Hi! Its our first time going to Japan (for our honeymoon in **May**). Outside of flights it will be 20 days total in Japan. This is our Itinerary so far, I need some recommendations for a few things that I put in “bold”. First 2 days are light because its still “Golden Week” and we want to avoid crowds and just explore leisurely and relax after the long flight. We also don’t want to overwhelm ourselves with a packed program.
If you have any criticism or ideas on how to expand some days please let me know. I also left some questions at the end.
We’re mostly interested in Tokyo as its our first time in Japan and we plan to visit it again for a longer period in the future (so we can visit other places in the country).
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# Full Itinerary :
\- *Fri 3 May : \[FLIGHT\]*
* 22hrs 15min flight
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# TOKYO 4 May > 10 May
\- *Sat 4 May : \[TOKYO 1\] (Golden week)*
* Arrive to Haneda airport **(8:10 am)**
* Exchange EUR to Yen at the airport
* Get our Pasmo Passport cards (x2) + pocket WiFi from airport
* Get a travel journal (Midori Travelers) from airport
* Get our limousine bus tickets to Shinjuku Station (900-1300 yen)
* Check-in hotel (probably Century Southern Tower or any hotel in that area)(6 nights)
* Relax (probably jet lagged)
* Check nearby 7/11
* Roaming the area near hotel
* (Check conveyor belt sushi place or other food places)
* Get dinner in Omoide Yokochō
\- *Sun 5 May : \[TOKYO 2\] (Golden week)*
* Explore nearby shops and restaurants
* Go to Tokyo Metropolitan Government Tower
\- *Mon 6 May : \[TOKYO 3\]*
* Explore Kabukicho Tower and area around it
* (Food spots nearby : Mister Donut – Onigiri Shop Mama – Yakiniku Washino)
* Go to Golden Gai in the evening
\- *Tue 7 May : \[TOKYO 4\]*
* Go to Harajuku
* Check Tokyu Plaza
* Explore Takeshita Street (eat crepes at Marion Crepes) + see other stores like ACDC rags etc.
* Go to Pop Mart + Vivienne Westwood + Kiddy Land (shopping)
* Go to Shibuya Scramble + maybe Shibuya Sky in the evening
\- *Wed 8 May : \[TOKYO 5\]*
* Disney Sea (full day)
\- *Thu 9 May : \[TOKYO 6\]*
* Go to Akihabara
* Go to Ueno Park (relax and explore)
\- *Fri 10 May : \[TOKYO 7\]*
* Check out from first hotel
* Put luggage in a coin locker
* Explore Sensō-ji and area around it
* Kurasushi (sushi place)
* Go to Don Quijote + Tokyo Kimono Shoes
* Walk to Skytree + go to Ghibli Store
* Kirby Café (if we get reservations)
* Spend the night in a love hotel **(need recommendations)** (1 night)
# OSAKA 11 MAY > 14 MAY
\- *Sat 11 May : \[OSAKA 1\]*
* Bullet train to Osaka (buy bento boxes)
* Check in Cross Hotel (2 nights)
* Explore area **(open to suggestions)**
* Go to Umeda Sky Building
* Eat bunch of food in Dotonburi
\- *Sun 12 May : \[OSAKA 2\]*
* Go to Sumiyoshi Temple in early morning
* Explore area **(open to suggestions)**
* Go to Teamlab Botanical Garden at night
* Get dinner in Dotonburi
\- *Mon 13 May : \[OSAKA 3\]*
* Check out from Cross Hotel
* Explore Shinsekai + Tsutenkaku
* Check in Liber Hotel Universal Studios (or any other universal hotel) (2 nights)
\- *Tue 14 May : \[OSAKA 4\]*
* Universal Studios (full day)
# KYOTO 15 MAY > 18 MAY
\- *Wed 15 May : \[Kyoto 1\]*
* Check out from hotel
* Bullet train to Kyoto
* Check in Cross hotel Kyoto(4 nights)
* Attend Aoi Matsui Festival/parade (reserve seats online if possible)
* Explore Pontocho
* Ramen Sen No Kaze/ Yakiniku Hiro (food places)
* Check Nishiki Market on the way
\- *Thu 16 May : \[KYOTO 2\]*
* Go early morning to Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine
* Maybe go to Tofukuji then Yasaka in the evening
\- *Fri 17 May : \[KYOTO 3\]*
* Day trip to Nara (Todaiji – Nara park – Naramachi)
* Monks on the moon (food place)
* Return to Kyoto
\- *Sat 18 May : \[KYOTO 4\]*
* Go to Bamboo Forest (early morning)
* Explore Gion
* Panel Cafe (food place)
# TOKYO 19 MAY > 23 MAY
\- *Sun 19 May : \[TOKYO 9\]*
* Check out from hotel
* Take bullet train back to Tokyo (buy bento boxes)
