Hello everyone!
We (a family of 4 – 2 adults in their 40s and two kids between 10 and 18) just returned from a fantastic 16-day trip through Japan. I wanted to thank this community for the helpful and inspirational trip reports and give back by sharing our experiences. We traveled the last week of June and returned around July 11th.
**THE BIG TAKEAWAY**: It was an amazing trip for everyone; I would even venture to say it was life-changing. The perspective gained from traveling to a different country so diverse in every aspect of life and culture is one of personal growth and reflection. We feel incredibly fortunate and grateful to have had these experiences as a family.
**MOST MEMORABLE**: Staying at a temple lodge in Mt. Koyasan and exploring Kyoto’s multiple temples.
INTERNET: We used our US carrier’s (T-mobile) temporary international data pass at $50 a pop. There would be moments when we would be separated, so it was important that each of us had data independence. That ruled out the portable Wi-Fi device. I did a ton of research on e-sims, and the unlimited data options are similarly priced to the data pass. It worked great; we had excellent connectivity everywhere in Japan, including in some out-of-the-way areas such as Mt. Koyasan.
**JRPASS**: I did not buy the JR Pass. After extensive research on https://www.hyperdia.com/ I figured it would be more expensive for our specific itinerary. I believe I made the right choice as we really didn’t need to use the JR trains beyond the long trips. Some day trips like Hakone or Koyasan weren’t directly included with the JR Pass.
**IMMIGRATION**: Going through immigration was easier than I had expected. I used the Visit Japan Web site to pre-register a day before and get my QR codes.
**PASMO CARDS**: bought each family member a pre-loaded Pasmo Passport card at one of the airport guest service counters by the ticketing machines.https://www.pasmo.co.jp/visitors/en/. One thing that wasn’t clear to me was that each family member needed a separate card, so I decided to go with physical cards vs. using them on our phones. It worked reasonably well; manually reloading them was less of a hassle than I expected The downside is that
**TAXIS / UBERS**:
In Kyoto we used Taxi’s to get around. It was 100% worth it!! It’s not that expensive, for example one of the most costly rides – going from the east side (Gion) to the west side (Arishiyama) was only $32. We also used the subway when it was practical. I was even able to call taxi’s using Uber. It saved us a lot of time as we were able to be efficient by covering a lot of ground in a single day.
In Tokyo we mostly used the subway. We stayed in Shinjuku, and the most accessible way to get to other parts of the city was using the subway. We probably used the JR line once or twice to go to some parts of the city but it wasn’t even an option on many of our trips. This was the wildcard that almost made me by the JR PASS but I’m glad we didn’t in the end. I also used Uber to call taxis, and it worked great.
**HAKONE**: It was an awesome day trip BUT check the weather before you go. There was heavy FOG the first day we went and both the pirate ship and ropeway were closed, we had to try again the next day. Pirate ship was still closed but we managed to get on the ropeway. Check the status here: https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/status\_information.
**ITINERARY**:
**Kyoto**:
June 26th: Landed in Haneda at 5 pm. Shinkansen Nozomi to Kyoto. Arrived at the hotel around 10:30 p.m. in the north Gion area.
June 27th: Kiyomizu-dera Temple, walked Sannen-zaka and Ninnen-zaka, then Maruyama-koen Park. Visited Chion-in Temple and Shoren-in Temple. Tried to visit Fushimi-Inari temple at night after resting at the hotel, it was took dark.
June 28th: Taxi to Arashiyama. Visited Tenryu-ji Temple, Bamboo Grove, Okochi-Sanso Villa, had lunch in Arashiyama and visited the shops in the downtown area. Took a cab to Kinkaku-ji Temple. Back to hotel to rest. Visited the Sannen-zaka, Ninnen-zaka, and the Hōkan-ji pagoda again in the afternoon to take photos. Went to dinner in Pontocho Alley.
June 29th: Returned to Arashiyama and visited the monkey park. Cab to Ginkaku-ji Temple, then walked on the philosopher’s path. Visited Nanzen-ji Temple, which was probably one of my favorites. Cabbed back to hotel.
**Nara**:
June 30th: Train to Nara. Visited Kofuku-ji temple, and fed the awesome Nara deer. Took bus to Nara Park and visited the Todai-ji Shrine. It’s probably the most impressive we saw due to its size and the huge Buddha statue. Lastly we visited Kasuga Taisha which was also amazing and very different to the other shrines we visited.
**Kyoto & Mt. Koyasan**:
July 1st: Woke up early to visit Fushini Inari. We made it all the way up! I’m glad we did it, even though the kids were tired. Took the train to Mt. Koyasan through Osaka. It was a long trip, and we barely made it in time for our temple lodging dinner.
July 2nd: Attended the 6 am chanting session with the monks. Had breakfast, checked our of our temple lodging and explored Koyasan. It’s a beautiful town in the mountains. It was the most memorable part of the trip. Traveled to Osaka in the afternoon.
**Osaka / Himeji:**
July 3th: Visited Universal Studios Osaka and Super Mario World
July 4th: Took the Shinkansen to Himeji and did Himeji castle. Went back to Osaka, picked up our luggage and then took the train to Tokyo.
**Tokyo & Hakone**:
July 5th: Shinjuku
July 6th: Harajuku, Takeshita Street
July 7th: Roppongi, dinner in Shinbashi
July 8th: Sensoji Temple, Asakusa, Shibuya, Dinner with friends in Ginza
July 9th: Hakone
July 10th: Hakone
July 11th: Shibuya, Shibuya Sky, Team Labs, Dinner in Shinjuku, flight in the afternoon
Hope this helps! Happy to answer any questions.
2 comments
Koyasan is truly a wonderful experience. The evening stroll through Okunoin cemetery when the mist rolls in and the lanterns turn on is just magical. Great place to unwind and take in all nature after you’ve had your fair share of the city experience.
Did you take the romancecar to hakone? And did you get the freepass?