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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/akhil1996 on 2024-03-09 10:07:22.

Hello everyone!

This subreddit helped me plan my itinerary, so this is my way of giving back. Hope you find it useful for your next Japan trip! 🙂

Background:

27 M - Solo traveler from India who’s passionate about history and culture. I was thrilled to explore what Japan had to offer in these aspects. I prefer quiet places over parties, so you won’t find many nightlife recommendations here. Most of my time was spent strolling around, visiting shrines, and snapping lots of photos (I ended up with 200 gigs of photos by the end of the trip). Since this was my first trip, my plan was to cover as much ground as possible. I stayed at hostels, snacked at 7-11, and did a lot of walking.

Itinenary :

Tokyo → Kyoto → Koyasan → Osaka.

Tips :

  • Start from Osaka → Kyoto → Tokyo for the best experience otherwise, you might find Osaka underwhelming.

  • Avoid excessive research, as it may spoil the excitement of experiencing a location for the first time, robbing you of that magic moment.

  • Opt for the official Gyoshin book rather than a travel journal as many temples declined to stamp my travel journal. Also note that, some temples may not stamp your Gyoshin book if they spot other stamps, such as JR stamps, within it.

  • Most temples in Kyoto impose an entry fee that accumulates rapidly. Therefore, strategically plan your temple visits, prioritizing those with rich history, culture, or scenic views.

  • You’ll be walking a lot, so make sure to buy comfortable shoes at least one month before your trip to break them in. Additionally, invest in pairs of comfortable socks to assist you during long-distance walks. I bought Nike Pegasus 40 for the trip and they kept me comfortable throughout the journey.

Payments :

  • Youtrip for card payments + cash withdrawals.

  • Wise and revolut didn’t work for me.

  • Suica card on iphone

TLDR itinerary :

Day 1-7 : Tokyo

Stay : Tora hotel

  • Day 1 : Ueno, Shinjuku

  • Day 2 : Asakusa, Akhihabara

  • Day 3 : Yoyogi Park, Harajuku, Shibuya

  • Day 4 : Tsukiji Fish market, team labs planets, Ginza

  • Day 5 : Suga shrine, Ginza, Coldplay concert

  • Day 6 : Kamakura & Enoshima Islands

  • Day 7 : Tokyo Imperial palace, Roppongi hills, Tokyo tower.

Day : 8-13 : Kyoto

Stay : K’s backpackers

  • Day 8 : Gion, Kiyomizudera

  • Day 9 : Philosophers path & fushimi Inari shrine

  • Day 10 : Arashiyama

  • Day 11 : Kifune - Kurama

  • Day 12 : Uji & Nara

  • Day 13 : Tofuku-ji, Gion, Kifune-Kurama

  • Day 14 : Kiyomizu,

Day 14 - 15 : Koyasan

Stay : Koyasan gueshouse kokku

Day 16-19 : Osaka

Stay : Hotel the rock

  • Day 15 - evening : Dontonbori

  • Day 16 : Osaka

  • Day 17 : Minoo park, Kurama & osaka castle

  • Day 18 : Namba yasaka shrine, Osaka aquarium, team labs garden

  • Day 19 : Shopping

Tokyo Chapter :

Number of days : 7.

Stay : TORA HOTEL ASAKUSA,

A quiet hostel, about a 5-minute walk from Asakusa station. Most people there were in Tokyo for business, so there weren’t many chances to socialize. It was a good hostel for the price

Day 1 : Ueno and Shinjuku.

Places visited :

  • Ueno park

  • Ueno Toshogu Shrine

  • Tokyo National Museum

  • Shinjuku

  • Tokyo Metropolitan Governament Office

  • Kabukuicho

  • Golden Gai

  • Omoide Yokocho

Total distance walked : 25.68KM.

Arrival :

Arrived bright and early at 6:30 AM via Scoot Airlines from Singapore to Narita.

Immigration grilled me for a good 10 minutes (perks of a weak passport).

Boarded the morning Keisei limited express from Narita to Ueno and checked into my hostel.

Ueno:

First day here so wanted to take it abit slow, I headed to Ueno Park and visited Ueno Toshogu Shrine. Then later I saw a huge queue at Ueno zoo so instead I went to Tokyo National Museum and learnt alot about Japan’s history.

Shinjuku :

Went to Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office at around 4 PM and spent 1 hour there just seeing the endless city, the Mount Fuji on the horizon and city lights coming to life.

Then walked around Shinjuku, saw the cat billboard, explored Kabukicho, Golden Gai, was approached by a couple of “Friendly” Africans so immediately left the place.

Lastly, walked over to Omoide Yokocho and clicked a bunch of pics of the hustle.

Day 2 : Asakusa and Akihabara.

Places visited :

  • Asakusa

  • Senso-ji temple

  • Nakamise shopping street

  • Asakusa sight-seeing

  • Akihabara

  • Yodabashi-camera

  • Radio Kaikan

  • Hijiri-bashi bridge

  • Sight seeing harajuku

Total distance walked : 22.00KM.

