Spring 2021 dreaming

27 comments

1. For Kanazawa, the Ninja-dera is actually located right by the Western Chaya District. You’d probably do better if you did them both in the same day.

   As for something to do after the Snoopy Museum, you could hit the observation deck of Mori Tower or go to Azabu Juban.

   There’s also my favorite urban onsen nearby too. It’s called Take-no-Yu and has dark water (think black coffee) which is supposedly great for your skin.

2. This doesn’t answer any of your questions, but I recently did a week in Kansai!

   Kyoto can be really, really touristy which, for me, wasn’t ideal at all. I think either prepare to be swarmed by tourists at the most popular sites, or try to go off the beaten path and discover all the magic Kyoto has to offer! That being said, my best day there was spent exploring Gingaku-Ji around Kyoto University and walking around the Shimogamo Shrine. Highly recommend 🙂 also, the best food I had there was at this place called Spice Chamber near Shijo. But it’s all bar seats with only 8-10 seats, so I don’t know if it’s family friendly unless you go quite early.

   Osaka has some of the best coffee shops I’ve been to. Highly recommend doing Osaka Castle if you have the time, it would be lovely in spring. It’s the only castle I’d seen in Japan, but when I talked to a few others about it, they said it’s the prototype for the others essentially and the most impressive.

3. While in Kansai (Kyoto/Osaka) area, you might want to look into getting a “Kansai Thru Pass” It’s like $50 for 3 days and it covers from Himeji to Osaka to Nara to Kyoto. I found it to be a great deal over JR Pass

   [https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357_005.html](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357_005.html)

4. Suggesting Toyama after Kanazawa,if you are not going to Shirakawa-go. You can ride the Doraemon tram in takaoka and maybe join the firefly squid tour on top of the sightseeing there!

5. You’re Kyoto part of the itinerary looks pretty packed to me, especially the first day if that is the same day you arrive in Kyoto. The Higashiyama area of Kyoto isn’t particularly convenient to get around using public transport so you’ll likely end up walking a lot, which won’t be easy with a young child. I’d suggest adding an extra day to Kyoto, maybe shorten Kanazawa by a day. Kanazawa isn’t as big as it seems so you could shorten it by a day in my opinion. Plan well and you can see everything in a couple of days. Kyoto is worth spending a bit more time in, especially with when you’re planning on going as the sakura might be blooming by then. It will be very busy (sakura hype and school holidays around that time) so expect things to take longer to see and do due to crowds. Having an extra day of breathing room will make the trip more enjoyable I think. Maybe also consider going Tokyo -> Osaka -> Kyoto -> Kanazawa. That’ll make the train ride to Kanazawa slightly shorter but also give you more time in Kyoto for your first day

   Shirakawa-go will likely still be cool around when you want to visit. There may even still be some snow depending on how much it gets during the winter. So definitely take a jacket at least. March to April weather can fluctuate a lot in Japan. One year we had a mini heatwave which was great, the next year it snowed during that time. It’s very hard to plan for. Don’t bank on it being warm. This will also affect whether the sakura blooms. So don’t plan your trip around that. It requires a bit of luck.

6. 3 full days is really the absolute minimum I would recommend for Kyoto. The city benefits so much from extra time for exploration and getting off the beaten path. Day 10 in particular is packed and could really be broken into two full days, and if you’re there at the height of cherry blossoms, you’ll likely want to spend even longer. I think some of your Tokyo days could be pretty easily combined or eliminated to accommodate this (2, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are much lighter than the rest, and the Imperial Palace is pretty skippable IMO). With exact dates I could give more specific advice on events and foliage. See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/5wgxa1/best_way_to_group_these_sites_in_kyoto/dea059y/?context=3) for my general advice about arranging sights in Kyoto. I also highly recommend renting bikes if you’re comfortable with it and have time.

   As lovely as Kanazawa is, it’s really bizarre to me that you’re giving it as much or more time than Kyoto, which is much larger and has more to see. I also think it makes sense to just continue one to Takayama if you’re going to Shirakawa-go rather than doubling back to Kanazawa since you’ll already be more than half-way there.

