Hello everyone! I am traveling to Japan for the first time with my brother’s family. We’re traveling from March 26th to 5th April in hopes of seeing Sakura. My brother has traveled to Japan with my sister-in-law for their honeymoon, so my nephew is joining for the first time. As my brother has a child, I plan to have some days where I have my own set of activities to do.
We are flying into Tokyo and departing from Osaka. I am intending to sleep early and wake early for the entire trip. On some days, I intend to sleep by 9pm and wake at 5am at the earliest to make the full use of my time. Food is not planned yet but I just want a rough idea if my itinerary is workable. For ease of readibility, all my questions can be all found on a tldr below.
March 26th \[Day 1\] Fly into Haneda Airport at 4:30pm. Brother to buy Suica card for himself and his son. I intend to use Apple Pay for my Suica card. We intend to buy Shinkansen tickets in advance for our trip to Osaka on Day 5. Check-in at lodgings near Tokyo Sky Tree and eat dinner nearby.
March 27th \[Day 2, Wednesday\] Explore Tokyo Skytree and go to Ueno Park to look at Sakura. In the evening, I might go to Akihabara or Sensoji. Are there any other recommended places to look at Sakura?
March 28th \[Day 3, Thursday\] We are spending most of our morning and afternoon at Tokyo Disneyland. I am aware that it is spring break so I tried to convince my brother to go earlier, but with his son, he prefers to arrive at Tokyo Disneyland at 10am. My brother does not intend to ride many of the rides on Disneyland as my nephew is only 6 years old. Anyone has any thoughts on this? I have never been to Disneyland and will make a trip to DisneySea next time.
March 29th \[Day 4, Friday\] This is a day I set aside for my own exploration in Tokyo. I intend to go to the Meiji Shrine in the morning \[est. 40mins travel time\], then walk from Harajuku to Shibuya and Shinjuku. I may meet up with my brother’s family for dinner at Shibuya.
March 30th \[Day 5, Saturday\] We leave for the Shinkansen station at 10am and to catch the 12pm Shikansen train so we can arrive in Osaka by 4pm to check in at our Airbnb. Can anyone advise if we should buy Shinkansen tickets on the spot instead of booking ahead of time?
March 31st \[Day 6, Sunday\] Day trip to Kobe to eat Kobe beef, going to the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens and Kobe Port. We intend to eat dinner at Kobe before heading back to end the day early. If I have time, I might want to go see the Kobe Earthquake Memorial Museum.
April 1st \[Day 7, Monday\] We might have a packed morning. Our Airbnb to Kyoto takes about 1h 40mins traveling time. I intend to book the Sagano Romantic Train for my nephew to enjoy, and alight near the Arashiyama bamboo grove. Getting to JR Umahori by 10am so that we can board the train at the Saga Torokko Station. If my brother feels my nephew is hungry, we would alight at the last station instead of Arashiyama. Then, we would look at the Diorama Kyoto Japan to look at trains as my nephew loves trains, then visit the Togetsukyo Bridge after Arashiyama if we haven’t. We leave Kyoto at around 4pm to go back to Osaka for dinner. Likely going to Shinsaibashi or Tengachaya.
April 2nd \[Day 8, Tuesday\] This is my busiest day. The Airbnb to Fushimi Inari shrine is 1h30mins, so I would leave at 6am to explore the Fushimi Inari shrine early in the morning before heading to Kiyomizudera at 10am to wear a kimono for 2-3 hours and explore Gion. I return the kimono at around 4:30pm or earlier and have dinner with my brother’s family in Kyoto before heading back to Osaka by 8pm.
April 3rd \[Day 9, Wednesday\] In the morning, we head to Nara to look at deer. My brother isn’t really interested in temples, but we might walk around a bit before traveling back to Osaka in the afternoon. We intend to go to Teamlabs Botanical Gardens in the evening and head back afterwards.
April 4th \[Day 10, Thursday\] This is a freer day for us to shop for souvenirs and gifts in Osaka, like Umeda, Namba… I understand Osaka is more of a food place than shopping place.
April 5th \[Day 11, Friday\] We wake early as our flight is in the morning at 11am, so we reach the airport by 8am. Can I ask if the shops at Kansai International Airport open early?
tldr; Here are my main questions:
1. Can anyone advise if we can buy Shinkansen tickets on the spot instead of booking ahead of time? My brother is afraid we might have to rush for time as we are not very familiar with Japan.
2. Should I add more places to look at Sakura in tokyo, or do so in Osaka?
3. How early should one go to Tokyo Disneyland? Will it be crowded to enter at 10am?
4. Looking at April 2nd \[Day 8\], is this itinerary doable?
5. Do the shops at Kansai International Airport open early so I can do last minute shopping?
6. I intend to buy Shiroi Koibito biscuits, but I understand that there’s another brand that’s sold exclusively in Osaka which is identical called Omoshiori Koibito, do you recommend I buy the Shiroi Koibito biscuits in Tokyo instead?
Thank you and have a good day ahead!
by Aruthea