Hi, all!
Reporting on our family trip to Japan in case you find anything useful.
*Background:*
Me: European, studied in Japan 15 years ago, was never able to go back after leaving due to working hard to build my career, starting a family, prioritizing other plans and life, in general.
Husband: also European, never visited Japan before but very eager to see all the wonderful things I talked about 15 years ago. We were in our first year of relationship and did long distance while I lived in Japan.
Boys: 9 yo and almost 6 yo (2 weeked shy of 6 yo), love gaming, heard about mom’s Japanese life all the time so curious and excited to experience Japan themselves.
Our trip is an emotional one, so we prioritized visiting special places for me, walking down the memory lane. Also, it’s our family vacation, so we adapted the itinerary and activities to our likes and dislikes and our leisure pace.
We:
-got to most places late, midday or afternoon;
-booked ahead only a couple of things in order to be flexible;
-skipped crowded indoor activities but did not skip outdoor ones even if crowded. Took side streets, went at different hours, cut short the crowd bathing time but did not skip them, especially in Kyoto;
-used Google maps to navigate and pick dinning spots or cafes, or simply walked in after checking the menu outside. There were no bad lunches/dinners.
Flight from EU was via Doha, Qatar, mid March. Landed at Haneda very late, 10 PM but managed to get to sleep very efficiently soon after. Immigration took around 1 hr with QR codes.
We had both an Ubigi esim (my phone) and pocket wifi pre ordered waiting at the hotel (husband’s phone) because we always plan for backups to connectivity and we wanted flexibility in case we split when walking around.
First hotel was very close to the airport, had free shuttle bus service running late into the night, good for late flights or if your flight has delays.
Would highly recommend not trying to navigate Tokyo with kids and luggage at night, after a long flight. Better find ways to go to sleep as fast as possible if landing late and adjust to the time zone, manage crankiness etc
I saw on this Reddit most people wake up too early due to jetlag, which is good to get to places early, if open.
We are the opposite: coming from EU, we woke up late, which is very much in line with our schedule during weekends and holidays anyways.
We took it slow in the mornings, had brunch and good coffee at cafes near our hotels, chatted with our kids about what we were seing and doing. Amazing to spend this time with them and discuss about where we want to go, what are their thoughts about Japan and other topics, very good bonding time.
*Here’s our itinerary:*
– I broke Tokyo down in West and East and booked different hotels and looked at activities within the area to minimize traveling in rush hour. Would highly recommend this with kids.
Also, since we need a bit of space for 4 to relax and sleep, I checked room size for all hotels I wanted to book.
Then I also went to Google Maps and # virtually walked the streets near a specific hotel # to see if we like the area, if there are conbinis nearby/cafes, to see how much walking we would be doing getting to the nearest train station.
Very helpful and very enjoyable for me even though I usually do not plan as much. All the hotels were spot on in terms of location for us. Will do this for all our next trips, it was so good!
Started with Tokyo West – stayed in Shibuya in an appartment (except 1st night, as previously stated), explored by foot the whole area, Shibuya Crossing, Nintendo Store, ate amazing ramen in a randomly found place.
I did not bother to cram many activities on the first day and didn’t want to take the train anywhere even though we were in good shape after the flight.
Kids had saved up money and decided they wanted to spend it on Nintendo Switches, customized in Japan and much cheaper vs our own country.
Second day we walked to Meiji Jingu and Harajuku, very pleasant weather, 30 min from hotel to Meiji Jingu.
We returned to our hotel for a break, rest, talk about what we’ve seen, game on the Nintendos together. Went back out for the evening to enjoy the area all lighted up.
Third day we (finally) took a train to Shinjuku, we all liked riding the trains 🙂 and we asked kids to help navigate, look at Google Maps, count the stops, explained about being quiet on the train etc.
Went up to see the views from Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and then spent time at a playground nearby. Went back to the hotel and wandered around again during the evening/night.
– 4 days Kyoto. We took the shinkansen. Luggage shipped beforehand via Yamato so travelled light with the kids. Bento boxes less yummy than I remembered, we did not buy them second time we took the shinkansen. Found shinkansen shaped candy, kids love them as souvenirs for themselves.
Kyoto is magical, for me! It’s filled with amazing houses, people dressing up in kimonos and walking the streets, beautiful small shops, shrines and gardens and walkways, old mixed with new. I don’t think you need to go from shrine to shrine, it’s fine to pick 1-3 and enjoy.
1st day in Kyoto we simply walked around our hotel in Gion, ate whatever caught our eye, bought souvenirs and, amazingly, ended up walking Sannenzaka and Ninnenzaka both during daylight and evening. Caught the last open hour in Kiyomizu Dera and enjoyed the views.
2nd day in Kyoto we had a very slow morning, strolled through the streets to Nishiki Market, ate at various shops/stalls and then took a taxi to Kinkaku-ji.
Amazingly beautiful to walk the pathways, not too crowded, actually…less crowded vs when I first visited as a student. Took a taxi back to the hotel area and stumbled on to a Michelin star ramen restaurant, had amazing ramen for a very good price, rested.
3rd day in Kyoto took the train to Fushimi Inari, climbed the stairs, not too crowded at around 12-1 PM, I guess people are eating at those hours.
We did not climb to the top because…we did not feel the need to. Instead, kids prayed at a small shrine, and we preferred to take side paths going down, where allowed/signaled and safe. Went back to Gion, had snacks and coffee at a cafe, walked to Maruyama Park. Explored some small streets in the area.
4th day went to Arashiyama, saw the monkeys and walked some of the bamboo walk, not all. Sat on the river bank, ate more ice-cream, went back to hotel, rested, went back out to see Pontocho area by night.
– 2 days: Nara and Kobe.
Kids loved feeding the deer in Nara, save some cookies for the deer closest to the Todai ji temple, the ones at the park were full and not eager to eat :))
Kids loved going through the hole in a pillar at Todai ji, said to be the same size as Buddha’s statue nostril and bring health and good luck.
We loved the temple’s idea to repair the roof: you can donate a tile and they ask you to write your well wishes, names and date on it by calligraphy brush. Hope our tile stays within the new roof for many years 🙂
Kobe is my former university town so we met my professor after 15 years, introduced the family, caught up on life, saw my previous dorm, cried a bit in nostalgia, walked to the port area in the rain, very romantic :))
My kids asked my professor if they can also come study in Japan. He’s retiring in a few years so it was very emotional as he said he’ll wait for them to choose Japan as their mother did.
– 3 days in Tokyo East, stayed in Ginza.
Took the shinkansen again, non reserved seats, a bit challenging to sit together but we managed because we started at Shin-Kobe station.
Osaka-Kyoto-Nagoya leg very crowded, many people standing on the isle.
Explored Ginza by foot, bought food, souvernirs, more Nintendo games, explored Akihabara a bit and rode the monorail to Odaiba on our last day.
Loved the parks in Odaiba, kids played in the sand, we had quiet time and coffee 🙂 Had one last epic sushi meal and departed from Haneda.
Japan is as amazing now as 15 years ago! Google Maps works well, you can get around so much easier as a foreigner vs 15 years ago, check restaurants, make reservations, there is more signage in English.
7/11 and Lawson and Family Mart are as useful and fun as I remember them, so are the various drinks machines and gachapon 🙂 We all hope we can go back together again to spend time as a family exploring Japan.
Hope all of you going will have an amazing time experiencing its culture and people!
by IRENE_OH