Advice for December Tokyo itinerary

Hi everyone,

My gf n i will be going to Tokyo for 8 days and would need your advices if the itinerary is possible.

8 Dec - 14 Dec

8 Dec, day 1:
1. Asakusa temple
2. Tokyo skytree

9 Dec, day 2:
1. Tsukiji market
2. Akibahara
(3. Glibli museum)

10 Dec, day 3:
1. Hakone

11 Dec, day 4:
1. Kamakura

12 Dec, day 5:
1. Shibuya n Meiji shrine
2. Harajuku
3. Shinjuku

13 Dec, day 6:
1. Mt Takao

14 Dec, day 7:
1. Tokyo station
2. Ginza

Is the itinerary too rush and would we need to get a JR pass for this itinerary?

Thanks n appreciate your help :)

Day-3 Hakone and Day-4 Kamakura may be too much consecutively. You can do Hakone as a day trip, but it's going to be a very full day. Kamakura day trip can also be a full day. So I suggest a change in sequence, such that you have a break between Hakone and Kamakura.

You don't want a JR Pass for your itinerary (that would be a waste). I recommend 72-hr subway pass(es), because Asakusa and Skytree area are better served by subways. For Takao, Hakone, and Kamakura subways don't go there.

http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/travel/index.html

You can not get reservation tickets of Ghibli.
It can be sold out before you come to Japan usual.
Read the official web.

Mt.Takao is worthless because autumnal leaves are over.

Hi Yuko,

Thank you for the advice. I guess u r right, going hakone n Kamakura in consecutive days might be too much. By the way, do u suggest I visit mt takao during my trip there?


Hi Ahcocaliv,

Thank you for the advice. I read that there r still some autumn colors if I were to visit in early December so I might shift Mt takao forward. We r nature lovers, which is y I'm inserting more nature places in our itinerary. By the way, is there a website that monitors the autumn leaves in Mt takao?

I found this website that sells glibli museum tickets (https://l-tike.com/st1/ghibli-en/sitetop). I will try to purchase the ticket at the very exact time it opens for sale 😂

Regarding Ghibli, yes it is very challenging to get tickets. I tried to buy one for a weekday in August on the late afternoon of 10/Jul and no tickets available any longer... It seems to be possible to buy them 3 months ahead through JBT. I would guess it is only a limited number, so check that out.

Regarding Hakone and Kamakura, yes better to put a more quiet day in between. But overall your plan looks good, not too busy.

When you go to Tsukiji, consider visiting also Hamarikyu Garden, very nice Japanese garden on the bay.

Regarding Mount Takao, its probably still going to be nice with autumn colours. I went to Kamakura on the first weekend of December last year, and it was still nice there. Not perfect, but quite nice. You can see a picture here: http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.jp/2016/12/a-weekend-out-on-miura-p...

There are autumn colour reports. I would suggest to enter "�g—t�î•ñ ŠÖ“Œ" in your search engine when you are closer to the date, and multiple pages should come up. In Japanese, but there will be some with maps and symbols.

If in the end you decide against Takao, you might want to go to Enoshima as replacement.

Definitely no JR Railpass needed. It only pays off if you travel extensively and far (e.g. Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka, Nikko). If you are not on the "railtrack" for a long distance ride every day or two it does not pay off.

For convenience you might want to buy a Pasmo or Suica card to pay your train, subway and bus rides.

Hi LikeBike,

Thank you for the advice and the suggestions! I think i am still going to try my luck on getting the glibli tickets by readying all the required info on their english website.

I am actually planning to visit Kamakura and Enoshima on the same day (Thinking to travel to Kamakura early in the morning and travel to Enoshima in the late afternoon to catch the sunset). Will this be feasible?

Regarding Ghibli, yes definitely try, but don't be too disappointed if it doesn't work out.

Regarding Kamakura and Enoshima. I guess it is doable in one day. BUT you could also need 4 days. I obviously live here so I can do it little by little, but for me personally:
1 day for Kitakamakurav (definitely the place I like most in Kamakura)
1 day for Kamakura (Hasedera, Daibutsu and the Shrine)
1 day for a less visited part of Kamakura that has smaller temples
1 day for Enoshima

Now I guess you don't want to spend 4 days in Kamakura, but for my personal feeling Kamakura and Enoshima in one day is too much. Also consider that in Japan it gets dark quite early. But there are definitely a lot of tourists out there doing it on 1 day. But you will likely miss the probably best part of Enoshima, crossing over the entire island to the other end, sitting at the stoney shore, enjoying the sunset and admiring Mt Fuji. By the way, don't try the onsen in Enoshima. If you want a nice (not totally traditional, but nice onsen on the return from Enoshima), try the one in Kozashibuya�@(http://www.kokochiyu.com/yamato/ ). It is on the 5th floor in a building just outside of the station. One of the nicest close to Tokyo and you can go there after sunset, enjoy the soak and then get a later train back to Tokyo. The restaurant there is also nice.

