>>215742036
thank you! it's been something that i've wanted to do for a long time, was just never the top priority so finally glad to be doing it. exchange rates are historically pretty good so now seems like as good a time as any. a little concerned since overtourism seems to be a problem but i think i'll be a good visitor and not cause too many issues.
>>215742041
>>215742060
days 1-3: tokyo, will focus on the northern section to just get settled since it's further away from the action and has some stores i'm interested in. will probably do ueno/asakusa/maybe ginza. day trip to kamakura and/or yokohama depending on how the timing works out.
days 4-7: japanese alps, there's a unesco world heritage site called shirakawa that is very picturesque that i'll spend some time at, also takayama which has a large part of the town left over from shogunate-era japan and a museum for showa-era history. since it'll be deep into autumn i'm hoping for lots of pretty autumn leaves.
days 8-11: kyoto, all shrines all day all the time. kyoto's a pain to plan for because everything is so spread out across the city but i'm hoping to at least hit the common tourist spots. if i skip anything it'll probably be the bamboo forest since that seems way tinier irl than what you see in pictures. day trip to nara.
day 12: hakone, primarily for the hot sprints, wanted to have at least one traditional style inn on the trip
days 13-15: back in tokyo, focus on the southern side with shinjuku/shibuya/etc. yoyogi park, meiji jingu, maybe harajuku. i'm not too big into the pop culture parts so i want to focus on more of the low-level, "day in the life" type of things. the only pop culture spots i have on the itinerary to just stop by and go "oh hey i recognize that" are parts of the video game The World Ends With You.