Trip Report Feb 24-Mar6 – 11 days (meant to be 10) Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo – Family of 4 (kids 12 and 15)

# Trip Report Feb 24-Mar6 – 11 days (meant to be 10) Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo – Family of 4 (kids 12 and 15)

My family and I recently returned from an amazing trip to Japan. I wanted to give a trip report with some observations and tips as I found this thread very helpful when planning our trip. We are a family of four myself (35), my husband (39), and my son (15) and daughter (12). This was all of our first-time visiting Japan and my kids’ first time in a non-English speaking country. This is a lengthy report. I hope someone may find it helpful.

**Pre-Trip** \- I booked flights and accommodation in June 2022, banking on the borders opening. We got great deals on hotels and flights. I believe the prices have gone up considerably since that time.

We booked Jetstar flights direct from Gold Coast, Qld, Australia airport. Booking a Flexifare incase anything happened with the borders. In the weeks coming up to the trip, I felt like I was waiting for something to go wrong, for the shoe to drop. Thankfully nothing did. I ordered JR Rail passes through jrailpass.com. This site sends the passes from Barcelona, Spain. The refund policy states that tickets bought more than 14 days in advance could not be refunded. I purchased tickets at 14 days and waited with baited breath for the tickets to arrive in time. I trolled through hundreds of reviews on their website with a fraction saying the passes did not arrive in time. Thankfully, the passes arrived four business days after purchase. Tip – If you are going this route, DO NOT forget your exchange voucher. You can not get your JR Pass without it! Also, the passes are small and look exactly like paper train tickets, plan a safe place to keep your Jr Pass. If you lose it, they cannot be replaced. Note – We used Suica cards for all subway and train rides until we got the Jr Pass. We then used only for subway.

We prebooked tickets to Shibuya Sky (6:20 pm) on Klook, Tokyo DisneySea tickets on GetYourGuide, tickets of TeamLab Planets through their website, Akiba Fukurou Owl Café through their website, and made a reservations at Wakkoqu Shin Kobe for a Kobe beef teppanyaki lunch. I took screen shots of the QR codes, but at all the sites, they wanted to see the original emails. Tip – Shibuya Sky was booked out for sunset two weeks in advance, if you want to visit as sunset, book early!

We also signed up to get ivideo unlimited pocket wifi delivered to Lawson at Narita Airport to use for the 10 days. Review- The pocket wifi worked great. The four of us used it all the time and the internet connection was good. It was good in the subway and only got spotty a couple of times. They were also very helpful when we had to extend an extra day. I contacted them via the Whatsapp option and they sorted it out quickly. We also brought three power banks and had one permanently connected to the pocket wifi.

I created packed lists of each of my family members. Loving to organize and make lists, this was right up my alley. We each brought a four-wheel, hard-shell carry-on size suitcase and 40-50L backpack each. With our Flexifare tickets we each got 14kg of carry-on baggage. In hindsight, this was a verrrry good move as we could each carry our own bags and over the trip would be up and down mannnny flights of stairs at train and subway stations. We often saw tourists with large rolly suitcases struggling up and down stairs. We planned to do washing every third day and that worked out well. Most hotels with laundry service have a coin machine with detergent included, all had except one (we had laundry sheets in case). While we were there, we used one ‘day backpack’ with wifi, water, info, chargers etc.

Tip – bring a change purse. There are lots of coins! Observation – most places take credit. Also, the exchange rate was better at the ATM in Tokyo Station than in Australia.

As a family, we watched hours of youtube videos with suggestions of where to go in each city. I also read many reviews, blogs, and reddit. We went with a planned itinerary and managed to show up to all bookings on time.

**Flight and airport Day 1–** Although I booked ours seats on the flight; we were pleasantly surprised that we were sitting in the bulk head (extra leg room) directly behind business class. I was also anxious as the flight was due to arrive at 6:40pm and I had heard stories of customs taking 2 hours. The last Nex Train to Tokyo leaves at 9:45 and I was stressing about missing it. We ended up getting the 8:45 pm train. When we arrived at Narita Airport, we were ready with our QR codes and the forms they had given us to fill out on the plane. We walked though the busy air port tunnels with crowds of recently landed passengers. While staff did ask to briefly see my vaccination blue screen (only a flash really) and you are put into lines after you confirm you have your QR codes, no one looked at any of our QR codes. They took the papers from the plane and we were through. Customs took around an hour.

