My wife and I are finally going to Japan on November 6 for 9 days (kids staying home with grandparents too!). Probably should have posted this weeks ago, but does this seem doable/enjoyable, or too much. As a first-timer, it’s hard to not want to do everything even though I know I should plan more slow “leisure” time.
Yes, many things are touristy, but it’s our first time and we are tourists…
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Day 1 – Arrive to Narita around 5:00 and just go to hotel in Toranomon Hills. May find something to eat nearby or eat at hotel. Sidenote: is the Narita Express pretty easy to use to get into the city?
Day 2 – Walk Kyosumi Garden**,** Fukogawa Edo Museum**,** Tokyo Skytree**,** Asakusa and Senso-ji temple
Day 3 – Imperial Palace, Meiji Shrine, Harujuku area, Shibuya, Ramen Street, take a break in afternoon and switch to hotel in Shinjuku -> Golden Gai area for dinner/drinks at night
Day 4 – Day trip to Hakone – Hakone Ropeway, maybe lake cruise (is this cool, or just super touristy?), open air museum, onsen
Day 5 – Back in Tokyo: teamLab Planets, Akihabara area, street mario-karting
Day 6 – Bullet train down to Kyoto -> Nara: Deer Park, Todaiji Temple, Sake Tasting, back to Kyoto to stay at ryokan
Day 7 – Kyoto: Arashiyama, Bamboo Grove, Golden Pavilion, Fushimi Inari, maybe a tea ceremony
Day 8 – Wander Kyoto in morning – > Bullet train up to Tokyo
Day 9 – Open morning in Tokyo (maybe Odaiba area for Toyosu market) and back to Narita for 5:00pm flight
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Does this seem like too much? Or like we’ll be on subways all day?
I’ve been debating making dinner reservations in advance for some nice Tokyo restaurants, but thought maybe it’s better to just find food nearby when hungry vs going out of the way restaurants that I planned in advance.
Any recommended alterations?
4 comments
Narita Express will drop you at Tokyo Station, but also consider the Keisei Skyliner which is cheaper. I would just use Google Maps to find the best route to your particular hotel.
Day 3 – looks a bit packed, i would personally drop the Imperial Palace and start the day with Meiji Shrine and Harajuku, then go to Shibuya, then rest + head to Shinjuku.
Day 4 – Touristy can still be good. You can do the Hakone loop as a day trip, there are many itineraries around if you search ‘Hakone day trip’.
Day 5 – the karting is dead as far as I know, and I personally wouldn’t recommend it anyways.
Day 6 and 7 – the Kyoto leg is quite packed in general. I don’t know where your hotel is located, but I would possibly replace Kinkaku-ji (golden pavilion) as it is quite out of the way compared to other Kyoto sights and often has very long queues unless you get there near opening or closing. For Kyoto travel in general, the main issue to work around is transit time between places. Fushimi-inari is good in the evening or around sunset. Some temples in the Higashiyama area might do tea ceremonies, so you could do that beforehand. On the next morning, you could do the Philosopher’s Path before heading back to Tokyo.
Day 9 – Toyosu is not very rewarding for tourists, i would consider replacing it with the nearby Tsukiji Outer Market unless you are absolutely set on trying to do the tuna auction.
For the Hakone loop, keep an eye on the weather forecast and go on the first clear day of your trip.
I would second dropping the imperial palace and Mario Kart. Palace is a long wait for basically a guided tour through the garden with nothing in particular to see. Mario Kart has gone bankrupt afaik but maybe another one will pop up again. But you shouldn’t do it because it causes trouble for the locals.
Odaiba is pretty cool, especially if something is going on at Big Sight. But if you have to be at Narita for an international flight at 5pm there is not much you can do since you have to leave latest around 12pm. Even earlier if you have to go pickup luggage. Maybe you can squeeze it in on another day afternoon-evening.
I wouldn’t do the food reservations as it will further restrict your tight schedule. Wandering around and trying random stuff is way more fun anyway. Most train stations have loads of restaurants in their vicinity. Just avoid peak hours 12:00-13:00/18:00-20:00 and you’ll be fine. Also, currently popular places get crazy crowded here (hour long queuing).
Yes, Narita Express is a good way to get in Tokyo. There is also a round trip discount ticket when you do it within 14 days, so it will be the cheapest of the two limited express train going to Tokyo.
Day 3 Don’t switch hotel in Tokyo, there is no reason to.
Hakone most people do what is commonly called the Hakone loop, using the Hakone Free Pass. So if you want to see things like Hakone Checkpoint and Hakone Shrine, then Owakudani, over the “touristy” feel of the cruise, it’s the most efficient way to cross the lake.
Day 6 is ok if you take the shinkansen early like, trying to be in Nara close to lunch time.
Day 7, Kinkaku-ji and Arashiyama, fine. Adding Fushimi Inari-taisha might be a bit too much.
Day 9 : make no sense to go to Toyosu market when you go to teamlab on day 5 that is at walking distance.
Most things you names are relatively nearby, so appart the things I noted, quite fine. And just be flexible, if you see it’s too much, just slow down and enjoy.
Personally I’ve almost never made restaurant reservation. The only one I did is going to the restaurant where I worked a couple of years ago while living in Japan. Unless you want to go to more expensive restaurant, it’s easy enough to find restaurant.