Hi Stephanie! We're excited to show you Japan for the first time. Thank you for coming! The plan is for the group to travel to diff neighborhoods and branch out on their own to shop/eat and at desingatned times travel to neighborhoods. You can join all or none depending on how you're feeling, we'd love to have you. Pasted below is our general itinerary. Feel free to look at the other tabs for where we're staying and what we're doing each day.
Welcome Stephanie!
Wifi
Accessing internet while you are in Japan
We will be ordering pocket wifis for family members (you can use this as your internet and connect multiple devices to it). Each family will have their own pocket wifi device (Sean / Anna will have one, Kaelyn / Anna’s family will have one, etc). Please do not lose it or anything that comes with it, otherwise you will be charged for the loss.
For friends - feel free to reserve your own pocket wifi device. Everyone in the family will be using a company called Japan Wireless, which allows for reservations online, and pickup and drop off at the Narita airport post office in Terminal 1 (open from 8:30am-8pm every day). There is no data cap and the network runs on Softbank’s 4G LTE so it should be fast. If you use this service, refer to the Stitch travel tab for pickup / drop off instructions
FROM YOUR GOOGLE DOC
Japan Trip
Tuesday 3/7: flight lands at 3pm
Wednesday 3/8: Tokyo
Thursday 3/9: Tokyo (bachelorette night)
Friday 3/10: Kyoto
Saturday 3/11: Kyoto
Sunday 3/12: Kyoto (wedding)
Monday 3/13
Tuesday 3/14
Wednesday 3/15: flight leaves 5:25pm
Tues 3/7 - Fri 3/10: Tokyo, Kimpton Shinjuku
Fri 3/10 - Mon 3/13: Kyoto, Hotel The Celestine Kyoto Gion
Pocket WiFi via Ninja Wifi Terminal 1
Tokyo Shrines
Senso-Ji (Asakusa)
Kanda Myoujin + Nezu (north)
Meiji Jingru
Hie Shrine (Chiyoda)
Roppongi
Roppongi Hills Mori Tower
Savoy pizza
Sukiyabashi Jiro
Afuri ramen
Wednesday 3/8: Chiyoda + Shinjuku + Shibuya (meet up w/ Anna + team in afternoon)
Morning:
Shinjuku
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Yayoi Kasuma Museum
Chiyoda
Imperial Palace
Hie Shrine
Afternoon: Shibuya/ Harujuku
Arrive in Harajuku and visit Meiji-jingu Shrine, Omotesando, and Nezu Museum (don't miss the garden!).
Mag’s Park or Shibuya Sky - observation deck
AFURI ramen restaurant for lunch
Coffee shops: The Roastery by Nozy, CHOP Coffee,
Tonkatsu: Maisen Shibuya Hikarie, Gonpachi Shibuya
Takeshita Street - shopping street of Kawaii culture
Golden Gai - bar area
Omoide Yokochu - (piss alley), food stalls
5:30pm: Takumi sushi reservation
Thursday 3/9: Ginza + TeamLabs day w/ Anna + team
7:45am: Tsukiji outer market (morning)
Senso-Ji - north of Ginza
TeamLabs (11am)
Sony Park
Ginza SIX shopping mall
Ginza Graphic Gallery
Skytree Tower + Senso Ji Shrine
Bachelorette night
Golden Gai is one of Tokyo’s most famous nightlife spots and should be on any visitor’s Tokyo bucket list. Located in a corner of Kabukicho, the red light district of Shinjuku, Golden Gai is a network of alleys full of tiny bars, clubs, and restaurants.
Roppongi nightclubs: Ce La Vie → Odeon → AGEHA, Zeus, SEL OCTAGON
you want to go to the best nightclubs in Tokyo, you either go to the posh neighborhood of Roppongi or the mega-club AGEHA at Koto City.
