A friend and I will be visiting Japan next May for 14 days/13 nights. Neither of us has been there before; we’re also both vegetarians, which I know will make things a bit challenging. When it comes to vacation itineraries, I’m very much in the quality over quantity camp when it comes to doing things and not feeling rushed. I also try to minimize traveling and switching hotels as much as possible, even if that means visiting fewer locations overall.
I’m also not a stickler for sticking to an itinerary – I think spontaneity and random encounters are among the most fun parts of any vacation. In any case, based on what I’ve said above:
* Does it seem like we’ll be spending too much time in Tokyo and not enough time in other places for first-time visitors?
* Anything that you’d recommend I’d include and/or drop from the itinerary? For example, dropping the Osaka day trip and spending one more full day in Kyoto.
* Does anything seem too ambitious or unrealistic?
Thanks a bunch in advance. 🙂
**✈️ Day 1 – Tokyo (Saturday, May 11)**
* Land at Haneda at 3:55pm.
* Take the monorail or train to our hotel in Shinjuku. (I’m looking at staying at the Hotel Sunroute Plaza.)
* Grab dinner somewhere nearby, walk around for a bit depending on how we’re feeling, and call it an early night.
🗼 **Day 2 – Tokyo (Sunday, May 12)**
* Visit Yoyogi Park and Meiji Jingu in the morning.
* Explore and grab lunch in Harajuku.
* Head to Tokyo City View in Roppongi around sunset.
**⛒ Day 3 – Tokyo (Monday, May 13)**
* Visit Shibuya in the morning.
* Spend the day exploring/shopping/eating.
* Swing by the Hachiko Shrine and Cat Street.
* Maybe do some kind of food tour?
**🛍️ Day 4 – Tokyo (Tuesday, May 14)**
* Visit Akihabara in the morning.
* Head to Asakusa in the afternoon and visit Senso-ji + check out the other sights.
**🎎 Day 5 – Tokyo (Wednesday, May 15)**
* Visit teamLab Planets in the morning.
* Head to Imperial Palace in the afternoon.
**♨️ Day 6 – Hakone (Thursday, May 16)**
* Take Romancecar from Shinjiku to Hakone in the morning.
* Chill, walk around/hike, go to onsen.
* Stay in a ryokan once I find one that will accommodate vegetarian meals.
**🏞️ Day 7 – Hakone (Friday, May 17)**
* Visit the Hakone Open Air Museum.
* Take a ride on the Hakone Ropeway.
**🌸 Day 8 – Kyoto (Saturday, May 18)**
* Leave for Kyoto in the morning and arrive around lunchtime.
* Visit Nijo Castle.
* I’m looking at staying at TOKYU STAY Kyoto Sanjo-Karasuma because we’ll be able to do laundry there.
**⛩️ Day 9 – Kyoto (Sunday, May 19)**
* Visit the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine in the morning.
* Walk the Philosopher’s Path around midday.
* Explore Gion around dinnertime.
**🏯 Day 10 – Kyoto (Monday, May 20)**
* Leave for Osaka (day trip) in the morning.
* Visit Osaka Castle.
* Explore Dotonbori.
* Return to Kyoto in the evening.
**🦌 Day 11 – Kyoto (Tuesday, May 21)**
* Leave for Nara (day trip) in the morning.
* Visit Nara Park + do other touristy things.
**🚅 Day 12 – Tokyo (Wednesday, May 22)**
* Leave for Tokyo via shinkansen in the morning.
* Explore Ginza in the afternoon/evening.
**❓ Day 13 – Tokyo (Thursday, May 23)**
* This is a freebie/make-up day.
* Do anything that we’ve missed out on or want to check out before leaving.
* Take some kind of tour.
* Visit Tokyo DisneySea. (I’m not a Disney fan, but tickets seem surprisingly cheap + visiting an amusement park in a foreign country has always seemed interesting to me.)
**✈️ Day 14 – Tokyo (Friday, May 24)**
* Do last minute exploring and shopping near the hotel in the morning.
* Depart from Haneda at 5:15pm.
7 comments
You can fairly easily do Fushimi Inari and Nara in the same day, assuming you start early enough (day 9). For day 11, you could start with Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) -> Philosopher’s Path -> Gion district -> Kiyomizudera (or you could do it in reverse!). Kiyomizudera was really busy late in the day when we visited, it might benefit from arriving early.
On Day 4, beware that a lot of the shops in Akihabara don’t open until fairly late (like 11, I think?) so a morning visit may not work out. I’d reverse this, do Asakusa / Senso-ji in the morning.
For Day 5, note that depending on the day and time you may not actually be able to do all that much except see the outside of the Imperial Palace, it’s not open to visitors. If gardens are at all your thing, the Hama Rikyu gardens were nice when visited in spring (though by the time you get there I’m not sure what specifically will be in season – the cherry trees we saw will be long finished by mid-May).
If it were me, I’d do at least one more night in Kyoto. You really only have a day and a bit in Kyoto, given your day trips, and it is one if the finest cities in the world.
Swap a day or two from Tokyo and spend it in Osaka or Kamakura.
I would have added in Osaka and done some day trips to Hiroshima and the surrounding area (floating shrine). It is absolutely breathtaking. Also Universal Studios Japan is an absolute hoot. Osaka is also the food capital of Japan.
Just saying that I’m currently in Japan with a vegetarian and it’s not easy
Instead of Disney Sea, which is not really in Tokyo and is (I understand) always jammed, consider going to either Korakuen or Hanayashiki, both smaller amusement parks in central Tokyo. Hanayashiki claims to be the oldest one in Japan, and Korakuen is near a lovely garden.
I’ve been a vegetarian for all of my 30+ years in Japan. I will recommend soba restaurants and other traditional Japanese restaurants. (**N.B.:** *Tempura* is not a traditional Japanese food and is often made with seafood; even if you order only vegetables, they’ll have been cooked in the same oil in which seafood has been cooked.) Vegetarianism is not well understood by many people, and you’ll find lard (ラード), geletin (ゼラチン), and chicken ‘extract’ (エキス) used in the most mundane foods, such as cakes, potato chips, and ice creams. Our family most often takes along a picnic lunch when we go out. As you’re not going until May, I’d recommend learning the Chinese character for meat (肉) and how it’s written in combination with other words.
If you should decide to not spend the night in Hakone, be aware that there are *onsen* that you can go in to without staying the night. There’s a nice one within walking distance of Hakone-Yumoto Station we have gone to a few times.
Finally, be aware that Tokyo is a city that opens late: expect most shops to open at the earliest at 10. Places like Akihabara have many places that don’t open until 11 or later. It’s also an early city: many shops close at 7 or thereabouts.
I was in Tokyo last week Tuesday until today
Day 2 is perfect imo, I didn’t go to Harajuku or Roppongi but Yoyogi and Meiji Jingu are more enjoyable to take your time.
Day 4 you should flip the schedule do Senso-ji in the morning, Senso-ji gets busy fast. I was there at 10:30am on Thursday and it was busy. Depends if you need tons of pics or if you don’t like crowds.
I just arrived in Osaka so can’t give other tips or comments.