Tokyo Itinerary
Replies: 13 - Last Post: Dec 12, 2012 12:46 PM Last Post By: BuildingMyBento
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Tokyo Itinerary
Me and spouse are going to Tokyo in May for 8 days. Please take a look at our itinerary and see if it is doable or there is something we are leaving out. If we need to move things around due to opening hours or inconvenient location, please let me know. I’ve planned in such a way that we don’t have to walk far from the subway stations. We are interested in anime, museums, animals, beautiful places, atmospheric old places etc. Not so much into strenuous outdoor activities like hiking or diving.On the first day (Sunday), our plane arrives at Haneda at 10:30pm and we are staying at Hotel Horidome Villa at Chuo.
On the 2nd day (Monday), we will go to the Tokyo Sea Life Park in the morning before going to Akihabara. In the mid afternoon, we will go to Mori Art Center, Zojoji temple and Tokyo Tower.
On Tuesday, we will be focusing on Ueno. As there are so many things to see there, I’m assuming we won’t be able to see all and might only be able to see Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo Museum of Western Art and National Museum. In the evening we will go to Shibuya Beam Building for shopping.
On Wednesday, we will go to the Fuji Five Lakes area. As I’m not sure if we have enough time to see too much, I think we will focus on Kawaguchiko. We will take the ropeway to the Fuji Viewing Point. We will also see Kawaguchiko Music Forest Museum, Fuji Visitor Center, Itchiku Kubota Art Museum, Kawaguchiko Muse Museum, Kawaguchiko Tin Toy Museum, Kawaguchiko Teddies Garden, Kawaguchiko Craft Park. I’m not sure what is the best order for viewing these according to the bus route so advice would be welcome (I’m suspecting that because of time constraints, I might also have to cut out one or two unless some of these are those where one just browses through in 30 minutes and they are next to each other).
On Thursday, we will go to Kiyosumi Garden and Edo Fukugawa Museum. After lunch, we will visit Musashino Musical Instrument Museum, Toei Animation Museum, Bridgestone Museum of Art and Zeit Foto Gallery.
On Friday, we will go to Yokohama. First we go to Nogeyama Zoo. Then after lunch we go to Doll Museum, Yamate Museum and Tin Toy Museum. After that we go Kanagawa Museum of Cultural History, Cup Noodle Museum and Overseas Migration Museum. To finish off, we will go to Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum for dinner.
On Saturday, we will go to Kyo Furukawa Garden and Meiji University Museum. After lunch, we will go to Edo Tokyo Museum. We will then proceed to Ginza to Gallery Grafica and Vanilla Gallery before going off in the evening to Nakano Broadway for anime shopping.
On Sunday the last day, we start off in Shinjuku. We go to the Hanazono Jinja flea market and Shinjuku Fire Museum. We will also go to Kinokuniya and Disk Union for shopping. After lunch we will go to Tokyo Metropolitan Museum and National Art Center before finishing at Koishikawa Korakuen. After dinner, we will get ready for our flight at midnight.
Is this itinerary doable? Should I omit or add anything? Thanks.
1
What dates are you coming? First week in May is one of the busiest times of year here: Golden Week.http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2282.html
2
Wow, seems like you have a real museum interest.I would recommend cutting out alot of the museums and spend some more time wandering the streets in interesting areas such as Ginza, Harajuku, Shimbashi, Shibuya and Yokohama Minato Mirai (especially Osanbashi Pier and Akarenga).
Anyway, some places not to go:
- shin-yokohama ramen museum - the ramen aint great and it is hard to get to
- nogeyama zoo - hard to get to and nothing special
3
No offense to the esteemed Ojasant, but the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum is definitely a fun destination, not necessarily for the ramen (some of which is pretty good), but for the theme-park aspect of it. (Based on the rest of your itinerary, I think you'll love it.) Also you get to ride on the shinkansen back to Tokyo (it's only 15 minutes to Tokyo station).I haven't been to that zoo so I can't comment. Zoorasia is probably the best zoo in the Tokyo region, but I don't know that I'd spend most of a day getting there if I were just visiting for a week.
More comments:
- Mori Art Museum is one of the few museums/attractions open after 5pm, so it might be worth saving it for an evening visit.
- Tokyo Tower is nowhere near as good as Tokyo Skytree. Unless you go for one of the evening events, like the live jazz or DJ nights.
- When you're in Ueno definitely check out the National Museum of Nature and Science. The Shitamachi Museum is also pretty cool. (And to be frank, the museums you've listed are a bit underwhelming, at least to me.)
- Since you have two different toy museums on your itinerary, you might also want to look in at the Tokyo Toy Museum in Yotsuya, It's very near the Fire Museum, unless we're talking about two different fire museums. Also near the Fire Museum is the Anpanman shop.
- There's a lot to see in Odaiba, and it's a lot closer than the Fuji Five Lakes area. Just sayin'....
- As osajant suggests, set aside a bit of time to wander the streets. Although since a lot of the museums close early, you should have plenty of time to do both.
4
#1. End of May#2 I put the Nogeyama zoo because it's one of the few zoos that's free and since we're in the Yokohama area.....
5
#3Spouse says that wherever I plan is okay as long Tokyo Tower and Fuji Five Lakes is part of the itinerary.
As for Ueno, there seems to be already several science museums around Tokyo - is the National Museum of Nature and Science really that good?
I thought of Odaiba but the only attraction I can think of is the Miraikan. Am I missing something or is it worth it to go out of the way just to see Miraikan?
Will check on the Tokyo Toy Museum. Thanks.
