Hello! I've been stressingly and excitedly planning my last-minute trip to Japan (literally booked my flights two days ago) and would really appreciate a check on my itinerary. It's a pretty rough go, but I'm flexible. It'll be my first time in Japan and I'll be traveling solo (with the exception of possibly meeting some traveling Redditors too) and am on a budget - and I got most of my ideas from this subreddit and other guides.

The purpose of this trip is mostly to relax and have fun as it's my self-reward vacation for graduation so I don't want to stress myself out if my schedule ends up being too packed and unrealistic to fulfill. I'd like to think I'm the more spontaneous type (hence the last-minute bookings) but would love to soak in as much of the authentic experience and delicious food as possible.

Without further ado, here is my rough itinerary:

Day 1 - Thursday, May 17th - TOKYO ARRIVAL

• Arrive in Tokyo @ 4:30pm

• Emblem Hostel Nishiarai - CHECK-IN (after 4:00pm)

• Dinner: ???

• Planning to just take it easy, chill out at the bar at my hostel and meet people

Day 2 - Friday, May 18th - Akasaka, Akihabara, Ueno

• Akasaka: Sanja Matsuri - parade starts at 1:00 pm (but will be there early)

• Akihabara - heard it's worth checking out although I'm not much of an anime person

• Ueno - since I'm nearby

• Food: Maybe Tsuta. Suggestions?

Day 3 - Saturday, May 19th - Asakusa & Obadai

• Asakusa area

• Sanja Matsuri

• Nakamise Dori

• Senso-ji Temple

• Don Quijote Asakusa

• Sky tree - Salt & Tobacco Museum, Sumida Aquarium

• Asakusa Culture and Tourism Center

• Ramen-tei Asakusa

• Mostly following this guide from this point: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3051_odaiba_asakusa_full.html

• Go to Sumida Park → Hama Rikyu - waterboat 35 mins; ¥ 980

• Shiodome Station - board the Yurikamome elevated train to Odaiba (best view in first car)

• Obadai - Aquacity and Decks, Joypolis, Legoland, Trick Art Museum, PaletteTown, Venus Fort, Diver City (Life-sized Gundam), Rainbow Bridge

• Still need to plan on how to get back to Asakusa and hostel; maybe check out Senso-ji Temple at night on the way back

Day 4 - Sunday, May 20th - Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku

• Emblem Hostel Nishiarai - CHECK-OUT @ 11:00 am

• Leave luggage at Centurion Hotel Residential Akasaka

• Farmer’s Market @UNU (40 min walk, on the way to Shibuya 109)

• Shibuya 109

• Harajuku

• Shinjuku - Food: Nabe-zo - Shinjuku AYCE or Nakiryu (one michelin star)

• Ikebukuro

• Dinner: Ginza - 300 Bar?

• Tsukiji Market 3 am??? (45 min walk from Centurion, or 30 min ride from Hibiya Line @ 4:40 am)

Day 5 - Monday, May 21st - Yokohoma

• Have not yet looked into this but a friend suggested that it was worth checking out. Will take me about an hour to travel to by train.

Day 6 - Tuesday, May 22nd - Mt. Fuji

• One-Day trip to Mt. Fuji - Haven't bought tickets yet but I'm planning to purchase a one-day guided tour: https://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/BUS1J00711MKS/?typecd=TOU&destcd=M04&sbit=4. It's a bit pricey in my opinion, so I'm open to any suggestions or recommendations you may have.

Day 7 - Wednesday, May 23rd - Open Day

• Have nothing planned for this day. Maybe chill out, shop, check out any places I didn't really get a chance to before?

Day 8 - Thursday, May 24th - OSAKA

• Centurion Hotel Residential Akasaka - CHECK-OUT (before 11:00 am)

• Fly to Osaka - arrival to Kansai at 12:05 pm

• Leave luggage with Fuku Hostel

• Maybe check out and pig out around Dotonbori

• Himeji Castle?

Day 9 - Friday, May 25th

• Considering buying a Hankyu tour pass for 2 days to travel between Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe; possibly following this suggested itinerary: https://www.kansai360.net/en/route/hankyu2day.php. A little confused on where I purchase/pick-up the pass so will look into this further but if you know, please let me know! Not sure about what the costs will be for this two-day trip, but I'm expecting it'll be quite high...

Day 10 - Saturday, May 26th - Day 2 of Hankyu Itinerary

Day 11 - Sunday, May 27th

• Cup Noodle Museum! Hopefully I can get in

• Heard there's a really nice aquarium so might check that out

• Fushimi Inari Taisha?

• Itsukushima Shrine?

• Food: Ichiba Zushi

Day 12 - Monday, May 28th

• Fuku Hostel - CHECK-OUT

• Fly out to Hong Kong - Depart @ 8:50 am KIX

Thank you for reading!

EDIT: Additional notes: I won't be purchasing a JR pass - maybe a Suica card? Also would love to visit an Onsen but not sure how to go about doing that in my itinerary so suggestions would be appreciated!