Please review our Japan Itinerary

Japan Trip Itinerary
I am going to have a holiday in Japan with my wife in July 2015. We have purchased return flight ticket to Tokyo and Okinawa and also have booked a hotel in Tokyo. We also plan to buy weekly JR Pass. Please review and advise our following draft of Japan Itinerary. Many thanks in advance.

Day 1:
-11.00: arrived at Sunroute Ariake Hotel to leave lugagges at the front office
-11.20 – 13.30: Lunch and exploring the the hotel area
-14.00: Check in at hotel
-14.30: Leave hotel and go Tokyo Station
-15.30 – 17.00: Imperial Palace
-17.30 – 20.00: Exploring and dinner, Ginza and Marunuochi
-20.00 – 21.30: Any suggestion?
-21.30: Back to hotel

Day 2:
-10.00 Leave Hotel for Tokyo Disneyland
-10.30 – 16.00: Exploring Tokyo Disneyland
-16.00: Go to Shinjuku
-17.00 – 21.00: Metropolitan, Government Building, Dinner and Exploring Shinjuku
-21.10: Go back to Hotel

Day 3:
-07.00: Check out and go to Narita Airport
-08.40: Check in for Okinawa
-10.10: Flight to Okinawa
-13.05: Landed in Okinawa
-14.30: Check in at Hotel in Naha
-15.30 – 20.30: Exploring Naha City Center, Duty Free Center including Dinner
-21.00: Go back to Hotel

Day 4:
-08.00: Leave Hotel for Tomari Port
-09.00: Depart by Ferry from Tomari Port
-09.40: Arrive at Tokashiki
-10.00 – 17.00: Explore Aharen & Tokashiki, snorkelling, lunch
-17.30: Leaving Tokashiki by Ferry
-18.10: Back to Tomari Port
-19.00: Back at hotel
-19.30 – 22.00 Dinner hang out? No idea yet

Day 5:

Plan to rent a car, is it possible to visit the following places in one day and please suggest the schedule:
-Churaumi Aquarium
-Shuri Castle
-Mihama American Village
-Any suggestion?

Day 6:
-08.00 – 11.00: Breakfast in Naha
-11.30: Check out from Hotel, go to airport
-12.30: Check in for a flight to Tokyo
-16.25: Landed in Tokyo
-17.47: Get on a train to Shinagawa
-19.17: Get on a train to Kyoto
-21.27: Arrived in Kyoto Staion
-22.00: Check in to Hotel


Day 7:
-09.00: Catch the bus 100 0r 206 for Kiyomizudera Temple
-09.30: Get off at Gojo-zaka or Kiyomizu-michi bus stop
-09.30 – 09.45: Walk to Kiyomizudera Temple
-09.45 – 10.45: Exploring Kiyomizudera Temple
-11.00 – 12.00: Exploring Higashiyama District
-12.30 – 14.00: Lunch and resting in Gion
-14.18: Get on train for Osaka
-15.17: Arrive at Osaka
-15.30 – 17.00: Exploring HEP Five Ferris Wheel
-17.30 – 19.30: Exploring Umeda Sky Building and dinner
-20.00: Get on the train and back to Kyoto

Day 8:
-08.30: Leave hotel for Kyoto Station
-09,13: Get on the train for Himeji
-09.58: Arrive at Himeji Station
-10.30 – 12.00: Exploring Himeji Castle
-12.15 – 13.00 Lunch around Himeji Station
-14.01: Get on the train for Ueno, Tokyo
-17.57: Arrive in Ueno, Tokyo
-18.00 – 20.00: Exploring Ueno & Dinner

Day 9:
-O9.03: Get on the train from Kokusai Tenjijo Station for Noborito Station
-10.30: Arrive at Noborito Station
-10.45: Get on Shuttle Bus of Doraemon Museum
-11.00: Arrive at Doraemon Museum
-11.10 – 13.00: Exploring Doraemon Museum and lunch
-13.15: Get back to Noborito Station
-13.38: Get on the train for Akihabara
-14.17: Arrive at Akihabara
-14.30 – 17.00: Exploring Akihabara
-17.19: Get on the train for Shibuya
-17.41: Arrive at shibuya
-18.00 – 21.00: Exploring Harajuku, Shibuya and dinner
-21.15: Go back to hotel

Day 10:
-05.00: Check out from hotel go to Narita airport
-07.00: Check in at Narita Aiport
-09.30: Leaving Japan (End of Japan Holiday) Gratful for a Great Holiday and wishing for next better Holidays... 

10.30 – 16.00: Exploring Tokyo Disneyland

Especially if you'll be going toward the end of the month, expect crowds. This is not enough time to really enjoy the park at all. Expect to go earlier, especially if you need to buy your tickets. People start lining up at 9am or earlier, the park opens at 10am. I think 4pm is super early to leave; you'll miss some of the nicest time at the park, and as the evening cools down, it's the best time to enjoy.

Finally, not sure where you're from, but I'd recommend Disney Sea over Disney Land if you're from a country that has Disney Land already.

I'd do Shinjuku after the Imperial Palace, and spend all day at TDR.

I would skip the Imperial Palace and maybe Marunouchi... Marunouchi is a business district mostly dead around evening and the palace is a miss for me. I would do Shinjuku instead and as suggested, try to do Disneyland (or rather Disneysea) for a whole day.

I hope you will do Disney on a weekday, be prepared for crowds! I went there on a Friday in late February, arrived roughly an hour before opening time and still had to wait in line for park admission (I already had the ticket!).

I did exit the park around 5 pm but I had some urgent business... and I did not manage to see everything.

