persephone88

Hello, this will be our first time traveling to Asia - me (60), daughter (22 and first time traveling internationally). We are on a limited amount of days due to budget - I am so wishing we could afford at least two weeks, but will make the best of the time we have. Daughter REALLY wants to spend two days at Tokyo Disney, and I think she is more interested in Tokyo shopping (very particular anime/manga/cosplay fan) while I am more interested in Kyoto, seeing the temples and some nature (which she is less interested in) and culture, and getting a taste of Osaka's food, but we are primarily city people. My biggest question is if I am tentatively scheduling too much for each day, or if there is a better order of places to visit. Tokyo particularly gives me pause as I am used to being primarily a walker in big cities, and I know we will need to be using the subways and trains - just not sure how long it will take us to get from place to place, how long a typical temple visit takes, etc and so would appreciate it if folks could weigh in on if any particular day / time is over or underscheduled.

I have tried to arrange our days by attractions that are close to each other in certain neighborhoods. The one that is puzzling me is TeamLabs. I would love to do both Borderless and Planets, and know that early morning entries are best, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot near either venue that are of interest to me, so I'm not sure how to shoehorn those to in to keep from bouncing back and forth on the subway. Below I have a pretty detailed (but still very flexible) list and what we'd ideally like to see each day. Any input at all would be welcome. So far have only booked hotel for first three days in Shinjuku and last night hotel at Haneda airport. Daughter would like to do a capsule hotel for our one night in Osaka, but nothing booked. Would prefer a less expensive hotel close to the transportation lines for days when no hotel is listed - suggestions welcome. Thank you for any input - it feels overwhelming with so much to see and less than two weeks to do it!

JAPAN TRIP PLAN:
May 17 SAT: Noon Departure IAD Washington DC to Haneda Airport, Tokyo)
May 18 SUN: TOKYO Shinjuku (Lodging – Hotel Gracery)
Afternoon - Arrive Haneda 3:20 pm; limo bus to Shinjuku / 3D Cat / check into Hotel Gracery /
Evening - Metropolitan Building light show / explore Omoide Yokocho (or 7/11 dinner if tired)
May 19 MON: TOKYO Harajuku and Shibuya (Lodging – Hotel Gracery)
Morning -Subway to Harajuku: visit bird sanctuary in Yoyogi Park, Takeshita street shopping for manga, cosplay: crepey lunch
Afternoon - subway to Shibuya: Shibuya Sky, Scramble, Hachiko:
Evening - Golden Gai, or possible karaoke bar?
May 20 TUES TOKYO Shinjuku and Ikibukuro: (Lodging Hotel Gracery)
Morning – Shnjuku Hanazono Shrine, shop Kinokuriya, BookOff, etc
Afternoon – Ikibukuro – KitKit Chocolatory, cosplay shopping Swallowtail, Animate, Lashinbang, Assist Wig, etc
Evening – free - pack and laundry?
May 21 WED TOKYO mostly Akihabara: (lodging?)
Morning – early check out of hotel, drop luggage at new hotel, train to Teamlab Borderless?
Afternoon – Maid Café, anime shopping, owl café
Evening – Kanda Shrine
May 22 THU TOKYO Asakusa: (Lodging?)
Morning – Senso-ji, Asakusa Shrine, Denboin Garden
Afternoon – Nakamise-dori street shopping, Cultural Tourist Center
Evening – possible return to Akihabara for more shopping?, laundry and pack
MAY 23 FRI Tokyo to OSAKA: (Lodging – possibly Acro Capsule Hotel?)
Morning – check out of hotel, go to Tokyo Station, shop
Late morning / early afternoon– Shinkansen Tokyo Station to Shin Osaka, Shin Osaka to Namba Station; check into capsule hotel, walk to Namba Yasaka Jinja, Kuromom Market?
Evening– Dotonburi
MAY 24 SAT Osaka to KYOTO: (Lodging?)
Morning – check out of hotel, train to Shin Osaka then Kyoto,
Afternoon – Owl Forest, Nishiki Market, Samurai Museum?
Evening – Gion kagai art museum / performance, Hokan-ji, wander gion
May 25 Sun KYOTO: (Lodging?)
Morning – Gion photo shoot, maiko tea experience?
Afternoon – Arashiyama, Kimono Forest
Evening – Fufu Noyu Onsen
May 26 Mon Kyoto to TOKYO: (Lodging near Disney? )
Morning – Fushimi Inari
Afternoon – Shinkansen to Tokyo, check into hotel
Evening: TeamLab Planets?
May 27 TUE: (Lodging - *still to book – Disney VP hotel – would Toy Story Hotel or Fantasy Springs Chateau be better for two adults more interested in Fantasy Springs?*)
Very early taxi to Disney, check into hotel , Day at TDL
May 28 WED: (Lodging – same Disney Hotel) Full day at TDS
Disney Day at Disney Sea
May 29 THU: (Lodging – Hotel Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda Airport)
Morning – depart Disney
Afternoon – travel to airport hotel, drop bags, last minute shopping
Evening – relax, pack, hotel
May 30 FRI 10:20 am departure Haneda Airport, Tokyo to IAD Washington DC

kja

I won't comment on your day-to-day plans except to say that I strongly encourage you to have back-up plans. Although I also like to plan my trips in great detail, I've learned that you simply can not count on things going as planned.

