Greetings.
Months ago, we opportunistically booked cheap tickets for mid-September with air points, hoping travel will be back to normal. Despite the hope, I suspect it will be a case of “so close, yet so far”. If a miracle does happen, I would appreciate some feedback on our plans.
This is my 6th or 7th trip to Japan, but only my son’s 3rd (but he was too young to remember his 1st), so doing stuff that interests a 8 yo is my priority. Our plans are pretty flexible: we only have a few must-dos and everything else will depend on our mood and energy levels.
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Day 0 – Arrive in Tokyo Haneda
* We’re coming from Australia, so jet lag shouldn’t be a huge problem
* Stay either in Ueno or Tokyo station area
* Yokohama day trip
* Disneyland
Day 4 – to Nagoya
* Legoland – this is the only non-negotiable part of the trip. My son loves the stuff. Obviously stay at the Legoland Hotel.
* Ghibili theme park if this trip happens in 2023.
Day 6 – to Kyoto
* Stay in downtown Kyoto? Suggestions welcome
* See as many temples as my son has patience for
* Nara day trip
* Himeji day trip
Day 11 – to Kanazawa
* Stay in near the JR station area
Day 13 – to Kuruizawa
* Rent a car
* Stay at a ryokan
* Kusatsu day trip
Day 15 or 16 – to Tokyo
* Stay in Shinjuku
* We’ll do most of our shopping at this time
* Odaiba – Miraikan, Gundam, Joypolis
* Nikko or Kamakura day trip if we are still up for it by this point
Day 20 – Depart Tokyo Haneda
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Q1: Still debating if we should go to Disneyland or not. It’s unlikely we’ll go to any Disneylands in the US or EU in the foreseeable future, although Hong Kong is possible once their borders open. Does anyone who’s been to both Tokyo and HK Disneyland have any thoughts which one is better? What are the wait times like if we go on a weekday? We may try fit in Disney Sea, but I’m sure we can do it in a future trip.
Q2: With the time we have in Kanazawa, is it worth renting a car to explore further?
Q3: Should we stay at Kusatsu instead of Kuruizawa? We want to take it easy on this part.
Q4: I love Japanese street festivals. Are there any matsuri, fireworks or other events at this time of year? Respect of the Aged day will likely happen during this trip.
Q5: I will work Akihabara, Nakano Broadway, and Ikebukuro into our plans. And as many ninja, train museums and Pokemon centres as possible. Does anyone else have any other suggestions that may interest a 8 yo?
Cheers
5 comments
Q2: You make it sound as if you have a week in Kanazawa. You have what, 2 days ? That is fine for Kanazawa only and if anything and you want to go out, the popular option is Shirakawa-go that is easy to access by bus.
Q3: Considering that Kusatsu is considered one of the top onsen in Japan, yes I would want to stay there.
Q4: Not prime firework time, but for sure there is festivals in September, just go Google search with the name of the city, Matsuri and the month you will visit, should get some result. Here is an example for September in Tokyo [http://yumemakura.travel.coocan.jp/September.html](http://yumemakura.travel.coocan.jp/September.html)
Q5: Ninja, could consider doing a detour between Nagoya and Kyoto to stop by Koka or Iga. Train, do not miss Kyoto Railway Museum, there is also The Railway Museum in Omiya. As for other suggestion, it can depend if you kid is into something specific. Like if the kid love space, can consider Tsukuba Space Center, l ove airplane, then Museum of Aeronautical Sciences next to Narita Airport, if you he likes collecting coins, there is a Mint Museum in Omiya or Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Money Museum in Nagoya… Like dinosaur, stop by Fukui on the way to Kanazawa for the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum.
>Q1: Still debating if we should go to Disneyland or not. It’s unlikely we’ll go to any Disneylands in the US or EU in the foreseeable future, although Hong Kong is possible once their borders open. Does anyone who’s been to both Tokyo and HK Disneyland have any thoughts which one is better? What are the wait times like if we go on a weekday? We may try fit in Disney Sea, but I’m sure we can do it in a future trip.
I’d prioritize the Sea over the Land myself. But it depend on what your child wanted to do, really.
>Q2: With the time we have in Kanazawa, is it worth renting a car to explore further?
You arrive in the afternoon and leave the afternoon to days later? You probably don’t need car unless you have somewhere you really wanted to visit that make sense with car.
>Q3: Should we stay at Kusatsu instead of Kuruizawa? We want to take it easy on this part.
Given the option of Karuizawa and Kusatsu, it’s going to be Kusatsu if you proritize onsen. Kusatsu, Arima, and Gero are the 3 big onsen in Japan.
>Q5: I will work Akihabara, Nakano Broadway, and Ikebukuro into our plans. And as many ninja, train museums and Pokemon centres as possible. Does anyone else have any other suggestions that may interest a 8 yo?
Japan is never short of museum. What kind of thing your child are interested in?
If I goes by “ninja, train museums, and Pokemon centres”, then I would suggest the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology (the first part is about loom, but the second part is about cars). There’s SCMaglev museum next to Legoland, of course. That, Kyoto Railway Museum, and Railway Museum in Omiya are the three main railways museum. I’d say most children interested in science and technology would be interested in Miraikan in Odaiba, Tokyo, assuming you haven’t done that already.
> Q2: With the time we have in Kanazawa, is it worth renting a car to explore further?
Kanazawa is pretty walkable and you’re only there for two days, I don’t think a rental car would be worth it imo.
> Q3: Should we stay at Kusatsu instead of Kuruizawa? We want to take it easy on this part.
Stay in Kusatsu instead, it’s pretty small but an absolutely lovely place.
Q1: I have been to both HK and Tokyo but I prefer Tokyo’s Disneyland. The atmosphere and the people are different. If I’m not mistaken I think Tokyo is bigger. I was happier during my stay in Tokyo Disneyland but maybe it’s just me. We spent two days, one for each Disney. My opinion is very biased since we experienced discrimination during our stay in HK 🙁 (not in Disney though).
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Have you considered Universal Studios Japan?
Ninja show, ninja costume, ninja maze, ninja mystery house, ninja training, ninja merch, and a lot more… I recommend TOEI Kyoto Studio Park [https://global.toei-eigamura.com/](https://global.toei-eigamura.com/)