My 25 day Japan 2019 Trip 
PDF of my Itinerary
The itinerary was edited to reflect what I actually did. I did detailed planning for the parts of the trip where my dad was there, but made my schedule more flexible for when I was with Siying.
PDF of My Spending by Day
November 14-23 includes spending for two while my dad was with me!
Pre-Trip Spending
| Thing | Cost | Paid (after points/coupons) |
|---|---|---|
| Connie’s roundtrip Houston -> Tokyo (Haneda) | $659.69 | $506.47 |
| Dad’s roundtrip Tokyo (Narita) | $411.39 | $26.21 |
| 2 7-day JR Passes + shipping | $544.00 | $544.00 |
| 7 GB Sim Card | 4980 JPY | $45.86 |
| Wise Owl Hostels Tokyo, November 14-15 | $67.77 | $61.49 |
| Kyoto Airbnb, November 15-21 | $615.22 | $615.22 |
| ICI Hotel Asakusabashi by RELIEF, Tokyo, November 21-23 | $208.80 | $188.32 |
| Total | $2,506.87 + 4980 JPY | $1,987.57 |
Tokyo Recommendations
| Place | Go? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mega Don Quijote - Shibuya | n | Too crowded. You can find Kit Kats at other Don Quijotes, and other things for cheaper at the grocery store. Might be a good option if you only have a few days in Tokyo. |
| Imperial Palace | y | A very nice walk around the perimeter! |
| JINS flagship - Shibuya | y | Awesome place if you need new prescription glasses! |
| Kisoji Shinjuku - sukiyaki | y | Get the marbled beef sukiyaki that you cook on the table, not the premade ones! I think our course was around 4000 JPY per person. So worth it! Kisoji is a chain with several locations around Tokyo. |
| Roppongi Hills | n | It’s a mall. |
| Ghibli Museum | y | It’s cheapest to get your tickets ahead of time (the month before your visit) from Lawsons. Check the website and Google for instructions. |
| Yoshinoya | y | A chain with cheap beef bowls! |
| Flippers | y | Chain with the best souffle pancakes! |
| Kichijoji shopping street | y | Nice neighborhood with cute stores |
| Yoyogi Park | y | Great for people watching |
| Ebisu | n | A neighborhood that was supposed to be comparable to Kichijoji, but we weren’t impressed |
| Tokyo DisneySea | y | Go on a weekday! Use the free FastPass system. Don’t miss the Arabian Coast, Japan-only snacks, the bakery, Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage, Big Band Beat, and Song of the Mirage. Go to big Litteria for the lottery to get reserved seats in the shows (only one try at the lottery per show). Don’t worry if you don’t get tickets in the lottery - if you want to see the show, line up early to try to get into the non-reserved section! Skip Aladdin, Nemo, 20k Leagues Under the Sea. |
| Jiyugaoka | y | Cute neighborhood if you’re in the area! Try a creme brulee crepe at Comcrepe! |
| Teamlab borderless museum | y | Go on a weekday and buy tickets beforehand online! We went on a Tuesday afternoon around 3:30 PM and the crowd wasn’t too bad. We only had to wait 5 minutes for the floating lanterns room, which I think is one of the most popular rooms. |
| Ameno Yokocho | y | Tourist spot with lots of shops. The place with the cheapest kaisendons (sashimi on top of rice)! Go here instead of Tsukiji. Also found cheaper drugstore items here as well, like pain relief patches, gentle steam eye masks, and the specific lip balm I was looking for. |
| Ueno Park | y | The area around the lake is beautiful! |
| Tsukiji Outer Market | n | Super crowded and I had the worst uni here. Expensive tourist trap. |
| Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Avenue | n | Not worth going out of your way for. Luckily, we just happened to walk right through it! |
Kyoto Recommendations
| Place | Go? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sagano Scenic Railway | n | Super crowded. Pretty for a bit, but half of the time is spent going through tunnels. |