   Also, traveling with a child, you may benefit from taking things slower. I wouldn’t generally consider this itinerary rushed (as a whole–certain days like 3 and 10 are very full though) for young adult travelers, but adding a kid can change a lot. As for places to avoid, just keep together and you should generally be fine. The touts can be annoying (and possibly intimidating) but they don’t generally target families and they’ll give up fast if you just ignore them. Some stores in Akihabara have adult-oriented material in plain view, so be aware of that if that’s a concern.

   As far as clothes go, be sure to bring something warm. You won’t need winter gear unless you really go up in the mountains, but you’ll be a lot more comfortable in pants and light jackets/sweaters than you will with shorts and T-shirts.

   For phones, I would much sooner go with Data Sims over pocket WIFI. It gives you a lot more flexibility (e.g., for splitting up) and peace of mind (in case you get separated unintentionally), and it’s one less thing to worry about charging and carrying around.

   As far as accommodations are concerned–your issue right now is that most places don’t accept reservations this far in advance, not that they’re already booked. Check again in 6-9 months and you’ll have a lot more options. I also think it is very, very worthwhile to spend a bit more to stay more centrally. While staying in Yotsugi would not be the end of the world, the added time, energy, and cost of the extra transit you’ll be doing every day can be very detrimental, and more central stations with more connections also have a lot more nearby dining and shopping options.

   Feel free to ask any further questions. I know a lot about Kansai in particular since I’ve lived there for over 6 years.

7. The thing that I would be worried about with your itinerary is that these are really busy days with a lot of walking/travelling. When my partner and I travelled Japan, as two decently fit adults, we found all the walking tiring and had to plan a midday break into each day. We got even more tired as the trip went on. I would be concerned that travelling around with a young child is going to be a tiring experience. You have some rests planned, but I would consider planning some more. Your day 3 is very similar to a day we did and we included an afternoon nap haha. Even if you can just plan a long lunch, or an hour sitting in a park if the weather is good.

8. Just a few minor points:

   1) Great idea to build in rest into your itinerary, not a bad thing to not be on the move *constantly*.

   2) Pokémon Center Mega in Ikebukuro was a bit underwhelming, I found Pokémon Center DX in Nihonbashi much more impressive – and if you’re into Pokémon, make a reservation at the attached Pokémon Cafe.

   3) If you have to connect via the US, remember you have to pass through US customs on the way back, so you’ll probably have to collect and recheck your luggage… Edit: Ehh, missed the “travelling light” part.

9. Skip Golden Gai. Not kid friendly.

10. hey, youre getting a lot of feedback already which is great. you have clearly done a lot of research and you have a great selection of things to do and see in japan. in general though i think you are trying to pack way too much stuff in, which is a common thing. I guess the best thing is you wont be short of things to do but dont make it your mission to visit everything on this list. Ive been here for 3 years and i have travelled a lot but would never exhaust myself to do all that in 3 weeks. i dont know how active you are but having a quality time at certain place definitely beats going to as many places as possible. i think all the things you have planned for days 11 and 12 wont work out. i go to arashiyama and easily spend the best part of a day there because its just so beautiful. i love trains too so i could spend several hours at the train museum, then go for some good food and a walk around kyoto; thats a whole day. not to mention hiking around Fushimi inari is a lot of work.

    ill also just chime in on Day 16 because i live in Osaka. i think that those 3 areas are fantastic but shinsekai-amerimura- shinsaibashi wont fill out a day. Amerikamura is just one street/block in shinsaibashi anyway so unless you really love fashion/street wear it wont take up more than an hour or two of your time. shinsekai is awesome but its only worth visiting in the evening. id say tack a shinsekai dinner on to the evening after youve been out to nara. then try see some spots around shinsaibashi when you go to dotonbori. now you have an extra day to catch up on some of those kyoto things?

    i lived in kanazawa for a year and i think its worth the extra day there but im probably biased.

    ​

    best cheap-o restaurant: gyoza no osho

    ​

    all the best!

11. Shirakawa-go is rad and you should definitely go but based on my last visit in mid-April 2017 it’s gonna be cold. We stayed overnight and there was snow on the ground in the morning.

