I will be visiting Japan this mid to end of November for the first time and looking forward to seeing the Autumn foliage! Please throw in critiques and suggestions especially for transportation and Kyoto autumn illumination/temples. We are in our early/mid twenties so we don’t mind a busy schedule.
Interests: Food, cultural experiences, shopping, nightlife
Day 1: Arrival at Tokyo at 2pm – Metropolitan Government Building, Dinner at Shibuya (Bebu-YA reservation), Golden Gai
Day 2: Tokyo -Asakusa (Nakamise Dori, Senso-ji, Kappabashi)
-Akihabara (Radio Kaikan, Gigo Arcade)
Day 3: Hakone – Depart at 8am, Hakone Open Air Museum, Hakone Ropeway, Hakone Shrine
Day 4: Kyoto – Depart to Kyoto at 10am, Nishiki Market, Kiyomizudera Temple autumn illumination at night
Day 5: Kyoto – Depart at 6am to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Sagano Romantic Train, Hozugawa Boat Ride, Menbaka Ramen, Philospher’s Path, Eikando autumn illumination at night
Day 6: Kyoto – Depart at 6am to Fushimi Inari, 9am Tea Ceremony at Gion with Maikoya, Nijo Castle, Dinner at Pontocho
Day 7: Osaka – Depart to Osaka at 10am, lunch at Shinsekai, Umeda Sky Building, Yodobashi Camera, Dotonburi(Hozenji Yokocho, Misono Universe), Club hopping (Ghost, Giraffe, Owl, Pink, Club Joule)
Day 8: Tokyo – Depart to Tokyo at 1pm – Travel Day
Day 9: Tokyo – Depart at 5:45am to Tsukiji Fish Market, Team Labs at 9am, Ginza, Tokyu Kabukicho Food Hall for dinner
Day 10:flight home
Transportation within city:
Tokyo-Suica (Apple pay, I successfully added money into it using an AMEX credit card)
Hakone-Suica
Kyoto-Kyoto Subway and Bus 1 day pass
Osaka-Suica
Shinkansen Transportation within perfectures:
How far in advance should I reserve the bullet trains within smart-ex.jpn website?
We did not get the JR pass since it will cost more.
We will also be staying in Shinjuku and would appreciate nightlife suggestions besides Bonobo.
Many thanks in advance!
3 comments
Seems like some shops do not take metal cards or tap pay so probably just be aware of that and have either cash on hand or a physical card to slot into the card machines, if you are buying things from stores
Your Tokyo schedule looks fine. I am not sure I’d recommend making more meal reservations than you have already for Tokyo: the city has literally scores of tens of thousands of restaurants, the vast majority of which are good to excellent. You will have many to choose from at any time and in almost any place. (Bebu-ya, for example, looks expensive and, while it’s well rated on Google, is listed at only 3/5 stars on the most popular Japanese-language restaurant-review site.)
You can get discounted pricing for the Shinkansen tickets now; the website allows user to book tickets 1 month in advance.
I believe it’s about 10 – 15% cheaper for Nozomi Shinkansen normal and green car tickets from Shin-Osaka to Tokyo if you reserve it at least 3 days before the ride.