Hello all!
I will be leaving for Tokyo in three weeks. I have already done quite a bit of research about things to see and do in Tokyo and have cobbled together a rough itinerary (and I do stress rough!). Now comes the fun part, deciding on if I need to flesh it out a bit or if it's just about right.
Day 1 - Sat Sept. 1
- after arrival and checking in to my hotel, I will go out exploring the Shinjuku area where I'm staying to get a feel of the place. That will be the extent of my sightseeing as I will be arriving late in the afternoon.
Day 2 - Sun Sept. 2
- go to the Harajuku area to see the people in their Cosplay outfits.
- the Imperial Palace.
- the Tokyo Tower.
Day 3 - Mon Sept. 3
- head to Odaiba and walk around.
- take water bus to Asakusa.
- walk around the Asakusa area.
Day 4 - Tue Sept. 4
- baseball game. This is the only definite thing I know want to do this day, anything before 5p I'm open to ideas.
Day 5 - Wed Sept. 5
- go to the Tokyo Skytree. Ok, I realize that this has just opened, but knowing how popular it probably is, I'm going to get there quite early, so there's no telling how long I'll be standing in line or how long the whole ordeal will last. Any ideas on what to do afterwards?
Day 6 - Thur Sept. 6
- Day trip to Mt. Fuji / Hakone. That'll pretty much gobble up the whole day.
Day 7 - Friday Sept. 7
- I have no idea what to do this day.
Day 8 - Sat Sept. 8
- fly back home.
I do understand that there is LOTS to see and do in Tokyo, that's why I'm only doing one day out of the city. I'm also taking jet lag into consideration and the fact that this country will be bit of a challenge for me. I don't want to overdo it and run around to see every and anything, but then again I don't want to short change myself. The thought of going to this Ghibli museum sounds interesting, so I might plug that into one of my days.
So, any ideas / suggetions on this rough itinerary?
Tokyo rough itinerary - suggestions?
Recent Activity
View all Asia activity »
- 1 Proposed Sri Lanka Itinerary - any opinions welcome
- 2 Trip plans to SE Asia for 2014 coming together! Int'l flights purchased!
- 3 Elephant Visit in Chiang Mai
- 4 Suggestion for Bali
- 5 Suggestions for Asian visit Feb. 2014, incl. Singapore
- 6 Rajasthan tour: Car and Driver services, advise needed
- 7
Beijing To Tibet, Mt. Everest And Nepal All In 10 Days
- 8
Cambodia, Laos and a bit of Hong Kong - 5 1/2 weeks (Jan.24-March 4, 2013)
- 9 which hotel in Bangkok in July?
- 10 Family Japan Trip in August for First Time - Hotel Planning Advice
- 11 Dreamliner to Japan in Nov.?
- 12
Hello, Vietnam
- 13 Is it worth switching hotels in Tokyo?
- 14
4 days with Orangutans Balikpapan + Camp Leakey
- 15 11 days in Japan, JR pass question
- 16 Sri Lanka
- 17 Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan tour suggestions
- 18 Kashmir or Nepal
- 19 Udaipur, India
- 20 Ipoh
- 21 Conference venues around Pune City?
- 22 Treasure Junk Halong/Bai Tu Long bay crusie?
- 23 Photography Trip to Vietnam
- 24 LCCT to KL Sentral or 1Utama?
- 25 Honeymoon in Bali, July 2013
Sept 2, combine a visit to Meiji Jingu with Harajuku. This is a must do, IMO.
Sept 7, the Sept grand sumo tournament should be underway. Go to Ryogoku Kokugikan around noon or 1 PM (or earlier) and stay until 6PM. At some point, find the line for the chanko nabe and get in it.
Sept 3 - i have not been to Odaiba so don't know how much time for that. But after Asakusa you could take the boat to Hamarikyu Gardens and then walk over to Tsukiji for sushi.
@mrwunrfl - thanks for the suggestions! I was wondering if there was any sumo going on, so I'll definitely look into that as well as your other suggestions.
Sumo will start on Sunday Sept 9th
http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/
Sept 3rd you can also check out Ueno Park and Ameyoko Market a couple of stops away from Asakusa
Day 4 you can go here before the game in the Dome and transport yourself back in time
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3034_003.html
Day 7- hop on a Keio or JR train out of Shinjuku and head to Mt Takao for a little piece and quiet
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3029.html
Aloha!