    Bars in Japan are generally cool with kids unless explicitly stated and/or there’s some kind of entertainment component that isn’t appropriate for them so while I don’t have any specific examples of places in Golden Gai where you could take an 8 year old (maybe The Open Book?), I’d imagine if you poke your head in a few doors and ask, you’ll find a place. That said, Golden Gai is fucken expensive and most bars have covers and charge through the fucking nose even for soda, so, yeah…

    I always try to dissuade people from going to Ichiran but it looks like you have plans to visit some local ramen shops too so, rad. Go to Hayshida in Shinjuku on your last day and get the nodoguro soba, or something.

    Enjoy your trip 🙂

12. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Japan three times now, I can answer a few of your questions…

    * AirBnb: I’ve stayed at lodgings on the same line on two trips, one near Keisei-Tateishi station, the other near Aoto station. I found that line to be pretty well connected, it was about 20-30 minutes to most places in Tokyo, the biggest real downside, is it’s not really “Near” anything, so unless you’re a big night owl and wanting to be out past 11pm, you’re probably fine. Yotsugi is one stop closer to the city than where I’d stayed. The 3 day metro cards for 1500 yen were fantastic.

    * I’ve flown Air Canada twice, in Ecomony, once on a 777 and the second on a 787. The 777 was the most miserable I’ve been on an airplane my entire life. The food wasn’t bad, and the in-flight service was fine, but literally everything about that flight sucked. The 787 was marginally better. My most recent trip, was on Delta Premium economy, it was probably the most comfortable flight I’ve had in years. I had the window seat, and a stranger was in the aisle seat next to me, we had more than enough room. If anything, we might have bumped elbows trying to eat.

    The only other real comment I have is, you really should look into staying at a ryokan w/ an onsen, at least for one night, it was, and has been the highlight of my trips each time.

13. -Shirakawa-go: I would definitely recommend taking a day trip. I did an overnight there on my last trip to Japan and had a wonderful time. I don’t know as much about Spring weather, but I went in early November and it wasn’t too chilly. I am curious why you’re not bringing any warm clothes. Don’t get me wrong, having done a March/April trip to Japan I know it’s generally relatively balmy, but it’s always worth having at least one hoodie, one set of warm pants and a thin rain shell, which would be more than enough for a day trip to Shirakawa-go, but may also be a lifesaver on a random chilly evening. I think Shirakawa-go might be a really special place for an 8-year-old, at least one that is relatively adventurous. The town is very walkable, and has plenty of attractions and sights for a day trip to keep you entertained. And if your wife is interested, it sounds like it would be well worth seeing.

    -For Tokyo, if you’re interested in seeing the city “lit up” I would highly recommend doing either the Tokyo Tower, or the Skytree at night. I spent about an hour one night at the top observation deck of the Tokyo Tower (a little pricey, but still very much worth it) and it was one of the most captivating moments I’ve had in Japan. I don’t have a strong opinion on where you would fit it in, but one thing I will note is, while minimizing transportation might be good for the 8-year-old, I wouldn’t worry too much about visiting more than one part of Tokyo in the same day (it seems like your itinerary follows that concept), the public transportation is so good, you can pretty much get from anywhere to anywhere else in Tokyo in ~30-40 minutes.

    -I make this suggestion to literally anyone going to Himeji: of course, go to the castle, but I highly highly recommend taking the cable car up to the top of mount Shosha and walking around. I think it’s hugely underrated (and it’s still rated highly). I recommend that you do the castle in the morning, try and beat the crowds, then spend a chunk of the afternoon on Mount Shosha before heading home.

    -For Kanazawa, I think you *could* strip down one day. I love the Nomura Samurai House, but it’s really no more than one hour of entertainment, especially for a kid. The “Samurai” word in the name makes it sound a bit more exciting than it is. I haven’t been to the D.T. Suzuki museum, but that’s in part because reading about it didn’t get me too excited. I think that Kanazawa is a very lovely town; I’ve spent about 6 days total over two trips, but for a kid it might not be worth that extra day.

