves.
2. Will we regret not spending two days/one night in Nikko during Autumn?
3. Anything on your personal top Tokyo recommendations that we shouldn’t miss? Other neighborhoods we should prioritize?
Thanks a bunch!
Day 1: October 21st – Arrival and Shinjuku exploration
* Arrive at Haneda Airport at 3 PM
* Check-in to Shinjuku hotel
* Walk around Shinjuku area. Godzilla statue, Piss Alley
Day 2: October 22nd – Shibuya, Harajuku, and Yoyogi Park
* Starbucks Reserve Roastery
* Takeshita Street, street food, shopping
* Yoyogi Park
* Meiji Jingu Shrine
* Shibuya Crossing
* Shibuya Sky
Day 3: October 23rd – Asakusa, Imperial Palace, and Akihabara
* Sensoji Shrine in the morning
* Nakamise Street
* Tokyo Imperial Palace (walk around the grounds)
* Hibiya Park and nearby areas
* Akihabara in the afternoon/evening. Seems like some places close around 8 PM.
Day 4: October 24th – Nikko day trip
Wish we could do 2 days in Nikko. Just don’t think we have the time.
Day 5: October 25th – Tsukiji, TeamLab Planets, etc.
* Morning visit to Tsukiji Fish Market for breakfast
* TeamLab Planets (hoping for the earliest morning reservation we can get to avoid crowds)
* Return to the hotel, check out, and head to Shinjuku Station
* Romance Car to Hakone for a two night stay
3 comments
I think we’re arriving on the same day so this was actually very helpful for me! I’m finding Tokyo very overwhelming to plan. Thanks for this breakdown!
Never heard of piss alley but i’ll be sure to check it out just cuz of the name for my trip this october
Hi! I went back in your posts to see your history and saw you’re going to Kanazawa and you like seafood.
You’re in the right season /area to have crab and nodoguro which are both local specialities.
Ishikawa crab is only available November /March each year and nodoguro is in season in November. Hope you can find both of those there then, I’m also going In November this year 😊
In terms of Tokyo, if you want pretty scenery, you can maybe have a look at Shinjuku gyoen — should be good for autumn leaves. From memory It’s only open until 5 though.
Starbucks reserve roastery is near meguro river- you should have a bit of a walk around there.
But everything you have on your list sounds great already so I don’t know if you can fit these in 😅