Kyoto or Tokyo first? Rough Itinerary Check

24 comments

1. I had seen tokyo mentioned before as being both first then last. So tokyo kyoto tokyo. Iirc it is because it will be quite overwhelming when you forst get there and you will see lots for a couple of days and have an idea of things you wish to see again or for the first time when you double back. As well the first time you may see things you want to buy that you actually buy on the second time there before you fly out.

2. I’ve never flown to Kyoto but for Tokyo, are you flying to Narita or Haneda?
   Haneda will be cheaper for transportation and less time to get to where you want to go in Tokyo.
   With cherry blossoms season, you might want to check out Tokyo first so you can catch it in Kyoto.

3. My own experience was visiting Tokyo first, then leave for Kyoto and Osaka and then back to Tokyo.
   It was nice with a change of scenery from Tokyo and both Kyoto and Osaka were cities we could feel “done” with (like seeing the sights and get a lay of the land) after a few days.

   We also planned our JR train card so that we didn’t activate it until after our first days in Tokyo, which meant we could feel free to use it during our return visit in Tokyo if we felt we wanted to go outside the city. That led to some nice spontainious trips to places we learnt of only after arriving in the country.

4. Concerning the order, if you do Tokyo round trip, I would try to keep most of Tokyo for the end of the trip, the reason being that you will not have to move all the things you plan to purchase round trip Tokyo-Kyoto.

   Even if flying in Osaka and out of Tokyo is a bit more expensive, if it is less than the equivalent of 14 000 yen more expensive (the cost of one way shinkansen ticket), then absolutely do it. It will save you time in the train and save you an accommodation change.

   And from Australia, you will not be jetlagged, there is only 1h difference between Japan and Australia. You might be tired a bit tired by the flight, but nothing more.

   I think it is realistic to do Sanjusangendo and Higashiyama (Kiyomizu-dera and Kodai-ji) on the same day.

   Kind of curious why you want to go to the Osaka Science museum. I went for a really specific reason, but if it was not of that, I am not sure I would have been there. If you don’t go, I think you can do the castle followed by Shinsaibashi in a single day. It depend where you are in Kyoto and where you go in Osaka, but the trip between the two should be more about 1h.

   You “Shibuya” day should be called Harajuku day. While yes it is in Shibuya ward, this area is called Harajuku, around there you will find place like Takeshita street, Omotesando. Realistically you can walk to Shibuya (the area around the station) from there to see Shibuya crossing, Hachiko statue, Shibuya sky. Can pass by Miyashita Park for shopping or izakaya.

   Roppongi you can consider Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, it’s a museum and observation deck

   I would get some more ideas of things to do on the Senso-ji day and teanmlab day. If this is the only thing you want to do in these area, you can check to do both in the same day and take the boat between Asakusa and Toyosu.

5. Osaka castle is a modern museum on the inside. I’d personally recommend doing a half-day trip to Himeji instead.

6. My wife and I flew for 18+ hours, landed in Tokyo, took a 2+ hour bullet train to Kyoto, then we decided to walk the last mile or so to our AirBNB and it wasn’t all that bad. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t recommend it, but it is doable. I think your idea of a few nights in Tokyo, then Kyoto for a week, then a few more nights back in Tokyo is a good idea. There’s a lot to do in both cities, but Tokyo will have more to offer you overall. There’s just so much to do there that only takes a few minutes, whereas Kyoto you can be a little more leisurley with your timing, or you’re spending a lot of time visiting shrines, temples, or hiking.

   **KYOTO**

   * Kiyomizu-dera is suuuuuper cool! There’s a market at the foot of the temple, I would recommend checking out as much of that as possible. If you like the Dragon Ball series, there’s a few shops that sell some cool Kiyomizu-dera/Dragon Ball posters and such.

   * Kyoto also has the [Philosopher’s Walk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosopher%27s_Walk), which I would recommend walking if you like the shrines and temples vibes. The Philosopher’s Walk will take you by some of my favorite temples and shrines, Hōnen-in is really nice, one of my favorites.

   * Arashiyama is definitely a must see! GET HERE EARLY! Once the crowds show up don’t expect to be able to get any really cool pics. I left Kyoto to get here around 7:30am and it was still kinda crowded when we got there around 9am.

