Spring 2018 Japan 13 Day Itinerary (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hokkaido)

Hello guys! On today’s post I will be sharing the itinerary of my 2 week Japan trip that I just returned from. This itinerary covers Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hokkaido. We are fast travellers and know what we like/dislike, so we are focus on the areas of interest within each city and travel to multiple cities. We like to see the main scenic places for photos, shopping areas (this time with a focus on Japanese characters like Final Fantasy, Pokemon, Disney etc.) and food places. This will be suitable for you if you have similar travelling interests! Oh yes, and I would say that the pace for this itinerary is pretty relaxed.

Click here to see my related post on how understand your own travelling style.

How we decided on our itinerary: 4 days in Tokyo to see a few interesting districts like Harajuku, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Akhihabara, 1 day in Kyoto to see the main sights, 3 days in Osaka, including 1 day in Universal Studios Japan, and 4 days in Hokkaido.

I’ll also be sharing some places we decided not to visit, and how much extra time you would need to cater in your itinerary if you were visiting them. This post will be a general outline of our trip, and the details of each day will be covered in a more detailed blog post of each day!

Our Itinerary:

Day 1 (Singapore -> Tokyo): Explore Kabukicho

1. Arrive in Tokyo in the evening and travel to accommodation in Shinjuku.
2. Explore Shinjuku area (Kabukicho). Kabukicho is the red light district of Tokyo, and there are bars, clubs, massage parlours where they provide “services”. This is also the area for the famous Robot Restaurant show.

Additional suggested places: Golden Gai — retro looking alleys lined with small bars, Piss Alley (Omoide Yokocho) — small alley with a lot of yakitori shops

Read more about our night in Kabukicho here.

Day 2 (Tokyo): Shinjuku, Akihabara

1. Sleep in from staying up late the previous night.
2. Visit Shinjuku area in the day time for amazing food shopping places, and views of Tokyo city from Tokyo Metropolitan Building.

(Bonus for Square Enix fans) Visit Artnia, the Square Enix shop inside Shinjuku Eastside Square. There you can find plushes of your favourite characters, character goods, a small exhibition area of the characters and a cafe for you to chill out with friends.

Additional suggested places: Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden for flowers during spring or colourful leaves in the autumn.

1. At evening time, head down to Akihabara, the geek town of Tokyo. Here you will find a lot of anime items, as well as all your electronic needs, lots of arcades, maid cafes and other themed cafes. Personally, we went to Eorzea Cafe, a Final Fantasy themed cafe.

Additional suggested places: (For IT professionals) Pay a visit to nearby Kanda Myojin Shrine, which is supposed to bless IT-related ventures.

Read more about my day in Shinjuku and Akihabara here.

Day 3 (Tokyo): Harajuku, Omotesando, Shibuya, Roppongi

1. Visit the Harajuku area, home to Meiji Shrine, the shrine of the late Emperor Meiji. Heard that you may be able to witness a Japanese wedding on some Sundays! Don’t forget the cute streets of Takeshita Dori, heaven for cute things, including affordable young people clothing, desserts like rainbow cotton candy and crepes, various pet cafes like cat/owl/hedgehog cafes. You can also find many spots for your Instagram photos here!

(For Hello Kitty/Gudetama/Snoopy/Star Wars/LINE/Disney fans) Check out the LINE FRIENDS store and Kiddy Land store. Don’t be deceived by the Kiddy Land name, it’s basically a huge store with LOADS of character goods!

1. Walk to Omotesando, where you will start seeing higher-end shops, classy boutiques and cafes.
2. After lunch and coffee, go to Shibuya for some shopping, and also some famous spots like the Hachiko statue and Shibuya Crossing. Interesting streets here include Spain Street & Centre Gai to see rows of vending machines selling Japanese souvenirs. There is also a MEGA DONKI store in Shibuya!
3. At evening time, take a train down to Roppongi area to see the Tokyo Tower and experience nightlife here. If you missed out on the hedgehog cafe in Harajuku, there is also a hedgehog cafe here to indulge in the prickly cuteness!

