Hey all,
Just completed my trip in Japan, with time to kill before getting on board home, thought I'd share my experience if it helps anyone.
My pre-planned itinerary is listed here https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/765743 which we didn't end up following exactly. What I would change include cutting down total days in the Kansai regions and making some amendments for efficiency. Happy to help if anyone wants it.
I've sorted the areas and attractions to 3 ranks: Highly Recommend, Recommend, Skippable.
Hotels: Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. Room is a bit small (I knew this going in) but otherwise top notch location, decent rooms, has a coin laundry area, 10 min walk from the station, airport limousine bus from and to Narita Airport is a few mins away. Easy to walk out at night and enjoy the Shinjuku night life. Downsides is that the lifts can get packed due to the sheer number of tourists and that it's also a Godzilla statue attraction (which is awesome btw).
Hotel Granvia Osaka. Nice large room and it's right next to the station. Our home base in the Kansai region. However might be better to get a hotel at Dotonbori just so that you can go outside and hit the nightlife whenever you want.
Shinjuku, Harukuju, Shibuya - Highly Recommend. If in Tokyo just stay at either Shinjuku or Shibuya. Japan surprisingly closes early (still later than Australia) so imo to maximise your time as a tourist, you may want to spend time in these areas at night. Anyhow, Shinjuku and Shibuya are what you envisioned with the Cyberpunk like neon lights, all three have great shopping options… I am coming back with like 6 BAPE tees haha.
TeamLab Planets - Highly Recommend. I don't think there is anything like this in Australia and the experience in each section was awesome and great for Instagram pics. Go early or late to avoid crowds.
Tsukiiji Fish Market - Recommend if you have only been to fish markets in Australia (the Sydney one is shit btw). Skippable if you've been everywhere else in the world. Otherwise it's packed and full of vloggers blocking the walking path and overpriced food.
Divercity Mall - Recommend. This is in the same direction/area of the above. The Gundam is pretty cool and it's next to a shopping centre.
DisneySea - Highly Recommend. My favourite part of the trip. I'm more bias to this as I have never done a Disney or theme park in my life before but this was an incredible experience that I will never forget. We had planned to stay the whole night there so didn't do any Premier Access/Fast Pass (felt it was too expensive) and just lined up. Food is surprisingly good and decent pricing for a theme park. Favourite and must rides in order: Soaring, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Tower of Terror, Sindbad.
Yokohama, Chinatown, Gundam Factory - Skippable. Not sure what I was expecting when I went here to be honest lol. Not a Gundam person at all. Chinatown is massive but it's not different to any other Chinatown.
Asakusa, Sensoji Temple - Highly Recommend. Awesome aesthetic area with temple, shrine and also a section with a complex of Koi fish ponds.
Akihabara, Ueno - Skippable. I do like my anime but I guess I was envisioning in my head a district of anime neon lights and cosplayers. Well it's more a street of buildings that sell anime merchandise which you could do basically in every other area.
Osaka, Dotonbori - Highly Recommend. Awesome food district. Unfortunately that standing man sign no longer lights up for the photos and is just a billboard now but lots happening in this area.
Himeji, Himeji Castle and Koko-En - Highly Recommend. I am soooo glad we made an itinerary change to fit this in. As soon as you exit the station, you see the Castle at a distance. This can be done in one afternoon. Himeji Castle and its surroundings are absolutely beautiful. We didn't go in on the suggestion that it's just packed with tourists but its exterior is incredible. Instead, we took a left to the Koko-En garden and it was awesome to see a nice garden with Koi fishes. Probably my second favourite part of this trip.
Kobe - Skippable. We went here as a pit stop to Himeji just for the sake of having Kobe in Kobe. Kobe is nice but not worth it.
Fushimi Inari - Highly recommend IF you go very early AM (get there at 7.30AM) or late PM. This place as expected is packed with tourists so you'll need to hike up further or go off peak hours to get good pics. That said, it is aesthetically pleasing and a must do if it's your first time in Kyoto.
Nara - Highly recommend. The deers and them bowing to you is awesome. It's not just the deer. Nara itself is great, the deer park, shrines and temples are in walking distance to each other so IMO it's definitely worth an afternoon here.
Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera, Yasaka Shrine, Nishiki Market, Gion - Highly Recommend. From this point, Tokyo and Osaka felt like a 50x bigger and more efficient Sydney so it was nice venturing to Kyoto and these spots and explore what I believe is 'truly Japan'. These temples, shrines, market and Gion being walking distance of each other means you will get a full days' worth and each part was incredible. Nishiki Market is less crowded and cleaner than Tsukiiji Market and also offered good food.
Kuromon Market - Skippable. Tsukiji Market and Nishiki Market are better.
Ueno Sky Tower - Recommend. Is actually quite a pleasing building to look at and the views from the observatory are great.
Osaka, overall we felt we could have cut down a day or so. We had a day or two where we didn't know what to do or go and it was actually hard to plan for Osaka. We ended up filling the time with shopping but could have done that in Tokyo anyway.
Gotokuji Temple - Recommend. This shrine is um interesting. However the main reason I recommend this is that it takes you outside the city and to more of the suburbs to see houses that aren't high rising apartments or hotels.
Ghibli Museum - Skippable. I'm bias here as I'm not a big Ghibli or museum person but it's just a mansion sized museum. There's a nice short screening and it is cheap but at the end of the day it's just a museum for kids. Not something I'd do unless I loved Ghibli works.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building - Recommend. I definitely recommend this observatory if you're staying in Shinjuku and want something to do at night. It closes late at night and is free.
Shibuya Sky Tower - Highly Recommend. I'm told either this or Mori Tower are the best observatory towers in Tokyo. Great experience with lots of great photos. Make sure you book before sunset time. It does get very packed.
Other:
Masks are still work often by locals and I think by all workers
Bidets are the greatest things ever and should be a staple in Australia
Japan is packed and full of tourists so expect lineups and to always be on your feet for food and trains
I think Japan love Blackpink because I saw more Blackpink ads and music than I did in South Korea 4 months ago
Japanese customer service is elite, in fact I think they go way overboard at times
Starbucks sucks in Australia and it sucks in Japan. I do not get the appeal of this fraud overpriced and disgusting coffee franchise.
I believe it's worth going to Japan before the JR Pass price hikes.
100% recommend the hotel luggage forwarding service to the next hotel if bouncing around cities. About $20 AUD per luggage sent.
We had planned some restaurants but in the end gave up. There is so much competition for great food in Japan that just about everywhere you eat will be fantastic. The one I will recommend to book for is Rokkansen at Shinjuku though. Best all you can eat I've ever had in my life.
Overall, I loved my time in Japan. Definitely want to come back for sure. Hope what I wrote up helped anyone planning their trips
Thank you!