**Japan Itinerary**
**Oct 7-21 2022**
Going with my wife, I realize it is typhoon season and we will have jackets (if needed get umbrellas there) I want to pack light, because I’ll probably buy an extra suitcase for the trip back home, I plan on buying a lot of hard-to-get manga and art supplies (my main passion/career) as well as possibly some audio/electronics stuff, some retro gaming and nice chef knives.
While not original, I feel like more people do this route. I do have a couple of rest days from all the sightseeing and shopping that I’m planning.
**Day 1**
Travel there LAX to Naita airport. Thinking of taking the red-eye sleeping as much as we could to get in synch with Japanese time. We would arrive in the early morning and try to stay up as much as possible that first day until it’s late afternoon Japan-time.
Get to Hotel.
Night – Maybe Karaoke if we have the energy, if not do it on Night 2.
**Day 2**
Full day in Tokyo.
Everyone is going to say, do all your shopping at the end, but knowing my excitement, I probably won’t be able to do that, so the day will be shopping at Super Potato, some indie Manga shops, Don Quiote that kinda of stuff. Probably stick to Akihabara area maybe go to Ueno.
Depending on where I am, go to Ribera Steakhouse (it’s in Gotanda, or Shimomeguro) (I’m a pro-wrestling nerd too)
**Day 3**
Tokyo – Sight-seeing, spend the day walking around Shibuya and Shinjuku. There’s some art shops, like Sekaido Art Store that I want to go to. Maybe Disc Union for some music as well.
Go to Meiji Shrine.
Try a capsule hotel for the night.
**Day 4**
Tokyo – Farmers market in the morning.
Go see Tokyo Dome. Not sure if there’s much to see really, if not hit up National Museum.
At night – If there’s a pro-wrestling show in Tokyo this week, I plan to do that. Looked up Sumo, but looks like the there’s no tournament that month.
Try a Love Hotel for the night, cheesy, but it might be fun just to experience it.
**Day 5**
Morning – Travel to Kyoto
Check in to Ryokon in Kyoto. Go full on western traveler with the Yukata and walk around town like a total nerd. Take way too many pictures of ourselves.
**Day 6**
Full day in Kyoto.
Fushimi Inari.
Samurai and Ninja Museum.
Kyoto Manga Musuem
**Day 7**
Kyoto
Day to chill out, just hang out, go to a Onsen if possible
Walk around see some more sights.
**Day 8**
Kyoto
Travel to Osaka? Not sure about this. Might be cool, but also might just stay in Kyoto and enjoy other things to see, like Kinkakuji.
Not sure if we would stay in the same place out whole trip at Kyoto, the Ryokon could be expensive, so we might switch to a different hotel.
**Day 9**
Travel back to Tokyo.
Check in Hotel. Probably will try to stay at the same place for the remainder of our time, just to make it easy. Depending on where we stay, will probably walk in that neighborhood.
Go to Asakusa check that out, Maybe some record (vinyl) shopping.
**Day 10**
Tokyo
Disneyland. This is the really questionable one. Part of me wants to experience it, as I am a big disneyland (LA) fan, but also I dont know if I want to spend an entire day of my Japan trip there. Still for debate. If not Disneyland, more exploring, temples, shrines, etc.
**Day 11**
Toyko
Another rest day. Take it easy. Maybe hit up another Onsen or a small hike.
**Day 12**
Tokyo
Hit it hard, last day of major shopping. Might go to Tamiya Store (in Shimbashi), or Gundam store, or to the Ghibli Museum and will take most of the day, if we get tickets. This day is open for debate and play it by ear.
Night – Be great to find a Noh or Kabuki theater show for the evening.
**Day 13**
Last day full day in Tokyo. Take it easy and walk around.
Travel to Akasaka again and Roppongi Hills – Mori Tower, take pics.
Night – I’d like to take my wife to a club and go dancing one night. Something like Womb in Shibuya.
**Day 14**
Travel back home to LAX, plajn to be exhausted and start editing videos from the trip.
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EDIT:
ok, you guys have convinced me, I might just fly into Osaka and start the Kyoto leg first and end with those \~9 days all in Tokyo, where I can do a bunch of that shopping (although I have heard that Osaka is a great place to shop with better prices) I checked the flight prices and the extra $150/per to fly to Osaka from LAX vs Tokyo is about the same as one way of the bullet train that I would save, so it’s even and saves me time.
