Hi everybody, I have been planning to finally get to Japan after canceling and replacing it several times over due to COVID. This is for a trip of 6 people all male with us being around the age of 19-20. This is my first time planning a trip this big as it’s a foreign country and two weeks +3 days. (The reason for +3 days is that we have a friend who has not received the booster so he has to quarantine for 3 days in a hotel. I do know that their policy might change but I just added it for the better)
I do know that currently, they are not accepting any tourists so I do understand if I have to move the trip to later in the year.
I was just looking for any advice that anyone could throw my way whether it be places that are a must-go or places that are maybe overrated/tourist traps to avoid.
(Just btw I made the schedule super jam-packed so that I could go through the options and take things out I just marked things in the area that seem interesting and fun to go to and I have no problem avoiding certain districts or areas)
Land in Tokyo-
Day 1-3: These are the days that we are waiting for my friend to finish quarantine so at the moment I have nothing planned as I don’t want him to miss out on activities that we go to. I just planned to get to know our surrounding area but I do plan on doing something I just don’t want to exclude him from some activities.
Day 4:Akihabara-Radio Kaikan, Super Potato, Akiba Culture Zone, AKIHABARA KOTOBUKIYA, Akihabara Gamers,Mandrake Complex, Comic Toranoana,GiGo Akihabara and Bic Camera and Gyukatsu Ichi Ni San.
Day 5: Ikebukuro-Eva Store, Sunshine Mall, Sunshine aquarium, Pokemon Mega Center, KONICA MINOLTA Planetarium, and SKY CIRCUS Observation Deck
Day 6:Odaiba-Head to Teamlab Borderless/Planets Divercity Tokyo Plaza, Decks, Legoland discovery center, Wax Museum, Tokyo Joypolis, and Fuji Television Network
Day 7: Shibuya-Shibuya Crossing, Hachiko statue, Takeshita Street, Yoyogi Park, and Shibuya 109
Day 8: Mitaka-Ghibli Musuem. Later at night head to Shinjuku to check out the nightlife.
Day 9:Asakusa- Sensoji Temple, Nakamise Shopping Street and Asakusa Underground Shopping Street.
Day 10: Tokyo Skytree and take a Shinkansen to Osaka where we will spend the other half of the trip around the Osaka/Kyoto area.
I do plan on taking things out from this plan I made I just figured it would be a good idea to pick out some places and take them out based on a tier list or something, but if there are other ways that are more efficient please feel free to let me know this is my first time doing something like this so I am quite new.
Also for the places that I have marked for the Osaka/Kyoto area: Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Universal Studios Japan, Shinsekai, Dotonbori District, JUMP SHOP Osaka Shinsaibashi Shop, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Manseibashi bridge, Osaka Castle, Arashiyama Monkey Park, Namba Yasaka Shrine, Ebisu Bridge, Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, Nara Deer Park, Nishiki Market, Amerikamura, Don Quixote Ferris Wheel.
5 comments
If you’re planning for so soon into the future that you can’t just wait for your friend to get boosted, you’re in for a world of disappointment because that’s probably an unrealistic timescale for tourism to resume.
In general, planning to include a quarantine is silly because they’re absolutely not going to reopen tourism until they’re in a position to let everyone in without quarantine.
Your Day 4 definitely runs the risk of getting repetitive because you’re going to see the same merch over and over again. Add Beep to your list if you’re into real retro gaming.
On Day 6, Teamlabs is closing at some point this summer.
Day 7: Surprised, given your proclivities, that you aren’t adding Shibuya Parco because they have the Nintendo Store, the Pokemon store and a bunch of other geek stores on the upper floors.
Day 8: Similarly, Nakano Broadway is always a winning combo w/ the Ghibli Museum as it’s all on the same line.
Day 9: Shift Skytree here from Day 10; if you’re doing Sensoji with a large enough group it’s reasonably economical to split a taxi and go straight there.
You will have to wait for tourism to open to see the rules about vaccine and quarantine. For sure your fiend have time to get a booster shot if this is remotely a concern. To be honest I doubt that there will be a quarantine when they decide to open to tourist, but this is just my opinion.
Concerning the age of the members of your group, legal drinking age is 20 in Japan, so might be an idea to wait for everybody to be of legal drinking age if you plan some nightlife. Trust me, you do not want to be arrested in Japan, so I would not even take a chance.
I have no problem with itinerary that include a lot, just make priority and drop things during the day. Do not try to do rush to do everything, just enjoy what you are doing.
If you plan to fly in Tokyo and out of Osaka, no problem, but if you plan to return to Tokyo to fly out, then try to move most of the Tokyo day at then end of the trip so you do not have to move all what your purchase round trip between Tokyo and Osaka.
As you had several days focused on shopping, keep in mind that stores usually open at 10 or 11 am, so if you want to do something before that, just plan accordingly. For example go by Kanda-myojin shrine in Akihabara first before the stores open.
Teamlab Borderless is closing August 31.
Shibuya day is out or order as you included a couple of places in Harajuku (yes, that is technically in Shibuya ward), so you should move 109 before going to Takeshita Street and Yoyogi park. About Yoyogi park, that might be a skip for me. I would only go for cherry blossom season or during the weekend when it is warm for people watching. Can also be nice if you want to eat outside with your friends or for a run. Otherwise, it is only a park, not a garden, so if you want to see a garden, find a proper one, my favorite being Koishikawa korakuen. Meiji-jingu shrine might be a better choice for something to see in the area. And again, Shibuya is a shopping district, so instead you could start in Harajuku at Meiji-jingu that open much earlier. Try to be in Taskeshita around 10-11 am when the shops open then move to the area around Shibuya station. Can also consider adding Shibuya Sky for a viewing deck to see the city.
You can do Asakusa and Skytree in the same day.
Things in Osaka/Kyoto are obviously our of order and you should look to plan them the same way you did for Tokyo, with things in the same area on the same day. Also if you are into anime stuff, Denden town in Osaka can be of interest.
Don’t forget the golden temple in Kyoto. Also don’t forget that food is a big highlight. Leave time to enjoy some meals.
Jump shop is a neat little store. Should be a little lookout on the rooftop of that mall too, if you’re interested 🙂
You might be interested in the New studio Ghibli theme park opening up
https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/22916735/studio-ghibli-theme-park-opening-date-location-images
A lot of things have changed during these Corona years. As you see from other comments the whole Odiaba area is basically shutting down so no team lab borderless, and that weird café in Harajuku is gone as is the robot restaurant in Shinjuku.
Make sure to read up on things that are up to date. Time out Tokyo etc