If you don’t feel like venturing into the outskirts of Tokyo and prefer to stay inside the center of Tokyo, Roppongi has some of the most top-notch foreigner-friendly Tokyo nightclubs. These nightclubs usually have a good mixture of foreigners and friendly Japanese locals.Nishiazabu A-Life and 1OAK are two reputable clubs in Roppongi worth checking out.
Friday 3/10 - travel to Kyoto
Saturday 3/11 - Kyoto
Sunday 3/12 - wedding
7:30pm: Tsudaro reservation
Monday 3/13 - travel to Naoshima, stay in Naoshima
Tuesday 3/14 - Naoshima day, stay in Takamatsu
Wednesday 3/15 - return to Tokyo
10:25am flight from Takamatsu to Tokyo
5:25pm Tokyo to JFK
Kyoto:
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
Fushimi Inari Taisha
March 7th Day 1 Tokyo
OK everyone lands around 2:45 PM by the time we get out of the airport to the hotel we check into in our rooms. It’ll probably be around 6 PM so we should take the first night to explore the area we’re staying in get dinner and rest early.
5-6pm check-in to Via Inn Shinjuku
We check out in 3 days so settle in.
I say stock up on toiletries and snacks at these Grocery and convenience stores, right down the street.
7pm Dinner in Shinjuku area or Sleep
Walk around shinjuki, explore the pachinko gaming slots, the stores, shops
Options for Dinner - conveyor belt sushi
Or
Ramen
10pm piss alley bars
March 8th Day 2 Tokyo
This is the first night after sleep. Rest in, everyone gets breakfast on their own. Meet at the train station because we are all going to Meiji Shrine.
8-10am Breakfast on own.
Here are convenience store options, very close.
10:30 - 11AM Meet up at the Via Inn Lobby, Take Taxis to Meiji Shrine.
11am: Walk around Meiji Shrine
Meiji Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine was built in 1920 and is located in a forested park area that covers an area of 175 acres. It is a popular spot for visitors to Japan and is especially known for its traditional architecture and beautiful gardens.
1-2pm: Explore harajuku: Food & Shops
Harajuku is a neighborhood in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan, known for its fashion and street culture. It is particularly famous for its Takeshita Street, a popular shopping destination for teenage fashion and accessories. Harajuku is also home to Meiji Shrine, which I just mentioned earlier, as well as several other historical places such as the Yoyogi Park, Jingu Stadium and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. It's a popular spot for tourists, but also for Japanese people to enjoy themselves.
Rest & Lunch Recommendation Stop
Harajuku Gyozaro specializes in mass producing pan-fried and steamed Gyoza. I see this shop as more of a quick stop or a snack place, although with enough Gyoza pieces you could definitely make a meal out of it! This shop has been around for a long time and they've been dishing up Gyoza for years. It's a simple food to prepare, so the cook time and turnaround is pretty quick. If there's a queue, it goes by fairly quickly. What I can say is that the price is astonishingly cheap. 6 Gyoza for 340¥. Extremely affordable.
3-5PM - Break - Return to Via Inn to Rest & Relax or continue exploring.
Optional: Dominique Ansel dessert
7:30pm Shibuya crossing
Shibuya Crossing is a popular, busy pedestrian crossing located in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan. It is said to be one of the busiest intersections in the world, with thousands of people crossing the street at any given time. The area is also known for its shopping, entertainment, and nightlife.
The crossing is right outside the second busiest station in the world, Shibuya station, which has about 3 million passengers a day, and Shibuya is a very popular area with something for everybody, although it’s especially popular with young people, there’s a huge amount of bars, restaurants, cafes, clothes shops (everything from luxury brands to cheap teenager oriented clothing) every other kind of shop you can imagine: skincare, drug stores, toy shops, gift shops, department stores, ikea, anime related shops, home centers, etc. as well as karaoke, soaplands, girls bars, clubs. A lot of people work there, and a lot of people go there for fun, shopping, drinking, etc.
Meeting Point: stone doggy
https://maps.app.goo.gl/5tWhK3iutTWQTKek8?g_st=ic
Dinner Options