My partner and I (30m & 26f) will be in Tokyo from Apr 19 – May 1st. We already reserved all of our lodging as well. Just want to get a sanity check and also hear anyone’s recommendations if we’re missing anything cool in the areas we will be around. We are both fans of anime, art, nature, shrines, and historically significant places. We’re also big foodies but who isn’t, and I’d imagine good food is easy to find.
4/20 landing in Tokyo, and lodging is in Shinjuku through 4/23.
Plans are to keep the first day short, check in and drop our bags off and go explore a little and get food and call it an early night after a 14 hr flight.
4/21: we want to try to go to studio ghibli in the morning, then go to Inokashira park and explore Kichioji until we head back to Shinjuku in the evening. For the night we want to go to a local Kabuki show.
4/22: Head to Harajuku – visit Meiji shrine, owl cafe and explore the city. Afternoon move onto Shibuya, see the crossing and shibuya sky. Evening plans are to take the train down to teamlab borders and after head back up to our hotel.
4/23 leaving Tokyo in the morning for Hakone.
Going to check into our Ryokan, and get lunch. I’m a car guy and I can’t pass up to chance to drive a togue road on the mountains, so I booked a driving experience with fun2drive. We are looking to do a Kaiseki dinner and do a private onsen at our ryokan together.
Next day: visit the open air museum, lake Ashi and Torii gate.
4/24 Afternoon – moving onto Kyoto.
Checking into our hotel and get dinner. Go to Hanamikoji street, shirakawa canal.
4/25: Fushimi Inari Taishi early in the morning, lunch, then go to the bamboo grove. We want to rent a kimono/Obi and walk around okochi sanso villa, monkey park and dinner at the pontocho river.
4/26: walk the philosophers path, ginkaku-ji and tea house after. Possibly Nijo castle if we can fit it in.
Evening, leave Kyoto for Osaka – check into lodging and dinner at Dotonbori.
4/27 travel to nara park & todai-ji
Afternoon: go back to Osaka and check out den den town maybe before calling it a night.
4/28 Leave Osaka in the morning to kokura (5 hr train ride). Check into our lodging. We will probably rent a car there to get around. We want to go to kawachi Fujien for the Wisteria festival, my gf really wanted to go. Afterwards we’ll wander the city a bit.
4/29 Head back to Tokyo early in the morning and staying in Ginza. Checking into our hotel, then go shopping and get food. Nothing really planned this day, gf is getting a tattoo around 5pm. Suggestions would be appreciated.
4/30 Akihabara – Ueno Park – shrines and local museums, exploring around.
5/1 antique shopping, final shopping and we will be leaving that evening.
Please share if this seems reasonable, did we plan to do enough? Are we missing out? Any must do experiences, food, places to visit nearby? Please let us know, we are so pumped for our first trip to Japan!
Thank you for reading and your time!
by moscvamoe