Please let me know your thoughts on my itinerary if to Japan next week.
Thanks, J
by Rekrul_Taberif
17 Comments
Gnarlsaurus_Sketch
If I only had 4 full days in Tokyo, I would not use one of them for Disney. Looks good otherwise.
Brief-Eye5893
Do asakusa over the port! There’s a lot of travel to get to Fuji, not always worth it, you’ve got Yokohamas Chinatown, charming Enoshima/Kamakura that are closer and better
405freeway
>Explore Downtown Tokyo
Do you mean like Chiyoda-ku?
Definitely go to Asakusa at least.
ACoconutInLondon
We went to Disney Sea, but I just want to put out there that I wish I’d bought more gifts for people at Disney Sea.
We only really shopped at the end of the night in that last hour before closing, so I wasn’t thinking clearly. But after the fact, I wished I’d bought more of the smaller, location specific Disney chocolate gifts as gifts for friends and family. The chocolate is actually pretty good (they had a bag of chocolate rice krispie things that was one of our favorites) and it’s Disney so it’s obviously adorable and it had pretty good expiration dates for people we wouldn’t necessarily see ASAP.
Also, because it’s Japan they had a lot of special stuff special to the time and place.
Like one of things I regretted not getting for friends were a small metal box of Winter Duffy (Japan specific) and Friends with shaped colored chocolates and I think it was between $5-10 USD.
TirrKatz
Make sure it’s not too late to make a michelin reservation.
TirrKatz
Also, shinjuku (I assume, Kabukicho/Golden Gai) is only interesting in the evening. It’s kinda boring in the morning.
CinnabarPekoe
Going to be honest with you. All those cells that you gave 30 min slots for a meal, you better have a shortlist of 3-5 restaurants of interest within the vicinity OR you’ve already made reservations in advance. I equate “Michelin” with massive line up or reserving months in advance so I hope you already have one. Otherwise, without preparations, those look like they are going to be konbini meals to me.
keytrap93
If you travel out to Mt. Fuji, I believe Fuji Q is much more worth the visit compared to Tokyo Disney. At least if your in it for the rides and not specifically Disney.
ringadingdingbaby
I would extend your ‘travel to airport’ time if you’re flying from Narita.
It’s a long way outside the city.
Sneezes-on-babies
Honestly- I love a good spreadsheet so I really wanted to love this itinerary but I just can’t. I think you’re missing a lot of information and planning time for things that are not really possible to accomplish in said timeslots.
I think your itinerary is also challenging because you only have so few days in Japan- most people spend 2 weeks since it takes so long to get there.
Here would be my rec- feel free to take it or leave it.
DAY 1:
Keep as is- you never know how you’ll feel after the flight so leaving things ambiguous is a good plan. The only thing I’d change, which I would change for the entire itinerary is time allotment for meals. I understand keeping times for when hotel breakfast is available, or if you have reservations, but otherwise, you’ll remember to eat, and half the time eating is going to be incorporated into what you’re already doing.
DAY 2:
-SO the next big change I’d make is finding out exactly WHERE you’d like to go for these exploration times. You can walk around Shibuya for 3 hours and not see anything special if you don’t navigate yourself to at least a general area or attraction. Otherwise, exploring those two areas for the day sounds great. I’d say it’s also important to point out that your time slot for Shibuya Sky will be before nightfall, when the view is said to be at it’s best.
DAY 3:
So if you are staying in Shinjuku, it’s gonna take a bit to get to Team Labs- that being said, if you’re planning to be there that early and you want to explore the port area and the mall, I’d recommend making sure the things you want to see are open. I also don’t know what you mean by downtown Tokyo. If you are just not sure on where else to go besides Shinjuku or Shibuya, I also recommend Asakusa/Ueno- HOWEVER if you do Asakusa and Ueno this day, I’d recommend going there in the morning then doing Team Labs and the port later in the day. Like others have said, if you don’t have a Michelin Dinner lined up, not only will you need more than 30 minutes for it, but you’ll also need a reservation or be prepared to wait in line for possibly a few hours.
