Hey Everyone,
Finally booked up for my first trip to Japan and would love to hear your opinions + suggestions on what i’ve planned so far-A little background- We are a couple in our early thirties, love shopping & exploring the novel aspects of local culture, into trying all kinds of food (allergic to shellfish). Our tirp is planned for First week October:
**Fri, Day 1- Land at Narita at 5:30 PM**
* Take Nex to Tokyo Station and a taxi from there to our hotel in Shimbashi, check in and grab dinner around the hotel then walk around the Tokyo tower area
**Sat, Day 2-**
* Combini Brekkie after an early morning walk around Hibiya Park,
* Spend the first half of the day in Ginza- shopping eating etc.
* Hop over to Shinjuku and eat and drink till it’s time to catch the last train back
**Sun**, **Day** **3**\-
* Roam around Akhiabara till noon,
* Shop around Harajuku & Omotesando early evening,
* end the night after checking out Shibuya
**Mon, Day 4-**
* Get to Meiji Shrine really early, check out the gardens
* Move to Asakusa area and explore till our feet give out,
* Get to Teamlabs by 7pm, post that have dinner somewhere in Shimbashi and turn in early
**Tue, Day 5- Early Train to Kyoto (start Jr 7 day pass)**
* Brekkie at Nishiki Market,
* Check in to hotel near Karasuma, explore Gion & nearby shrines pretty much the whole day
**Wed, Day 6-**
* Head to Arashiyama early (8ish hopefully), take a cab to Otagi Nenbutsuji and walk down to the bridge checking out sights sounds and smells on the way, hopefully things would have opened up by then for a breakfast then walk around some more,
* Back to Nishiki market for lunch, and keeping the evening open ( for pontcho or gion again)
**Thus**, **Day 7-** **Early train to Hiroshima then a midday train to Osaka**
* Wake up, checkout, send bags to Osaka hotel, and head to Hiroshima to see the Genbaku Dome & Peace Memorial park (this day is rushed and inefficient yes but this is a checklist item)
* Reach Osaka by the 4PM and check into hotel near Namba, walk around the area
* Teamlabs Osaka late evening and roam around Dotonburi at night
**Fri, Day 8-**
* Shop around Osaka
* Check out Suntory whiskey house
* Check out Shin Osaka area in the evening
**Sat,** **Day 9-**
* Nara? or Kobe? Or **Himeji** ^((credit: Downtown-Fill883)) Day trip
* Dontonburi at night
**Sun, Day 10-** **Early train to Kyoto, (forward bags to tokyo hotel),**
* Head straight to Fushimi Inari from the station, hike up as much as we can,
* Check in at a hotel in gion around noon, repeat any favorites in the area
**Mon, Day 11-** **Noon train to Tokyo**
* Breakfast at Nishiki Market, Shinkansen to Tokyo
* Check in to hotel at Akasaka and explore the area
**Tue, Day 12-**
* Check out National Art Center at Roppongi
* Watch the sunset from Mori Towers
* Explore food options around Azabujan
**Wed, Day 13-**
* Final day of stay, keeping it free to repeat any favorites or accommodate any new finds/wants
**Thurs,Day 14**
* Cab to Tokyo Station, Take nex to NRT and plan the next trip to Japan on the way back
We generally prefer to discover things while exploring specific areas vs preplanning too much; with the exception of places that require advance booking or are labelled as “must visit” (which is honestly too many things in Japan).
Does this look like a feasible plan ?Also should we reduce or increase time spent in any specific area ?
2 comments
Plan looks great mate! You definitely did your research!
Just one suggestion: squeeze in Himeji
A little heads up. Some stores in Akihabara even on Sundays opens up around 10am and some even later not till 12pm. But you should still be okay to do things there. At Fushimi Inari there is a cross road towards the top of the mountain that overlooks part of Kyoto. I recommend getting to that part during sunset till night fall. It looks absolutely beautiful.