Planning Your Trip 101: 4-Day Japan Itinerary (Tokyo, Kyoto, Universal Studios Japan)

According to this article, a plan is a travel must-have that we can live without. It's true, though, we don't really need a plan if we're going somewhere. We can buy plane tickets, arrive there, do whatever we want, and go wherever our heart leads to. But not for me, and not for you too if you don't have such adventurous soul. I'm a kid who gets a call from my parents if I'm not home by 9PM, and have to let them know where I'm going for the day afterall.

So, because this is my first time going on vacation without joining any group tour, I did a lot of research about Japan. Not that Japan is not familiar, though, I love Japan since elementary school thanks to Japanese manga--but researching about Japan, about its destinations, how to get there, how to get the visa and all the mumbo jumbo--is completely new for me.

Researching about this country is time-consuming and somewhat frustrating (because I want to go to 12634213 places but only have 4 days to spend), but it was surprisingly fun!

Now I'm gonna share how I plan my 4-day trip to Japan with limited budget of 10 million IDR, as a guide for you who, maybe, someday, want to go to Japan (who doesn't want???). This plan slash guide might not be the cheapest, but hey, you gotta try Japan's delicacy, have fun in USJ, and walk around in fancy kimono! Japan is not cheap, so if you want to max out your experience, you just gotta say bye-bye to your savings.

What's covered in this guide:

- The itinerary itself 

- Pre-trip planning

- Budgeting
- Packing tips (7kg cabin bag)
- Useful mobile apps that you'll need in Japan

Brace yourself, this one would be a long-ass post.

-- ITINERARY --

Itinerary for 2D Tokyo, 1D Kyoto, 1D Osaka (USJ)

I assume that you will go to these 3 cities, visiting main tourist attraction only because with this limited time, you can't just leisurely explore every nook and cranny. You gotta hurry from one place to another, and I also have to warn you that you're gonna walk a lot.

Day 1: Tokyo

Asakusa, Akihabara, Tokyo Tower, Shinjuku

Day 2: Tokyo
Tsukiji fish Market, Harajuku, Shibuya

Day 3: Kyoto

Fushimi-Inari Taisha, Nijo Castle, Kiyomizu-dera, Gion

Day 4: Osaka

Universal Studio Japan

If you have more days, you can move one or two area to another day, and add more area that aren't included in this guide to explore. This is my suggestion:
- Tokyo (by area): Ueno, Ginza, Odaiba;
- Kyoto: Arashiyama Bamboo Groove, Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji, Sagano Romantic Train;
- Osaka: Osaka Castle, Dotonbori Street, Umeda Sky Building

And, if you want to go to more city, check out Nara, Yokohama, Hakone, and Lake Kawaguchi.

-- PRE-TRIP PREPARATION --

This is what you should do before going to Japan, and is mandatory:

1. Buy plane tickets

Cheap planes are cheap so you get what you get. I flew with AirAsia for IDR 3,8 million. It wasn't unpleasant, but flying with low-cost carrier means we get limited service: we can't choose our seat, we don't get in-flight meal and entertainment, and it's non-refundable though rescheduling is still available. Seven hour is a pretty long flight so you want to get as comfortable as possible. I suggest you to choose non low-cost carrier. Aim for the economy seat and you'll sleep better. Check out Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, or ANA. You can get return tickets for 4,500,000 IDR (more or less) if you're lucky.

Pro tip: purchase tickets at the airlines app/website, don't use third party to minimize trouble (like, unable to check-in online), and follow tons of travel agents so you'd know when the airline is gonna throw good deals. Also, keep your friend's passport number. Some airlines requires passport number when purchasing.

2. Get a visa

It's easy; either you collect it yourself (going to the embassy etc.) but hand it to travel agent but for  extra cash. I absolutely chose the latter because I'm a busy person and the embassy is 3 hours away from my city. I used @visajalanjalan's service. My visa is done in less than a week without any fuss~ You can also use the local, registered travel agents to handle your vise like Panorama, Dwidaya, or HIS Travel, but only if you are holang kaya because they will not accept your documents if your account balance is less than IDR 25 million. Ha! Way to go, Sir.

