I’m travelling with my Mom this April for 15 days, and would like some advice on my itinerary so far. My Mom’s not too great with walking far distances due to back and knee problems. I’ve been to Japan before, and so I’ve had to omit some good places because of the long walks and hikes up stairs. Some places on this itinerary, I’ve never been to and so I don’t know how much walking we’ll be doing in those places. Can someone please have a look at my itinerary if this would be arthritis friendly?
Day 1 – Stay @ Mitsui Garden
– NRT T1 – Mitsui Garden Hotel Otemachi (Tokyo Station)
– landing at 4 PM
– Ginza Shopping (Uniqlo &/ Muji)
Day 2 – Stay @ Biwako Ryokusuitei
– Hie Jinja Shrine
– Hekkelun (Pudding/Cafe)
– Tokyo St – Biwako Ryokusuitei (Kyoto)
– Ukimido
Day 3 – Stay @ Sakura Terrace
– Biwa – Sakura Terrace The Gallery (Kyoto St)
– Nishiki Market
– Kiyomizu-dera
– Gion
– My Only Fragrance
– Maccha House
– Kyoto Food Tour (?) <— any recommendations for evening activity or any good tours?
Day 4 – Stay @ Sakura Terrace
– Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
– Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima)
– Miyajima Ropeway
Day 5 – Stay @ Sakura Terrace
– Nara Park
– Todaiji
– Pontocho Alley (try my luck at Kichi Kichi Omurice)
Day 6 – Stay @ Citadines Namba Osaka
– Arashiyama (Sagano Romantic Train?)
– Fushimi Inari Taisha (maybe just 1 hr here and not going to hike the whole mountain)
– Kyoto St – Citadines Namba Osaka (Namba St)
– Dotonbori Food Tour (?) <— any recommendations here?
Day 7 – Stay @ Citadines Namba Osaka
– Ghibli Park
Day 8 – Stay @ Citadines Namba Osaka
– USJ
Day 9 – Stay @ Citadines Namba Osaka
– Orange Street
– Namba Yasaka-jinja Shrine
– Aoyama Steak (Kobe)
– Kobe Chinatown
Day 10 – Stay @ Miyako City Tokyo Takanawa
– Namba St – Miyako City Tokyo Takanawa (Shinagawa St)
– Starbucks Reserve Tokyo
– Tsutaya Books
– Meguro River
– Shinjuku Food Tour (?) <— any recos?
Day 11 – Stay @ Miyako City
– Disney Sea
– Miyashita Park (Ghibli Store)
– Shibuya Sky
Day 12 – Stay @ Miyako City
– Hokokuji Temple
– Katakuin Temple
– Enoshima
– Takeshita Street (Harajuku)
– Kura Sushi
Day 13 – Stay @ Miyako City
– Kawaguchiko
– Mt. Fuji Ropeway
– Oishi Park
– Tokyo Skytree
Day 14 – Stay @ Miyako City
– Tsukiji Fish Market
– Asakusa Shrine
– Shibuya
Day 15
– Ueno Park
– Shinagawa St – NRT T1
Questions:
1. Has anyone ever done those free walking tours? What is the custom when tipping the guides?
2. Restaurant etiquette – when arriving at restos, is it the same as in Western countries where you wait to be seated? (I went solo before and was too anxious about this to try going to restos alone.) When ready to order, do you call them or do they come without being called? Ask for bill or stand up and pay at cash register?
3. Ekiben – after eating, are there trash bins inside the shinkansen or in train stations?
4. How are my hotel choices? None of them are finalized, so I can make changes when needed. I really wanted my Mom to have a ryokan experience with onsen and kaiseki, hence the Biwako accomodation, but do you guys have other recommendations? Better location? Or comments about this hotel?
5. I have day trips to Hiroshima, Nara, Kawaguchiko, and Kamakura. Any must dos or sees here that you guys recommend? TIA!
6 comments
Hiroshima I would recommend to start the day early, do Miyajima first, lunch, move to Hiroshima for the peace museum. The reason to do in that order is that after 5pm about everything is close in Miyajima while you would have more restaurant and shopping options in Hiroshima.
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2. Yes, the waiter will first ask for how many person. Usually the waiter will go take your order, but you can call them if needed. During the meal, they are unlikely going to check on you as they often do (at least in Canada), so if you need something, you would have to call them. To pay, most of the time yes you can go to the register. If they leave a paper at the table, take it and bring it to the register.
