Japan 2013 (A-5-5 Edition): Tokyo & Kyoto Travel Itinerary

I feel like blogging a summary of my Japan/Kyoto 2013 trip. Perhaps it will be easier for me to backtrack later on (if I ever needed to lol).

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DAY 1: ARRIVE AT TOKYO

• Took an airport limousine from Haneda Airport to Shinjuku
• Purchase Tokyo Metro Open Pass (980 yen)
• Check in to Hotel Rose Garden Shinjuku
• Exchange our JR Pass at Shinjuku Station

#1: Shinjuku: Had breakfast at Yoshinoya, visited Kabukicho and Don Quijote.

Shinjuku

Exchange JR pass at Shinjuku Station

#2: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office: Amazing view of Tokyo from both North and South observatories for free :)

View of Tokyo

#3: Harajuku: Ate mille crepes and shop at Takeshita Dori.

#4: Tokyo Tower: View of Tokyo at night for 820 yen.

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DAY 2: EXPLORING TOKYO

#5: Tsukiji Market: Queued for 3 hours to eat sushi at Sushi Dai. Best and freshest sushi ever.

#6: Asakusa Sensoji Temple and Nakamise Dori: Famous temple and its shopping street.

#7: Odaiba: Paid 620 yen to take the Yurikamome Line to Odaiba and had a night view of Rainbow bridge.

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DAY 3: FUJI AND HAKONE

• Took a 1 day tour from Japanican.com to bring us to Mt Fuji and Hakone.
• We departed by bus from Washington Hotel Shinjuku.

#8: Mount Fuji first station: Due to weather conditions, only managed to go up to first station. We had lunch at Fuji Highland Resort and afterwards a cruise along Lake Kawaguchi.

#9: Owakudani Valley, Hakone: Had the famous sulphur longevity eggs here before the bus dropped us off at Hakone-Yumoto train station. We then took a bus to our ryokan guesthouse - Fuji Hakone Guesthouse.

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DAY 4: FROM HAKONE TO KYOTO

• Took a shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto from Odawara Station using our JR Pass
• Arrived at Kyoto Station and then took JR Nara train to Fushimi Inari.

#10: Fusimi Inari Shrine: Rows and rows of red Torii gates makes a picturesque view.

#11: Kyoto Station: Worth visiting for its numerous shops and nearby underground malls.

#12: Gion District: To spot geishas and to see Kyoto at night.

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DAY 5: TOURING KYOTO

• Bought the 1 day bus pass from Kyoto Station for unlimited rides on Kyoto Buses.

#13: Kiyomizu Dera: UNESCO Heritage Site and also visited nearby Jishu Shrine for the love stone.

#14: Kinkaku-ji: Also known as The Golden Pavilion, amazing scenery.

#15: Ginkaku-ji: It is called The Silver Pavilion, but not made from silver.

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DAY 6: FROM KYOTO TO TOKYO

•  Visited one last place at Kyoto before taking our shinkansen back to Tokyo.
• Check in to Shibuya Granbell Hotel for our last night at Tokyo.

#16: Nishiki Market: To look at Kyoto's fresh produce and try their snacks.

#17: Meiji Jingu Shrine: Returned to Tokyo and visted the shrine dedicated to First Emperor of Modern Japan.

#18: Shibuya: Visited Hachiko dog statue and Shibuya crossing nearby Shibuya Station. Spend our last night shopping at Shibuya 109 mall, the 5-storeys H&M as well as Forever 21. Also had our Starbucks at Tsutaya building overlooking Shibuya Crossing.

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DAY 7: LAST DAY AT TOKYO

#19:Tokyo Station: Had our transit here en route to Disneyland via JR Keiyo Line.

#20: Tokyo Disneyland: Took snapshots nearby the main entrance and shop for souvenirs here.

#21: Akihabara: Did some shopping for all kinds of electronic gadgets and products.

• Spend the rest of the day doing last minute shopping at Shibuya and Harajuku before taking the airport limousine to Haneda Airport for our flight back to KL.

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BACK TO KL

• With numerous buys, photos and memories. Japan was awesome!