COMPLETEDSep 5–7 — actual trip history
TODAYSep 8 — Tokyo full day
UPCOMINGSep 9–13 — Tokyo, Kyoto/Osaka, departure
Sep 9 teamLab Borderless entry 16:00–16:30 • Sep 10 NOZOMI 135 Tokyo–Kyoto 09:00–11:15, Car 11 seats 10D/10E • Sep 12 NOZOMI 270 Kyoto–Tokyo 17:30–19:45, Car 11 seats 2D/2E • Sep 13 Narita departure day.
Sat Sep 5 — Arrival in Tokyo
Arrived Narita, completed immigration/customs, used the prearranged Keisei Skyliner to Keisei-Ueno and continued to hotel MONday Premium Ueno Okachimachi. Arrival night was intentionally light after the flight.
Sun Sep 6 — Asakusa, Solamachi & Akihabara
- Taxi to Kaminarimon in rain; Nakamise, Hozomon and Senso-ji temple grounds.
- Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center 8F terrace; visibility was poor.
- Tokyo Solamachi / Skytree Town; Skytree observation deck skipped because of weather.
- Pokémon Center SKYTREE TOWN; shopping, waterproof shoes and sneakers.
- Hotel reset/unload.
- Akihabara: Radio Kaikan and figure shopping.
- Tonkatsu Marugo at opening around 17:00.
- Animate Akihabara and GiGO Akihabara Building 3.
Skipped / available later: Mandarake, Super Potato and Ameyoko. These are not failures; use only if Abtin wants an encore or spare time appears.
Mon Sep 7 — Meiji Jingu, Harajuku & Shibuya
- Naka-okachimachi to Meiji-jingumae; Meiji Jingu completed in light rain.
- Takeshita Street browsing.
- Cat Street and a long, worthwhile fashion stop at 2nd STREET for Abtin.
- Lunch at SIZZLE GRILL & BEER HARAJUKU.
- Continued through Jingumae / Omotesando but shopping time was cut short because of the fixed Shibuya schedule.
- Shibuya: PARCO area / central Shibuya, Scramble atmosphere and SHIBUYA SKY reservation period.
RETURN PRIORITY: Omotesando/Jingumae fashion district, especially the large multi-level Onitsuka Tiger store, plus the shops Abtin wanted to explore without rushing.
Tue Sep 8 — Shinjuku + Hotel Rest + Fashion Tokyo
Fuji is a weather decision and is not recommended this morning because Kawaguchiko has cloud/fog/thunderstorm risk. Tokyo is the working plan.
Morning block — Shinjuku
- Shinjuku neighborhood. Explore without turning the morning into a marathon.
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government observation deck only if visibility is worthwhile; otherwise skip.
- Optional electronics / interesting stores if Abtin wants them.
- Lunch in Shinjuku around midday.
MANDATORY MIDDAY RESET — roughly 13:30–15:30
Return to hotel MONday Premium Ueno Okachimachi. Rest 90–120 minutes, recharge phones, unload purchases and restart the day with energy.
Return to hotel MONday Premium Ueno Okachimachi. Rest 90–120 minutes, recharge phones, unload purchases and restart the day with energy.
Afternoon / evening — Omotesando & Jingumae Fashion
- Omotesando / Jingumae — return to the area that was cut short yesterday.
- Onitsuka Tiger — high-priority multi-level store.
- Flagship brands, Japanese labels, sneakers and streetwear; allow Abtin time to browse rather than treating this as transit.
- Laforet Harajuku if timing works before closing.
- Selected Cat Street/Jingumae stores that were missed; do not repeat completed shops unnecessarily.
- Evening choice based on energy: Shinjuku night (Kabukicho, Godzilla, Omoide Yokocho) OR Miyashita Park/Shibuya if shopping naturally carries you south.
- Dinner, then hotel.
Wed Sep 9 — Tsukiji, Ginza, Rest, teamLab & Tokyo Tower
Morning
- Tsukiji Outer Market early. Shared tasting: tuna/sushi, grilled scallop, tamagoyaki and one fried seafood item.
- Ginza — main streets, architecture, flagship stores, UNIQLO/GU/MUJI as desired.
- Tokyo Station + Marunouchi — historic station exterior and district; Character Street only if Abtin is interested.
MIDDAY HOTEL REST — roughly 13:00–14:30
Return to Okachimachi before the fixed afternoon reservation. Leave the hotel around 14:30–14:40.
Return to Okachimachi before the fixed afternoon reservation. Leave the hotel around 14:30–14:40.
Afternoon & night
- Azabudai Hills; arrive in the area around 15:20–15:30.
- teamLab Borderless — FIXED entry 16:00–16:30. Allow roughly 2–2.5 hours; do not rush.
- Tokyo Tower at night — prioritize seeing the illuminated tower and neighborhood; observation deck is optional after Shibuya Sky.
- Dinner and hotel.
Thu Sep 10 — Tokyo to Kyoto
NOZOMI 135, Tokyo Station 09:00 to Kyoto 11:15. Hotel/luggage/lunch/reset after arrival.
- Fushimi Inari — partial hike, roughly 75–105 minutes; summit only if energy is excellent.
- Kiyomizu-dera.
- Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka.
- Yasaka / Gion / Pontocho evening.
Kyoto geography is different from Tokyo. Midday hotel return is not mandatory if it causes excessive backtracking; use café/lunch resets and shorten secondary stops instead.
Fri Sep 11 — Kyoto West + Osaka Evening
- Arashiyama Bamboo Grove early.
- Tenryu-ji and Togetsukyo/riverside.
- Kinkaku-ji if route and energy make sense.
- Reset before Osaka if needed.
- Osaka late afternoon/evening: Namba/Dotonbori, canal/neon/Glico, arcades and food crawl.
- Food priorities: share takoyaki, then one main okonomiyaki; Mizuno or trusted pick Mitsuki depending queue/reservation.
- Return Kyoto.
Sat Sep 12 — Central Kyoto + Tokyo Return
- Checkout and luggage storage.
- Kyoto International Manga Museum.
- Nishiki Market tasting.
- Teramachi / Shinkyogoku / central Kyoto shopping.
- Return to Kyoto Station conservatively.
- NOZOMI 270 — 17:30–19:45 to Tokyo.
- Late dinner near hotel if hungry.
Sun Sep 13 — Final Tokyo until about 15:00
- Checkout; leave luggage at hotel.
- Ameyoko + Ueno for final local browsing and souvenirs.
- Akihabara encore only if Abtin specifically wants more figures/games/merch.
- Lunch near Ueno/Okachimachi.
- Collect luggage and use Keisei-Ueno Skyliner to Narita with a conservative airport buffer.
No distant attraction today. Keep the departure day geographically close to the hotel and Keisei-Ueno.
Tokyo days are no longer continuous morning-to-night checklists. Protect a 90–120 minute hotel reset whenever geography allows. Fixed tickets/trains stay fixed; shopping, food and secondary sights flex around energy. Fashion/streetwear is a real trip priority for Abtin, not filler.