Let me start off with this: I fell in LOVE with Japan when I went and 4 days was (obviously) NOT enough.
With the yen basically being at it's all time low compared to the dollar, it's your sign to go Japan. I'm counting down the days until I go back to Japan, but here's my full itinerary of how I spent 4 (technically 3) days in Tokyo if you need some inspiration on where to go.
There's so much to do, everyone has different preferences, and so many places to eat but this itinerary is just so you can gauge what I did, what's worth doing, etc.
FYI: I'll be copying and pasting the itinerary I created before heading to Japan so the times aren't 100% accurate and there's a lot more I did on the way, but close enough~
Yes, it's worth visiting if you have the time. Think of it as art gallery meets aquarium. This museum is located in the mall so it was really fun browsing through all the stores and eating a few bites before heading in! Was so beautiful, I would go again.
I had a couple a stores saved on my itinerary and I just used that as a guide to walk around and stop by a bunch of stores. Nothing better than exploring around the city (even in the rain it was a vibe)!
We arrived to the Sanrio store around 6PM and was OBSESSED!! Definitely worth stopping by this location because it was sooo cute and I did end up spending a pretty penny here. There was so much merch I've never seen before... cuteness overload!
We ended up going to Nemuro Hanamaru and it was good! Wasn't the best revolving sushi I've had BUT the vibes were very cute and the staff were very nice. Because of how popular this place was, there was a line (we waited 20 minutes).
10:00 PM - Return back to the hotel :)
Before going back to our hotel, we stopped by couple of konbinis (convenient stores) to get a bunch of snacks and got baked sweet potatoes from a street vendor right outside of our hotel. Super yum!
Day 2 - Shibuya!
8:00 AM - Leave hotel
Morning walks near my hotel was a vibe with empty streets but don't be fooled... the rush hour traffic in the subways in the mornings was real. Subways were jam packed with commuters (luckily it's something I'm used to, so I didn't mind). Something to keep in mind if you're not comfortable with public transportation!
We arrived around 9AM and the food and drinks were delicious. Was genuinely surprised how tasty the breads were. I don't think this is a must-visit but if you have the time, I definitely recommend! The building is huge~
IMO, if you find snoopy adorable, this place is a MUST VISIT! Character cafes are super cute but they are notorious for their food tasting bad. But not only was it so cute here, the food was so good and fresh! Also sold the cutest merch that's perfect for gifts here.
I've always thought Japanese magazines were so cute (especially with the freebies that come with it) so I made sure I had a book store on my itinerary and bought a couple of magazines! There was a lot to look at and there was a cute dog accessories store nearby where we did some shopping for Louis there as well XD
This chic mall was filled with so many things to look at and was impossible not to buy anything. So we shopped, ate small bites, and shopped more LOL. Also quality of products is superior here compared to the US, so it was all #WorthIt.
As a lover of pretty views, being up here made me very happy. There was an escalator on the side of the glass wall and it was very fun + high up. This is located in the same mall we were browsing and you are able to get similar views from the mall so if you are not a fan of heights, I recommend you skipping this!
We walked around Shibuya and the crossing, I took more videos than pictures to capture the vibes. Then went back to shopping. There were so many items in Vivienne Westwood (and almost all other brands) I haven't seen in NYC that was here in Japan!
Visited the Nintendo and Pokemon stores and there was SO MUCH CUTE MERCH! Decided to only shop at the Pokemon store because the lines were soooo long in all these stores. Got a bunch of cute things for myself and a lot of gifts from here :)
6:00 PM - Walk around Shibuya
We took some breaks, walked around more (even stopped by Zara), and passed by a bunch of cool vending machines ~
I LOVE soba noodles so I found this restaurant before going to Japan and made sure to stop by. So worth it! Food was delicious (every bite was a 10/10), the atmosphere and vibes were perfect, and the staff were very kind + helpful.
9:30 PM - Return back to the hotel :)
Went to the konbini on my way back to my hotel again xD
I like to try McDonald's in every country to try the differences and since we had nothing planned, we decided to go for breakfast! (A lot of places were closed in the mornings anyways). But since we went for breakfast, I wasn't able to try a variety of stuff. Either way, was tastier than the US but can't say it was Top 3 (since I didn't even get to try the burgers).
I was able to get my very first Chrome Hearts piece here in Japan~ It was crazy how much there was to look at despite spending so much time at malls LOL
Fun Fact: Malls open at the same time as stores so people line up outside the mall until it opens. Very different from what I'm used to which is the malls in the US open up first so people walk around inside even if the stores are closed. I thought there was an event or something going on but people were just waiting to go inside the mall!
Located inside the mall, we were able to be seated without waiting in line because we arrived upon opening. There was a long line so felt very lucky! The food looked SUPER cute but the taste was very mid-tier. I wouldn't go back since the food didn't taste good but it was super cute!
MUST GO! This garden was breathtakingly beautiful and was one of the most memorable part of the trip. We did go the first week of April so the flowers were blooming and there were a lot of people. I did buy tickets in advance for this! But because this garden is so big, it didn't feel overly crowded which I truly loved. We also grabbed a coffee at the Starbucks in the Garden!
So very unfortunate but... I totally forgot this was on my itinerary and didn't go. Why is this unfortunate? Because when you make your reservations online, you also have to pay to reserve your spot. Oh well, hopefully one day I can go ㅠ_ㅠ
A shopper's dream. A wallet's nightmare. Because this was the last day and my suitcase was running out of space, I definitely did more looking than shopping but still got a couple of cute things! But even if you don't have plans to buy anything, it's so fun to browse through all the shops!
Evening - Be #Spontaneous & eat dinner wherever, then return to the hotel!
We walked around a lot to see where to eat dinner and we just ended up eating at a hot pot restaurant right across our hotel and it was delicious! Afterwards, we stopped by couple of konbinis and walked around to end our trip ~
Day 4 - Bye ~
9:00 AM - Leave hotel & walk to Akasaka-Mitsuke Station
9:40 AM - Get off at Ueno Station to walk to Keisei Ueno Station to get on Skyliner
10:21 AM - Arrive at Narita International Airport
1:55 PM - Flight: NRT → ICN
Had one last bowl of ramen at IPPUDO inside of Narita Airport before our flight out!
Overview: This itinerary just shows the highlights of this trip and there were a lot more I saw and stopped by. I think it's best if you go with an itinerary and then go with the flow once you arrive. Japan is one of those places where there's so much to do, if I had more days, I would've definitely spent more time exploring. Luckily google maps works in Japan so getting around was super easy and their public transportation is very simple!
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