Hello everyone,
I’m solo traveling to Japan (first time for both) from December 8th – 19th (12 days, 11 nights). I’ve read a lot of your posts here and consulted many guides to put together the itinerary below. I haven’t travelled in over a decade so I made sure to include some rest days so I don’t stress out too bad. I will appreciate any advice, and thanks in advance! I also have a couple of targeted questions:
1. Is Day 2 too packed? I made sure the locations weren’t *too* far from each other. The only problem I see is potentially having to go back and forth for the Tokyo Skytree.
2. Anything recommendations for Day 3 in Shibuya? It’s a bit short, so if there’s nothing, I’ll just go shop the rest of the day away at Shibuya Center-Gai.
3. Are my routes for Day 6 (Kamakura) and Day 8 (Hakone) too much, too little, or ok?
4. Can I just lug my one suitcase onto the train for Hakone or should I use a luggage forwarding service? If so, what luggage forwarding service should I use to forward my luggage from Ueno to Hakone, and when should I do it?
## Dec 8 (Day 1)
– Arrive at Haneda and get a Welcome Suica card
– Make my way to the hotel at Ueno, check in & unpack
– Get some konbini food and sleep because I’m probably dead with 15+ hours of flying with a 4 hour layover
## Dec 9 (Day 2) – Chiyoda / Toshima / Shinjuku
– Pokemon Center
– Imperial Palace
– Nakano Broadway
– Shinjuku Gyoen
– Suga shrine (I want to see the stairs from ‘Your Name’)
– Tokyo SkyTree (sunset time, 4:30PMish), I’m going to book an advance ticket for this
– At night, I want to visit one (or both) of Golden Gai or Omoide Yokocho, not sure if it’s a good idea to eat there as well as I don’t drink all that much
## Dec 10 (Day 3) – Shibuya
– Visit Shibuya Crossing
– Take a picture with Hachiko Statue (if the line isn’t too bad)
– Meiji Jingu shrine
– Shibuya Sky
– Shibuya Center-Gai
## Dec 11 (Day 4) – Koto City (Odaiba)
– Tsukiji Outer Market (Might take a food tour for this)
– See the Unicorn Gundam Statue
– Experience teamLab Planets
– DiverCity Tokyo Plaza
## Dec 12 (Day 5) – Yokohama (Day Trip)
– See giant Gundam @ Gundam Factory Yokohama
– Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum
– Chinatown
– Will try to visit the following, time permitting:
– Minatomirai
– Hikawa Maru
– Motomachi
– Bashamichi
– Ferris wheel at Cosmoworld around sunset (4:30 PMish)
## Dec 13 (Day 6) – Kamakura (Day Trip)
– Get the Kamakura Free Pass
– Engakuji and/or Kencho-ji
– Meigetsuin
– Hasedera
– Great Buddha of Kamakura
– Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine
– Might skip because they are far east:
– Hokokuji (bamboo grove), Meigetsuin also has a bamboo grove though
– Zuisenji
## Dec 14 (Day 7) – Rest Day
– I don’t really know what to do this day, I figure I might need to rest after two consecutive day trips
– Saw someone recommend checking out Todoroki Ravine Park, so I’ll give that and the town of Todoroki a visit perhaps
## Dec 15 (Day 8) – Hakone (Overnight Stay)
– Get the Hakone Free Pass
– Go to Hakone-Yumuto
– Check in at Hotel
– From Hakone-Yumuto, take the Hakone Tozan Railway to Gora
– Visit Hakone Open Air Museum
– Hakone Tozan cable car from Gora to Sounzan
– Maybe a visit to Hakone Art Museum and Gora Park
– Take Hakone Ropeway to Togendai
– Views of Mount Fuji
– Transfer of Ropeway at Owakudani, to observe volcanic activities
– Take Hakone Sightseeing Boat (pirate ship) from Togendai to Hakone-machi
– Views of Lake Ashinoko, wooded mountains, and Mount Fuji
– Walk from Hakone-machi to Moto-Hakone
– Maybe a visit to Checkpoint Museum, Detached Palace Garden, and the Ancient Cedar Avenue
– Visit Hakone Shrine in Moto-Hakone, and return by bus to Yumuto
– Enjoy the Ryokan at my hotel
## Dec 16 (Day 9) – Rest Day / Asakusa
– Finish off Hakone itinerary if incomplete, and return to Tokyo
– Asakusa Shrine
– Nakamise shopping street
## Dec 17 (Day 10) – Akihabara
– I’m just going to weeb out this day, my notes that I took below:
– Big figure stores close to each other
– AmiAmi
– Mandarake
– Lashinbang
– Akiba Culture Zone, first floor
– Tons of used figures
– Check back streets for smaller shops and better deals, though selection is more limited
– Crane games (Taito Station, GiGO, etc.)