DAY 4:
Seeing Hakone and NOT planning to go into an onsen just sounds sad to me. I also don’t know if it’s worth doing on a day trip like this- but if your heart is set on it, go for it. I have never been but I’ve heard it can get very crowded and that the main appeal in going comes from staying in a Ryokan.
DAY 5:
I’d honestly not go to an amusement park if I only had a few days in Japan, but if they’re your thing, I’d be looking at your day trip to Hakone and pick between the two. At this point you would have been in Tokyo and would have only seen Shinjuku for a few hours, Shibuya, and the area around Team Labs. There is still SO MUCH to see and do! I have also heard that Disney Tokyo is just like Disneyland, so most people prefer Disney Sea, since it is its own unique park.
I am also biased because Amusement parks just aren’t my thing- like I’ll go if I’m invited to one, but I’d rather do something unique to Japan if I only had a few days to spend in the country.
DAY 6:
So my first question for this one is what airport are we talking about? If you are flying out of Haneda, this should be fine, but if you’re flying out of Narita, you are going to not be able to explore on your way to the airport, and you’re going to be taking an hour to get there. You also have a 2 hour gap between arriving at the airport and using a lounge- but just so you know, depending on the day you leave, and the type of ticket you have, you may be stuck waiting to check into your flight/get through TSA for a good 2 hours. I have always flown out of Narita so Haneda could be different. From my experience from getting to the airport and actually getting checked in/through TSA has always taken at least 2 hours if not more, so just make sure you’re there earlier.
Hope that helps!
kenchikuka_
On 6/3, I recommend going to Shibuya for lunch at Negiya Heikichi Udagawacho. It is a specialty ramen joint that uses green onion (negi). Also, their karaage was amazing. Great atmosphere but a bit of a wait. That said, there are seemingly unlimited good food options around, so if you don’t go there, I am sure you will land on something good.
Ronin_1999
Shinjuku is a good place to ease into Tokyo and get rid of your jet lag. It’s easy to walk, plenty to see, you can get by with or without using your Japanese since the area is built around thousands of international visitors going in and out.
You can phone it in and just wander the department stores or the shopping district with no itinerary, or play tourist and hit up Omoide Yokocho (aka Piss Alley), or dive right into it and make your way to Golden Gai.
You’re also surrounded by a zillion vending machine ramen shops and twice as many Family Marts, so no worries for food or drink. And, of course, git you some Famichiki or some Yoshinoya.
Pro Tip: if you get a Suica card for mass transit, it doubles as a hella convenient debit card in a crazy amount of places, including vending machines, so keep that thing charged on yen.
meat_lasso
Michelin TBD and Fuji / Hakone on the same day make little sense to me.
Michelin TBD means you’re 99% not getting in. Find a great izakaya and you’ll enjoy it way more btw.
Fuji and Hakone on the same day is literally impossible but try if you like. Better option is to wake up early and get the shink to Osaka and walk around for a few hours, do a little walk and sample of local food.
Also a bit much on the Explore Shinjuku side — you can get through the Higashiguchi area in an afternoon. Stop by Shinjuku Gyoen for a few hours (300 yen IIRC) and then get out to Asakusa as other commenters have said.
Rethink (read: cancel) your Fuji plans. Train to Hakone is pretty this time of year but that ride on the lake is a massive time dump.
SplitBananaFxck
I went to a Michelin restaurant in Croatia and girl I was there for 3 hours because of how they brought food out (I never once was hungry or waiting they did a fantastic job and I was shocked when I saw it was 10pm) but yeah Michelin restaurants are different, give yourself a bit more time I’d say
boraras
Unless you know exactly where you’re eating or just plan to eat whatever, 1-hour slots for meals seems kind of tight. You could easily spend 15-30 minutes browsing all the interesting options.
Have you factored in travel time to/from the airport? From Narita, it’s one hour on the train itself… not including walking time, train schedule/frequency.
Shinjuku is going to be pretty boring in the morning.
