Hello everyone! I'm soon starting a trip through a travel agency with a very famous professor in my country, who dedicated most of his life studying the relations between our country and Japan. As such, he organized a tour of 13 days that focus on several places connected to the portuguese presence and also places mentioned on his romance that he started to write (I already read it). So I'm sharing with you our itinerary so I can have some of your feedback, but I also need some advice for the free time I will have. Mind you this is my first time in the country, and I dreamed many years of doing this. I do like to do some off the beaten path stuff (although I'm not so much into the hipster areas and I cannot afford to buy anything...). All the meals are included, except for the free day. So here it goes!
*2nd day (1st is air travel etc): arrival at Nagasaki and evening walking tour around the hotel. *3rd day: panoramic to mount Inasa and walking tour to Nishizaka; Martyrs Museum and Atomic Bomb Museum *4th day: Yokoseura and Omura *5th day: Shimabara Peninsula and stop at a viewpoint, Hara Castle, Kuchinotsu Port, Mount Unzen and Shimabara Castle *6th day: flight to Osaka, Osaka Castle and Namban Museum, drive to Kyoto and visit to Tatatsuki (Shiorato Museum and catholic church) *7th day: Kinkakuji, Nanzenji, Nijo Castle, Kyoto Museum and Fushimi Inari *8th day: Azuchi (Nobunaga's Castle and Biwa lake) *9th day: shinkansen to Tokyo, panoramic tour and visit of the National Museum *10th day: Hakone and Odawara Castle *11th day: Kamakura and Kotoku temple, free half day in Tokyo *12th day: free day in Tokyo, optional tour to Nikko *13th day: we go back home.
So, my questions for my day and a half in Tokyo:
*if I use a sim card, can I still use the hotel's wifi etc? I ordered B-Mobile's visitor SIM, and I read somewhere that they block VOIP. Either way, I only intend to use VOIP with the hotel's wifi... *I want to do shopping for friends and family (Donki, Tokyu Hands, Shibuya 109, Matsumoto Kiyoshi) but also want to see non touristy spots, like good shrines, and areas that look more traditional *Thinking of using the HD for shopping, and the FD for exploring/enjoying (starting with the shrines then areas) *I'd like to cover Shibuya for shopping, Harajuku (is it too touristy? Too girly? I like cute things but I'm almost 30 now), Meiji shrine or Asakusa (too touristy?) *Hair care products? I already searched online. I want a spray to detangle my hair after I wash it, some japanese brand that makes it silky. This is a question for ladies. *Shampoo? I have oily scalp with dry tips, Shiseido is quite expensive for my wallet while Matsukiyo's brand doesn't seem to have any for my specific kind of hair. I'm thinking of getting the Tsubaki line as it seems more affordable. *Do you know if I can get pastel colored pencils? I love adult coloring, but the box sets I find around here are just bland standard colors and I like pastel like colors. Not a pastel kind of painting! I mean pastel colors. *homemade senbei/not industrial? Good shop in Kamakura but I don't know if I'll be able to go there because I'm on a group tour... *Is there anything that you recommend for me to get outside of Tokyo (because it's cheaper)? I might be able to fit in some free time in the Kyoto train station...
*Almost forgot. The child in me is feeling some nostalgia and would like to get some Sailor Moon, Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts stuff. Just tiny mementos, like keychains. Sailor Moon I did some research, but it seems the big boom in goods was 3 years ago with the aniversary... I'm having the same problem with Gudetama stuff.
That would be it. Thank you everyone!