1-Week Tokyo Itinerary November 2023

Hello,

I am planning a bit of a last-minute trip to Tokyo for November of this year, specifically the 19th - 27th. I have had a lot of help this week from this site and would really appreciate any advice or comments on the itinerary that I worked out. Please note that it is still very much a work in progress!

The travelers would be me, my sister, and my brother-in-law. All of us are in are early 30s, if that matters at all. Our top goals are seeing the "Must-see" spots, Autumn colors (Should we be lucky enough to catch any), and shopping. Specifically, I have teen siblings who are interested in anime/manga, music - both playing (drums, keyboard, and guitar) and listening, and alt fashion, so would really love any suggestions on specific places to shop or areas to look for souvenirs for them.

Day 1: Nov. 19 (Sunday)
- Travel Day

Day 2: Nov. 20 (Monday)
- Arrive at Narita Airport ~16:30 and taking the Keisei Skyliner to our hotel in Komagome (the hotel Mets). We were only planning on checking in and grabbing dinner as we are arriving so late in the day.

Day 3: Nov. 21 (Tuesday)
- Morning at Shinjuku Gyoen, Tokyo Metropolitan Govt. Building (for the observation level), and lunch.
- Afternoon at Meiji Jingu, Yoyogi Park, and shopping in the Takeshita Street area.
- Evening we just planned on staying in Harajuku and shopping in Omotesando.

Day 4: Nov. 22 (Wednesday)
- Morning at Ueno Zoo and perhaps one of the museums in the area.
- Afternoon shopping in Akihabara.
- Evening is separate, as my sister and BIL have a dinner planned for themselves and I will be heading to Ochanomizu for more shopping.

Day 5: Nov. 23 (Thursday)
- Morning is the Ghibli museum.
- Afternoon is shopping in Shibuya.
- Evening is free, and I have had some difficulty with figuring out what we will do, we may just continue shopping until evening or just exploring the Shibuya area. We are certainly open to any suggestions.

Day 6: Nov. 24 (Friday)
- Day Trip.
- We still have not come to a consensus on where we would like to go during this day, as I am leaning more towards Nikko or Yokohama and Sis and BIL are leaning towards a day trip to Fuji or Kamakura. We may go our separate ways on this day! Would really appreciate any suggestions or hear about your experience with day trips from Tokyo.

Day 7: Nov. 25 (Saturday)
- Morning at Tokyo Skytree.
- Afternoon Asakura.
- Evening at Odaiba.

Day 8: Nov. 26th (Sunday)
- Tokyo Disney SEA.
- We understand that it will likely be very crowded, but are fine as we will likely not be riding many rides and really just want to experience the atmosphere and see how different it is to the US parks that we grew up with (BIL grew up in SoCal and frequently visited Disneyland, Sister and I grew up in Orlando and had annual passes at Disney World thanks to our mom who worked there).

Day 9: Nov. 27th (Monday)
- This is our last day in Tokyo, but our flight does not leave until ~18:30. Are there things that we can do in the morning and early afternoon while still getting to the airport safely, or should we expect to head back to Narita Airport as soon as we check out of our hotel. We will each have a carry-on and checked luggage, so I am worried it will be too difficult to manage any sightseeing while we have so much luggage.

Thank you!

November 25 Odaiba
Yurikamome 1 day pass =820 yen is helpful

hi lydia!

for autumn colors, you might want to check showa kinen koen. it�fs a little far off the city but kinda nice. there are also lots of parks within the tokyo metropolitan area (yoyogi, koishikawa korakuen) if you�fre not inclined to travel a bit far. shinjuku gyoen is also very nice.

there�fs also icho namiki which makes for awesome pictures. they used to close that road on Sundays. will still check if that�fs the case coz i haven�ft been back since the chaos of 2020.

are you going to nikko for the fall colors? please make sure to check the forecast as it might bit a late.

enjoy your trip!

Ghibli Museum : read the descriptions how to get tickets. There is a presale and tickets sell out in minutes

Disney: can you move to a weekday to reduce a bit the crowds?

Daytrips: Nikko, Kamakura, Yokohama or Fuji (where ?) are alll good daytrips.
Yokohama being a city maybe not too different from Tokyo.
Kamakura being easy to reach very historic town and if you have the energy you can also visit Enoshima and of lucky see my Fuji from there
Nikko a bit farther but more nature. But as PP said might be too late for autumn colors
Fuji depends where. Kawaguchiko? Yamanakako? A bit more complicated to reach and only good on a day with good visibility. Fuji can be very shy: http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2023/06/ride-out-to-fuji-rain-a...

Sightseeing on your last day. You should be able to leave your luggage at the hotel for the day and do some am sightseeing/shopping.

Nov 23 is a national holiday. So, I am glad that you are not scheduling day trips on this date.

November is great for foliage, but as mentioned, it will be too late for Nikko.

When in the Omotesando/Harajuku area, check out Gaien Mae Ginkgo Foliage avenue. It's a very famous road lined with golden ginkgo trees.

For your siblings interested in anime/manga, don't miss Nakano Broadway in Nakano for a treasure trove of anime and pop culture merchandise.

Day 2: Nov. 20 (Monday)

Keisei Skyliner is the fastest and most comfortable option, but you need to transfer at Nippori to JR-Yamanote line (150 yen). You might better buy Welcome SUICA card which can be used almost all transportation, of course including JR trains. It seems that Welcome SUICA can be purchased only in the two airports.

https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/welcomesuica/welcomesuica.html

If you get through the immigration smoothly, you might encounter evening rush hour in Yamanote line. In that case, you might better have dinner at Narita Airport and take later Skyliner. After 20:00, Yamanote line will not be so crowded.

Day 3: Nov. 21 (Tuesday)

In general, to avoid morning rush hour on week days, start after 9:00 (or before 7:00).

Your hotel is very close to Rikugien garden which is one of the best place in Tokyo to see autumn foliage.

If you visit many museums/gardens in Tokyo, this �gTokyo Grutto Pass�h might be suitable.

https://www.rekibun.or.jp/en/grutto/

Komagome is famous not only for Rikugien Gardens, but also for Kyu-Furukawa Gardens.
I've never been to Rikugien, but Kyu-Furukawa Gardens is my favorite garden.
You may see autumn leaves and roses at the same time.
https://koyo.walkerplus.com/detail/ar0313e154509/data.html
However, it closes in the evening.
In Ueno, I like the Tokyo National Museum the most.
https://www.tnm.jp/
At that time, I am also interested in the exhibition at the Center Pompidou of the National Museum of Western Art.
https://www.nmwa.go.jp/en/exhibitions/upcoming.html