Haven't got a passport yet? Read my post about getting a passport in Bandung.

3. Book a place to stay

With itinerary like I mentioned above, you'll only need a one-night stay in Tokyo and one-night stay in Kyoto. You'll sleep on the plane and bus for the rest of the night. You also don't have to think hard when it comes to choosing the area: just stay close to the train station. Tokyo is a bigass city but their transportation systems are A++. As long as there are trains, you'll get to most of the place around the city in a blink of eye. In Tokyo, I stayed in Asakusa and that's perfect enough. It's close to the train station, to the main attraction, and safe at night. Other alternative is staying in Ueno or Shinjuku area.

For your information, there are 3 kinds of accomodations in Japan: hotel (regular twin/superior room with private bathroom), capsule hotel/dormitory (a bunk bed in a room/dormitory with other backpackers), and ryokan (Japanese-style hotel, either with twin room style or dorm style). Since I haven't tried capsule hotel, my friend and I decided to stay at Enaka Asakusa Central Hostel (for only 2,000 yen!). Same for Kyoto, we stayed at The Prime Pod Kyoto for 2,950 yen (capsule hotel too, this time with breakfast). In both hotels, women and men sleep in different floor so my friend and I didn't have to worry about putting off our hijab. The only downside is that we need to be quiet all the time. If you don't like sharing with others and want to be more relaxed, just book a room at a regular ho(s)tel. (The 's' in hostel stands for savings, right?)

Pro tip: always check your booking app (I use Booking.com and Agoda) even after you got a place to stay already. Sometimes the price goes down, sometimes the place you want before is suddenly available, etc. So, re-book if you have to, but don't forget to cancel the others.

4. Secure a seat for night bus (from Tokyo to Kyoto)

Why bus? Because that is the cheapest way to get from Tokyo to Kyoto. You can transfer by shinkansen or the bullet train, but it's super pricey (13,000 yen, one way). With bus, you can get to Kyoto for as cheap as 2,000 yen, and you don't have to book a hotel because it's a 7-hour night ride.

Don't go to Kyoto on weekends. The fare will double. And you don't have to book a VIP bus with special seat (check Willer Express) because regular bus (like, Nightliner from Kosoku Bus) is more than comfortable already, I swear. It's clean, the staff are nice, charging port is available, and they have same-sex seat policy. Book the seat at least 3-4 weeks before you board because cheap bus are in high demand. The departure point is in Shinjuku Station/Tokyo Station (in the parking lot), and the arrival point is usually in Kyoto Station. I personally suggest you to depart from Tokyo Station because you can store your luggage there at the locker after you check out from the hotel, and get it back just before you board the bus.

5. Determine the transportation mode

Even though the answer is obvious (train, of course), you have to plan it thoroughly to the tiny bit of details such as which exit you should go, which line should you take, and which platform you should stand. It might sound confusing but after you get a hang on it, you'll be just fine. Let's start with the three train companies that operates in Tokyo: JR East (the train you see above the ground, and shinkansen), Tokyo Metro (subway train), and Toei (also subway).

Japan loves their tourists. Tourists can get special pass for good price. The most popular pass might be the JR Pass and you can get unlimited ride using JR trains for IDR 3,6 million for 7 days (buy here). Do we need a JR Pass? No. JR Pass will only worth it if you travel to multiple cities in Japan. So, the best way is to purchase a 48-hour Tokyo Subway Ticket. Most of the main attractions in Tokyo are accesible by subway anyway. You can buy beforehand at Klook, or buy it at tourist information center at Narita/Haneda Airport.

