Hi all,
After doing some research and getting some suggestions in the tips subreddit, I've pieced together a first draft itinerary for our late September/early October Japan trip (2 adults with 9 and 12 year old kids). I'd love to hear feedback on whether it looks too full, or if it's a good mix of kid friendly and cultural activities. Also, there may be a better combination of things to do each day depending on location that I might have missed. You'll notice we fly in to Osaka but head straight to Kyoto. This was so that we could time a day in USJ midweek rather than on a busier weekend. Much appreciate anything that people can give!
Anything with a ? means I haven't quite decided if it's a good idea or not and any list of "or" is mainly designed to give the kids an option of what to do. There's a key point in the middle as to whether we could do Kenroku-en on the same day as the travel from Hiroshima to Kanazawa. If we could, then I'd only stay one night in Kanazawa and free up a night to use somewhere else. Hopefully that all makes sense and please excuse any spelling errors!
Day 1: Fri – 7.20am arrival Osaka –> Kyoto
- Explore Kyoto station and general area/Higashi Honganji
- Ramen lunch
- Gion district (Yasaka Ginju as evening arrives)
- Dinner in Pontocho alley
Day 2: Sat
- Arashiyama (bamboo forest, monkey park, river area)
- Kiyomizu-Dera and surrounding streets
Day 3: Sun
- Fushimi Inari
- Nanzen-ji or Philosophers path or Kinkaku-ji
Day 3: Mon – Kyoto –> Osaka ?via Nara
- Shinsekai?
- TeamLabs botanic garden (evening)
Day 4: Tues
- Universal Studios!
Day 5: Wed
- ?Gram pancake breakfast
- ?Mino park
- Osaka Castle or Namba Yasaka or Shitonejii or Abeno Harukas
- Dotonburi for dinner
Day 6: Thu – Osaka –> Hiroshima via Himeji castle
- Hiroshima Peace Park and surrounds
Day 7: Fri
- Miyajima island
- Hiroshima –> Kanazawa (?too long to do Kenroku-en in afternoon?)
Day 8: Sat
- Kenroku-en
- Samurai district
Day 9: Sun – Kanazawa –> Takayama
- Old town area
Day 10: Mon – Takayama –> Hakone
- Hakone Kowakien Yunessun
Day 11: Tue
- Hakone ropeway
- Pirate ship on the lake
- Hakone –> Tokyo
Day 12: Wed
- Explore Tokyo
- Skytree?
- Akihabera? (appropriate for the kid?)
- Meiji Jingu – Yoyogi park
- Tokyo Tower
Day 13: Thu
- Odaiba
- TeamLabs Planet
- Fish market, etc
Day 14: Fri
- Sensoji temple
- Shinjuku? Harujuku? Shibuya? Imperial gardens?
Day 15: Sat
- ?Nikko or Kanagawa or Yokohama Day trip
- Tokyo –> Airport hotel
Day 15: Sun – 9.30am Japan –> Vietnam
by gruffles1