Hey Everyone, You guys have been extremely helpful with your feedback and suggestions on my initial planning post. Considering the weather next week I am close to nailing down my itinerary.
Context: I am taking my parents (both 65 Year olds) to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, we are visiting Tokyo for 7 days from 4th Dec – 10th Dec. I have been warning them that there will be lots of walking and I still have to figure out the final legs of transportation on our day trips to Hakano and Nikko. We love exploring city life, culture, food wherever possible and visiting temples. Looking for your feedback / tips on itinerary and answers to the questions:
Day 1 or Dec 4th : Land in HND airport at 6:00 AM and taking express to the city. Our Airbnb in Shinjuku JR and host does not allow check in before 3 PM and can’t even drop my bags there before 3 PM.
One option is to check in my bags for delivery to my Airbnb later in the day ( I don’t know how reliable or trustworthy that service is ) and then freshen up / take shower in HND airport leave for Team Labs Planet spend couple of hours there – have brunch and do some light shopping. Leave for BNB and check in + rest for couple of hours.
PM : Shibuya Crossing , Hachiko Shrine and explore Shinjuku. I want to do a tea ceremony (Shado (?) ) in Tokyo – any recommendations for that ?
Question: Since we are landing early morning at HND – I could not find any Hotel or BNB where they let us check in early. I looked at Capsule hotels / rooms in HND airport but not very encouraged with the reviews on GOOGLE. I am considering taking a hotel near HND for 4th Dec and leave our bags there and go Team labs then come back by 3PM to check in and rest.
Any Suggestions on what else I could do on first day I land in Tokyo.
Dec 5th : AM : Historical Tokyo: Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, Explore Nakamise-dori shopping street. Visit the Tokyo Skytree for panoramic views.
PM : Take a walk along Sumida River + take the cruise there. Visit the Asakusa Culture and Tourist Information Center for sunset views.
Dec 6th : AM Day Trip to Nikko: Visit Toshogu Shrine, Kegon Falls, and Lake Chuzenji. (It is Supposed to Rain this day so I am not sure how feasible roaming outside in this much cold- I could swap this day with indoor activities like Sky Tower or Imperial Palace or Ueno Park.)
Dec 7th :Day trip to Hakone: Hakane Hot Springs , Open Air Museum , Owakudani, Lake Ashinoko , Hakone Shrine, Hakone Ropeway , Odaware Castle.
PM Return to Tokyo – have dinner light walk in the neighborhood and sleep in BNB
Note: I read in one of the trip report that Hakano Springs and parts of the Hakano were closed due to bad weather. That is why I have picked up the day when the weather is great.
Dec 8th :
Option 1: Day Trip to Kamakura : Great buddha , Hokokuji Temple, Hasedara Temple , Enoshima , Zuisenji Temple.
PM Return to Tokyo – have dinner and sleep in BNB
Option 2: Day trip to Nara: Toadiji Temple , Great Buddha Statue , Nigatsu Do , Kasuga Taisha Shrine
PM Return to Tokyo – have dinner and sleep in BNB. Is a day trip to Nara from Tokyo Doable I have to book Bullet train in Advance or can do it while in Tokyo ?
Dec 9th : Ueno Park in the morning and have reservations at Vegetarian Brunch place for 2 hours. Rest in BNB.
PM : Imperial Palace, Visit to Meiji Shrine, Stroll down Takeshita Street and do Souvenir Shopping
Dec 10th : Bye Bye TOKYO. My Parents are flying back early morning and I have flight in the evening. Have not planned what will I do may be look for soccer groups in Tokyo and play a game or go to a Onsen and experience bath there.
Questions:
1. Do I need to buy JR Pass since I will be doing 2 day trips Hakone and Nara/Nikko
2. If you have to pick one Day trip to kamakura or Nara which one would you recommend and why ?
3. What are my options for early morning on the day I land ta HND ?
4. Weather forecast is rain on Day 3 and Day 4 so I am doing day trip one day and next day doing indoor things in Tokyo. Any advice around this ?
5. Any recommendations for Tea Ceremony in Tokyo ? Since I can’t make it to KYOTO this time.
Thank you again for everyone’s help. We all are so excited to explore Tokyo next week
13 comments
1. Hakano ? I guess you meant Hakone. I don’t think you need a JR pass as both your trips are relatively short distance. A quick math will help you decide whether a JR pass is cheaper than the round trips to Nara (shinkansen to Kyoto) and Hakone (shinkansen to Odawara). Roughly the round trips will cost in total 36k Yen which is lesser than a JR pass.
2. yea thats an eternal issue with the early check in. You’ll always find coin lockers (in every station) to store your luggages for few hours while you explore the city before check in. Or if you really want to rest after the long flight may be you can request an early check in and pay the excess fare. And yes, the luggage delivery services are quite reliable in Japan. But I have not used it myself.
