Hi,
My job had given me 2 weeks off and my partner and I got cheap ticket to Japan. It’s been a dream to go there. But I feel like I set myself up for failure. With the short amount of time of planning I feel that my itinerary is underwhelming… I am quite burnt out from planning to explore the tiny details, and keeping my expectations low (which honestly, is hard to do)
I was told to reach out to the Reddit community to review my itinerary (quite general in layout). I had some questions as well at certain destinations. I’m leaving very soon, and I’ll likely update as I go while I am there. I will be arriving on February 6. Thank you in advance!
Also, little to no Japanese.
**How I’m commuting.**
I will be travelling mainly by bus, by foot, or by train. Taxi or Uber in case of emergency. JR pass is likely between major cities. Osaka pass. Perhaps Tokyo pass?
**Where I will need major help in.**
On day 5 and onwards, when I leave from Hakone to Kyoto, I had very little time to plan.
**Day 1 – Tokyo: Arriving at Narita Airport 3PM, very casual day to fight off jet lag.**
Staying near Akihabara, strolling to Sensō-ji temple and around the area.
Perhaps visit Tokyo Skytree, Ueno park
Late night at around Akihabara, Starting early to do souvenir shopping, finding spots to eat.
**Day 2 – Tokyo: From Akihabara to Meiji Jingu early morning, Sanrio Puroland, teamLab Planets TOKYO, back to Shibuya night time.**
I think I might be underestimating commuting time. But the plan appears straight forward, lots of landmarked spots in Shibuya. Trying not to overdue it, soak in the light, soak in the atmosphere. *Are there any unique places to have for dinner? Events?*
**Day 3 – Tokyo: From Akihabara to Disney SEA likely until 9PM then back to Shibuya, Roppongi or Shinjuku at night**
I am really just dedicating this time for Disney Sea, everything afterwards is night life related, *if there are any recommendations that would be great again.*
*Can I pack some small to go meals and bring it with me to Disney Sea?*
*We plan to use TAQBIN to send our luggage from our hotel to Kyoto. I heard hotels can do this, are there particular times? This is vital for Day 4-5.*
**Day 4 – Tokyo to Hakone: Checking out, going to Ghibli Museum at Mitaka first thing in the morning, then Hakone and staying there. JR Pass initiated.**
I would likely arrive at Ghibli Museum 10AM-11AM, then stay there for a couple of hours then to Hakone. From there, we’re just going to hit the landmark spots, assuming they’re still open. This is on the weekday. *Recommendations for food?*
**Day 5 – Hakone to Kyoto: This is where I am a bit lost. (2 days in Kyoto area)**
If I have not toured Hakone enough or did not make it to sites on Day 4, then I plan to do that in the morning, then head on the Shinkansen to Kyoto. I am hoping the TAQBIN had arrived to Kyoto with our luggage.
We should arrive there at noon. At this point, I don’t know how to manage the time between places. But there are the spots I like to go to (Travelling by foot/bus)
* Kiyomizu-dera temple (I heard at night is ok)
* Nishiki Market
* Fushimi Inari Taisha
* Kinkaku-ji
We have likely from 12/1PM to the entire night. *Any recommendations is great.*
**Day 6 – Kyoto/Nara?**
I was planning to dress up with my partner and I in kimono’s as soon as they open. Perhaps visit: Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama, and/or Nara, and maybe come back for night time around Gion’s Geishas and Temples. For that awesome photos. *Otherwise, any suggestion would be great.*
**Day 7 – Osaka: We’re checking out to go to Osaka, staying in Minami Area**
We’re going to Osaka first thing in the morning, likely to visit landmarks such as Osaka Castle, taking the boat around there. I was just planning to follow this itinerary (link: [Day 1 Osaka](https://insideosaka.com/osaka-1-day-itinerary/)) and likely drinking our kidneys out at night. Staying in Minami Area.
