Dea Mariano
Planning to visit Japan anytime soon? Or you’ve already booked your flight to Tokyo and wondering how you should maximize your time in this amazing city and the surrounding places? This Japan DIY itinerary is to show you in complete detail how we spent our 5 days and 5 nights on the land of the rising sun.
In summary, this itinerary is a complete mix of urban, natural, and cultural experiences. And since we intentionally visited during the winter season, snow experiences are included as well. I’d like to note also that this itinerary is very personal. Our major goals were the snow experience, Mt. Fuji sightseeing, and Tokyo exploration.
The complete breakdown of expenses is also shared at the later part of this post (but to give you a sneak peek, we only spent around 36k in total per person). I have also included links where we purchased our tickets and passes.
Japan DIY Itinerary
Notes:
Time stamps are extracted from our photos (with ±2 minutes tolerance)
Japan Standard Time (JST) is one hour ahead of Philippine Time.
DAY 0 – Travel to Japan
(+ Airport Lounge experience)
| 08:00 AM | Arrival at Manila Airport T3; Check-in Baggage; Immigration |
| 09:00 AM | Check-in at PAGSS Lounge, then A Lounge |
| 01:00 PM | Check-out from A Lounge; Proceed to boarding gate |
| 01:45 PM (PHT) | Departure Manila to Narita |
| 06:45 PM (JST) | Arrival at Narita Airport T2; Immigration; Baggage; Claim transport tickets; Rent pocket WiFi |
| 09:00 PM | Departure Narita Airport T2 via Limousine Bus |
| 10:10 PM | Arrival at TCAT (Tokyo City Air Terminal) |
| 10:40 PM | Late dinner at Hidakaya Ningyocho Restaurant |
| 11:40 PM | Check-in at Hotel Horidome Villa |
We arrived at the Manila Airport T3 as early as 8 AM as my brother and sis-in-law had to go somewhere after dropping us off at the airport (and of course, we’re very excited!)
We’re almost 6 hours early for our flight and we happily spent that time at the airport lounge. I mean, we could willingly stay at the departure waiting area, but my credit card has perks including unlimited access to airport lounge.
Plus, we didn’t have to spend money on food! In fact, we had our breakfast and lunch at the lounge. We all know that everything inside the airport is expensive so it was a great chance to cut expenses on food.
I am free to stay (+1 companion) in PAGSS lounge, but it was fully booked that time so Jec and I were transferred to A Lounge which is good as well. We’re both not very used to luxury but we enjoyed the comfort and quiet before heading to our trip!
Also, another travel-related perks from my credit card is the free travel insurance for me and one family member (so Jec was also covered).
Upon arriving at the Narita Airport and passing the immigration (and getting our baggage), we proceeded to claim our transport tickets that we booked ahead of time at a cheaper price via Klook. The tickets were easy to redeem and the staff was very helpful and knowledgeable in giving instructions. We booked the Limousine Airport Bus + Tokyo Subway Tickets Bundle HERE.
The Limousine Airport Bus ticket is roundtrip (Narita to Tokyo and vice versa) and the Tokyo Subway Ticket is for 3-day unlimited access to Tokyo subway which we started using on the 3rd day until 5th day of our trip. You can also choose 1 day, 2 days, or 3 days from the options.
As for the pocket WiFi rental, we did not book for it in advance to avoid mishaps in case of delayed flight. Because the WiFi rentals we saw in Klook are until 9pm only. Our flight itinerary says 8pm arrival but we did not want to risk. Imagine if the flight got delayed, we will need to wait at the airport until the booth opens the next day. Unless we will travel to Tokyo and come back again to Narita (which will cost much and will ruin our itinerary). That’s what we wanted to avoid. But if you have a more favorable flight schedule, you can book your Pocket WiFi rental HERE.
We arrived at Tokyo past 10 PM. The bus dropped us off at TCAT and from there, we started walking to our hotel. Along the way, we looked for a restaurant so we could have dinner first. We found Hidakaya Ningyocho Restaurant interesting and not to mention it’s just a few-minute walk from our hotel.
After having our first dinner in Japan, we checked-in at Hotel Horidome Villa which we booked in Agoda ahead of time. Check-in process was smooth and fast (of course, it’s already late in the evening). We stayed in 2 of their double rooms which can accommodate 2 persons each.
We did not want to stay in capsule/dorm beds, and we don’t need a fancy hotel either. So I think this hotel is the best for us. It is basic, but we have our own bathrooms to save time in prepping up. And unlike staying in capsule beds, we have our own floors where we could freely open our luggage. We booked our stay at Hotel Horidome Villa HERE.
The first 2 days of our Japan DIY Itinerary was allotted for snow experiences. But if you’re going to visit during other seasons, you can replace these places with other seasonal spots.