## Dec 18 (Day 11) – Mt. Takao Hike / Free Travel Day
– Hike Mt. Takao
– Just shopping and exploring I guess?
## Dec 19 (Day 12)
– Have my final meal in Tokyo
– Head to airport around 12:30PM, time to go home (another 15h of flying RIP)
1 comment
>Is Day 2 too packed? I made sure the locations weren’t too far from each other. The only problem I see is potentially having to go back and forth for the Tokyo Skytree.
Only real concerns would be
**A.** Do you know what your body is like in terms of jet lag? It sounds like you’re heading from quite far away as you mention 15 hours of flying – you have my sympathies – so worth trying to maybe swap to a day that’s a bit lighter just in case you struggle to get up in the morning and get going. Perhaps swap this with Day 3 or 4??
**B.** What type of shopping are you looking at doing in Nakano? Are you a serious hunter/collector or are you just lookin to fit in some time for the experience? Both are completely fine, it’s just that you can EASILY sink hours into Nakano Broadway without even realising it (this is what no windows will do to you and you can expect similar in Akihabara or any of the shopping centres really LOL).
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>Anything recommendations for Day 3 in Shibuya? It’s a bit short, so if there’s nothing, I’ll just go shop the rest of the day away at Shibuya Center-Gai.
Any thoughts on maybe changing it up and using this and day 4 as your “rest” day as both I think have plenty of time to just wander around and play it by ear (with the exception of needing to book for TeamLab obviously)? Then the other days that were rest days, you can fill back up accordingly? What to do in Shibuya is completely up to what your hobbies and interests are to be honest.
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>Can I just lug my one suitcase onto the train for Hakone or should I use a luggage forwarding service? If so, what luggage forwarding service should I use to forward my luggage from Ueno to Hakone, and when should I do it?
Do you need to bring a whole suitcase? I personally would plan for more than 1 full day (which is inclusive of travel to) and bump it to 2 days minimum (if you have the budget as I think you’ll definitely have the time with everything you’ve listed you want to do) or cut it entirely, but if you’re dead set on just the 1 day, I would consider just keeping your hotel accommodation for your entire trip and paying for double accommodation for the 1 night. Leave your bag at the hotel and just take a backpack or similar for the overnight. Obviously this is budget dependent. At a worst case, just forward the bags to the next location your staying at and don’t try taking it to Hakone for **one night.** It’s just not worth the hassle or money IMO.
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>Dec 13 (Day 6) – Kamakura (Day Trip)
You could also potentially fit in Enoshima on the same day if you get an early start 🙂 You could save it for last and if you run out of time, do that separately on one of your rest days. I just visited and it definitely filled up a good 1/2 day at a minimum and was a nice change of pace from Tokyo. It’s also very accessible from Kamakura.
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>Dec 15 (Day 8) – Hakone (Overnight Stay)
As mentioned, strongly consider a second day. With the sunset time and closure of things in the loop as well as the addition of the open air museum, etc. (and having to travel to, do check-in, stop to eat, etc.) I really think you’ll struggle to do this all. Use a rest day to have a second day here and take your time. Either that or prepared to potentially miss some of Hakone (just to be realistic and give yourself time). Alternatively, plan your trip so you take the last train back on the second day and if you are finished earlier, consider that a bonus.
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>Dec 17 (Day 10) – Akihabara
Not really much to say here other than “hello my fellow weeb” and “I understand the lure of the crane game….but strongly reconsider just buying what you want” LOL I blew SO much money. **SO. MUCH. MONEY.** I could’ve bought some of what I tried to get for the same price if not less than I spent trying (and failing) to win. I did win 2 things – one was in Akiba – but one I spent SO much money trying to get, I probably could’ve ordered in online for less hassle and less price LOL. I still regret nothing, just…. don’t fall into the trap. If you want to win something badly, accept you’re going to spend more money on it and play until you win it (and sumimasen the staff as needed). Win something once, celebrate the victory, and then just buy all the other stuff. That’s my 2p on the matter LOL. Also, I found prices in Akiba so much more expensive this time around compared to previous trips. I found the best deals in Ikebukuro to be honest (and some in Nakano Broadway, but I also felt that was on the more expensive side. Anything popular as well – like Spy X Family or Chainsaw Man… and… like… most things Miku lol – will have a lovelllyyyyyy high price tag attached (just to set expectations). There are obviously places with great deals, just don’t expect big bargains like some people will have you believe – unless you are really willing to put a lot of time and effort in (which isn’t always feasible for somebody not living in the country to do).
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>Dec 18 (Day 11) – Mt. Takao Hike / Free Travel Day
Personally, I’d leave this as is. You’ll probably want the rest of the day to do last minute shopping and packing.