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Itinerary Final Draft Feedback 2019/6/2 05:22
I been tweaking this thing for a while, would like any final feedback / advice.



Day 0 | Wed. June 12, 2019 | New York 🡪 Vancouver<AIRPLANE INFORMATION>

Day 1 | Thu. June 13, 2019 | Vancouver 🡪 OsakaKansai International Airport (KIX) | Money Exchange | POCKET WIFI | ICOCA CARD

Hotel []

Day 2 | Fri. June 14, 2019 | Osaka

Kuromon Ichiba Market

Shinsekai

Denden Town

Namba Parks ***SKIPPABLE***

Hozenji Temple

Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade

America-Mura

Dotonbori

Day 3 | Sat. June 15, 2019 | Osaka

Nakanoshima Rose Garden ***SKIPPABLE***

Minamitenma Park ***SKIPPABLE***

Osaka Tenmangu Shrine

Tenjin-bashi-suji

HEP FIVE

Grand Front Osaka ***SKIPPABLE***

Osaka Station City

Daimaru Umeda | Pokémon Center

Umeda Sky Building

Day 4 | Sun. June 16, 2019 | Osaka 🡪 Nara

Todai-ji

Nigatsu-do

Nara Park

Nakatanidou

Kasuga-taisha

Mt. Wakakusa *SKIPPABLE*

Day 5 | Mon. June 17, 2019 | Osaka 🡪 Kyoto

Fushimi Inari Taisha

Tofukuji Temple

Sannen-zaka / Ninen-zaka

Kiyomizu-dera

Yasaka Shrine

Maruyama Park ***SKIPPABLE***

Heian Shrine

Nanzenji Temple

Philosopherfs Path ***SKIPPABLE***

Ginkakuji

Day 6 | Tue. June 18, 2019 | Osaka 🡪 Kyoto

Kyoto Imperial Palace

Demachiyanagi Shopping Street

Shimogamo-jinja Shrine

Nishiki Market

Teramachi Street- Lashinbang Kyoto

Kamo River

Hanamikoji Dori (Gion)

# Kich Kichi Omurice

Day 7 | Wed. June 19, 2019 | Osaka 🡪 Kyoto

Romantic Train

Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street

Adashino Nenbetsu-ji

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Arashiyama Monkey Park

Iwatayama

Pug Café

Shijo Dori

Sanjo-Kai Shotenai

Day 8 | Thu. June 20, 2019 | Osaka 🡪 Tokyo

Shinkansen (OSAKA 🡪 TOKYO) | SUICA CARD

Hotel []

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (The Garden of Words)

Meiji Jingu

Yoyogi Park

Harajuku

Shiba Cafe ***SKIPPABLE***

Right-On Harajuku

Shibuya

Hachiko Memorial Statue

Arcades

Day 9 | Fri. June 21, 2019 | Tokyo

Hotel []

Tsukiji Fish Market

Tokyo Tower (One Piece)

Day 10 | Sat. June 22, 2019 | Tokyo

Akihabara

Arcades

Day 11 | Sun. June 23, 2019 | Tokyo

Dead Pop Fest | Higashi-ogishima East Park

Day 12 | Mon. June 24, 2019 | Tokyo

Spare Day

Day 13 | Tue, June 25, 2019 | Tokyo

DiverCity Tokyo Plaza

Day 14 | Wed. June 26, 2019 | Tokyo

Ghibli Museum

Nakano Broadway

Day 15 | Thu. June 27, 2019 | Tokyo

Your Name Pilgrimage

Day 16 | Fri. June 28, 2019 | Tokyo 🡪 New York

<AIRPLANE INFORMATION>



Some Random Questions:

Any good all you can eat places, I'd like to try one, something in the realm of bbq?

Is there such thing as a one day sim card, I plan on splitting up with my partner for one day?

When I buy the ICOCA in Osaka, do I (1) trade it in for a suica in tokyo? (2) buy suica as a new card? (3) i can still use the icoca in tokyo?
by khurram  

Re: Itinerary Final Draft Feedback 2019/6/2 11:42
Hi!

I can't answer all your questions but I can answer a few. :) And hello to someone else from the NY Metro Area!

I don't see why you couldn't rent a SIM card for just 1 day. It's just that many SIM cards give you a lower rental rate for more days. You could also look into whether your US phone will work in Japan and how much roaming would be. I know for my trips and with my phone plan, I pay less for roaming charges on my phone than it would cost me to rent a SIM card for 2 weeks or rent pocket WiFi. Some hotels also offer free use cell phones during your stay. I don't know where you are staying but I've found it to be true at many of the hotels I've been staying at since 2016 and it is more hotels it feels like every trip. Just be careful, losing one would be very costly as is losing your room keycard. They're not free souvenirs like at US hotels.

