Two week trip in late October 2021. Sanity check and suggestions (very first draft!).

38 comments

1. Probably one of the best itenaries from a first timer I’ve seen in a while. Everything is grouped pretty well.

   The only thing I’d suggest is removing a day or so from the second Tokyo part and adding it to Kyoto/Kansai. I feel the time you have allotted won’t be enough especially if you want to attempt to do a day trip to Nara.

2. I’d get some Okonomiyaki when in Osaka & Hiroshima!!

3. I think you’ll need more time in Kyoto/Osaka to get done the things you seem to want to do. You could probably easily take some time away from Tokyo.

   You can see about going to the observation tower at the top of Mt. Misen in Hiroshima. There’s a ropeway and after that it’s maybe a 10-20 minute walk up to the observation deck. Great view of the bay. But, you’ll have to depart for Hiroshima quite early in the morning if you want to fit that in with the museum.

   >Kabukicho area (I’m a 25 year old male I think you know why this area looks fun to me)

   I think you’ll want to be careful, especially if you’re by yourself and inebriated. You are absolutely going to get pulled into some seedy girly bar and come out with a hefty credit card charge – hopefully under 4 digits if it’s on the less-seedy side.

4. Make very sure that you want a pocket wifi, it’s just another device to charge and something to return at the end of your trip. A simcard in your phone can still share wifi to your other devices if you have any and you recycle it or throw it away when you’re done with it. IMHO the sim is the way to go.

   A direct bus to Tokyo station is available right outside the terminal door at Narita, you can prebook a ticket or buy one when you’re in line to get on. If you’re not used to trainstations it might soften the potential shock of Japan a little bit. Plus it’s alot simpler to find, out the door and walk to the right.

   Skytree is awesome at sunset assuming there’s few clouds. When the lights in the distance come on you can really take in the enormity of Tokyo. Make sure to go to the tourist line as it gets you in a bit quicker, bring your passport.

5. If I was dead set on going to those cities – and I would perhaps suggest paring it down, but that’s my opinion (I prefer staying in Tokyo for 10-14 days solid and the immediate area or around the same amount of time in Osaka/Kyoto for 10-14 days) – I’d fly into Tokyo and take a commuter flight west immediately – either all the way to Hiroshima or to Osaka – then gradually travel east and end with a longer, uninterrupted time in Tokyo. Might even make the JR pass unnecessary and could use single one-way shinkansen tickets. Commuter flights in Japan between major metros are so cheap.

6. I love Nishiki market in Kyoto!

7. Coffee in Tokyo

   Places with good coffee: Bear Pond Espresso (Shimokitazawa), Koffee Mameya (Harajuku), Sukemasa (Asakusa), Iron Coffee (Gotokuji)

   Places with less good coffee but good vibes: Lawn (Yotsuya), Ace (Kanda), Lion (Shibuya), Gallant (Ueno)

   Places with both: Café de l’Ambre (Ginza)

   Places I haven’t tried but people keep telling me I should: Chatei Hatou (Shibuya), Glitch (Kanda), Starbucks Reserve Roastery (Nakameguro), Monozuki (Nishi-Ogikubo)

8. If you’re only going to spend one or two days in Kyoto, I personally don’t think the imperial palace is the coolest/most unique thing there. I’d instead pick one or two temples or shrines you want to see. The big popular tourist ones (which are popular for a reason) are Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizudera, and Kinkakuji. Kinkakuji is on the other side of the city though, so it’s a bit hard to plan into a two-day trip. There are probably hundreds of temples and shrines in this city, so you are definitely not limited to those three. Those are just the major Kyoto sites that would perhaps be a shame to miss in favor of the imperial palace, which is just so-so IMO.

   For aimless Kyoto wandering, I highly recommend wandering around the Gion district with some matcha ice cream in your hand, even if you do nothing but look at some of the traditional architecture. You’re bound to stumble upon something interesting!