31 comments
Wow, that’s a lot of shopping.
Skip Tokyo Dome or just cruise by it if you’re in the area.
Skip the cum filled, windowless love hotel.
Skip the capsule hotel.
Pin your favourite places on Google Maps and wander aimlessly before/after shopping.
>travel outside of Tokyo to the Ghibli Museum, which is a bit of a trek (Mitaka) and will take most of the day
The Ghibli Museum is very much within Tokyo (which is a vast city), and is only 30 minutes on public transport from Shinjuku.
More broadly, I’d suggest that you invest in a guidebook.
If you’re only going to dedicate one day to Disney, you have to go to DisneySea, not Disneyland.
Yes, technically it’s the end of typhoon season, so you might also be lucky and not get any typhoon.
Yes of course you should move all your shopping at the end. It does not make sense to travel light and buy a luggage in Japan if it’s to fill it on the first day. You might as well just bring a big empty luggage. Also, note that in places that focus on shopping like Akihabara, shops usually open at 10 or 11 am, so you can usually plan something else if you want to start the day early.
Starting by shopping, you will have to move your big luggage or spend money to store it somewhere.
As you want to fly from LAX, consider flying in KIX and out of NRT, this way you do not have to do round trip Tokyo-Kyoto. Even if this is a bit more expensive than round trip, you will save money on the train ticket.
Day 3 : I would not do 3 hotels in 3 nights in Tokyo… I know people want to experience these things that you don’t have back home, but not sure it’s worth it.
Day 4 : Tokyo Dome City is close to Tokyo Dome also Koishikawa Korakuen, that is a really nice garden is right there. Ther is also Spa LaQua, that is a real onsen.
Day 7 :Do you have some specific plan for onsen ? Kyoto is not especially known for their onsen, so you might want to plan going out of Kyoto city proper to a place that would be a bit better for that. One option could be Arima onsen in Kobe.
Day 8 : just for a day in Osaka, you can easily do it just as a daytrip from Kyoto.
Day 12 : No, Ghibli Museum is not “a bit of a trek”. From Shinjuku station, it’s a 15 minutes train ride and walk about 20 minutes in a park. That is fairly close and easy to do, the only reason it would take time is that you are likely going to stay at least 1-2 hours in the museum.
I don’t have any substantive comments but thank you for sharing. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan, so I appreciate the sample itinerary. I need to start doing my research and planning out what I want to experience when I’m there. I’m a nerd but I also love the traditions/history (shrines, samurai, tea ceremony, cherry blossom, etc.). And I don’t think I’d be able to resist Tokyo Disneyland. . . .
One day to see all big sights in Kyoto is not realistic.
Just Fushimi Inari and Magna museum might take up half day or more.
I mean there’s a reason why people say do your shopping at the end. It’s going to add a lot of weight when travelling around and not to mention lugging it around in your suitcase is going to risk damage to the goods.
I would skip the capsule hotel. You and your wife will be separated and it’s not even that much cheaper than a business hotel. It might even be more expensive with 2 people.
Also it’s “Ryokan”.
I don’t think you need to worry about the jet lag as much as you think. When I fly to Japan from the east coast, I arrive mid-afternoon-ish and am basically exhausted by 9. I wake up super early, like 4-5 AM, but shift that by a few hours (towards later) and it’ll be your schedule. Coming BACK from Japan is an absolute nightmare.
You already guessed that people are going to tell you to buy your things later. They give this advice for good reason. But being in Tokyo, you’re going to feel really tempted to just buy everything anyway, right? So, my suggestion is, land in Tokyo and go IMMEDIATELY to Kyoto. As in, that day. Find a flight that lands very late morning or early afternoon and hop on the train. This should get you to Kyoto around dinner time. Consider that when you get off the plane, you’re in travel mode. All your luggage is packed, you’ve got the things you need to keep you entertained conveniently placed, it’s perfect. And, it saves you one round of unpack/pack.
Another option is to arrive very late and do your capsule hotel this night because you won’t be unpacking much of anything, if at all. But let me tell you, capsule hotels are novel but they’re cheap for a reason. They’re often (but not always) segregated by gender and it doesn’t matter that you’re married, the sleeping spaces are shared, so to speak. But to each their own. If you really want to do it, I honestly wouldn’t even check out of the normal hotel, just to avoid having to move luggage around for a single night.
