Hi everybody,
My partner and I are both in our mid-20s are from the US and will be visiting Japan for the first time. As some background information, when traveling, our general rule is that if we could get the same experience going somewhere as we could just looking at a picture of it we’ll probably skip it. In general, we are hoping to make the most of the food scene, do some shopping, and allow ourselves to get immersed in the places we go instead of jumping from one spot to another.
We would love to hear if you feel like we will be extending ourselves too much, or if any activities might slot nicely into our schedule. We are also very open to joining a walking tour or food tour but haven’t booked any, if you have any recommendations please let us know!
We will arrive in Osaka on January 11 after spending a few days elsewhere in Asia, so the jet lag shouldn’t be as drastic as a direct flight from the US.
Day 1 (January 17): Osaka
* Arrive at Kansai Airport around 5 pm, ship our large bags ahead to Tokyo
* Get to our hotel to drop our bags, then head out to Dotonbori and the surrounding area to explore and have dinner. I am excited to try okonomiyaki and saved Ajinoya Honten and Chibo as options
Day 2 (January 18): Osaka/Kyoto
* We don’t have a lot of plans in Osaka so will probably leave for our new hotel in Kyoto early in day
* Explore Gion District
* Nishiki Market
Day 3 (January 19): Kyoto
* Suntory Brewery tour (already booked around noon)
* **We are considering taking a couple of hours to visit Uji this day but not sure if it would be a good use of time**
* Kiyomizu-dera (is the consensus here that this would be best after dark?)
* Kodaiji Temple
Day 4 (January 20): Kyoto/Yokohama/Tokyo
* Leave in the morning to take the Shinkansen to Yokohama
* Chinatown, Cup Noodle Museum **(We have a reservation for the Chicken Ramen Factory, can anybody who has done this let us know if it is worth the hour and a half? Also, this seems like a very family-oriented place, would it be odd for the two of us to be in this exhibit?)**, Minato Mirai **(If time permits, this isn’t a priority)**
* Take the train to our hotel (near-ish Shinjuku) and find dinner depending on the time we get in
Day 5 (January 21): Tokyo
* Shibuya & Ginza to do some shopping and general exploration
* **In Ginza we are considering seeing an act at Kabuki-za, has anybody done this and found it to be a good/bad time? We each have minimal Japanese knowledge but are still considering it**
Day 6 (January 22): Tokyo
* DisneySea
Day 7 (January 23): Tokyo
* **This day is pretty open, we are thinking about going to the Tokyo National Museum as well as touring around the Japan National Stadium, would love to hear any thoughts on these places**
Day 8 (January 24): Tokyo
* **Another open day to explore or hit any places we missed or want to revisit, let us know if there are any glaring holes of things to do this day or the day before!**
* Our flight leaves around 5 pm from Haneda Airport to head home
We really appreciate any help or perspectives on this, thank you!