If instead you go to Takao, there is a new onsen (haven't tested it yet) right by the Takao Mountain train station http://www.takaosan-onsen.jp/english/ There is an other one in Takao as well, but that is quite outdated.

Hi Likebike,

Once again, thank you for the suggestions :)

At the moment, I think I will see how it goes while we r there to decide if a trip to mt Takao is necessary. That will also depend on the day we travel to Kamakura; to see if the Kamakura + enoshima plan is too rush.

Will also try out the onsens u recommended while we r there!

Regarding Ghibli Tickets

Check if you have a local JTB office. Call them and ask when should you call or go in to make reservations for a particular day. I wanted tickets for April 15, 2017. My friend called local JTB sometime in October 2016 and asked when to call and they said Jan 2. My friend was able to get the last 2 tickets for that day (she tried to get 3, one for me) but told her I'll try for another day. If they tell you a particular day to call in, just try to call in a day or 2 before. They told my friend Jan 2 but when she called in that day, they said Jan 1st was actually the first day to call in for April.

If no local office...try JTB website to reserve tickets.
http://www.jtbgmt.com/eng/ghibli/TicketSystem.html

Just need to keep checking JTB once dates are available and quickly make a reservation request. You can request 3 different dates. I didn't bother calling them. Instead, I used the website to request for the 16th and couple other dates. I got a reply saying that all 3 dates had no tickets available. But they listed 4 dates that had tickets available. I chose one of those dates and just rearranged some of my Tokyo days to accommodate the change. I ended up choosing April 29th (Sat) which was the day before I left Japan. Other dates they offered I already had ticket to Disney Sea and was in another city for another date. Even though I requested through JTB website, I was able to go down to my local JTB to pick up my tickets to save on the $14 Fedex shipping charge. I was fortunate that my local JTB is one of the cities that had pick up service.

I would suggest you try JTB first since it's 3 months advance, then Lawson's link you posted as back up since it's 1 month in advance.

My cousin was so jealous I was able to get a ticket to Ghibli. Her trip was a last minute plan so she wasn't able to get it for her days (Cherry Blossom time). She told me that I hit jackpot. I told her it literally felt like it. It took so much effort to get a ticket.

Hi Hibbell,

Thank you for the advice!

Booking the glibli ticket seems more exciting than going for the trip itself 😂 Unfortunately I do not have any JTB local outlets here in Singapore, might get them to ship here if I can get hold of the tickets. By the way, does glibli museum have outdoor exhibition since u mention cherry blossom season?

Sorry, I mentioned Cherry Blossoms because it was high season so she wasn't able to get tickets to any of her days in Tokyo.

They do have an outdoor area that you can take pictures (inside no picture taking allowed). If you google Ghibli Museum and click on images, you can see the outdoor area. It's really a nice area.

here's Singapore's JTB website
https://www.jtb.com.sg/jp/ghibli-museum-ticket/

Hi Hibell,

Thank you for providing the link but I actually found the link sometime back (didnt notice that it was JTB the other time) and sadly, I can only purchase tickets from them if I book a hotel through them as well. I am staying in an airbnb so this option is out. Im still praying that I can get the tics this coming Nov 😂

Nevertheless, thank you for your kind suggestions and advice once again :)

Once again, thank you everyone for the suggestions!

Here is my finalized itinerary for the coming Tokyo trip:

8 Dec - 14 Dec

8 Dec, day 1:
1. Asakusa temple
2. Tokyo skytree

9 Dec, day 2:
1. Hakone

10 Dec, day 3:
1. Mt Takao (Or Enoshima)

11 Dec, day 4:
1. Tsukiji market
2. Akibahara + owl cafe
(3. Glibli museum)

12 Dec, day 5:
1. Kamakura (+ Enoshima)

13 Dec, day 6:
1. Shibuya, Yoyogi Park, Meiji shrine
2. Harajuku
3. Shinjuku

14 Dec, day 7:
1. Tokyo station
2. Ginza
3. Last minute shopping

Cheers!