At first...I'm Japanese, so maybe English is strange sentence.


Shinjuku is far from Disneyland.
If you go to Disneyland, You recommend to play all day.
Long queue. Time isn't enough.

Shinjuku is OK in the same day as Akihabara.
You may also be able to go to Ueno and Tokyo on the same day.

Shibuya is OK behind Noborito, too.
By the way, Doraemon museum is a reservation system.

The schedule : Tokyo-Okinawa-Tokyo-Kyoto-Noborito is busy.
Is it possible to change it to the plan which goes to from Okinawa to Osaka by airplane and goes from Osaka to Kyoto by train?
You move is Tokyo-Okinawa-Osaka by airplane.
Kyoto and Himeji is move by train.

@scareddragon: we are from Indonesia and will visit Japan in Mid July. Thanks for your reminder, we�fll start earlier for Disney, try to be there before 9am. Actually we haven�ft decided between Disneyland and Disney Sea, but we don�ft have time for both. We�fll get the ticket first before we go there.
That will be Great if we can go to Shinjuku in day 1 so we�fll have more time to visit other place in day 2.

@asahana: thanks for your input, so we might better skip Marunuochi and try to do Shinjuku in Day 1 or just spend more time in Disney.
We�fll go to Disney on Monday, hope the queque is not to bad, so we can maximize our limited time there.

@kanagawa live: thanks for your input, we�fll try to maximize our time in Disney, we�fll be there before it�fs open to avoid a long Que to get in and spend about 7 hours there, maybe it�fs still not enough time but we�fll try to enjoy it as much as we can. If we can go to Shinjuku in Day 1, we�fll have more time for Disney.
We�fll try to squeeze Ueno in Day 9 after Akihabara and go to Asakusa in Day 8 instead. What is the better way to go around between Akihabara, Tokyo and Shinjuku? Is it by train?
Yes, we�fll buy Doaremon ticket at Lawson at least one day before we go there.
We�fve bought flight tickets from Okinawa to Tokyo, I didn�ft know there is a direct flight from Okinawa to Osaka or Kyoto. Yes, we�fll travel between Kyoto, Osaka and Himeji by JR train to maximise our JR Pass.

Many thanks all for your advise and information, we really appreciate it.

Movement in Akihabara, Tokyo and Shinjuku is Sobu Line.

Never been to Okinawa yet so I cannot comment on how it is.

But, your itinerary for other places looks really packed and too many places to go with so little time. Would be great if you could sit down and see what you really want to see..

Eg. What do you want to see/feel in Japan?

Your first day seems a little packed with Marunouchi Ginza and Imperial Palace. Ginza itself is big enough for you to explore for a day or two (if you into shopping that is).

Disneyland/Sea should be a full day itinerary if possible, and as mentioned you should go earlier, if this day is on weekend or public holidays, be prepared for A HUGE AMOUNT OF CROWD! (I assume you will be there during Lebaran)

For Kansai, It feels almost like a waste that you do not go to other places in Kyoto, might be better if you focus on one place rather than 3 place Kyoto, Osaka, Himeji in 1.5 days... Kyoto has a lot to offer.

Akibahara, Shinjuku, Shibuya covered quite a large area, do check what you want to see/buy in each area, and probably best to focus on specific location to get the most out of them. Do be aware that Harajuku is a little distance from Shibuya.

To summarize, do you want to see more even you enjoy less?
Or you prefer to enjoy more even if you see less...

Thanks @kanagawa live

@vincess7: We're aware that we have such a limited time & might skip few places to have more time in our priority places in Tokyo.
If we skip Osaka, what interesting places that you would suggest we should do in Kyoto at the same day with Kiyomizudera Temple, Higashiyama and Gion?

The more I research about Japan, the more I find out that so many interesting places to go in Japan. I guess Japan it's a kind of country that deserved to be visited more than 2 times for holiday... :)

Many thanks for your advice.

The main issue with most people on planning Japan itinerary is packing too much places into a short period of time, I am also prone to this... and yes Japan definitely worth to visit more than once for sure.

For Kyoto, I went there twice, each time I stayed for 4 days or so. I will always visit Kinkakuji each time, it is still one of my favourite sites to visit. Higashiyama and Kiyomizudera will eat up quite a bit of time if you do not rush through them, probably half a day or so. Gion, if you explore further than the main street it is another a half a day or more.

Japan has so many shrines that you will probably get shrine-fatigue after a while but Daitokuji has rather good Zen garden in them but it will take a considerable amount of time to see all of them.

Fushimi Inari can be included if you have time, or if you have more time, Uji or Nara. (Nara is rather good town which worth 1 day visit though.)

Just remind yourself that, if you rush through each sites, you would not be able to enjoy what it has to offer.

Best is to make a Plan B itinerary, places that you research that does not fit into your itinerary. Keep them with you in case there are changes to main itinerary.

Thanks @vinces7 for your suggestion places in Kyoto.

Yes
Japan has a country has a high return value

Many places are affected by seasons and festivals or are just too beautiful to only visit once in your lifetime.

I've been to Kyoto ... 4 times? now.
I recommend ryoanji and tenryuji

I wouldn't recommned leaving Kyoto to go to other cities
Kyoto has much to offer
If you ever return to Japan, then you can decide whether to visit other parts away from Kyoto or Tokyo

If Kyoto bores you, just take a bus or train to uji, Nara, or Osaka.
If you want to experience relaxing in a hot spring, near Kyoto there is arima Onsen, and shirahama onsen

Thanks Joshua for your suggestion. It's such a very limited time we'll have in Kyoto. I believe it needs a minimum of 3 days to really explore Kyoto.