**Day 8 – Osaka: But would like to visit other places around. Perhaps Himeji castle?**
I think I might be sobering up from last night, so I want to just visit landmarks, recommended meals, perhaps some unique activities. Something relaxing but rewarding. *Any suggestion would be great.*
**Day 9 – Osaka: Last day in Osaka at Universal Studio.**
Been quite excited to visit this place, this is on the mid weekdays, so it’s likely ‘not as busy’. I am going to purchase tickets online before hand. Express pass worth the several bucks? I plan to spend most of the days here until 7PM. *I am lost after 7PM.*
**Day 10 – We’re heading back to Tokyo**
Early morning, we’re packing our bags, and heading back to Tokyo with our luggage. It’s under 160CM, should be okay to ride the bullet train without reservations I’ve heard. We’ll book a 1 night stay in Tokyo.
I heard the Backstreet Boys are in the city? I might consider this as part of the evening activities. If this is the case, it’ll push us from 5PM-9PM.
Likely, Akihabara stay, we’re a sucker for Gachapon and Crane games. Maybe Maid cafe to end all misery. Or Donki for 24/7 shopping duty free yipee.
**Day 11 – We’re checking out, flights at 6PM, so we’re grabbing lunch somewhere nice.**
We will take our time before our flights, since we’re carrying our luggage around. Any spots you think I should go to before we fly off?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
**Our likes…**
1. **Food** We’re open to any suggestions. I haven’t planned on any particular restaurants. It’s literally going to be found as we go. I was told to beware of certain tourist trap spots to eat. I heard Robot Restaurant isn’t a restaurant.
2. **Shopping** We’ll be doing shopping as we go. Maybe drop by the Uniqlo, or vintage stores?
3. **Events** I don’t have any ‘shows’ or ‘festival’ plans, but I am open to suggestions for any cultured events. Tea ceremony looks cool. Backstreet Boys ain’t included 🙂
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Once again, deep appreciation for Japan, and the Reddit community. I know how clutch you can be. I will likely update as we go through the days there, so I will feel that we’re journeying together.
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All the best,
BPO
15 comments
I’ll be honest here – your itinerary is probably the most realistic I have seen on here! You worry that it’s too thin, but honestly with how long it takes to get from one place to another, and how many things there are to see on the way, you are totally fiiiine.
For times when you’re at a loose end in your plans: pick a suburb, like Shibuya or Shinjuku, or in Osaka probably Dotonbori, and just wander around! You will never be short of things to shop for, drink, or eat. If you get extremely stuck (unlikely) even bentos from konbini are really yummy! So please don’t worry.
Few suggestions : group sites by geographic location. Kyoto for example is quite spread out, so going from one to the next it makes sense to plan them out in a geographical sequence. As another example, Meiji Jingu is in Shinjuku/Shibuya area, Sanrio Puroland is up to an hour away. TeamLab Planets is an hour and a half from Puroland. And then you go back to Shibuya. It’s a bit of a zig-zag! Maybe try to group days for least travel.
I am told TaQbin isn’t a problem. Have your destination hotel written out in Japanese if you can (or on your phone) and go to a konbini where you see the TaQbin sign (for the main company, Yamato Transport, it’s a cute black cat holding a kitten in its mouth). The clerk will try to help as much as they can, especially if it’s not busy. They will take requests on how long until they drop it off – if you want the next day, or the day after, etc. If you’re worried about the hotel accepting it, just email the hotel first.
Not sure if you need the Tokyo or Osaka passes. Easier just to buy a Suica or Pasmo, that’ll get you on every train and most buses in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and I think Hakone. If you want souvenirs, Welcome Suica or the adorable Sanrio Pasmo Passport are pretty cute to take home with you, and I think get you some discounts with them as well as being able to use them on transport. You can even use these IC cards at konbini, they’re basically money cards wherever you see the IC logos.
You can go to tourist traps if that’s what you like. I personally loved Robot Restaurant – but, sadly, it is closed down now. It all depends on expectations! Dressing in kimono is one of those touristy things, right, but you can’t let that stop you!