3. As far as I remember, no. So you put it in the bag and wait to exit the train. Unless they decide to remove all trashcan to reduce cost of disposal, there is usually trashcan on the platform and sometimes there is staff members holding trasbags when you exit the train in big stations.
Personally I would say that it’s worth to stay a night or two in Hiroshima and cut down on the days in Osaka, as in my experience it’s not too different from Tokyo. In Hiroshima, there is a lot of history to see at Peace Memorial Park and also the nearby islands like Miyajima which you can take a boat too and skip the hiking but still see beautiful views. Also Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki is amazing so would recommend trying that too 🙂
We have stayed at the Sakura Gallery the Terrace in Kyoto and really liked it. It is inexpensive, small, but nice. We found the staff to be friendly and helpful. The restaurant is very good (or was when we last stayed.). Some people want to be more in the heart of the older parts of Kyoto, but for us, the location was excellent as it is close to the train station.
Free walking tours do not require a tip, but they may accept it if it is at least a souvenir.
Depends on the type of restaurant. If it is an upscale restaurant, there is no need to think about it. Just follow the directions.
If it is an ordinary restaurant, it may have a call button. When they do not have them, you can call when you want to order. Recently, there are also table-top terminals that allow you to order.
Kamakura has beautiful bamboo groves.
[https://houkokuji.or.jp](https://houkokuji.or.jp)
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You cannot make reservations, but the sunset from here is very beautiful. It is in a magical location (a bit of a hike up the mountain).
https://www.google.com/maps/place/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AB%E3%83%95%E3%82%A3%E3%82%A4+%E3%83%87%E3%83%A9%E3%82%BB%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A9/@35.3061437,139.5059569,17z/data=!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x6018459b80ac5619:0x5700747a399f2502!2z56We5aWI5bed55yM6Y6M5YCJ5biC!3b1!8m2!3d35.3192128!4d139.5466731!16zL20vMGdxbV8!3m5!1s0x60184f3ffef6f967:0x43e2c1a970bfac98!8m2!3d35.3063868!4d139.5074449!16s%2Fg%2F1vd951d1
I’m also taking my mother (and husband) this April. For the trip, I arranged a weekday overnight stay at Kinosaki onsen. It’s a lovely onsen town and the idea is to give her time to soak in as many onsens as she like in between meals and activities. We’re staying in a Ryokan called Tajimaya that has half board (dinner and breakfast) and at night you can walk about in yukatas and clogs. It’s in the middle of our 16 days trip and onsen water is very good for relaxation after long days of travel.
It’s about 2.5hours from Kyoto so what I did was do Osaka->Kinosaki Onsen (1 night)->Kyoto->Tokyo
And for our 2nd last day in Japan when we’re in Tokyo, i’m bringing my mother to a super sentou (super public bath) called Maenohara Onsen Sayano Yudokoro. Opposite the onsen is an Aeon mall that opens until 11pm so if we’re done with Onsen , we can walk across and go shopping.
Here are the recommendations if you’re interested. Would recommend you avoid booking weekends as it tends to get crowded and more expensive.
Tajimaya (Ryokan with private baths and Halfboard available): [https://goo.gl/maps/s4f7vPRWzjcsVMWH9](https://goo.gl/maps/s4f7vPRWzjcsVMWH9)
Maenohara Onsen Sayano Yudokoro (Super Public Bath):
[https://goo.gl/maps/HdbHVH6Ei73PyTBQ6](https://goo.gl/maps/HdbHVH6Ei73PyTBQ6)
Ooh since you’re going to check out My Only Fragrance in Gion, make sure to book an appointment for it in advance! You need to do it via the line app. My partner and I went last week and had a blast! But we overheard that walk-ins might be turned away or that they would need to wait until there’s an opening. For Kiyomizu-dera+ the surrounding area, you could opt to hire a rickshaw!you won’t miss them they tend to park around touristy hotspots. They have specific routes that take you all around the area. It might save you and your mum from walking up and down the whindy roads, and you get to sightsee!
And to answer question 3: there are bins located inside the shinkansen. But if your trash is too bulky to fit, just take it our with you and dispose of them at the station bins! Hope you enjoy your trip!