   **OSAKA**

   * Shinsaibashi is a lot of fun, but you can get sidetracked easily here, there’s so much to do, we lost a day because we spent so much time here (that and we had been walking 10+ miles a day for a whole week at this point, and we were too tired to do anything else). There’s also a really nice karaoke joint here that I’d recommend, [Ninja Karaoke and Izakaya](https://blorg.org/osaka-survival-drinking-throwing-ninja-stars-and-karaoke/)

   * I don’t personally mind, but apparently a lot of people don’t think Osaka castle is worth seeing since it is a recreation of it’s former self, but it’s still on my to see list in Osaka.

   **TOKYO**

   * Your Akihabara day sounds heavenly, I wish I had spent that much time there on my trips. There are a lot of cool anime stores, fun arcades (sadly no more Sega arcade D:), interesting cafe’s, etc. Also, just so you know a lot of “Maid Cafe’s” can be rather predatory, so I would look online to find one that meets your expectations early, rather than going to one that is a little sketchy.

   * Animate is super cool, I could spend hours in there alone, good pick.

   * If you like anime collectibles I would also recommend checking out the GoodSmile store near there as well.

   * Please let me know how the National Art Centre is, I want to visit it next time we’re in Japan! Thank you 😀

   * Pokemon Centre’s are everywhere as well, and each store tends to have certain exclusives, so if you want a specific Pokemon item, it might be best to look and see what each store has and you might want to plan a visit to [some others](https://www.serebii.net/pokemoncenter/).

   * [Sensō-ji](https://imgur.com/a/q1YaN68) is super cool, I would recommend getting to the Asakusa area early in the morning to be able to view all the shops before they’re **TOO** busy.

   * Also, keep an eye on Teamlab Borderless, they’re supposed to close next year, but might have unexpected closures this year.

   * Lastly, if you really enjoyed Akihabara, I would recommend checking out [Nakano Broadway](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3069.html), they have a lot of really cool stalls and shops in here, including a few that sell vintage collectibles that’s really cool. BE WARNED THOUGH, Nakano Broadway is a little bit of a travel from the rest of Tokyo depending on where you’re staying, also they only have squat toilets.

   Hope all this wasn’t too much overkill, and hopefully I answered your actual question. If you have anymore questions feel free to post em, or you can message me directly if you’d like, I’ve studied a lot about Japan, and know a decent amount about the culture, language, customs, etc.

   Best of luck, hope you enjoy your trip and safe travels!

   P.S. I am in America, so if you message me and I don’t get back to you right away, well that’s why :p

7. Just my 2 cents (I lived 6 months in Japan unexpectedly due to covid, long story) but are you leaving one full day for Pokemon Center, Senso Ji and Team lab in Tokyo?

   I think realistically you can go to Teamlab early in the morning (Beat the crowds!), walk around the mall there and see the huge Gundam statues (easy to miss, but its right next to Teamlab). Senso Ji might take a lot of your day too, but its not the entire day I would say. Also, what pokemon center do you plan on visiting? I went to literally all (sky tree, sunshine city, shibuya, etc) and they’re all closed very late, so you could do this on the same day as Teamlab for example. The Pokemon center in Kyoto is small, relatively centric but it has some Kyoto-specific products that you won’t find anywhere else. Team lab will take a good 4 hours out of your day and is a bit far away from where you might be staying. Going at night might be nice if you also want to catch the rainbow bridge, though.

   I may have been in Osaka much longer than I wanted to but I think you could do all that in a day. I didn’t feel going inside Osaka castle was worth it but the grounds were really nice and a cool place for Hanami if its sakura season. I concurr with another commenter, if you can make it to a Himeji day trip then Himeji beats Osaka castle, grounds and garden included. Eitherway, you can do castle, Shinsaibashi and then Dotonbori for food at night and do it all in a single day. No idea about the museum, though, as I didn’t go there.

   There’s also many huge don quijote stores in tokyo and kyoto, literally everywhere, so going to OSaka’s isn’t 100% necessary. I used to do my shopping at Shijuku’s one, but there are plenty.

   And finally, for Arashiyama, do that as early as possible. I loved walking through it without any people, later even cars showed up. It’s not as long as you would imagine, though, but its’ definitely worth the trip.

