Hello all, I’ll be traveling with my Wife and Son ( 4yr old turning 5.) for the first time in Japan ending of Sept-Oct. any advice and tips would be appreciated.
**Few Questions**
– Do I need to get my child an IC card for trains and Shinkansens?
– Any parents traveling with toddlers, how was your experience?
– Is my Itinerary too packed for the days or just right?
**PRE Flight**
– Exchange some Money @ bank
– Install Suica Card on phones
– Install an eSIM
– Install Apple AirTags on Luggages
**Sept 26-27 Flight Day**
– Flying from Honolulu Sept. 26 8.5hr Flight
– Arrive at Haneda Airport @ 5pm
– Check in near Asakusa Station
– Groceries 7-Eleven
– Walk around Asakusa if theres time and energy
**Sept. 28 (Day 1) Shibuya, Meiji Shrine, Harajuku**
– Shibuya Crossing, Hachiko Statue, Eat
– Shibuya Sky
– Meiji Shrine
– Takeshita Street, Jingumae Area
– Back to Hotel
**Sept. 29 (Day 2) Asakusa & Tokyo Tower**
– Explore Sensoji Temple and Namikase St.
– Lunch @ Namikase area
– Tokyo Tower
– Roppongi Hills
**Sept. 30(Day 3) TeamLabs & Akihabara**
– TeamLabs Planets Tokyo
– Tsukiji Outer Market
– Akihabara
**Oct. 1 (Day 4) (Sons Bday) Ueno**
– Forward Luggage to Kyoto Hotel
– Ueno Boat Ride @ Shinobazuno Pond
– Ueno Park & Zoo
– Ameya Yokocho
**Oct. 2 (Day 5)Tokyo 🚆 Kyoto**
– Check Out
– Ekiben Lunch for the bullet train
– Nozomi Shinkansen Tokyo-Kyoto
– Check in near Kyoto Station
– Kiyomizu-Dera sunset
– Yasaka Pagoda
**Oct. 3 (Day 6) Kyoto Day 2**
– Wake Up Early,
– Go Early and Explore Fushimi Inari Taisha
– Back to Hotel
– Nishiki Market Lunch
– Kinkaku Ji
**Oct. 4 (Day 7) Kyoto Day 3**
– Forward Luggage to Osaka Hotel
– Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
– Explore and Have Lunch @ Arashiyama
– Monkey Park
– Get some rest @ Hotel
– Downtown Kyoto for dinner
**Oct. 5 (Day 8) Kyoto – Osaka**
– Check Out, Check In near Osaka-Namba Station
– Harukas 300
– Explore Shinsekai
**Oct. 6 (Day 9) Osaka Day 2**
– Explore Osaka Castle
– Namba Shrine
– Explore, Shop and Eat @ Dotonbori
**Oct.7 (Day 10) Nara Day Trip**
– Explore Nara
– Todaiji Temple
– Nara Park
**Oct.8 (Day 11) Kobe Day Trip**
– Shopping Day @ Kobe Motomachi Shotengai
– Kobe Chinatown
– Eat some Kobe Steak
**Oct.9 (Day 12) Home**
– Check out, have Hotel hold our luggages
– Explore one last time
– Kuromon Market
– Fly Home from KIX 8:45pm flight
4 comments
Your toddler will need an IC card for the trains. Their fare will just be cheaper.
We just visited in Dec with my 7 year old, so not a toddler. We also stayed an about 8 days longer than your trip. But I will say by the middle of our trip my son was tired and just didn’t want to go out as often as we did in the beginning of the trip. So we took a few days where my husband or I went out and the other stayed home with our son.
You’re going to be putting in 15-20,000 steps a day or more. I’d definitely take that into consideration for your toddler. Thats a lot of steps for 10+ days for an adult. It’s going to be a ton for a toddler. So if you haven’t thought about a stroller or something I would think about it. But the trains and stations aren’t very well set up for strollers. The trains will be crowded and there won’t be room for a stroller on board most of the time. If your toddler is young enough to be held for part of it, it may help, but that’s going to be taxing on whoever is holding him.
It’s tempting to want to shove in as much stuff as you can since it’s a limited trip. But I think the best option it to be flexible and make sure you do the stuff you absolutely want to do before your trip is over early in the trip so if you end up having to cut some stuff out you won’t be too upset about missing something.
Im in osaka/kyoto the same dates as you are and i will have a 2 year old in tow. We decided to do only a 1 week trip (oct 2-9) and only do Kansai region because I am not very sure my little one will be at her best. Haha! Im also planning on taking an umbrella stroller. I’ll be following your posts to see if you get further suggestions about traveling with a toddler.
Hi! I live in Japan with my two year old and for the most part, Japan is a lovely place to travel with children!!
At teamlabs there’s a water portion where (depending on how tall your child is), you’ll most likely have to carry them through unless you want them to go swimming 😅
We went to a really foreigner and child friendly restaurant in Kyoto called teppan tavern tenamonya. I would recommend it!!
I’d personally try to build in some more child focused activities into your itinerary, even if it’s just checking out playgrounds.
Hi there, I’m currently in Japan travelling with my 3.5 year old and most days, he’s passed out by 6pm because there’s been so much happening so expect to do one to two things a day but not more. If it’s not too late, consider stroller hire or bringing your own – it’s a lot for a little legs (even if you do have to do a lot of Where’s Wally to find a lift) – the stroller should be easily foldable because you’ll be taking it up stairs where there are no lifts, and into restaurants.
If your kid is an early riser, you’re going to find most things don’t open til eleven – so get acquainted with the options at your local convenience store!
IMHO, day 1 and day 2 might be too heavy for a young kid. As the other people have said, you might have to be flexible about removing some other options.