I've been trying to piece together an itinerary for 3.5 weeks in Japan and I feel like I'm struggling with 2 things:
- Should we rent a car? I had a great time exploring the Izu peninsula and the backlanes around Fujinomiya by bike last year, and want to see more countryside.
- Is it a hassle for a family of 5 (only carry-ons, so not much luggage)? We all love train travel.
- I feel my itinerary is wrong, maybe too much time in cities? I'd love to see some smaller towns, and we enjoyed Himeji, Matsue.
- Wondering if we should go explore the south more, and maybe spend 2 nights and have a look at Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Oita, Matsuyama – but are they worthwhile?
We're a family of 5, Kids all 13 and under from Canada, so don't want snow, and want warmish weather if possible. I also don't want to rush around and prefer to explore as much as possible on foot and not do daytrips each day.
Here is the original idea my wife and I discussed, it's starting mid-december:
- Day 1/2/3: Land and to Hakone. Are there family-friendly ryokans?
- Day 4/5/6: To Nagoya explore aquarium and Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology. Just to see a part of japan most people don't see
- Day 7/8/9: Nara
- Day 10/11/12/13: Kyoto (only went for a daytrip last time
- Day 14/15/16: Osaka (kids want to see nintendo land)
- Day 17/18/19: Nagaski (I've heard good things)
- Day 20-25: Fly to Tokyo
by outdoorfun123