Hi y'all! I finally caved and bought my plane tickets to Tokyo for late October this year. I'm super excited, but in need of some help making this trip really count!
My interests: trinket and figurine gathering (genuinely a big driver for this trip was the gashapons alone), and vintage gaming and similar, specifically Nintendo/Pokemon/Tamagotchi. I am also really interested in hiking and the outdoors, landscape photography, and outdoor exploration.
Budget: Mid-range, around $3000 for one person.
Current Draft of my Itinerary (Oct 29 – Nov 8th)
Oct 29 – Arrival
- Arrival in Narita at 4:00 PM. Figure out logistics (wifi, money exchange, etc.) Check if airport has the Nintendo controller gashapons (!!)
- Check into hotel
- Explore area around hotel and make sure to stay out until 9PM or so to avoid jet lag
Oct 30 – Akihabara day
- Tokyo Character Street
- Taito Station/arcades
- Shop at: animate, mandarake, lashinbang, surugaya
Oct 31 – Shibuya exploration
- Nintendo store & Pokemon Center Shibuya
- Kiddy Land
- Visit the Hachiko StatueÂ
Nov 1 – More general Tokyo exploration
- Tokyo Skytree
- Pokemon Center (maybe)
- TeamLabs Borderless; I've heard mixed things. Is it worth $40 to go if I don't plan on taking pictures of myself?
- Gashapon no Depato Ikebukuro (huge gashapon store)
Nov 2. Lake Kawaguchiko & Fuji 5 Lakes area
- Kawaguchiko Music forest (about $15 admission; worth?)
- Mt Fuji panoramic ropeway/hike
- Photography and hiking; hoping to catch some autumn colors!
Nov 3 – Tokyo free day
- chill day to explore or revisit areas!
Nov 4 – Travel to Osaka OR second Tokyo free day
Here's one of first big decisions I'm having trouble with. I can either spend more time in Osaka, plan a day trip from Osaka (I was thinking Okayama or a national park like Ise-Shima), or spend more time in Tokyo. Does Osaka need an extra day all to itself, or would my time be better spent somewhere else?
Nov 5 – Osaka
Osaka aquarium
3-4 hour excursion to Nara park (worth the time just for the deer?)
Nov 6 – Kyoto Day Trip
- Fushimi-Inari hike (3 hours)
- Arashiyama and Togetsukyo Bridge
- Monkey Park
- Nijo Castle
*** Does this seem reasonable, accounting for travel time from Osaka to Kyoto?
Nov 7 – Osaka shopping/nightlife
- Book-off(s)
- Mega don QuixoteÂ
- Den Den town
- Namba nightlife exploration past sunset
Nov 8 – Depart from Narita in the afternoon
TL;DR of my questions: Is teamlabs borderless worth the hassle & price? Is the Kawaguchiko Music forest worth taking time to do? Should I have a second flexible/free day in Tokyo or commit to a day trip from Osaka? Is Nara worth it if I just want to see the deer and outdoors? And is my Kyoto itinerary doable/enjoyable?
Thank you for reading this far!! I really appreciate all the time this sub takes to help out folks with their travel plans. If you decide to take the time to help me out, I really really appreciate you! I hope you have a good day 🙂
by limehateater2