9. Probably u can drop by Fushimi before your day trip to Nara since it’s on the way.

   U state Kobe Beef and Osaka Castle on the same day, are you going to Kobe on that day, if so i would actually drop Osaka Castle and include Himeji Castle instead or u can slot it in while going down to Hiroshima. Trust me, that is the only castle u must go if u only can pick 1 castle to visit in the whole of Japan.

   For the day after halloween, if u got no plans, perhaps can do a daytrip to Kamakura/Enoshima area.

10. I have been to Japan twice and one thing my research did not prepare me for was how interesting the cities are at night. They are safe, extremely well lit, and there are a lot of people out and just about every night. I really enjoyed night walks. My first night, jetlagged, was an almost transcendent experience.

    When I was there, I walked a lot and I found it very interesting to just wander sometimes. As to Akihabara, it is perhaps overdone but I remember a walkthrough I did of a store that had seven floors and every possible type of model or other collectible on display. Some of the stuff was shocking to say the least but it was segregated off behind curtains. It is like every other part of Tokyo in that there is a tremendous concentration of whatever that particular area has to offer.

    For your pocket wifi, pick up a spare battery pack. I ran my pocket wifi down once and had an interesting time getting back to my hotel. You will find yourself using Google Maps, Apple Maps, or whatever app you use a lot, particularly when walking. My experience using Google and Apple maps was that both worked but Google was a bit more accurate, particularly for walking. And, miracle of miracles, the wifi works in the trains – underground. You can see when you are approaching your station. Even so, though, the announcements of upcoming stops are also made in English (and Mandarin too although I can’t be sure about that).

    I see that you are going to use a JR pass. I believe it is accepted on the JR lines in the cities you are going to but Tokyo for example has several transit companies. A Suica or Pasmo card is very useful as you can use these cards on any transit, including buses. You can also use them in most cities. I used my Pasmo card in Osaka and Kyoto without incident. The cards are cheap, about five dollars, and you can add money to them to pay for tickets and for other things such as vending machines or food stores in the train stations. You will see the transit card terminals in a lot of convenience stores too. They are very handy and make a nice souvenir.

    Some museums and the Tokyo Government building have English speaking guides who are mostly retired seniors who are very friendly and willing to answer any questions. Their service is free. The view from the Government building is impressive as is the Skytree. If you go, try to go in the early evening and plan to stay long enough to see the sun set and for the city to light up. There is a new viewing platform in Shibuya (Shibuya Rooftop at the Shibuya Scramble Square) and Roppongi has the Mori Tower that has an observation deck and a very interesting art museum. There is also the venerable Tokyo Tower, which offers good views.

11. Tattoo is not about the amount but if you have any. If you have small tattoo and you can cover them up with foundation tape or tattoo cover, then ok. But if you are not able to cover them, then you cannot go to a onsen that does not allow tattoo and you would have to either go to one that allow them or go to a place that have private bath you use.

    You have a few onsen bookmarked in Tokyo? I do have some doubts, are you sure they are onsen on not sento ? Yes, there is some like oedo onsen monogatari and spa laqua, but both refuse tattoo.

    ​

    JR Pass, unless you are using it from day 1, you do not have to exchange it at the airport, especially if there is a line at the exchange counter. Just change it later in one of the station that allow it in Tokyo.

    23, sorry but bad order. You want to start with things that open earlier and finish by things that closer later. For example Shinjuku Gyoen would be first as it open from 9 to 5:30 and Akihabara the shops start to open at 10-11 and close around 7 to 9 or even a bit later for arcades, so you do that after.

    Capsule hotel should be ok to keep luggage and even if they don’t just go drop it in a coin locker to not have to carry it all day.

    Instead of Osaka castle, you might want to see an historic building like Himeji castle instead. It could be possible in the morning of the Hiroshima day.

    You should check, but pretty sure that Ebisu circuit got damage in a landslide caused by an earthquake earlier this year, so you would probably want to check the status before going.