Some more general observations:

• You don't seem to be allowing yourselves any time to recover from jet lag. If coming from the DC area, I would think you will need to block out some time for the adjustment!
• With so little time, I wouldn't try to include Osaka. You will have plenty of options for outstanding culinary experiences in Tokyo and Kyoto, and IMO, you have precious little time for those destinations.
• Have you considered flying into Tokyo and out of Kyoto (Kansai) or vice versa? Traveling back to Tokyo doesn't make sense to me. You can explore your options by specifying "multi-city" rather than "round trip" when looking at flights.

Hope that helps!

shelemm

You seem to question where you are going to stay in Tokyo on a daily basis.... as if it's worthwhile to switch hotels. Maybe I am misreading this. But it is far too easy (and fun) to get around Tokyo by subway.

I also say you should not stay a night in Osaka.

If you are going to Ikebukuro, I can recommend eating at Gyoza Stadium and Fukuburo Dessert Yokocho inside Namjatown, an indoor theme park. You will have to pay an entrance fee, but it's not expensive. Gyoza Stadium is 8 famous Gyoza vendors from throughout Japan. The 'winged' gyoza at shop #5 are impressive. And the desserts at Fukubukuro are outrageous.

Your day at Tokyo Disney Sea will be awesome on top of amazing. Nothing like it in the world. Not even close. Make sure to get there super early well before rope drop and have a plan. I'd go for Journey to the Center of the Earth first.

Whinnie the Pooh in Tokyo Disneyland is a super highlight that uses technology not used in the US. I would do that first thing.

A capsule hotel seems like my idea of a nightmare.... or that episode from Seinfeld.

mrwunrfl

>> We are on a limited amount of days due to budget - I am so wishing we could afford at least two weeks, but will make the best of the time we have.

Yay! Am happy you see that. I have had people tell me that they could not afford two weeks in Japan, and I just say go for 10 or 12 days. Fit the time to your budget. The largest (necessary) cost is lodging and fewer nights could make it affordable. You figured that out.

I get that your plan to change hotels in Tokyo is so that you can get lodging at a hotel that is less expensive than Hotel Gracery. That makes sense, Switching hotels to be in a different area of the city where your interests are, as if that will save you much in travel time, makes less sense.

May 18 SUN: TOKYO Shinjuku (Lodging – Hotel Gracery)
Afternoon - Arrive Haneda 3:20 pm; limo bus to Shinjuku / 3D Cat / check into Hotel Gracery /
Evening - Metropolitan Building light show / explore Omoide Yokocho (or 7/11 dinner if tired)

Hotel Gracery is where you want to be in Kabukicho which you don't even mention as an interest. There is quite a variety of restaurants that are within a 1-to-5-minute walk from that hotel. The Godzilla head is on that hotel and you want to see that. At the spot you will view it you will on the street with restaurants and it is quite lively.

I have been staying in Nishi-shinjuku, over by the metro government building, and enjoy going to Kabukicho. I had been telling the taxi driver to take me to Gojira/Godzilla and then I would walk up that street, have dinner, see Godzilla, and then Krispy Kreme for dessert, and then some people watching. Last month I just told them to take me to Hotel Gracery.

You could walk to see the 3D Cat that day. I think it is near the east exit of Shinjuku station. The metro govt building is a good bit farther, within walking distance, but it is easy to get lost in that area nishi, west, of Shinjuku station. Omoide Yokocho you could save for another night. Or go to Omoide Yokocho and save the metro govt building for another night.

Anyway, plan some time near your hotel in Kabukicho.

I recommend that you take the good advice to skip Osaka especially the capusera hoteru. If you don't, then
Morning – check out of hotel, train to Shin Osaka then Kyoto
is the wrong route. You don't go via Shin Osaka.

IDK if you are sharing a room or getting two. Be aware that in Japan lodging prices can be based on the number of guests in the room.

mrwunrfl

>> I have tried to arrange our days by attractions that are close to each other in certain neighborhoods.

well, ok, if you mean walking between locations, as you are a walker.

