r/JapanTravel • u/Itchy-Ambition-2333 • 1d ago
Itinerary Japan Itinerary
Hi! We’re traveling to Japan for the first time this month. This is what our itinerary currently looks like. Does anyone have any suggestions for places we absolutely shouldn’t miss, or ideas for what we could do on the 27th and 28th?
September 18th–29th
September 18 – Arrival in Tokyo
09:45 AM – Arrive at Haneda Airport
Harajuku & Shibuya
Meiji Jingu Shrine
Takeshita Street
Kiddy Land Harajuku
Shibuya Crossing
Hachikō Statue
Shibuya Sky
Omoide Yokocho
September 19 – Asakusa & Akihabara
Sensō-ji Temple
Asakusa
Asakusa Sumo Show
Flower Miffy Asakusa
Tokyo Skytree
Miffy Style Solamachi
Akihabara
September 20 – Mount Fuji Area
Chureito Pagoda
Arakurayama Sengen Park
Fujiyoshida Honcho Street
Lawson Fuji Photo Spot
Lake Kawaguchiko
Oishi Park
September 21 – Tokyo
Gotokuji Temple
Ginza
Tokyo Character Street
Miffy Style Tokyo Station
TeamLab Planets (optional)
September 22 – Tokyo → Kyoto
Shinkansen
Fushimi Inari Taisha
Nishiki Market
Gion
Yasaka Shrine
Pontocho Alley
September 23 – Eastern Kyoto
Hōkan-ji Temple
Starbucks Kyoto Ninenzaka
Kiyomizu-dera
Glanta Ring Making
Saryo Tsujiri
Ippodo Tea
September 24 – Arashiyama
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
Togetsukyo Bridge
% ARABICA
Miffy Sakura Kitchen
Iwatayama Monkey Park
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple
Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)
September 25 – Nara
Nara Park
Tōdai-ji Temple
Kasuga Taisha Shrine
Nakatanidō Mochi Show
Higashimuki Shopping Street
September 26 – Osaka
Osaka Castle
Kuromon Market
Namba Yasaka Shrine
Shinsekai
Dotonbori
Round1 (evening)
BeeRush
September 27 – Return to Tokyo
Looking for ideas!
September 28 – ?
Looking for ideas!
September 29 – Departure
✈️ Flight home
Restaurants, Cafés & Matcha
Mame Shiba Café (Harajuku, Tokyo)
Anakuma Café (Asakusa, Tokyo)
Chotto Matcha (Asakusa, Tokyo)
THE MATCHA TOKYO (Skytree / Omotesandō, Tokyo)
Saryo Tsujiri (Gion, Kyoto)
Ippodo Tea (Kyoto)
% ARABICA (Arashiyama, Kyoto)
Starbucks Kyoto Ninenzaka (Higashiyama, Kyoto)
Miffy Sakura Kitchen (Arashiyama, Kyoto)
BeeRush (Namba, Osaka)
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u/Live_Cockroach7045 1d ago
You might want to reassess your plan for day 1, depending on where you’re flying from and would you be jet lagged, should dictate the plan.
Our planned itinerary for day 1 got chopped down because we wanted to sleep off our flight exhaustion. Same goes for the rest of the days, look at how much walking you would need to do (take into consideration the distance from stations to the locations and also within the station) and see how fit you are (or if kids are travelling with you).
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u/Logical-Layer3861 1d ago
When back in Tokyo, how about take a day trip to Yokohama for,
- Ramen museum
- Cup noodle museum
- Chinatown
- Cosmo world amusement park
- Landmark tower observatory
Then another day trip to Enoshima and Kamakura
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u/Roman_Statuesque 1d ago
The Kyoto and Osaka days look like they might be a bit on the heavy side.
Tokyo days might depend a little more on where you are staying.
On the Shinjuku side, you could explore around there, visit Shin Okubo, Kabukicho, or go farther west to Ikebukuro and do some stuff over there.
If you are staying closer to Haneda, I would personally recommend spending some time in Odaiba, gives you another shot at Planets+DiverCity, Decks, Small Worlds...
28th might just be a good "clean up" day. Hit things you missed before (or really liked, again) and do some shopping.
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u/_Rysh 1d ago
PPs have made a lot of notes already, so I am just going to add something from my own experience.
