Itinerary Check: 7 Days in Tokyo/Kyoto in early October

My husband and I (38 y/o, vegetarian, USA) will be going to Japan for a week (Tokyo, half-day jaunt to Osaka, Kyoto), October 3rd-10th, arriving at HND & departing from KIX. I’ve been to Japan once 15 years ago to see a friend who was going to school in Osaka, but my husband has never been. We want to absorb Japan in general, but things we normally aim for on trips are: hiking, botanic gardens, shopping malls, redwood trees if they’re available, a fancy restaurant.
Likes: Wild animals and snacks. We were into anime in middle/high school, but cooled on it during college, though we did watch SPYxFAMILY and Chainsaw Man this year and enjoyed them. Lifetime Pokemon fans. We’d like to try some expensive Japanese fruit. I enjoy idols (mainly H!P and NiziU). Going to a flea market or similar would be cool, but I don’t think any really match up with our dates.
Dislikes: We’re not huge into crowds, hyper-touristy things, zoos, coffee, or bar-hopping.
Good vegan/vegetarian restaurant recs highly appreciated! I know Coco Ichibanya and T’s TanTan are abound, but please let me know if there are any one-off “can’t miss!” places.
Some things:
\- I really enjoyed Osaka Aquarium in 2007 and find myself wanting to go again, but I haven’t been to many other aquariums and wonder if it’s actually great and worth the extra trip (shinkansen ride plus two train rides each way). How do the other aquariums in Tokyo/Kyoto compare?
\- I’ve heard Sky Tree can take forever to get into (3-4 hr wait times??). Is this true even if we reserve tickets online for a specific date/time?
\- We’d like to hike in a semi-natural area. Mt. Takao has several options to get to the top, including an unpaved trail option. Great! Any recommendations for places like this nearby Kyoto? I have Mt. Hiei, but I’ve seen mixed reviews of how strenuous it is. If we funicular up and hike down, it can’t be TOO bad, right?
\- Yasui Konpira-gu Shrine in Kyoto is holding its biggest event of the year on Oct. 10. Has anyone ever attended, have any insight about what we should expect? It “begins” at 11am–how early should be expect to show up if we want to watch some of it? Is it a parade-type thing or wholly happening at their shrine?
\- Mathing JR Pass out, it’s very much not “worth it” for us, but are there any benefits to it besides monetary savings? Is it easier to get into stations, get on open-seating cars on shinkansen, etc? My current math shows we’d be at about \~24000yen each at MAX, which is definitely under 29,650. I just want the transit part of our trip to go as smoothly as possible and if JR Pass offers anything in that way, I’d be willing to eat the $80 (40×2).
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Onto the itinerary!
(Note that we’re both relatively laid back, and will be happy just to hang out in Japan. Some of these days are admittedly a bit ambitious, and we’re not super concerned if we don’t make it to everything in every segment… but if any of them seem supremely ridiculous or overlooking an obvious opportunity please let me know.)
Day 1 (Tues): 2pm, arrive @ Haneda Airport. Customs, activate JR Pass to start the next day (if buying), get Welcome Suica cards. Airport Limousine Bus to hotel in Nishi-Shinjuku. Decrompress, dinner somewhere nearby.
(If we’re feeling like walking around more than a little bit nearby, Meiji Jingu/Yoyogi Park and Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden are both about 15-20 mins walk away from hotel. If we’re feeling like bright city lights, Kabukicho?)
Day 2 (Weds)(My birthday!): Morning: Hokusai Museum. Walk along Oyakagawa Park. Snack at Sasaya Cafe? Tokyo SkyTree. Sumida Park. Nakamisedori/Senso-ji. Several veg food options in the area for lunch.
Afternoon: Ueno Park. Tokyo National Museum. Akihabara (Hello! Project Shop specifically).
Evening: Shibuya (mainly just interested in seeing Hachiko and Shibuya Crossing). Tudore Tranquility (Michelin-starred vegetarian prie fix menu)
Day 3 (Thurs): Morning: Mt. Takao – hike up, funicular down.
Afternoon: Mizumoto Park (dawn redwoods, also bird watching & etc). Is there anything else in this area worth checking out?
Evening: Mario Bros Movie (1993) at Picadilly Cinema
Day 4 (Fri): Morning: Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Meiji Jingu Gaien, MotoAkasaka Chiyoda City (Nippon Budoukan). Takeaway lunch from Loving Hut?
Afternoon: Kabukicho. Hakone-yama. Yayoi Kusama Museum. Ikebukuro Sunshine City (Pokemon Center, GAMERS store, etc).
Day 5 (Sat): Morning: Take Haruka Express to Kyoto. Drop off bags @ hotel (\~10 mins from Kyoto Station). Get back on public transit to Osaka! (Or would it be better to send luggage ahead the night before so we can just skip Kyoto and head directly to Osaka?)
Late Morning/Afternoon: Osaka Aquarium & ferris wheel.
Travel back to Kyoto, check-in @ hotel.
Evening: Philosopher’s Path, continue following river to Higashiyama Jisho-ji, climb Mt. Daimonji.
Day 6 (Sun): Morning: Mt Hiei – funicular up on east side, hike down on west side. Kyoto Botanical Garden?
Afternoon: Uji – Chazuna Tea Museum (grind matcha, tea picking experience if offered in Oct). Byodo-in. Uji Park.
Evening: Fushimi Inari Taisha.
Day 7 (Mon) (Sports Day): Morning: Nishiki Market, Gion (including festival at Yasui Konpira-gu Shrine!)
Afternoon: 4 hr eBike tour around northern Kyoto (which is something like Kamishichiken->Nina-ji>Hirosawa Pond>Otagi Nenbutsu-ji> Sagano>Bamboo grove near Tenryu-ji>Okochi Sanso Villa>Togetsukyo Bridge) \[How outrageously busy should I expect these areas to be on Sports Day? Would this be better on one of the weekend days? I understand we’re in Kyoto on a holiday weekend, so there’s only so much we can do about crowds, but I do love solitude..\]
Day 8 (Tues) (Last day): Morning: Nijo Castle. Kyoto Imperial Palace. Roketsu indigo clothing dying experience (60-90 mins) (\~11am).
Pick up bags from hotel. Any last Kyoto goodbyes?
Shinkansen to KIX. Flight leaves at 4:45pm.