Hi Everyone,
Me and my husband always dreamed going to Japan and we are going this October! Our main interests are theme parks, animals, food, and I used to watch anime when I was younger. We both have been in Japan but when we were only little kids. We are seeking kind redditors advice/input on our 14 days itinerary below:
\*EDIT: formatting.
Day 1 – Tokyo
* Arrive at 1PM (Narita)
* Go to Hotel (Higashi Shinjuku Area) to Drop Baggage (optionally leave the luggage in Shinjuku Locker) by 4-5PM
* Explore Shinjuku – Area of interest:
* Tokyo Metropolitan Government building (Optional)
* Gyukatsu Motomura for Dinner
* Walk through Omoide Yokocho /Shinjuku Golden Gai
* Toho Cinemas (Godzilla Head)
* Tokyu Kabukicho Tower (Optional)
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Day 2 – Tokyo – Public Holiday in Japan
* Gotokuji Temple (optional – as it’s very far, is it worth it? We do love cats. If not worth it, what can we do in the morning before our Omakase Reservation at 11:30 at maranouchi?)
* Manten Sushi Maranouchi at 11:30AM (reserved)
* Walk through Yoyogi Park/Meiji Jingu to Harajuku (Is it worth to go if not autumn yet?)
* Pet Café at Harajuku (takes 1 hour, we want to see Otter)
* OhNo Beef Roast for dinner
* Explore Harajuku (Takeshita street or walk to Omotesando), looking for second hand goods
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Day 3 – Tokyo
Disneyland (whole day)
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Day 4 – Tokyo/Kawaguchiko
* Lake Kawaguchiko Half Day Trip
* Panaromic Ropeway
* Natural Living Center
* Target to reach back Shibuya by 6pm latest
* Shibuya Sky at 7:20PM (Reserved) – (Question: Is it too ambitious to lump Kawaguchiko with Shibuya at same day?)
* Hachiko Statue & Shibuya Crossing
* Dinner at Shibuya
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Day 5 – Tokyo
DisneySea (whole day)
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Day 6 – Kyoto
* Travel to Kyoto, target to reach Kyoto by 11:00 AM
* Check in Hotel (Minami-ku area)
* Nishiki Market for Lunch
* Nijo Castle (We read around that Nijo castle is recommended)
* Explore Gion/Pontocho Alley
* Yasaka Jinja shrine (if not too tired)
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Day 7 – Kyoto – Nara
* Fushimi Inari by 7AM (not hiking)
* Travel to Nara
* Eat at Sanjo Dori Street, Kokufuji Temple , Nara Park (Yay Deers!) , Todaiji Temple, Isuien Garden, Kasuga Taiga (if got time)
* Evening/Dinner- Explore Gion more, or Yasaka Jinja Shrine if not covered yesterday
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Day 8 – Kyoto – Osaka
* Start Early Explore Higashiyama area & Kiyomizu Dera
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Hokanji, Kodaiji, Ghibli Studios Shop, Sannenzaka – Nineizaka, Starbucks
* Travel to Osaka and reach by 7
* Check in hotel (Shin Imamiya area)
* Dinner at Dotonburi /Shinsekai
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Day 9 – Osaka
* Kuromon Ichiba Market
* Osaka Castle/Nishinomaru Garden
* Glion Museum (husband’s interest, he is a car enthusiast)
* Osaka Aquarium 5pm – 8pm (15 mins walk from Glion Museum)
* Dinner at Dotonburi/Namba/Hozenji Yokocho (if time permits, if not FamilyMart)
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Day 10 – Osaka
Universal Studio (whole day)
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Day 11 – Osaka – Kobe
* Namba Yasaka Shrine
* Travel to Kobe
* Steak land or Tor Road Steak Aoyama
* Kobe Nanobiki Herb Gardens
* Travel back to Osaka and explore either Den Den Town or Shinshibaishi for shopping or enjoy Onsen at Hotel
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Day 12 – Tokyo
* Travel to Tokyo – reach by 12pm latest
* Check in Hotel at Tsukiji /Ginza Area
* Eat at Tsujihan (Akasaka Ark hills, queue needed)
* Team Labs Planets (Reserved at 5:30pm)
* Driver City/Odaiba Beach/ Gundam Base Tokyo
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Day 13
* Tsukiji Outer Market
* Nisan heritage Collection (in Zama, estimated 2 hours roundtrip)
* Free & easy – some ideas:
* Shinjuku for last minute shopping
* AirBnB host -led Izakaya tour (usually starts at 5:30pm- 8pm)
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Day 14
* Check out and leave luggage at hotel?
* Ueno Park & Ueno Zoo (9:30 to 12:30?)
* Explore Ginza/Akihabara/Asakusa/Tokyo Tower?
* Travel to airport at 9PM (Haneda) , Flight back at 1:30AM
Questions:
1. Any recommendation to improve my Kyoto trip? I’ve only realized there’s many things to do in Kyoto vs Osaka once I booked hotels and now they’ve gotten more expensive if I changed hotels. I had to sacrifice Arashiyama Bamboo and Kinkaku-ji because we are only interested in Arashiyama Bamboo (and not monkey park), and we don’t want to go during night time because it looks very scary at night. Kinkaku-ji is also far. Any tips will be appreciated.
2. On Day 7 & 8, shall I do Fushimi Inari + Kiyomizu Dera on Day 7 and then do Nara + travel to Osaka on day 8 instead? My only concern is just to travel with luggage if I do Nara + Osaka
3. Since early to mid october the leaves are not yet red, shall I swap Kawaguchiko trip to Nikko trip? Heard Nikko leaves may already be red on October.
Thank you for taking the time to review our itinerary 🙂
3 comments
I wouldn’t suggest doing any exotic animal cafe including the otter one, it’s unethical and honestly just cruel.
If you are interested in bamboo groves, Kodai-ji has one and is already on your list.
For Gion, I’d recommend starting from the Kiyomizudera/Sannenzaka area and making your way to Pontocho Alley/Yasaka Shrine. It’s a great walk and would make more sense to do it in one go. Then you’ll have space to do Arashiyama or Kinkakuji if you’d like (I personally enjoyed the former over the latter).
For the Nara Osaka question – you can store your luggage at the Nara station if you’d like. There was luggage storage at the visitor’s center for a really fair price, and I believe there are luggage lockers as well.