    Borderless is a permanent exhibition, but that does not mean it’s eternal, they could decide to change it in a couple of years, who know ?

    ​

    For the place like Kyoto where you do not have much, it’s honestly not hard to find many articles about things to do there to at least give you want to see or not.

    If you love cars, then for sure there is different museum or place you can check out. Just Google a brand and museum and you might find something like Subaru STI Museum in Tokyo.

12. Since you love coffee, I’d definitely do some research into the kissaten culture in Japan. Places like the very famous Cafe de l’Ambre have a unique coffee house vibe and will take their coffee very seriously. In Kyoto, there’s one I like called Togenkyo that also does a very good breakfast toast.

    As far as the onsen experience, I might save yourself the trip back across all of Tokyo to Shinjuku and go to the onsen while in Kyoto. There’s one just north of the city in Kurama that I used to go to a lot when I lived there, it’s nestled into the mountains and is very relaxing. I think a nice outdoor natural hot spring experience will be better than whatever indoor bathhouse you can find in Tokyo.

    As far as wandering into food, what kind of food are you most interested in? I might have some suggestions.

    As far as just wandering around the palace in Tokyo, if you don’t do the tour there isn’t a whole lot of wandering allowed. It’s where the Emperor actively lives, so you have to think about it like the White House. They don’t let you just wander around unsupervised. Other than walking around the moats, I don’t know how much there is to do. You could go look at the modern metropolitan police headquarters through the Sakuradamon gate where Ii Naosuke was assassinated. Sort of a direct line of sight connection between old and new Japan.

    I would absolutely not leave Tokyo without going to a bar in a skyscraper somewhere and really soaking in the view. Someplace like Prince Park Tower, Andaz Toranomon, BelloVisto in Shibuya, something like that. It’s a totally different experience from something like Skytree, and I think a superior one.

    In Kyoto, definitely check out a gin bar called Nokishita 711. It’s run by a really passionate guy who gave up his job as a luxury hotel bartender to try and introduce Japan to gin. His name is Sekine-san, and he’ll make you a cocktail based on what you tell him you like. It’s a good time every time I go back to Kyoto.

    Do you have any interest in particular periods of Japanese history maybe? Or are you interested at all in collecting red seals/goshuin? There is so much to see in Kyoto that it helps to have some kind of focus, otherwise I worry the temples and shrines may all just bleed together for you.

    I honestly wouldn’t bother with Osaka Castle. It’s a modern reproduction in reinforced concrete, it just looks like a castle on the outside. If you have time, Himeji castle on the way to Hiroshima is gorgeous, but I’m not sure you can fit it and the museum in Hiroshima in a single day trip.

    Since you’re an Initial D fan, have you considered renting a car and tooling around? How confident are you in your driving? I looked at renting my buddy a day in an R35 last time I went, though sadly he ended up not going on the trip.

    Sorry, this went on longer than I expected, feel free to ask questions or even Reddit chat and I’m happy to talk food/coffee/bars/history/etc. You’ll have a great time!

13. Jakotsu-yu Onsen in Asakusa was really relaxing and dirt cheap. When I asked about tattoos the lady looked at me like I was being ridiculous which was refreshing.
    Super close to the shrine for a relaxing day.

14. Your day for USJ is too full. Remember that it isn’t just train times to your destinations, but you also need to factor in walking and way finding.

    Train to Ebisu will take all day, and it will wipe you out. You might consider Suzuka Circuit near Ise (between Osaka and Tokyo). I’ve done track days there before, and if you nerd out hard enough with one of the many enthusiasts they may take you for a lap. If you’re a car enthusiast, with a US license you could also rent a vehicle and go for a drive overnight somewhere. Driving in Japan on the highway is great.