Why is determining transportation is important? So you can arrange your itinerary easily according to the stations (and to know how much you should spend. But with Tokyo Subway Pass, you don't have to worry about fare). Use Tokyo Metro Subway app (for Android | iOS), Japan Official Travel App (for Android | iOS), and Google Map to "map your journey". Take notes of which station where you should depart and take off, and if you can find it, jot down the exit number that is closest to your destination. Watch out the platform, and make sure you stand on the correct one. The informations like the exit number list are also written in English at each station so you don't have to worry about it.

Additional notes: It's not a written rule, but you cannot eat/drink/talking on phone in the train. Japanese people are quiet (and look serious) too... It's like riding the train to Busan where we don't know when the zombie will attack, lol.

6. Exchanging money

Easy, bring the money to a money changer place (cash, okay), and speak to the teller. If you reside in Bandung, go to Golden Money Changer at Jl. Dago because they provide best rates while the others are... nah. You might also want to bring 50 USD or 100 USD for "emergency money" to exchange in Japan (yes gurl don't bring IDR, bring USD bank notes).

7. Rent a Pocket WiFi
You will need internet in Japan, so I suggest you to rent a pocket WiFi. Check out Javamifi, Wi2fly, Klook, Anyfi, and NinjaWifi. I used Javamifi; overall connection in Japan is good and the battery lasted for 13-15 hours. You can use the device as powerbank too. But the return method sucks; nobody showed up at the airport so I had to deliver them to their main office using postal service *sigh* Anyway, make sure you check the pick up and return point. If you arrived in Narita but return from Kansai, then you should choose one that provides different airport pickup/return service.

If you don't need a pocket WiFi, you can buy yourself a 7-day 4G simcard in Narita airpot This works better if you have a plan to walk alone without your friend, so both of you will still have internet connections.

8. Universal Studios Japan ticket
Buy it beforehand so you don't have to queue for tickets there. Check out Traveloka for discounts, but they only provide fixed-date ticket. For more flexible date (just in case the weather isn't nice) buy an open-date ticket in Klook. Eitherwise, you don't have to exchange the voucher into physical tickets, you just have to print them and scan it at the entrance gate.

8. Buy Travel Insurance (not mandatory)
You don't really have to buy this, but who knows, man. Just for precaution. It'll cover your hospital bill should anything happens, and also compensate you if there's a delay in your flight. So I'll put it in the budget. Where to buy: AXA Travel Insurance, or buy it at any travel agent.

Wow, that's a lot to do, right? Hang in there, Dokodemo Door is not yet invented.

-- BUDGETING --

Now let's talk about money. When I said the budget for this trip is 10,000,000 IDR, the plane tickets, visa, and small things like a bottle of water you need to buy are included. I'm using my own experience for this sample guide, so it might differ with the real execution when you're going there someday. Please use my sample guide as... sample only. You can make it cheaper or more expensive~

Before I explain further, I suggest you to install Money Lover (or any balance tracker app), and Splitwise.

First of all, I divided expenses into two for easier calculation; Pre-trip Expenses (any transaction made before I go) and Land Expenses (any transaction using cash, while in Japan). See the table below:

IDR 6,000,000 on pre-trip expense, and IDR 4,000,000 on land expense (rate: 1 IDR = 128 JPY) makes it IDR 10,000,000 in total.

That's pretty much all-in, minus souvenirs because that depends... If you like shopping then add around 10,000 yen. One shirt costs around 2,500 yen, fan for 1,000 yen, keychains and magnets cost around 300-500 yen. You can buy souvenirs at Daiso for 100 yen each (I swear, buy them at Daiso Harajuku) and there are sooo many cute merchandise that you can buy in USJ, khekhe.

After you arrive in Japan, Money Lover would be your best friend. Input the budget of each category (food, transportation, attractions, hotel, other, souvenirs), and track your remaining balance by inputting your expense every time you make transaction. That is really useful especially when you want to match the remaining balance on app with what you have in your wallet~

And, if you're traveling with partner(s), use Splitwise whenever you owe them/being owed. Splitwise would count it for you. In the last day of traveling, you'll know how much money you owe/are owed without having to look at the receipt again. This is the best invention, I swear.