[Solo trip] First time visiting Japan!

[sg_lancelot]

Just booked my tickets from 12 to 26 may, landing at Tokyo and flying back from Osaka.

Similarly to some fellow forumers, my main goal is more of sight seeing and less of shopping.

Itinerary planning in progress.

Appreciate all and any kind of tips and advice, especially specific venues/sites/places that I must visit. Thanks!

1st outline of Itinerary:
Day 1:
Land Haneda 4pm.
Check in hostel at Shinjuku.
Explore Shinjuku

Day 2: Morning travel to Ueno Park
Asakusa
Tokyo Skytree
Back to hostel

Day 3:
Morning travel to Tsukiji Market
Ginza
Akihabara
Back to hostel

Day 4: Morning Shinjuku Gyoen
Harajuku, Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park.
Back to hostel

Day 5:
Check out hostel in the morning.
Travel to Hakone.

Day 6: Explore Hakone

Day 7: planning
Day 8: planning
Day 9: planning
Day 10: planning
Day 11: planning
Day 12: planning
Day 13: planning
Day 14: planning

 

[cpuer]

Just booked my tickets from 12 to 26 may, landing at Tokyo and flying back from Osaka.

Similarly to some fellow forumers, my main goal is more of sight seeing and less of shopping.

Itinerary planning in progress.

Appreciate all and any kind of tips and advice, especially specific venues/sites/places that I must visit. Thanks!

As usual japan-guide is a good place to start. Go through all their suggested places of interests and see which one suit you. Even what they suggested also may not be your cup of tea, sometimes. So pcik and choose per your own preferences. Do check out during your time there any interesting events happening or not.

japan-guide.com - Japan Travel and Living Guide
88 things to do in Tokyo - Time Out Tokyo

 

[lapucelle]

Tip. Keep left.... left... left... then right... right... right.

 

[evilerniex]

Tip. Keep left.... left... left... then right... right... right.

cheem leh... wat is that?

 

[evilerniex]

Just booked my tickets from 12 to 26 may, landing at Tokyo and flying back from Osaka.

Similarly to some fellow forumers, my main goal is more of sight seeing and less of shopping.

Itinerary planning in progress.

Appreciate all and any kind of tips and advice, especially specific venues/sites/places that I must visit. Thanks!

u can refer to this thread to see trip reports from fellow forumer to get some ideas on the places to go:
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/japan-271/compilation-trip-reports-3158981.html

 

[cancer81]

Kanto ppl keep left leave right side for ppl in a rush (mostly everyone in a rush)

Kansai ppl keep RIGHT leave left side for ppl in a rush

 

[saltydog]

cheem leh... wat is that?

mrt escalator

 

[evilerniex]

Kanto ppl keep left leave right side for ppl in a rush (mostly everyone in a rush)

Kansai ppl keep RIGHT leave left side for ppl in a rush

wow... never noticed!
i just follow the crowd

 

[jaslyncealim]

Since it's your first time going to Japan, why not do something different? Try the HOT SAND BATHING at Ibusuki, one of the most celebrated hot-spring resorts in Japan.

Sample Itinerary & Source:
C & E Holidays - 7 Days Kyushu Trail

 

[Nalgene123]

It's good to read up on how the train system in Japan works..the difference between the different trains such as limited express..local train etc...it can save you a lot of time when traveling by train

 

[evilerniex]

Since it's your first time going to Japan, why not do something different? Try the HOT SAND BATHING at Ibusuki, one of the most celebrated hot-spring resorts in Japan.

Sample Itinerary & Source:
C & E Holidays - 7 Days Kyushu Trail

TS already booked tix to tokyo and back from osaka. southern kyushu is really out of the way from these places. and for a first timer, it is better to stick to bigger cities where there are english signs all over, and ppl more likely to be able to speak english

 

[aldente]

Kanto ppl keep left leave right side for ppl in a rush (mostly everyone in a rush)

Kansai ppl keep RIGHT leave left side for ppl in a rush

especially for escalators

 

[hoshiyume]

Kanto ppl keep left leave right side for ppl in a rush (mostly everyone in a rush)

Kansai ppl keep RIGHT leave left side for ppl in a rush

Not valid for osaka though. One escalator I on e left e next I on e right coz I follow e rest

 

[sg_lancelot]

I updated my original post with a rough outline of what my itinerary will look like. Appreciate some help to spot any major loopholes or problems you foresee. I've followed a sample itinerary from goawaysam. Thanks in advance!

Edit: Is Hiroshima a good idea? Or is it better if I slot something in between Hakone and Kyoto? Right now I'm trying to fix on a how long I should stay at a certain region so I can book my accomodations asap.

 

[flame_angel]

I like Hiroshima but it will made your trip a bit packed. Since this is your first time to Japan, I suggest you spend the few days in Kansai area, maybe another 2 days in Kyoto, or half a day at Kobe if you are bored of Kyoto.

There are many other places you can visit in the greater Kyoto area. I personally love Uji, a must-go especially if you love green tea. Arashiyama is pretty nice too.

Another alternative is to spend more days in Tokyo. You can go to Odaiba. A day-trip to Kawaguchiko is nice if you want to stay away from the city.

 

[sg_lancelot]

I like Hiroshima but it will made your trip a bit packed. Since this is your first time to Japan, I suggest you spend the few days in Kansai area, maybe another 2 days in Kyoto, or half a day at Kobe if you are bored of Kyoto.

There are many other places you can visit in the greater Kyoto area. I personally love Uji, a must-go especially if you love green tea. Arashiyama is pretty nice too.

Another alternative is to spend more days in Tokyo. You can go to Odaiba. A day-trip to Kawaguchiko is nice if you want to stay away from the city.

Thanks for the valuable advice! Will think through and revise my itinerary tomorrow

 

[evilerniex]

i agree with flame_angel.
hiroshima is nice... but u are already covering many places in one trip. it is also going to be expensive and time consuming to travel to hiroshima.
if it is ur first trip to japan, maybe u want to spend more time in tokyo. 2 days is not enuf to cover tokyo... u will need about 4 days to cover the popular places in tokyo.

 

[sg_lancelot]

I've taken up most of flame_angel's suggestions, but I haven't look through every single attraction yet, but major areas of travel it will be fixed as my original post. I'm going to go ahead with accomodation booking soon. If there are any suggestions or ideas you have, do post a reply here. I'm very open to anything.

 

[hoshiyume]

Day 7: Hakone to Kyoto (Kiyomizudera/Gion) - if u going the shrine, it closes around 4-5pm.
Day 8: Kyoto (Uji, Arashiyama) - arashiyama and Kyoto scenic train is near each other oh. Like 2 stops only. Think u might want to reschedule? Oh yea the train got specific timings, u might wan to buy the tix in advance unless u dun mind standing thru out e ride.
Day 10: Kyoto scenic train/fushimi inari shrine/kinakuji) - depending on how far up u wan to go at fushimi, it might be dark if u go too late. When I went in nov, sun set at 4pmish.

 

[cancer81]

Hakone to Tokyo takes an hour at the least. Kyoto requires another 2 hours iirc. Hakone is a full day trip (which is about just nice to let you go through the highlights of the place).

Always consider the distances and the amount of time travelling takes into planning. The shortened daylight hours is also a BIG factor. Especially if you folks are not early risers