Hi everyone,
I am heading to Tokyo over Christmas week before continuing onto other parts of Asia. We’re traveling as a family of 4 with two early teen kids. We’re interested in food, art, history, and shopping. In general, my family gets a little annoyed at me if I try to pack too much in without taking breaks.
Here is my initial itinerary:
Sunday (12.24)
\- Arrive at Narita in the afternoon from NY.
\- Go to hotel in Shinjuku. I figure we’ll be wiped out from the long travel day.
Monday (12.25)
\- Not sure what Christmas Day is like in Tokyo.
\- Go to Roppongi and see Mori Art Museum and observatory. Do some shopping.
Tuesday (12.26)
\- Asakusa in the morning to see Senso-Ji Temple and the Japanese Sword Museum (one of my kids likes swords).
\- Ueno in the afternoon to see the Tokyo National Museum.
Wednesday (12.27)
\- Tsukiji Market in the morning.
\- Ginza for shopping.
\- TeamLab Planets.
Thursday (12.28)
\- Meiji Jingu in the morning.
\- Walk around Harajuku.
\- Nezu Museum?
\- Shibuya Sky near sunset
Friday (12.29)
\- Akihabara for gadgets and to play some games
\- Imperial Palace
Saturday (12.30)
\- Leave from Narita
\–
Should I think about replacing/combining one of these days with a trip to Kamakura?
Is the Kusama Museum worthwhile?
Restaurant recommendations – flexible on budget.
Anything else to add/subtract?
Thanks!
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7 comments
Christmas Day is like any other day in Tokyo. New Year’s Day is the big family day in Japan, where families get together, have a special meal and exchange gifts or give money.
As Japan has no Christian tradition, it has no cultural importance and all shops and businesses will be open as usual. However, Japanese businesses do like Christmas and some places display Christmas trees and decorations.
Kentucky Fried Chicken had a really popular advertising campaign in Japan in the 1990s or thereabouts and since then, having KFC in Japan is *very* popular on Christmas Day. Many KFCs don’t take walk-in orders on the day, as they are so busy with pre-ordered meals that are picked up at pre-arranged times.
My suggestion would be to do the following (but note that in my group of friends I’m known as the Type A organizing slave-driver friend, so this might be a bit more packed than your current itinerary):
**Monday (12.25)**
Imperial Palace in the AM
Roppongi Shopping, Mori Art Museum & Observatory in the PM
Notes: They’re pretty close together and I think it would be nice to see the Palace early, have a nice stroll and then enjoy shopping in the afternoon, rather than spending all day in Roppongi. I went to Tokyo Midtown shopping complex last time I was there, and I thought Galleria had some beautiful shops selling well-curated, traditional wares if you’re into that kind of thing. Also, the Ritz-Carlton has a lounge where you can do an afternoon tea, and the view is spectacular (40+ floors up and way less crowded than official viewing decks – but obviously more pricey). The Don Quijote in Roppongi also has some funny stuff worth checking out imo!
**Tuesday (12.26)**
Asakusa: Senso-ji & Sword Museum in the AM
Ueno: Tokyo National Museum in the early PM
Akihabara: Gadgets & Games in the later PM
Notes: I think putting Akihabara with Ueno makes sense, as they’re basically right next to each other. I think Museums are also fairly chill, so I don’t think that doing some games after that would be too much. But I can see how some people might disagree! I also think that Akihabara looks so awesome when all the lights start to turn on in the PM. I don’t know how much walking you want to do, but you might consider checking out Ameyoko too, since it’s between Ueno and Akihabara.
ALSO I did want to try to clear one of your days, so that you could go to Kamakura, because I really do think it’s worth it.
**Wednesday (12.27) + Thursday (12.28)**
Both sound excellent!
​
**Friday (12.29)**
Kamakura Daytrip
Notes: I’ve gone to Kamakura every time I visit Japan, and I love it there. The vibe next to the sea is so chill, we always meet super nice people, there’s tons of delicious snacks and street foods and restaurants. The temples and shrines are absolutely gorgeous.
I’m going to check out my notes from my last trip and see if I can recommend any nice spots or restaurants as well.
In any case, have a wonderful time in Tokyo!
Harajuku has the best Daiso or 100 yen stores… great shopping fun- especially for young teens (without spending a lot lol)
If you want to efficiently explore Ginza, it’s better to visit UNIQLO TOKYO instead of the UNIQLO Ginza store. There are also MUJI, Hands, Loft, and ３Coins nearby, so you can efficiently visit these places. It might be worth checking out [Itoya](https://digjapan.travel/en/blog/id=12331), which is also close by.
I would explore Shinjuku at night until normal bedtime. After trips to Europe and Japan I’ve learned to try to resist sleeping too much out of synch with local time.
For Imperial palace, its kinda tricky to enter, you need to queue up early for their free tour into the palace, its only available twice a day, at around 10am and 130pm I think, its limited to only 140 ppl per tour, and its a very long queue, otherwise you cant enter the palace.
So its best to go at morning for the Imperial palace, and afternoon for Akihabara, because shops dont open up early in Akihabara.
For Asakusa sensoji temple, you can consider visit Skytree too, which is quite nearby and only one station away from Asakusa station.
Check opening hours before going. Monday (Christmas Day) is usually a museum holiday in Tokyo.