Planning a 9D8N trip flying in and out KIX for a family of 7 (with early 60s parents and 5 year old child). This will be a first long-haul family trip with a 5-year old child, and one where my parents don’t use a package tour (they usually do and prefer having all their transportation and itinerary settled, but this time round they wanted to try without for a more intimate family trip). Below I have some information on my considerations.
(!!) feel free to skip down to the itinerary in section D as it is a longer read
A. Who’s traveling:
- early 60s parents. Dad is fairly fit, however mom has weaker knees not able to walk long distances (more than 1.5km at a time, however may be more motivated to walk longer without pause in shopping areas lol) or climb stairs — Dad have never been to Kansai
- 5 year old child (shouldn’t be a problem with stroller) and his parents (mid 30s) — have never been to Kansai
- brother and his girlfriend (early 20s) — have never been to Japan
- myself (30) — been to Kansai once and Japan multiple times, however only as a solo/young fuss-free traveler
B. My considerations/challenges:
- Balancing everyone’s expectations
- parents: mobility (most worried) but their travel style/preference is to visit as many new cities as they can, and loves historical sites
- brother and gf: never been to japan, loves shopping, doesn’t prefer historical sites as much as parents
- sister and bro-in-law: didn’t seem to have much opinions, most probably only need to keep their child entertained and fed/nap. My bro-in-law loves to take photos so scenic spots would be a bonus
- My family wants to do everything together. reckon I could bring our parents back to hotel in the evening after dinner or when they're tired in the middle of the day so that the youngsters can do their shopping/exploring, but hoping to still be able to do most together ok
C. Super appreciate your time for help with some of the following considering the above:
- Itinerary check below, are they paced well and suitable for mom with weak knees? (we will separate 2 bases. 1st night close to KIX as we arrive at 10pm, 4 nights in Kyoto, 3 nights in Osaka). We need some recommendations for things to do, see, and eat for some days in Kyoto & Osaka when not making day trip.
- Are the JR pass+activation date good or better and more economical alternative without?
- Hotels or Airbnb better in this case? (from research hotels we have looked for are about 20-40% more expensive, most airbnb have 1-2 bathrooms/a bit more out of the way). I’m weighing between convenience or economical
- 9 days budgeting. Enough or too much/little?
- food (5000 JPY/person) breakfast is included if staying at hotel. looking at lunch+dinner+snacks in between
- Attractions (~2000 JPY/person) ~not accounting pre-booked reservations if any
- transportation (1000 JPY/person), this is for non-JR public transport
- taxi or uber/didi (1500~2000 JPY/ride, approx. 6-7 rides ~4km)
- I reckon we may use this more often in Kyoto as tourist spots are spread out, or bus taking longer time for short distance & not compatible with JR pass?
- I saw some resources online such as taxi in Kyoto that first 2km starts at 600 and raises by around 80yen per 415m. how accurate is this? any resources to calculate?
- How difficult is it to do same day luggage delivery? Any good resources where I can find same day delivery and rates? I tried looking at Yamato website but confused if it's same day or not
- We live in a tropical country. How cold and/or wet will it be in October? Anything that we should take note of about the weather to the locations planned in the itinerary?
