Trip Report – 3/8 to 3/19 – Osaka, Tokyo, Nagano with 8 people and some people with mobility issues

I lurked a bunch in this group before my trip so am hoping that a trip report will help others. We had a larger group and a couple people in the group are mobility challenged so some of my tidbits are unique to those aspects.

Some general notes:

\-I got a pocket wifi from Ninja Wifi and it was great. I picked it up from Kansai and dropped off at Narita and it was so easy. I rushed through customs and had it before the others were all through. Others in the group were using their travel plans (T mobile and Verizon) and by the end of the trip most were just connecting to my wifi because it was much faster. It wasn’t completely perfect and had a couple glitches here and there, but nothing that restarting the unit didn’t fix. I did bring my own power bank and 100% needed it.

\-We flew into Kansai and landed around 7pm. The entry at Kansai was a breeze. Everyone had done the Visit Japan ahead of time. We took screenshots but there is airport wifi in the customs area so we could have used that as well. We were through and had our bags within 30 minutes.

\-It did take us a couple of days to get the hang of the various train lines, reading google maps, etc. A lot of the train station are huge as well so we learned to allow ALOT more time than google suggested for walking, especially since our group moved on the slower side. I tried to prep everyone to add Suica/Pasmo on their phones but myself and my mom were the only ones who actually did. Two people had physical IC cards from a previous trip but the other 4 kept putting it off and ended up not ever getting an IC card. It was a huge pain to stop and get tickets every time and they regretted it by the end of the trip.

\-I had saved everything using Google’s MyMap before we left but I ended up not using it very much. I chose it so I could color code locations but it didn’t integrate very well into the app. I had to click on the saved maps every time I wanted to see what was around us, and you also can’t add anything on the app. This could be user error as this was my first time using the MyMaps instead of a list but I’ll probably go back to just creating a list within the app next time.

\-We brought little goodies with us to hand out in lieu of tips and everyone loved them. Little things like mac nuts (we are from Hawaii) were received with much exclamation and appreciation.

\-We were celebrating 3 different birthdays while we were there so we did reserve those dinners, since we had a larger party. We mostly split up for the rest of the meals. I can’t speak to how easily we would have gotten in without reservations as we didn’t try.

\-Like everyone else, I HIGHLY recommend the luggage transfer services. It was so nice to take the train from city to city with just a backpack. We stayed in hotels in each place and the front desk handled it for us each time. I had a larger suitcase and it was about 2000 yen for each of the transfers (Osaka to Tokyo and Tokyo to Nagano). The only time we took our luggage was on the last train ride back to the airport and that’s only because we forgot to ask how far in advance we would need to drop off and I was nervous about getting it in time for the flight. It probably would have been fine though. I also left my computer charger in Osaka and the hotel shipped it to me overnight. You usually pay when you drop off your bags but they let me pay that one upon pickup.

\-Day 0 – Arrived in Osaka. We stayed at the Swissotel Nankai Osaka and it is located on top of Namba station. This hotel was recommended to us by a flight attendant who travels to Japan frequently and it was great for convenience being right at the train and metro station. It was a 10 minute walk to the Dotonbori area, which was about the maximum that my aunt could walk with her walker.

\- Day 1 – day trip to Nara. I signed us up for a free tour with the YMCA EGG Club and it was fantastic. We did get a wheelchair from the Kintetsu station info office. They have exactly one available and it’s first come, first serve but our guide said she has never seen anyone use it before. It was perfect for us as there was a lot of walking that day. A few things were not accessible but we could leave the wheelchair outside and my aunt could use her cane.

We split up after the tour to get lunch. Me and an auntie ended up at Maguro Koya for oo toro and it was the perfect first lunch in Japan. A true mom and pop but they did have an English menu and spoke great English. It was only a few blocks from the Kintetsu station as well. Auntie and I had a few cups of sake as well and after a lingering and delicious lunch we went back to the train station and back to Osaka.

After a nap, we took a couple of cabs to the Dotonbori area since we were running late for dinner. In hindsight, it was silly for all of us to cab since the able bodied could have walked in the same amount of time. We didn’t know our way around yet, though, so we all just cabbed. Dinner was at the Kanidoraku crab restaurant on the Dotonbori. It was just OK, probably wouldn’t go back as there are so many fantastic places in Osaka. After dinner we went to Donki for a little chaos. Uncle nearly had a panic attack at the crowds and needed to wait outside.

\-Day 2 – day trip to Kyoto – Only half of us did this as the other half had been before. We wanted to see as much as possible in the day so we reserved a guided taxi tour with Doi Taxi. It was 40,000 yen for our group of 4 and up to 7 hours but there was no way we were going to get to see much if we had to walk and take busses. I had asked him to take us to one temple and requested few stairs and little walking. He started by driving us to Gion and we did get out and walk around a bit. I had requested lunch at Yudofu Sagano in Arashiyama and if you like tofu you must go there! We walked around the Tenryu-Ji temple and gardens after lunch, which was beautiful. The Arashiyama area was packed with people. I thought Gion would be the crowded area but it had nothing on Arashiyama. After the temple we headed back to the train station to go back to Osaka. We probably didn’t get quite the bang for our buck that we could have but we were getting very tired.

\-Day 3 – free day. We all did our own thing. Some went to Osaka Castle, some did the Aquarium, and some just wandered.

Day 4 – Osaka to Tokyo. The teenagers were not impressed that we woke them up to get to the train station early to get bentos. They would have preferred to sleep and grab Family Mart but the rest of us wanted to browse and pick out the perfect ekiben. The selection was not as large as I was expecting at Shin-Osaka but we did still get some goodies. The teenagers were not impressed by the Nozomi and slept but the rest of us enjoyed our bentos and scenery. We got some beers and highballs from the snack cart and noted that they only took cash or IC cards, not credit cards.

