Hello all!
My husband (28) and I (28) will be traveling to Japan for the first time next year during cherry blossom season for our postponed honeymoon (was supposed to be back in 2021, thanks COVID). I am hoping to get your feedback and recommendations to ensure that I am creating a realistic schedule, and if I am missing out on anything! I have created a tentative list of duration estimations and some activities we would like to do in each place.
A little about us, we LOVE anime, food, and are excited to experience an array of culture and scenery in Japan. Ramen, Sushi, Udon, Omurice etc. is a must (recommendations for places in each city is appreciated). We would like to visit some temples, but are not keen on utilizing a lot of days to do so. We are pretty laid back, and just want to take in the experience rather than jam-packing our days with a rigid schedule.
We will not be getting the JR Pass due to the future price increase, as it does not seem worth it for our trip utilizing the JR calculator. In terms of payment for trains and convenience stores, do you suggest **Pasmo** or **Suica** card? In terms of credit cards, is Japan friendly with **American Express**?
What are your thoughts on **luggage delivery services** across Japan?
**Wifi:** Do you suggest eSim or Pocket wifi?
We are considering staying in 2 places during our Tokyo stay (on opposite sides of Tokyo) just to get more experiences. Do you recommend, or is it more beneficial just to stay in the same area for the 4 nights and just take the train to the prefectures?
**Day 1 (Mar. 21): Flight to Tokyo from US**
**Day 2 (Mar. 22): Land in Tokyo**
\-Get into the city in the evening, check-in at hotel, probably walk around surrounding area
**Day 3 (Mar. 23): Shibuya & Shinjuku**
\- Visit Harajuku (Cat Street, Takeshita Street)
\- Shibuya Scramble Crossing (best place to get a photo of it as well?)
\-Shibuya: Shopping (Mega Donki, etc.) & Lunch
\-Head to Shinjuku: more shopping, food, Golden Gai, Omoide Yokocho
**Day 4 (Mar. 24): Akihabara & Taito**
\- Start off exploring Akihabara :Kanda Myojin Shrine, Dijingu Shrine, shops
\-Travel to Taito: Ueno Park, Asakusa (Sensoji Temple, Hoppy street, Nakamise Shopping Street, Pokemon Center)
**Day 5 (Mar. 25): Ginza & Minato**
\- Diver City
\-Uniqlo in Ginza
\-Hamarikyu Garden
**\*Tokyo Flex Attractions: Teamlabs Borderless; Tokyo Robot Restauarant\***
**Day 6 (Mar. 26): Travel to Hakone**
\-Stay in a ryokan with a private onsen (if available, suggestions appreciated)
\- Hakone Tozan Railway –> Ropeway, Hakone Shrine Ashi Lake
**Day 7 (Mar. 27): Travel to Kyoto**
\-Train to Kyoto; flex day
\-Eat at Kichi Omurice
**Day 8 (Mar. 28): Explore Kyoto**
\-Philosopher’s Path (Nanzen-ji Temple, Gingaku-ji Temple)
\-Nishiki Market
\-Miyaki Odori
**Day 9 (Mar. 29): Explore Kyoto**
Sagano Romantic Train
\-Hozugawa River Boat Ride
**Day 10 (Mar. 30): Day Trip to Nara**
\-Nara Park (bowing deer of course)
\- Mt. Yoshino
\-Todai-ji Temple
\-Head to Osaka stay
**Day 11 (Mar. 31): Explore Osaka**
\-Dotonburi District for good eats and shopping
\-Shinsekai in the evening
**Day 12 (April 1): Explore Osaka**
\-Get some fluffy pancakes
\-Osaka Castle
\-Shinsaibashisuji
**Day 13 (April 2): Explore Osaka**
\-Instant Ramen Museum
\-Explore Koroman Market
**Day 14 (April 3): Travel to Fukuoka**
\- Eat some Tonkotsu Ramen (Canal City Mall)
\-Vintage shopping in Daimyo
\-Yatai Food Stalls
\-Ohori Park
**Day 15 (April 4): Trip to Hita City**
\- Attack on Titan Bus tour (if available)
\- Mamedamachi Shopping Street
**Day 16 (April 5): Travel back to Tokyo**
\- Flight from Fukuoka to Haneda Airport
\-Do any last minute exploring in Tokyo **(may be good for the flex events?)**
**Day 17 (April 6): Travel back US**
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**\*Thanks in advance for your help!\***
3 comments
Pasmo and Suica are almost the same, either will work in the same place. If you have an iphone, just load it in your phone and charge it with your Amex, you will also be able to use it in stores to pay. I do not have an Amex but I think it’s widely accepted, however, there is still stores that accept cash only.
I do not think it’s worth changing hotel within Tokyo. Also your use of “prefecture” is wrong. Ginza is a neighborhood of Tokyo and Minato is a ward (sometimes translated as city). The prefectures are the equivalent of states in the US…. so yes, only stay in one place and just take the train to different neighborhoods.
Robot Restaurant closed. It briefly announced it would re-open than that was apparently canceled. As far as I know Borderless is not open yet but should be by March next year.
If you want to stay in two different area of Tokyo, then do it when you arrive and before you leave… might also want to put one or two of the Tokyo days at the end so you could focus on the shopping at the end and not carry everything all the way to Fukuoka and back.
In the evening you must visit the 47th floor of Scramble Square, the view will be unforgettable.
>Stay in a ryokan with a private onsen
If you have to choose one, I strongly recommend Kawaguchiko over Hakone. It’s a bit harder to get to (and get out of, if you’re continuing on to Kyoto), but it’s the best spot to see Mt. Fuji.
>Hozugawa River Boat Ride
Ah, finally someone has this in their plans :D.
>Fukuoka / Hita
This seems much too out of the way. Unless there’s a specific reason to travel to Kyushu, I’d recommend putting these extra days in and around Hiroshima instead.
A rough single trip from Tokyo to Fukuoka appears to be around 24000yen, so 50000-ish round trip. It’s not quite the 80000 of a 14-day pass, but not far from it either. With a few extra rides here and there, it might turn out worthwhile in the end. But likely not if you only go as far as Hiroshima though.
>cherry blossom season
I think the biggest problem here is that you aren’t actually planning for cherry blossoms. Nothing particularly wrong with that if you aren’t interested, and you’ll see them randomly across your voyage, but no real reason to go during peak Cherry blossom season if you’re not visiting the relevant attractions, no?