itinerary flexibility for solo backpacker

Dear All,

this is my first time going to Japan, and i'm going there alone (i'm a girl)... below is my itinerary :

day 1 : arrive kansai airport, go around osaka castle, shitenoji temple, floating garden, walkinga around namba area and take late nite bus to tokyo
day 2 : arrive at tokyo, go around tsukiji fish market, akihabara, koishikawa korakuen,ameyoko, ueno park, shinjuku garden, yoyogi park . yebishu garden palace
day 3 : go to mount fuji
day 4 :go to doraemon museum, and yokohama at nite go to kyoto
day 5: go around kyoto (ryoanji temple, kinkakuji, nishiki market, kuyomizu temple, higashimaya area and gion)
day 6 : go around nara area (todaiji, kofuku-ji temple, isuen garden, yoshiken garden, )
day 7 : go to osaka ( tempozan giant ferris wheel, santa maria, maritime museum, cosmo tower observation, kamiga ukiyoe museum)
day 8 : going back to kansai airport in the morning

my question are ....
1. does my itinerary ok? or too much places?
2. on the first day,, where i can save my luggage? is there any locker for luggage around osaka?
3. at day 5-6-7,do i need kansai pass or city pass?
4. does osaka one day pass include ticket from kansai airport to namba station?


thanks all....;)

does my itinerary ok? or too much places?

It sounds very tiring to me. And some of the days are too busy. But a fast, strong traveler might be able to see a large part of your listed sights. For people, who prefer a slow pace of travel or cannot sleep well on planes and buses, the schedule is way too busy. Especially the thought of an overnight bus ride following an overnight flight makes me feel uncomfortable.

on the first day,, where i can save my luggage? is there any locker for luggage around osaka?

I recommend a coin locker at the bus terminal from where your bus will be departing.

does osaka one day pass include ticket from kansai airport to namba station?

No.

What time do you arrive at Kansai airport? You have a lot planned for that first day but it might take a lot longer than you are thinking to get out of the airport, into the city, store your luggage in a coin locker and get your bearings.

Your itinerary in Tokyo involves a massive amount of walking, especially with all those parks and gardens, and I wonder whether you will really find much of interest in Shinjuku Gyoen for example if you have already seen Korakuen and Ueno Park?

Unless you are in Tokyo on the weekend when you will see some quirky people there (Sunday in particular), there's not a lot of interest in Yoyogi park- it's a nice park to have a picnic and hang out in, but you don't have time for that with your itinerary.

I'm a good walker, but just the thought of your Tokyo itinerary, especially on the back of an international flight and an overnight bus ride, exhausts me! What is it about Yebisu Garden Place that interests you?

I would also go to Ueno Park and Ameyoko before Akihabara and Korakuen as otherwise you are zigzagging around a lot- have a look at a map of Tokyo to see where places are relative to each other. Just travelling around Tokyo, navigating the huge train stations etc may take a lot more time than you think.

dear uji and sdx90...thanks for your help..

my flight will be arrive at kansai around 8.40am and my bus to tokyo is arround 9.15pm.. yes, i know it will be tiring, but i'm easy to sleep at anywhere,,, so it wont bother me to go around after long flight and bus journey... :D

i totally blank about japan, and it just because i'm going there alone and dont know anyone in there,,, so i put more places on my list and find how to go there ( i dont want to be lost in there) but if i dont have time to catch there, so i'll skip it....

i'm at tokyo on saturday - monday..

noted, i'll go to to Ueno Park and Ameyoko before Akihabara and Korakuen,,,

how about my trip list to kyoto -nara and osaka? do i need to use 3 days kansai pass?

On day 2(?), you may want to skip Shinjuku- Yebisu part, instead, add Asakusa... What will you do at Ueno park? You may go to some museums there, but take a few hours.

Day 3, Oh, BTW, when are you coming? Now, it is in the rainy season, you can not see Mt. Fuji very well as it is in the clouds or fog on top all day unless the weather is exceptionally good. The rainy season will last until some day around July 20th.

Day 4?, doraemon museum seemingly requires a reservation for admission. Did you know that? Date and time slot is given by you reservation ticket.

What is the reason to go to Yokohama then? China town? Ramen museum??? There is not much to watch for backpackers there. You may spend some more hours in Tokyo, at Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku area this day instead.

Thanks jay key,

day 2..noted,,, asasuka seem more interesting...i want see museum at ueno park... :D

day 3 : i'm coming there on 22-29 june, and plan to go to mt fuji on 25 june,, hmmmm any other alternatif to go ?

day 4 : yes i know,,, need to buy it at lawson..

i saw map that yokohama near beach,,, wanna take pics near beach and also want to see chinatown and ramen museum..

and also i'm tight on budget, so dont wanna spend much money on entrance fee such as disneyland, puroland, or tokyo skytree tower.

vira,

day 1 : arrive kansai airport, go around osaka castle, shitenoji temple, floating garden, walking around namba area and take late nite bus to tokyo

You have plenty of time in the first day, therefore I recommend you to by the extended Nankai version of Osaka Unlimited Pass.

http://www.nankai.co.jp/global/english/traffic/ticket/surutto/index.ht...

Recently I bought this pass at the Nankai office ( you can not miss this office) when I arrived at the Kansai Airport (from Kagoshima, Japan via Peach Aviation). It is 2300 yen (300 yen higher than the normal version of the Pass) and you can use the Nankai line from the airport. You may also buy a superseat ticket for the Rapi:t train for 700 yen. I bought this ticket and to my surprise, I was the only passenger of the car No. 6 (the front car).

After arriving at Nankai Namba station, you can use Osaka subway system including the New tram. I guess your night bus terminal will be around JR Osaka area (as known as subway Umeda station area), you should go there and as Uji wrote, should save your luggage in a coin-locker around there.

If you are planning to visit osaka castle, shiten-noji temple, floating garden, you can get into these places for free using the coupon included in the pass. When you buy the pass, you will be handed with a magnetic card for the trains and a small booklet. You must hand a small piece of the coupon in the booklet so do not throw away the booklet. Note that you must change your coupon to the entrance ticket in the ticket counter in some attractions before you queue up the line of the attraction.

Your Osaka unlimited pass booklet has some maps inside. You can plan a day trip using these maps. If you are not sure which train to ride, please ask people around. Most Japanese people are not so fluent in speaking English, but they can show your way to the station, when you point out your destination on the map.

Enjoy your trip!

Your chances of seeing Mt. Fuji are pretty low, it is almost always completely hidden by cloud during the rainy season, even if we get a fine day.

Yokohama is on Tokyo Bay but it is a busy port city and it has piers, cargo loading docks etc but no sand beach. You can walk around the waterfront but as an activity for someone who has only a short time in Japan I don't think it rates very highly at all.

Kamakura has a beach (Yuigahama) but it's nothing special and as noted above, it's rainy season so even the beach can look a bit grey. You might hit one of the occasional fine days we get during rainy season (like today!) though.

Thanks frog1954 and sdx90 (guest),

hmm...if cant go to mt.fuji..where else i can go ? sanrio land or disneysea?

btw..how's the rain in there? all day rain or just for few hours in a day?

Where you go instead depends on your own interests- Sanrio Puroland doesn't interest me at all but if it interests you, by all means go.

Japan's rainy season tends to have more on and off drizzle than heavy downpours. Other days it doesn't rain but is grey and overcast all day.

How was your travel? You had fun? Please share your experience.