15. > Kabukicho area

    A fan of the Yakuza games? 😛

16. The temporary Gundam Factory is in Yokohama if you want to add that to your itinerary. Me and my husband have our trip planned for mid October as well, crossing our fingers! We decided to go to Universal just cause of Super Mario as well ^^

17. Don’t eat your weight in takoyaki! Save some room for Okonamayaki. You’re going to both Hiroshima and Osaka so you can try both styles.

    I believe Borderless is the permanent Teamlab exhibit, and Planets is the temporary one (through 2022). I don’t know anything about Borderless, but Planets was awesome.

    Should be an amazing trip, enjoy it!

18. This one may need to be on your 2nd trip: https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/39253/japans-famed-ebisu-circuit-caught-in-destructive-landslide-following-7-3-magnitude-earthquake

19. What are you using to study japanese?

20. [deleted]

21. Double check the hotels you’ve booked don’t already come with a handy phone. We were provided one in Tokyo and just used it a hotspot for our own phones the whole time out and about.

22. Quick question, as I ask it everytime in these threads: why a pocket wifi, especially when you’re traveling alone?

    If your phone is unlocked I recommend a japanese sim card, it’s one less battery-powered device to depend on, it’s cheaper, you’ll most likely remove yours to put the japanese one in so that also prevents accidental calls / data from costing you half a trip with roaming charges

23. I think you shall spend more time in Kyoto, so full of things to see! Also, recommend the Zaza Bar if you want to have some fun (it’s quite touristic but also frequented by locals)

24. I’m not the expert (only been 7 days in Osaka and that was mostly for work), but in Kyoto you should absolutely visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine. I also enjoyed Kiyomizudera temple, but there are many options.

    In Osaka, there are a ton of restaurants around Umeda station and there’s also a lot of shopping. Going by your interests, you’ll certainly enjoy some time at Yodobashi Camera. I also liked the Japanese gardens at the Expo’70 park. Also Gundam Square is over there.

25. While in Hiroshima, definitely try to stop in for a drink at MAC Bar, which is an awesome little spot that has thousands upon thousands of CDs of music that they will play for you on request- anything you want! I found it to be a good spot for both foreigners and Carp fanatics. I’d also recommend visiting the actual spot where the atomic bomb detonated above Hiroshima, which is a little off the main A-Bomb dome area on a side street.

    In Kyoto, there are just tonnes of temples and beautiful areas in the Arashiyama area. We took a bus over there and just wandered, through the bamboo forest and into the hills, finding a few surprisingly peaceful and secluded temples.

26. I would strongly advise you to swap your Akihabara day around and go to Akihabara in the afternoon –> evening. Akihabara doesn’t really open up until at minimum ~11am, and it really starts to come alive around 2pm. For Kyoto I highly recommend setting aside a few hours to explore Fushimi Inari, and to climb up to the top of Mt Inari (for a healthy young guy, you could do the while thing in 1.5-2 hours, but if you can budget 3-4 it’s worth it, it’s a magical place). Second face in Kyoto for a first time would be Kiyomizaderu. And same advice, it’s worth budgeting a good chunk as it’s a massive complex. I recommend those two over places like gold and silver pavillion, or arashiyama.

27. Nice plan!

    Have you looked into arriving in Osaka and leaving from Tokyo (or the other way)? It seems it would save you the round-trip Tokyo-Osaka.

28. You have a solid plan but I would add that while in Tokyo it’s absolutely worth it to explore Ueno and Asakusa! And I stay at the APA hotel in Narita because it’s in a fucking great location: bars, food, a mall, shopping, Narita Sensoji temple, and SAKE. Narita is always a two day thing for me!

    I hope to be in Tokyo in October. I miss it. Good luck on your travels!!

29. TMG observatory… go to the South Observatory during the day. The North observatory is open during the night too, but the North is more crowded because it has a lot of shops.

    Highly recommend [sushi here](https://goo.gl/maps/YwC8S4VcvMbJBJx46) – the chefs are great! I’ve seen them prep my plate several times. On multiple occasions they’ve inspected a piece of meat and tossed it. Shows how much they care.

