My kids are 14 and 16 and I’ve worked at planning a varied itinerary. One thing I haven’t really been able to work in as much as I’d like is MUSIC. My 14 yr old plays guitar and is really into music, and I’m not sure how to incorporate that into our trip in a meaningful way (that’s also teen-friendly). Any ideas?
T 5/23 – Tokyo : Haneda Arrival -> Tokyo Station hotel
Depending on need for rest, shop and eat near hotel
********************
W 5/24 – Tokyo
am Team Lab Planets
Shibuya Sky?
Shibuya nail appt for 16 yr old
Evening walking tour of Shibuya + Batting Cages
*************************
Th 5/25 – Tokyo
Tokyo AM (22 Min Walk) : 8-9
Your Name Stairs for my Anime kid at Yotsuya Station
Sakurai tea experience Shibuya
18:00 Giants Baseball Game at the Tokyo Dome
*****************************
F 5/26 -> Kyoto in early am
Book seat on right side of train
Nijo Castle
Ninja Classes at Ninja Dojo
********************************
S 5/27 – Kyoto –
early morning train to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine
PM: ? Gion ? — MUSIC HERE?
****************************
S 5/28 – Kyoto
Am : Kiyomizu-dera, Yasaka Shrine, and Kennin-ji
Afternoon : Karaoke box at Super Jankara Kawaramachi
Walk through enmusubi stone at Kyoto’s Yasui Kompira Gu temple
PM : ?? Add MUSIC??
****************************
M 5/29 – → Nara
Yamanobe no michi – (6 mi rural walk w/ shrines)
****************************
T 5/30 Nara am -> Osaka
am – Nara Park, Todai-ji, Kasuga-taisha
afternoon : Self walking tour in afternoon of Dotonbori
PM : Jazz Tombori River Cruise
****************************
W 5/31
Am Daytrip to Naruto x Boruto park Nijigen no mori
Afternoon Kobe Ropeway? Dinner
****************************
Th 6/1 Daytrip Hiroshima / Himeji
am : Himeji Castle
afternoon : Hiroshima Peace Park and Museum
Miyajima
****************************
F 6/2 -> Kanazawa
afternoon : Light Lunch in the Market, Phonograph Museum
pm : Hyakumangoku Festival Lanterns in river
****************************
S 6/3 Kanazawa
Early morning : Omicho Fish Market in Kanazawa
Kenroku-en Garden
Afternoon : Hyakumangoku Parade
PM : Noh performances
****************************
S 6/4 Kanazawa
am : Kanazawa Castle?
Higashi Chaya District
Nagamachi Samurai
? Festival ? Add MUSIC ??
****************************
M 6/5 -> Yokahama
Cup noodles factory
Cosmo World (ferris wheel) Chinatown
? Add MUSIC??
Last minute shopping
****************************
T 6/6 -> Haneda
1 comment
Hi!
You would need to move things around somewhat, but this should fit the bill for music:
[https://www.inhamamatsu.com/art/innovation-road.php](https://www.inhamamatsu.com/art/innovation-road.php)
You can also do a tour of the Yamaha Factory and see how pianos are made.
Probably it would make sense to move your Kyoto afternoon things for your arrival day to the afternoon of your Fushimi Inari day and instead stop in Hamamatsu on the way to Kyoto.
In terms of your current itinerary:
Make sure to do the breakfast at the Atrium at the Tokyo Station Hotel. It’s so delicious. My tween loves staying there and she loves the breakfast.
Make sure you know how to get to Nijigen no mori, unless you are planning to rent a car and drive there. I was clicking on some of the links on the official site about buses and some of the links don’t take you to the schedule as promised.
My tween had a friend who tried to go in 2019 with their Dad. The Dad is a little incompetent with directions, and really struggled to get there. By the time they did get there, the park was closing and they had to race back to the front of the park to not miss the last bus back to Hyogo-ken, so they never really ended up doing anything. I’m not saying you can’t go, but don’t be like them.
I did some of Yamanobe no Michi. It’s really lovely. I would have done more, but it was super hot and humid and my tween just refused. The Kintetsu to get to Sakurai runs quite frequently (I believe you have to go to Yamato-Yagi from Kyoto and then change to get to Sakurai) but the JR Sakurai line has trains once an hour at best.
I think on June 1 you will be hard pressed to do Himeji, Hiroshima and Miyajima all in one day.
Good luck!