Hello!
My husband and I (both 28) are planning a 10-day trip to Japan and I wanted to get a bit of a gut check on the itinerary I put together. Each day is a rough idea of what we want to see, but I know we may not be able to get to everything.
If there’s anything I missed or anything that I have on here that isn’t worth seeing, please let me know! **Also, based on our itinerary, do you think we will need to purchase JR Passes for the both of us?** I tried to do the rough calculations for how much transit will cost, and based off that we would save money *NOT* buying them, but what do you all think? Is it just easier to purchase the JR Pass?
We are also still undecided on what area to stay at in Tokyo and Kyoto. We are thinking of Shinjuku for Tokyo and not sure about Kyoto.
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* **Thursday, March 28th – Travel Day / Arrive in Tokyo**
* Arrival Time: 3:10pm @ NRT
* Pick up pocket wifi
* Pick up Suica Card and/or JR pass before leaving the airport
* Pick up cash from ATM (¥50,000 / $350)
* Check in to hotel and drop off luggage
* Head to get some quick food before going to bed
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* **Friday, March 29th – Full Day Exploring West Tokyo**
* Shibuya
* Shibuya Crossing
* Hachiko
* Tokyu Hands
* Meiji Shrine
* Misc. Shopping
* Plan to eat lunch in this area
* Harajuku
* Takeshita Dori
* Yoyogi Park
* Takeshita Street
* Tokyu Plaza
* Togo Shrine
* Wego
* Shinjuku
* Omoide Yokocho
* Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
* Shinjuku Gyoen
* Eat dinner in this area
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* **Saturday, March 30th – Full Day Exploring East Tokyo**
* Asakusa
* Sensoji Temple
* Kaminarimon Gate
* Nakamise Dori
* Sumida Park
* Tokyo Skytree
* Ueno Park
* Akihabara District
* Yodobashi Akiba
* Explore all the shops
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* **Sunday, March 31st – Day Trip to Kamakura, Hakone, or Nikko**
* Ship large luggage to next hotel? Pack overnight in carry on
* Still unsure which to go to. Leaning towards Hakone to see Mt.Fuji. But I read that if it’s cloudy that day, don’t bother going, thoughts?
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* **Monday, April 1st – Travel to Kyoto/Explore Kyoto**
* Leave early in the morning (\~7am) and take bullet train to Kyoto
* Nishiti Market for lunch
* Kiyomizu-dera
* Jisho-ju
* Uji
* Hokan-ji Temple
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* **Tuesday, April 2nd – Morning in Nara/Afternoon in Kyoto**
* Nara
* Todaji Temple
* Nara Park
* Wakakusa
* Kyoto
* Bamboo Forest
* Kinkaku-Ji
* Gion
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* **Wednesday, April 3rd – Spend the day in Osaka**
* Take train to Osaka
* Fushimi Inari
* Yasaka Shrine
* Nijo Castle
* Toji
* Osaka Castle
* Umeda
* Dotonbori
* Shinsaibashi
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* **Thursday, April 4th – Universal**
* Check out of hotel and drop luggage off a Ryokan
* Spend the day at Universal? Unsure if this is what we want to do yet – if there is more of Kyoto to see or we should break up one of the previous days into 2, let me know!
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* **Friday, April 5th – Morning in Kyoto/Afternoon in Tokyo**
* Spend the morning in our ryokan/eat breakfast there
* Check out and head back to Tokyo
* Drop off luggage at hotel
* Tsukiji
* Ginza
* Akihabara
* Shimokitazawa
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* **Saturday, April 6th – Spend Morning/Afternoon in Tokyo. Leave for home**
* TeamLab
* Gundam Base Tokyo
* Head to airport around 5pm