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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/tsemochang on 2024-12-10 04:16:29+00:00.
Hi guys, I just wanted to share my itinerary for my recent Japan trip. I built my trip by reading similar threads here and wanted to share mine. It consists of boat rides, theme parks, attractions, food spots, temples and even a theater.
I tried to build my itinerary 2 sites/attractions per day as suggested here and still my feet and back hurt each night. One during day and one during night.
General suggestion of advice: The night we arrived to our hotel, I visited Donki to buy myself the body patch and foot pads that soothe aching muscles. I have mild scoliosis and on the second day, even standing on the trains, my back hurts a bit and there usually no bench so I have to suck it up. Every morning, before leaving, I put the body patch everywhere in my back to alleviate the pain.
Dress for the weather. In my home country, you can get away with dressing pretty much the same clothes all year round but man, 12°C is already cold. The wind will also make it so much colder. Check the temperature the week before your trip and make sure to bring the right clothes. For me, it was winter jackets, scarf and gloves.
I got by using the words “Sumimasen”(excuse me) and “Arigato Gozaimas”(Thank you so much). This is a bit of a challenge on other attractions because Belle on Beauty and the Beast ride wont speak english to you. I heard other foreigners in the line asking for subtitles but you are in Japan, what do you expect.
On the airport: I arrived in Narita airport. Dont forget to visit Japan website to declare your trip. We had other foreigners on the line that took too much time and was politely asked to fill up forms because they did not do this before arrival. They were shooed away in the queue. Fill these up and preprare to show your QR code to immigration.
After going through the long lines of immigration, use the atm to get money, get a welcome suica card(red card), load half of money to your suica and use it whenever possible. My mistake was using my credit card because after the trip, I realized my credit card charges around 2 USD per txn.
When you go to any JR station, get yourself a green Suica card - you can put your name on it so its awesome and it doesnt expire unlike the red welcome suica. So exhaust your red one until you can get a green one.
On getting around, just use google maps. It will say what station and platform to wait. Just look for arrows at the floor and the color for the signs. Its pretty easy. You can set settings also to use elevators only so dont be afraid. Just dont talk loudly on the train. Pls respect their culture.
Accommodation: We stayed at Apa Hotels and learned quickly that the term “Ekimae” means it is right beside the station. So if you dont like walking too much, book any hotels with “Ekimae”. Every night, I soak my feet and body to a warm bath. It helps. The room is very small but I only use it to bathe and sleep so its fine. I only have a hand carry item and I used the 100 yen coin operated laundry machine on the 4th day to wash clothes. You can leave your luggage with them if you have spare time before or after the check in and they will ask you to go to a site that gives you a QR code to get back your stuff. I heard you can also arrange luggage transfer to other APA hotels but I only had a backpack so I wasnt able to use it.
Purchasing attractions: We used KKday and Klook app to book attractions. Sometimes, the day/time on Klook is not available so we used KKday. Generally, KKday is cheaper but Klook has more day/time available for example, the Shibuya sky day/time we needed was not on KKday but was on Klook. So check both and plan accordingly. Book these 2-3 months in advance.
Tokyo:
1st day: Asakusa Sumida River and Boat Cruise to Odaiba. What a fun way to sight see! Hanging out at Sumida river while waiting for our boat ride was an attraction in itself. Its so open and peaceful. And the boat cruise was so perfect for sight seeing. There’s an open deck on top of the cruise perfect to hangout. We timed our boat cruise during sunset and it was amazing. So cold though. Below the cruise boat, there’s seating but we stayed mostly on the deck. If youre cold, you can go below and still see things but with a mirror.
2nd day: Sensoji Temple, Team Lab Planets and Shibuya Sky Sensoji temple - dont forget to roam around for snacks/food around nearby areas and go inside the temple and have a fortune read. There’s english translation how to do it and dont forget to put 100 yen coin. You need to tie the fortune paper and leave it in the temple if its bad fortune.
Team Lab planets - I honestly feel I can skip team labs. I enjoyed hanging out at Sumida river more than this.