And seriously, don’t go to a love hotel. They’re really expensive, uncomfortable, and are seriously just a place people go to fuck. It’s not that great.
Regarding ryokans, yes, they are typically fairly pricey, especially in a popular place like Kyoto. I mean, I guess there’s cheaper ones but I think you should stay in a nice place. Hence, my suggestion is to just stay in a normal hotel in Kyoto, because you are probably not planning to spend too much time in the hotel anyway, are you? You’re going to be torn between staying in this nice place you paid a bunch for and going out and doing the things you went to Kyoto to do.
This could be what your extra free day (day 8, currently) would be: stopping in Hakone, very typical but for good reason, for a really nice night in a nice ryokan. You’ll be tired from all the walking around you did in Kyoto so it’ll be nice to break up your segments with a slow, relaxed day.
Then back to Tokyo. Now you can stay in the same hotel and spare yourself an extra pack/unpack cycle. Stay somewhere like Shibuya for nightlife, Shinjuku for quieter but still lively (except Kabuki-cho is very lively), or Ueno if you want convenient access to the SHINKANSEN lines. Otherwise, Shinjuku and Shibuya have very convenient access to all trains, more or less.
I would personally skip Tokyo Disney. Keep in mind that although it’s licensed and designed by Disney, it’s not actually run by Disney. If you’re on the fence, consider skipping it. On the other hand, it’s not so far that you couldn’t just go on a whim if you wanted to. I suggest you put it down as a “if we feel like we’ve done all the things and still have a whole day left, let’s do that” item because you never know how your vacation will turn out.
Finally, I suggest you check out Tokyu Hands store in Shibuya. It’s just a department store but it’s way more interesting than Donki or whatever. Like, actual things you’d want to buy.
For clubs, I also suggest you check out Sound Museum Vision (Shibuya), Harlem (Shibuya) if you’re into hip hop as the name suggests, Womb (Shinjuku) you already know, and ageHa in Shin-Kiba which is probably the nicest club of them all BUT it’s out in Shin-Kiba (actually just a few stops before Tokyo Disney…) which means you won’t be able to get back after about 12-1 AM until trains resume at 5 AM. You can always take a taxi, though.
Have you thought about moving with few big baggages? That will be a lot of hassle when you move from tokyo to kyoto and back to tokyo again.
Don’t buy extra baggage, ship it via japan mail or something. It is less hassle than carrying around few baggages. Plus if you want to buy a knife, your only option to bring it back to your home country without being detained is by shipping it
Imo, move kyoto first, then osaka if you want (universal studio japan also very top notch, plus dotonbori has very good food)
After that go back to tokyo. And always pick disneysea over disneyland. You can find disneyland even back home, most of them are exact copies. But not with disneysea.
> Everyone is going to say, do all your shopping at the end, but knowing my excitement, I probably won’t be able to do that, so the day will be shopping at Super Potato, some indie Manga shops, Don Quiote that kinda of stuff. Probably stick to Akihabara area maybe go to Ueno.
While super potato is good it’s kinda pricey so it’s best to shop around first to find a good deal. The only exception I would make is if what you find is extremely rare. In that case it might best to buy on the spot.
> Travel to Osaka? Not sure about this. Might be cool, but also might just stay in Kyoto and enjoy other things to see, like Kinkakuji.
If you’re looking to nerd out you should probably take a trip to Osaka and goto den den town. Similar to Akihabara.
> Disneyland. This is the really questionable one. Part of me wants to experience it, as I am a big disneyland (LA) fan, but also I dont know if I want to spend an entire day of my Japan trip there. Still for debate. If not Disneyland, more exploring, temples, shrines, etc.
Goto Disney Sea instead its a really good park to visit and one of a kind. Also Tokyo Disney has a lot of unique goods and snacks you won’t be able to get in LA. Another thing is generally the food on offer is better than LA IMO. All the flavored popcorns are a must try.
Other thoughts
– If you do end up going to Ghibli museum you can swing by Nakano broadway to check out more okatu stuff.
– You probably don’t need to spend a night at a love hotel just a couple of hours.
– Tokyo doesn’t really have much onsen so if you intend on going to one you might have to make a trek outside of Tokyo to do so
Tokyo Dome and even the nearby mall with the roller coaster won’t even take up half a day.
If you really want to try a love hotel, combine it with the Shibuya/Shinjuku day since both areas have a ton of them.