3. Indoor activities in tokyo could be the Teamlab planets, or the museum stuff (plenty of them). Last year when my parents visited me in Japan I had to take them to like 4-5 museums in tokyo because it was raining the whole time.
If you want to be able to check into a hotel when you arrive in Tokyo, book it from the previous day and let the hotel know that you’ll be turning up late so they don’t treat you as no-show.
A day trip from Tokyo to Nara isn’t doable due to the travel times.
For bag storage alot of the hub stations in Tokyo have storage lockers where you can pay to keep your luggage or there are service desks in the main hub to that will take your luggage for a fee, however they have opening and closing times.
We have the same issue with the check in times. Our flight lands at 0530 and check in isn’t until 1500hrs so we have paid for the night before and will let the hotel know that we will be late, then we can check in straight away.
Day 1: u can also deposit your bags into coin lockers. There’s some at the shinjuku expressway bus terminal (across shinjuku Jr station) but use the level 1 or 2 lockers instead. They charge per day. (about 700 to 900 yen for the largest locker, 500 to 600 for the medium and 300 to 400 for the smallest) The level 4 lockers charge per hour basis, avoid those.
Other than teamlabs planets, there nothing much to do there unless u wanna visit the new fish market. Better off heading back to shinjuku to check in then eat/shop there.
The full Japan Rail Pass isn’t worth the cost, but you can consider the [Kanto region rail passes](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html) such as the [JR Tokyo Wide Pass](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_06.html) and the [Hakone Kamakura Pass](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_hakone_kamakura.html) instead.
A lot of hotels in Tokyo will store your luggage (usually for free) for up to 12 hours after you check out, so it might be worth asking if you can drop off your bags early. Otherwise the baggage delivery service at the airport is 100% reliable if you can wait to receive your luggage until the next day. Coin lockers are also fine, but if you have a lot of luggage it can be a hassle navigating some of the stations.
Nara is not a day trip from Tokyo, it will take a lot of time and money on the train for really little time in Nara.
No JR pass, it’s even more expensive than all those individual trip, just don’t go to Nara, check Hakone free pass an Tobu Nikko pass, will end up much cheaper.
For the tea ceremony, there are [several options](https://airkitchen.me/blog/?p=3188) in Kamakura. I would look into the area east of the station, opposite the direction of the Buddha. The [Hokokuji Temple](https://en.japantravel.com/kanagawa/hokokuji-bamboo-garden-in-kamakura/9049) & bamboo garden would be my pick. There is also a nice lookout point a little south of there. One more Kamakura tip. Director [Akira Kurosawa is buried there](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Grave+of+Kurosawa+Akira/@35.3142038,139.5563442,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipPn4T7w1tAB6DcSVYxITBfe8c_nUpEJQHkEjot8!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPn4T7w1tAB6DcSVYxITBfe8c_nUpEJQHkEjot8%3Dw203-h152-k-no!7i4032!8i3024!4m7!3m6!1s0x601845da515401b3:0x49be3b50e74ccab5!8m2!3d35.3142038!4d139.5563442!10e5!16s%2Fg%2F11c1txg7kq?entry=ttu).
Where are you flying from? One week sounds like a really short trip if you’re coming from the US
Are your parents big-city people? Are they in good physical health? Because Tokyo is as crazy as it gets, and you will absolutely be walking *at least* 10km / 6 miles each day to hit all the sites you’ve listed, all while wading through dense crowds of people. Furthermore, having jam packed days for 7 days in a row while you’re all getting over jet lag is going to be really tough. You’re basically trying to fit a 2 week trip into 1.
Considering it’s their anniversary, I strongly suggest you visit somewhere more peaceful and romantic for an extended period. Maybe a hot springs town, since it’ll be the end of Autumn? I just came back from a 10 day trip to Japan, and let me tell you, with your itinerary as it is, you won’t be able to rest at all. Keep in mind your parents are elderly now… don’t book the trip of **your** dreams for **their anniversary**.
” we need to work out a way to bring supplies to the living world, so we can find out what’s in the present. “
You’re doing too many day trips outside of Tokyo. Remember, a 7-day trip which include flight days is only in reality 5 days. I’d take 1 day trip to Kawaguchiko to see Mt. Fuji (time it when the weather is good) and the rest, stay in Tokyo. There are lots of things going on in the city such as winter illuminations, Christmas markets, and limited holiday events. If I were in your place, with elderly parents, I will relish my time in Tokyo and fully experience it in Christmas season.
This might be an obvious thing to everyone besides me, but be aware of what time sunset is. I was there in early November and sunset was at 5 pm every day, which meant my window for doing any sight-seeing or etc. was shorter than maybe I expected.