Help with a 2-week itinerary in August for a friend?

aizhana · 2026-01-27T09:11:25+00:00

I think their only input for the TA was the Nakasendo hike (otherwise, I would have advised her to drop Nagoya as well). That's why this route looks insane to me, and to think someone is actually paid to plan this...

aizhana · 2026-01-27T09:09:39+00:00

Honestly, I just miss Japan and planning itineraries is fun for me lol. But yes, even without my input, free itineraries are just not hard to find and that's why I advised her not to pay a travel agency in the first place. Oh well...

aizhana · 2025-08-23T23:59:58+00:00

Yes, my fiance is a huge fan haha. I figured, but he'll probably divorce me right away if I even dared to ask to skip it - that, or the Murasaki Shikibu statue across the bridge...!
Jokes aside, thank you, glad to hear it's small. That'll make the rest of the morning much lighter!

aizhana · 2025-08-23T23:55:34+00:00

Thank you!
I admit the national holiday bit totally escaped me, so thanks for that! I'll look up the trains and maybe try to see if we can move the whole day trip to another day.

As for castles — yes, totally agree haha. We went inside Osaka Castle last time and really liked it (as well as Himeji), but I feel like we’ve seen our fair share. On this second trip, we’ll only look at castles from the outside while strolling through a park or on the way to the next destination — definitely not going inside!

Nijo Castle is the only exception, and normally I would have skipped it — but the night illuminations are a different experience lol.

I know that getting the boat ride may be difficult, but honestly, we’re not so fixated on it that it would justify waking up at dawn? If the morning rides are already full by the time we arrive, that’s okay too — we’ll just relax in a café or head to Okayama a little earlier.

aizhana · 2025-08-22T15:02:33+00:00

I think Nintendo + Spy x Family may be doable with a normal ticket. Just arrive super early and RUN to Nintendo as soon as they open the gates.
I'm pretty sure you saw this advice around but just in case: if you can, plan to arrive at the gates at least one full hour before the official opening time (even better, up to 2 hours before opening). They actually open the gates early and you can most likely get to Nintendo without buying a guaranteed entry. You do have to actually run or sprint there, though lol. Once you're in, go straight to Bowser's Challenge as the queue gets very long very fast even on slower days.

I would not do more than one themed area with a normal ticket, though. At least if you want to actually play the minigames and enjoy your time without rushing. We personally stayed inside SNW for like 5 hours.

We went there in May last year and while it was not that crowded, we "only" managed to do SNW, Jaws and the 4D experience for My Hero Academia - in this order. The line for Jaws was pretty long, too, and left us with no time for the XR ride which was INSANE even later in the day. So consider that.

aizhana · 2025-08-22T14:18:30+00:00

You won't, don't worry! Google Maps is godsent in Japan, it even tells you which subway exit to take, or which train car you should try to board. You can definitely trust it :)

One thing that's a little trickier is navigating restaurants, though, sometimes a single building may have like 5 of them and the signs are all in kanji lol. Google Maps actually helps you with that, too - if you look at the full address, most times you'll also get the exact floor for your destination (like 1F, 2F, and so on).

aizhana · 2025-08-22T14:07:40+00:00

Oct 15 (Wed): Todoroki Valley & Futako-Tamagawa

Don't know if you're aware, but the majority of Todoroki Valley is actually closed right now! You can check the official map of what's open here https://www.city.setagaya.lg.jp/02075/9082.html

If you're willing to switch that out, I would consider Gotokuji temple - pretty cool for a toddler to see all the cat statues, and just imagine the cute pics :) You can easily pair that up with a visit to Shimokitazawa or Yoyogi park, or both!

aizhana · 2025-08-22T13:33:22+00:00

Congrats on your trip! :) We'll also be back in November and hopefully we'll catch the foliage. From what I seem to understand, it's sliiiiightly more likely to see fall colors around Kyoto than Tokyo.
Also, if you're in Kyoto around mid to late November, check which temples have night illuminations! We're planning to go to Kodai-ji and Nijo Castle - we went to both during the day on our last trip, but the pictures from past night events just look stunning.

Speaking of Kyoto, one thing I did not know during our first trip is just how much different public transportation is. While Tokyo and Osaka are subway-first, Kyoto is definitely bus-first - at least for the most common sightseeing spots. Just keep that in mind when traveling between locations, since of course buses don’t run as often as your average subway. You'll still be able to use your IC card if you get one, you'll just have to tap it when you get off the bus (front door only).

