Edit: formatting.
Hi all, I'm preparing for my first trip to Japan! I'm planning my itinerary and I want to make sure I don't overwhelm myself by overloading my itinerary. I want to actually enjoying myself and just explore, but also make sure I visit the main spots and not miss anything.
I've made significant changes and took out some areas (like shimokitazawa and some museums).
I'm mainly interested in fashion and otaku culture, as well as exploring shrines, temples, and general sightseeing. I also love observatories and looking at the city from above.
So here's my itinerary so far, please share your thoughts and help me improve it!
Day 0: Thursday, Transit.
– 8am: Arrive at Haneda.
– Get limousine bus to hotel (in Shinjuku).
– Drop off luggage.
– Explore a bit.
– 12pm: walk to Shinjuku Station south exit.
– 12:30pm: Take sky hop bus tour
– (I'm planning on doing all 3 routes and most likely not getting off. The purpose is to familiarise myself with the environment and take some nice sightseeing photos. Plus I'm gonna be tired and I can't check into the hotel until 3pm)
– 6pm: End of the bus tour.
– Get train to Shibuya station.
– Shop at mega donki (mainly to buy essentials).
– 8pm? Travel back to hotel.
Day 1, Friday:
– 8am: Arrive at Gotokuji temple (I want to buy a goshuincho first thing).
– Explore the area, buy snacks at Rarasand and Shiro Hige cream puff.
– 10am: Travel to Harajuku.
– 11am: Hair appointment (I'm planning on getting my hair done in a salon in Harajuku. I haven't booked it yet obviously but I'm hoping to book it for this day, and they only open at 11am).
– 3pm? (or whatever time my hair is done): Explore Harajuku.
(I'm planning on doing clothes shopping in Harajuku, I've a list of shops that I want to buy clothes from, and other shops and malls I want to visit)
– 8pm? Travel 30 mins back to hotel
Day 2, Saturday:
– (I'm thinking of going to a less popular/crowded place on a Saturday)
– 10am: Marunouchi area/Tokyo station area.
– Arrive just before 10am at Nihonbashi mitsukoshi department store to witness the grand opening ceremony.
– Explore the area.
– (character street, ramen street, kitchen street, Yaesu chika gai, Tokyo International Forum, pokemon cafe)
– 2pm: Explore Ginza.
– (godzilla statue, muji, loft, Itoya, look at studio ghibli clock)
I don't plan on doing much shopping this day (since I've heard Ginza is full of expensive brands), so I'm wondering if I could fit in something else on this day? Maybe nakano? Any suggestions?
Day 3, Sunday:
– Akihabara/Otaku day! The road closes on Sundays so I was thinking it would be a good day to go.
– Planning on spending the entire day here shopping and exploring, and maybe hang out in arcades or karaoke until late.
Day 4, Monday: More clothes shopping.
– 10am: Explore nakano first.
– (nakano broadway, Nakano sunhall, mandarake)
– (I'm not sure how long you'd typically spend in nakano? I mainly want to explore otaku stuff, but since I'm going to akiba the previous day, maybe I won't buy much and just walk around)
– 1pm: Explore Shibuya.
– (I want to go to the main sightseeing spots like hachiko, dogenzaka, crossing, Shibuya sky (will book a ticket for the observatory), meiji jingu, maybe yoyogi park to relax)
– (also want to shop for clothes in the malls, again I've a list of shops I want to go to)
– 8pm? Travel back to hotel.
Day 5, Tueaday: No travel day, somewhat of a relaxing walk day.
– 10am: Explore Shinjuku and Kabukicho (walking distance).
– (sightseeing: Tokyo Metropolitan building, 3d cat billboard, godzilla's head)
– (explore: omoide yokocho, golden gai, shrines and temples if i have time)
– (also do some shopping in the malls)
– Will probably go back to the hotel early this day, or visit a planetarium.
Day 6, Wednesday: Shrine day, minimal shopping lol:
– 9am: Explore asakusa
– (Sensoji, asakusa shrine, hikan Inari shrine, imado shrine, sumida park/river walk, kappabashi, hoppy street, nakamise dori)
– 1pm: Walk to ueno
– (ameyokocho, bentendo temple, toshogu shrine)
– 3pm: Walk to yanaka ginza (maybe skip if it gets late)
– (yanaka cemetery, nezu shrine)
– When it gets dark: Visit Tokyo skytree
Day 7, Thursday:
– There's a concert this day! It's expected to start around 6pm so I've some time before that.
– 10am: Explore ikebukuro
– (sunshine city, otome road, pokemon center, Bandai Namco, nishiguchi park, anime Tokyo Station)
– (not sure if I should allocate more time for ikebukuro? Should 10am to 3pm be enough?)
Day 8, Friday:
– 10am: Explore Minato area
– (atago shrine, zojoji temple, hie shrine, Tokyo Tower)
– Afternoon (?): Odaiba
– (walk or get the boat across rainbow bridge, watch unicorn gundam light show, DiverCity plaza, visit unko museum, decks mall, aquacity mall)
– Will probably spend the rest of the day in Odaiba.
Day 9, Saturday:
– Spend the entire day in yokohama?
Haha you can see I got a bit lazy and overwhelmed by the end of writing the itinerary… It's still rough obviously, but i want to know if this is realistic or if there's a better and more efficient way of doing things?
To be honest I really wanted to add in the ghibli museum, fujiko f fujio museum, and some anime museums like the toei animation museum, Suginami Animation Museum, tokiwaso manga museum… But I didn't know how to fit them in efficiently.
I'd still love to go if anyone could advise me on how to fit them in?
I'm also visiting Kyoto and osaka, but I've yet to plan them haha.
Thanks everyone in advance!
by gh0u0l