Also, how is Uber/Lyft in Tokyo and Kyoto? Pretty prevalent?

They all filter through their taxi system. Wherever you're at, they'll hail a cab for you.

Very easy to get around.

Check out japan-guide.com as well.

There is so much to do in Japan its awesome.

One of the best things we did, is our first day we had a personalized guided tour where they show up at your hotel and then take you to all the places. It's usually someone who speaks english well, in our case a retired teacher who just wanted to keep busy and practice his english. He took us to wherever we wanted or that they suggested and gave several tips for navigating our visit as a foreigner.

Something more impactful he showed us was how to use their subway system and get tickets, that alone was worth the cost of the tour lol.

Bring comfortable walking shoes!

That's a great idea for the first day, assuming we can wake up at a reasonable hour after the time change. Do you have the name of your guy?

Trip is shaping up to look like this so far:

Days 1-4: Tokyo (hotel in Shibuya or Ginza)
Days 5-8: Kyoto with a day trip to Nara
Day 9: scuba diving
Days 10-13: Tokyo again

I'm in Kyoto now. It's super easy.

E said:

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One of the best things we did, is our first day we had a personalized guided tour where they show up at your hotel and then take you to all the places. It's usually someone who speaks english well, in our case a retired teacher who just wanted to keep busy and practice his english. He took us to wherever we wanted or that they suggested and gave several tips for navigating our visit as a foreigner.

Something more impactful he showed us was how to use their subway system and get tickets, that alone was worth the cost of the tour lol.

Bring comfortable walking shoes!

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Coming back to this…who did you use for a tour guide? Where did y'all go? I think that's the best thing for us to do on day one. And maybe use one in Kyoto, as well. My trip is now officially booked (staying in Hyatts on points and suite upgrades)

Days 1-5: Tokyo (staying in Ginza)
Days 6-10: Kyoto (day trip to Sakai/Osaka to buy knives), staying at Hyatt Place
Day 11: scuba diving on the way back to Tokyo
Days 12-16: Tokyo (Shinjuku)

We'll use the luggage forwarding service and will likely pack in some empty large duffles so we can use suitcases to bring back all the stuff we'll buy and stuff the clothes in the duffles. I'm buying knife sharpening stones so packing those will take room. I'm sure my wife and son will shop some too.

What are some other cool things to do? We have guide books so I'm more interested in "cant miss" sites and stuff that's not well known and a bit different.

Restaurant recs are welcomed too.