Hi all, I am going to Japan next month with a few friends. I have been 3 times before, with one time being a \~3 month Study Abroad program in Hiroshima while I was in college. We are initially going in a group of 4, and 2 of those 3 friends have been before already. We are then meeting 2 other friends in Osaka, both haven’t been before, and doing things together for the most part but will be splitting up for our own excursions. We are planning on traveling VERY light, as in a single backpack, and if we need more clothes or anything we’ll just buy more there. Then when we get to Tokyo is when we’ll do most our shopping and buy a duffle bag or suitcase to take stuff back.
Most of these things are planned based on what ***I*** specifically want to do there. I’ve asked the group many times to look up things they would want to do as first timers, but they pretty much just said they’ll follow whatever I wanted to do. xD Problem is, I’ve already done all the touristy things in the big cities and don’t want to repeat too much. 3 of us are in a local band together and so we will be checking out a lot of music stores in Tokyo as well as hopefully a live house in Shimokitazawa.
**November:**
**12** \- The 4 of us will arrive together at 6:50pm at Kansai airport, activate JR passes(purchased before price hike), and take a train to Kobe, get there around 10 or 11pm. Walk around Harborland if anything’s open, but it’s a Sunday night, so maybe just get to our Airbnb and sleep.
**13** \- Arima Onsen in the morning from Kobe, Taikou no Yu opens at 10am. Then back to Shin-Kobe station and take Shinkansen to Fukuoka for the night, walk around Canal City/Tenjin areas. Our Airbnb here is sort of a base camp for our Kyushu exploration.
**14** \- Kushida jinja and Tochoji in the morning, take train to Nanzoin mid morning, and then Dazaifu for the rest of the day. Back to Fukuoka at night, probably go to the LaLaport mall. I wanted to see Komyozen-ji in Dazaifu, but saw it was closed temporarily. Does anyone know when it will be re-opened?
**15** \- Tachiarai Peace Museum in Kurume and Yutoku Inari Shrine. This is kinda a weird day, but these are two things I really wanted to see for whatever reason. Maybe visit Takao if we have time, then back to base camp.
**16** \- Day trip to Nagasaki or Kumamoto, still haven’t decided. I’ve been to Nagasaki before and saw most the major stuff there.
**17** \- Leave for Hiroshima early. Miyajima for the day. Maybe Mitaki-dera if we have time – this was my favorite spot in the city when I was staying there, I highly recommend to go there if anyone’s in Hiroshima. Meet some friends in Hondori at night, then check in to Airbnb.
**18** \- Peace Museum and Bomb Dome in the morning, then travel to Onomichi and walk through a bunch of temples and through Neko Alley. Stay for the night.
**19** \- Ferry to Kousanji in the morning, then back to Onomichi and finish the temple walk. Travel to Osaka later in the day, Himeji Castle on the way if we have time but it closes at 4pm. This evening is where we will be meeting the other 2 friends at Kansai airport. One friend is arriving pretty late at night, 9:40pm. Are the trains still going to be running from Kansai to Tennouji at around 11 or so?
**20** \- Two of our group are going to USJ this day. Our Airbnb is a few minutes walk from Tennouji, so the other 4 of us will start there and go to Keitaku-en and Isshin-ji, walk through the Tsutenkaku area and up to Denden Town, shop around there for a bit and maybe go to Namba Parks mall, ending up at Dotonbori later in the evening.
**21** \- The rest of the group wants to do Osaka Castle and the aquarium, I want to take a solo day trip to Ise, is it best to go through Nagoya via the Shinkansen and take the Mie line to Ise? TeamLab Botanical at night.
**22** \- Himeji castle if we missed it earlier in the trip. If not, Sumiyoshi Taisha and Natural History museum or other Osaka things. Travel to Kyoto in the evening.
**23** \- Lots of walking this day. Kiyomizudera and surrounding area early to avoid crowds. Walk up through Higashiyama and to philosophers path, hitting a bunch of temples and shrines along the way. Kodai-ji, Chion-in, Konchi-in, Nanzen-ji, Eikan-do, Reikan-ji(if open), Anraku-ji, Honen-in, Ginkaku-ji. IF we don’t get to all of these, it’s not the end of the world. I saw mixed things online that Reikan-ji is only open for a few weeks in the year and it should be open during this time, can anyone confirm?
**24** \- Fushimi Inari in the morning or night to avoid crowds. I want to do my own thing while the others do some of the other big touristy things like Kinkaku-ji. I’ll probably try and get a reservation for Koke-dera, and probably do the Aquarium and Rail Museum after.
**25** \- Some of the others want to do Nara, so I will take a day trip around Lake Biwa, doing Aga shrine, Kampo Museum, and Hikone Castle. Any other recommendations around the area?
**26** \- Shinkansen to Tokyo early morning, stop in Hamamatsu to see the Musical Instrument Museum. Check in to Airbnb and probably Shibuya or Shinjuku at night.
**27** \- Kadokawa museum in Tokorozawa when it opens, stop on way back at Kichijoji station and walk to the Hard Off nearby(has a lot of music gear), Nakano Broadway, Ochanomizu music stores or Akihabara rest of day.
**28** \- Teamlab Planets in the morning when they open, then for the rest of the day Ochanomizu or Akihabara – whichever we didn’t go to the day before. Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, wherever for the night.
**29** \- I’m a turbo weeb and want to visit Ooarai for the day because of Girls und Panzer. The rest of the group will do Asakusa, Meiji-jingu, Harajuku, or something like that. There are a lot of places I want to see in Ooarai but does anyone have recommendations?
**30** \- Ueno museums, then later in the day go to Shimokitazawa. **I need help here**\- I see that there is a show at Shelter on this day. Here’s a link: [https://www.loft-prj.co.jp/schedule/shelter/264588](https://www.loft-prj.co.jp/schedule/shelter/264588)
I looked up these band’s music and I definitely want to see it, but I am getting many mixed messages about tickets reading online. It says e+ on this webpage, meaning you need an account with a Japanese phone number to get a ticket? Some people have said you can walk in and buy a ticket if the show isn’t sold out from online sales. And some have said you can only get tickets in advance and not at the door. **Should we just try our luck and show up early?** This is the only thing in the itinerary that I have not told the rest of the group about yet because I didn’t want to get hopes up if it’s not possible.
**December:**
**1** \- Day trip to Kamakura and Enoshima. Back to Ikebukuro at night, some members have expressed a pretty strong interest in the Muscle Girl Bar xD *BUT* I hear that they are moving soon, does anyone know where to and if they’ll be open by this date?
**2** \- Our flight departs from Narita at 5:05 pm. We have to check out of our Airbnb by 9 am, what can we do this day that won’t be too much of a hinderance because we’ll have our luggage with us.
And that’s the plan for now! Thank you for reading this far. I would really appreciate some help with information on Shelter in Shimokitazawa. I also want to get a Gochuincho and start collecting stamps, something that I should have started years ago but found out way too late. Do book stores sell them, or only at temples/shrines?