   I don’t see Fushimi Inari in any of your Kyoto days – I consider this one to be a staple AND a must-do while in Kyoto. Get there early, too.

   My trip there wasn’t much of a tourism one as I ended up staying a lot, but feel free to ask me if you have any questions about anything. My favorite place ended up being Hiroshima and I stayed there two months, after it not even being in my original schedule 🙂

8. Don’t take the bullet train round trip – waste of money and time. If you can’t get a open jaw ticket (into either Tokyo or Osaka and out of the other), then book a short flight when you depart. If you leave from Narita airport, short flights from Osaka start at $35 US, faster and cheaper than a train ticket, and you are at the airport anyway.

   Also recommend that you add an overnight or two in Hakone at a ryokan. You can ship you luggage from your Tokyo hotel to you Kyoto hotel and just take a small roller bag on the train.

9. I flew into Osaka and left out of haneida so I wouldn’t waste a day

10. I’ve been to Japan six times–I personally recommend doing Tokyo first and then Kyoto. My reasoning is that Tokyo is huge, busy, crowded, and I do a ton of walking/shopping/events there. It can be rather exhausting, so it’s nice to go to Kyoto after, where the pace is more relaxed and you can hit up some onsen, go for slower walks in the countryside, not spend quite as much money each day, etc. I’ve done the Tokyo first, Kyoto second thing a few times now, and I think it would feel weird to do it the other way, but that certainly could just be my own preferences.

    Just thought I would throw in my 2 cents! I hope you have an awesome trip when you’re able to go.

11. I might comment more but I haven’t seen this mentioned:

    If you do fly in & out of the same airport (assuming Tokyo), I would suggest planning to arrive a day before the departure just in case something like an earthquake (a smallish one) causes a [delay of the shinkansen](https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/about-us/csr/service/safety-transport/earthquake/)*. As a side benefit, you could then stop by a Don Quixote in Tokyo and load up on stuff (instead of hauling it around after Osaka).

    Granted, when I went, my original plan had Hiroshima as my last day with my flight leaving Tokyo. So that would have been a 5.5-6 hour shinkansen plus check-in time–so the timing was tighter.

    * Although link is to JR West, I would expect JR East to have similar procedures (Oaka/Kyoto<->Tokyo would be JR East trains).

12. Personally I spend a few days in Osaka, then Kyoto, then Tokyo and went back to Osaka to go back home. I loved it! I actually got very sick the first week of my travel, like incredibly sick, and I’m glad it happened in Osaka and Kyoto than taking time away from my time in Tokyo.

13. When I went in March 2020 I did your first option – a few days in Tokyo, then used a 7 day JR pass to spend a few days in Kyoto with visits to Osaka and Hiroshima on the way. I then went back to Tokyo for one night (stayed in a capsule hotel for the novelty), and flew home the next morning. This worked really well in my opinion, and I planned it so I got both the most use out my JR 7 day pass, and didn’t have to pay for a longer pass too.

14. When me and my boyfriend visited we got the plane to Narita but then a bullet train straight to Kyoto. Mind you we travelled from UK so the journey was a lot longer than from Australia and still managed to get the train but we did spend the rest of the day sleeping haha! We visited Osaka for a day trip, spent a few days in Kyoto and then train back to Tokyo for our last week. I just wanted to be in Tokyo on the last day because we would be heading back to Narita airport again

15. I know you’re not looking for this advice but

    Please go to Nara, not too far from Kyoto.

    and while you’re in Arashiyama, go to the Monkey mountain, small hike but super worth it and beautiful area.

16. You are missing a wholeeee lot!! Add a week

17. Imo, the last option seems nicer osaka then move to kyoto, then to tokyo. That’s what I did in my last 2 visits.

    But sometimes round trip plane ticket can be cheaper if you fly in and fly out from same city. Check it out first instead of doing flying in osaka and fly out tokyo. If it is much cheaper, you can always do fly in fly out tokyo or osaka and then buy jr pass to cover the shinkansen return trip.

    Tbh, for me, I prefer osaka kyoto tokyo. After getting a lot of exercise at osaka and kyoto, you can finally have more relaxing day at tokyo (plus most likely you gonna do a lot of shopping at tokyo, but osaka is cheaper though)

    You can do don quijote at tokyo, they are everywhere, plus don quijote in tokyo is bigger (I think). Daiso also a good option for hunting souvenirs.