Don’t know if you need to get a JR pass. Use the [JR pass calculator](https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/) to see if it’s worth it. If not, you can buy shinkansen tickets before boarding – plus then you can also take the fastest shinkansen, the Nozomi, which isn’t covered by the Pass.
Oh and you don’t have to carry your luggage around. Use lockers – they’re everywhere, you can pay using Suica/Pasmo, and they’re very safe. Drop them off at Tokyo Station, take a shopping stroll down Character Street (an underground street of character shops, and the hilariously overnamed Gachapon Street – not a street but a room, but still good fun) and have lunch around the station area, or take a walk through Ginza/Nihombashi. Then pick up your bags when you’re done.
Have fun!!
You said you have been planning for a short amount of time. Just to make sure Ghibli museum needs tickets. mentioning in case you go there without them and waste time.
You seem to have too much planned rather than not enough. There’s so much more walking in Tokyo than most people anticipate!
Take it easy when you land! You just got off what I assume to be a super long flight with jet lag.
Tokyo day 2 has too much transit time back and forth… teamlab area is pretty far from things and would take an hour just to get to Shibuya.
Half an afternoon in halons and a morning? Are you doing the loop or just doing an onsen?
Way too much stuff in one day in Kyoto.
You should be able to bring in food to Disney sea, but I love the food there so I personally wouldn’t.
Day 1: If you arrive at Narita a 3PM you will not be in Asakusa until at least 5. Sensoji’s main hall closes at 5, but the temple grounds remain open and Nakamise dori shops close around 7 to 8 PM, so if you don’t mind not going inside the temple, you can still enjoy most of it. Visiting Ueno Park or Sky Tree afterwars is a possibility, but shopping in Akihabara seems too much. Shops will eventually close around 9 to 10 PM in most cases.
Day 2: Combining Shibuya and Meiji Shrine with Puroland is doable, but Teamlab Planets is not a good match in this day plan. It’s on the other side of Tokyo so my suggestion would be to go to Puroland after Meiji Shrine and when you finish Puroland use your remaining energy to browse in Shibuya, eat dinner, enjoy nightlife and omit Teamlab from this day.
Day 3: No comments here.
Day 4: Will you be staying in a Ryokan? If so, dinner and breakfast are part of the deal and this is recommended in onsen towns. Hakone get really quiet around 5 and most places to eat will close (although there will be exceptions) because most visitors are going to eat dinner at the ryokan where they stay. Staying in a ryokan would be my recommendation, also because it’s a really good experience.
Day 5: The spots you chose are pretty much the most popular temples. They are also quite spread out across Kyoto so my guess is (also thinking about closing times of temples) that you will only be able to visit one of them. Kiyomizu-dera closes at 6PM. I would probably focus this day on visiting Kyomizu-dera and the surrounding higashiyama area. You will find lots of temples here some well known and some lesser knowns ones. This area is really the nicest places to just take a walk around and explore.
Day 6: If I were you I would just stay in Kyoto for this day. There is still so much left to see. You could use this day to visit Fushimi Inari shrine and Kinkakuji. Nearby Kinkakuji is Ryoanji shrine known for it’s rock garden. If you really want to visit arashiyama you could try combining it with Kinkakuji and Ryoanji as they’re relatively close by.
Day 7: No comments.
Day 8: You could just stay the day in Osaka. I don’t know if you will be in the mood for another castle after having been to Osaka castle. There are still places to go left in Osaka. I personally like the Shinsekai area at night. Be sure to visit Tsutenkaku. It is the cheesiest viewpoint experience I ever had (and I mean that in a good way). If you want to do another daytip I’d probably but Nara here.
Day 9: No comments.
Day 10: Akihabara is a good place to spend you last yen. 🙂
Day 11: There’s definitely room for some sightseeing or last minute shopping here. You could visit a Japanese department store for example, or you could explore the downtown area. Imperial Palace is not far from Akihabara. Ginza also comes to mind as well as Tsukiji. You could have lunch around Tsukiji or Ginza and then head back to the airport.