Askusa :

Started at 6:30 AM to beat the crowd at Senso-ji temple. Spent a good amount of time just chilling around the temple, clicking photos, and watching the crowd slowly come to life. Tried various street food on Nakamise shopping street and later explored the surrounding area of Senso-ji temple. Tried the famous melon pan (too sweet!) and award-winning chicken karage (delicious!)

Akihabara:

Reached Akihabara sometime around 12 PM, went straight to Yodobashi Camera where I spent 2 hours just browsing through alleys of gadgets. To this day, their catchy tune is staying rent-free in my head. Then just walked around Akihabara station and made my way to Radio Kaikan.

After being visually stimulated for a good 4 hours, I decided to take a break from the lights and walked over to Hijiri-Bashi Bridge to see the famous train crossing and later made my way back to the LED-lit Akihabara. Tried vegan ramen at Kyushu Jangara (highly recommend), made stops at various comics and games stores. One of them had a huge collection of train models, tracks, and environments which was a nice delight.

I was taken aback by the maid cafe culture; I knew it was prevalent but didn’t expect it to be packed at 5 feet apart. Spent rest of the night exploring different game shops.

Overall, Akihabara was sort of a miss for me. If I go there next, it would be with a goal to buy figurines/comics/toys.

Day 3 : Meji-Shrine, Yoyogi Park, Harajuku and Shibuya

Places visited :

  • Meji-Shrine

  • Yoyogi park

  • Harajuku

  • Togo-Jinja shrine

  • adidas store

  • Shibuya

  • Shibuya sky

  • pokemon center

Total distance walked : 25.85 KM

Meji-Shrine:

Started at 6:30 am, reached Meiji Shrine at around 8 am where I saw many newlyweds and wedding photographers around the shrine. After exploring shrine for abit, I went to a cafe called “Little Nap Coffee Stand”. The walk here was amazing since as it traversed the outskirts of Yoyogi park and streets were filled with yellow ginkgo leaves.

Yoyogi-park:

After taking a short rest and enojying the sights of train passing by, I headed for Yoyogi Park, which was breathtaking in itself. Watching people just take time off and sit under the sun enjoying picnics, exercising, and taking dogs out for a walk is a rare sight where I come from, so this itself was a unique experience.

Harajuku:

Then exited to Harajuku street, which was now flooded with people. Tried my first Cremia ice cream here, which I can describe as “coke served as ice cream”. Then tried the famous strawberries from “Strawberry Fetish”, which were delicious! Strolling around Harajuku, I took a wrong turn and found myself in front of Togo-Jinja Shrine, which was a nice surprise. I saw a traditional marriage ceremony there.

The alleys and streets around Harajuku attracted me, so I spent much of my noon just walking around Harajuku. Would recommend trying donuts at BPC Donuts over “I’m Donut”, as there was no queue and they were still delicious, and The Little Bakery if you want to try Western food.

Shibuya:

Around 3 pm, I reached Shibuya and spent the rest of my evening walking around exploring different shopping centers. Around evening, I was at Shibuya Parco clicking pics with Meowth. If time permits, try to go to the rooftop as it gives a breathtaking view of Shibuya.

Then I went to Shibuya Sky at around 6:30 pm. I feel it’s worth it only if you go around golden hour; when I went, it was well into the dark so the pics didn’t turn out that great. It was a nice view of the entire city, but go during golden hour to get 100% of your ticket.

Spent the rest of my night around Shibuya, just wandering around clicking pics.

Day 4 : Tsukiji Fish market, Team labs planets and Ginza

Places visited :

  • Tsukiji Fish market

  • Shrine

  • Team labs planets

  • Gundam base

  • Ginza

  • Sightseeing

  • Art aquarium

Total distance walked : 26.06KM

Tsukiji Fish Market:

Reached Tsukiji Market at 8 am and was welcomed with long queues everywhere. First stop was the famous fluffy omelette, which was absolutely delicious. Next, I went to try the onigiri at Onigiri-ya Marutoyo; would recommend the grilled chicken Onigiri. Then tried other things like strawberry mochi, fresh melon, and matcha latte. Strolled around a bit and came across John Lennon cafe or Yemoto coffee head shop; the coffee there was AMAZING! I wish I had bought their coffee powder. I would visit Tsukiji Market again but with a group of friends to taste different food options; traveling alone limits these food options.

After spending a good 2.5 hours just walking around the market, I walked across to Team Labs planets, a good 45-minute walk that took me through various rivers, people, and buildings. I enjoyed it a lot!

Team labs:

Team labs planets was breathtaking. Although it’s filled with people, you can find good spots to click photos. There’s one art exhibition called the life cycle of a plant, and it gave me massive motion sickness, haha.

Gundam base:

After that, I went to …

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