Read more about my day in Harajuku, Omotesando, Shibuya and Roppongi here.

Day 4 (Tokyo): Tsukiji Fish Market, Ginza, Tokyo Station

I didn’t visit Tsukiji Fish Market and Ginza this time due to insufficient time, but I am writing this portion of the itinerary based on my experience from my last Tokyo trip.

1. In the morning, visit Tsukiji Fish Market for some fresh sushi for breakfast.
2. Next, travel down to Ginza area, where there are many high-end shops and a 7-storey Uniqlo.
3. After shopping, head back to Tokyo station area for Tokyo Imperial Palace. This palace is where the emperor is really residing in, so there are scheduled tours at specified timings and dates if you wish to have a tour of the palace grounds. You are able to walk around freely on the outer gardens of the palace.
4. Finally, shop at the underground street of Tokyo Station, Ichibangai (First Avenue). Here you can find Character Street, Ramen Street, and many souvenir shops. We also found a shop selling all sorts of kit kat flavours and other snacks here. After shopping, make your way back to hotel to prepare for tomorrow’s trip down to Kyoto.

(For Pokemon fans) Visit Pokemon Center Tokyo DX, which is currently the largest Pokemon store + cafe in Japan. It’s just a short walk away from Tokyo station, and you can buy all your Pokemon merchandise there.

Read more about my day in Tsukiji, Ginza and Tokyo here.

Day 5 (Tokyo -> Kyoto): Kyoto (Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kiyomizu-dera, Gion)

1. Take the early morning train from Tokyo to Kyoto (around 2 hours train ride)
2. Drop your luggage at the luggage storage lockers in Kyoto station and travel down to Fushimi Inari Shrine. Take a walk around Fushimi Inari Shrine and stroll down the thousand orange tori gates.
3. Proceed to Gion area for lunch. I recommend trying nishin soba (Kyoto’s specialty of sweet soba with herring) while in Kyoto. We had ours in Matsuba, one of the oldest soba restaurants in Kyoto.
4. Go to Kiyomizu-dera Temple to see the scenic temple pavilion with a great view of the city. Walk along the streets of Ninen-zaka, Sannen-zaka and Kiyomizu-zaka, where they sell many Kyoto food products and nice items to bring back as souvenirs.
5. Visit Nishiki Market in the late afternoon for a glimpse of the traditional market, and more importantly, to try the many snacks they have on offer! Some recommended ones are: soy milk donuts, fish tempura, Kyoto style beef buns, matcha warabi mochi, unagi on skewer.
6. Head back to Gion for dinner and hope to see some geishas! Try some matcha desserts as they are famous in Kyoto.

(Bonus) Dress up in a kimono for your Instagram photos (there are kimonos for men too)! However, do make sure to cater an additional 1.5 hours for choosing your kimono, hair styling and makeup.

Additional suggested places:  Arashimaya Bamboo Forest, Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), Silver Pavilion

This list is long, especially for people who like cultural places, do add at least 1-2 days for Kyoto. Many of the places are in different parts of Kyoto so a lot of travelling time is needed. We chose to only spend 1 day in Kyoto because we were not that much interested in temples and culture. You can even choose to cycle around Kyoto.

Read more about my day in Kyoto here.

Day 6 (Osaka): Tenjinbashi, Umeda

It was raining the whole day this day, so today’s itinerary is perfect as a wet weather plan.Visit Japan’s longest shopping street, Tenjinbashisuji Shotengai Shopping Street. The street is 2km long, which takes you around 30min to walk from one end to another (without stopping at any shop). There are many shops around here, but I would say that this is a more traditional street with an older target audience.

