Itinerary Check: 15 Days in August. Tokyo/Kyoto/Hiroshima/Osaka/Tokyo again

Hey guys,

This is kinda short notice, but I’m going to be spending the first two weeks of August in Japan and would like it if people could look over my very loose, tentative itinerary to make sure it’s not totally ridiculous or impractical. I am in my early 30s. This will be my second time to Japan, my second time traveling internationally overall, my first time to Japan in 10 years, my first time on my own, and my first time spending extensive time in Tokyo (I was primarily in Hiroshima 10 years ago).

**July 31st:**

Arrive at Haneda at around 9:00 P.M.

Obtain Suica and Wifi (will probably have Wifi sent to hotel)

Take train to hotel in Asakusa

Crash. Maybe grab something at konbini beforehand.

**August 1st:**

Largely depends on how jetlagged I am

Senso-Ji

Skytree?

Akihabara

-Super Potato

-Animate

-Yodobashi Camera

-Various arcades

Shibuya Crossing

Shopping in various places in Shibuya and Shinjuku

Watch How Do You Live? at Toho Shinjuku (kind of the main reason for the trip tbh lol)

Maybe grab a couple drinks after the movie and seeing Shibuya Crossing at night before crashing at the hotel.

**August 2nd:**

Ghibli Museum, if I can get tickets. Teamlab Planets, if not.

Exploring Tokyo. Anything I didn’t already do the previous day.

**August 3rd:**

Tokyo Disney

May grab a few drinks before heading back to the hotel. Craft beer bar maybe? 8-bit cafe?

**August 4th:**

Shinkansen to Kyoto

Nishiki Market

Spend night in modestly-priced ryokan

Kyoto Brewing Company?

**August 5th:**

Fushimi Inari-taisha

Toei Studio Park? (Big Evangelion fan. Want to see life-sized Eva lol)

Spend night in a different hotel

**August 6th:**

Early shinkansen to Hiroshima

Peace Park/Museum

Carp game (Already have standing room tickets. Periodically checking Stubhub for performance seats.)

**August 7th:**

Miyajima

Jazz club at night?

**August 8th:**

Exploring around Hiroshima. Seeing how things have changed in 10 years.

Dinner at Okonomimura

**August 9th:**

Shinkansen to Osaka

Cup Noodle Museum?

Dotonbori/Shinsaibashi

Sleep at capsule hotel

**August 10th:**

Universal Studios?

Check-in at hostel

**August 11th:**

Osaka Castle

Osaka Aquarium

Umeda Sky?

**August 12th:**

Shinkansen back to Tokyo

Check-in at hotel right around the center of town

**August 13th:**

Get in line early for lunch at Ginza Hachigo or Konjiki Hototogisu?

Ghibli exhibit at Terrada Warehouse

**August 14th:**

Teamlab Planets if I went to the Ghibli Museum earlier. Ghibli Museum if not (again, assuming I can get tickets).

Anything I may have missed in my time in Tokyo. (Skytree if I haven’t already done it, for example)

Check-in to new hotel for final night

**August 15th:**

Last minute exploring and shopping. Flight leaves Narita at 9:30 P.M. Will try to take train to airport around 4:00-5:00.

So as you may have noticed, there’s a lot of gaps and uncertainty in my schedule, particularly in Kyoto (as brief as my time there is) and the last days in Tokyo. There’s a ton of other things I would really like to do, but don’t know when the best times to do them would be. Toyosu Market might be cool, but I dunno if I want to wake up that early lol. Sumo or kabuki would be neat, too. I would love to see Roppongi, Ginza, Harajuku, and anywhere else in Tokyo. It might not hurt to keep my schedule open and just wander around.

Of course, food and drink are still pretty up in the air right now. I don’t want to spend a whole lot of money on that, but it seems like I can get good food for pretty cheap.

Lodging is pretty much set, so I’m not really able to change how many days I spend in each city. It seems like just about everywhere I’m staying has luggage storage, so I don’t have to worry about taking all my things everywhere if I’m exploring after checking out of one place and before checking into another.

I would love some suggestions of more temples and shrines to go to. Between Senso-ji, Fushimi Inari-taisha, and Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima, it seems like my intinerary is pretty loaded with Shinto and not a whole lot of Buddhism. Some more museums might be cool, too.

If they’re not busy, I might meet up with some friends, too. And I’m sure I’ll also meet some new people. I’m a sucker for karaoke.