In the airport, we discovered that the Lawson, where your wifi pickup was, was in Terminal 3 and we and the train station were in Terminal 2. We asked members of staff and were quite stressed about missing the last train. The language barrier was beginning to show. Observation – not many people speak English. Most speak a few words and you can get by with a few Japanese words, and hand gestures. – We nearly decided to leave it but ran to Terminal 3, which only ended up being a 10-minute walk, got the pocket wifi and back to the train station. Trying to get tickets for the Nex was a bit confusing as they do not really have staff to help and we did not have luck at the machines. Tip – Go straight to the line for the JR ticket office, around the corner from the machines, and save yourself the stress. – We got our tickets, set up our pocket wifi, and got on the train to Tokyo.

Our first hotel was Karaksa Tokyo Station Hotel. Using Googlmaps, we found the hotel and checked in. We ate a Family Mart combini meal for our first night and hit the hay. Tip – Googlemaps is amazing! For public transportation, it tells you the line, the platform, sometimes the car to take. The only problem we had was finding our orientation when walking. Often, we would start walking and then turn and go in the opposite direction. It also gets confused below bridge and in buildings.

**Day 2 Tokyo – Akihabara and Shibuya – Hotel Karaksa Hotel Tokyo Station**

The hotel was lovely and spacious. Staff were very nice. This hotel is located around a 2-minute walk from the North Yaesu exit and was very handy to be so close. Tip – All of our hotels were located very close to the major train station of each of the cities we visited. This was a godsend after long days, train rides. Highly recommend this. – Observation – Pajamas are left for guests, at each of the seven hotels we stayed at. Most hotels offer free water in your room and amenities (hair brushes toothpaste) in the lobby. – We woke up early to go the Akihabara, and left around 8am. When we arrived, we quickly discovered that nothing was open until 10-11am. Tip – Most things (shops, restaurants, cafes, sites) do not open until 10 or 11am! We even tried to go to the Imperial Palace, thinking the gardens would be open but they did not open until 11 – We managed to find 24-hour diner style restaurants and had breakfast which was awesome. We ended up heading to the Kanda Shrine, near Akihabara to kill time. It was very cool, especially in the middle of a city. When everything opened, spent time in electronics stores. Found gaming stuff for my son on the 9th floor of a shop.

Then headed to Akiba Fukurou Owl Café. We had a reservation at 11. It was such an experience. They have around 30 owls. The room is dimly lit and they play classical music to keep them comfortable. We each held two owls and patted many, after getting instructions. I ended up with a barn owl named Bonito on my head, where he hung out for a while. These owls seem well cared for and it was a great experience for my family. Back to the hotel to rest. Tip – We took sooooo many subway rides and found with Googlemaps and the signage at the stations, you can get where you want to go. – We headed to Shibuya in the afternoon. My son had picked up a head cold on the plane and was a bit miserable but soldiered on. The cold lasted about 2 days, and he then gave it to the rest of us who had sniffles as some point. We were using all the tissues everywhere we went. Observation – Masks are worn by pretty much everyone, everywhere. – We had a great ramen, gyoza dinner. Finding food would come to be a trial at times, with my daughter harder to feed. She would always eat gyoza so that was our go to, a lot.

After dinner, we went to the Mocha Cat Café which as awesome. We got the iced cream lollypops cat treats and the cats loved them. After that, we did the scramble crossing, which was intense, and headed for Shibuya Sky for our 6:20 reservation. The line to get up and down are long. My son is also a bit afraid of heights and it was blowing a gale. The city lights stretched on forever and it was glorious with the lights illuminating the night sky. We had couple of snowflakes fly by and headed back down. Back to the hotel…it was a bigg day.

**Day 3 – Teamlabs, make our way towards DisneySea – Hotel Mystays Maihama**

On Day 3 we went to breakfast later, then checked out and made our way to TeamLabs Planets. We had our roller bags with us but were able to chain them securely at Teamlabs, they also have lockers for backpacks. Teamlabs is an immersive experience and highly recommended. It was verrrry busy but still very cool. Be sure to wear pants you can roll to your knees for the water portion. Note – Getting to Teamlabs was the only time we were separated at a train station. We were only going one stop but my daughter and I boarded and the doors closed on my husband and son. Have a plan if this happens! We also decided not to rush to trains and would only board if we were confident we had time. Most trains come very 4-10 min. – After TeamLabs we headed to Maihama (near DisneySea) to rest for our Disney day the next day. Tip – Hotel Mystays Maihama is around a 10 min walk to DisneySea and has a free shuttle. This is a good budget option. There is a large shopping/food centre near the station that can be accessed through the Disney hotel. Food there was great.

