I land tomorrow at 3pm, and I’m trying to make the most of the short time I have available the first night. I am staying in Asakusa and was planning to see Senso-Ji and Nakamise by night. I understand most shops will be closed, more just want to walk through and see Senso-Ji and the street lit up.
I also do not have a chance in my itinerary to visit Akhibara. Sundays seem like a good day because the streets closed (though again, by the time I potentially get there the streets will be open again) so I’m wondering if I can potentially squeeze it in before I head to Asakusa and check in. I’d lock my bag at Tokyo station (pick it back up tomorrow since I’ll be going to Tsukiji in AM) and spend 2-3 hours in Akhibara. I’m not a huge anime fan but mostly just want to stroll through, grab dinner, maybe a drink at some of the themed bars before heading up to Asakusa.
Is it feasible to do both when I land? I will be sleeping on my flight so not worried about being tired or jet lagged, I’m a fairly seasoned traveller who likes to keep a busy itinerary so I can power through it, just curious if its worth it to go straight to check in and hang around Asakusa, or try to squeeze Akhibara in before hand.
Thanks!
7 comments
Haneda or Narita? Haneda, if you go to Akihabara first you might get to see it with the streets closed and somewhat lively, then head to Asakusa. Narita, no chance and wouldn’t even bother with Akihabara then as most stuff is closed/died down by 7pm-8pm anyway.
I was around Senso-ji around 6 PM and most of the shops were closed. But I enjoyed walking around it as there were less people and the sunset made good lighting for photos. However, I think there are some bars and restaurants along the sidestreets that may be open.
In my experience, there’s 0% chance you do anything on your first day other than land, get situated with WiFi, pasmo, yen, travel to your hotel, check in, put your bags away, get food from a conbini, and pass out until morning.
I landed at Haneda at 4pm and got a burst of energy that lasted until I checked into my hotel and I was out for 12 hours. Second time I landed at Narita, took a bus to Tokyo station, metro to Asakusa, got food, checked in, fell asleep.
People on here always try to do things on their first day and I don’t see how it’s possible. I’m sure some people have shorter flights than my ~12 in the air, but it’s still a grueling morning even if you tried to sleep on the plane. You may have a different experience, but I found that sleeping on day 0 and then ensuring I wake up at 7am on day 1 to do something is the best way to avoid jet lag and make the best use of my time.
If you want to do something in the evening, shinjuku or roppongi will be best destinations
If Narita, take the Keisei Sky access train direct to Asakusa and go drop your luggage at the hotel.
Then go to Akihabara, stores will close at 8pm, so if you want to see anything in the stores, you have to go before that, after arcades will still be open. If you want to go to theme bars, better know before where you want to go as they would likely all be on upper floor of some random buildings.
If you do not care about stores being close in Nakamise, you can go to Senso-ji anytime. And if you stay close to Asakusa, you can go any day.
There are direct trains from both airports to Asakusa, I wouldn’t go through the hassle and make a detour. You can still go to Akihabara after checking in and seeing Senso-ji, if you must. Although most things in Akihabara will close at 20:00. (The huge Yodobashi is open until 22:00).
Tbh there’s nothing special about the street being closed in Akihabara; it just means you and the hundreds of people around you aren’t crammed on the sidewalk.