keriblitz

Hello...

Leaving for Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai very soon and would love your critique of our itinerary. We are a married couple in our late 20s - very casual travelers, not into super touristy things but want to hit the highlights. No guided tours, no major museums (still museum'd out from Italy). We are not targeted specific restaurants due to chaoticness of locating places; we're playing meals by ear but are open to suggestions.

Thanks in advance for your replies!
Keri

Monday
Arrival Tokyo 1:05p
Check-in hotel (near Shiodome)
Shinjuku Park
Meiji Jingku Shrine
Oriental Bazaar

Tuesday
Tsukiji Market
Breakfast at Sushi Dai
Hama Rikyu Garden
Sumida River Boat Cruise
Asakusa walking tour
Nakamise Dori
Sensoji Temple

Wednesday
Tokyo to Beijing 9:35a-12:30p
Check-in hotel (near Forbidden City)
Great Wall

Thursday
Tiananmen Square
Forbidden City
Temple of Heaven
Beijing Silk Store (?)

Friday
Summer Palace
Overnight train for Shanghai 8pm

Saturday
Arrive Shanghai 7:30am
Check-in hotel (far west Nanjing)
People's Square
Nanjing Lu Pedestrian Mall
The Bund
Yu Gardens & Bazaar
Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe

Sunday
Jade Buddha Temple
Jin Mao Tower
Huangpu River Cruise
MISSING ANYTHING THIS DAY?

Monday (solo, husband in school)
NEED SOMETHING TO FILL THIS DAY
South Bund Textile Market (I'm on a mission to locate quilt fabric for my mother)

Tuesday (solo, husband in school)
NEED SOMETHING TO FILL THIS DAY
Leave 4pm

Thank you!

KimJapan

Your first day in Tokyo, your plane lands at 1:05 pm? If so, then expect to be at your hotel certainly no sooner than 3:00, more like 4:00 is more likely. You might have time to get over to Meij Shrine and Oriental Bazaar, but you might not...and you may be very tired from the trip. I'd make a plan B...there is a great advertising museum somewhere near the Conrad hotel that we visited a while back...just ask at your hotel about it, I can't remember the name or building that it is in, but one of the restaurant managers at the Conrad recommended it to us. It is definitely NOT your typical museum at all.

Cicerone

IMO you have too long in Shanghai and too short in Beijing. I would reverse it. There is little of cultural or historical interest in Shanghai (in fact the best thing is their museum which you may not be interested in, although they do have some colonial concession areas), which you seem to have clued into based on the “need something to fill this day” on your itin. While you may not want to see museums in Beijing, there are still great sites, some of which are on your list and some of which are missing. Some suggestions would be a tour of the Hutoung areas by rickshaw or walking,seeing the drum and bell tower, spending some actual time at the Great Wall so you can take a long walk and a picnic (I saw your other post and think the late afternoon jaunt is not a good idea), Mao in his tomb, the sunrise flag raising at Tiananmen, Behai Park, the Dirt Market, Hongqiao Pearl Market Lilligiang street for antiques, hanging out in the numerous restaurants and clubs. Sloooow down and enjoy the journey.

Could not agree more on the Tokyo bit, way too much packed into too short a time. It takes an hour on the train between the airport and Tokyo, this does not include time for immigration, baggage claim and then finding you way to the train getting tickets, just missing the train and having to wait for the next one, and then getting to your hotel from the train – and of course all in Japanese. This was exhausting me just to read. 3 major cities in 7 full days and 2-half days, a night train thrown in and jet lag, wow.

Finally, I am not sure how “soon” your trip is, but a major public holiday is coming up in the PRC. It is Labour Day and this year it is being celebrated from Thursday May 1 through Sunday May 4. It used to be that the entire country had the whole week of May 1 off, now they just have 4 days, but if they are the same 4 days as your trip, you will fid lots of crowds at sights, so be prepared. You also may want to rethink the overnight train trip as the train stations at both ends could be very very crowded.

keriblitz

Thanks for the feedback so far. We leave this weekend; I will be back before 5/1 but my husband is leaving 5/4. The whole trip is a pre-trip to a school trip he has in Shanghai starting Sunday so unfortunately the time in Shanghai is not moveable. I ended up with the Mon/Tues days as a sheer result of frequent flyer miles not being available for me to fly back on Sun. which is why those days are solo for me while my husband is in school. If we moved Thursday to have just the Great Wall that day, what could we feasably fit in that late afternoon and what could we fit in in a late afternoon on Wednesday after arriving from Tokyo? Our Friday in Beijing is also fairly light so I'm not sure what could also be moved there. Thanks again for all your help! Keep it coming!

keriblitz

How does this revision look?

Wednesday
Tokyo to Beijing 9:35a-12:30p
Temple of Heaven
Beijing Silk Store (?)

Thursday
Great Wall
Hongqiao Market

Friday
Tiananmen Square
Forbidden City
Frommer's Walking Tour #2
Summer Palace
8pm train to Shanghai

Violet_1125

Wednesday
Tokyo to Beijing 9:35a-12:30p
Check-in hotel (near Forbidden City)
Tian`anmen Square and Forbidden City.since your hotel is very close to Forbidden City.

Thursday
Great Wall,Summer Palace

Friday
Temple of Heaven at morning,Hongqiao Maket,Silk Market
Overnight train for Shanghai 8pm