Hi all – we’re going to be blitzing through Tokyo in late September. It’ll be myself, my wife, her brother, and their parents, but we expect that after dinner they will turn in so the three of us can hit the bars etc. I’ve done some research on the stuff, but I’m curious if there’s anything near where we will be that I’m missing or if any of these places will need advance reservations.
We are from New York, so walking is not going to be a problem and we already have decent availability for wagyu, the more common Kitkats, etc. Also unfortunately not into sports or otaku culture, so sadly those destinations will be lost on us. On the other hand, we love vintage stuff (though the vintage on offer seems to be mostly books?) and design/art history.
Specific questions in *italics*.
Day 1 – Taito:
– 5 AM landing in Haneda 🥴 and taking the Keikyū Airport Line to our hotel. (*I’ve heard breakfast sushi is a thing here – is it only at fish markets, or can we find something either near Shinagawa station or Senso-ji?*)
– Nakamise-dori, Senso-ji and the temple complex, (*I’m interested in doing the Goshuin, I assume they sell the booklet here*) then lunch at Onigiri Asakusa
– Light shopping at Marugoto Nippon for local foods to bring back, and depending on the timing (*how long do the temples take?*) take the train down to the Ameyoko shopping area and the Niki no Kashi store there, and Ueno Park (*is the Tokyo National Museum worth going when we have the Met at home?*)
– Dinner somewhere (*I don’t have any pins near either Ameyoko or Senso-ji, open to suggestions!*)
Day 2 – Shibuya:
– Take the train (*The Yamanote Line is JR but as far as I can see it’s not worth it to get the JR pass if we’re only traveling within the city, is that right?*) to Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Shrine complex.
– Ōta Memorial Museum of Art (*I don’t see this one mentioned a lot, is it worth it?*)
– Lunch at Tonkatsu Maisen Aoyama or Kiki Harajuku, dessert at Mikon Club, Omotesandō Chachanoma, and/or Number Sugar
– Shop around (d47 Shokudo, AKOMEYA TOKYO, MEGA Donki, Miyashita Park)
– Dinner at Sincere Blue or Kotaro depending on where we end up
– SG Club, SG Low, The Bellwood, and/or Junmaishusenmon YATA Shibuyaten
Day 3 – Minato + Koto:
– Breakfast at Sushi Dai in Toyosu Fish Market, then see teamLab Planets
– Snack at HIGASHIYA man, Nezu museum, then lunch somewhere nearby (*suggestions? I was thinking the Tokyo Whisky Library’s lunch options looked pretty good*). Round out lunch with Sakurai tea experience and Nanaya Ayoama ice cream.
– *The Kyu Asakura House is nearby – is it worth a detour to see it?* I have a couple of pins in that area (SML shop, Dolce Takubo, Bar TRENCH) but probably won’t go if there is nothing to see nearby.
– Otherwise the schedule is open for the afternoon/evening. *We were thinking of checking out Shimokitazawa or doing one of the cruise + dinner things like Yakatabune AMITATSU.*
Day 4 – Tokyo to Kamakura:
– After breakfast at the hotel, take the train down to Kamakura and perhaps grab some snacks at Arbre Noir Yakumi and Imoyoshi Yakata
– Have lunch at Kaedena if we’re already hungry, See the Kamakura Daibutsu, then head up the Daibutsu hiking trail past Sasuke Inari shrine up to a cluster of temples (Jochi-ji, Tokei-ji, Engaku-ji, and Meigetsu-in), then possibly Tsurugaoka Hachimangu and Kencho-ji on the way back (*Are the temples sufficiently different that it’s worth seeing this many?*)
– Dinner at ETE Kamakura or Minemoto, then shop around Komachi-dori
Day 5 – Kamakura to Tokyo:
– Breakfast somewhere (*suggestions?*) then do the Ten-en hiking course
– Lunch at Ah goo, then head back up to Tokyo
– Tokyo City View And Sky Deck and the Mori Art Museum
– Dinner at Elezo Gate or Tachiguizushi Akira, and drinks at Memento Mori and Andaz Hotel bar
Day 6 is fully booked with a family occasion
Day 7 – Ginza:
– Breakfast at Tsukiji Market and tea at Uogashimeicha Tsukiji
– Shop at Maruyamanoriten Tsukiji Honten, Mitsukoshi Ginza, Higashiya Ginza, Ginza Six, Ginza Ginger, Pierre Hermé Marunouchi, with lunch at Chūka Soba Ginza Hachigou
– Circle back for dinner at Kyūbey or Sumiyaki Unafuji Yūrakuchō, and drinks at The Grey Room and High Five
Day 8 – Chioyda and Shinjuku or Shimokitazawa:
– Breakfast at the hotel, then see the Imperial Palace’s adjoining parks
– Intermediatheque and more shopping at KITTE Marunouchi, 85[ハチゴウ] COREDO室町テラス店, AKOMEYA TOKYO Nihonbashitakashimaya, and Ippodo Tea Tokyo Marunouchi (will I be tired of all the tea? the answer is no)
– Lunch at Heichan or Tamai Nihonbashi Main Branch, or a snack at Saryo Tsujiri, Ekibenya Matsuri Gransta Tokyo, or Yamamotoyama Fujie Sabō
– Hit up anything we might have missed, probably either one of:
– – Shinjuku: Shinjuku Gyoen Gardens, Azuki to Kouri, dinner at SilkRoad Tarim Uyghur Restaurant or Harukor Ainu Restaurant, drinks at New York Bar, Ben Fidditch, Sake Market, Zoetrope, and/or Jeremiah, shop at AKOMEYA TOKYO NEWoMan新宿 if we missed the one in Ginza
– – Shimokitazawa (if we didn’t do it earlier): Shiro-Hige’s Cream Puff Factory, the shops in Bonus Track, Desk Labo, snack at Shimokita Chaen Ōyama and Ogawa Coffee Laboratory, dinner at Shirubee or Ponpirika
– Grab our bags from the hotel and hit the airport, grabbing any last minute goodies at Edo-Shokuhinkan (Jidai-kan)
Also happy to get any advice on how to make the trains & phone SIM as painless as possible.
