Hi! I'm planning my very first trip to Japan for late February 2026. I'm in my mid 30s, female and traveling solo. This will also be my first time traveling internationally. I'm flying in from the west coast, USA.
I'm staying in one hotel for the whole trip, and it's on the east side of Ikebukuro, since I plan to spend a fair amount of time in that general area. It's my understanding that many of the stores in this area specialize in BL and otome merch so I'm going to be doing a lot of shopping for doujinshi and character goods. My favorite games and animes are on the older side, so I'm heavily favoring second-hand shops and expect to spend a lot of time needing to dig around to find them.
On that note, I found out that the dates of my trip coincide with Comitia; which is an original (non-fanwork) doujinshi event held at Tokyo Big Sight on February 22nd, so naturally this is at the top of my must-do list!
Aside from that, I plan to spend the week shopping, exploring, eating some amazing food, and enjoying my time walking around without stressing about cramming in every possible tourist spot.
Day 0: Wednesday, Feb 18
- Arriving around 4 or 5 PM. Customs, ATM and Suica card.
- Limousine bus to hotel in Ikebukuro, konbini dinner and sleep.
Day 1: Thursday, Feb 19
- Ikebukuro basically all day. Animate, Sunshine City, Mandarake, K-Books, Melonbooks, Lashinbang, Surugaya, etc when they open in the early afternoon.
- If I'm brave I might try to make a reservation for Swallowtail Cafe.
- I have a feeling jet lag is going to make me need to crash early, so I'm not tempting fate by trying to plan anything big in the evening.
Day 2: Friday, Feb 20
- Shimokitazawa for Shiro-Hige’s Cream Puffs before they sell out for the day.
- Gōtokuji Temple. I definitely want to get a lucky cat themed goshuin stamp book there.
- Nakano Broadway for lunch and another 'deep dive' shopping day. Will probably get dinner in the area too if I'm there late enough.
Day 3: Saturday, Feb 21
- Free day (either rest or wing it depending on how much energy I have) Ideas: Tokyo Station and Ginza? Day trip out to Kamakura or kawagoe? Literally more Ikebukuro if I didn't get to all the places I wanted to hit on Thursday? I could even try to get tickets for the Ghibli Museum, if I get lucky when they open reservations next week.
Day 4: Sunday, Feb 22
- I'm attending Comitia at Tokyo Big Sight, which will take up most of this day.
- Afterwards I'll probably check out Odaiba in the later afternoon/evening since it's literally right there. Unicorn Gundam, Rainbow Bridge, late lunch/early dinner.
Day 5: Monday, Feb 23
- Harajuku. Specifically, I want to visit Togo Shrine for their Sanrio-themed Omamori. I'm not planning to shop on Takeshita street so I don't plan to stick around there long.
- Walk down Cat Street to Shibuya and spend a good chunk of the day there. Scramble Crossing, Hachiko statue, Sega Store, Lunch, Lost Bar.
Day 6: Tuesday, Feb 24
- Akihabara. It's my understanding that most merch is more expensive here compared to other places I planned for earlier in the week, so I'm saving it as my last big shopping destination in case there's something I couldn't find elsewhere.
- Mostly I'm going for the experience of being in Akihabara, and other than making sure to hit some of the second-hand shops like Mandarake, I'm leaving the day kind of open for exploration.
Day 7: Wednesday, Feb 25
- Check out, bus to airport, fly home
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I do have a few things I'd like advice on:
– I keep looking at this list and either feeling like I've planned too much, or that I'm not doing enough. Obviously with this being my first time there, I don't have much of a sense of how much to fit into a day. So any general thoughts are appreciated! I tried to make each day centered around areas that are close to each other so I'm not spending half my vacation taking train trips.
– With that said, I'm going to admit that I'm not quite prepared for all the walking I'll be doing. I'm working on doing more in the next month and half before I get there, but I'm aware that I'm going to be in shambles by the time I fly home. I have a nice pair of Hokas and I'm going to get some compression socks before I go. My hotel has a sento that I'll take advantage of, and I'm not going to shy away from taking the occasional taxi to get around.
– For the limo bus, I understand they will only let you put two pieces of luggage under the bus. I'll be traveling with a checked suitcase, carry-on suitcase, messenger bag (personal item), and my Cpap in its case. I planned to take the messenger bag and Cpap into the bus with me, but couldn't figure out if that is allowed?
– Any general advice from those who have attended Comitia, or any similar events? I already know that to attend I will need to buy the catalog at a bookstore and bring it to the venue because it serves as your ticket. And of course, most of the artists will only take cash, so I'll be sure to have plenty on hand, especially smaller denominations and coins, since most doujinshi are less than 1000 yen.
– What's the general consensus on bringing an ita bag around Japan? I know they were invented there, but I'm not sure if using one everywhere in public (and especially at places like temples) is frowned upon at all. The bag I have is about the size of a messenger bag, is brightly colored and is full of keychains and buttons of my favorite video game characters. I'm hoping I can use it mostly because I don't want to have to go buy a new bag just for this trip. Everything else I have is way smaller.
Thank you for any advice you might have!
by Straight_Cherry_3540