| Hozugawa River Cruise | n | So expensive. You’re crammed into a boat with a ton of other people, and the ride is way too long. Next time, I would try to get one of the cheaper private boats near the Arashiyama Bamboo forest (where this river cruise ended). |
| Arashiyama Bamboo Grove | n | Just a sea of people. Go to Osaka Expo Park instead. They also have a bamboo forest, and tons of other things! |
| Tenryuji Temple | y | Crowded but soooo beautiful and the grounds are big! Breathtaking autumn leaves. |
| Fushimi Inari Taisha | n | Too crowded. |
| Nishiki Market | y | Crowded, but lots of foods to sample! Had the softest mochi here. |
| Kyoto Imperial Palace | y | Lovely place to walk around! |
| Sanzenin | y | So beautiful and relaxing! Breathtaking red leaves! |
| Hosenin | n | Right next to Sanzenin, but way smaller and more expensive. |
| Aeon Mall | y | If you want to do some shopping, eat, or watch a movie! |
| Gion | y | Take a short walk and people watch. |
| Pontocho Alley | n | Super narrow alley, and most of the food places just seemed like tourist traps. |
| Kichi Kichi | y | Expensive, but worth going once for the experience. Difficult to get a reservation. |
| Chionin Night Illumination | n | It was nice but kind of expensive. Reflections of the red leaves on the water were pretty, but I prefer red leaves during the day. |
Osaka Recommendations
| Place | Go? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Minoo Park | y | The most perfect hike I’ve ever been on! |
| Osaka Castle Park | y | Super beautiful. Walk around the grounds on the perimeter if you prefer staying out of the crowds. |
| Dotonbori | y | Great for food, shopping, and people watching! Super crowded. |
| Pablo cheesecake | y | Very yummy! |
| Anello Flagship | y | If you want a nice backpack! |
| Osaka Expo Park | y | Amazing park! Japanese garden, waterfalls, gigantic lotus pond, bamboo forest… |
| Osaka Aquarium | y | An aquarium like IKEA where there’s only one path! |
| Rikura no mise cheesecake | n | Tastes kinda like scrambled eggs. |
Other Recommendations
| Place | Go? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Togo Park, Saitama | y | Amazing red leaves! Climb up the steepest steps ever to get to the shrine at the top. |
| Ichikawa Bekkan Seikanso Ryokan, Ikaho | y | Difficult to get to for foreigners. Amazing food and service. Private onsens were awesome! |
| Any grocery store | y | Go eat all the things! Especially the prepared foods! |
| Any convenience store | y | Same as any grocery store. Also a good place to throw away trash and use the bathroom. PLEASE eat the mapo tofu rice bowl from 7/11. |
Food Bucket List
Tokyo
- Lawson
- half tuna salad half egg salad sandwich
- Pasta
- McDonald’s
- Quiche from a bakery
Osaka
- Takoyaki
- Okonomiyaki
Kyoto
- Kichi Kichi
Connie’s list for Japan (by Siying):
- Mochi roll from Lawson
- Udon at Hiyoshi
- Imagawayaki nakano
- Nice grandma izakaya
- Crystal-mochi dumplings
- Kiwami pudding
- 焼肉ノンちゃん (yakiniku)
- Corn bread from st germain
- Yuzu tofu
- Have breakfast at komeda’s coffee
- Corn chips
- Autumn cards at stationary shop!
- Pants/skirt shopping at uniqlo/GU
- Convenience store food/desserts
- Mister donuts! Mochi donuts!
- Giant Starbucks
- Jiyugaoka
- Creme brûlée crepe
- メルヘン fruits sandwich!
- いちびこ strawberry shortcake and sandwich!
- Flippers
- Coco ichibanya
- Jinbocho
- Koiwai plain yogurt
- Taiyaki
- Dango
- Good cake shop!
- Make specs at Jin or Zoff!
- Ghibli museum!
- Disney sea!
- Mori building digital art museum
- Numazuko sushi! (UNAGI, salmon, ootoro)
- Yamazaki white bread
Connie Feng BLOG · TRAVEL · JAPAN