Hello everyone, this will be the first time me and my wife are traveling to Japan and we would like to ask for feedback on our itinerary in advance.
We have waited for this trip for the entirety of Covid now and now have the chance to travel to Japan in February 2023.
Itinerary:
Day 1: flying to Tokyo and arriving at 10AM at Narita airport. Getting necessities like SIM cards, IC cards and shipping luggage to our hotel. Resting and eating. Maybe going out to shinjuku.
Day 2: exploring around ginza and minato. Visiting places like ginza art aquarium, hamarikyu gardens, Tsukuba fish market. Eating at ichiran ramen.
Day 3: odaiba exploration, teamlab planets, miraikan, small worlds.
Day 4: daytrip to kamakura and enoshima island.
Day 5: exploring and going to places like paraditological museum, Starbucks reserve roastery, gotokuji temple.
Day 6: exploring Takeshita, Harajuku, omoide yokocho, yoyogi park.
Day 7: Akihabara and Ueno (donki, mandarake, ameyoko, ueno park)
Day 8: cat cafe in shibuya and exploring asakusa (nakamise, sensoji, skytree)
Day 9: Yokohama day trip (ramen museum, cup noodle museum, Chinatown and gundam factory)
Day 10: Disneyland and Disneysea
Day 11: studio ghibli museum and Sanrio puroland
Day 12: Nakano exploration and resting/cooking at apartment
Day 13: shopping in shinjuku, gyoen gardens and maybe nezu museum
Day 14: judge where to go based on previously liked areas. Maybe leave the day for incase we didn’t have time to visit somewhere on a previous day. Pack up and send bags to airport.
Day 15: flying back
How realistic is this plan and won’t we be too in a hurry due to the plan being relatively cramped?
Thank you in advance!
3 comments
For day 3, depending on what you want to do in Odaiba it may be best to do team lab planets first (it gets busier in the afternoons) and then head to Odaiba. Personally I would recommend Joypolis (indoor theme park) & Round 1 at Odaiba
For your day 10, usually I wouldn’t recommend doing both Disneys in the same day especially if it falls on a weekend. Disney lines can often go up to 2 hours per ride and 3+ hours on weekends. If you are just going to pick one, Disneyland is a more holistic Disney experience whereas Disneysea has better rides and thrills.
Be certain about admission and tickets and confirmations about Ghibli.. similar with TeamLabs. There are some situations where a local phone number to receive a text was needed Pre Covid to confirm bookings (..this was to cut down on fraud).. I am not sure what the case is for purchasing tickets is now. Usually data SIMs for tourists are not associated with local numbers. Research the ticket buying-I have not been there in 2 1/2 years (..gonna be there next month though!)
How are you planning on get around the Tokyo Region? Are you aware of a heavily discounted Tokyo Metro tourist card? Check under ‘Tokyo Metro ticket’ [here](https://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/travel/index.html)
I realize you are looking at an IC card..there are many pluses to this.
You are smart arranging luggage via a courier. Very efficient.
Try to find a real nice Onsen or Sento within your visit..if you want a real authentic Japanese Inn experience and have some money, highly consider the Ryokan experience (..a Ryokan is a quality and a designated and special overnight experience..) Some can be ‘affordable’ (..I’ve actually stayed in ones through websites like booking . com )..more information is [here](https://www.ryokan.or.jp/english/)
That’s overall relaxed enough to avoid rushing between places, and you still see a lot.
Note that Tsukiji market is closed (the outer market is still there), and on day 11 going to both Ghibli museum and Sanrio is in a single day is a bit unrealistic. It takes over an hour between the two. Take the time while you are in Mitaka to walk around Kichijoji and Inokashira park