First time travelling to Tokyo, help needed with itinerary

[converse2010]

Guys, I will be travelling to Tokyo for 9 days with my friend(total 2 guys) next weekend and I'm still unsure about our itinerary yet. :/

So far have planned:

Day 1 Sat(reached Narita Airport @ 7am): Travel to Toyocho and leave our luggage in the hotel while we exploring the places till we check in. After that maybe will be travelling to somewhere nearby to shop a lil bit ?

Day 2 Sun: Ueno park, Ueno Ameyoko Flea market, Odaiba, Aqua City, Toyota City, Diver City & Oedo Onsen

Day 3 Mon: Shibuya, Shinjuku, Meiji Shrine & Roppongi Hills

Day 4 Tue: Tsukiji Market, Imperial Palace, Shibamata, Asakusa, Tokyo Station & Lalaport

Day 5 Wed: Akihabara & Yokohama for Nissin Noodle Museum & Chinatown

Day 6 Thurs: Hakone & Mt Fuji view

Day 7 Fri: Railway Museum, Kawagoe, Omiya, Meguro & View of Tokyo Tower

Day 8 Sat: Last minute shopping

Day 9 Sun: Travel to Narita Airport early in the morning...


Any suggestion are welcome.. Kinda blur on these places so not very sure if I could make it or too relax on a day. Thanks in adv !

 

[James Tang]

To me your plan looks quite okie (been only to Tokyo once only). Not too rush. This should be the way to go instead of spending 50% of time on transport. I like this

 

[cpuer]

Looking through, found your choice on Shibamata seems like a nice place to visit. I intend to do some old Tokyo visit but chose Yanaka instead.

Tokyo Travel: Yanaka

But I KIV Shibamata first

Oh, on your day 2, Maybe you should concentrate the north Tokyo area better? besides Ueno/Ameyoko, there's the Asakusa/Sensoji(your day4) and Skytree. Or swing around Akihabara(your day5)

 

[samtcy]

If you guys are interested in more photos of Shibamata, here's my blog entry for my visit to Shibamata earlier this year.
Go Away, Sam...: Japan (Mar 2013): Day 7 Shibamata + Asakusa + Tokyo Station (Part 1)

Kawagoe:
Go Away, Sam...: Japan (Mar 2013): Day 8 Kawagoe + Omiya + Meguro + View of Tokyo Tower (Part 1)

Railway museum at Omiya:
Go Away, Sam...: Japan (Mar 2013): Day 8 Kawagoe + Omiya + Meguro + View of Tokyo Tower (Part 2)

 

[cpuer]

If you guys are interested in more photos of Shibamata, here's my blog entry for my visit to Shibamata earlier this year.
Go Away, Sam...: Japan (Mar 2013): Day 7 Shibamata + Asakusa + Tokyo Station (Part 1)

Kawagoe:
Go Away, Sam...: Japan (Mar 2013): Day 8 Kawagoe + Omiya + Meguro + View of Tokyo Tower (Part 1)

Railway museum at Omiya:
Go Away, Sam...: Japan (Mar 2013): Day 8 Kawagoe + Omiya + Meguro + View of Tokyo Tower (Part 2)

Sam, what do you think of Yanaka? I can only do one. Shibamata seems to be more compact and interesting.

 

[converse2010]

If you guys are interested in more photos of Shibamata, here's my blog entry for my visit to Shibamata earlier this year.
Go Away, Sam...: Japan (Mar 2013): Day 7 Shibamata + Asakusa + Tokyo Station (Part 1)

Kawagoe:
Go Away, Sam...: Japan (Mar 2013): Day 8 Kawagoe + Omiya + Meguro + View of Tokyo Tower (Part 1)

Railway museum at Omiya:
Go Away, Sam...: Japan (Mar 2013): Day 8 Kawagoe + Omiya + Meguro + View of Tokyo Tower (Part 2)

Thanks Sam, I got my idea of this itinerary from you thread actually and saw those already. haha

How much should I change for this trip btw ?

 

[evilerniex]

Guys, I will be travelling to Tokyo for 9 days with my friend(total 2 guys) next weekend and I'm still unsure about our itinerary yet. :/

So far have planned:

Day 1 Sat(reached Narita Airport @ 7am): Travel to Toyocho and leave our luggage in the hotel while we exploring the places till we check in. After that maybe will be travelling to somewhere nearby to shop a lil bit ?

