Hey everyone, two college seniors and I are going to Japan for our spring break (March 6-March 15). We don't speak Japanese, however two of us are taking an elementary Japanese course this semester, so we should at least know basic phrases for our trip as well as very basic writing. This is our first time in Japan, so I wanted to have our itinerary checked, as well as see if people can suggest more things to do in Kyoto. Our interests are riding the bullet train, shopping for souvenirs, visiting temples, and sightseeing.. Thanks in advance for your help! I am omitting the arrival and departure days from the itinerary since they take up the whole day.
Sunday, March 8th- First day in Tokyo
- pm: Walk to Marunouchi- upscale shopping district
- pm: Walk to Ginza- upscale shopping district
- pm: Dinner at restaurant- department store food hall like Mitsukoshi or Ginza Six?
- pm: Subway to Akihabara- electronics, manga, and anime district
- pm: Take train back to hotel
- pm: Return to hotel and relax
Monday, March 9th- Second day in Tokyo
- am: Wake-up. Quick breakfast
- pm: Dinner
- pm: Continue exploring Shibuya: Nintendo, Pokemon center, Mega Don Quijoite
- pm: Walk around Kabukicho (red-light district), and see Tokyo Tower at night
Tuesday, March 10th- Daytrip to Hakone- national park with views of Mt. Fuji
- am: Wake-up
- pm: Arrive back at Shinjuku Station
- pm: Dinner in Shinjuku area
Wednesday, March 11th- Third day in Tokyo
- am: Wake-up
- pm: Head to Ueno park and explore. Option to visit art or science museum
- pm: Snack at Ameyoko market
- pm: Head to Nakamise shopping street
- pm: Dinner Toriton or Hideyoshi
- pm: Walk around, optional trip to tokyo tower
- pm: Back at hotel
Thursday, March 12th- Travel to Kyoto
- am: Wake-up
- pm: Arrive into Kyoto Station
- pm: Check into hotel (Rihga Gran Kyoto, near station) and drop off luggage
- pm: Train to Fushimi Inaria Shrine
- pm: Explore Nishiki Market
- pm: Explore Diamaru Basement Food Floor
- pm: Dinner
- pm: Free-time
Friday, March 13th- Second Day in Kyoto
- am: Wake-up
- pm: Explore Kodai-ji Temple, Yasaka Shrine, and Gion
- pm: Dinner in Gion or Kawaramachi
- pm: Free-time
Saturday, March 14th- Third Day in Kyoto
- am: Wake-up
- pm: Lunch
- pm: Visit monkey park
- pm: Free-time
by Megadog1212
3 comments
I think your Tokyo days are pretty packed and the Kyoto days seem more reasonable. Like for example, Ginza for 1.5 hours? I’d skip it and just go straight to Akihabara.
I don’t know about the Kyoto parts, but the plans for Tokyo proper seem reasonable. If you can, remain flexible on your trip to Hakone, though. Weather can change much and quickly in this part of Japan, and it’s entirely possible Mt. Fuji won’t be visible the day you decide to travel to Hakone to try to see it.
I’ll change all your “am: wake-up” for “am: explore”. lol
What we usually did after waking up is explore around the hotel, breakfast at either kombini or an interesting restaurant. Sometimes we had time to go somewhere further away by train/taxi/metro/bus.
It was very effective, we saw a lot more that way than planned.
Comments are closed.