    -Have you considered the Ghibli museum? If your 8-year-old is at ALL a fan of the Ghibli movies I’d recommend it. Tickets are tricky to get, but by no means impossible. I was able (with about an hour of hassle) to get the cheap tickets (~$12) from the Lawson Tickets website.

    -I think your suspicion is correct that day 3 might be a little much, maybe cut a little off the end, or pop a few of those attractions into another day. Or, just go, do as much as you can, and be content with leaving some things out. Like some of the other commenters noting the need for rest, remember that for every attraction (especially things like Meiji Jingu/Harajuku) there’s going to be a *lot* of hiking. Be *very* honest and realistic about your health and physical condition, and most of all the health/condition of your 8-year-old. Regarding Harajuku, I’m 95% sure you already know this, but the best things to see in Harajuku is Takeshita-Dori street, especially for a kid. The crowds are extreme, but it’s worth seeing just for the sheer fun/novelty factor.

    -Continuing on my above comment about walking/health, especially for your kid more than anything else, consider doing some conditioning hiking since you have a whole year (at minimum) to prepare for this trip. I’m in okay-at-best shape, and both of my ~30 day trips were absolutely killer on the feet/legs. I’m a little on the ambitious/tough-it-out side, but on my first trip I had (no joke) about 15 blisters on my feet by the end of the trip. Make sure you have good shoes, and that you’re in good hiking shape. If you’re not in good shape, that’s fine too, just seriously adjust your expectations regarding all of the walking. Lots of these threads bring this up, but it’s no joke, it’s not uncommon to walk 6-10 miles a day on a Japan trip. And I could imagine a kid with less tolerance for pain/aches/exhaustion being a challenge.

    -In general though, I think you have a pretty solid itinerary. Your pace for number of cities visited + good mix of day trips seems really good. I’m a lot more ambitious (on my last trip I think I ended up staying in 15 different cities over 31 days) but I have generally regretted how fast a pace I have cut.

    Edit: The last thing I’ll say is that I would consider doing another day in Kyoto. Kyoto is absolutely wonderful, and, as other commenters have pointed out, the city is quite laid-back and lovely outside of the few most popular tourist sites. I’ll echo another commenter and say that, assuming you’re in good hiking shape/like hiking, definitely take the time to do the Fushimi Inari hike to the top of the mountain. I’d budget at least 3 hours total (4 hours ideal) from start to finish for the full Fushimi Inari experience, and it is absolutely worth it.

14. I’d suggest pokemon center dx over mega. It’s larger and its near Tokyo station, so there’s more to do in the area. You could make it a part of day 9, depending on when you are leaving for kyoto. Also, if you can’t make it, there is also a Pokemon center in Kyoto.

15. I flew Delta from LAX-HND in Comfort+ the flight was great and the Delta staff were always nice. Was a smooth flight and nothing negative to say about them. Delta IMO is the best American based carrier, so if you do choose Delta you should have nice flight

16. We’re in Vancouver and have been to Japan twice.

    First time we used points and flew on United to Osaka via San Francisco. Flights were good, but the extra time/distance flying South and then North again and the layover made for a much longer trip.

    We left our house at 3am to catch a 6am flight and arrived in Japan late afternoon (the next day). Our 6 year old didn’t sleep the entire flight. That was… an interesting experiment.

    We had to go through US customs and security on our way back (but not our way there), which meant the Japanese drinks I had bought in the airport lounge with my last Yen had to be disposed of (I considered drinking them all before going through but the idea of consuming lots of room temp drinks didn’t appeal).

    That trip (August) was valued at around $1100/person by Expedia, booked with points. We could have purchased the same flights via Google Flights for around $875.

    Our second trip, a few months ago, we flew on ANA direct to Haneda and it was also a very good flight. Our youngest, again, didn’t sleep at all, but she wasn’t as much of a zombie when we arrived, since the flight left early evening and arrived at nighttime. We took bus to hotel and zonked right out. She awoke the next morning in fine spirits.

    The ANA flights were booked via a special and cost around $550/person (yes! round trip, taxes in!).

    I think you’re in Toronto? I don’t know if ANA does the same kind of promotions from YYZ, but apparently they do several promos a year from Vancouver and maybe other places in Western Canada.

