tdrucker

Hey Fodors folks.

First off, my wife and I love these forums! We've used them on recent trips abroad and have gotten some wonderful feedback. We've helped out some other folks with our own postings as well.

We are headed to Japan from September 12 - 22. We have never been. We're in our 30's, are fit and ready to go. We're hoping for some help with our Tokyo itinerary. Any thoughts are appreciated!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
We land in Tokyo at 6PM. We're staying at the Granbell Hotel Shibuya. We're planning on taking the subway from the airport to our hotel (2 hr trip?), cleaning off, and then hitting the town in Shibuya and perhaps Shinjuku.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
-We'll spend the morning in Harajuku. We heard this is a great place to stroll about and people watch. We may hit one or two of the local shrines.
-In the afternoon, we head to Imperial Palace and Govt District to see the East Gardens and perhaps rent a rowboat in the National Gardens.

MONDAY - SEPTEMBER 14
-Head to the Fish Market in Tsukiji. How early do we need to get there? 6AM?
-After the Fish Market, we'll hit the backstreet shops of Tsukiji
-In the afternoon we'll head to Ginza and have lunch at Mitsukoshi

TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 15
-We'll spend the morning in Asakusa
-In the early afternoon, we'll hit Akihabara to see the electronics stores, maybe a maid cafe...and then the bookstores in Jimbocho
-We're planning on getting Sumo tickets to cover the late afternoon/evening!

WEDNESDAY
We're taking the train to Kyoto. We're considering stopping off at Hakone to get a better view of Mt. Fuji.

Any feedback on our draft itinerary is appreciated. My wife and I do have a few questions.

1. Is it crazy to take the subway from the airport to our hotel?
2. With the itinerary as a whole, In terms of time/distance between sites, did we make any huge blunders?
3. My wife and I are big Jazz fans and we know Tokyo has a great Jazz scene. We're thinking of hitting a Jazz club on on Sunday or Monday evening. Can anyone recommend any Jazz clubs in Tokyo?
4. Do we have too much squeezed in here? Not enough? Note that at the end of our 11 day trip, we may have one more full-day in Tokyo (Tues, the 22nd).

thank you for your feedback/help!
-T&S

hawaiiantraveler

1. Yes it is crazy seeing as there is no subway from Narita to Tokyo. You were probably thinking of the NEX train

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/nex/

2. Yes starting with #1. If you land at 18:00 you will reach your hotel around 20:30 at the earliest,most likely later so maybe a little of Shibuya then off to bed as it will have already been a long day of traveling for you.

3. http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyofeature...storiesinc.htm

4. No,not this itinerary that I can see for 11 days. If you want to see Mt Fuji it would be better to over night near it so you can have a chance to see it in the morning hours or late afternoon. You get a chance at a glimpse of Fujisan if he is out on the shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Kyoto or vice versa

Aloha!

hawaiiantraveler

If you do take the NEX into Tokyo you can get a Suica card for transport on the real Tokyo subway system for almost free....see here for details:

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/suica-nex/index.html

mrwunrfl

On Sunday, you might want to go up to Meiji Shrine.

You should try to get to Ryogoku about 1PM for the sumo tournament. That will give you plenty of time to check out the arena and to have chanko nabe (the line moves quickly). The sumo ends at 6PM.

mrwunrfl

The wrestling goes on continuously for that time (and earlier, starting before noon, I think) with the best matches at the end.

approachguides

Hi tdrucker! Per your question on the Tsukiji Market, I would recommend getting there at 6a. If you are interested, we have posted a map of the market, which shows the location of the tuna auction.

Here is the link: http://www.approachguides.com/2009/0...sukiji-market/

Have a great trip!