Hey guys.

Will be spending 21 days total in Japan on April with 10 nights in Tokyo, 5 in Kyoto and 5 in Osaka in that order.

First of all, all my activities there are just tentative, aka free roam most of the times. I'm prepared to use Suica/Pasmo card for bus fair and misc spending.
I like leisure travelling where i just take my own time walking around the place/people(only apply to scenery places, coffee shops and not malls).

Tokyo(10 nights): Within Tokyo, probably use bus(Pasmo) to go around the city. Plenty of things and places to discover, but among them are Ikebokuro, Akihabara, Shinjuku area, Shibuya, Odaiba, and others. (not sure need to get train pass for these or not.. seems far.. )
Kyoto(5 nights): Arashiyama, Saganao, surrounding castles and temples (I think I listed 4 down). Originally wanted to drop by Kurama Onsen but the rail pass does not seem to include that. So I will need to find another onsen to enjoy. Hopefully a ryokan with wagyuu beef. Suggestions?
Osaka: Nara was top of the list here since it seems nearer from here rather than Kyoto. Probably rent a bike to go around the park. Then comes the parks and shrines, Bunraku theater and Dotonburi. Will consider Koyasan when I'm there.

Tokyo Wide Pass only covers 3 days and Kansai Wide Pass 5 days. I highly doubt that 21 days JR Pass is worth the money since I will probably not use trains all the time(correct me if I'm wrong).
However I will need to get a ticket for Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. Also from Kyoto to Osaka. Should i get multiple 1-day Tokyo pass? I think I saw somewhere Shinkansen ticket is like 13900 yen or so.

Also got since Tokyo is not in the same region as Kyoto/Osaka cant get the regional pass

OH! Got any suggestion on where else to go? During my stay there I might make an/multiple overnight trip somewhere. Maybe Nigata*cough*sakemuseum*cough or Nagano. Okunoshima seems to far to see rabbits. Might plan another trip next year for northern Japan to visit Miyagi, Yamagata, Iwate etc.

Didnt get any reply from my last post. Trying again.

Going to Japan on April for 21 days. 10 days in Tokyo, 5 Kyoto, 5 Osaka.
When in Osaka will do an overnight trip to Kobe.

Tokyo: Akihabara, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Oedo Onsen, Odaiba, Shinjuku Golden Gai, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Harajuku, Ameyoko Yokocho, Don Quixote shop.

Kyoto: Arashiyama, Nishiki market, some castles, find a place for tea ceremony.

Osaka: day tip to Nara, overnight trip to Kobe, Dotonburi, Tsurumi Ryokuchi.

Sooo... I need some recommendation on good food to eat, cafes, nice places to sight see and walk around. Heard got good ramen in Tokyo and Osaka.

My trip was planned for a rather leisure trip. A day of downtime every other day to relax and do laundry.
Tho I have to say those pastries look yummy! Will check couple of those for sure!
As for the mid-lower tier places, I just saw in the reviews and yt videos and looks interesting to me.
I just did a rough budget. 3k will only cover my meal and transport including shinkansen to kyoto. May bring extra 10k to be safe

Don't plan to get a JR pass since doesn't seem worth it for my plan.

Thanks a bunch for the suggestion. Will try ichiran ramen
Any other places to try?

My itinerary below.. hopefully didn't reveal anything I'm not supposed to.

https://travefy.com/trips/371892/-1474746855

Got some free time in Tokyo and Kyoto. Any suggestions?

Added! Thanks for the suggestion!

Ah Ginza.. I knew I forgot something.
As for the Skytree and Tower, from my research it might be better to get the view from Tokyo Government Office. Its even free.
Regarding Tsukiji, I heard there were some issue on relocating, government scandal, gas polluted new area thingy.
Might need to find a good sushi shop that is not overrated/overpriced.... and i prefer salmon to tuna.

The thing about Odaiba is.. it used to be in my list. Until they tear down Gundam
So not sure if it's worth the trip there since its mostly production studios there i think?

Hakone.. might be too far since I don't plan on getting JR Pass.

Should i get 2x '3 days tokyo wide pass'? or just stick to PASMO bus rides?

Uhm.. anybody knows where do I buy some yukatas? Something we can wear here that's not too warm.

This post has been edited by Grimtooth: Mar 21 2017, 05:55 PM

anybody ever tried bringing a bottle of sake back home from there?

Wow that's informative. Wouldn't want to freeze over there.
Lucky I check again today before my flight this Sunday

Well.. I'm bringing heattech, heat packs(hand and sweater) and the ultra light down jacket.
Maybe i'll get a convertible collar coat when i get there if still too cold. But will prolly cost about RM400.

ehhh i'll cross that bridge when i come to it.

In tokyo station. Ow.. Figuring what to do for the next 3.5hrs to check in hotel. Any suggestion on good food here? I already bought shinkansen ticket and metro ticket. Do i need suica? No right?
Also weather is awesome here. Didnt need heatpack.... For me at least. I prolly took the same flight as the guy who post earlier.