Mitaka is right outside the 23 wards of Tokyo but is still Tokyo. Better scenery/experience if you walk there from Kichijoji since there’s Inokashira Park on the way. Lots of pretty decent places to eat near the station as well. Despite living out there for 2 years, I never went but I’ve heard that it’s best to book tickets well in advance.
Aside from the typhoons, October hasn’t been too cold recently. Something light to keep the rain off should suffice.
Taishu engeki might be a more accessible and entertaining option compared to Kabuki or Noh.
Grand Sumo tournaments are only January, March, May, July, September and November but maybe there’ll be some kind of exhibition events?
Am guessing for Day 13 you meant to type Asakusa and not Akasaka? Worked in Akasaka for a few years and don’t recall there being anything noteworthy for tourists there.
No plans to see the giant Gundam in Odaiba? Could be worth it if you tie it in with Team Lab Planets.
Seconding the other commenter about Disney. With only a day, Disney Sea is a must. It’s unique to Japan, whereas Tokyo Disneyland is a smaller version of the one in LA.
As well, the major sightseeing spots in Kyoto are super spread out so doing them all in 1 day is unrealistic.
imo it’s stupid to try and match Japan time before being in Japan. Once I started traveling to places like Japan where the time is so different time became kind of a weird concept to me. My recommendation would be get a flight that lands around 4 or 5 PM. By the time you make it to the hotel, check in, and grab food it’ll probably be 8 or 9 PM perfect time to go to bed and wake up easily on Japan time. I remember strictly dumpling guy from YT said the same thing for all his Asia travels. He tries to land in late afternoon then sleep and he said he’s usually good the rest of the trip in terms of Jet Lag and such. Just see the first day after landing as getting your bearings and maybe a quick walk around what area you’re in. Hope this helps!
If a typhoon happens when you’re there, having jackets won’t really do much good. Buying an umbrella would also be a waste of money, because even if you could keep a hold of it in 155km/h (100mph) to 215 km/h (130mph) winds, it would be inside out and dragging you along. If a typhoon happens, you’ll be stuck where you are until the trains start running again.
I’m not saying don’t go because it’s typhoon season, I’m saying be prepared for having to do nothing for a day except hunker down because one hits.
Look into the cost of a multi-night stay at a decent ryokan and all it entails in Kyoto, then reconsider. If you want the pics that badly, you might want them in kimono rather than yukata? Kimono rentals were easy to come by pre-pandemic. You seem interested in onsen enough to warrant an overnighter to Hakuna.
More time in Kyoto or skip Osaka.
ok, you guys have convinced me, I might just fly into Osaka and start the Kyoto leg first and end with those ~9 days all in Tokyo, where I can do a bunch of that shopping (although I have heard that Osaka is a great place to shop with better prices)
I second the comment about staying at a ryokan in Kyoto. A ryokan is a destination in itself, and the price of most good ones makes using it as a sightseeing base and being gone all day a bit of a waste. Better to stay at a ryokan in an onsen town where the whole purpose is to relax in the baths and stroll around in your yukata.
If you’re starting in Osaka now would you want to try and go to the Universal Studios / Super Mario park or the new Ghibli Park if it’s open by then?
Also recommend Arashiyama while you’re in Kyoto.
Agree with others on waiting til the end to shop (one of my tips is that Tokyo Skytree, while mega touristy is fairly interesting to do but has great branded stores at the bottom) but also definitely try and do Ghibli Museum and Disney Sea while you’re there, they’re both so accessible from the centre that you still have the evenings to go have fun!
I definitely recommend flying into Osaka and out of Tokyo, or vice versa. Also recommend a ryokan stay in Hakone. If you are lucky you will get views of Mt Fuji. They will most likely have a great onsen, as this is a mountain area with hot springs. It’s on the Shinkansen route from Kyoto to Tokyo. Also, ship your bags from Kyoto to Tokyo and just take a small roller bag to Hakone. Recommend the Hakone free pass and Hakone open air museum.
Of your places I’ve only been to Super Potato and Tamiya Plamodel factory. Super Potato was super expensive pre-covid. I can only imagine when they open up. You might want to hit a retro game place anywhere other than Akiba.
But Tamiya was excellent, mostly if not all car stuff, but my trip was car culture based.
Aim for Haneda over Narita. Nicer airport and it puts you in Tokyo, which you’ll appreciate when you get there.