@hawaiiantraveler - thanks for these ideas as it's given me a bit more to go on.
Another more exciting idea for day 7 would be stay overnight on the Izu Peninsula here at Amagiso or the likes. Amagiso has a shuttle bus that will pick you up and drop you off at the Kawazu train station.
http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/shizuoka/amagiso.htm
We spent two nights here a couple of years ago and long to return not only to the Amagiso but to explore more of the Izu Peninsula. You can make it easily from Amagiso to NRT unless your flight is in the early morning of Day 8.
Ditto if you want to go to Nikko on Day 7 and stay here overnight
http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/nikko/senhime.htm
Mr & Mrs HT are featured in photo #3 of photo's from guests section
Aloha!
You might enjoy the museums in Ueno park (e.g., the National Museum, or the treasures of Horyuji). I also like the Shitamachi museum that's nearby http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shitamachi_Museum . Or the Edo-Tokyo museum http://www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp/english/ .
day 7, takao-san is a good option. i've been there.
also for day7, day trip to nikko or kamakura. i've been to both, and i prefer nikko, and the tokugawa shrine.
excellent suggestions here, no matter what you chose, you won't go wrong.
chanko nabe in ryogoku or sushi at tsukiji, how can you go wrong.
For Day 4, I've booked myself a tour of the Imperial Palace, so early morning should be a leisurely affair while making my way over to Palace. I just have to figure out what to do after the tour. The planning continues!
@ kuranosuke - you mentioned Tsukiji and it got me to thinking about going to the fish market one morning for the tuna auction. Here's my question (for you or anyone else), since the subway doesn't open until 5 a.m. and I'll be staying in the Shinjuku area, would I make it there in time to apply for admission to the tuna auction? Is it really worth going early for the auction or is just going to the fish market itself worth it?
Hello all!
Thanks to everyone who contributed ideas to my trip.
I arrived back home yesterday and there's nothing like coming back to your own bed (not saying that the one in the hotel wasn't good, but you know what I mean).
For the most part, I loosely adhered to what I had set forth in my itinerary, except I did move things around a bit. I had to scratch off Mt. Fuji due to erratic weather conditions. One place I did go to was Kamakura (well, Hase where the Buddha is) and was very glad I did go (best weather day I had the whole trip).
Overall opinion of Japan (country / people / etc)- AWESOME! I really, really, really enjoyed myself on this trip despite the humidity and sweating profusely. Note to self: either go later or earlier in the year and bring a small towel to put on the neck.
@mrwunrfl - I did do this: Meiji Jingu with Harajuku. I was SO fortunate enough at Meiji Jingu to see a wedding party and the bride in traditional dress. Score a bonus on this one! (and I shot pictures as well).
I did soooo much walking, but then again it's nothing that I'm not use to given my trips to Paris and London. The subway and suburban train stations were so clean, not to mention the trains themselves. Had to get use to the fact that for some subway stations you actually had to leave the station and walk a bit outside to get to the other station that's listed as being at that junction. That was a new one on me. Oh, the Suica card is definitely a must have when riding the subway / suburban trains.
Vending machines. What didn't those things sell?? But thank god for those machines because with all the walking I did coupled with the heat / humidity, it was nice to be able to buy water at a moments notice.
Craziness. Salty Watermelon Pepsi. Yeah, you read correctly. I knew about this before I went over, so I was keen to find a bottle of this - which didn't happen until Friday when I was in Hase and went into a 100 Yen Shop at the train station. Butter flavored potato chips - omg...screw buttered popcorn, this stuff was delicious!! Lawson's, Family Mart and 7-11 sold some really neat stuff as well - don't think that I didn't come back with food stuff from those places...which brings me to...Waffle Chunk Kit Kat bars! I cleaned out the 7-11 closest to me of those. I also snagged me 3 bags of green tea Kit Kats from Don Quixote, pancake flavored Kit Kats from Kiddyland (yeah, sounds a bit pervy, but it's a toy store) and 5 other flavors when I was in the shopping area inside Narita airport.
Eating out - for some odd reason, I don't eat much when I'm traveling...I don't know if this has something to do with nerves or what, but the places I did eat at were: McDonalds (yes, I did need to eat there as anytime I go to a foreign country, I have to ate least eat there once), Royal Host (attached to my hotel), and this restaurant in Shinjuku called Wasurenbou. No menu in English, but I brought along this print out of a review of the restaurant and this really helped me out with ordering.
Would I go back again? Yes!