Japan Itinerary rough plan - help please
 

Hi all


Starting more detailed planning to help us decide on how to spend our time/days realistically. Can you please advise on whether there is enough time to do what we plan for each day in Tokyo?

• Day 1 - arrive in tokyo at 2:10pm (from USA). Transfer to HOTEL. Unwind, shower, etc. Dinner somewhere near the hotel. 7/11 shopping near the hotel or supermarket shopping?
• Day 2 - TOKYO - breakfast at 7/11, shibuya crossing, harajuku/takeshita street, Meiji Jingu shrine, Kawaii Monster Café and Mario kart ride tonight
• Day 3 - DAY TRIP TO NIKKO VS. HAKONE (still deciding)
• Day 4 - TOKYO - Breakfast at 7/11, Team Lab Borderless, Toyosu market, Mega Web Toyota showroom, Akihabara electronics district, Sensoji shrine, Nakamise Dore shopping, and night time view on Tokyo Sky Tree
• Day 5 - OSAKA - are we able to spend a couple of hours at the Tokyo Station prior to our trip?
• Day 6 - KYOTO
• Day 7 - KYOTO
• Day 8 - still debating between Kobe or adding an extra day at the end of trip in Tokyo or another day in Kyoto. Will decide as I plan more details for each city
• Day 9 - TAKAYAMA
• Day 10 - TAKAYAMA and Shirakawago
• Day 11 - Travel back to TOKYO - evening in Tokyo -check into hotel to drop off bags, Tokyo plaza hotel mirrors, robot restaurant (two different showings as we will split so one group can look after toddler), and night time skyline view at the Metropolitan government building
• Day 12 - TOKYO and FLIGHT departs at 4:30pm today - perhaps observe Sumo Wrestling this day?

We would like to add in Maid café to our itinerary in Tokyo at some point just not sure where?

Day 4: You are going to need to map out your itinerary for this day very carefully, and even then, I'm not sure it will be possible to do all these things.
Day 5: Tokyo station is very big and very confusing. Even if I was just catching a train, I would not take 12 people into Tokyo station without a map and every member of the party had their ticket in hand to show the station police when they get lost, which they will.

Instead, catch an early train and then do your shopping at one of the covered shopping arcades around Osaka or at the Teramachi or Kawaramachi arcades in Kyoto.They are multi-block covered shopping streets, so you can start at one end, and arrange for everybody to meet at the opposite end at a certain time.
Here's a list of the various arcades near Osaka Station:https://www.osakastation.com/shopping-in-osaka/
As you can see, there are lots! When they say high-end, they really mean lots of high-end western shops. In Osaka, prefer the more local shopping near Namba station. The shopping in Kyoto has a lot more Japanes craft stores, with things like woodblock prints, fabrics, pottery, even swords, mixed in with clothing and souvenir places.

I was worried about Day 4. We have decided to skip the market since none of us eat sea food (and half of us hate the smell) except one and that one may skip the toyota show room and go to the fish market herself.

Please let me know what you think of this for Day 4:

• 8:15 to 9:00am - 7 Eleven breakfast and pick up snacks
• 12 minute walk
• 9:15am to 12:30pm - TeamLab - Borderless
  • Book tickets in advance
  • Team Lab Art (go around 9:30am to avoid crowds) (https://borderless.teamlab.art/)

• 5 minute walk
• 12:30pm to 2:30pm - Mega Web Toyota Showroom
• 20 minute TAXI ride to Akihabara district
• 3:00pm to 5:00pm - Akihabara electronics district
  • Maid café - in Akihabara district
• 10 minute TAXI ride to Sensoji shrine and Nakamise Dore shopping street
• 5:15pm to 7:30pm - Nakamise Dore shopping street and Sensoji Shrine
• DINNER
• End the evening with a night time view on Tokyo Sky Tree

I'd say going to a supermarket is a great idea - explore it and see what Japanese eat and how much they pay for it. Many hotel rooms have small fridges in them, so you could get some juice, coffee, bread etc and just eat in your room in the morning.
For the Meiji Jingu Shrine, be sure not to miss the Meiji Gyoen Garden there as well (most people just pass by it as they stampede to the shrine). Very relaxing and unlike the shrine, not crowded at all. For Sensoji, if you get there too late the shopping street will be closed down (many stores close around 6 PM). The temple can be nice at night though when it's lit up and the crowds are gone. You didn't say when you are traveling, but if you are there from late winter, for a couple months you can see the "secret" garden at Denboin. Mostly unknown, and not crowded. If you have the chance, seeing some of the other very beautiful Tokyo gardens is also very worthwhile.
For the TeamLab Borderless Museum, picking a weekday would be smart. And choosing when they first open is good too - I got there 30 minutes before opening, and they let us in early - for 20 minutes I had the run of the whole place. But after that the tidal wave of people came in. There can be 30-45 minute waiting times for the Lantern Room, "Floating Nest", and the restrooms when busy - try to go there first, and don't drink a bucket of coffee before going there. Some areas also have mirrored floors, so if anyone in your party is female, wearing a skirt might not be a great idea. You could allocate more time there if you want; 2 hours for the Toyota Showroom is way more than enough. Walking through the Venus Fort can be enjoyable though, and not too time consuming.
Shirakawago can be seen in just a few hours. Be sure to check the bus schedule going there & return (there is no train access). Don't miss the beautiful village overlook. Be aware also that by train from Takayama to Tokyo will take you around 4½ hours. Everyone and their dog knows about the TMG and while it has a good view and is free, there might be quite a wait for the elevators in the basement (when I went, it said 30 minutes, and every last person in line was a foreign tourist). If you don't mind the splurge, there is also the Mori Bldg or Tokyo Skytree, or one other almost unknown free place is the i-Link Observation Deck in Ichikawa (45th floor) - but it is way off on the city's east side.