Your itinerary is not underwhelming at all. There’s too much things to do that some days seem too packed and impossible.
Day 1 – Don’t forget to take into account the time you need to get out of immigration, get your luggage and reach your hotel for check-in. It’s likely 5-6pm already by the time you done all those. Then you probably can hit only one of the spot you listed on day 1, get dinner and call it a night since you’re recovering from jet lag as well.
Day 2 – there’s a lot of travelling all over Tokyo. Can just head to Meiji then Shibuya, maybe ending the day with TeamLabs and Odaiba area instead.
Day 3 – most hotels should have Ta-q-bin service and likely will arrive the day after for Tokyo to Kyoto. If not, can send it off from convenience stores.
Day 4 – chances of you getting to see much in Hakone is quite slim if you’re planning to go Ghibli Museum at 10-11am and staying for a few hours. Most attraction in Hakone closes by 4-5pm and it’s quite a distance between all the attractions. Have you gotten tickets to Ghibli Museum? If not, you can’t just show up for entrance. You need to pre purchase the tickets beforehand and it’s usually available from 10th the month prior, not sure whether has it sold out at this point. Just skip it and head straight to Hakone and spend your day there.
Day 5 – it’s not that easy to get around Kyoto as you think, most common mode of transport is bus and it takes awhile. Your itinerary for this day is enough for a full day in Kyoto and do check opening hours. Nishiki Market shops starts closing by late afternoon. Kinkaku-jii only opens till 5pm. If you’re spending time at Hakone in the morning before getting here, you’ll likely only visit 1-2 spots. Or consider skipping Hakone plan entirely and come straight to Kyoto from Tokyo?
Day 6 – only possible if you start your day very early at Arashimaya. And get to Nara by afternoon around 1-2pm. You probably have time to see the deers and visit Todai-ji temple, and hopefully get the famous Nara mochi if can fit in.
Robot restaurant is closed already by the way.
Puroland and Tesmlab are not exactly in the same area, yes it will take time in the train on that day.
Ghibli is out of question if you do not already have a ticket. It would also be quite a detour. If you want to visit Hakone on that day, you need to go there first and the earlier the better. Also 11 is not a valid entry time.
Robot restaurant was a show not a restaurant, it’s also close.
If you want a ticket for a show, you need to plan it in advance, I tried to get tickets for an event and it was sold out in minutes.
You have too much too spread appart on first half day in Kyoto.
Considering you want to end the day in Shibuya, I do not understand why not stay in Shibuya.
You will arrive it Kyoto at noon only if you leave Hakone early and not visit anything, so previous day need to be purely Hakone.
Regardless of your luggage size, you can book the seat with luggage space, otherwise you have to keep it with you at your seat, reducing leg space. It will only fit overhead if it is carry on size.
~~Wow these flights are almost the exact same cheap flights I got. That is wild.~~
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Can’t recommend much for food, but lots of shrines and shopping areas have local specialties or small shops nearby. If anything catches you eye, that’s not a bad idea. or Combini….
As for shopping, I know its a little weird, but Muji Flagship store is in Ginza. If you’ve never been, daiso/ don quijote might be interesting?
It doesn’t look like you need the jrpass but remember you need to purchase it _before_ you get to Japan. So if you want it do that asap
I suggest you get a IC card. ICOCA/SUICA etc… its a electronic card you load up with cash to use for almost all public transport in cities like subways/bus.
Itinerary wise, I can only comment on Kansai (Osaka / Kyoto / Nara )
– Day 5: Arrival Kyoto at noon
Half the day is done for. Let us assume best case scenario, luggage going to Hotel, you dont need to check in, straight from the train station to your POIs, can use IC for the bus, which you already know where to go and which one to take… Honestly. I think this is hoping too much, so I think its more like 1pm until we are off to the first POI
Kiyomizu-dera is somewhat close-ish to Nishiki. Usually you take a bus, but you could walk the distance…
Fushimi Inari and Kinkaku-ji are very far apart and not at all anywhere near Kiyomizu-dera. You will have to decide where to go, and its very likely you will only be able to do one or two. Also, traveling between them can take up to an hour with going-to-bus-waiting-for-bus-driving-bus-walking-from-bus-to-temple.
