Hi! I’ll be traveling to Japan on December 23 and I want your advice or suggestions for my itinerary (if it is somehow doable or possible.) I’ll be staying in Shinjuku, Tokyo and Umeda, Osaka. I will be taking trains and buses as much as possible. Thank you.
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Day 0
09:30 PM Arrival at Haneda Airport
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Day 1
Senso-ji Shrine
Ghibli Museum
Lunch at Ichiran Ramen Shibuya
Meiji Jingu
Shibuya Scramble Crossing
Hachiko Square
Shibuya Sky (4:30 PM Sunset)
One Piece Straw Hat Store Shibuya
Dinner at Omoide Yokocho
Explore Golden Gai and Shinjuku
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Day 2
Suga Shrine Otokodan
Yoyogi Park
Pokemon Center Tokyo DX
Lunch at Pokemon Cafe
Coffee at Owl Cafe Fukurou
Shopping and dinner at Akihabara
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Day 3
Mt. Fuji and Hakone tour (via Klook)
Dinner at Yakiniku Like
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Day 4
Shinkansen to Osaka
Hotel Check-in
Osaka Castle
Umeda Sky Building
Dinner at Ichiran Ramen Dotonbori
Explore Dotonbori & Kuromon Ichiba Market
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Day 5
Universal Studios Japan
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Day 6
Kyoto and Nara day tour (via Klook)
Dinner at Umeda Okonomiyaki Izakaya Fuwatoro
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Day 7
1:50 PM Departure from Kansai Airport
4 comments
Eh in my opinion, Ichiran is overrated especially to have twice in one trip. You can find cheaper, better quality ramen at other spots.
That day 1 itinerary is making my feet hurt. Not sure if you’re really going to be exploring golden Gai. I’m pretty sure golden gai will be exploring you at that point in your day!
Fyi: we loved ichiran. Just as good as all the other ramen we had.
>I’ll be staying in Shinjuku, Tokyo and Umeda, Osaka.
Where are you travelling from? Is this your first trip to Japan? Asking as already my concern is that you have 7 days and you’re trying to do both Tokyo and Osaka. This is giving me anxiety for you. It’s not even really 7 days, it’s 6 full days. I personally would strongly recommend you should stay in **either** Tokyo or Osaka or you’ll feel like you’ve got so much left to do in both locations. Just my opinion.
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>Day 2
Given you’re arriving in the evening the day before and I’m unsure where you’re travelling from or if you’ve done trips like this before (in terms of distance, time zone, etc.), I’m unsure if it’s worth highlighting the potential to factor in jet lag and any issues with trying to cover this much ground on your first real day. To put it this way, this was our third trip and our third time visiting Akihabara. We expected a short, pop in just to do some shopping. We easily spent 5 hours (if not more) **and** ended up back there another day to do a bit more shopping for another couple of hours.
You also need to factor in travel time between. Shinjuku station itself is HUGE (and if you’ve never been there before, easy to get lost in. Many of the stations with these big shopping centres under/around them are similar, but Shinjuku – IMO – is one of the worst for this but it also makes it one of the best for connections). For example, it’ll take you 15 minutes MINIMUM to get from Shinjuku station to your first destination **not** including time getting to the station or waiting for the train to arrive (or if there are any delays – which seems to have been more common on this past trip from my experience vs previous trips). That’s if you’re taking the train. If you decide to walk it’s over a half hour (from the station as not sure where in Shinjuku you’re staying at and if it’s a quicker walk from there). Then it’ll be about 30-40 minutes minimum to get from your first location to your second location if you choose the train (from location to location, not train travel time) and just about 45 minutes (minimum) walking. Without jet lag, this all will add up. With jet lag, I don’t envision this being fun.
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>Day 3
Again, this feels too stressful and compact. Hakone alone can take days to really explore and enjoy. I would ask – not to be a jerk but in a genuine way – are you looking to really get a feel for these areas or are you looking to just tick things off a list of “been there”? because you’ll definitely get to tick the list but you certainly won’t get a good feel for somewhere like what Hakone has to offer and still make it back in time to enjoy dinner the same day. I personally would skip this altogether. Trip to Fuji if you’re really wanting it – fine – but I wouldn’t try to do Fuji & Hakone in a full day (even if it’s offered as a tour package). Just my opinion from having really enjoyed the days I spent in Hakone, this will not do it justice.
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From reading days 4 until you leave, I would strongly ask why you are bothering with Tokyo? Why not fly into and out of KIX and just spend all your time in that part of the country? Going to Tokyo feels like a massive waste of time and money. You’re barely getting to experience Osaka and Kyoto and the days at the start you’re using in Tokyo/Fuji/Hakone could go back to Osaka and Kyoto (which will still be a push, IMO). Again, if this isn’t your first trip or you’re travelling somewhere from close by like South Korea, it makes sense.. but if it is and you’re coming from further afield, I’d strongly urge you to reconsider.
Owls are nocturnal wild animals. Nothing to do with Japan and extremely unethical.