Hey all, I’ll be going on my first trip to Japan in about 2 weeks (Getting there on October 15th and arriving home on the 24th) and wanted some feedback on my itinerary. Mainly on if I can move certain districts to the same day or not, what order I should be doing this stuff in and what I’m missing out on. I plan on staying just in Tokyo and the general area, as I don’t want to overload myself by adding in entire cities like Osaka and Kyoto.
While there are some specific shops and parks I plan to visit, for the most part I plan on taking the approach of just getting lost and exploring the city, that way I don’t feel stressed to follow a list and abide only by that. With that said, here’s what I’ve got so far.
**Oct 15th: Arrive in Tokyo**
* Land at HND at 1:35pm.
* Check in to my hotel at 3pm. I don’t have anything planned for this day, as I’m not sure how much of it will be spent dealing with customs, getting a pocket wifi, taking the train to my hotel etc, not to mention I’ll most likely being tired from the plane trip. At the very least, I’ll get some 7-Eleven, and maybe spend some time at Hama Rikyu Gardens, since it’s a 14 minute walk from my hotel.
**Oct 16th: Kichijoji**
* Inokashira Park
* Sunroad Mall
* Sometime Jazz Club
* Garage 50 Pizza
* Giovanni Kichijoji
**Oct 17th: Shibuya**
* Yoyogi Park
* Shibuya Sky (10am)
* Downtown Shibuya
* Underground Mall
* Various stores, such as Project 1/6, Toy Sapiens, and Loft Shibuya
**Oct 18th: Akihabara → Nakano Broadway**
* Asukayama Park (Morning, first stop)
* Akihabara Radiokaikan
* Yodobashi Camera Akiba
* Tamashii Nations Store
* I’d like to go to a Maid Cafe while I’m here, but I’m not sure which one would be good for me, as I know next to no Japanese.
* Nakano Broadway, specifically Mandarake Special 5 and Daily Chiko
**Oct 19th: Odaiba**
* Sengakuji Temple. I specifically would like to see the graves of the 47 Ronin.
* Diver City
* Statue of Liberty
* National Museum of Science & Innovation
* Fuji TV Headquarters
**Oct 20th: Yokohama**
* Sankeien Gardens
* Shomyoji Temple Shimin no Mori
* Chinatown Street Food Tour
* Gundam Factory. I have tickets to view the life sized Gundam at sunset.
**Oct 21st: Tamagawa**
* I’m mainly going here for the Tamagawa Fireworks Festival. I don’t have tickets for specific seats, so what would be a good place to view them? And what would be some good places to visit while I’m here?
**Oct 22nd: Asukasa**
* Sumida Park
* Nakamise Dori
* Sensoji Temple
* Tokyo Skytree at 7pm
**Oct 23rd: Mt. Takao**
* I’ve never been hiking before, so I plan on taking the cable car half way up and doing Trail 1 the rest of the way to the peak.
**Oct 24th: Departure from Tokyo**
* Check out from hotel at 11am, head to Haneda and wait for my flight back home which is at 5:15pm.
1 comment
Nakano Broadway and Kichijoji are close to each other. Maybe plan to do those two together. Akihabara is on the other side of the city, closer to Asakusa than to Nakano Broadway.
For the Tamagawa Fireworks, we usually watch them from a pedestrian overpass on a big highway nearby. We don’t go to the official grounds because we don’t want to spend an hour walking 500 meters to the nearest station. If you’re going to go there by train, it’s not far from Shibuya, so perhaps combine the two into one day.
As for Takao, it’s not taxing at all. Our child walked (all the way) up on his fifth birthday.