Our hotel in Tokyo was the Shibuya Excel Hotel Tokyu. It wasn’t quite as nice as the Swissotel but had a prime location right on the Scramble and the rooms were decently sized for Japan. My uncle almost had a panic attack when we got out of the Shibuya Station and he saw all of the people but he got used to it. We booked this hotel pretty far in advance and got a great deal. When I checked closer to the trip (just for giggles) it was a lot more expensive.

Day 5 – Tsukiji Market in the morning for breakfast/lunch/shopping then TeamLab Planets. Nothing new to report about those activities but this day is when we started to have issues finding escalators and elevators in the train station. Several stations in Tokyo were under construction and there were a couple of times we couldn’t find any accessible options. Luckily, our mobility challenged people aren’t totally immobile and could take the stairs but it was very tiring for them. I did appreciate that most of the subways and trains (and busses) have screens that show the stops and the location of escalators and elevators but they weren’t always accurate if there was construction.

I really wanted to go to the Shibuya Yokocho for dinner and everyone in the group liked that idea, even the teens. I didn’t think there was any chance we would all be able to eat together but we went early just in case. To my surprise we did find one place that could seat exactly 8 (if we crammed, which we did) and it was wonderful. I have no idea what it is called since most of the signs outside are in Japanese but the owner/chef/bartender is named Hiro. We had some of my favorite bites of the whole trip there including a uni miso omelet and blue cheese baked mochi. The “menu” was just slips of paper on the wall, all in Japanese, but it was fun to try and use Google Translate and pick random things based on the translation. The mochi, for example, translated as “blue rice”. A few of the adults bar hopped after dinner and we had a great time at each place, but Hiro’s was my favorite.

Day 6 + 7 – Random Tokyo wandering and nothing interesting or crazy to report. Uncle went to Golden Gai by himself and reported that he liked the Shibuya Yokocho better. He thought Golden Gai seemed like a larger, more touristy version.

We did go to Tokyo Skytree one of these days and for the love, make a reservation if you want to go there. They do let you buy tickets same day but the line was horrendous and we were regretting our lack of planning as we watched the people with reservations walk right up.

Day 8 – Tokyo to Nagano – Our group split at this point. Half started in Shibu Onsen for some relaxation and half went to Lotte Arai resort for some skiing. I was part of the Shibu group so I’ll report mainly on that. We chose Shibu because it was close to the snow monkey park and for the onsen experience. Shibu has 9 “public” onsen that only locals and people staying in a ryokan in Shibu get a key for. Getting there was very easy. The shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagano took 1.5 hours and then the Dentetsu line to Yudanaka was about an hour. Our hotel picked us up at the train station.

Shibu was one of the highlights of the trip and it was especially relaxing after Tokyo. We stayed at the Shibu Hotel, which is a ryokan and family run for over 100 years. It was a bit of a splurge but we chose to include the kaiseki dinner and breakfast. The service was incredible. There are two brothers that are basically shuttling people around all day, to and from the train station and to and from the snow monkey park, and running the hotel. One of the wives and the mother run the front desk. The ryokan also has several public and private onsen for guests. It seemed like a lot of the ryokan in town were similar but as I’ve only stayed at Shibu Hotel I can only speak for them. Also important to note, they have a few rooms with Western style beds and an elevator, which is the main reason we stayed there. Most of the ryokan only offer Japanese style rooms, which I would have been fine with by myself but did not work for the group.

Shibu was very accessible, which I was not expecting. The town is tiny and the whole thing can be walked easily. Some of the little alleys weren’t walker friendly but the main streets were tiled (I think), very smooth and wide enough for the walker. Not all of the onsen were accessible but most had a little step/s or railing so we could all participate. It was some family bonding for sure LOL

Day 9 – Snow Monkeys! We took the hotel shuttle to the park entrance and they even had snow boots for us, as the trail gets icy or muddy depending on the season. It was cold but not icy for us but we still appreciated the boots as it was a bit muddy in spots. It took us about 20 minutes to walk each way but I can see it taking much longer if there’s snow or ice. There were so many monkeys and they were very unconcerned with people. No shit throwing or bag stealing was seen, unlike my previous monkey experience in Thailand. You could do this as a day trip from Nagano or even Tokyo very easily. This was not accessible as there are stairs at the beginning and end of the trip and auntie didn’t want to try and walk a mile so she stayed at the hotel and enjoyed coffee in the lobby and browsing some of their homemade goodies (green onion miso, yum!).

We then took the local train back to Nagano and checked in to the Metropolitan Hotel, again right at the train station (have you sensed our preference yet). Lunch was at Misoya for my favorite ramen of the trip. I love me some miso. We saw the main temple in Nagano and visited the sake brewery close by.

Day 10 – Last full day and it was raining and cold. We didn’t do a whole lot this day because of the rain but did some last minute shopping. At the Tokyu department store we found the best basement grocery with a bunch of food stalls so we grabbed a bunch of different foods and a bottle of local sake for lunch in the room.

Day 11 – Lunch at Misoya again before catching the Shinkansen back to Tokyo Station and then the Narita Express to the airport. We were pretty disappointed in the food and shopping options at Terminal 2, unfortunately. We left Nagano after lunch at 1:30 so had allowed extra time at the airport for dinner and some duty free shopping but nothing was open by the time we got through security at 6pm. We should have had dinner outside of security but we didn’t realize nothing would be open. There was one little conbini that has some tuna musubi and egg salad sandwiches so that was dinner. We were more sad that the duty free was closed as we had been planning on buying some of our whisky and sake allotment there. We didn’t come home empty handed but just less than we had planned.

Whew, that took awhile to write. I hope someone, somewhere finds any part of this helpful!