**Day 4 DisneySea – Hotel Mystays Maihama**

We woke up planning to get to DisneySea early (8:15am) as this is suggested. The park officially opens at 9 but they let you in early. When we arrived, the lines were already massive. Which would begin a day of waiting in lines. Once in and on the DisneyResort App we tried to get into the Big Band Beat Show but no luck. We ran to the 20000 Leagues Under the Sea ride which had no wait. This ride was cool however it broke down near the end. We had to wait to be rescued and taken through the roof of the ‘submarine’. For the time spent, we were given a fast pass to one of the minor rides with a list and they scanned our tickets. The major rides all had 110 to 130 min waits. We got in line to Journey to the Centre of the Earth and 30 min in caved and purchased the one off fast pass for $15 each (worth its weight in gold).

We tried to get some of the food items we had seen on youtube (gyoza dog) but the lines for most food, popcorn etc were 50-60 people deep. And this was on a Monday, during the winter! My kids and I rode the Indiana Jones ride as ‘single riders’ and basically walked right on, I was in the seat behind my daughter. My son and husband did the same for Raging Spirits. We enjoyed the Sinbad ride, which is like Small World. Wait was around 20 min. We also rode Aquatopia for our fastpass. The only ride we stood in a big line for was Tower of Terror that my son was desperate to ride. The 110-minute wait was more like 90 min and he loved the ride.

Honestly, the food we did manage to get, teriyaki chicken leg, sweet soy churro sundae, and ‘American’ food one of the restaurants, were all not great. The only thing we really liked was the Macha, white choc popcorn. All in all, Disney was not our favourite thing we did. The theming is great, but it is verrrrry busy and the lines are verrrry long. Back to the hotel to rest before going to Kyoto the next day.

**Day 5 Kyoto – Hotel Elciet Kyoto**

We went back to Tokyo station after checkout to exchange our JR Pass vouchers and get our passes. We took the Shinkansen to Kyoto. We requested seats on the right-hand side to see views of Mt. Fuji and they did not disappoint. It was stunning. Observation – the smaller cities seem to stretch on forever on the bullet train. Its amazing to think there are enough people to fill them – When we arrived, we could see our hotel from the platform, which was a welcomed site. Note – My daughter (12) is a bit of an introvert and we found she needed some down time from the hecticness. She also gets ‘hangry’ and finding food became a priority on many occasions. It was long days, averaging 15000 steps a day, and both kids had ups and downs in mood and energy. Tip – Wear comfy shoes and bring blister band aids just in case (we used a few). – In Kyoto we set out to the Gion area and ended up finding food and shopping as the sunset. Note – The best clothes shopping we found over the whole trip was at the Avanti shopping centre near the station. Many floors with clothes from as little as 500y. We got a bunch with loose English translations ie “I love (many) berry”

**Day 6 Kyoto to Nara – Hotel Nikko Nara**

This was our only early day. We set out to the station to catch the first train to Inari Fushimi Shrine at 6:40am. I’m very glad we did as it was not busy at all and we got to explore the tori gates in peace and get great pics. There were signs warning of monkeys but we did not see any, we saw six cats at the gates who must reside there. It was an amazing experience and is highly recommended. Go early as it was starting to fill up as we left! After that we headed to Nara. When we arrived in Nara, we did not even have to leave the station as the hotel as an attachment. Nara was all of our favourite city. It is much quieter and you easily be walked. We headed to the park to see the deer who are adorable! We fed them biscuits a got a few head butts and nibbles but all in all they were lovely. The girls are less aggressive. It is sooo cute how they bow their heads. We spent the evening and next morning strolling the streets, shopping, and eating. Observation – We saw more ‘western’ tourists in Nara and Kyoto than anywhere else.

Day 7 Nara to Osaka Hotel Monterey Osaka – (Note – for this hotel, we had a Triple Room, which said it could fit up to six, three of which are adults, but only had three single beds. My daughter and I shared a bed. This was the only hotel we had a problem at, the rest were very spacious really)

The next day we checked out and headed to Osaka. We headed out into Osaka to do some shopping. We went to Hep Five but had no luck getting anything. Back to the hotel for a rest, then to Dontonbori for dinner. Dontonbori is everything it is make out to be, electrifying with lights and great energy. Tried Takoyaki but I was not for us. Went to dinner for Yakiniku style restaurant, where you bbq your own food at the table. This as so fun and we all loved it. There was an all you can eat option, but we went a la cart. Note – Osaka was not our favourite city. It seemed a bit harder to navigate and not as engaging for us.