You didn't say if you are flying through Haneda or Narita. If the latter, it will take you longer to get there - on your last day, you might not have much time to do anything in the city.

Although both 7-Eleven and FamilyMart sell food items you can buy for a snack or breakfast, I don't think there are any seats or tables in the store where you can sit to eat breakfast.

You can watch some of the sumo tournament on TV. But attending it on your last day with an afternoon flight? The answer to that is a NO

>> I don't think there are any seats or tables in the store where you can sit to eat breakfast.

This depends on the place. Some in fact do now have them.

This is super helpful! Thank you!
Some follow up questions
1. Would Friday be ok for Teamlab or would you cosnider that "weekend"?
2. What one or two gardens in Tokyo are a must see?
3. What is TMG??? "Everyone and their dog knows about the TMG and while it has a good view and is free, there might be quite a wait for the elevators in the basement (when I went, it said 30 minutes, and every last person in line was a foreign tourist). "

Thanks!! I think we may skip sumo wrestling afterall. Too much to do already in Tokyo and looks like it's not priority for the 12 of us

I wouldn't pick a weekend evening like Fri or Sat night. Far better to go when the locals are at work or school - like a weekday morning. For the gardens, well, I've seen all of them - there are just over a dozen of them. You can see the link I put up above to see which you like the best, but I'd put Koishikawa Korakuen, Rikugien, Kiyosumi, and Hamarikyu at the top. Tonogayato is nice as well, but that's in a suburb. In April, the Showa Kinen Park is just magnificent. Other times are still nice, but not as much. Sankeien in Yokohama is also exquisite and worth a mention, but may be too far for you.The TMG is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

Sky Tree (and Tokyo Tower) are in a japan-guide youtube titled "Tokyo Tourist Traps": An free alternative to Sky Tree is mentioned.

You can wait 45 min at Sky Tree, like the sweet lady from japan-guide did, or you could pay the ¥4000 for the quick access ticket. The minimum you would pay is ¥2,100 for the first observatory, according to the japan-guide webpage.

Or you could wait 30 minutes for TMG which is free (I didn't have that long a wait).

This trip must be in January, May, or Sept (months when sumo tournaments are in Tokyo). If May, then I would find out if I could see the peony bloom at Hama Rikyu.

We were in Tokyo last month. We went to the Metropolitian BLdg (TMG) mid week in the early evening and waited maybe 15 minutes at the most. When we came out there were perhaps 5 people waiting.

Well first, that video above is not a Japan Guide video. As far as the Skytree goes, I waited an intolerable 60 seconds to get my ticket, and then within another 60 seconds I was on the elevator going up. If you go a weekday like I did, there are far fewer people, and I went just before sunset to watch the city turn from day to night, which is the ideal time. Aside from the Tokyo Tower (which over time has lost some of its view), and the free ones mentioned, one good one almost unknown and with a very good view if the weather cooperates is the I-Link tower in Ichikawa. Tremendous view, and if you're really in luck you can see Mt Fuji on the horizon.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...241332aba4.jpg


If you can see the peonies, you'd see a microcosm of heaven in each one of them. But they usually come out from the end of April until the first part of May, which would also mean Golden Week. Plus they'd be competing with the wisteria, which is why those and other flowers make that time one of the best to be in Japan, despite the holiday crush.

Thanks for the peony timing info.

Re peony timing - the winter bloom period is far more interesting, 'peony in the snow' being a tavourite motif in classical Japanese art. Toshogu shrine in Uneo holds a peony festival from beginning of January through February - amazing to see the peonies flowering under thatched straw roofs built over the individual plants. Hot amazake and tea are served.

Thank you everyone! Love the idea of the I Link Tower! Will run it by hubby as he is crazy about city skyline views!
We will be there Mid-May...any flowers blooming then?

I planned my May trip in part around the predicted blooming of iris, though I think I was hitting places at different times of the month than you will.
Google is your friend, as is japan-guide.com. For flower blooming seasons:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2423.html
https://livejapan.com/en/article-a0001818/