Day 2 Sun: Ueno park, Ueno Ameyoko Flea market, Odaiba, Aqua City, Toyota City, Diver City & Oedo Onsen

Day 3 Mon: Shibuya, Shinjuku, Meiji Shrine & Roppongi Hills
[may be a bit packed. i spent the whole morning and half an afternoon just to cover meiji shrine and Takas1ta-dori in Harajuku. u can move Roppongi to be with Tokyo tower.
Harajuku is more happening on sundays. so if u wanna see cosplayers, put this on a sunday]

Day 4 Tue: Tsukiji Market, Imperial Palace, Shibamata, Asakusa, Tokyo Station & Lalaport
[day 4 looks a bit packed, especially since some of the places are not near.
it is easier to get to Shibamata from Keisei-Ueno. so maybe u can switch some places around. put Asakusa and Ueno together since they are near. e.g. Asakusa -> Ueno -> Shibamata. this may already take the whole day, depending on how long u wanna spend at each place.
u can move Tsukiji market to day 2. after visiting Tsukiji, take a short walk to Shimbashi station for the train to Odaiba.]

Day 5 Wed: Akihabara & Yokohama for Nissin Noodle Museum & Chinatown
[if u are an anime fan, then half a day is not going to be enuf for Akihabara. Akihabara is another place that is more happening on sundays, where they close the roads and have cosplayers and street performances.]

Day 6 Thurs: Hakone & Mt Fuji view

Day 7 Fri: Railway Museum, Kawagoe, Omiya, Meguro & View of Tokyo Tower

Day 8 Sat: Last minute shopping

Day 9 Sun: Travel to Narita Airport early in the morning...


Any suggestion are welcome.. Kinda blur on these places so not very sure if I could make it or too relax on a day. Thanks in adv !

some comments above

 

[samtcy]

Sam, what do you think of Yanaka? I can only do one. Shibamata seems to be more compact and interesting.

I've not been to Yanaka, only went to Yanaka's cemetery to take some photos of Sakura. So can't really comment much on Yanaka.

For Shibamata, the street is not too long, it's quite a compact area. Didn't took me too much time to go through this area. Probably 1 to 2hrs. Think I spent most of my time here inside the retro sweet shop.

 

[samtcy]

Thanks Sam, I got my idea of this itinerary from you thread actually and saw those already. haha

How much should I change for this trip btw ?

Change? As in how much yen to bring?
Can't advise much since people have different spending habits. My cousin usually brings like 3k SGD worth of yen for her Japan trips since she tends to shop more on clothings and cosmetics.

But for me and my hubby, we spend more on food and little anime stuffs, and not much on clothes. So we usually bring about SGD100 per person per day, for food/subway transport/admission fees/souvenirs. Of course, if you are going to pricey places like Disneyland, Disneysea, Universal Studios..etc., then budget more for food/admission fees/shopping for that day. Once we start running low on yen, we just start to use credit card to pay for our food at restaurants/shops which accepts credit cards.


Or if by "change", you meant how much should you amend your itinerary,
then my comments are below:

Day 1 Sat(reached Narita Airport @ 7am): Travel to Toyocho and leave our luggage in the hotel while we exploring the places till we check in. After that maybe will be travelling to somewhere nearby to shop a lil bit ?

Day 2 Sun: Ueno park, Ueno Ameyoko Flea market, Odaiba, Aqua City, Toyota City, Diver City & Oedo Onsen
Don't think you will have time for all 3 of Aqua City, Toyota, and Diver City. And if you are going to Oedo onsen at night, please take note of the time of the last train, so that you won't miss it when you are heading back.

Day 3 Mon: Shibuya, Shinjuku, Meiji Shrine & Roppongi Hills
Both Shibuya and Shinjuku will take up quite alot of time to explore already by itself, so you might either be too tired or late for Roppongi Hills. Go Meiji Shrine first in the morning, then maybe Shinjuku then Shibuya. Don't forget to experience the large traffic crossing at Shibuya just opposite Shibuya station's Hachiko exit. Oh, and if you come across a Tokyu Hands outlet, remember to go in and check it out. It's 1 of my fav stores in Japan.

Day 4 Tue: Tsukiji Market, Imperial Palace, Shibamata, Asakusa, Tokyo Station & Lalaport
not undoable, but sounds a tad packed.
If you are into cute stuffs, the many cute shops on character street at basement of Tokyo station will take up some time.

