Hi all its my first time going to japan and im a bit overwhelmed about the planning. Im probably missing a lot so just let me know what i should add. This is what i have, let me know if its all right and feasible! Thank you!
Saturday in osaka:
– osaka castle
– shitennoji
-gokuraku-jodu garden
– dontobori
Sunday in osaka:
-Umeda sky building (if possible)
– namba yasaka jinja
-Shinsaibashi-suji
Monday:
Go to nara for half day.
– nakatanidou
– nara park
– todaji temple
Tuesday in kyoto:
– arashiyama bamboo grove
– tenryu-ji
– arashiyama rilakkuma tea house
– kitano tenman-gu
– castle nijo
– imperal palace
– hotel break
– around 16:30 fushimi inari-tasha if possible
Wednesday in kyoto:
– kiyomizu, sannenzaka etc
– hanamikoji street
Thursday tokyo:
– Arrival checkin
– explore around akihabara station
Friday in tokyo:
– shibuya
– shinjuku
– omoide yokocho
Saturday in tokyo:
– tsukiji market ( at what time can i visit earliest?)
-hamarikyu garden
– ginza
– hotel break
– imado shrine (closes at 5pm or visit next day)
Sunday in tokyo:
– any recommendations?
–
Monday last day :
Day to shop no planning.
7 comments
For your Monday trip to Nara and your Tuesday note about Fushimi Inari, I’d suggest combining those into the same day. You probably don’t want to be at Fushimi Inari at that time due to crowds. Also, the Nara line is a straight shot from Fushimi Inari. We did this comfortably in a single day, starting early at Fushimi Inari and then pressing on to Nara. Assuming you don’t go to the top of Mt. Inari like we did (and which I don’t recommend), then an hour and a half is probably enough there.
For Tokyo, I didn’t see Asakusa at all on your itinerary. If so, that’s a shame. Senso-ji is great. There’s some wonderful shopping and eating at both Nakamise leading up to Senso-ji and the nearby streets between Asakusa and Ueno.
We went to Akihabara on Sunday, as I’d heard it was more pedestrian-friendly that day. I’m not sure where all your planning to go, but I’d recommend Super Potato if you’re at all into video games. It’s a hit of nostalgia for sure if you played any of the older consoles during your childhood.
On a more general note, embrace the planning as part of the fun but know in advance that you’ll make changes when you’re there. We had to cut things for a number of reasons, including lack of interest or energy, lack of time, or poor/imcomplete planning. We still had a great time and accepted that a trip of this scale is inevitably going to leave you feeling like you didn’t get to it all.
Move some of your itinerary in tuesday to
wednesday
I think your missing the Asakusa and Sky Tree area for Tokyo. Your shopping can either be done at Sunshine City or Diver City Tokyo tower (with a stop to Teamlabs)
Your Tuesday Kyoto day is so much stuff, I don’t think you’ll do it all. You want early mornings for both Arashiyama grove and Fushimi Inari, both are intolerably crowded by 10am and don’t even get me started on the afternoons.
Skip Osaka castle. It’s a concrete recreation. The much more impressive himeji castle is only a short train ride away.
> unless you can go there super early, skip Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. You can look up alternatives in Kansai or Tokyo. Cant even take a decent pic there because there are people everywhere especially now it’s peak season. And honestly, it’s just… bamboo… 👀
> Go to Inari Taisha in the morning where you have your energy the most bec… stairs… and more stairs.
> if you’re hanging around Akihabara, I can’t recommend Tonkatsu Marugo enough. Just try it. There’s a bit of a queue and even local frequent it. Also move this on a Sunday!!!! They close the roads for cars on sundays and it’s just quite nice to walk around that way.
> if you have an extra day (or the tokyo madness overwhelms you) you might want to have day trips outside Tokyo, like around Chiba (the outlets are over here), or explore Saitama (Seibu 1-day Pass), or the usual touristy one is the Hakone day trip
PS. this should already be a given but download the Navitime app as early as now so you know which pass to use and see the travel time from one location to another
Your Kyoto day will be jam packed and I believe some of those places are spread out and not walking distance so if you’re okay with walking that will be an exhausting day. You can use Taxis but that will add up.