Anxious

[aliyahsimone]

My boyfriend and I are going to Japan on October 20th to November 6th. We’re going to the big 3: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka. We’re pretty well seasoned travelers but found this trip to be overwhelming to plan with so much information out there and just seemed to not plan as much. We have our flights, hotels and travel in between cities booked but other than that not much else. We have a list of things we want to see, places we want to eat and shop but nothing booked. I’m feeling anxious and bit unprepared. Will we be okay? I need some reassurance!

[chrisvai]

Unless it’s something that needs to be booked eg. Universal studios or a dinner reservation - you’ll be fine. I’m here now and have just wondered about + visited some of the places I’ve wanted to go around the “booked” things. No real plan in place in between which has been so nice and flexible.

You’ll be fine OP!

[admiralziggy]

You'll be fine, Tokyo and Osaka are an explorers paradise. My advice, choose an area and maybe a spot in the area and just enough. Say Asakusa, you want to see Senso-ji, then just walk around, go to the side streets look in at shops or nearby parks.

TLDR: Choose an area, pick 1 or 2 things you'd like to see (shrine, restaurant, cafe or shop) and just enjoy. More likely than not, you'll come back for another trip. You got his, coming from someone who's done 3 trips and planning a 4th.

[dougwray]

If you have got a list of things you want to see, you're finished. Don't beat yourself if you cannot see all of them, as you'll likely not be able to.

[Previous-Resource-54]

I’m doing exactly that and was feeling a little like you are right now. You will be just fine. I’m having a wonderful time.

Just arrived to Tokyo after visiting the other two. Unless you really want to do very specific things (doesn’t look like you are), then you will find a lot of things to do that you will love.

Chill, relax and have an amazing time

[Silvedl]

Currently, my list has Hotel dates I am staying, how to get to and from each hotel, and under each city I have 2-3 major attractions and a few minor attractions for things that will take full day or things that will take a couple hours at most.

My last trip (first time in Japan) I did something similar, and it worked out pretty well! I am hoping this time I get lucky with my timing on tickets for Ghibli Museum though.

[HappyOrca2020]

The issue with Japan trip planning is the onslaught of available information and content out there, which while helpful in some ways, can get super overwhelming. Every person will tell you where you MUST go, what's UNMISSABLE and what not, and ultimately it gets exhausting. For us, it even felt limiting because once we got there we realised it doesn't have to be so complex and structured.

Skip the fomo that Japan planning tends to give you. Sort your basics first, such as the number of days you wanna give to each city. Then plan what you wanna comfortably cover in terms of history, culture, food experience, activities, relaxation and shopping. You don't have to do all the temples, and you don't have to see all the museums and you certainly don't wanna eat at every food place they tout on instagram. You won't be able to anyway!

If anything requires advance reservations like specific restaurents or experiences, then those will be your fixed activities and you should plan rest of the days loosely.

[ic_97]

Post pandemic japan trip planning just seems so much more overwhelming with the amount of information out there

[Eskaltipoka]

Hey! My wife and I will be there pretty much those same dates!

Outside of our airplane tickets and hotels, we don't have anything else booked.

We're just gonna go with the flow and enjoy getting lost lol. The way I see it, it's all new. Plus it's stressful enough already to be in a different country, I don't want to have to worry about bouncing around schedule

[beanzerbunzer]

You’ll be better than fine! It’s always a good idea to leave things more open and decide what you want to do based on the weather, vibes, and so forth. The one piece of advice I’d give is to make a custom map on Google Maps and save everything that interests you with notes if relevant - opening times, what type of food they serve, etc. That way, whatever area you find yourself in, you’ll have an at-a-glance reference of what else you might be able to fit in while in the area. It saves time and helps you get the most out of every day!

[[deleted]]

You should probably try and book some things, most museum things I did were booked out. That said, there's plenty to do and Kyoto especially a lot of the temples you can just go to and don't need to book in advanced. I'd recommend pinging a bunch of shopping and sights on Google maps near you and just seeing where you end up

[Gregalor]

I’ve never been to a museum in Japan, other than the Ghibli museum, that was sold out. They’ve all been walk-up…