    If those promos aren’t available from YYZ, and you have points, it might be worth using them for YYZ->YVR and then paying cash for the YVR->Japan and back flights. If you stay here for a day or two, I can recommend some good Japanese restaurants to try. ;P

    Also, a few of the AirBnBs we stayed at had free pocket wifi, which was handy. We brought a portable battery pack to keep the pocket wifi and our phones charged. When we didn’t have pocket wifi, we used our roam like home plan, which cost $11/day (we both have enough data on our domestic plans that we weren’t at risk of going over). Pricey, for sure, but convenient, and we didn’t have to worry about returning anything on our way out of the country.

    We used data all the time: google maps, google translate, websites and YouTube for places we were visiting, Airbnb and hotels, etc. When reflecting on our trips, I have often wondered how we would have managed without.

    As others have said here, you may want to hold off on booking flights or accommodations now. Your trip is still a long way away and who knows what kind of changes will come to the airline and travel industry? You might see some great promotions for flights, and with the Olympics now rescheduled for the summer 2021, there should be lots of hotel and Airbnb inventory available in the Spring when you’re there. If you were travelling a bit later I’d be more concerned.

    Anyway, have fun planning the trip! Such a wonderful experience to get to look forward to. I can’t wait to plan our family’s next trip there.

17. OH… and def see a movie at one of TOHO 4D IMAX cinemas. They do English with Japanese subtitles…. the Japanese really do cinema right.

18. I think your son (and possibly you) will enjoy the Gundam Base in Odaiba. Unlike the Pokemon centre, it not just a store… lots of displays of current and older models of Gundam as well as some amazing original creations from competitions.

19. If you want to do borderless, you had better make sure you get a reservation way beforehand. My husband and I wanted to do that and went during the week, thinking stupidly that it would be a breeze to get in. lol. No. Even on a weekday, the line to get in was as long as some rides at Disney! Perhaps longer… Needless to say, we gave up and took a ride on the nearby Ferris wheel instead.

    I’m on mobile so I may have missed on my tiny screen but if you have no plans for it, make sure you eat at some izakayas! A lot of families bring children, so it’s no worries. Particularly, yakitori ones are really good and I’ve never met someone who likes chicken that didn’t enjoy a yakitori izakaya. I also find yakiniku places to be a lot of fun since you get a chance to “cook your own food”. I’d recommend it. There’s no particular chain I’d say to go to, most any will do.

20. Your itinerary looks awesome but its far to busy in my opinion. Its good to have a rough list of things you’d like to see & do however by planning every little detail you will lose some of the adventure that comes with traveling. Try to plan less & leave time to be spontaneous. Let adventure happen!

    Some of my best days in Tokyo were spent just walking around the different neighborhoods or riding the metro around getting off at random station’s to explore.

    By planning less you will have time to slow down & have more authentic experiences that may have been missed otherwise.

    Just my two cents. Have a great time 🙂

21. If you planning to use the Tokyo subway, you might want buy the 24/48/72 hours Tokyo Subway Ticket(pass). We bought the 72 hours pass twice when we were in Tokyo the last time. We ended up not riding any of the JR train lines like the Yamanote line, as the subway lines got us to all of the tourist spots in central Tokyo. Anyway, use the Navitime for Japan app and select the Tokyo Subway Ticket filter on it, and it will show you which subway trains to take that are optimized for the pass. We calculated that the pass saved us about half the cost comparing to just using an IC card.

22. As someone who would love to do this what’s the cost like?

23. You have so many things packed in your trip! That’s great for planning, and you seemed to keep the things that are all in one area together. However, I agree with some people who have said to buid in some rest into your intinerary. That will help you guys and your Little from getting wiped. Heads up on trash, which sounds silly to mention, but there are not many places to throw out garbage when you’re out and about. You could get a sim card for your phone over a pocket wifi. It’s one less thing to charge at the end of a long day, and there are many sites that are offering great prices and unlimited data for travel. You can pick it up at the airport when you land with most reputable sites. I have used both sim card geek and mobal Japan and never had issues with either one, full coverage across Japan. Oooh, bring portable batteries, or at least buy one at Don Quiote.

