julianaoctavia

Hi guys...

I will go to Japan on October. My plan:

Oct 11 : Tokyo (staying near Tsukiji fish market)
Exploring Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Shibuya.

Oct 12 : Tokyo (Japan's public holiday)
Visiting Imperial Palace, Akihabara, Asakusa, and probably Ueno.

Oct 13 : Tokyo
Going to Tsukiji Fish Market early in the morning and heading to Disneyland for the whole day.

Oct 14 : Tokyo - Kyoto (Staying near Kyoto Tower)
Visiting Fushimi Inari, Nijo Castle, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Pontocho, and Kyoto Tower.

Oct 15 : Kyoto
Going to Arashimaya, Kinkakuji, Kiyomizudera, and Gion.

Oct 16 : Kyoto - Nara - Osaka - Kyoto
At Nara : Kofukiji and Nara Park
At Osaka : Osaka Castle, Umeda/Namba.

Oct 17 : Kyoto - Kawaguchiko (staying near Fujisan Station)
Going to the mt. Fuji 5th Station, Fuji-Q Highland and Lake Kawaguchi

Oct 18 : Kawaguchiko - Gotemba - Tokyo (staying near ginza station)
Shopping at Gotemba Premium Outlet and directly heading to Tokyo before 3/4 PM
At Tokyo : ?????

Oct 19 : Tokyo
Still don't know where to go, but will go to Haneda before 5 PM.


Is it too much guys? And I have the difficulty finding the transportation in some routes through Hyperdia.com. Is there any other sites that can help me so that I can manage my time better? I appreciate any suggestion that you have... And should I buy the JR Pass? I looked up online and many of my destinations there cannot be covered with the pass. And from the Fujisan station to Gotemba premium outlet seems to be so far, I searched for it and the train would take me there for 5 hours. I am thinking about taking taxi instead, if there is no other cheap public transportation.
And I read from the forum long time ago that there are companies that we can use to send our luggage from the airport to the hotel or other cities. Please enlighten me...

Thanks fellow travellers...

Kathie

Wow - you have tried to pack in a lot. I couldn't do that much in a day, but maybe you could. We spent half a day at Arashimaya, for instance. The other things on your list we couldn't have done in the afternoon. And your Tokyo time, likewise looks jammed.

Just eyeballing your itinerary, it looks to me like you are better off just buying individual tickets for the train.

Do you know about japan-guide.com ? It's the best website for info on Japan.

We used the luggage delivery service several times, though not to/from the airport. japan-guide will tell you all about it.

julianaoctavia

Lol.. Thanks for the reply Kathie... I am not really sure either for my itinerary... I want to see everything... But it looks like too much too even for me.. I have been using the japan-guide, and most of the destinations I put in my itinerary are from that web. Any suggestion in cutting the places to visit? This is my first time going there and it is hard to decide where to go. Thank you...

Kathie

It really depends on your interests. I'd cut a lot of your Tokyo stuff - but that's me. When we put together our itinerary, we thought of it as what do we want to do this trip, assuming we would be back. We loved Kyoto, found it more to our liking than Tokyo, but we are all different in what we like and in how we travel. For my taste, you don't have enough time in Kyoto. On the day you arrive in Kyoto, you have what looks to me like two days worth of things you want to see in half a day.

I've never understood going to Tokyo or Hong Kong or Paris to visit Disney. If it was me, that would be the first thing I'd cut. I'd go from the fish market to the train for Kyoto and gain an additional day in Kyoto. But again, that's me, not you.

julianaoctavia

Okay Katie... Thank you for the input.. I cannot cut the Disney one because Tokyo Disneyland is the only Disneyland I have never been to.. ������ I might cut Osaka and Nara, and I can give an extra full day in Kyoto... I think that will be better for me so I can save Osaka for my next trip.. Any other thoughts Kathie? Thanks so much...

Kathie

I agree that it makes sense to save Osaka for the next trip and have a day trip to Nara or cut them both and have an additional day in Kyoto.

I'm sure others more expert in Japan than I am will chime in here.

kja

I agree with Kathie (as I so often do!)

Do you already have your flights? If not, try to fly into Tokyo and out of Kansai or vice versa. If you have already purchased your airline tickets, consider going straight from arrival to Kyoto, putting all of your time in Tokyo at the end.

Only you can decide what to cut.

julianaoctavia

Hey kja...

I already booked the flight ticket.. I didn't have any idea on the planning when I booked it, so I had it arrival and departure in/from Tokyo.

julianaoctavia

So, do I need the JR Pass or should I buy different kind of card or just buy them on the spot individually? thank you