1. Have lunch at Harokuma Sushi in the shopping street. Fresh and quite generous serving of sushi here.
2. After shopping, visit the Osaka Museum of Housing and Living, which is connected to the 6th part of the shopping street (yes, the street is split into many parts as it’s too long). Here you will see streets recreated based on the Edo period, and kimonos are available for rental at a cheap price (less than 500 yen)!
3. Take train to nearby Umeda, where you will find the famous Umeda Sky Building, HEP FIVE Ferris Wheel, Pokemon Centre Osaka. We also stumbled upon a Gudetama Cafe here in the HEP FIVE Building!

Additional suggested places: Osaka Aquarium (although as Singaporeans, I think that S.E.A Aquarium is already much better than the ones in other countries)

Read more about my day in Tenjinbashi & Umeda here.

Day 7 (Osaka): UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN

This day’s title is in capital letters as I loved Universal Studios Japan so much! There are a lot of 4D/virtual reality rides in USJ, which simulate a ride even though you are actually in a a relatively fixed area. It’s great for people who are afraid of rides, but it’s still thrilling enough for people who actually enjoy rides!

Highlights of USJ (AKA must ride): 

1. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (4D ride)
2. Final Fantasy XR Ride (XR ride) — This is in conjunction with Cool Japan 2018, after the Cool Japan 2018 event it will turn back to the Space Fantasy roller coaster ride
3. Amazing Adventures of Spiderman (4D ride)
4. Despicable Me Minion Mayhem (4D ride)
5. Hollywood The Dream Ride Backdrop (Roller coaster which goes backwards)
6. Jurassic Park The Flying Dinosaur (Roller coaster)
7. Catch the night parade at 7.45pm

Read more about my day in Universal Studios Japan here.

Day 8 (Osaka): Osaka Castle, Shinsaibashi, Dotonbori

1. Visit Osaka Castle and the surrounding Osaka Castle Park. The castle is beautiful, but entry to the castle museum is optional if you are not interested in the history of the castle.
2. Go to Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street for some shopping! This is a shopaholic’s paradise, with many stores including international brands, local brands, many drug stores and many sneaker shops. This place is sheltered so it’s good for keeping out the rain!
3. Whenever you’re hungry, head to nearby Dotonbori for food. Dotonbori is affectionally known as Osaka’s Kitchen as there are so many nice restaurants in this area. Recommended dishes to try are Takoyaki, Okonomiyaki, Grilled Crab Legs, Fugu (pufferfish), Gyoza. Check out the famous Glico Man sign from the bridge between Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street.

Additional suggested places: Alice on Wednesday store, which sells some Alice in Wonderland inspired stuff.

Read more about my day in Osaka Castle, Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori here.

Day 9 (Osaka -> Hokkaido): Noboribetsu Hell Valley, Lake Toya

1. Fly in to Hokkaido, and pick up rental car
2. New Chitose Airport is a good place to grab a meal if you are feeling hungry after the flight, as there are many restaurants and food options in the airport. You can also buy all your hokkaido food souvenirs here!
3. Stop over at Noboribetsu Hell Valley, a famous onsen spot in Hokkaido. The sulphur smell is very strong here, and it is normal! There are some trekking routes around here if you are interested to go deeper into nature.
4. Continue on the drive to Lake Toya, accomodation for the night. Drive/walk around the Lake Toya area or take some hiking routes to see Lake Toya from a different vantage point.
5. Have dinner and enjoy fireworks fired from Lake Toya at 8.45pm (during the late spring/summer time)! Thereafter, enjoy onsen in your hotel (most hotels around the area have their own onsen)

Additional suggested places: Noboribetsu Bear Park

Read more about my day in Noboribetsu and Lake Toya here.

Day 10 (Hokkaido): Sangaitaki Park, Lake Shikotsu, Tomamu the Tower

We added an additional stop in Tomamu as we wanted to visit the Cloud Terrace.

