Hello all looking for feedback on my itinerary. Traveling between June 16th to the 2nd of July.
Day 1
Arrive to Tokyo at 3:20 PM
Planning to pick up a pocket WiFi and JR pass for my wife and I.
Will likely pick a hotel around Shinjuku and find a bite to eat at night.
Day 2
We are early risers and will wake up early to visit Senso-ji to beat the crowds.
Tokyo National Museum and Ueno Zoo (is this possible to do between 9:30 AM and 5 PM?)
Visit Ameyoko and/or Akihabara
Day 3
Book a tour to the Mt. Fuji area
Day 4
Tokyo Disneyland + DisneySea (Is it possible to do both in one day?)
Day 5
Get up super early to see Meiji Jingu, Yoyogi Park, Harajuku, Mugiwara Store, Shibuya Sky (hopefully at sunset)
Cap off night at Shinjuku Golden Gai
Day 6
Tsukiji Market, Imperial Palace, Uniqlo Ginza, Tokyo Tower
Day 7
Bullet train to Kyoto (do most hotels offer the service to ship your luggage to your next hotel? If so does your luggage usually arrive on time)
If not tired walk around and visit Nijo Castle
Day 8
Fushimi Inari (very early), Starbucks Kyoto Nineizaka Yasaka Chaya, Kiyomizu-dera, Philosophers path, Higashiyama Jisho-ji
Day 9
Nara Park, Kofuku-ji temple, Todai-Ji
Day 10
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Monkey Park Iwatayama, Kinkaku-ji
Day 11
For now I plan to take the bullet train to Osaka everyday from Kyoto. Should I change that and stay in Osaka?
Shitenno-ji, Osaka Castle, Umeda Sky Building
Day 12
Osaka Aquarium, Namba Yasaka Jinja, Pokémon Cafe, Dotonbori
Day 13
Universal Studios
Day 14
Kyoto back to Tokyo by bullet train (if I stay in Kyoto)
Relax a bit and visit the tower in Kabukicho
Souvenir shop
Day 15
Visit a restaurant that we won’t mind making a line for
Teamlab planets (I heard it’s going away)
Joyopolis
Souvenirs
Day 16
Leave for the airport
Is it worth getting the JR pass for me? And what are some things you would recommend seeing or leaving/substituting on the list. Or would you rearrange something?
Many thanks!
3 comments
Day 2: on a weekday Ueno Zoo is okay. I went on Nov 10 (Friday) and it wasn’t too bad with a couple of children doing field trips only.
Day 9: Easily doable. I saw all of those even getting there around 2pm since my friend overslept that day
Day 10: Probably okay but be aware Arashiyama is so busy, maybe if you go early. It’s a big area so you may want to do more activities around there tbh.
Day 12: Pokemon Cafe reservations gave to be done about a month before the day you plan to go so you may or may not be able to get tickets so keep that in mind. You can still see the Pokemon Center if you can’t get a reservation.
Day 13: If you don’t want to line up I recommend the express passes for USJ but it is quite a bit of extra money.
I would definitely use a JR pass calculator if you are planning to pick up your pass on day 1. A 14 day pass is ¥80000 now and your heaviest hitter is the RT from Kyoto to Tokyo, only ¥26000. It’s easy to do most bookings (reserved and not reserved) via the SmartEX app (setup of your account is the most finnicky part). You can also reserve seats with oversized luggage space, it’ll easily fit a 160cm check-in and a carry on behind the seat. They also have overhead racks if you have even more luggage. You might just not be able to fully recline. Having an ebikan on a longer route line is also an experience many people like.
Since you have a couple consecutive Tokyo days, I would recommend the 48 hour passes (24/48/72 hour are the options) and use the metro to your heart’s desire since it’s unlimited and pays itself off in about 4 rides/day.
If you’re already in the Asakusa/Akihabra area on evening 2, I highly recommend the Kanda shrine, specifically at night. It’s super pretty!
Imperial palace has a free tour that kicks off around 9-9:30am for the first 140 people. Just bring your passport.
Hi! I think this itinerary looks overall doable. Just a couple of answers to some of your questions:
-I find it unlikely JR Pass is going to be worth it for your trip, especially with the price increase. Just get the Suica card on your phone (so convenient for tapping on and off trains and buses!) and buy individual tickets for bullet train travel.
-Tokyo Disney doesn’t have park hopper passes like they do in the US, so you can do both in one day, but you have to buy full-price individual tickets for both parks. If you decide to only pick one, I highly recommend Disney Sea over Disneyland—especially if you’ve been to Anaheim Disneyland or Magic Kingdom in Orlando. Disney Sea is super unique and is widely considered the best Disney park in the world.
-Any hotel in Tokyo should be able to help you with luggage forwarding. Just go down to the front desk and ask. It’s very efficient and always on time, but keep in mind that it takes a day to transfer from Kanto (Tokyo) to Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto) and vice versa. So if you want your luggage to be waiting for you at your Kyoto hotel when you arrive on Day 7, you’ll need to bring it to the front desk for forwarding on Day 6. I used this service a lot on my most recent trip and it was super easy and inexpensive. I just packed what I needed for one night in a backpack, which is so much better than lugging bags around on a bullet train.
-Day 8 is the only day that makes me nervous for you, especially with how hot/humid it will be by June. I recommend doing your Higashiyama/Gion exploration the afternoon before when you get in, and not bothering with Nijo Castle, personally. That will help free up Day 8.
-I don’t think you necessarily need to switch hotels from Kyoto to Osaka, but where you stay depends on your priorities. If you wanna go out to bars and izakayas at night, stay in Osaka. If you wanna wake up early and be the first people at shrines and temples, stay in Kyoto. Neither answer is wrong, just a matter of personal preference! We stayed in Kyoto the first time and Osaka the second time and had two wildly different experiences. Both great!