Hello all!
Reddit has been super helpful to me thus far in planning this trip, but hopefully this is the last time I'll have to post about it lol. I finally feel good enough about my itinerary as a whole to post on here asking for some final tips and suggestions on it as a whole. I’m doing this trip with my boyfriend (early 30s) and we’ve both been dying to come to Japan forever since we’re huge anime and gaming fans. I also really love to eat and shop.
I’m looking for general suggestions on improving my itinerary. Activities or areas that are essentially duplicates I can get rid of? Days that are too packed or days that can maybe fit something else? Day layouts that just don’t make sense? Things I’m missing that I should try to fit in?
— Tokyo — August 6th-12th
– Wednesday August 5th
- Flight from DCA
– August 6th
- Arrival HND 3:55pm
- Hotel: Shinjuku Groove
- Evening
- Walk around Shinjuku Golden Gai for drinks and food
- Round 1?
– August 7th
- Day
- Senso-ji (temple)
- Walk around Akihabara
- Eat at Ichiran Ueno (ramen) or Gyukatsu Motomura (hot stone meat) or Briskstand (burgers)
- Ameyoko market (shopping), Nakamise Shopping street
- Shopping at 2k540 Aki Oka Artisan
- Drinks at Game Bar A button
- Walk along Sumida River (better when its dark)
- Evening
- Hoppy Street (food and drinks)
- Back to hotel?
- Reggae/dub club OR One Love
– August 8th
- Day
- Breakfast at Rainbow pancakes OR Cha Café Do (honey french toast)
- Walk around Harajuku
- Yoyogi park
- Square Enix
- Parco Shibuya 6F (anime shopping)
- Casanova vintage (thrifting), 10 tow (thrifting), Desert snow (thrift)
- Eat at Ichiran (ramen) / Bebu-Ya (AYCE wagyu) / Tsukada Nojo (noodles) / Pizza Muramo
- Evening
- Shibuya Crossing
- 6pm Shibuya Sky (drinks and views, sunset)
- Dinner in Shibuya
- DJ Bar WREP (club) OR Harlem (club) OR Atom (club) OR Roots (club)
August 9th
- Day
- Free time around the hotel or near cruise port
- Evening
- Sunset boat ride
August 10th
- Day
- Mount Takao hike
- Mt Takao Beer Mount
- Yakitori Alley (drinks, food)
- Le Café V (food shopping), Ginza pedestrian paradise (shopping), Ginza 6 (shopping). Casanova vintage (thrift)
- Evening
- Dinner at Soul Food House
- Drinks at Bar Centifolia or Tokyo Confidential (rooftop)
August 11th
- Day
- Breakfast at Flippers (pancakes)
- Shinjuku national garden
- Meiji Jingu
- Tokyo metropolitan building (views)
- Eat ramen at Zundou or Ichiran Nishi
- Evening
- Bar / izakaya hopping with local tour
August 12th
- Shinkansen to Osaka in the AM
— Osaka — Aug 12th-16th
– Wednesday August 12th
- Arrive in Osaka early AM
- Hotel: Bridge Hotel Shinsaibashi or Centara Grand or Dotonbori Crystal Exe Hotel or Hotel the Flag Shinsaibashi
- Day — Umeda/ Nakazakicho —
- Breakfast at Café Y aka Toast Lady?
- Pokemon Center
- Walk arund Nakazakicho (neighborhood; cafes, hand crafted art galleries)
- Eat at Wagyu beef MOO
- Evening
- Umeda Sky Building
- Local bar and Izakaya Crawl
– August 13th
- Day – DenDen Town/Namba
- Namba yasaka jinja (dragon shrine)
- Walk around DenDen Town
- Animate Osaka
- Joshin super kids store
- Namco (arcade)
- Don quiote Namba (discount store)
- Walk around and eat at Kuromon’s Market (street food and fish market)
- Eat at OR Ushinokura namba (wagyu) OR Mugen Ramen
- Sakimoto Bakery OR Rikuro’s cheesecake
- Drinks at Anime café & bar cue lamp
- Evening
- Sake Tasting (& cooking?) experience
– August 14th
- Day – Nara
- Nara Deer park
- Kasugataisha Shrine
- Naramachi (sake brewery)
- Great Buddha Hall
- Evening
- Need to find dinner that takes reservations near these bars
- Drinks at Good Times Reggae Bar OR Bar Ippuku
– August 15th
- Day –Dotonbori/Shinsaibashi
- Osaka Castle
- Thrifting at Brand gallery Higashi, Brand Off, Komehyo, ALLU, Daikokuya Brandkan, Okura
- Shinsaibashi Shopping street
- Tonbori River Walk
- Eat at Wagyu Yakiniku Namba or Izakaya nonkiya OR Okonomiyaki Mizuno (savory pancakes) OR Hanamaruken Hozenji (ramen) OR Wagyu Idataen OR Okonomiyaki Ajinoya Honten (savory pancakes fried at table)
- Drinks at Garden Bar or Space Station
- Evening
- Dinner and drinks near the hotel
– Sunday August 16th
- Breakfast at Colony by Eqi (fluffy pancakes) or Happy Pancake
- Goodbye 🙁
by heeyebsx13