Got a trip me and my gf got planned for this month. Would love to hear some last second feedback from you guys.
Our top priority is food (in particular street food). We’re digging into tabelog/social media for recs, but we are taking hearing that quality is everywhere and rather just let meals happen wherever we’re hungry and check tabelog for what’s nearby. Although we may grab an omakase reservation. We are also interested in strawberry patches!
2nd priority is shopping (we are bringing an empty checked bag just to bring stuff back). On the radar is fashion/streetwear/thrifting, denim, watches, camera stuff, JJK merch etc. We have an emtpy duffle just for stuff to bring home!
Also we skipped Kyoto since I’ve already been and this vacation we wanted to take easy rather than jam pack everything. We definintely plan to come back to Japan!
**Rough itinerary:**
**Day 1-4 – Tokyo, staying in Shibuya**
Day 1 – Landing 5pm local time. Grab a bite along Nonbei Yokocho
Day 2 – Roam Harajuku shops as much as jet lag allows, Shibuya Sky, maybe Omoide Yokocho for food, Golden Gai bars at night
Day 3 – Ghibli Museum tickets at 1pm, Nakano Broadway on the way back for watch/gadget shopping. Maybe Meiji Jingu when we get back? And/or thrifting in Shimokitazawa
Day 4 – Tsujiki Fish Market, then roam/shop around Ginza and Akihabara, Rooftop drinks – Prince Gallery Hotel (did a college capstone project using this building as inspiration and always wanted to see it)/*any others rooftop bar recs?*
**Day 5 – 6 Osaka for the weekend**
Day 5 – train to Osaka. Staying right next to Dotonbori for some street food/roaming. TeamLabs Osaka reservation at 6pm
Day 6 – Nara Deer Park during the day. Tenjinbashisuji Shopping Street, then Airbnb Experiences bar/food crawl at 6pm-9pm around Kita
**Day 7 Hakone**
Train from Osaka to Hakone around noonish
Splurging on a private onsen @ Senkyoro
**Day 8 – Hakone Mountains, back to Tokyo**
Might check one of the museums but tbh may just enjoy the onsen while we got it.
JDM car rental & tour with Fun2Drive. Got a ’01 R34 GTR for the whole day. Should finish about 5pm, then bus to Shinjuku
**Day 9- back to Tokyo, TBD where**
Was going to do Shinjuku most likely for convenience (bus will get in around 8pm @ Shinjuku bus station), but gonna play it by ear in case there’s a different neighborhood we want to stay that we didn’t get to in our first leg. Probably shop around and check out a strawberry patch.
**Day 10 – Tokyo/Fly Out**
Late evening flight so going to drop bags off at the hotel and getting one last lunch nearby before heading to the airport