Day 5 Wed: Akihabara & Yokohama for Nissin Noodle Museum & Chinatown
Go Nissin Noodle museum first in the morning (remember to check their operation schedule, in case they are closed for the day) and then go to Chinatown for lunch, then go Akihabara.

Day 6 Thurs: Hakone & Mt Fuji view

Day 7 Fri: Railway Museum, Kawagoe, Omiya, Meguro & View of Tokyo Tower
This day's itinerary sounds abit familiar. The reason why I went to Meguro is because of the sakura. You should go to Kawagoe in the morning first, then go to the Railway Museum at Omiya (remember to check the time for the turntable's operation schedule, think it operates for 2 or 3 times daily), and then add in somewhere (between Omiya to Hamamatsucho) after you are done with the railway museum at Omiya, and then go to World Trade Center for the view of Tokyo Tower just before sunset to view it until sky goes dark. After that, you can go find someplace for your dinner and some light shopping before heading back hotel.


Day 8 Sat: Last minute shopping

Day 9 Sun: Travel to Narita Airport early in the morning...

 

[cpuer]

I've not been to Yanaka, only went to Yanaka's cemetery to take some photos of Sakura. So can't really comment much on Yanaka.

For Shibamata, the street is not too long, it's quite a compact area. Didn't took me too much time to go through this area. Probably 1 to 2hrs. Think I spent most of my time here inside the retro sweet shop.

Thanks. Will continue to research and choose one.

 

[spiralblast]

Agree with the poster who said your current plan for Day 3 will take up a lot of time. I found that just Shibuya area alone can already take up most of the day if you really wanna explore properly. Lots of good eateries around that area! That day's itin is a bit ambitious now. Consider revising, especially since you've got one full day budgeted for last minute shopping. Really need a whole day for that?

 

[spiralblast]

For Day 6, if you're looking for a Mt. Fuji view and hot springs, there's actually a cheaper, more local alternative to Hakone. Place is called Kawaguchiko. Direct bus leaves from Shinjuku if memory serves me right. Leaves on time (like, ON THE DOT! Amazing Japanese punctuality) and takes about 1.5 hours. Great views of Fuji from the hot spring resorts, but at a fraction of the Hakone prices. Really liked it.

 

[converse2010]

Thanks everyone for the advise, I rather have a packed itinerary than a "no-where-to-go" itinerary just in case if we decided to skip any of the places we're heading.

Both of us are not really anime fan, so the Akihabara is still quite safe.

@evilerniex: Thanks, would try to switch around and update my itinerary again.

@samtcy: sorry I meant Yen to be exchanged. LOL. would S$1.5k enough for this trip if the food is "budget-ed" and not much of shopping ? Cos all the shopping expenses has been excluded from the S$1.5k =)

 

[converse2010]

For Day 6, if you're looking for a Mt. Fuji view and hot springs, there's actually a cheaper, more local alternative to Hakone. Place is called Kawaguchiko. Direct bus leaves from Shinjuku if memory serves me right. Leaves on time (like, ON THE DOT! Amazing Japanese punctuality) and takes about 1.5 hours. Great views of Fuji from the hot spring resorts, but at a fraction of the Hakone prices. Really liked it.

May I know which bus service and hot spring did you went to ? Might take this option into consideration.

 

[samtcy]

Thanks everyone for the advise, I rather have a packed itinerary than a "no-where-to-go" itinerary just in case if we decided to skip any of the places we're heading.

Both of us are not really anime fan, so the Akihabara is still quite safe.

@evilerniex: Thanks, would try to switch around and update my itinerary again.

@samtcy: sorry I meant Yen to be exchanged. LOL. would S$1.5k enough for this trip if the food is "budget-ed" and not much of shopping ? Cos all the shopping expenses has been excluded from the S$1.5k =)

SGD1.5k for 1 pax? should be enough for your train rides, food, some light shopping, admission fees.

 

[converse2010]

SGD1.5k for 1 pax? should be enough for your train rides, food, some light shopping, admission fees.

Yup, S$1.5k per pax

My friend thought S$1.5k should be able to spend comfortably for that 9 days already. haha

 

[mickeycena]

Yup, S$1.5k per pax

My friend thought S$1.5k should be able to spend comfortably for that 9 days already. haha

Mine 1.8k including hotel fees, shopping, transport fees. All. Even more budget...sian...