I appreciate all the advice I’ve gotten from this sub, so I’m finally submitting my 2-week itinerary for your suggestions/comments! It’s my first trip to Japan, my husband’s 2nd (15-ish years ago), and he speaks some Japanese. We’ll be there the last 2 weeks in October.
A few important notes:
- I like to have a full itinerary ready, but we often drop things or change them up depending on how we’re feeling. So if some of the days seem overstuffed, that’s fine, we’ll drop things if we need to.
- We’re very experienced travelers who are physically fit and typically walk 10-15 miles over the course of a day when exploring a city.
- I mostly didn’t plan anything for the train travel days, so we can shift activities to those days depending on when we leave and arrive.
Other notes: There’s not much planned for our last day in Tokyo because I expect we’ll add in some things we had to drop during the first stay. We're both vegetarians and will be coming from San Francisco. Oh, and no TeamLab visits scheduled because I don’t see it as our sort of thing, but if it’s truly a can’t miss, I’m open to being convinced! Thank you in advance!
- Tokyo Day 1 – 10/20 (staying in Shibuya)
- Takeshita Street Square – shopping street near hotel, 5-10 min walk
- Harajuku – interesting neighborhood, short walk
- Meiji-Jingu – beautiful shrine in a serene area, 10 min walk
- Break for lunch – Nagi Shokudo
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (view deck), 15-min subway ride + 10-min walk
- Shibuya Scramble Crossing, 15 min walk
- Hachiko statue, same area
- Shibuya Sky – view of crossing, tix available 2 weeks in advance
- Dinner ???
- Tokyo Day 2 – 10/21
- Initial stop is a 45-50 min. subway ride away
- Kaminarimon – iconic temple, shopping street on the way to Sensoji
- Nakamise Shopping Street – shopping street on the way to Sensoji, short walk
- Senso-ji shrine – main shrine in Tokyo, short walk
- Break for lunch – CoCo Ichibanya for vegetarian curry OR Marugoto Vegan Dining Asakusa (both in Asakusa)
- Akihabara – electronics/anime neighborhood, 45-min walk OR 20-min subway ride
- Yodobashi Akiba – giant electronics store in Akihabara, short walk
- Gigo Akihabara Building 3 – arcade in Akihabara, short walk
- Akihabara Gachapon Hall – thousands of vending machines in Akihabara
- Dinner at Nataraj Indian Vegetarian
- Tokyo Day 3 – 10/22
- Initial stop is 30-40 min. subway ride away
- Kokyogaien – national garden
- Imperial Palace East National Gardens, short walk
- Ueno Park, 1 hr. walk or 20-min. subway
- Break for lunch – T’s TanTan Ueno (vegan ramen, inside station)
- Tokyo National Museum, short walk
- Nezu shrine – Shinto shrine with a tunnel of torii gates, 22-min. walk
- Nihonbashi – bridge that Adam wants to see, 30-min. subway
- Dinner at Tofu Cuisine Sorano (needs reservation)
- Hakone Day 1 – 10/24
- Walk 12 mins. to Gora station of Hakone Tozan Cable Car
- Debark at Sounzan station
- Transfer to Hakone Ropeway (gondola) over the valley (duration?)
- Ropeway ends at Togendai, on the lake
- Lunch – ???
- Take Hakone sightseeing cruise from Togendai (duration?)
- Debark at Hakonemachi-ko
- Take Hakone Tozan bus to Hakone-Yumoto train station (35 mins.)
- Take Hakone Tozan train back to Gora station (30 mins.)
- Hakone overflow activities, if time
- Hakone Shrine
- Hakone Open-Air Museum
- Tenzan Toji-kyo is a very nice, tattoo-friendly outdoor onsen
- Osaka Day 0 – 10/25 (arrival from Hakone)
- Osaka Aquarium, 30 min. subway from hotel
- Shinsaibashisuji – nightlife district for people-watching, 15 min. subway from hotel, 1hr. subway from aquarium
- Dinner in Shinsaibashisuji
- Osaka Day 1 – 10/26
- 20-25 mins. subway to first stop
- Tsutenkaku – tower with observation deck
- Shitennoji – one of the oldest shrines in Japan, 5-story pagoda, 20 min. walk
- Osaka castle – 1hr. walk or 35-40 min. subway
- Umeda Sky building for views, 45-55 min. subway (note this is out of the way, can skip if needed)
- Dotonburi – neon entertainment district, 40 mins. subway
- Dinner – Pivot Base in Dotonbori
- Osaka overflow activities, if time
- Osaka Municipal Housing Museum – recreation of old Osaka streets
- Sumiyoshi shrine, just a pretty shrine
- Kyoto Day 0 – 10/27 (Arrival from Osaka)
- Sanjusangendo Temple – 1,001 life-sized wooden statues of Kannon
- Dinner at Veg Out Kyoto
- Kyoto Day 1 – 10/28
- Fishimi Inari Taisha – 20 min. taxi or 30-40 min. train
- Unryu-in Temple – Edo period temple, 25 min. walk or 30 min. train
- Kiyomizu-dera – mountainside temple with beautiful views, 45 min. walk or 35 min. train
- Nishiki Market – eat lunch, 30 min. walk
- Pontcho Park – riverside park that is nice to walk through, short walk
- Nijo Castle – wood castle built in 1603, 40 min. walk or 20 min. train
- Seimi Shrine Ichi-no-Torrii Gate – 25 min walk (if time)
- Dinner at Mumokuteki Cafe (30 min. walk)
- Kyoto Day 2 – 10/29
- Arashiyama Bamboo Forest – 25 min. by car or 50-60 min. train ride
- Tenryu-ji – Zen temple near bamboo forest, very short walk
- Lunch at Shigetsu (Shojin Ryori, inside Tenryu-ji, book ahead)
- Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama, 15 min. walk
- Ryoan-ji – 15th century temple with Zen rock garden, 40-50 min. train/bus
- Kinkaku-ji – Gold-leaf covered temple, 20 min. walk
- Dinner at Ain. Soph. Journey Kyoto (book ahead), 35-40 min. bus, near hotel
- Kyoto Overflow Activities, if time
- Philosopher’s Path, 30-40 min. bus from hotel
- Walking tour p. 269 Lonely Planet
- Tokyo Day 4 – 10/31 (staying in Akasaka)
- Shimokitazawa – hip, bohemian neighborhood, 30-40 min. train from hotel
- Odaiba Marine Park – view of harbor, fake Statue of Liberty, 45 min. train from hotel
- Tsukiji Outer Market – fish market, sort of near Imperial Palace
- Hamarikyu Gardens – public park on the site of a Shogun villa, near fish market
by GGxGG