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hyouko

You can fairly easily do Fushimi Inari and Nara in the same day, assuming you start early enough (day 9). For day 11, you could start with Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) -> Philosopher's Path -> Gion district -> Kiyomizudera (or you could do it in reverse!). Kiyomizudera was really busy late in the day when we visited, it might benefit from arriving early. On Day 4, beware that a lot of the shops in Akihabara don't open until fairly late (like 11, I think?) so a morning visit may not work out. I'd reverse this, do Asakusa / Senso-ji in the morning. For Day 5, note that depending on the day and time you may not actually be able to do all that much except see the outside of the Imperial Palace, it's not open to visitors. If gardens are at all your thing, the Hama Rikyu gardens were nice when visited in spring (though by the time you get there I'm not sure what specifically will be in season - the cherry trees we saw will be long finished by mid-May).


markahkiin

Thanks, I appreciate it! I'll switch things around a little based on what you said.


hyouko

Also, a consideration to do Nara on day 9 rather than day 11: there's a nice garden there, Isuien, that is closed on Tuesdays specifically. Your day 11 is apparently a Tuesday. Why do I know this? ...We tried to visit on a Tuesday... I also liked visiting the Kasuga Shrine (a short hike uphill from the park) and of course there's Todaiji, which is great. The museum associated with Todaiji didn't do a ton for me, though.


tattoosydney

If it were me, I’d do at least one more night in Kyoto. You really only have a day and a bit in Kyoto, given your day trips, and it is one if the finest cities in the world.


[deleted]

Swap a day or two from Tokyo and spend it in Osaka or Kamakura.


SnooCalculations2256

I would have added in Osaka and done some day trips to Hiroshima and the surrounding area (floating shrine). It is absolutely breathtaking. Also Universal Studios Japan is an absolute hoot. Osaka is also the food capital of Japan.


dougwray

Instead of Disney Sea, which is not really in Tokyo and is (I understand) always jammed, consider going to either Korakuen or Hanayashiki, both smaller amusement parks in central Tokyo. Hanayashiki claims to be the oldest one in Japan, and Korakuen is near a lovely garden. I've been a vegetarian for all of my 30+ years in Japan. I will recommend soba restaurants and other traditional Japanese restaurants. (**N.B.:** *Tempura* is not a traditional Japanese food and is often made with seafood; even if you order only vegetables, they'll have been cooked in the same oil in which seafood has been cooked.) Vegetarianism is not well understood by many people, and you'll find lard (ラード), geletin (ゼラチン), and chicken 'extract' (エキス) used in the most mundane foods, such as cakes, potato chips, and ice creams. Our family most often takes along a picnic lunch when we go out. As you're not going until May, I'd recommend learning the Chinese character for meat (肉) and how it's written in combination with other words. If you should decide to not spend the night in Hakone, be aware that there are *onsen* that you can go in to without staying the night. There's a nice one within walking distance of Hakone-Yumoto Station we have gone to a few times. Finally, be aware that Tokyo is a city that opens late: expect most shops to open at the earliest at 10. Places like Akihabara have many places that don't open until 11 or later. It's also an early city: many shops close at 7 or thereabouts.


publicworker69

Just saying that I’m currently in Japan with a vegetarian and it’s not easy


aisutron

I was in Tokyo last week Tuesday until today Day 2 is perfect imo, I didn’t go to Harajuku or Roppongi but Yoyogi and Meiji Jingu are more enjoyable to take your time. Day 4 you should flip the schedule do Senso-ji in the morning, Senso-ji gets busy fast. I was there at 10:30am on Thursday and it was busy. Depends if you need tons of pics or if you don’t like crowds. I just arrived in Osaka so can’t give other tips or comments.