Nope, you can use your Icoca Card in Tokyo. I used my Suica in Osaka and Kyoto last trip to Japan. Depending on where you are staying in Osaka, this special from JR West might be worth it.
https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/icoca-haruka/ Plus you get a collectible ICOCA Card. I'm still using my Suicas from when JR East has a similar offer.

I think some of your days look insanely packed and some look really empty. Day 5 in Kyoto looks insanely busy unless you plan to just show up at a temple, spend 20-30 minutes looking around and then leave. Day 8 in Tokyo also looks really busy. Even taking a Nozomi vs. a Hikari it's still going to be close to 3 hours between your hotel in Osaka and your hotel in Tokyo. (vs. some of your other Tokyo days look positively empty like Day 9, Day 10, and Day 13.)

I'm going to assume you've already gotten tickets for Ghibli Museum, right?

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

by rkold rate this post as useful

Re: Itinerary Final Draft Feedback 2019/6/2 12:40
Yeesh. A lot to go through. First though, you can use your Icoca card in Tokyo. There is no swapping it for a Suica.
Your Day 2 looks pretty jam packed. It's hard to say how much time you want to spend at Denden Town, Shinsaibashi, etc. Namba Parks can be skipped - great for the Christmas lights, but unless there is some store there you want to see... Some places won't take long at all. America-mura can be skipped as well. But if not, you'll be through it very quickly, unless you want to go shopping for jeans or something. Hozenji Temple is small, and close to Dotonbori. Shinsekai, like Dotonbori, is best in the evening. If you are only interested in walking through the Kurumon Ichiba to see it, then you might have time to go through the Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shotengai which is close by - they specialize in cutlery, but there are many stores with a wide variety of stuff, all done in Osaka's unique methods of wild color and display.

You'll be too late to see any roses at Nakanoshima if that was your desire. There are some events on weekends you could see, and it is a place to chill out a while if you like. Or skip it if time is short. You might find that you are spending a lot of time running around to all the places you mention. There is not much happening in Nara at night, so if you find yourself falling behind in the previous days, you could see some places in Osaka after Nara, if you like, and the weather cooperates.
https://goo.gl/LfvWnL

For Kyoto, again, it looks pretty full. Ginkakuji closes at 5 PM and Tofukuji opens at 9 AM. Unless you want to go to Fushimi Inari extremely early in the morning, it would likely be better to go to Tofukuji first. Fushimi Inari is open 24/7 and you'll be in Japan during the longest daylight days of the year. There are far fewer people to swim through in the evening as well. You're right that Maruyama Park and the Philosopherfs Path can be skipped during that time of year. Yasaka Shrine too - though you can walk through it in 5-10 minutes and be done with it. You could though see Chionin or Shorenin - both are much more satisfying. And between Nanzenji (don't miss the Abbot's garden) and Heian Shrine is the beautiful and virtually unknown Murin-an - see it before the huge crowds discover it and ruin the experience forever.
https://youtu.be/OF1E7gGfv5U

Not sure what you are looking for in the next day in Kyoto - lots of shopping streets. The Kyoto Gosho is rather dull - better to see the Sento Palace or Shugakuin Villa, even though you need advance reservations and it's a 60 minute tour.
http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/index.html
You might consider adding Nijo Castle instead of yet another shopping street you have.
https://goo.gl/knQtMg
For Arashiyama, the Iwatayama Monkey Park is the same place you list twice. Be ready to sweat the 20 minute muggy hike to get there. And skipping the Otagi Nenbutsuji temple is a tragedy. The Bamboo Grove you'll be finished with in 10 minutes. The Tenryuji Temple next to it (especially the garden) is very renowned though.
https://goo.gl/Neiowd

For Tokyo, Shinjuku Gyoen is not bad (the Japanese garden is very good, the French garden is not bad though you will again be too late for the roses, and the English "garden" is a joke), but there are better candidates - Koishikawa Korakuen, Rikugien, and some others.
https://goo.gl/tAECfM
For Harajuku and Yoyogi Park, Sunday afternoon is best, if you can. For Meiji Shrine, don't miss the Meiji Gyoen Garden in the middle of it - most do, and just blow past it - so it doesn't get too crowded. You might be able to enjoy the beautiful irises in bloom then. The Hachiko statue will take you less than 2 minutes, aside from the line up of people trying to take pictures there. If you want to see a more heartwarming statue, go see the Hachiko Statue at the University of Tokyo.
https://bit.ly/2W4KHHr

For Tsukiji, you are wasting your time. The fish market is now at Toyosu.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3013_market.html
You could certainly add more to Day 10.
For Day 12, why not take a day trip? Nikko, the Mt Fuji area, Kamakura/Enoshima, Yokohama, etc.
Days 13-4 look pretty empty. Besides the Ghibli museum (I hope you got your tickets), you could keep going 4 stations to Kokubunji and see the really nice Tonogayato Garden, or further along is the Showa Kinen Park - someplace you will never forget.




by Ken (guest) rate this post as useful

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