I just got back from a 2.5 week long trip to Japan. This was the first time I’ve been in the country for that long and the first time we’ve traveled with other people. We had done most of the sightseeing already like Maricar, but we did a few of them again. Here’s how we planned it out in case you were wanting to do the same.
Day 1 : Tokyo
Go to the new Toyoso fish market since Tsukiji closed down. You should do this on day 1 since you’ll be jet lagged and will wake up at around 4AM. We slept in instead and visited late and missed the whole action. However, it seems the new fish market is more sterile than the old one. You view the auction from a 2nd story window. I’ve read reviews that the experience isn’t the same as the old one.
Once you view that, head over to Sushi Dai and try to get a seat. We got there at 10:30AM and we would have had to wait 2 hours. Instead we went to the shop 2 doors to the right of it and enjoyed the sushi just fine.
Since you’re in the area already, make sure you go see teamLab Borderless in Odaibo. I reco you prepay for tickets online in advance. After that walk around Odaibo.
Day 2-4 : Tokyo
We had the chicken ramen at Ginza Kagari and then walked around Ginza after one day. Another day, we went to Harujuku and walked around there. We did Maricar again this time. Another day, we explored Ropongi Hills and Shibuya.
Day 5 : Yokohama
We went to the ramen museum and the Cup of Noodle museum. Since we were going to move on to Hakone next, we decided to overnight here. I wouldn’t recommend overnighting here unless you are transiting like we were. There’s not much else to do in the town; prob good for just a day visit from Tokyo (I think train was about 45 minutes each way.)
Day 6-7 : Hakone
Everyone I know stays and highly recommends the Hyatt Regency Hakone. The breakfast is amazing and they have a free wine & drinks happy hour every night. Instead we stayed at an ryokan with an onsen that was about a block away from the Hyatt.
We checked in to our hotel at around 2pm, which was too early so we walked to the Gora station and hung out around there. We had the happy hour at the Westernized Gora Brewery & Grill. The next day, we did the Hakone Free Pass, which is the biggest attraction in Hakone where you ride 3-4 different types of transportation, culminating in a boat ride in a pirate ship that looks like any normal ferry once you’re inside.
Day 8 : Mt Fuji area
The following morning we continued our use of the Hakone Free Pass to take a ride to the Gotemba Premium outlets, which is where we took another bus to Lake Kawaguchi. The Gotemba Premium outlets was actually pretty bougie – it has a Shake Shack and super high end stores like Balenciaga. We arrived in Lake Kawaguchi and was picked up by our hotel at around 3pm. I highly recommend the Kawaguchiko Country Cottage. They had a free shuttle to a grocery store, where we picked up dinner. The view of Mt Fuji from our room was awesome and the cabin was fantastic.
Day 9-11 : Osaka
After a night at Lake Kawaguchi, we then took a bus and then a train to Osaka, which took about 4 hours total. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza this time since they let you have 4 adults to a room. The hotel emailed me a few days earlier trying to warn me about staying 4 adults in the small room, but we were used to it at this point, and it was fine. We didn’t do much in Osaka but eat and shop.
Day 12-13 : Kyoto
We had been to Kyoto last time, so once again, we didn’t do much but eat and shop. We did walk around the Imperial Palace. The rest of the time, we walked around the Gion area in Kyoto looking for Japanese whiskey, which if you go to Japan, Kyoto is where it’s at. I found NOTHING in Tokyo and Osaka, but Kyoto had a handful of shops with Hibiki Blender’s Choice for about $100 and Hibiki 17 for ~$300. There was one shop that was selling Hibiki 30, Yamazaki 25 and Hakushu 25, all at outrageous prices like $4K-$5K (I’m going to look back one day and regret not buying those bottles when they go up to $10K.)
Day 14-15 : Tokyo
We decided to play it on the safe side and train it back to Tokyo the day before our flight just in case we miss our flight. This was great because we could make last minute shopping trips as well as re-pack our suitcases for the plane. Plus, the bus departs directly outside the Hyatt Regency.