With only a few days, Disney wouldn’t be on my list at all but that’s entirely a subjective thing.
AnInfiniteArc
The number of people misreading the meal slots as 30 minutes is making my head ache.
taydraisabot
You’re going to Fantasy Springs right?? June 6 is its grand opening
17 Comments
If I only had 4 full days in Tokyo, I would not use one of them for Disney. Looks good otherwise.
Do asakusa over the port! There’s a lot of travel to get to Fuji, not always worth it, you’ve got Yokohamas Chinatown, charming Enoshima/Kamakura that are closer and better
>Explore Downtown Tokyo
Do you mean like Chiyoda-ku?
Definitely go to Asakusa at least.
We went to Disney Sea, but I just want to put out there that I wish I’d bought more gifts for people at Disney Sea.
We only really shopped at the end of the night in that last hour before closing, so I wasn’t thinking clearly. But after the fact, I wished I’d bought more of the smaller, location specific Disney chocolate gifts as gifts for friends and family. The chocolate is actually pretty good (they had a bag of chocolate rice krispie things that was one of our favorites) and it’s Disney so it’s obviously adorable and it had pretty good expiration dates for people we wouldn’t necessarily see ASAP.
Also, because it’s Japan they had a lot of special stuff special to the time and place.
Like one of things I regretted not getting for friends were a small metal box of Winter Duffy (Japan specific) and Friends with shaped colored chocolates and I think it was between $5-10 USD.
Make sure it’s not too late to make a michelin reservation.
Also, shinjuku (I assume, Kabukicho/Golden Gai) is only interesting in the evening. It’s kinda boring in the morning.
Going to be honest with you. All those cells that you gave 30 min slots for a meal, you better have a shortlist of 3-5 restaurants of interest within the vicinity OR you’ve already made reservations in advance. I equate “Michelin” with massive line up or reserving months in advance so I hope you already have one. Otherwise, without preparations, those look like they are going to be konbini meals to me.
If you travel out to Mt. Fuji, I believe Fuji Q is much more worth the visit compared to Tokyo Disney. At least if your in it for the rides and not specifically Disney.
I would extend your ‘travel to airport’ time if you’re flying from Narita.
It’s a long way outside the city.
Honestly- I love a good spreadsheet so I really wanted to love this itinerary but I just can’t. I think you’re missing a lot of information and planning time for things that are not really possible to accomplish in said timeslots.
I think your itinerary is also challenging because you only have so few days in Japan- most people spend 2 weeks since it takes so long to get there.
Here would be my rec- feel free to take it or leave it.
DAY 1:
Keep as is- you never know how you’ll feel after the flight so leaving things ambiguous is a good plan. The only thing I’d change, which I would change for the entire itinerary is time allotment for meals. I understand keeping times for when hotel breakfast is available, or if you have reservations, but otherwise, you’ll remember to eat, and half the time eating is going to be incorporated into what you’re already doing.
DAY 2:
-SO the next big change I’d make is finding out exactly WHERE you’d like to go for these exploration times. You can walk around Shibuya for 3 hours and not see anything special if you don’t navigate yourself to at least a general area or attraction. Otherwise, exploring those two areas for the day sounds great. I’d say it’s also important to point out that your time slot for Shibuya Sky will be before nightfall, when the view is said to be at it’s best.
DAY 3:
So if you are staying in Shinjuku, it’s gonna take a bit to get to Team Labs- that being said, if you’re planning to be there that early and you want to explore the port area and the mall, I’d recommend making sure the things you want to see are open. I also don’t know what you mean by downtown Tokyo. If you are just not sure on where else to go besides Shinjuku or Shibuya, I also recommend Asakusa/Ueno- HOWEVER if you do Asakusa and Ueno this day, I’d recommend going there in the morning then doing Team Labs and the port later in the day. Like others have said, if you don’t have a Michelin Dinner lined up, not only will you need more than 30 minutes for it, but you’ll also need a reservation or be prepared to wait in line for possibly a few hours.