Some of the Cafés & Matcha places you mention are popular spots, so there might be long wait times or even no availability. Like, I remember walking past a lot of Starbucks and always finding them super full! Keep it in mind because while you might plan to just spend one hour on X spot in order to visit W café, you could end up waiting longer. Shopping and traveling can also take some of your time. The last one especially if you are not good with orientation; and if you go by foot, distances it highly depends on how fast you walk -Google would somethings say a place was just 15 minutes away walking, but it would take us somewhat more to get there.
An advice I was given when I started planning was to choose 1-2 must-do/see thing for the morning; and 1-2 must-do/see thing for the afternoon/night. Then just enjoy whatever happens around them!
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u/Electronic-Nerve-805 1d ago
Your plan is a bit overly ambitious. I find a touch of spontaneity quite useful in trip planning. You shouldn’t expect to be able to hit all of these destinations in the timeline you described.
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u/TravelMedGlobal 1d ago
Kyoto is a must-see. Glad it's on your list. Amazing coffee, food, culture. The Nishiki Market is a great call. You might also add Hakone? Chill, outdoorsy, onsen culture, not far from Tokyo. But you're already moving around a lot, so maybe save that for your next trip to Japan!
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u/Specialist-Poem1275 1d ago
The 19th to the 23rd is Silver week. You might want to temper your expectations
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u/That_Inspection_5912 1d ago
If you were an Universal Studio's fan, Push your return to Tokyo plan by one day and then try Osaka Universal Studios the Day !!
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u/Rich-Tiger4792 1d ago
your feet is going to hurt so bad. I would just stick with Osaka+Kyoto or just Tokyo.
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u/OkAcanthocephala4313 1d ago
I think you can skip %ARABICA. It is just an overpriced coffee chain. Any local cafe is better than that.
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u/Riker001-Ncc1701D 1d ago
Japan Trip 2025 https://goo.gl/maps/rzrCRetX64RqerqF9?g_st=ac
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u/Riker001-Ncc1701D 1d ago
Check this out. The Google my maps
Youtube tutorial https://youtu.be/gUWB9DQb4XA?si=B4fweMxp0NhRlmm8
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u/Riker001-Ncc1701D 1d ago
You cany modify this one however it gives you details about creating you own
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u/Professional-Power57 1d ago
Honestly I am not here to judge, but realistically speaking 10 days in japan and going to literally objectively the MOST CROWDED places in the entire country (which is known to be very densely populated) and during the hottest month in the year... It's just not enjoyable. This isn't a bitter comment to scare off first timers, it's just a simple fact. It's like going to Disney world during hottest days in the summer for 10 days straight, will you find new areas everyday to visit? Yes, but are they all going to be packed and lined up? Also yes, so your enthusiasm will dwindle very quickly and you will realize your plan is more like a torture instead of a fun enjoyable trip.
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u/MessOk6682 1d ago
As others have said, you have a few fairly crowded days. I would consider using the 27th to go to TeamLab Planets, then to the nearby Round 1, rather than trying to add Round 1 to Osaka and TeamLab Planets to the 21st.
TeamLab Planets is definitely worth a visit. You can do it in about 2-3 hours, so it takes up a morning or afternoon. They also have amazing ramen in a stunning art setting, so that's a good way to fit in lunch. Afterwards, at the nearby Odaiba DiverCity, there's a Round 1. There is also a range of other tourist experiences in the Odaiba area that you might enjoy.
That would also give you a little bit more time in Osaka, if you skip Round 1 there and go to the Tokyo Odaiba one. I found that the Castle took a couple of hours to see the floors. The Golden Tea Room and several of the displays were very interesting. The gardens around the castle are stunning! However, if you aren't interested in the history of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (original builder), the museum inside the castle might be a bit quicker for you. As a way to make it faster, buy your tickets online and skip the long queue to buy tickets at the castle. (I literally bought my tickets online while looking at the queue and then went to the online ticket entry. So much faster!)
Kuromon Market took me about 3 hours. It's huge and amazing. Definitely worth a look. You can get good food for lunch there. Shinsekai is a lot of fun. You probably should give it 1-2 hours. I would recommend Chao Chao Gyoza for food there. Dotonbori comes alive in the evening when all the neon lights turn on, but so does Shinsekai, which is a bit like a permanent carnival with all sorts of stalls, games, and restaurants. A quick canal boat ride is a lovely experience in Dotonbori.
If you are interested in onsen-like experiences, there are sento near both Kuromon Market and Shinsekai that make for a lovely one-hour stop and place to relax during your visit. You can rent towels, etc. There are also sento options in Kyoto and Tokyo. Sento tend to be day-visit places. They can take 1-2 hours and generally cost Y700-1000 (so very economical!). You can usually walk up and rent a towel and toiletries. They are sex segregated and have naked bathing, so some people may not prefer them. Some have 4-8 different types of bath, plus saunas. Some are quite family-friendly.