    On that note, DonQui is a great place to buy ANY kind of thing from souvenirs, skin care, electronics, kit kats, etc. Also look out for the 100 yen stores. Tons of options there for shopping as well. The departments stores are lovely but pricey, and not all worth it in my opinion. Look for local shops in the alleys and outside the train neighborhoods if you can.

    Tokyo has many art musuems, and most of them are free or low cost. If you go to the Tokyo Art Musuem, expect to take a full day exploring. It is huge and has tons of exhibits! Depending on what art she’s into, Tokyo usually has a few different things to look into. Kyoto has a big craft scene you can get into as well, it’s just not as touristy. And I would skip Mos burger and Golden Gai. Mos is just meh, and the konbini food is made fresh daily, so that is a cheap way to eat. Golden Gai is very touristy and not worth the experience, especially with a little. I would suggest checking out the Robot Cafe instead, that was a TRIP. Certainly one of the most “Japan” things I ever experienced.

    Sorry for the word vomit, I travel to Japan frequently and just really love it! You’re going to have an excellent trip no matter what you end up doing!

24. Don’t worry about your luggage being to big. If you don’t want to bring your luggage on the train I would highly recommend shipping your luggage via Takyubin. You can ship your luggage from the airport to your Air BnB. Also from hotel to hotel.

    Takyubin is very convenient. I always use the service when I go to Japan and switch hotels mid trip.

25. Couple notes from personal experience:

    * Definitely condense Kanazawa by a day. I spent 2 days there in November and it felt like more than enough.

    * I’m assuming there’s some fluidity here, but try not to book day trips back to back, it can be really tiring.

    * Personal preference here but 3 days in Kyoto is just not enough. It’s my favorite city I’ve been to, and there’s a TON of things to see. I’ve read that you don’t want to deal with touristy crowds, (which I get) but you’re going to run into them anywhere you go. THAT said, who knows what tourism will be like in a years time?

26. Just in regards to your point about how your wife is a designer and likes things like architecture- I can recommend a really great guided architecture tour that goes for half the day in Tokyo. The company offers tours in Shibuya (around Omotesando specifically). It was honestly one of the highlights of my first trip and I even booked their other tour in Ginza earlier this year which unfortunately had to be cancelled due to recent events. Anyway, feel free to message me if you’re interested!

27. I traveled a similar schedule like yours in 2017, also 3 weeks from Mid-March to mid-April from Tokyo then to Osaka (with day trips to Kyoto and Nara) and then, instead of Kanazawa, we did Beppu, then flew back to Tokyo. Cherry blossom season is definitely one of the best times to travel to Japan, but can also be one of the busiest and most expensive time if you don’t plan and book ahead.

    Some thoughts on your itinerary:

    – Airbnb/Yotsugi: Personally, I would’ve NOT booked a place so far outside of Tokyo. We stayed in Shin Okubo and it was already a hassle for me just to get out and back (takes 30 minutes). Tokyo is a huge city and you will probably spend 30% of your time just being in public transport – the contra point of living so far away is that you cannot just go back in case you are tired or forget something.

    – I would recommend you the JR Pass, for some instances it will be cheaper for you instead of booking a plain Shinkansen ticket. There is a trip calculator online that shows you if it’s worth the money.

    – Teamlab Borderless: I visited in September 2019 and it was INCREDIBLY busy. We had to stand in the soaring sun for an hour (for pre-booked tickets!). The museum itself is big, in the beginning the rooms will be crowded – and you have to queue again for some attractions/rooms inside of the museum too. So keep that in mind especially since you have a kid.

    – Don’t expect to see a lot of Cherry blossoms – they tend to be in full bloom around the second week of April but maybe you’re gonna be lucky! I left Tokyo on April 14th and Meguro River was not blooming yet, but we did get a view of some trees in the early stages here and there.

    – Nara day trip is worth it (even a little day trip to Yoshino Mountains if you have time!). We were lucky that we had a tourist taxi that drove us around for 2 days in Kyoto, he picked us up from the station and drove us to all the sights that we wanted to see and back. Osaka was just okay (IMO!).