Hi everyone! It’ll be our first time visiting Japan, and would love some input on our itinerary. We’ve been waiting for 2 years for Japan to open, so we’re very excited!
A note that we’re bringing our 9 month old baby with us, so recos/tips with travelling with a baby in Japan appreciated as well. Our baby has been with us in other countries as well, so looking for tips for when we’re in Japan.
Our days when we travel usually looks like this: go out early morning (around 7am when baby wakes), baby naps in carrier/stroller, lunch out, go home after lunch to rest/while for baby’s 2nd nap, and go out late afternoon + dinner, home by 7/8pm for the night.
Some general questions:
• Is Japan generally stroller friendly? We have a carrier as well so will be using that quite often too.
• I’ve read that some restos doesn’t allow kids sometimes – how do we check this?
• With our itinerary, is a JR pass recommended?
• Any recos for budget shopping places in Osaka? And baby clothings shops too.
• We’ll be spending Halloween in Kyoto. I know this is big in Osaka and Tokyo. Will we see people dressed up in Kyoto as well?
We’re flying to Osaka, and flying out from Tokyo.
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Summary:
• 25 Oct – 30 Oct: Osaka
• 30 Oct – 4 Nov: Kyoto
• 4 Nov – 11 Nov: Tokyo
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Itinerary:
Osaka (25 – 30 Oct)
Stay: Namba
25 Oct, Tue — Arrival
* 8pm, arrive Kansai Airport
* Buy ICOCA card at JR Ticket Office (closes 11pm), ¥2,000
* Load ICOCA card
* Train to Namba (50m), ¥1,450
26 Oct, Wed — Dotonbori & Shinsaibaishi
* Walk to:
* Kuromon Ichiba Market
* Hozen-ji Yokocho
* Konamon Tengoku (Takoyaki)
* Kani Doraku (Crab)
* Glico Man
* Tonbori River
* Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade
* Adidas
* Kinji (2nd hand)
Eats:
* Okonomiyaki Mizuno*
* Kura Sushi (Sushi belt)
27 Oct, Thu — Osaka Castle
* Osaka Castle, ¥800
* Osaka Castle Park
* Naniwa-no-Miya Ruins
Eats:
* Takoyaki Doraku Wanaka
28 Oct, Fri — Day trip to Nara Park
* Train to Nara (40m), ¥560
* Nara Deer Park
* Deer crackers, ¥150
* Todai-ji Temple
* Kofukuji Temple
* Naramachi Street
* Train to Namba (40m), ¥560
29 Oct, Sat — Shinsekai
* Den Den Town
* Eat Kushikatsu
* Visit:
* Zuboraya Shinsekai street
* Janjan Yokocho
* Mega Don Quijote
30 Oct, Sun — Transit
* 11am, check out from Osaka hotel
* Train to Kyoto (30m), ¥560
* 3pm, check in at Kyoto hotel
Kyoto (30 Oct – 4 Nov)
Stay: Downtown Kyoto
31 Oct, Mon — Downtown & Higashiyama
* Rent a kimono
* Hanamikoji Street
* Yasaka Shrine
* Maruyama Park
* Hokanji Temple (Yasaka Pagoda), ¥400
* Kiyomizu-dera, ¥400
* Streets:
* Sannen-zaka
* Ninen-zaka
1 Nov, Tue — Fall foliage & temples
* Ginkaku-ji Temple
* Honen-in Temple
* Philosopher’s Path
* Nanzen-ji Temple
2 Nov, Wed — Fushimi Inari Shrine
* Hike at Fushimi Inari Shrine, free
* 2 – 3 hours to the summit
3 Nov, Thu — Arashiyama
* Bamboo Grove
* Tenryuji Temple, ¥500
* Togetsukyo Bridge
4 Nov, Fri — Transit to Tokyo
* 11am, check out from Kyoto hotel
* Bullet train to Tokyo (2.5h), ¥13,080
Tokyo (5 Nov – 11 Nov)
Stay: Shibuya
5 Nov, Sat — Harajuku
* Yoyogi Park
* Meiji Shrine
* Harajuku (Takeshita Street)
* Mameshiba Café
6 Nov, Sun — Akihabara
* Car-free on Sundays
* Pokemon Café
* Maidreamin Café (Ako Electric Town)
* Akihabara Gamers
* Super Potato (video game shop)
7 Nov, Mon — Shibuya & Shinjuku
* Shibuya Crossing
* Ebisu Yokocho
* Hachiko Statue
Shinjuku at night:
* Golden Gai
* Omoide Yokocho (Memory Lane)
8 Nov, Tue — Asakusa
* Senso-ji Temple
* Nakamise Shopping Street
9 Nov, Wed — Hakone (?)
* Not sure whether we should squeeze this in as a day trip or a 2D/1N trip. We wanted to try an onsen (private bath preferred), but not sure since we have a baby with us.
10 Nov, Thu — Free day/shopping
11 Nov, Fri — Fly home
* 6pm, flight home at Narita Airport
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Thank you so much!
1 comment
>Is Japan generally stroller friendly? We have a carrier as well so will be using that quite often too.
Mostly. There are plenty of footpaths and they are generally pretty wide so it’s easy to walk around outside with strollers. The challenge I had when travelling with a baby and stroller were:
* Stairs – stations and department stores have elevators but they aren’t always convenient to get to, so you need a stroller that you can easily fold and carry (or carry the stroller up the stairs with your baby in it)
* Shops/restaurants – These can be pretty crowded/narrow so you will need to leave the stoller outside (which I found was safe) or fold it up.
* Temples/shrines/parks – A lot will have rocky, gravel, dirt or sand paths which are tricky to push a stroller on. Also stairs… so if you are planning a day with plenty of these bring a carrier.
* Trains – If not crowded you can probably push your stroller on it but most of the time you will have to fold it.
In short, yes you can use a stroller but just have to plan ahead. You will have some days which are stoller days and some which are carrier days.
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>I’ve read that some restos doesn’t allow kids sometimes – how do we check this?
If its a family focused restaurant then it won’t be a problem, just check with them before entering. If your baby is able to sit in a high chair then it will be easier as most won’t allow you to bring a pram in.
Izakaya’s, Golden Gai, Memory Lane – these places you will need to skip as it’s not really baby appropriate. Also remember that a lot of these places allow smoking indoors.