“I heard at night is ok” means what? You think you can go there after 4:30/5pm? That is not true for Kiyomizu, nor for Kinkakuji, Nishiki market stalls will close in early to late afternoon, so also, no. Fushimi Inari is open 24/7 however, while the hike will be less people, the shrine at the bottom, and the restaurants on the way will all be closed too…
My recommendation is going to Kiyomizu-dera because Higashiyama (the area) has a great density of POIs, and when its like 5pm and stuff will start to be closed, you can shift towards Gion where restaurants will start opening and it looks better in the dark. Dont miss Yasaka shrine.
Be aware, depending on the bus line and distance you need to travel, 10-11pm is the time you will want to head to the bus stop or else you might be walking or taking a taxi. There is no all-night-bus-service in Kyoto
– Day 6: Kyoto / Nara:
I am a big fan of Arashiyama and I dont suggest you skip it. I am not sure how desperately you need a Kimono. I am not sure if before Arashiyama you may want to head to Kinkakuji first. It can be combined.
I am sure however, you do not want to wear a Kimono to hike a mountain with some monkeys. In fact, with only two days, I suggest you do not see the monkey park. See Tenryuji, the bamboo grove, explore more Arashiyama, or use the remaining day for Kinkakuji/Nishiki (you wont be able to do all but maybe one or two, depending on how long you are in Arashiyama)
Nara takes some time to reach and come back from. Its not really that far, but I think you will lose 2 hours starting/ending at the train station. 3+ hours coming from Arashiyama.
And funny enough. if you take a JR line to Nara, you wont be near the park. Taking the Kintetsu Line is quicker, but you will have to deal with buying a ticket at the station, and possibly also paying the express surcharge… Just be aware.
All in all, I dont suggest going to Nara when you have 2 days in Kyoto.
– Day 7: no comment, except maybe skip the castle?
– Day 8:
taking a day trip to Himeji can be nice. Dont overlook koko-en, the castle garden. The castle and garden should be half a day. You have room to do more, even when you take it a bit slower. Skip going up and down the castle when you are hungover. its kinda boring inside anyway. Nice view from the top. Okayama has a great garden too (Korakuen), when taking the train is free (JR ticket?) Maybe go Okayama first, and stop Himeji on your way back?
when you will see Himeji castle you dont need to see Osaka castle the day before.
The number 1 tip for any visit to Kyoto or Tokyo is to lump sightseeing together by district. These are *huge* and very spread out cities. Number 2 tip is to get your one to two must-see/do’s done as early each day as possible. Then, anything else you do that day, is gravy.
– [Tokyo Districts](https://trulytokyo.com/tokyo-districts/)
– [Kyoto Districts](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-districts)
– [Osaka Districts](https://insideosaka.com/osaka-districts/)
– [Save the places you want to visit in Google maps.](https://www.theunconventionalroute.com/google-maps-saved-places/)
– Then, zoom out and see where those places are lumped together. Do *that* specific district/area in the morning and shift to another district/area in the afternoon. This way you don’t lose time/money criss-crossing the city.
– See how long it will take to travel via public transit (or walking if within the same area) between your sites. You need to account for travel time and add in an extra 15- 20 minutes from what Google Maps says as you may get turned around looking for your entrance/exit or platform in the subway/train stations.
– Be sure you check opening hours/days in Google maps too. You don’t want to show up at 8 am to Akihabara only to find all the shops closed or to a museum on a Monday as that is often (but not always) a closed day.
Finally, there’s no need to recreate the wheel. Use some of these sample itineraries as a guide to plan out your days. YouTube and TikTok are great for ideas/inspiration, but they often edit videos together in a way that makes it seem locations are much closer together than they are. Sample itineraries like these, put the main sites together in a logical way logistically and give you a better sense of what is possible to see within a day.