6
I was surprised at just how good the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno was. Especially as a natural history museum - it's quite modern and well put-together.In Odaiba, I always enjoy Sony ExploraScience and Panasonic Center more than Miraikan, which I wanted to like but which I found rather confusing. I'm not a huge car buff, but the History Garage was really well done and entertaining (and free!). While you're there, Daiba Itchome Shotengai is a fun Tokyo sixties-era themed attraction, and you can check out the new Gundam experience space (I don't know how else to describe it). And Lego Adventureland if you're into that sort of thing.
7
You're spending a lot of time indoors in constructed environments rather than taking in the atmosphere of the city... but each to ones own.On the 2nd day (Monday), we will go to the Tokyo Sea Life Park in the morning before going to Akihabara. In the mid afternoon, we will go to Mori Art Center, Zojoji temple and Tokyo Tower.
This sounds very busy...I haven't been to Tokyo Sea Life Park, but it looks rather underwhelming.
http://www.tokyo-zoo.net/english/kasai/main.html
Mori Bijitsukan, Zozoji and Tokyo Tower group together reasonably - I'd suggest getting to Mori late afternoon while it is still light so you can see Tokyo by day and night. I'd also suggest having enough flexibility to change it to a different day to make sure you can go when it's clear.
On Tuesday, we will be focusing on Ueno. As there are so many things to see there, I’m assuming we won’t be able to see all and might only be able to see Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo Museum of Western Art and National Museum. In the evening we will go to Shibuya Beam Building for shopping.
I would probably go to MOMAT rather than the Ueno Royal Museum to see modern art. Don't forget to wander around the park and to Shinobazu pond, and Ameyoko to get a vibe beyond the musuems. There is also an interesting collection of contemporary craftspeople in little shops under the railway between Okachimachi and Akihabara. This day would probably be more logical to include Akihabara. (You can easily take the ginza line from Suehirocho to Shibuya).
On Thursday, we will go to Kiyosumi Garden and Edo Fukugawa Museum. After lunch, we will visit Musashino Musical Instrument Museum, Toei Animation Museum, Bridgestone Museum of Art and Zeit Foto Gallery.
You could include the Kiba Museum of Contemporary Art and scrap the afternoon.. I am not sure how much English you will find at either Musashino Instrument Museum or at the Animation Museum - possibly not much. I like the Bridgestone museum, but depending on where you are coming from, you might have seen more impressive collections of western impressionist paintings. (the main focus of the collection).
On Friday, we will go to Yokohama. First we go to Nogeyama Zoo. Then after lunch we go to Doll Museum, Yamate Museum and Tin Toy Museum. After that we go Kanagawa Museum of Cultural History, Cup Noodle Museum and Overseas Migration Museum. To finish off, we will go to Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum for dinner.
I would probably scrap the zoo. And probably a few of the museums. Take time to enjoy the place....
On Saturday, we will go to Kyo Furukawa Garden and Meiji University Museum. After lunch, we will go to Edo Tokyo Museum. We will then proceed to Ginza to Gallery Grafica and Vanilla Gallery before going off in the evening to Nakano Broadway for anime shopping.
Edo Tokyo has gone down hill dramatically. It used to be a wonderful museum with excellent English that wove a story of Tokyo. I went in the summer and it is a total hotch potch with much reduced English. I like Kyu Furukawa and it's worth making the effort to go there. There is a lot of impressive architecture in Ginza - it doesn't look as though you have included wandering the streets to find it...
On Sunday the last day, we start off in Shinjuku. We go to the Hanazono Jinja flea market and Shinjuku Fire Museum. We will also go to Kinokuniya and Disk Union for shopping. After lunch we will go to Tokyo Metropolitan Museum and National Art Center before finishing at Koishikawa Korakuen. After dinner, we will get ready for our flight at midnight.
Koishikawa Korakuen is likely to shut at 5. Why not go to Shinjuku gyoen instead? It makes more sense to go to the National Art Centre while you are in Roppongi and to go to the Put the Metropolitan Art Museum while in Ueno. Save the shopping till last because they will still be open.
Again though its not really allowing you time to do anything but scurry from museum to museum. There is very little if anything in your itinerary that enables you to see Tokyo as a city.
If you are going on a mega-museum binge, look into the Gruut Pass, which will save you a lot if you are going to see permanent exhibitions.
9
A quick question - Fuji Five Lakes is really the best place to view Mount Fuji, yes? Or are you folks recommending anywhere else? Preferably somewhere that is not too expensive to get to and has other side attractions.11
Hi pianocello,Here's an interesting article about Miraikan. It might help you to decide ...!
http://japantourist.jp/view/miraikan
And if you are into anime, you might be interested in the Ghibli Museum , although it might not be on your way...
For some atmospheric neighbourhoods with some arty feel I recommend Shimokitazawa , just a stone-throw away from Shibuya.
Enjoy!
12
http://city.gotemba.shizuoka.jp/ehp/sightseeing/10.htmlhttp://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/9-best-places-to-see-Mount-Fuji
In the second link, don't be deceived by the Hakone picture. It does NOT look that close. I've been there. Here are real pics, including a video from a motorcycle, and one showing that same orange torii.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5201.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ0FbYUpu_k
http://imgc.artprintimages.com/images/art-print/rob-mcleod-lake-ashino-ko-mt-fuji-in-the-background-japan_i-G-24-2459-BK4KD00Z.jpg
In any case, clouds cover Fuji often, and nobody can really predict good viewing seasons.
13
Hard to get to? http://www.raumen.co.jp/ramen/access.html Only if the OP doesn't try... besides, if they like museums, what's wrong with that? I don't think they'll be taking metros in between museums all of the time, completely eschewing a pleasant spring walk.