    Disney sea instead of disneyland?

    Imo, I would stay in osaka instead of day trip, it is very tiring to do day trip.

18. Jet lag wise. I would say Tokyo only because its easier to get around Tokyo public transit wise.

19. In terms of science museums I would highly recommend [Miraikan](https://goo.gl/maps/L4x6djT2Eapdn68d9) on [Odaiba](https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-odaiba/article-a0000132/) in Tokyo over the Osaka museum.

    – [TokyoCheapo: Miraikan](https://tokyocheapo.com/place/miraikan-national-museum-emerging-science-innovation/)

    I also agree that if you’re into aerospace you should definitely try to visit Tskuba which is the ‘Science City’ in the Tokyo area. You’d probably enjoy that a lot more and there’s a ropeway too. The JAXA visitor center there has been closed due to Covid for much of the last few years but it should be open again when tourism restarts.

    – [Tsukuba JAXA Space Center](https://global.jaxa.jp/about/centers/tksc/)
    – [Japan Travel: Tsukuba Space Center](https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/1453/)
    – [JapanTravel: Tsukuba](https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kanto/ibaraki/tsukuba-and-around/)

20. You’re not likely to be jet-lagged coming from Australia. Depending on your state and daylight savings, there should only be a couple hours difference.

    I would suggest not doing a round trip. Either fly into Tokyo and out of Osaka, or vice versa. It’ll save you a half day in travelling, and money since you’re only buying a shinkansen ticket for a single direction (you don’t need a JR pass as a result). It looks like most of your shopping is going to be in Tokyo, so I’d do that later so you’re not dragging all your purchases across the country.

    You may want to visit to Nakano Broadway. It’s also a centre for anime merch, is less crowded than Akihabara, and prices tend to be cheaper.

    For Osaka, if you find more stuff to do, I’d suggest dropping Osaka castle. The grounds are pleasant but the castle itself is a bit of a disappointment.

21. Been there done that. Here’s my recommendation

    Option #2 Fly into Tokyo, stay at least 1 night. Possibly 2.
    Get up early in am Take Bullet train to Kyoto (Literally my favorite city in the whole world.
    Get a Hotel Near the “Gion-Shijo” Station, This is quite literally the center of everything cool you want to do in the city. (This was the one mistake we made last time, and we have fixed it for our next trip).

    As for Osaka, day trips are super easy. A regular train will take 30 min to get to from Kyoto. If you have the JR Pass then you can take the Bullet train for free and it is only 15min between Kyoto and Osaka. You save a lot time not having to move hotels (You kill like half a day+, just trying to check out of one place and into another). just because you want to visit a different city. If you DO find yourself wanting to stay 1 night in Osaka, because you want to check out the bar scene (last train is at midnight), simply bring a Day bag with a change of Clothes and a toothbrush and book a cheap hotel near Dotonbori, it’ll set you back $30-40.

    Then head to Tokyo for the Back Leg of your trip and spend 3-4 days. If you time this correctly you can start your 7 day JR Pass on the back end, and it will cover your trains to Osaka, and your Bullet train BACK to Tokyo, plus cover the majority of trains you will use in Tokyo. Kyoto “does” technically have a train, but we really didn’t use it that much, we took Taxis to both Fushimi Inari and Arashiyama, it’s half the travel time and gets you there without arriving at the same EXACT time as droves of others do.

22. We was in Tokyo at 2019. In or next trip (2023 spring i hope ) we planning to arrive in Kyoto and then after 6 days we travell to Tokyo and after an other 10 day we fly home from Tokyo.

23. If shopping is your thing, then I would suggest the following:

    Plan A: Fly to Tokyo, 1 night in Tokyo (near a shinkansen line), train to Kyoto the next day (Day 1 of 7-day JR pass). On the 7th day, train back to Tokyo and enjoy the rest of your trip

    Plan B: Multi-city flight. Fly to Osaka and depart at Narita/Haneda.

24. I left Tokyo last, because we wanted to spend as much time as we wanted to and, once we have to leave Japan, we would go to the airport and didn’t spend a whole day traveling to get there.