Trip details
Ewr-hnd land in HND 4/6 3:30pm
2 adults 40yo, 2 kids 7&9 both well behaved
We love to eat and wander- we aren’t huge on seeing ALL the temples and shrines but when in roam… we will see a few here and there. I have had the hardest time with food, my kids eat everything, sushi, ramen, tempura, curries, etc but seems reservations are a must, or waiting in lines for hours, and even so, most places from what I see online are tiny and not “kid friendly”. I would gladly pay for an omakase for all of us including kids (at adult prices) but seems they aren’t even allowed…
If anyone has suggestions on places to eat in any of these cities below, I’d greatly appreciate it.
We all enjoy anime/manga, kids love pokemon and my hero acadamia, we are traveling light, just a travel backpack each and are pretty fit (we know a lot of walking will be needed)
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wife is a huge disney fan and the last 2 days were “non negotiable” and also the 1st weekend of the 40th aniversay which is why we land in tokyo and immediate leave, we spend the 2nd half of the vacation in tokyo. wondering if i should just scrap the osaka trip as it really breaks up kyoto but on the other hand, its osaka. thoughts on how to maximize kyoto?
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**Day 1** \- Tokyo
Arrive at HND 4/6 3:30pm-
pick up wifi and JR tickets, travel to shinjuku for 1 night stay at Gracery Hotel (godzilla). Walk around shinjuku, dinner, explore
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**Day 2** \- Tokyo/Kyoto
Explore shinjuku a bit more in morning, head to shinagawa for JR train to kyoto (seats reserved for 12:07 train) Arrive in kyoto \~3pm- travel to hotel in Gion- drop off luggage and explore gion area, QUESTION, any good temple or site to see in the gion area without much walking/travel… will probably be tired by this point
Nishiki market dinner?
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**Day 3**\- Kyoto
Arashiyma( bamboo forest),
kinkaku-ji- worth going here vs other temples?, kiyomizu dera temple instead?
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**Day 4**\- Osaka Train from kyoto at 9:30am, return train at 8pm
Dontonbori, pokemon center, todai-ji temple, explore
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**Day 5**\- Return to tokyo, train at 1pm arrive in tokyo \~330pm
In Kyoto AM: Fushimi-inari shrine (red gates), check out and head to train station
In Tokyo PM: Check into tokyo station hotel, maybe see if I can get a seat at pokemon café, head to and explore akihabara (maid café?)
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**Day 6**\- team lab reservation 10am
Ikebukuro area- explore/eat
Pokemon center mega
Otaku/anime shops
Animate ikebukoro
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**Day 7**\- Shibuya, harajuku (mipig reservation 5pm), walk shopping streets (takeshita dori), meiji shrine, starbucks rostery? gyukatsu motomura possible? Mega donki,
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**Day 8**\- Check out of hotel, check into hilton tokyo bay (disney)
Tskuiji market (walk to it?), Chiyoda city? muji, ginza
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**Day 9**\- disneysea
**Day 10**\- disneyland
**Day 11**\- flight to EWR 3:30pm from HND
QUESTION- what can/should we do for the first part of the day?
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some more logistics questions- each person needs their own IC card right? can i just have everyones apple watch have an IC transit card loaded? do you need cellular/internet to make them work in the subway system? should i just stick with paper cards?
i have my JR pass pickup location as HND, if lines are long can i just skip that and head to my hotel in shinjuku and pick up my passes at shinjuku station instead?
and glaring misses or areas to skip/replace?
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thanks
3 comments
Get IC card
E-sim = cheapest most convenient
I liked Asakusa a lot
You can bring food into disney.
Hi!
None of this is meant to be rude.
I highly recommend to anyone who wants to go to TDR to download the Disney App ahead of time and have it set up and ready to go. That way should you decide to buy Premier Passes you are ready as soon as you enter the park.
A few notes on everything else… the official Nishiki Shopping street tends to close around 5 pm or 6. There are lots of restaurants on the surrounding streets, but it won’t be Nishiki. so it’s sort of up to you how you want to handle it. There are some small temples and shrines on the surrounding streets or you could go to Gion and Maruyama Park and Yasaka jinja. It’s not so faraway.
I like Kiyomizudera, but it’s on the opposite side of Kyoto from Arashiyama. You could go to Tenryuji or travel further to Kinkakuji. They’re a lot closer.
I’m pretty sure Todaiji is actually in Nara not, Osaka. You can do Kyoto to Nara to Osaka to back to Kyoto, just make sure you go to the right place. I would go to Nara first.
There are two Pokemon Centers in Osaka (at least) Shinsaibashi and Umeda. My tween who loves Pokemon likes both. Kyoto also has a really nice Pokemon Center.
If you’re staying in the Tokyo Station Hotel, make sure to get breakfast at the Atrium the next morning, It’s so delicious.
Good luck!
For Tokyo Disney, all of the restaurants reservations only. We didn’t know this so we ended up eating at the food court.