DAY 1 – Nikko Day Trip
| 07:45 AM (JST) | Walk from Hotel to Tokyo Station |
| 08:15 AM | Arrive at JR Tokyo Station; Exchange currency; Claim JR Tokyo Wide Pass; Reserve Bullet Train seats |
| 08:56 AM | Departure Tokyo Station via JR-East (shinkansen) |
| 09:45 AM | Arrival at Utsunomiya Station; Transfer to local JR-East Line by foot; Wait for next train |
| 10:30 AM | Departure Utsunomiya Station via JR-East (local line) |
| 11:10 AM | Arrival at Nikko Station; Purchase tickets for unlimited bus ride; Wait for the bus |
| 11:55 AM | Departure Nikko Station via bus |
| 12:05 PM | Arrival at SHINKYO BRIDGE |
| 01:10 PM | Lunch at Mikui Dokoro Akui Restaurant |
| 02:30 PM | Departure Nikko Station via bus |
| 03:00 PM | Arrival at Chuzenji Bus Station; Play in the snow along the way to Kegon Falls |
| 03:30 PM | KEGON FALLS |
| 04:15 PM | DAIYA RIVER |
| 04:25 PM | CHUZENJI LAKE |
| 05:00 PM | Departure Chuzenji Bus Station |
| 06:00 PM | Arrival at Nikko Station |
| 06:30 PM | Departure Nikko Station via JR-East (local line) |
| 07:00 PM | Arrival at Utsunomiya Station; Transfer from local JR Line to JR-East Shinkansen; Wait for next train |
| 07:22 PM | Departure Utsunomiya Station via JR-East (shinkansen) |
| 08:20 PM | Arrival at Tokyo Station |
| 09:00 PM | Dinner at Hidakaya Ningyocho Restaurant |
| 10:00 PM | Hotel Horidome Villa |
Since we’re set to use our Tokyo Subway Tickets on day 3 onwards, we still can’t use it to go to Tokyo Station. So from our hotel, we walked for about 20 minutes + a lot of chitchats and photo ops along the way to the JR Tokyo Station.
At the JR Tokyo Station, we needed to split the tasks to save some time. Jec and I went to claim our JR Tokyo Wide Passes while Gel and Sel went to the currency exchange to get some cash. Then after that, we reserved our seats for Shinkansen ride. Seat reservation is free of charge as long as you have your JR Pass of course.
You can purchase your JR Tokyo Wide Pass HERE.
The earliest departure schedule for Tokyo to Utsunomiya Station was 08:56 AM and it was already 8:45 AM when we were reserving seats. We decided to push through and rush our way to the train platform and thankfully we arrived on time despite going on circles looking for our train car. The feeling was like we won in a game!
At the Utsunomiya Station, we transferred to the local JR Line by foot (it’s just a couple of minutes walk). We did not need another ticket since it is covered by our JR Pass, and no need to reserve seats.
Read full story about our day trip to Nikko here.
DAY 2 – Karuizawa Prince Snow Resort
| 09:32 AM (JST) | Departure Tokyo Station via JR-East (shinkansen) |
| 10:32 AM | Arrival at Karuizawa Station; wait for the bus |
| 11:00 AM | Departure Karuizawa Station via free shuttle bus |
| 11:15 AM | Arrival at PRINCE SNOW RESORT; inquire and observe |
| 11:40 AM | Lunch at Clove Cafe |
| 02:00 PM | Snow Park (sled, tubing, play in the snow) |
| 05:00 PM | Departure Prince Snow Resort via free shuttle |
| 05:10 PM | Arrive at Karuizawa Station |
| 05:50 PM | Departure Karuizawa Station via JR-East (shinkansen) |
| 06:50 PM | Arrival at Tokyo Station |
| 07:30 PM | Dinner at Tokyo Station |
| 09:00 PM | Hotel Horidome Villa |
For our Day 2, we were supposed to visit Gala Yuzawa but had to cancel after the announcement of strong winds. We opted to have a detour to a place having gently sloping hills which is Karuizawa. It is just an hour’s journey from Tokyo via Shinkansen.
At the Karuizawa Station, free shuttle is available to take passengers to the Prince Snow Resort admission. Then from there you can avail any activities they offer such as skiing, lift sightseeing, sledding, and more.
Read full story about our day trip to Karuizawa Prince Snow Resort here.
