Hello! Wife, I and our two toddler aged kids are traveling to Japan in January. This will be my 3rd time in Japan but first time for my wife and kids. All are pretty well-traveled. Kids have traveled to Singapore twice so \*knock on wood\* the long flight time and time change shouldn’t be too much of a shock.
Realize with toddler aged kids that anything can happen so planning this itinerary as open and light as possible. Couple questions is JR Pass worth the cost given my plans? And thanks all in advance!
**January 11**: Haneda Airport (Arrive 2:30PM) —> Tokyo (staying near downtown Tokyo, Akasaka-mitsuke Station / Nagatocho Station)
\- Get Suica card (I understand toddlers ride free so only need a card for wife and I)
\- Since I’m traveling with two toddlers and two check-in luggages, I’m wondering which makes more sense: taxi or private car or train?
\- Dinner near hotel / Ryu no Mikyo Inshokugai if not too tired
**January 12: Tokyo**
\- Tsukiki Fish Market
\- Asakusa, Nakamise Street, Sensoji Temple
\- Ginza Art Aquarium
\- TeamLabs Planet Exhibit (prefer to go on a weekday when there are less crowds)
**January 13: Tokyo**
\- Meiji Shrine
\- Harajuku
\- Omotesando
\- Shibuya Crossing, Shibuya Sky
**January 14: Tokyo**
\- Akihabara / Ueno
\- Yoyogi Park
\- Hotel Babysitting / Hotel Onsen
**January 15: Tokyo → Kyoto via Nozomi**
\- Hotel luggage service
\- Kyoto Food Hall
\- Relax at hotel / Nijo Castle (hotel located near Castle)
**January 16**: **Kyoto**
\- Fushimi Inari Shrine
\- Kiyomizudera Temple
\- Matsubara-Dori Street
\- Nishiki Market
**January 17:** **Kyoto**
\- Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
\- Togetsukyo Bridge
\- Tenruji Temple
**January 18**: **Kyoto – Nara**
\- Day trip for the toddlers to see the deer
\- Kinkakuji
\- Relax at hotel
**January 19: Kyoto → Tokyo via Nozomi**
\- Hotel luggage service **Kyoto → Tokyo**
\- Rest Day / Souvenir shopping
**January 20: Tokyo**
\- Free Day
**January 21: Tokyo → Haneda Airport**
3 comments
>January 13: Tokyo
>- Meiji Shrine
>January 14: Tokyo
>- Yoyogi Park
Rethink this. Meiji Shrine is basically *inside* Yoyogi Park, you’ll be walking through the trees to get to the shrine. There’s an entry/exit right next to Takeshita Street/Harajuku.
Otherwise, I don’t know your kids, but this still sounds like a *lot* for the little ones. Looking at January 16th in Kyoto and just the sheer amount of walking Fushimi Inari and Kiyomizudera would be alone, in the cold, sounds like hell with two toddlers. And Japan, while it’s definitely more baby friendly, socially they don’t have alot of patience for fussy kids or accommodation for things like strollers or changing areas. So I’d say plan more around getting your kids around and fed then anything else.
Especially considering jetlag and how important naps are going to be for the kids and how tough it will be depending on how picky of eaters they are. There’s all kinds of posts here on this sub about the trouble/struggles of having children that young on a trip like this. I’d advise to do a search and look some of them up so you can set your expectations and preparedness properly.
I’ll preface this by saying despite me about to sound really negative, my past trips with my son have still been really fun and worthwhile.
I’ve travelled to Japan with a 4 yo (who travels extremely well) and I’d reckon your itinerary isn’t too light, and perhaps on the ambitious side. You could attempt the itinerary you set out, but be prepared to make compromises for the kids (I don’t know if that’s even useful advice: *everything* is a compromise for the kids 😕) IMO Singapore is the *most convenient* city to travel to with young children, so you’re comparing against a really high bar.
Do you guys use strollers or carriers? If you guys have the endurance, I strongly recommend carriers over strollers. Unlike Singapore, there will be a lot more walking in Japan and the infrastructure isn’t as good for strollers; the stations lots of stairs, the lifts are tiny (and often have a long line of elderly waiting), and what looks like a straightforward interchange on the metro map can actually be a several 100m walk between platforms. Also many smaller businesses (like the anime stores in Akihabara) have such narrow aisle, it’s outright impossible to bring in a stroller. In more out of the way areas, sidewalks are narrow or non-existent.
Strollers do have benefits; some areas have very few places to sit down and rest. I’d often buy a drink in a coffee shop just for the opportunity to sit down.
The brightest spot is the shopping malls and large department stores are very toddler friendly. Good bathroom facilities, seating, wide aisles, even some soft play areas.
>Since I’m traveling with two toddlers and two check-in luggages, I’m wondering which makes more sense: taxi or private car or train?
Limo bus, assuming it stops at your desired location. It’s stops and frequency were screwed up by covid, but I’m hoping it gets sorted by the time I visit next year… I much prefer it to the other forms of transport to Haneda.
>Couple questions is JR Pass worth the cost given my plans?
It might be worthwhile. A 7 day pass is short of breaking even for a Tokyo to Kyoto round trip, but your other trips may push it over the line. Eyeballing your itinerary, you won’t save a huge amount, so I wouldn’t consider it crucial.
> January 12: Tokyo
>
> – Tsukiki Fish Market
> – Asakusa, Nakamise Street, Sensoji Temple
> – Ginza Art Aquarium
> – TeamLabs Planet Exhibit (prefer to go on a weekday when there are less crowds)
This seems to be out of order. You might want Tsukiji (outer?) market then Ginza, move to Asakusa, then to TeamLabs.
> January 15: Tokyo → Kyoto via Nozomi
> January 19: Kyoto → Tokyo via Nozomi
If you are using a JR pass, you can’t ride on a Nozomi afaik. A Hikari train is a bit longer trip as it has more stops, and is less frequent. You might do better just buying individual tickets.