1. Set off from Lake Toya, and make a quick stopover at Sangaitaki Park. There are some cottages here and a small stream. When we went, there were many cherry blossom trees still in full bloom. There is a small cottage here which has an observatory, but it looked abandoned when we were there.
2. Continue the drive to Lake Shikotsu. Here you can see mountains being reflected in the clear water. Sightseeing cruises/speedboats/swan boats are also available in the summer. While you are here, grab some melon ice cream and cheese imo mochi for dessert! There are also some hot springs and trekking routes around the area if you are planning to spend a longer time here.
3. As Tomamu is pretty far away, we continue the drive towards Tomamu The Tower. Aim to reach the hotel by evening time as there are little street lights in the area. Spend the rest of the evening walking through the shops of the hotel, eating and enjoying the onsen.

Read more about my day in Sangaitaki Park, Lake Shikotsu and Tomamu here.

Day 11 (Hokkaido): Cloud Terrace, Furano, Asahikawa

1. Early in the morning, take the gondola up to Cloud Terrace (only available in summer)
2. After viewing the clouds (or mountains if there are no clouds that day), return back to the hotel for breakfast and a nap before heading out to Furano.
3. Drive to Asahikawa City to rest for the night. Visit Asahikawa Ramen Village for ramen.

Highlights of Furano:

1. Lake Kanayama Forest Park, where you can see beautiful lavender fields in summer.
2. Fukuzushi: famous for serving jumbo sized sushi (the sashimi slices, rice, and wasabi are all almost twice the size of a usual sushi)
3. View beautiful flowers at Farm Tomita, and have lavender ice cream
4. Shirahige Waterfall and Shirogane Blue Pond
5. Colourful flowers at Shisikai No Oka Flower Garden
6. Mild Seven Hills: lush green fields made famous as they were featured in the background of a tobacco commercial

Read more about my day in Furano here.

Day 12 (Hokkaido): Mitsui Outlet Park, Otaru

This day was spent driving back to Sapporo area as that was where we had to return our rental car.

1. Drive to Mitsui Outlet Park Sapporo Kita-Hiroshima for some tax free shopping. This outlet park is very big and has a lot of international brands which we can recognise. The shops range from drugstores, food stores like Godiva, to the usual sportswear shops, COACH/Michael Kors, to less common brands like Jimmy Choo, Salvatore Ferragamo. I would say that everyone will find something to shop here, even if you are just buying pillows from Tempur!
2. Next, make a slight detour to Otaru, where we will see the famous Otaru Canal and walk down the streets of Sakaimachi Street. Here, you can dine in LeTao, a famous cheesecake shop with dine-in stores only in Otaru! Try their Double Fromage Cheesecake.
3. Drive up to Mount Moiwa for excellent nightviews. You can take the ropeway for beautiful views over the mountain.
4. Drive back to Sapporo to drop off the car and walk around Sapporo station area.

Read more about my day in Mitsui Outlet Park and Otaru here.

Day 13 (Hokkaido): Nijo Fish Market, Takikoji Shopping Street, Sapporo Odori Park, Shiroi Kobito Factory

1. Have seafood don for breakfast at Nijo Fish Market
2. Head to nearby Sapporo Odori Park for the Sapporo Lilac Festival (available only from late Spring – Summer). There are many beautiful flowers and events during the festival, especially on the weekends.
3. Shop around the Takikoji Shopping Street, where there are many Japanese and global brands.
4. Then, visit the Shiroi Kobito Factory to see the beautiful european houses in the factory and have a glimpse of how the famous cookies are made. You can also make and decorate your own cookies here!
5. Finally, do some last minute shopping and return back to the hotel to pack for the trip home

Read more about my day in Sapporo here.

Day 14: Back to Singapore

After 2 weeks of fun and 3 cities covered, it’s finally time to return home with full luggages and phones full of beautiful photos! Before flying back, remember to get to the airport early to buy food souvenirs! New Chitose Airport and Narita Airport are both very good for shopping for food souvenirs.

Hope this itinerary has been helpful for anyone planning a trip to Japan, and let me know how your trip went!