How is it that trips always seem ages away and then before you know… the online check-in reminder comes and you’re zipping up your suitcase?
I posted an itinerary check while back and got some helpful advice, but a lot has changed since then, so I thought I’d post again just to check on one big thing that’s weighing on me now – skipping Osaka.
It’s my family’s very first time in Japan and we’ve been sort of saying this whole time that we’d hit what others have called the “beginner course”, aka Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka. Initially, we were going to spend maybe 4-5 days in Tokyo, then head to Kyoto for another 3 days before finishing the trip in Osaka. After that, we decided to extend our stay in Tokyo for a few days just to make sure we really hit everything we wanted to without having to rush too much.
I’m in charge of the itinerary, and after all the planning I think we should just skip Osaka and focus on seeing Kyoto, but my dad isn’t so hot on that idea (his pals have all given their 2 cents worth and told him Osaka is a **must see**). Even if we did have time, we’re not interested in going to USJ and none of us have any strong desire to experience nightlife, at least, not together as a family of 4.
With the itinerary I have now, I don’t see the point in forcing ourselves to hit Osaka just to cross it off the list, but I’d also love some advice on whether anything I have on my Kyoto itinerary is skippable.
Please feel free to also give any comments/reports on anything else on the itinerary – is it too relaxed? Reading through this sub has been so incredibly helpful in the planning – hope to be back soon with a trip report!
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**DAY 1**
* 7:30am – Arrive at Narita Airport
* Collect Welcome Suica
* Head to our hotel in **Ginza** to drop off our bags
* Shopping/lunch in Ginza
* Dinner at Zakuro
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**DAY 2 (90% chance of rain on this day)**
* **Shibuya**
* Scramble Crossing
* Shibuya Sky
* Tower Records
* Mega Donki
* **Shinjuku**
* No firm plans, just exploring the area depending on how bad the weather is
* Early dinner / rest ahead of the next day’s early start
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**DAY 3 (Day trip to see Mt Fuji)**
* 7:30am – Highway bus from Tokyo Station to Fujisan Station
* Hang around **Kawaguchiko**
* Might do some cycling to Oishi Park depending on how my parents are feeling that day
* 3:00pm – Catch the bus back to Tokyo station
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**DAY 4**
* **Asakusa**
* Imado Shrine (I want to get a goshuin)
* Senso-ji
* Nakamise-dori Street
* Kappabashi Dougu Street
* Might head to Kanda Shrine on my own for another goshuin
* Explore the neighbourhoods and slowly make our way to Kita-no-maru Park
* Dinner
* Dad and sister have an omakase reservation at Sushi Mizukami
* Mum and I will see what we feel like eating for dinner on the day
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**DAY 5 – Somewhat of a rest/relax day**
* Early morning visit to Tsukiji Market
* Free time to do some cafe hopping/visit a coin laundry
* Lunch:
* A friend got mum and dad a reservation at Tempura Kondo
* Sister and I want to eat duck ramen at Kaminarimon, or we may try joining one of the endless queues to eat gyukatsu
* Rendezvous after lunch to check out **Harajuku**
* Dinner in Harajuku / the surrounding areas
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**DAY 6 – Last full day in Tokyo**
* Early morning/coffee walk in and around Meiji Jingu
* Shiro-Hige’s Cream Puff Factory (I know the cream puffs are average, but my sister really wants to go!)
* **Shimokitazawa** for thrifting and cafes
* Dinner at Hachibei in Roppongi
* Ending the day with the Roppongi Hills German Christmas Market
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**DAY 7**
* Explore Oedo Antiques Market for a bit
* Train down to Kyoto – most likely we’ll reach around 3pm
* Drop our bags at our hotel in **Pontocho**
* No big plans for the evening as it’s a Sunday and I understand a lot of things may be closed, so we’ll probably just explore the area
* Early night ahead of the next day’s early start
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**DAY 8**
* 6am – Head to **Arashiyama** to see the bamboo forest before the crowds
* Tenryu-ji
* Lunch and shopping near the train station
* 2pm: Sagano romantic train ride (Mum was very keen as she loves trains)
* Head back from Kameoka
* Stop by Kinkaku-ji before it closes
* Free and easy for dinner
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**DAY 9**
* Early morning visit to Kiyomizu-dera for some peaceful meditation
* Kimono rental
* Explore **Gion**
* Lunch at Yamamoto Menzou (hope we can get a table)
* Yasaka Shrine
* Hanamikoji Street
* Shopping around Sannenzaka
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**DAY 10 – Last full day before we leave**
* Early morning hike at **Fushimi Inari**
* Brunch/coffee in the Inari area
* Back to the hotel to freshen up
* Late-ish lunch at Nishiki Market
* 3pm: Dad and sister head off for a whiskey tasting tour in Gion while mum and I explore **Philosopher’s Path**
* 5pm: Dinner at Monk
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**DAY 11**
* Still deciding if we should make a trip to visit the Rinkutown outlet mall, or if we should just spend our final morning doing any last minute shopping/exploring around Kyoto
* By 2pm we have to be at KIX to check-in (in anticipation of long lines)
* 5pm – flight home
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And that’s it! I feel like we’re hitting a lot of places that first-timers tend to prioritise. Should I pack things in a bit more in Kyoto or skip anything and do a day trip to Osaka instead? I feel like what I’ve got down is realistic once you factor in crowds, transport time, etc. but I’d really love to hear about everyone else’s experiences.
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Happy to receive feedback/recommendations/advice always!