Outside it was 5 degrees or 7. Im just walking around now. So amazed with the food selection and smell.
Honestly i dont have that much energy. Didnt sleep well on the plane.

Have to agree with. Heat tech too much.
Im just wearing shirt and jacket. I bet you can even go with just shirt and scarf.

I stay at nihonbashi. And yeah its crazy small. But i can live with that.
It seems you checked in at 3 as well. Same with meand i passed out from fatigued feet. Tho its right next to a park and metro. This seems to be a super nice place to stay.

Id like to corect my statement earlier. Its getting super cold....

I wish my ankles got more endurance.
Just visited shinjuku and shibuya and ankle hurts.
Good news tho, im at ichiran now. It is FULL. I got the last few seats.

If I read correctly with my super broken japanese language on the 7-E board... there is something going on at the Skytree from 10 to 14th April. Something involving Shingeki no Kyojin(Attack on Titan).
Might wanna check it out if someone is there on those dates.

On Ichiran Ramen.. it is pretty good. But not extremely good. Prolly because i ordered medium/normal on all options. Note: Get way more than 1/2 of that hot chili serving. I can't taste any of the spice/heat.

Went to Shinjuku Gyoen National park. Give it another couple of days before you go there. Barely half the trees bloomed.

Also wondered around ShinQ. For some reason I can't stop grinning with the amount of sweet delicious looking stuff on the first 2 floors there.

Like @Belphegor said, around 1 day to visit per precinct to fully enjoy what they can offer. Still need to check out harajuku. I will spend another day there. I skipped the metropolitan government office observatory since it would take an hour to queue. Also Kabukicho is amazing at night

Any suggestion where to go in tokyo?
I went to shinjuku, shibuya, ueno, ginza, tsukiji and now currently in odaiba oedo springs. So awesome here.
Got 4 more days in tokyo. Planning to go to asakusa.. But thats it.

Btw i havent tried other curry house, but cocohouse? is delicious!

Visited harajuku when i was around shibuya.
Not interested in nikko and mt fuji since my legs are not in a good condition. Chiyoda tho i visited on the first day here. Had 4 hours to burn while waiting for check in.

I arrived on monday morning. And visited all those places + 1 rest day 4. So total of..... 4 days excluding my rest day.
And i really walk around there haha.

I am using wiyo. So far no issue at all with unlimited data.

Day 5 and day 7 is very subjective. You seem to squeeze a lot in day 5. For example, I can't say for your date, but Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office will have a queue to go up the observatory, from 30 minute to 1 hour. Same for Gyoen park. That park is massive. Took me a bit more than a couple of hours (solo trip) to cover all the places since the crowd is insane atm. Kabuki-cho tho, will truly be alive at night. My advice: don't go to Don Quijote at night. Its crazy warm/suffocating with so many people inside. There is also Golden Gai if you're interested. Just remember to refuse the Nigerian guys there. Can't stress this enough.

Day 7. This is especially subjective to your interests. If you like seeing market, eat sushi, view some knives or kitchen utilities, you will spend a few hours in tsukiji. Please note that if you finished visiting tsukiji early, other shops will not be open yet(provided that you visited tsukiji early morning like 3-5am). Metro starts operating around 5am so make your plans accordingly. Personally I went back to AirBnB to rest for a few hours then come back to Ginza.
Ginza.... honestly if you have shit load of money to burn, this MIGHT be the place since this is the most expensive district to my understanding. Many high end brands make their stand here. Otherwise, I'd stick to visiting some parks, window shopping and Kabuki-za to get some souvenirs.
Finally Akihabara. If you're into anime, 1 day is far from enough honestly. You could spend 3 days and won't cover ALL of what Akihabara could offer. Figurines, games, manga, doujins, art books, waifu pillows, apparels etc are there. Not to mention shitload of cafes like gundam cafe, AKB48 cafe, cat cafe, owl cafe, maid cafe. Oddly enough Kamen Rider the diner is in Ikebukuro..

Then again, above is my opinion based on my experience. Other members might disagree. I took 1 day for shinjuku, 1 day for shibuya(harajuku in shibuya), 1 day akihabara, 1 day tsukiji+ginza.

You will totally enjoy Odaiba Oedo Onsen. This place is awesome despite the price. I shamefully admit that i spent 20k yen there
Don't be scared tho, casually you'll spend around 3k per person there.

I'm not sure why you lumped akihabara with ginza when its nearer to ueno/ameyoko tho..

Tbh im scared to drive in tokyo. Its pedestrian first and ive seen people running like hell to catch the green light. They come out of nowhere.

Btw anybody been to rikugien gardens in sugamo? It says theres a sakura spot here. The garden itself is pretty big in size but i couldnt see any sakura tree from outside.
Wonder if its worth the ¥300 entrance fee. Could waste time while waiting for Tsuta to open.

probably no more or at its ending phase. Will still have sakura up north.
I explored most of Tokyo and Kyoto, and now arrived in Osaka. Only got Dotonburi, Tsurumi Ryokuchi and Nara in the plan for now.
Rest would be impromptu while I explore the city unless I found some destination.
Will spend 1 night in a Ryokan in Kobe