We will land in Tokyo on August 4 and depart from Osaka on August 17. Our interests are nature and technology (camera, trains, etc.). I would also love to know where to see or find souvenirs for Ikkyuu-san the Little Monk.We are flexible with what to see/visit. We will probably end up skipping things below if we want to spend more time somewhere once we are there. Looking for any suggestions on how to improve our trip! Thank you so much 🙂
**Friday, August 4: Arrive at HND around 2PM.**
* Take Limousine Bus to Shibuya, check-in or drop off luggage at JR-East Hotel Mets Shibuya.
* Explore Shibuya crossing, eat, shop.
* Night time: maybe go to Shinjuku and do some exploring/shopping. Don quijote and maybe the Kabukicho tower to see the design.
**Saturday, August 5: Explore Shibuya and Shinjuku.**
* Breakfast in Shibuya and visit Meiji Jingu Shrine
* Explore Shinjuku
* Shinjuku Gyoen Garden and visit the Rakuutei Tea House
* Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
* Isetan Department Store (maybe late lunch near here)
* Map Camera and Yodabashi Camera
* Night time: bar hop tour in Omiode Yokocho. Should we do the tour or explore ourselves? We don’t speak Japanese.
**Sunday, August 6: Mount Fuji, Hakone, Lake Ashi Tour.**
* Mount Fuji trip from 8:15 am to around 7:00 pm.
* Dinner at Zauo when we return.
**Monday, August 7: Disney Sea.**
* Breakfast around Shibuya and arrive at Disney Sea at 9. Spend the whole day at Disney.
* Leave around 8:00 pm and return to Shibuya for dinner.
**Tuesday, August 8: Ginza, Akihabara, Asakusa, maybe Harajuku.**
* Ginza:
* Toyosu and Tsukiji. We are planning to arrive at Toyosu early (6?) to watch from the gallery above and perhaps move to Tsukiji for food?
* Art Aquarium Museum
* Tokyu Plaza Ginza
* Ginza Lion Beer Hall (maybe)
* Imperial Palace
* Explore Asakusa; visit Senso-ji and Nakamise Dori Street
* Explore Akihabara
* Explore Harajuku and visit the Galaxy teamLab exhibition
**Wednesday, August 9: Leave Tokyo and travel to Nagoya.**
* Breakfast and last-minute shopping in Tokyo, maybe visit Hie shrine.
* Check out from hotel around 11 and depart from Tokyo around 2 or 3 pm.
* After arriving in Nagoya: Check-in at Nishitetsu Hotel Croom and explore Osu shopping district.
**Thursday, August 10: Nagoya attractions.**
* Breakfast around 8 am, arrive at Toyota Museum at 9:30. We know there are several, we have the address of the one we want to go to but I forgot what the exact name is.
* Around noon, after Toyota, we will have some food along Kinshachi Yokocho and visit Nagoya Castle.
* Around 2 pm, go to SCMaglev Park.
* Return to hotel area, possibly explore more Osu or just walk around.
**Friday, August 11: Leave Nagoya and travel to Kyoto.**
* Arrive in Kyoto around 10 – 11 and drop off luggage at Hotel Grand Bach Kyoto Select.
* Grab some food at Nishiki Market and visit Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine.
* Explore Kiyomizudera Shrine and Sannenzaka + Ninnenzaka street.
* See Yasaka Shrine.
* Late lunch at Honke Owariya.
* Kyoto Imperial Palace (get in before 4 pm) and the national garden.
* Attend a book binding class 🙂
* Dinner around our hotel and relax 🙂
**Saturday, August 12: Kibune.**
* Visit Kifune shrine and do Omikuji. Maybe try some of the riverside dining if it’s not too busy.
* Walk around and explore, maybe go to Kurama or head back to Kyoto. We are still deciding, what would you recommend?
**Sunday, August 13: Nara and Uji.**
* Wake up super early and see Fushimi Inari (does this make sense or are we being too ambitious to do this before Nara and Uji?)
* Aoniyoshi train to Nara and spend some hours there, see the Obon festival celebrations.
* Around 2 pm, go to Uji (about 1 hour 15 mins from Nara), explore for a few hours and see Byodo-in. Will Uji be accessible during Obon?
* Return to hotel and eat nearby.
**Monday, August 14: Maybe a shopping day?**
* Visit Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in the morning.
* We want to relax today and will probably just explore the city.
**Tuesday, August 15: Depart from Kyoto and arrive in Osaka.**
* Depart from Kyoto around noon. After arriving, leave luggage at Agora Place Osaka Namba.
* Explore Dotonbori and surrounding area.
* Namba Yasaka Shrine, Shitenno-ji Temple, Kuromon Market, Shinsekai.
**Wednesday, August 16: Osaka.**
* Should we do a half day trip to Arima Onsen? Looking online, it doesn’t seem to be that vibrant after the pandemic. I wonder if our time is better spent in Osaka.
* If we don’t do a day trip we will visit Osaka Castle, shinsaibashi-suji street, and see a show at the Takarazuka theatre.
**Thursday, August 17: Osaka.**
* Last minute shopping and leave Osaka!
2 comments
August 13 doesn’t sound reasonable. Nara is easily a full day on its own – why not shift everything else to the next day?
The Disney Parks open at 8:30 am and you are going during a school break. I would get there closer to 7:30 because the parks are going to be super crowded.
If you leave Sea at 8, you won’t be back in Shibuya until closer to 9.
Be aware that that you are unlikely to get that classic view of Mt Fuji in August because seeing Mt. Fuji in Summer is just hard and the top is is rarely visible. When it is visible, it is not snow covered, hence why climbing season is in the Summer.
While I’ve not gone, I’m given to understand that getting tickets for a Takarazuka production can be quite challenging because they are very popular and have strong fan followings in Japan. I don’t think it’s the sort of thing you just decide on a whim to do.
What time is your book binding class and what time are you trying to get dinner in Kyoto on August 11th? I think you will find a lot of restaurants have last order by 8:30/20:30. Trying to eat after that is going to limit your options.