Hi everyone,
I’m having a rough time planning out the Tokyo portion of our upcoming trip. There’s just so much we want to do in what feels like not nearly enough time. I would love any suggestions on how to plan this out better. Tickets have already been purchased for Disney Sea on the 22nd. We could possibly shift that to the end of our trip (April 2nd). Gundam Factory is a must do before it closes. Ghibli museum is a strong want (dependent on if we score tix). Open to doing one of the TeamLabs although I’ve already booked the Botanical Garden one in Osaka. Other than that we are fairly flexible. Main concerns are if we’re spreading ourselves too thin with the day trips and whether we have enough time in each area to max out our priorities? I had originally planned to do Kamakura in the morning before heading to Yokohama, but we’ll be seeing lots of temples an cultural sites in Kyoto and we don’t really have much time in Tokyo so I think we’re going to omit that this trip. My man an I are opposites. He likes tech, gaming, anime and is into more cooked food and I like cultural sites, spa treatments, nature, and love sushi. Trying to find a balance between the two.
Proposed Itinerary
Wed March 20th – Land around 2:50pm. Rest of the schedule depends on how fast we get out of airport.
6pm – Check into hotel in Chiyoda City. Freshen up
7pm – Have dinner somewhere near hotel. Is it worth staying in this area for dinner the first night? Not too familiar with it. Should we go somewhere else? We want to turn in early.
9pm – Head to bed
Thursday March 21st – Schedule will depend on how early we wake up.
6:00am – Head to Shinjuku.
6:30am – Explore Meiji temple
7:00am – Explore Yoyogi Park
8:30am – Breakfast at Sawamura or if later, Mr. Farmer
9:30 am – Train to Ghibli Museum (Aware of when tix go on sale)
10:00 am – 12pm – Explore Ghibli Museum (Can move this a little later if needed)
1:00pm: Lunch at Toriyoshi-Kichijoji
2:30pm: We have 3 options.
1. Head back to hotel and relax, then grab local dinner before heading to DisneySea area hotel
2. If not tired, head back to Shinjuku and explore more and then head back to hotel later to grab bag before heading to DisneySea area hotel.
3. Pack overnight bag and bring with. Leave at Shinjuku station while we explore. Then leave by station near Ghibli while we explore. Then head to Ginza area in the afternoon after lunch (halfway between Ghibli and DisneySea hotel), leave overnight bag in nearest station. Explore and have dinner, then grab bag and head to overnight hotel near Disney Sea.
I’m leaning to option 3 as its less back and forth, but it also means being out all day with the only breaks on the trains. My husband is adamant about staying overnight near to DisneySea so we’re not wasting time on the train. Shuttle is 8 min from hotel. We do not have Happy Entry unfortunately).
9:00pm – Check in at hotel and go to bed
Friday March 22nd
Disney Sea all day until we drop. Plan to arrive at 7:15am and queue up. Put overnight bag in locker upon arrival. Grab before leaving and catch train back to Chiyoda City to main hotel. Dinner TBD
Saturday March 23rd
Really not sure how to plan this day out, but we want to head to Yokohama around 3pm or 4pm. Plan is to do Red Brick if there early. Gundam Factory for 5:20 show. Chinatown for dinner and cocktails at Bar Placebo. Head back to Tokyo around 8 or 9pm. Looking for suggestions for early morning/lunch time in Tokyo, preferably areas we haven’t seen yet. Maybe Tsujiki market for breakfast?
Sunday March 24th
I was thinking East Tokyo all day for this day. Start off at Ueno Park or Senso-Ji Temple? End at Akihabara Electric Town? My guy is into everything Geekdom (anime/gaming/tech) so this would be a day for him to go nuts. Was thinking cultural stuff in the morning to ease into the day but open to other ideas. I have a lot of things saved on Google Maps for these areas but not sure if this part of Tokyo warrants a whole day.
March 25th – April 1st we’re in Hakone/Kyoto/Osaka. Hakone 1 night, Kyoto 5 nights, and Osaka 1 night. (I have a firmer itinerary idea for those dates so not posting that here as just looking to get feedback on the Tokyo leg for now.) Then we return to Tokyo for the tail end.
April 1st: Fly from ITM and land at Haneda at 11:40am. Carry on only (forwarding luggage from Kyoto). Hotel for next two nights is 5 minutes away from Haneda airport. This will probably be a day of
s h o p p i n g.
April 2nd: Last full day in Tokyo to catch anything key we’ve missed. Based on the above itinerary I’d love recommendations on how to spend this day. Should we return to Shinjuku/Shibuya and end the night in Golden Gai? Or explore more South Tokyo? This day should be a few days after peak Cherry Blossom blooming for Tokyo. I’d love to make it to Meguro River at some point during the day, either very early or later in the evening when it’s lit up.
That’s it. Thanks for any input!
by Nietzsches-Whore