Shibuya Sky was just OK. We didnt catch the sunset but it was still beautiful at night. Dont book this if you have fear of heights though. Its so windy up there.
3rd day: Disneyland Download the app the night before and scan your group’s qr passes in the app to book timed attractions using the anniv passes. Its free. I heard you can use paid passes but we have no use for it. In the morning, we queued for around an hour for the Beauty and the Beast then they announced it was broken. We stayed in line to get to the castle but they gave us priority pass for any of the ride and got to check out inside the castle. During our lunch, I was checking the app if the Beauty and the Beast ride was open and it was! So after eating, we used the same priority pass to get into the ride. No lines! Thank goodness. It was the best ride in the park by a mile. Next best was Winnie the Pooh - it was so trippy and I dont know whats going on but still so wacky and fun.
(Osaka/Kyoto)
4th day: Flight to Osaka and explore Dotonbori and Namba at night. I used this day to just explore so I ate at a wagyu restaurant I booked in advance and just roamed in the area. I checked out the small hidden Hozen Ji temple which has the moss statue. I wanted to have a picture but somebody is deep in their worship that I had to restrain myself because they might find it offensive.
5th day: USJ By far, the most expensive attraction I did because I bought the express pass to skip the lines. I dont think you’ll enjoy this park without the express pass because most of the attractions are 2 hours long wait time for the popular attractions. Nintendo World is still doable at night without the express pass because there’s barely any lines even in Koopa ride. By noon, I had to lie down because my back was killing me. Was able to nap and lie down at the bench close to Demon Slayer ride while waiting for our timed entry. Just wanted to warn you that Demon Slayer ride is kind of intense. I saw other foreigner riders at end of the ride having their BP checked and the staff was asking me if I was OK. This is not a kid’s ride I thought it was. I did ride the flying dinasaur ride but you know what you’re getting into. The Demon Slayer one though, it took me by surprise.
6th day: Kyoto Daigo ji temple and GEAR theater. Kyoto by far has the quintessential Japan experience and I would say, it has the heart of Japan. Its just so gorgeous on autumn season. We had to use bus during this trip and it was so peaceful. In the morning, we visited Daigo-ji temple and it was so beautiful. The japanese garden and the pagoda at the end is so beautiful with the autumn colors. Most tourist are in Arashiyama area, Gion or Fushimi Inari so I wanted to skip that and pick a least touristy temple. I read someone here that this is her favorite spot and thank goodness I added this in the itinerary. At noon, we hangout by the river and it was so calming to people watch.
At night, we watched the GEAR non-verbal theater - also recommended by this sub and it was so magical. I truly recommend this because there’s no lines. I wonder why Disney haven’t bought the IP for this yet. Come in blind, best way to see it! Just book it if you’re in Kyoto.
7th day: Shopping and Roam. Shopping at Namba area, had to buy a large suitcase for this to bring back home and finally had time to mingle with fellow travellers. I visited a foreigner friendly Karaoke, drink and hang, roamed Dotonbori and do shopping. Dont forget to eat Takoyaki - the best food there. Ate melon pan. Filled myself with whatever food I see. I also visited the tiger head temple a few minutes walk from Namba area called Namba Yasaka Jinja. Visited a Bic Camera building which is basically a mall. I visited Donki near Shin Sekai which was utterly chaotic (cant find the exit sign). I visited Shin Sekai which was dodgy to be honest, theres homeless people in the bridge but good photo op on the tower. I came across a pachinko area which is like a casino for them? Also dodgy to be honest.
In summary, I suggest to plan your itinerary around attractions or areas. Preferably one in morning and one in evening. And dont forget to plan food spots, shopping and give yourself some days to just explore or rest and people watch. I think the magic of Japan is really just finding little things like the small swan origami in your room and interactions with the locals. They are so polite and cute. I had encounter with a friendly chatty local on a Starbucks one time and how she and her friend will do a “free time Karaoke” at 11am. Its so cute. Also find time to shop at local groceries. I had the best strawberry in Japan in my life that I bought there. It was so sweet and juicy. Dont forget to eat famichiki on family mart - its reall…
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