    I looooove [Doutor coffee](https://goo.gl/maps/FzR82yJikLd68Yz28). It’s Japan’s chain coffeehouse like Starbucks. Also there’s a Blue Bottle in Shinjuku Station. Highly recommend both.

    Akihabara has an awesome gift shop called [Akky](https://goo.gl/maps/ksqv3Zj6QejW8gzx6). ONLY GET YOUR GIFTS HERE. I’ve seen items cost half as much as they did at the TMG North observatory.

    Use Google Maps for directions in Tokyo. Not sure anywhere else, but it will tell you when subway trains arrive and it’s very convenient.

    If you’re tech savvy, there’s a company called [Mobal](https://www.mobal.com/japan-sim-card/) that offers true Unlimited data. It won’t be a WiFi puck though and I think tethering is also unlimited. Make sure you have someone at the counter set it up though. I’ve had issues with any Japanese SIM card which required me to enter in APN settings. I’m nerdy enough to do that, you may not.

    For TeamLab borderless, GET THERE BEFORE IT OPENS. It gets crowded an hour or two after opening and not as fun! Well, that was pre-COVID anyway. May be different now. Get your tickets online and get the tea combo!

    Download their TeamLab borderless app. In some areas you can actually control the lighting and it’s part of the experience.

    Also take the time to explore. There are a lot of ‘hidden’ rooms you can miss. They say that too. I spent 3 hours there and afterwards missed about 2 of them! 🙁

    Man you’re making me want to go back to Japan!

    Have fun!

30. Overall looks solid, looks like you’ll just miss the F1 GP by a a couple weeks (race weekend is Oct 8-10). I’d suggest trying to fit a night a ryokan somewhere in you’re schedule if you can do it at a place where they have a hot spring that would be even better. Hakone, Atami, and Arima are good hot springs areas close to where you’re planning on traveling. If you’re willing to make some longer detours Kinosaki, Kusatsu, and Beppu are other good areas to look into.

    For coffee in tokyo the area near Kiyosumi-Shirakawa a good number of roasters/cafes some overseas ones, and other home grown.

    If you are into video games/tech/anime there is no greater concentration of stores that Akiba, and I still end up going to that area once or twice every time i’m in Japan. Alternatively, since you’ll be in Osaka you can also checkout DenDen town which has a similar concentration of stores and is a little less touristy. Both Osaka and Tokyo of Super Potato outposts and if you’re into retro gaming you’ll at least want to check one these places out. In Akiba you’ll want to check out the Mandrake Building and the Radiokaikan building, for anime/hobby goods. Yodobashi Akiba is massive and a must see if you’re into tech and gadgets. Beyond that since there are so many stores everywhere it just begs for exploration a lot of more quirky stores are not on street level so you’ll have to keep scanning the buildings signage to see whats inside. Also a final note stores in Japan typically open later in the day usually by 11am, so it might make sense to move things around to make better use of your morning.

    I’m not sure you’d be able to do both borderless and tokyo motorshow the same day. Borderless has some pretty long lines to get in and you’ll typically spend 90 mins to 2 hours there just exploring the different areas.

31. Couple of quick remarks as seems you’ve already had plenty of advice…

    Re. bags in Kyoto capsule hotel, you could store at the capsule hotel – or alternatively send your big bags onwards to Osaka from Tokyo using takkyubin. This would be my preference if only in Kyoto for one night – less to carry around.

    Re. Fukushima prefecture, timings might be tricky with a 7 days JR pass but Aizuwakamatsu is certainly worth a visit. Or Sendai/Yamadera. There’s actually a lot to see in the Tohoku region, it depends on your preference and time you want to allocate.