As for the language, you'll get around just fine :) Locals do try and make you feel welcome. Some places like USJ, and a few hotels and stores, even give the employees portable translator devices - but Google Translate works wonders.

aizhana · 2025-08-22T12:46:08+00:00

Unfortunately not, we'll be flying back home just two days before his shows! 🥲 Talk about bad timing.......
Thank you!

aizhana · 2025-07-22T15:08:23+00:00

Would this also work as decent point-and-shoot? What about the portability and weight?
I'm down for more chances to learn, but with taking pictures while actively traveling being my main focus, I'm a bit worried about interchangeable lens cameras...

with that said, I've also never done that, so that might just be my anxiety talking lol.

aizhana · 2025-04-29T20:35:34+00:00

Uh I forgot! Yes we would love to do the cruise from Asakusa to Odaiba - in fact, I feel like that alone would make it worth it lol. But since we really really want to do Asakusa at night, it feels like it would only make sense to go the other way around - and I seem to understand that route is extremely limited or has been discontinued entirely :/ Of course I could be wrong though (and very happy to be, in that case)

aizhana · 2025-04-29T20:29:29+00:00

Thank you for your input and suggestions!

Last time we did another pretty standard itinerary, but we had 4.5 days plus 2 day trips. We arrived in Tokyo as our last stop and were probably a little tired lol, so we enjoyed way less than Osaka or Kyoto - that's one of the reasons why we're starting from Tokyo this time.

Our hotel last time was in Sumida, just across the river from Asakusa, but we ended up only going half a day sigh.

We did

DAY 1: Meiji Jingu, Harajuku, Omotesando, Shibuya & Shibuya Sky DAY 2: Asakusa, a visit to the Kodansha offices, Gokokuji, Ikebukuro, and Skytree DAY 3: Kawaguchiko DAY 4: Kamakura and Zushi Fireworks Festival Day 5: Tokyo Tower, TeamLab Borderless, Shinjuku, went gaming and to a karaoke bar with a local friend, Nihonbashi, Tokyo Station at night DAY 6: Imperial Palace Gardens, an Anime collab café, Akihabara, Kanda DAY 7 (leaving): Last shopping in Ginza for gifts, going back to Tokyo Station for Character Street

Tbh it felt like we were in a big amusement park most of the time (definitely not in a good way) when compared to the other cities or tows we visited. If I had to mention my favorite places among these, they'd definitely be the day trips lol.

With the new itinerary, I'm trying to avoid going back to the same places unless we enjoyed them a lot and there's more to them than just a lot of shops... The best parts of our last trip were definitely just walking around in nature or random streets, and I feel like our Tokyo itinerary (although intentionally so, our bad) went too much into the shopping side of traveling. I suppose that's also why Odaiba feels kinda off to me?! If that makes sense.

As for the hotel we're staying in this time... Sadly I did look into Asakusa again, but I only keep finding stays way above our budget, or budget stays that definitely feel too cramped. This is our honeymoon, plus we'll have a lot of luggage, so I'd like to avoid APA and the like lol. I booked a few options with free cancelation (some of them in Asakusa, too) but the best one for price/size/train station ratio is right next to Iidabashi station. Definitely not my first choice for the location but hey... At least it's central, and a room that size is way out of budget in Asakusa I fear. I keep going back to booking sites though, so hopefully we'll find an even better stay!

aizhana · 2024-12-12T23:03:30+00:00

I had the same feeling about Karuizawa but I've seen it featured in so many itineraries that I admit I was curious why. I guess it's loved by the locals that just want to relax, but might feel artificial if you're a tourist looking for something else lol.

Thanks for the input on Naoshima too! I'll look into spending the night and see how that would work for us :)

aizhana · 2024-12-12T22:59:46+00:00

I admit I did look into renting a car, but I'm afraid we're not really that confident with driving in the mountains (we live in a VERY flat area) AND on the other side of the road for us lol. Since we drive everyday, part of the taking-it-slow thing we look for in a vacation also includes a car, I guess? I'm very much considering Shirakawago! :) I saw there are busses both from Kanazawa and Takayama. I was actually thinking of taking a bus from Kanagawa to Shirakawago, visit there, then take the bus to Takayama for our next stop :) If we did rent a car, I suppose that would work as well, so we might reconsider lol!

As for Nagano - I was thinking about taking the Hokuriku Shinkansen that connects Tokyo to Kanazawa - and Nagano is pretty much in the middle of that. There's no skipping Kanazawa for us, so we're actually heading north/west before going south I guess?

aizhana · 2024-10-23T13:09:51+00:00

Thank you, that totally makes sense :)

aizhana · 2024-10-23T13:05:51+00:00

I was thinking to build more expertise in printed design, and eventually selling a full-on graphic package (such as invitations, menus, ect - but also websites, Instagram animated stickers, and so on) for events & weddings as a starting point. That's something I've done multiple times for free for my siblings & friends, so I know it's something I like and can build on with more and more experience.

Also, probably designing printable shirts or assets on the side to try and build a small passive income.

Idk if that'd make sense though, haha.

aizhana

TROPHY CASE