DAY 4:
Seeing Hakone and NOT planning to go into an onsen just sounds sad to me. I also don’t know if it’s worth doing on a day trip like this- but if your heart is set on it, go for it. I have never been but I’ve heard it can get very crowded and that the main appeal in going comes from staying in a Ryokan.
DAY 5:
I’d honestly not go to an amusement park if I only had a few days in Japan, but if they’re your thing, I’d be looking at your day trip to Hakone and pick between the two. At this point you would have been in Tokyo and would have only seen Shinjuku for a few hours, Shibuya, and the area around Team Labs. There is still SO MUCH to see and do! I have also heard that Disney Tokyo is just like Disneyland, so most people prefer Disney Sea, since it is its own unique park.
I am also biased because Amusement parks just aren’t my thing- like I’ll go if I’m invited to one, but I’d rather do something unique to Japan if I only had a few days to spend in the country.
DAY 6:
So my first question for this one is what airport are we talking about? If you are flying out of Haneda, this should be fine, but if you’re flying out of Narita, you are going to not be able to explore on your way to the airport, and you’re going to be taking an hour to get there. You also have a 2 hour gap between arriving at the airport and using a lounge- but just so you know, depending on the day you leave, and the type of ticket you have, you may be stuck waiting to check into your flight/get through TSA for a good 2 hours. I have always flown out of Narita so Haneda could be different. From my experience from getting to the airport and actually getting checked in/through TSA has always taken at least 2 hours if not more, so just make sure you’re there earlier.
Hope that helps!
On 6/3, I recommend going to Shibuya for lunch at Negiya Heikichi Udagawacho. It is a specialty ramen joint that uses green onion (negi). Also, their karaage was amazing. Great atmosphere but a bit of a wait. That said, there are seemingly unlimited good food options around, so if you don’t go there, I am sure you will land on something good.
Shinjuku is a good place to ease into Tokyo and get rid of your jet lag. It’s easy to walk, plenty to see, you can get by with or without using your Japanese since the area is built around thousands of international visitors going in and out.
You can phone it in and just wander the department stores or the shopping district with no itinerary, or play tourist and hit up Omoide Yokocho (aka Piss Alley), or dive right into it and make your way to Golden Gai.
You’re also surrounded by a zillion vending machine ramen shops and twice as many Family Marts, so no worries for food or drink. And, of course, git you some Famichiki or some Yoshinoya.
Pro Tip: if you get a Suica card for mass transit, it doubles as a hella convenient debit card in a crazy amount of places, including vending machines, so keep that thing charged on yen.
Michelin TBD and Fuji / Hakone on the same day make little sense to me.
Michelin TBD means you’re 99% not getting in. Find a great izakaya and you’ll enjoy it way more btw.
Fuji and Hakone on the same day is literally impossible but try if you like. Better option is to wake up early and get the shink to Osaka and walk around for a few hours, do a little walk and sample of local food.
Also a bit much on the Explore Shinjuku side — you can get through the Higashiguchi area in an afternoon. Stop by Shinjuku Gyoen for a few hours (300 yen IIRC) and then get out to Asakusa as other commenters have said.
Rethink (read: cancel) your Fuji plans. Train to Hakone is pretty this time of year but that ride on the lake is a massive time dump.
I went to a Michelin restaurant in Croatia and girl I was there for 3 hours because of how they brought food out (I never once was hungry or waiting they did a fantastic job and I was shocked when I saw it was 10pm) but yeah Michelin restaurants are different, give yourself a bit more time I’d say
Unless you know exactly where you’re eating or just plan to eat whatever, 1-hour slots for meals seems kind of tight. You could easily spend 15-30 minutes browsing all the interesting options.
Have you factored in travel time to/from the airport? From Narita, it’s one hour on the train itself… not including walking time, train schedule/frequency.
Shinjuku is going to be pretty boring in the morning.
With only a few days, Disney wouldn’t be on my list at all but that’s entirely a subjective thing.
The number of people misreading the meal slots as 30 minutes is making my head ache.
You’re going to Fantasy Springs right?? June 6 is its grand opening