**Day 8 Day trip to Kobe – Hotel Monterey Osaka**

The next day we headed to Kobe for a day trip. The weather was notably warmer, in the latter days. Spring had sprung! Kobe was great! We also had two occasions in Kobe where older Japanese people saw us trying to work out where to go on the phone, and gave us directions. We went to Shin Kobe station as that was near our lunch booking at Wakkoqu. We were the first in and lunch was amazing! Note – lunch sets for Kobe beef are much cheaper than dinner! – The set included 130g of Kobe beef, rice, soup, salad, green tea, vegetables, tofu, dessert, and coffee. This is all prepared on a teppanyaki grill in front of you. Highly recommend the experience and this restaurant. From the restaurant, it was a very short walk to the Kobe Herb Garden Cable Car (Gondola) with great signage. The Herb Garden is a must do if you visit Kobe! The Cable Car ride very fun and you have panoramic views of Kobe. At the top, there are shops and a restaurant. The lavender iced cream is yum! If you go to the half way stop, you can visit the different gardens. While many things were not in bloom, for the end of winter, there are immaculate planters of flowers everywhere. After that, we headed to Kobe’s world-famous China Town for some awesome food. Back to Osaka to rest to head back to Tokyo the next day.

**Day 9 – Osaka to Tokyo, Ginza – Sotetsu Fresa Inn Ginza-Nanachome**

Back on the bullet train to Tokyo to Ginza. When we arrived in Ginza, we found they had the main street open to pedestrians, with cars blocked off. It was super cool! We did some shopping and explored Ginza, which is a very upmarket area. A pretty chill day as we were getting ready to leave the next day….or so we thought.

**Day 10 – The day that was supposed to be the last day…Ginza to Ueno, Tokyo – Ueno Touganeya Hotel**

On Day 10, we woke up, checked out of the hotel and went to have breakfast at Eggs N Things (only place open). Tip – As most placed did not open until 11, on quite a few occasions, we left our luggage at the hotel after checkout and did things, ate, and then came back to get them. – When we got to the road, we discovered, it was the day of the Tokyo Marathon, which went through Ginza. At the restaurant, we waited an hour for a table, as they seemed understaffed and overwhelmed, due to the marathon. At breakfast, we went to check our flight was on time and we could not find it! Our flight did not exist! I pulled out the booking and it said in black and white, March 5, 9pm flight out of Narita. We could find the previous day’s flight and next day’s flight, but not ours. Nightmare! Super stressed, we went back to the hotel and sat in the lobby to try and work it out. We had no Japanese number to call, so I ended up ‘texting’, on Jetstar’s messenger service. The rep said our flight had been on the 4th, brought forward a day in September 2022 but we were never informed. I am onto things, and checked all my emails…nothing. The rep sent terms and conditions saying flights could change at any time ect and we were getting very nervous. Eventually, they said, “Let me see what I can do for you.” The managed to get us on the next day’s flight. Thank God! It took ages as they were working on it from their side and according to their system, we were a ‘no show.’ We sat in the lobby, waiting on baited breath to see the ‘…’ signifying that they were typing. Finally, we got our new tickets, and confirmation. It took two and half hours and was verrrrry stressful. Once we had that we looked for accommodation, Sotetsu Fresa Inn Ginza-Nanachome where we were, was $136 for adjoining rooms when I booked in June, the same was now $650, so we looked elsewhere. We wanted to go to the Zoo in Ueno before the flight drama so booked at Ueno Touganeya Hotel which was no frills but an awesome family room and the only hotel we found with a couch in the room. By the time we got to Ueno, the Zoo was closing but we explored the park and found CHERRY BLOSSOMS. Ueno Park was full of glorious Sakura trees in full bloom. It made us feel a bit like, the extra day was worth it in the end.

**Day 11 – The last day**

On our last day, we did some more shopping at Ameyoko Shopping District. It was here we found most of the ‘Japan’ merch, shirts, hats, magnets etc at good prices. The shopping area is expansive but well priced goods. We headed back to Tokyo Station to catch the Nex around 3pm for our 9pm flight. After the debacle the previous day, we wanted a smooth airport experience. Leaving the Nex at Narita, it was kind of funny to see all the panic-stricken faces of tourists just arriving, trying to work out how to get tickets. We had been these people just 11 days before, but at this stage we felt much calmer. After what felt like 10000 subway and train rides, we were feeling like pros. The food at terminal 3 was great and we made it to the flight, after buying some duty-free Kit Kats to share with friends and work mates. The flight went fast as we slept most of the way, and arrived back on the Gold Coast safe and sound. We had the most amazing time and have the most amazing photos and memories to look back on.