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\[Edits are for fomatting.\]
17 comments
This seems like a reasonable itinerary, but I feel like you are missing out on some great Tokyo sites such as:
Imperial Palace. While you can’t go on the main grounds its still a cool area to walk around, and the East Garden which you CAN enter has free guided tours with interesting historical facts and depending on the time of year beautiful trees and flowers. It’s also near Tokyo Station which is a beautiful building on its own and home to tons of shopping. You can also see the Diet Building (Japans version of Congress or Parliament).
Tokyo Tower and Zojo-ji Temple – South of the Palace area and IMO more interesting than Skytree. A classic bit of the peaceful temple and an iconic landmark
Meiji-Jingu park and Meiji-Jingu shrine – Near Harajuku I’d really recommend adding it when you visit that area.
You might want to consider adding the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Tower/Zojo-ji on your Day 4, and spend a little less time In Asakusa. Maybe start at Tokyo-Tower/Zojo-ji, then the Imperial Palace, then head to Asakusa for lunch and site seeing.
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Rinku-town is totally skippable IMO. It’s just a regular old outlet mall, same as. you can find anywhere. Almost entirely shops you can find in any major western city.
Instead of shopping at Rinkutown, go to Teramachi in the morning and do your shopping there. Or actually do it some other day so you pack your stuff properly….
Keep Osaka
Reduce Kyoto time
Go to Hiroshima /miyajima for the day
Regarding the gyukatsu – it’s sold at tons of places, 99% of which won’t have any longer lines than normal restaurants. It’s only the ones popular on social media that get jammed
Looks pretty good to me. I would keep a open mind with the plans for the day and be prepared to skip and swap things if you need. You might end up more tired than you think.
The good thing about staying near pontocho in Kyoto is that you’re super close to sanjo station, which has an affordable, direct and super nice train to Osaka, in town, near Dotonbori. So if you want an adventure, it’s easily available.
Sounds good. Skip Rinkutown.
Honestly, if you’re not doing USJ, or interested in clubbing, a day – two max – in Osaka will do you. Go to Dotonbori, eat some takoyaki, okonomiyaki and kushikatsu, check out Osaka Castle if you’re into history and that’s pretty much it. Kyoto is much richer in history and it’s perfect to hop around to Nara for a day trip.
Osaka is one of those cities I would tick off a list and not go back again unless I wanted to bring the kids to USJ (which we’ve done). Next time we’re spending more time in Kyoto and Tokyo.
Welcome to Japan!
I recommend you to try the Michelin star French restaurant “florilege” for dinner in Harajuku. It is modern French foods with Japanese ingredients. But it is really popular restaurant so need to book much in advanced.
https://www.aoyama-florilege.jp/
I’d probably suggest to do a night trip in Osaka instead of day. You’re already in Kyoto, might as well spare a night to visit Dotonbori and see Glico Man there. Maybe day 9?
I live in Osaka. I really don’t like it. If it wasn’t because of “life” I would’ve moved back to Tokyo long time ago.
With that said, many people find Osaka way more relaxed and chill, which I do think is true but the vibe in Osaka is vastly different than most cities in Japan.
Osaka is the “don’t give a f*ck” city of japan.
Nightlife is dope tho. But! Since you’re here with family that might not be your thing.
Has a good music scene as well.
About day 3, you could stay longer in kawaguchiko. I took the bus back to Tokyo at 6pm
I’d recommend to stay in Kyoto for longer, but go to Osaka as a day trip from there. Go to the Kyoto sights early in the morning or in the evening to avoid the crowds and do Osaka and Nara during the day.
Osaka is a great place to visit and does offer a lot – and that comes from someone who considers it the worst of the big cities in Japan.
You can literally take a shinkansen down to Osaka from Kyoto for dinner and come back in time for bed, just to have a look-see-feel around the dotonburi area. Unless you are planning to “explore the city” there isnt much tourist checkpoint to visit.
Like some said, osaka is a much chiller tokyo, the people and city feels more relaxed compared to tokyo. Kinda feel like the people in tokyo will say “Hello” while osaka says “Hey”
>Early morning visit to Kiyomizu-dera for some peaceful meditation
Sorry to double comment but this made me chuckle a little
We were there at 7+am and there was already a 5 minute queue at the ticket counter to enter the main shrine. By 9am we could hardly walk pass sanenzaka/ninenzaka without bumping into someone every 3 seconds. We even missed the pagoda which was right infront of us the whole time because it just too crowded (only realised there was a pagoda when we came back at night).
There are several other shrines in the kiyomizudera temple complex area which IMHO looks more photogenic and have much less visitors.
Been to Japan three times before, going on my fourth this Jan. Your trip overall sounds reasonable, even a day trip to Osaka imo is not worth it. You have different things set out for each day, there’s a lot to explore. I always tell myself there’s a reason why people go back to a country multiple times. I’d rather have a quality experience than quantity. FWIW, I’ve visited Osaka on my first trip doing the typical beginners visits, stayed four nights and wasn’t as intrigued or satisfied like Kyoto and Tokyo had provided. I haven’t been back since . .
Osaka is a worse version of toyko. Don’t bother.
Dump the time in Kyoto or hiroshima/miyajima
I see you’re going to Tower Records in Shibuya, and if you’re a dedicated record/cd collector like me, you might want to check out some of the other excellent shops in Shibuya for more of the same. Disk Union, Face Records (two locations), HMV, Big Love Records (closer to Harajuku station), etc. Too many shops but such great collections.