* Check in Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku (or Gracery Hotel – **open to suggestions**)(5 nights)
* Go to Sunshine City + Animate
* Explore area around it
\- *Mon 20 May : \[TOKYO 10\]*
* Go to Ginza
* Dr Martens – Uniqlo etc (stores)
* Pokémon Café (if we get a reservation)
* Go to Roppongi
* **(Any other suggestions?)**
\- *Tue 21 May : \[TOKYO 11\]*
* Go to Harry Potter Studio Tour
* **Explore area around it? Any suggestions for the rest of the day?**
\- *Wed 22 May : \[TOKYO 12\]*
* Go to Kichijoji Honcho
* Get a minimalist tattoo **(need tattoo shops suggestions in Tokyo)**
\- *Thu 23 May : \[TOKYO 13\]*
* Gotokuji Temple (early morning)
* Shimokitazawa (explore vintage / retro stores etc)
* Check whatever is left in Shibuya in the evening (Nintendo store + one piece store etc) + use the rest of our coins on gacha etc
\—————————————————————————————————————————————————
\- *Fri 24 May : \[FLIGHT\]*
* Check out from hotel
* Flight is **9:40 am**
* Check souvenir shops + return pocket wifi etc
* Go home
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# Questions
1. What pocket wifi should we get? (we re not interested in E-sims, as we have a lot of devices and we want to avoid having to rely on mobile hotspot)?
2. Is it okay to book hotels later in January (3 months in advance)?
3. Is there any private couples onsen (that allows tattoos) and that we can fit in our schedule?
4. We’re interested in spending 1 night at **Momji-ya Annex Kawa No Iori (Kyoto)** \- can we fit it in our schedule or leave it for next trip?
5. For some reason we can’t find any room for **Liber Hotel Universal Studios** , is it actually booked or are we just too early?
6. Is there any recommendations for nice clean love hotels and how do you book them?
7. Any recommended good walking shoes I can order online?
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7 comments
Each to their own but your first 3 days in Tokyo are extremely light in terms of activity and going places. Like you’re are going to harajuku and leaving out Meiji jingu?!
Also you don’t need a bullet from Osaka to Kyoto, the express is cheaper and takes less than 30 mins
Lovee the program!!! Thank you for sharing it 🩷
Bullet train to Kyoto from Osaka is not worth the price. You can just take the local express train from Osaka station for a third of the price.
Lot of people prefer to get yen from the ATM instead of exchanging physical money. As you have time, you can also shop around in your home country and exchange it when the rate is better and where it offer the best rate.
Hotel usually have check from at 3pm, so you might only be able to drop your luggage if you get earlier.
Harajuku is not a morning spot for the stores as they open at 10-11 am, go to Meiji-jingu shrine if you get there earlier.
Same for Akihabara, store do not open early, so Ueno first, if Akihabara, go to Kanda-myojin first.
Asakusa and Ghibli are not near each other, makes more sense to do Ghibli and Shinjuku on the same day.
Why wait to book hotels? If they are open for booking, I would when I have my airplane ticket. Some only open booking 3 months in advance, to check look if there is spots available for December or January.
Private onsen do not care about tattoo, but you are not really going in places known for onsen.
Just load Suica electronically on your phone. You will need an AMEX card. Don’t do the exchange counter just use an ATM. Cheaper and no line.
Why not send your bag straight to Osaka from Tokyo? Many hotel provide a luggage shipping service with Yamato courier. We used it multiple time when travelling between Tokyo and Kyoto and it was so convenient. It normally arrives next day so it would be there when you arrive to Osaka.
Osaka day 2 if you’re going to be in Umeda I’d check out pokemon centre and nintendo store, also hep 5 building ferris wheel?
Osaka day 3 I’d check out abeno harukas viewpoint if you’re into that as it’s kinda in same direction as teamlabs.
For tokyo you can check out Mori tower viewpoint or Tokyo tower. I would also recommend kappabashi street for buying kitchen supplies if you’re into that.