Japan Travel Itinerary for 7 Days
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| Fushima Inari Taisha Torii |
Planning a trip in Japan but don't know yet which places to consider for the itinerary?
First thing first. You really need to create a general itinerary listing the places you plan to visit, where you’ll be staying, and the duration. It is required by travel agencies in the Philippines and could be asked by the immigration officer in the airport you’re going to enter.
The actual itinerary covers Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, but our departure flight was from Nagoya.
Japan Itinerary for 7 Days (Version 1)
This is the version which I got help with from a friend who lived in Japan for three years. I thought I'd put this here for additional reference. (I still want to go to Gifu, but who knows when and how that's gonna happen?)
After this is the list of the actual places we went to.
📍 Day 1: Arrival, Tokyo Day 1
- Train to Shibuya, Hachiko Monument/Shibuya Crossing
- Tokyo Tower or Skytree
📍 Day 2: Tokyo Day 2
- Tokyo City Tour
- Meiji Shrine
- Imperial Palace East Garden
- Ginza
- Hamarikyu Garden
- Asakusa Kannon Temple
- Odaiba
📍 Day 3: Mt Fuji
- Mt. Fuji & Hakone National Park
- Mt. Fuji 5th Station
- Boat Cruise on Lake Ashi
📍 Day 4: Kyoto
- Arashiyama
- Kinkakuji
- Kiyomizu-dera
- Gion
📍 Day 5: Nara
- Todaiji Temple
- Nara Deer Park
- Nara Nagomikan
📍 Day 6: Osaka
- Universal Studios Japan
- Dotonburi
📍 Day 7: Departure
- Dotonburi if there’s available time before the flight
I suggest to go easy with the itinerary. Make it simple. I actually got too involved in preparing it (but enjoyed it!) BUT in actual (you guessed it!) we ended up going to different places anyway!
I even attempted to make schedules by the hour but dumped it after Day 2.
Our Actual Japan Itinerary ✔️
Our original flight to Tokyo was cancelled and rescheduled due to bad weather so the whole itinerary moved. We instead had to fly to Osaka and fly once more to Narita.
This is now how the whole trip actually went:
📍 Japan Day 1: Arrival (Osaka to Tokyo)
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| Our first authentic Japanese dinner (tho the beef dish actually says it's Taiwanese)! 📱 Samsung Note 4 |
- Arrival at Osaka Kansai Airport
- Flight to Narita Airport
- Train to Tokyo
- Hotel Check-in
- Dinner (Hunt for the first ramen! 🍜)
📍 Japan Day 2: Tokyo (Imperial Palace, Tokyo Train Station, Shibuya, Odaiba)
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| Shibuya Crossing. Can't remember how many times she said that this must be included in our trip. Happy! 📷 Canon 60D |
- Walk to Imperial Palace East Garden
- Walk to Tokyo Train Station
- Train to Shibuya
- Hachiko Monument
- Shibuya Crossing
- Shibuya Streets
- Train to Odaiba
- Diver City Shopping Center
- The Gundam Base Tokyo (Gunpla) Exhibit
- Unicorn Gundam Statue
- Statue of Liberty Replica
- Rainbow Bridge
- Back to Hotel
📍 Japan Day 3: Tokyo (Asakusa) and Kyoto (Enmachi)
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| Kawaiiii! ✌️ Tourists pose in front of the giant chochin or the great red lantern of the Kaminarimon 📷 Canon 60D |
- Hotel Check-out
- Train to Asakusa
- Kaminarimon Sensouji
- Nakamise Shopping Street
- Asakusa Kannon Temple
- Train to Kyoto (Bullet Train!!! 🚅)
- Hotel Check-in
📍 Japan Day 4: Kyoto (Arashiyama and Inari)
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| One word for the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest: Mystical 📷 Canon 60D |
- Train to Arashiyama
- Walk to the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
- Sogenchi Garden
- Train to Inari
- Fushimi Inari Taisha
- Hike to the summit of Inari
- Stroll around Kyoto Station
📍 Japan Day 5: Osaka
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| You're a muggle if you can't see this photo. 📷 Canon 60D |
- Train to Osaka
- Universal Studios Japan!
- Search for the Uncle Rikuro Cheesecake
- Back to Hotel
📍 Japan Day 6: Gion, Kyoto
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| Shirakawa Canal in Gion and some tea houses (ochaya). Have you seen the movie Memoirs of a Geisha? 📷 Canon 60D |
- Bus to Gion
- Gion Shirakawa
- Yasaka Shrine
- Back to Hotel
📍 Japan Day 7: Departure
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| Eel bowl "Hitsumabusi". My last meal in Japan at the Nagoya Airport. 📱 Samsung Note 4 |
- Hotel Check-out
- Train to Nagoya (Bullet Train!!! 🚅)
- Fly back to Home
I think we've exhausted ourselves after the trip to the Universal Studios Japan™. It was tiring but definitely one of the highlights of the trip (read: Wizarding World of Harry Potter™). Anna isn't as big of a fan as I am but we both enjoyed the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™.
By Day 6, we just wanted to take it easy and it was also raining for most of the time that day in Kyoto.
Notice that food time is barely included in these daily itineraries (but they will be included in future posts).
We ate as we pleased and we always stuffed for breakfast before leaving the hotel. And, as this isn't in any way a budget travel blog (maybe not yet), we don't limit ourselves when it comes to food.
Conclusion
✔️ I did not add yet descriptions on each destination. Feel free to google them for now but each place will be tackled in future posts. I don't want to drown this list-post with too much details and photos.
✔️ Plan way ahead. We had about two weeks of actual preparation for this. We weren't really sure if we could travel (have our vacation from our jobs) so we planned the itinerary loosely, meaning, we made one (see the Version 1) just to have a base that we could follow and for the visa application.✔️ I believe, for any first-timers, all of the top tourist destinations in Japan will not disappoint. Just accept the fact that most of these places will be heavily crowded with other tourists.
✔️ Consult at least one friend or anyone you know who has been to Japan for a long time for recommendations especially on price ranges so you could estimate your budget.
✔️ If you're on a budget and have to choose a relatively cheaper hotel, plan your destinations based on that hotel. Also, an ideal hotel is one that is within 5 to 10 minute walk from any train station. They don't have tricycles or tuk-tuks apparently but trains will be your main mode of transportation.
✔️ Be prepared for changes that could affect your plans like flight cancellation (it rarely happens and we were 'lucky'), rain during the trip which could slow you down a bit.
✔️ Relax and take it easy. Don't rush to go from one place to the next.
There. It's been eight months since the trip but I can still recall the taste of miso soup (which I didn't like much). This will be a very long series and the itinerary above should be updated with links to their respective posts.
See you in the next blogpost, soon: Japan Day 1: Arrival (Osaka to Tokyo)
Travel Period: October 23-29, 2017
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Related Posts:
✔️ If you're on a budget and have to choose a relatively cheaper hotel, plan your destinations based on that hotel. Also, an ideal hotel is one that is within 5 to 10 minute walk from any train station. They don't have tricycles or tuk-tuks apparently but trains will be your main mode of transportation.
✔️ Be prepared for changes that could affect your plans like flight cancellation (it rarely happens and we were 'lucky'), rain during the trip which could slow you down a bit.
✔️ Relax and take it easy. Don't rush to go from one place to the next.
There. It's been eight months since the trip but I can still recall the taste of miso soup (which I didn't like much). This will be a very long series and the itinerary above should be updated with links to their respective posts.
See you in the next blogpost, soon: Japan Day 1: Arrival (Osaka to Tokyo)
Travel Period: October 23-29, 2017
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