DAY 3 – Mt. Fuji Sightseeing Ft. Oishi Park
| 07:20 AM (JST) | Departure Kodemmacho Station via subway; Got lost in Tokyo 😅 |
| 07:55 AM | Arrival Tokyo Station |
| 08:30 AM | Departure Tokyo Station via JR-East Line |
| 09:35 AM | Arrival Otsuki Station |
| 09:55 AM | Departure Otsuki Station via Fujikyuko Line |
| 10:55 AM | Arrival Kawaguchiko Station |
| 11:15 AM | Departue Kawaguchiko Station via bus |
| 11:50 AM | Arrival OISHI PARK |
| 12:40 PM | Lunch at Sansuien Restaurant |
| 03:00 PM | Oishi Park Cafe soft serve ice cream |
| 04:25 PM | Departure Oishi Park via bus |
| 05:00 PM | Arrival at Kawaguchiko Station |
| 05:05 PM | Departure Kawaguchiko Station via JR-East Limited Express Line |
| 06:55 PM | Arrival at Tokyo Station |
| 07:00 PM | Departure Tokyo Station via subway |
| 07:20 PM | Arrive at Akihabara Station; Night stroll around AKIHABARA |
| 08:45 PM | Departure Akihabara Station via subway |
| 08:50 PM | Arrive Kodemmacho Station |
| 09:05 PM | Hotel Horidome Villa |
Day 3, and it’s time to use our Tokyo Subway ticket! Kodemmacho Station is the nearest station from our hotel so from there, we took the subway to reach Tokyo Station. Travel time should only be about 10 minutes but due to being inexperienced, it took us about 30 minutes. We boarded the wrong train lines and got lost countless times before arriving at Tokyo Station. Thankfully, our subway tickets are unlimited and we could ride the subway as many times as we needed!
The JR-East Limited Express train that goes directly to Kawaguchiko Station was sold out. So we had to take the JR train going to Otsuki Station, then ride a local train bound for Kawaguchiko Station.
This Mt. Fuji Sightseeing tour is purely DIY. The route is Tokyo Station – Otsuki Station – Kawaguchiko Station – Oishi Park. Then going back to Tokyo, we took this route: Oishi Park – Kawaguchiko Station – Tokyo Station.
After the Mt. Fuji sightseeing tour, we took a night stroll around Akihabara before going back to our hotel.
Note: For the whole trip, we used the subway at least 5 times, and the JR Tokyo Wide Pass twice.
Read full story about our DIY trip to Mt. Fuji here.
DAY 4 – Tokyo City Tour Part 1
| 08:45 AM | Departure Ningyocho Station via subway |
| 09:00 AM | Arrival Asakusa Station; Walk to Hanaka Kimono Rental |
| 09:10 AM | Arrival at Hanaka Kimono Rental; Choose Kimono; Kimono dressing |
| 10:00 AM | Start ASAKUSA tour |
| 10:10 AM | Arrive at Kaminarimon Gate |
| 10:20 AM | Walk through Nakamise Street |
| 10:45 AM | Hozomon Gate; Photo ops |
| 12:00 PM | Hanaka Kimono Rental; Return kimono |
| 12:35 PM | Departure Asakusa Station via subway |
| 01:20 PM | Arrival Shibuya Station |
| 01:25 PM | SHIBUYA SKY |
| 03:20 PM | SHIBUYA CROSSING |
| 03:35 PM | One Piece Straw Hat Store |
| 04:00 PM | HACHIKO MEMORIAL STATUE |
| 04:40 PM | Dinner at ICHIRAN RAMEN |
| 06:00 PM | Departure Shibuya via subway |
| 06:20 PM | Arrive Tokyo Station |
| 06:30 PM | Hotel Horidome Villa |
To complete our Japan DIY Itinerary, we have to explore its amazing capital city which is Tokyo!
We allotted the first half of the day for kimono-wearing experience and exploring Asakusa. Read more about our kimono experience here.
Then the next half of the day was for exploring Shibuya. This city tour is also pure DIY. You can read more about our Tokyo City Tour here.
Note: We used the subway at least 3 times for this trip.
DAY 5 – Tokyo City Tour Part 2
| 10:00 AM | Departure Kodemmacho Station via subway; Kayabacho Station via subway |
| 10:20 AM | Arrive Otemachi Station; IMPERIAL PALACE GARDEN |
| 12:00 PM | NIJUBASHI BRIDGE |
| 12:20 PM | Departure Kasumigaseki Station via subway |
| 12:40 PM | Arrive Kamiyachoten Station; Lunch at Tonkatsu Maruya Kamiyachoten |
| 02:10 PM | TOKYO TOWER |
| 03:20 PM | Departure Kamiyacho Station via subway |
| 03:50 PM | Arrive Akihabara Station |
| 04:00 PM | Don Quijote Akihabara (last minute souvenir shopping) |
| 04:35 PM | Departure Akihabara Station via subway |
| 04:40 PM | Arrive Kodemmacho Station |
| 04:50 PM | Pickup luggage at hotel front desk; Departure Hotel Horidome Villa via Taxi |
| 05:00 PM | Arrive at TCAT |
| 05:20 PM | Departure TCAT via Limousine Airport Bus |
| 06:30 PM | Arrive at Narita Airport T2 |
| 08:00 PM | Departure Narita |
| 01:47 AM (PHT) | Arrival at Manila |
Before we go to our first destination, we did an early check-out from our hotel and we left our luggage at the front desk. So that we don’t have to hurry back to the hotel at 12 NN just to check-out.