Another way to look at it is by subway line convenience. For example, the Tokyo metro govt building is a very short walk from a station on the Oedo Line. If there is another attraction that is on or near the Oedo Line, it might be more efficient to put them on the same day.

The 3D cat is 4 min walk north from Shinjuku station. You could visit that on the way back from Shibuya.

ChgoGal

RE: 22-y-o daughter's shopping
Manga: Maybe mention Mandarake as a possible stop. I went to the Shibuya location, which was fascinating.
Anime: Maybe look at Character Street in Tokyo Station.
Japanese exclusives: Check out BAPE, Adidas, Uniqlo for Japanese exclusives. On your Harajuku day, your daughter will likely want to stroll through Omotesando Hills ($$$!). Uniqlo also offers custom embroidery, but it seems to take longer than a day now. So if interested, she should plan ahead on the website to see what product she wants, and possible ideas for embroidery, buy early in your trip, and pick up later. Deciding in the store is too overwhelming and time-consuming. Pre-planning is recommended.
Don-Q: Is a chain retailer that you'll run into again and again. Your daughter may be interested in skincare, cosmetics, medicines, snacks, that may be on offer there. YouTube has lots of (paid) influencers who will tell her the best things to buy. I DO like the skin masks and lip balms for Chicago winters, and the steam eye masks.
Prescription eyeglasses: ...are cheap in Japan and very fashionable. I just bought two wonderful pairs at Jin's (2 for $145 with great, hard cases) and love them. Took about an hour. I have a mild astigmatism in one eye, but my doctor recommended ordering single-vision glasses, which are much easier for labs to create. Megane-Ichiban is reputed to have better quality lenses, but Jin's was more convenient for me on Okinawa, so I had my glasses made there and love the styles. NOTE: Do NOT wear glasses out and about right away. Your eyes need time to adjust, so begin slowly at home, or you may trip, etc.
Ball & Chain: ...are fun tote bags with very cute designs. Do buy the extension strap so you can wear as a crossbody, if needed. I found mine in the purse section at Shibuya Scramble Square. Amazon has them now, but Japan has far more options.
Have fun!

ChgoGal

Also...
I'd vote for skipping Osaka, and just doing Kyoto. Not sure the need to travel to Osaka unless it's to visit Universal Studios. If so, hopefully you can do a multi-city/open jaw flight: In to Tokyo/Osaka, out from Osaka/Tokyo.

Changing hotels in Tokyo; I don't think I'd want to do this, especially if your daughter is shopping--you won't want to pack/unpack. I'd just try to find a hotel on the Yamanote line; preferably one with a mini-fridge and laundry & microwave access, as you will want that with so many days in the city. Not on the Yamanote line, but my mother and I found a great rate at the Tobu Asakusa in a comfortable, triple room through agoda.com. Rate was $154/night. Maybe look at Hundred Stay, too. Hotels are very expensive in Tokyo. It's hard to swallow. Be careful to select a non-smoking room, and a twin-bed configuration that allows a little space and an actual window. I kept looking at the Tourist Hotel in Akihabara, too, but never stayed there. Also, I kept looking at the Ibis Styles Tokyo GInza, too, for a twin bed room, but wasn't ever able to book. Take a look there, too! It's an Accor hotel. https://all.accor.com/hotel/B9H6/ind...ce=google+Maps

Packing: pack very light and plan on doing laundry. Many hotels offer coin laundry. May be hard to convince your daughter, but no one cares how you look as long as you are clean and presentable. Good walking shoes and socks and comfortable pants/tops that all coordinate, so you don't exert mental energy on clothes. Your daughter WILL want to bring home things, so even packing your rollerbag INSIDE a larger suitcase for checking is an idea for the flight TO Japan.

Also, practice with chopsticks now if you don't eat with them regularly. I prefer having a pocket wifi over e-sim, b/c my esim was always a bit wonky, and we like to carry an ipad and computer. But you do need to have enough data. You can rent one and have it delivered to your hotel upon check-in, and drop off at the airport when leaving--though you do need to build in that little bit of extra time to do so carefully and calmly so you don't forget a cable or something. Also, airport shopping is fun, so go a bit early, anyway. I do love Haneda over Narita.

Borderlabs... I don't get their appeal, but many seem to like them. I would find this a waste of valuable time with little to no cultural value. And I think one requires you to walk around barefoot...? (shudder) But again, many people DO seem to think they're fun.

Some of these may be a few years old, but I enjoy this woman's recipe and travel site. She's Japanese-American and travels to Japan often. If you have time, may be worth checking out her site. https://www.justonecookbook.com/tags/tokyo/

Good luck with that hotel search!