Itinerary help — 4 days with senior citizens

3 comments

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2. The number 1 tip for any visit to Kyoto or Tokyo is to lump sightseeing together by district. These are *huge* and very spread out cities. Number 2 tip is to get your one to two must-see/do’s done as early each day as possible. Then, anything else you do that day, is gravy.

   – [Tokyo Districts](https://trulytokyo.com/tokyo-districts/)
   – [Kyoto Districts](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-districts)
   – [Osaka Districts](https://insideosaka.com/osaka-districts/)
   – [Save the places you want to visit in Google maps.](https://www.theunconventionalroute.com/google-maps-saved-places/)
   – Then, zoom out and see where those places are lumped together. Do *that* specific district/area in the morning and shift to another district/area in the afternoon. This way you don’t lose time/money criss-crossing the city.
   – See how long it will take to travel via public transit (or walking if within the same area) between your sites. You need to account for travel time and add in an extra 15- 20 minutes from what Google Maps says as you may get turned around looking for your entrance/exit or platform in the subway/train stations.
   – Be sure you check opening hours/days in Google maps too. You don’t want to show up at 8 am to Akihabara only to find all the shops closed or to a museum on a Monday as that is often (but not always) a closed day.

   Pick a day in each city where the group utilizes the hop-on hop-off bus tours. Not all of these are back up running yet as they closed during Covid but if they’re running could be good for traveling together to the main sites while limiting walking.

   – [Sky Hop Bus (Tokyo and Kyoto)](https://skyhopbus.com)
   – [Tokyo Sightseeing Cruises](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/things-to-do/best-water-activities-in-tokyo)
   – [Osaka Sightseeing Bus Tours](https://livejapan.com/en/in-kansai/in-pref-osaka/in-umeda_osaka-station_kitashinchi/article-a2000475/)
   – [Osaka Water Sightseeing Cruises](https://digjapan.travel/en/blog/id=11961)

   Or, consider renting a sightseeing taxi for the day. This works really well in Kyoto.

   – [Hinomaru Sightseeing Taxi Tokyo](https://hinomaru.tokyo/kanko?locale=en)
   – [Catching a Taxi in Tokyo (can get $$$ depending on where you’re going to. Tokyo is huge!)](https://tokyocheapo.com/travel/transport/how-to-catch-taxi-tokyo-japan/)
   – [It’s particularly easy to get around Kyoto via Taxi as there are a lot of them.](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-taxis)
   – Google Sightseeing Taxi Kyoto as there’s a number of different companies that offer this option
   – [Osaka Taxis](https://insideosaka.com/osaka-taxis/)

   You can also use the wheelchair accessible option in Google maps to make it (a bit) easier to find the elevators in trains/subways to limit stairs as these get tiresome too.

   – [Tokyo Now Has Wheelchair Accessible Routes in Google Maps](https://www.accessible-japan.com/tokyo-now-has-wheelchair-accessible-routes-in-google-maps/)

   In terms of food/restaurants one option is the top floors of department stores/office buildings which typically have multiple restaurants and elevators to get up there. You can all go up to the restaurant floor and wander around to see which restaurants you want to split up into to eat at. Department store basements also have large take away food halls where you can get high quality food/desserts to take back to your lodging if you want to just have a relaxed dinner at home. They are a step up in quality from convenience store fare. Department stores also have nice restrooms. There’s also restaurant food halls that are good as it limits walking around to/needing to find different restaurants and waiting in lines.

   – [JapanGuide: Department Stores](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2072.html)
   – [Department stores](https://www.tokyoweekender.com/2020/10/baby-tokyo-department-stores-take-your-children/ )
   – [Tokyo Depachika (Department Store Food Halls)](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/shopping/best-depachika-food-halls-in-tokyo)
   – [Asakusa Food Hall Inspired by Japan Festivals in Tokyo](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/asakusa-is-getting-a-new-matsuri-themed-yokocho-food-hall-060822)
   – [New Yokocho Food Hall in Shinjuku, Tokyo](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/shinjuku-has-a-new-yokocho-food-hall-with-17-eateries-110122)
   – [8 Other Food Halls in Tokyo](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/restaurants/best-restaurant-food-halls-in-tokyo)
   – [Kyoto: Daimaru Dept Store Restaurant Floor](https://www.insidekyoto.com/daimaru-resutoran-gai)
   – [Kyoto Station: CUBE Food Court](https://www.insidekyoto.com/the-cube-food-court-kyoto)
   – [Kyoto Tower Food Hall](https://www.kyoto-tower-sando.jp/s/en/shop/floor/top)
   – [Kyoto Ramen Kyoji Street](https://www.kyoto-ramen-koji.com/english/)

3. In Akihabara, there a few hobby shops that deal in things like model vehicles, ships, and planes. Yellow Submarine is one of those shops. They’ll also have a few completed models on display to help convince you to buy one.
   There also a small shrine in Akihabara, but it’s a bit of a walk from the station.
   And there is Yodabashi camera, which is a large electronic department store. Think a much larger Best Buy in the old days or Circuit City.