We spent the first half of the day exploring the Imperial Palace Gardens and Nijubashi Bridge. After that, we headed to Tokyo Tower, and then we went back to Akihabara for last minute souvenir shopping at Don Quijote.
We picked up our luggage at the hotel front desk and hired a taxi right away to save time. We needed to catch the next bus schedule at TCAT which was 5:20 PM, or else, we will be too hurried for our 8 PM flight. Take note that the Airport Bus always leaves exactly on time and won’t wait.
Note: We used the subway at least 5 times for this trip.
Read full story about our DIY Tokyo tour here.
Japan DIY Itinerary ends here.
Breakdown of Expenses
Note:
Everything is in Philippine Peso, just as how they appeared on our card transactions.
Cash transactions are also converted into Peso to simplify the computation.
| Transportation | Cost (4pax) | Cost (2pax) | Cost (1pax) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roundtrip Airfare Cebu Pacific | 6,357.05 | ||
| Roundtrip Baggage Allowance | 2,310 | 1,155 | |
| Travel Tax | 1,620 | ||
| JR Tokyo Wide Pass | 6,060.96 | ||
| Roundtrip Limousine Airport Bus + Tokyo Subway Ticket 3 Days | 2,776.65 | ||
| Nikko Unlimited Bus Ticket | 871.27 | ||
| Fujikyuko Train Fare (Otsuki to Kawaguchiko) | 437 | ||
| Bus to Oishi Park | 212 | ||
| Bus to Kawaguchiko Station | 212 | ||
| Taxi from Hotel to TCAT | 317.96 | 79.49 | |
| TOTAL | 19,781.42 |
| Hotel/Activities/Rental | Cost (4pax) | Cost (2pax) | Cost (1pax) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Horidome Villa 5 Nights | 13,003.04 | 6,501.52 | |
| Hanaka Kimono Rental | 1,229.95 | ||
| Shibuya Sky Ticket | 819.65 | ||
| Karuizawa Snow Park | 873 | ||
| Pocket WiFi Rental | 2,000.76 | 1000.38 | |
| TOTAL | 10,424.5 |
| Food / Pasalubong | Cost (4pax) | Cost (2pax) | Cost (1pax) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dinner Hidakaya Ningyocho | 406.66 | 203.33 | |
| Lunch Mikui Dokoro Akui | 1,053.24 | 526.62 | |
| Dinner Hidakaya Ningyocho | 691.56 | 345.78 | |
| Breakfast Family Mart | 441.68 | 220.84 | |
| Lunch Clove Cafe | 997.22 | 498.61 | |
| Pocari Sweat | 73.82 | 36.91 | |
| Dinner Tokyo Station | 1,052.92 | 526.46 | |
| Breakfast Family Mart | 438 | 219 | |
| Lunch Sansuien Restaurant | 405 | 405 | |
| Oishi Park Cafe ice cream | 185 | 92.5 | |
| Dinner Family Mart | 304 | 152 | |
| Lunch Family Mart | 362.38 | 181.19 | |
| Dinner Ichiran Ramen | 892.07 | 446.035 | |
| Lunch Tonkatsu Maruya Kamiyachoten | 707.55 | 353.775 | |
| Takoyaki | 248.8 | 62.2 | |
| Water | 263.28 | 131.64 | |
| Pasalubong Souvenirs | 3,443.24 | 1,721.62 | |
| TOTAL | 6,123.51 |
OVERALL TOTAL = 36,329.43 per person
Here are links where we purchased some of our tickets/passes and other recommendations.
- JR Tokyo Wide Pass (Klook)
JR Tokyo Wide Pass (JR-East) – if in case it’s not available on Klook
JR Pass for the whole of Japan – If you intend to visit multiple areas of Japan for at least 7 days - Roundtrip Limousine Airport Bus + Tokyo Subway Ticket for 1/2/3 Days
- Hotel Horidome Villa
- Hanaka Kimono Rental
- Shibuya Sky Ticket
- Pocket WiFi Rental
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Hindi po kayo nag explore sa Osaka, Kyoto and Nara? We are planning to go to japan as a 18th bday gift of my daughter. DIY rin sana kami para tipid.
Kaming 2 n mag ina. gusto nya rin winter. Gusto ko sana sulitin n ung mga itinerary sana para di sayang ang pera. thanks in advance
Hi, hindi na po kami nag Osaka, Kyoto and Nara since 5 days lang po kami and Tokyo ang entry/exit. Pwede po kung 7+ days, then entry is Tokyo and exit Osaka, or vice versa.