- Suggestions for what sort of dish/restaurant at each locations much appreciated
D. 9D8N KANSAI ITINERARY (1N Rinku Town, 4N Kyoto, 3N+1D Osaka)
| Day | Date | Time | Activity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Wed, 9 Oct | 21:35 | Land at KIX | Go to JR Pass counter to redeem and activate pass |
| 23:00 | Check in at hotel at Rinku Town | (~5m train ride from airport) | ||
| D2 | Thu, 10 Oct | 10:00 | Transit to Kyoto Station | (2-day Kansai Area Pass Activated) First Day in Kyoto 1h25m – 1 change. Kanku Rapid to Hineno, Kuroshio to Kyoto |
| 12:15 | Arrive at Kyoto Station | drop luggage at hotel / lunch if luggage forwarding | ||
| 14:00 | Gion / Yasaka Shrine / Kawaramachi | |||
| 18:30 | dinner at Potoncho Alley | |||
| 20.30 | Check in at Hotel | |||
| D3 | Fri, 11 Oct | 08:30 | Fushimi Inari | Uji & Nara Day Trip |
| 10:00 | Transit to Uji | 20m – JR Nara Line Inari to Uji | ||
| 10:30 | Byodoin/shopping/Nintendo Museum + lunch | |||
| 13:30 | Transit to Nara | 30m – JR Nara Line Miyakoji Rapid to Nara | ||
| 14:30 | Nara Park, Naramachi, Dinner | |||
| 19:50 | Transit back to Kyoto | 1h 5m – JR Nara Line to Kyoto Station, then cab ~1200yen/cab | ||
| D4 | Sat, 12 Oct | AM~Noon | Arashiyama | free & easy explore Kyoto day |
| Lunch~Late | <suggestions?> | |||
| D5 | Sun, 13 Oct | 08:30 | transit to Amanohashidate station by train | (Kansai Wide Area and/or Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass Activated) 1h57m Hashidate 1 Go from Nijo to Hashidate |
| 10:50 | shopping / temple / lunch / chairlift&monorail to viewland / beach | |||
| 15:30 | Transit back to Kyoto | take tango railway back for scenic and rustic train experience | ||
| 18:45 | Dinner / shopping <suggestions?> | |||
| D6 | Mon, 14 Oct | 09:00 | Check out of Hotel and last minute sightseeing | <suggestions?> |
| 14:30 | Transit to Shin-Osaka Station | 25m – JR Tokaido Sanyo Main Line New Rapid to Shin-Osaka | ||
| 15:00 | Check in at hotel | |||
| 16:00 | Dotonbori / Shinsekai / Shisaibashi | |||
| D7 | Tue, 15 Oct | All Day | USJ (youngsters); Hiroshima Day Trip (parents and I) | |
| 08:10 | Transit to Hiroshima | 1h25m by JR Nozomi | ||
| 10:00 | Hiroshima Peace Park & Lunch | |||
| 13:00 | Transit to Miyajima by train and ferry | 30m JR San'yo Main Line to Miyajimaguchi, 10m JR Miyajima Seaway | ||
| 14:00 | Ikutsushima Shrine / Shopping | |||
| 16:00 | Transit back to Shin-Osaka | 10m ferry to Miyajimaguchi, 30m to Hiroshima, 1h30m Nozomi to Shin-Osaka | ||
| 19:00 | Regroup for family dinner | |||
| D8 | Wed, 16 Oct | Options: 1. Himeji/Okayama day trip; 2. Tottori day trip | ||
| D8 | Option 1 | 08:00 | Transit to Himeji | 30m to Himeji by JR Sakura/Hikari, 5m Bus from Himeji 北口 to Himeji Castle |
| 09:30 | Himeji Castle | |||
| 11:30 | Transit to Okayama | 30m by JR Hikari | ||
| 12:00 | Lunch / Okayama Castle / Ujo Park | |||
| 16:00 | Transit to Kobe or Osaka | <suggestion: kobe or skip?> | ||
| 17:30 | Walk around Kobe and have dinner (maybe touristy kobe wagyu restaurant) | |||
| 20:30 | Transit back to Shin-Osaka | 30m by JR Tokaido Sanyo Main Line | ||
| D8 | Option 2 | 07:00 | Transit to Tottori | 2h41m JR Super Hakuto to Tottori @ 07:30 |
| 10:15 | <suggestions?>Tottori Sand Dunes / Sand Museum / Explore? | |||
| 16:30 | Transit back to Osaka | <suggestions for area to go in Osaka?>2h46m JR Super Hakuto to Shin-Osaka @ 16:55 | ||
| D9 | Thu, 17 Oct | Free & Easy Explore more of Osaka <suggestions?> | check out latest by 11AM. Leave luggage at hotel | |
| AM-18:50 | Osaka Castle, etc; optional half day trip to very nearby places??? | |||
| 19:20 | Transit to KIX from Shin-Osaka Station | 1h – JR Haruka | ||
| 20:25 | Arrive at KIX | slow check in for 23:25 flight | ||
I don’t know if anyone will ready this very lengthy post tbh, but much appreciate it if you actually took the time to read the entire post, and shared your advice/2 cents. I think my biggest worry really would be our parents, I read somewhere in the group that they brought collapsible chair around, I'm not sure if my mom would want to sit on that.
Thanks again. We rarely travel far as a big family and not sure what to expect at a cooler season with more walking than usual. Really looking forward to the full family trip and to write a trip report and share with you all after! 🙂
by enfuppi