I’m surprised you’re just doing Tokyo and kyoto for 14 days though. I did Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, nara, and kawaguchiko in 11 days and didn’t feel rushed.
Skip super potato unless you are really keen in taking home some old SFC or mvs Cart at ripoff price.
You can try traders or hard off for similar item.
Please note that older game have lesser English option or none,if you are well verse in japanese go ahead. 👍
You have to hit Nakano Broadway for sure. It’s a better nerd area than Akihabara, in my eyes.
Also, check out the pro wrestling stores in Ochanamizu, Tokyo. Incredible finds there, and it’s next to Akihabara.
Kyoto you have to see the Monkey Park.
Wanted to chime in about wrestling since seeing a NJPW PPV was a bucket list item of mine. Not the case in 2020 and 2021, but King of Pro Wrestling is typically held on a holiday, 2nd Monday of October. You can plan for that and try to be in Tokyo that day as I did. I used a service called BuySumoTickets to acquire the tickets in advance and had no issues. Also feel free to read my trip report from Oct 2019 by my history of submitted posts.
Second that Haneda is a much nicer airport.
Unpopular opinion, but I absolutely loved the love hotel we stayed at in Tokyo. It was located in Shinjuku, and we stayed there for 17 days (yes, it had a window!). The service was impressive, the price was excellent, the room was huge compared to your standard room and the location was top-notch. I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again.
All the best with your trip!
> Go to Meiji Shrine
Not that impressive if you ask me. You can find the shrine of “the last samurai” in shinagawa btw.
Also, given that you are a nerd, I’m missing a visit to Odaiba on your list. Can you really miss the “Teleport Station” and the huge Gundam…?
There’s also a theme park on Odaiba if you want to skip Disney Land. And there’s Universal Studios in Osaka iirc.
> Kyoto Manga Musuem
You might be disappointed because there’s not much to see, but you can read manga the whole day (if you know Japanese). In the morning/noon the museum also often has students from the manga studies department drawing the visitors of the museum upon personal request – it costs around $20 iirc and they’ll draw you in manga style and in traditional Japanese clothing. I got a picture like that and really like it.
Other places worth visiting in Kyoto: Higashi Honganji Temple, Nijo-jo, Shosei-en garden.
And the city of Nara (deers running around freely, largest Buddha, etc.).
If you want to make a stop somewhere between Kyoto and Tokyo, I recommend Gujo Hachiman.
Personally, I’d spend more time in Kyoto than Tokyo. I’ve been to those cities and spend 2 weeks in Tokyo, but only one week in Kyoto. Later regretted that I didn’t do it the other way around, staying for two weeks in Kyoto.
Edit: There’s a Final Fantasy Café and merch shop at/behind the Square Enix headquarters in Tokyo.
Capsule hotel is if you’re traveling solo and broke. No idea why you’d want to do that with your wife.
When I was in Tokyo with my wife, we spent 3 days at Akihabara, and we aren’t even that big of a nerd. It’s huge and there’s a ton of stuff to see. I even won a Rem figurine in a claw machine!
We had around 3 days in Kyoto and tbh it wasn’t enough, such a huge cultural city with a lot of places to visit. Nishiki market was great!
Also Disneyland is a corporate money sucking entertainment machine that isn’t worth your money more than local craftsmen, cooks, and shopkeepers, but if you’re a fan then don’t listen to me and do what you enjoy.
Last time when I went (2019) was right after a big typhoon and the weather was actually fine with the exception of one day in Nagoya where it was absolutely pouring! (as in a flimsy raincoat does fuck all) Do keep the news in mind and check for possible delays with public transport (I use [hyperdia.com](https://hyperdia.com) for scheduling).
For chef’s knives I’d recommend Kapabashi dori in Tokyo, one big street dedicated to bizarre plastic food items and a couple of stores that sell quality knives. It was also one of those streets where I could easily spend half a day there.
And for when you want to go to Odaiba keep in mind that there’s a transfer at Shiodome which takes about 15 minutes. But it’s a great place to walk around and shop, you have Diver city with numerous stores and the Tokyo Big Sight building
Bit risky going without hotel lodgings booked. You’ll end up in either a very cheap hotel or paying a fortune. Also depending when in October- late October is the beginning of Koyo which is the Autumn equivalent of Sakura -Cherry Blossom season. Not as expensive as Sakura but not much…hotels can book up quickly especially as you move towards November…