Hello, I am nervous and excited about our(me and spouse) to Japan for the first time. We are leaving Saturday and I have some questions along with my days below, specific dates with \* I am referring to. Any feedback on my days is also welcome, I appreciate all advice.
​
Sunday (Oct 15th )
• Arrive in Haneda in Afternoon
• Pick up transportation cards , going to use Ubigi esim for network.
• Check-In: Sunshine City Prince Hotel
• We probably will just explore around sunshine city and Ikebukuro area for the first night if we have any energy.
Monday (Oct 16th )
• Meiji Jingu & Yoyogi Park
• Harajuku
• Shibuya Crossing – Hachiko and nearby stores
• Shinjuku – Kabukicho
• Tokyo Metro Gov Building
Tuesday (Oct 17th )
• Ueno Park
• Akihabara
• Asakusa
Wednesday (Oct 18th ) \*
• Teamlab Planets Museum in the morning
• Afternoon / evening free time, explore some other areas of tokyo. Any recommendations for some lesser trekked places?
Thursday (Oct 19th ) Tokyo – Hakone \*
• Shinjuku-Hakone Yumoto station \* I would like to take the romancecar if possible, can I book these at Shinjuku station during my trip or do I need to get them before?
• purchase hakone pass
• Hakone Loop
• Check-In: Hakone Suimeisou
Friday (Oct 20th ) Hakone – Kyoto
• Hakone Open Air Museum
• Hakone-Yumoto station – Kyoto Station
• Check-In: Comfort Inn Kyoto Shijo Karasuma
• Nishiki Market
• Dinner in Pontocho
Saturday (Oct 21st )
• Explore Southern Higashiyama area
• Kiyomizudera Temple
• Kodai Ji Temple
Sunday (Oct 22nd ) \*
• Fushimi Inari Taisha
• Possibly combine day trip with Nara here\* Is this too much in one day?
Monday (Oct 23rd )
• Explore Arashiyama area
• Hozugawa Riverboat Cruise
• Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
• Tenryuji Temple
• Arashiyama Monkey Park
Tuesday (Oct 24th ) Kyoto – Osaka
• Kinkaku-ji Temple in morning
• Kyoto station – Shin-Osaka Station
• Check-In: Kamon Hotel Namba
• Dotonbori
Wednesday (Oct 25th )
• Minoh Falls
• Osaka Aquarium
• Shinsekai
• Umeda Sky Building
Thursday (Oct 26th ) \*
• Himeji Castle or Nara Day trip here\* (if not possible on 22nd)
Friday (Oct 27th ) Osaka-Tokyo
• Shin-Osaka Station – Shinjuku
• Check-In: Henn na Hotel Tokyo Haneda
• Nakano Broadway for some final shopping
Saturday (Oct 28th ) Depart
• Depart from Tokyo in the morning
\*Looking for recommendations on areas to explore the 18th after Teamlab Planets.
\*Do I need to book the romancecar before my trip if I want to travel from Tokyo – Hakone? This is a one way trip for us since we are going to Kyoto after.
\*Im debating on going to Nara after Fushimi Inari, is this a rushed day or does it give you enough time to explore both areas. I will move my Nara day trip to the 26th if it is too much for one day.
6 comments
Here’s the day I’ve planned with teamlab planets-
Team lab planets- open 9AM-10pm straight bus line to
Tsukiji fish market
Art aquarium museum-opens 10AM
Explore ginza
Dawn Avatar Robot cafe 11-7pm
Tokyo imperial palace
Tokyo tower at night! After, check out zojo-ji temple
Nara and the Fushimi inari in one day is a lot even though the transport suggests it’s doable. Nara is very cool in its own right.
For the bamboo forest go as early as your body clock allows and walk into the little adjoining streets. They were some of the best things we did. Cute shops and cafes in an area that feels quiet and residential
Just have to say we might unknowingly bump into each other in line at customs. Also landing at Haneda that afternoon. Have a good trip and I’ll do my best too!
Set up your ubigi esim before you go. It was a bit of a process to get it up and running for me and it was nice that the moment we landed I could just turn the esim back on and be connected right away.
A few stops down pop by Aqua City where you’ll see the mini Statue of Liberty outside of the monorail station stop. Then Diver City Mall for the medium sized Gundam statue (Yokohama’s was bigger) inside diver city mall there’s something called Unko Museum (poop museum) on the 2nd floor. Lotsa kids but I had a hilarious time. — went to Japan for first time solo last week and pretty upset at myself I didn’t book for longer. Have a great time!
Instead of picking up transportation cards I would just add the Suica card to your mobile wallet. It was a lot more convenient for me