Itinerary Trip: First-timers in Japan for 16 days (Tokyo, Osaka, Hakone, Ogose)

Hello, all!

My fiance and I are getting married in a few weeks, and we’ve always wanted to do a Japan trip, so we decided to go all out and spend 16 days in between the end of October and the first week of November, with our major trip highlights being spending Halloween at USJ and a two-night stay at a luxury ryokan in Hakone. We’re trying to do Tokyo as organically as possible, spending a whole week there without much of an itinerary; we’ve loaded up Google Maps with pins and plan to stop in to places of interest if/when we pass by, and eating wherever whenever we feel hungry. We feel this will be a much more relaxing and enjoyable trip as opposed to trying to plan things out to the minute, and allows us to be flexible and explore at our own pace.

10/23 | Afternoon Arrival, Haneda Airport
We’ll probably be wiped out this day, so a light lunch and recovery in the hotel room in Akiba will probably be necessary. We’re planning on packing light so hopefully luggage won’t be too much of a concern, and I’ve already got a JR pass booked. My mobile carrier is T-mobile and they assure me I’ll have internet access in Japan, so we’re not planning on getting a pocket wi-fi unit.

10/24 – 10/27 | Akihabara and Surrounding Areas
We’re staying in Akiba for the first half of our week in Tokyo, and we’ll probably spend at least the first day exploring. A couple must-do’s and must-see’s we know of so far are:

* Gundam Base Tokyo
* Eorzea Cafe Akihabara (going to try to book a private room once reservations open!)
* Akihabara Vampire Cafe
* Super Potato Akihabara
* Tokyo Skytree

10/27 – 10/30 | Shinjuku and Shibuya
We’ll be staying in Shinjuku for the latter half of our Tokyo week, and focusing more on experiencing dining and culture. We’ll definitely be aiming to experience Golden Gai and as many izakaya as we can!

* Golden Gai
* Tokyo Godzilla Store
* Shibuya 101 and Scramble Crossing (I’m a huge TWEWY fan so that will be surreal…)
* Art museums and gardens– Recommendations are very welcome!

10/30 – 11/2 | Osaka, USJ and Halloween
Shinkansen trip to Osaka! The moment we realized we’d be in Japan on Halloween we HAVE to experience USJ’s Halloween Horror Nights. We’ll be staying at an AirBnB within walking distance of USJ, and we’ve made sure to get an Express Pass booklet for the HHN attractions and Super Nintendo Land, which is exciting. This will probably be the most strictly-regimented portion of the trip due to the time requirements on the express pass. Other things we plan to do in Osaka for our remaining days there include the Osaka Aquarium, Eorzea Cafe Osaka (different menu!) and Dotonbori. I’m a big foodie so I’m very excited!!

11/2 – 11/4 | Hakone
Shinkansen to Hakone! We’ll be staying at a luxury ryokan for two nights, as our “official honeymoon” stay. We booked a riverside room with an in-room onsen, which we’re both very, very excited for. We’ll probably take it easy for these days and stick around the ryokan for the most part, with occasional excursions out to Lake Ashinoko and some museums. R&R will be the main objective.

11/4 – 11/6 | Ogose and Saitama
Closing out the journey we wanted to spend some time in a rural location, so we booked a stay at a little home in Ogose, and spend a couple days enjoying nature relatively removed from the city. I really want to go to Saitama Children’s Zoo to see the capybara, but I don’t know much about it.

11/6 – 11/7 | Machida and Departure
We’re spending our last night at Hotel Artia Dinosaur in Machida. The booking was hilariously cheap and we couldn’t resist. Our flight out of Haneda is after 5PM so we can spend a little time doing some last-minute shopping in Tokyo on the 7th if we feel the need.

QUESTIONS:

* How much should we expect to make use of Takkyubin to transport our luggage between hotels? We’ll have two backpack-sized carry-ons, two checked bags, and at least one small personal bag. I’ve read that delivery can take place the next day, and we’re a little worried about taking public transport with our bags. Should we account for being without our checked bags for a night when we’re between stays, or is that largely not an issue? This is especially pertinent the first night– with an afternoon arrival time, should we expect our bags by 5PM in Akihabara or the next morning?
* Are we spending “too much” time in Tokyo if we’re taking it slow? The city seems huge but I’ve mapped a couple walks via Google and I wonder if it’s not as huge as some people make it out to be. We can always take day trips to get the most out of our JR passes, and it’s inconceivable to me that we’d get bored, so I’m not too worried about this. We just don’t want to get shopping fatigue.
* Storage for luggage on the shinkansen– How accommodating is it, really? Between Tokyo and Osaka, then Osaka to Hakone, what would be the best way to get our luggage to our next hotel? I’ve heard they offer cargo shipping when taking the shinkansen, but if there’s a more effective method we’ve overlooked I’m all ears.
* How crazy is USJ going to be on Halloween? If I’m not mistaken, last year was the first year since the pandemic that they’ve done it, and Hanikuma seems like it was insanely popular. I’ve dealt with plenty of crowds before– I used to work at Universal Orlando– but the videos I’ve seen of Akihabara on Halloween night kinda seem to be on another level entirely.

If there’s any other information I can provide please let me know, and I’m happy to hear your thoughts and feedback. I know it’s not a very elaborate and meticulous itinerary, but that’s not really what we wanted for this trip.

Thanks again!