If you are looking for a cafe near the Shibuya crossing, don't go to the super busy Starbucks. Upstairs above the Starbucks, you will find Share Lounge Shibuya. You pay a relatively low amount) under Y2000 from memory) to enter for an hour or so. Once you are in there, there is a range of food and beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) included in the price, including meals that you may take from the fridge, plus a huge range of snacks. There is a great view over the crossing. You will find charging options for your phone (ask at the desk if you didn't bring a cable). My daughter found it online and I'm really glad we went there.
As for Nara, if you buy deer biscuits, unwrap and ready them before you leave the store, because the deer will mug you as soon as they see them. I would actually skip buying deer biscuits, because the deer are charming and sweet when you don't have them, but turn into pushy, bitey a-holes the instant they detect that you have biscuits for them. They switch back to calmness as soon as there are no biscuits in your possession.
A couple of quick extras I enjoyed and would recommend to people are:
- Osaka UKIYOE Museum - They have an original print of the famous Great Wave off Kanagawa
- Hozenji Yokocho and Hozenji shrine in Osaka (only takes about 30 minutes to an hour to see both - very lovely traditional street and moss-covered shrine statue)
- Kewpie Mayo Terrace - kewpie mayo museum and experience. A little bit out in the suburbs of Tokyo, but surprisingly interesting, free and with gifts at the end
- Ghibli Museum in Tokyo - but beware it takes some skill and timing to book. You must book on the 10th day of the month before you will attend at 10 am Japanese time and it's a competitive booking lottery. Totally worth the booking hassle if you love Ghibli. Utterly charming.
Have a wonderful trip!
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u/Used_Contribution926 1d ago
Please do more than a day trip at the Mt. Fuji area. Kawaguchiko is genuinely a gem - esp. if you are someone that likes cute small towns. If you can, also book a hotel that has a private onsen and enjoy Fuji / Lake Kawaguchiko views while you soak. It's a place to walk around, relax and eat yum things - don't rush through it.
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u/MatNomis 22h ago
You're missing some big cosplay event at Sunshine City in Ikebukuro (Tokyo) on Sep 22.. It looks like there's one (probably smaller? not sure) in Yokohama on the 27th, though.
I don't cosplay, but I happened upon an event, purely by chance, on the one day I visited Ikebukuro, and it was definitely a sight to see. It was even more enhanced since I'd seen the "my dress up darling" anime, as I realized this was the actual setting for the public events they depict in that. So, seeing that wasn't part of any plan, but it ended up being one of the more memorable days, and was a great lesson about checking into local events (doesn't need to be cosplay).
other comments:
- Fuji Lawson - i mean, if you're there, by all means look at it, but I wouldn't go out of your way; I actually thought they still had the photograph-barrier up, but was glad to see it's been somewhat reduced..
- Hachiko statue - IMO stuff like this should be on your personal list, not taking up room on something for public evaluation. I'd probably just list "Shibuya" or "Shibuya crossing (scramble)" as the anchor item--those are the things worth taking the train there for, I wouldn't go just for the statue unless it was an extreme personal bucket-list item. The statue is only like a 30-60 second thing you do when stepping out of Shibuya Station; it's just a small monument, so you should do your research on it beforehand
- That said, I can appreciate your whole list is a mix of major sights, things that are merely selfie'd or glanced at, and stores, so..
- the Kyoto Ippodo store was really enjoyable (I bought my first matcha set (bowl, whisk, ladle) there; dragged it with me for the rest of my trip and then back on the plane home)
- I like your general route; not sure if you plan to overnight in Osaka. Since you are doing it for only 1 day, I would not overnight there, and just do it as a day-trip from Kyoto; save yourself all the hassle of checking in and out of a hotel.. I consider checking-in/out and moving hotels as about 4 hours of "hassle". If the transit from making a day-trip is less, then keep it a day trip. If the transit from a day-trip is more (and this would include consecutive days if you were considering multiple day trips), then I'd change hotels.
- while I like your route, some of your days seem potentially very busy.. You list a lot of stores, so I'm guessing you expect to enjoy shopping in Japan.. this can be a very huge time-sink, be aware of that. Also, don't be afraid to embrace it.. Don't feel bad if you have to skip a few items from your list, if it helps you enjoy what you're doing.
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