5 comments
The National Museum is focused on Japanese art and history. Totally different from the Met. It is worth it.
Ameyoko has so much street food and stands that spill out into the streets. You can just walk around and find so many options. For a specific spot, check out Yakitori Bunraku
Kyu Asakura House – It is only 100 yen to tour and a quick stop. Worth it if you are planning on spending some time around Daikanyama. There is a lunch spot around the corner called Issen which is great. I would much rather spend time in that area than in Shimokitazawa (which would have been my vibe in my early 20s).
It seems unlikely that you’ll be wanting to go clubbing on day 2 given jet lag
Food quality is very high in Japan, so I’d suggest being flexible about where you eat. Pre planning what snacks you’ll have seems a lot like over planning.
Breakfast is not as common as you might think, so if you really want to go for sushi, go to Tsukiji market. Otherwise, restaurants that I know are open for breakfast are things like gyudon restaurant and convenience store is always a good option.
Yes they sell the goshuin booklet at temple and shrines. If you do not like the design at Senso-ji, just go right of the main building and there is Asakusa-jinja that have different optiions. Obviously, you can get the goshuin of both.
Technically visiting the temple won’t be that long, maybe a bit more if you check the stores around.
Tokyo National Museum is a really cool history museum that focus mainly on Japanese history, that have nothing to compare with MET… or do you mean The Narional Museum of Western Art … that I would skip as I am not that much into art anyway.
No, not worth a JR Pass that cost over 3000 a day for local train that cost from 180 yen a ride.
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In Kamakura, I think that the path between Sasuke Inari-jinja and the daibutsu trail is broken, I only saw a blocked of stair when I went in May. I think the trail have been close at some point because of typhoon damage. Might have to go to Beniarai then back to Sasku inari by the streets instead.
To make train as painless as possible, get an IC card, right now physical card would be Welcome Suica or Pasmo Passport that you can get at the airport, you cannot get a refund on the balance so do not overcharge and empty it by buying stuff in a store or you can load a card on your iPhone and charge it with a non-visa credit card. If your phone work with esim, do that, otherwise you can get a physical card, either order it to pickup at the airport (might have to wait for stores to open) or get one from a vending machine.
Hi!
If you’re planning to visit the Nihombashi Takashimaya to just walk around, then sure it can be fast, but if you are actually going there to shop for clothes, expect it to take a bit longer, the same is true for any of the other clothing stores you mention in Ginza and the Nihonbashi area.
We decided to do some shopping for some new clothes for my daughter and we easily spent 1+ hours looking at different brands within Takashimaya, trying on outfits, trying on more outfits, buying things and then doing tax free.
Make sure you give yourself enough time with the airport. I don’t know if I am just unlucky or what, but when I left Japan from NRT in January 2023 and from Haneda in July 2023, baggage drop off took a ridiculous amount of time (we were already checked in, this was pretty much just baggage drop off) and Customs and Immigration/security also had really long lines. It worked out for our flight out of NRT, because it got delayed 3 hours. At Haneda we didn’t get to the gate until right as they started boarding and we’d gotten to Haneda almost 3 hours ahead of time.
I happen to really like Kenchoji, so it’s worth it to me? There is a small shrine up a hillside behind the temple with a ton and tengu statues. In good weather, you can see Mt. Fuji from the lookout area.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to get Shiro-Hige’s cream puffs unless you are really into Totoro. They’re not that good, just super cute. I think the cookies are much much better (and also cute and possibly an option to bring back with you.) I also don’t think the cream puffs travel well.
Good luck!
too long didn’t read.
Sushi for breakfast? never heard of. Do you have pizza for breakfast too. It’s possible if go to seafood shop like Isomaru and they have seafood bowl kaisendon.
JR pass: not worth if you just around. Instead search for its lesser know brother “JR tokyo wide pass “ 10k yen infinite ride around Greater Kanto area.
Kamakura: there are more than just temple. Discover Kamakura Enoshima Zushi Hayama as a whole. It’s Long beach