I am traveling with my very fun and enthusiastic 16 year old son to Japan. We arrive Nov 28 to NRT, and fly out of Osaka on Dec 7, 2024. I have been to Japan once 8 years ago and visited Tokyo and Kyoto, and my son has never been. In Tokyo he’s interested in pet cafes, trying different foods and other interesting experiences. I think one day we will make our own plastic food in Tokyo at a factory that makes those. We also want to experience other parts of Japan, other than big cities. So far my itinerary looks like this but is totally flexible. We can take day trips from any of the cities. We love food, street food, we love interesting trains, fall foliage, some temples, nature and beautiful bridges, mossy statues, and we both love photography and taking pictures. I think he will also really love the general aesthetic of Japan and eating amazing food at 7-11 🙂 We both can be busy all day or enjoy relaxing somewhere amazing. Out hotel budget is about $165 a night and ability to splurge to $300 for a night if it’s an amazing place. Just trying to give you a general idea of personalities and interests.
3 nts Tokyo – looking for advice on neighborhood. Thinking Shinjuku or Shibuya for ease of closeness to major train station and possibly for the impact for my son, staying right in the energy and chaos of Toyko. Open to thoughts on this.
3 nts Kyoto – considering day trip to Takayama – I want to try the beef and the Hida Folk Village appeals to me. Worth it to stay the night here?
or maybe day trip to Nara but lately I’m reading there are better places to go than Nara?
1 nt Kinosaki Onsen town at a midrange Onsen (so we can wear Yakatas and wander around at night – open to other places where we can do this too)
1 nt unbooked
1 nt Osaka (we fly out of Osaka at 2pm on our last day, but we don’t need to stay there for a night if it’s not worth it)
Looking for advice about what to eat or where to go in Tokyo, and where else to visit. I considered the Nikko area because I love yuba, but can probably get amazing yuba in Tokyo?
I love travel and never have posted about it! Super excited to see what you have to say. Thank you so much.
by TanderinZ