– [Truly Tokyo: Itineraries](https://trulytokyo.com/tokyo-itineraries/)
– [Truly Tokyo: Kawaguchiko Day Trip](https://trulytokyo.com/a-day-trip-to-the-mt-fuji-area-lake-kawaguchiko/)
– [HakoneNavi: Itineraries](https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/course)
– [Hakone Round Course](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html)
– [Nikko: One Day or Overnight Itinerary](https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tochigi/in-nikko/article-a0003340/)
– [Inside Kyoto: Itineraries](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-itineraries)
– [Inside Osaka: Itineraries](https://insideosaka.com/osaka-itineraries/)
– [Nara Itineraries](https://www.insidekyoto.com/nara-itineraries)
Travel is always a personal thing. With this short stay I am not sure I would go to 2 theme parks like Disney and usj. I found that saving all your points of interest on google maps makes it easier to move from place to place. You tubers like Paolo from Tokyo have Google map locations on their pages. Find yourself in dotonburi and then you might have 2 or 3 spots on your google wish list that are close by. Makes it easy to try the good nearest you.
Like others have said I don’t think you need a Jr rail pass as you are not travelling enough. Get a suica or similar card for the trains. You can order things like sim csrds through klook and can pick those up at the airport. Klook will give you discounts on many attractions. Some things like shinkansen tickets are cheaper if you buy them prior to your trip. Make sure you give yourself time to explore the shops in akihabara or den den town in Osaka. Whether it anime or pop culture or record stores etc.
With some of the more popular attractions/ Shrines it works better if you go early or late. Fushima shrine and
Kiyomizu-dera were ones where we were we were glad we weren’t in a huge procession.
Since no one else has mentioned this, if your goal is to be in Kyoto by noon, you have to be on the 10:07 Hikari from Odawara. (and you will still get in a t 12:15) Making the 10:07 means getting to Hakone-Yumoto by 9:24. I don’t know where you are staying in Hakone, but just be aware that because of connection times you might be leaving much earlier than you planned.
I honestly can not imagine having the energy for nightlife after spending a full day in Disney Sea, especially since most theme parks are most productive for rides at park opening. Even on a week day lines can be long (though not as bad as USJ) If you leave Sea at 9, it’s going to take you a while to get back to Tokyo, because you have to exit the park with the crowds, get on the monorail, get off the monorail, get into Maihama Station, get on a train, get to Tokyo Station, get from the Keiyo part of Tokyo Station to Central Tokyo Station. This all just takes longer than you might think, because you’re not going to be alone. And USJ always has bad lines now. Go read the USJ trip report on reddit for mid week in January. Lots and lots of lines.
I have no idea why you would dress up in Kimono and then go to the monkey park. The park is a good 20-30 minutes walk mostly uphill. It’s not exactly something I would want to do in a kimono and if you are wearing geta instead of sneakers, all I can say is OUCH! Nara is a good 45 minutes+ one way from Kyoto and I’m not sure I would want to wear a rental kimono on a train line so far. I think this is such a weird choice.
I only got one advice for the trip.
Don’t plan too much and allow yourself to get lost in the cities. Especially Tokyo. On my trip to Japan I had like one or two places per day to visit and left everything else unplanned. Went with the flow, strolled through random streets and found interesting things around every corner.
Maybe it’s not your thing. But personally I prefer to travel without the stress of a tight schedule. It’s impossible to see everything everywhere during one visit anyway. Make the best out of the trip and have fun.
I think it’s very little time to see Hakone. By the time you reach Hakone it’ll be around mid-afternoon it seems. And then you’ll head off the next morning. Just a heads up that it takes annoyingly long to get around within Hakone, so based on this you’ll probably just get to see 1-2 sites. I personally stayed 2 nights and even then felt a bit rushed. But i can understand if you’re not able to add 1 more night at Hakone, just be sure to plan your time in Hakone efficiently.