32. [deleted]

33. Man I hope we can travel by autumn….

    Anyway just a note about day 1, by the time you get off the plane and get your luggage the JR pass place may be closed so I wouldn’t really worry about it until the second day…. actually basically I’d probably plan to get my bags, get a snack if your plane doesn’t feed you a billion calories closer to landing (shout out to ANA from LAX always giving huge meals haha), on the N’EX, and just relax for the next day/rest of the trip. Hit up a conbini once you’ve got your bags in the AirBNB, get some snacks and dinner and just take it in 🙂

34. Nanzenji was by far my favourite place in Kyoto. It’s a little out the city so a bit less rammed than places like Kinkakuji.There’s a city bus that goes there though so it’s easy enough to get to. There’s also lots of shojin-ryori restaurants around there (temple cuisine) and it was one of the best meals I had in Japan.

35. Recommendation for Kyoto:
    – Ride the train line to the end! You’ll see a lot of cool mountains on each side of Kyoto. In general, it’s possible to travel up these mountains. There are electric bikes in the city you can take to zoom around and reach each mountain. I made it a goal to climb up each mountain, worth it.

36. it seems a shame for you to go to kyoto and … not do much with it…

    okay, I get it, its two weeks, and japan is big, and you could spend two weeks in any place and probably wont get bored, but you wanna see as much as you can, who knows when you can go again….

    still you like japanese culture, the language, and, the cultural heart and soul kyoto, you have a day to go there, look at something, and then, want bar suggestions?

    okay, so, you do you, and I cant speak to visiting outside of kansai, or rather kyoto/osaka, and I cant speak about much of your interests, but…

    if you can, try to spend a few more days in kyoto. the imperial palace, when i was there, was not open to visitors. maybe you are more lucky, and it comes out awesome, but, if you cant, its … meh. okay, maybe a bit better than meh, it IS impressive to see the size of the area, but, I believe, its much more impactful after youve seen how space is at a premioum all over kyoto and then, in its heart, theres this huge empty space…

    anyway. for culture, and history, and museum, I suggest nijo castle over the imperial palace.
    I also think, Kinkaku-ji (north kyoto), tenryu-ji (arashiyama/north-west), kiyomizu-dera (east) are must see locations, if you have time, arashiyama has more to see, and east kyoto from ginkaku-ji down the philosophers path to gion, nanzen-ji, further down to kiyomizu are well worth their time too. and in fact, Kodaji close by, is pretty special, and theres a small museum and the great Entokuin also…

    Fushimi-Inari is also great, depending on weather, but it takes time to enjoy, then again, it can be done pretty early…

    So okay, in Uji (between kyoto and nara), Byodo-in has a museum attached, which was good too.

    of course there is so so so much more. and I understand, its hard to decide, and when you plan to make a more involved kyoto plan, you might fall into the put too much in it trap, underestimating the time you spend at each location or travelling between them…

    I wish you good luck.

    should you decide to need suggestions for a week in kyoto, let me know 🙂

37. TeamLab is a must. Expect to wait in line so go early. We enjoyed it so much we wished we had gone a 2nd day. Definitely a trippy experience even without enhancements

    Look up Tokyo Mario Kart. If it’s still around (they’ve had trademark issues with Nintendo) we had a blast dressing up as Mario characters and go-karting through parts of Tokyo.

    If you like sushi and really want to try top of the line, go omakase. There’s plenty of good places, but you’ll want to try to get a reservation for those famous ones like Jiro. When we went in early 2019, the old fish market was still open, just had shortened hours and not as many original shops. The new fish market is nothing to rave about IMO.

    A fun way we prepped for the trip was watching every season of Terrace House on Netflix. Gives a lot of insights on Japanese culture and might give you some hot spots in the more recent seasons. Yes, it’s a dating show but you catch a lot of cultural nuances from the people on the show.

    Have a great trip. take it all in! You got me wanting to go again this year.

38. Lovely itinerary! Just dropping by to give you some good vibes! I’m due to fly out 10/28! Hopefully we can make it.