October itinerary check for large group (with kids and grandparents)

Hello Everyone,

We are going to Japan this October with a large group.

My wife and I have been to Japan twice before but this time we have two little ones (1yo and 3yo). We will also have both sets of grandparents with us (all in their 60/70s)

I would like to see if this itinerary makes sense.

\-Day 1 Oct 9 Arrive at KIX at 3PM

Get to the hotel near Osaka station

Rest and make our way to Dontonbori at in the evening

Rest at hotel

\-Day 2 Oct 10 Kyoto Day

Do a day trip in Kyoto

Arashiyama

Fushimi Inari

Nishiki Market

\-Day 3 Oct 11

Universal Studios

Our 3yo is pretty tall (100cm) so she will be going on ride with us

We are getting two express passes just so that our day can be a bit smoother (time slot for mario)

Grandparents will have the little one for the Elmo stuff and shows.

\-Day 4 Oct 12

Nothing really planned yet (want the day to be a little lite)

Shopping mall?

Osaka Castle?

Osaka Aquarium?

Mail Large luggage to next hotel in Tokyo so it arrives the next day

\-Day 5 Oct 13

Take train to Tokyo

We are still deciding if we should stay in Ginza or Shinjuku, we want easy way to get to HND but also make our day trips not need so much commuting

The options are Hilton Tokyo or Millennium Mitsui Garden

Hilton has the airport Limo bus come

Mitsui garden has trip to Sensoji and skytree and such being closer

So what we does on this travel day dempends on which hotel we stay at

Thoughts on this?

\-Day 6 Oct 14

Asakusa and walk to skytree

Go to that large Kura Sushi

Ueno Park or Ginza

\-Day 7 Oct 15

This day also depends on where we are staying

Either we go to tsukiji outer market and teamlab planet

Or

Shibuya for the mega doki

Harajuku and Meji Shine and park

\-Day 8 Oct 16 Fight to Singapore

Airport Limo from Hilton

Or figure out how to get to HND from the Ginza hotel

Flight at HND at 11AM

Does this seem to be ok with the group that we have? The Kids usually do OK as we have taken them to on trips before and they can sleep in the stroller if needed.

I have a sense we will be eating lots of 7/11 as not many places will take our groups. Will places like yoshinoya and coco curry, be able to seat us?

Any suggestions on if we should stay in Shinjuku or Ginza? Both other times we have gone to Japan, we have stayed in Shinjuku.

High end shopping isn’t really something we care about but though Ginza might be nice and calm.

Thank you

PS: Sorry not sure whats going on with the text as I posted with on mobile

6 comments
  1. Since this is not a commonly asked question, we felt it best to include the following threads as they may come in handy with information or itinerary ideas for travel with older folks to Japan.

    [“Itinerary Check – 5-7 days in Takayama / Matsumoto Castle / Tokyo with senior citizens / limited mobility.”](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/egsdqq/itinerary_check_57_days_in_takayama_matsumoto/)

    [“Packing Questions For Winter Travel in Japan with Cold Sensitive Senior Parent.”](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/didbab/packing_questions_for_winter_travel_in_japan_with/)
    [“Questions on getting around Tokyo with senior citizens.”](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/dl0l8e/questions_on_getting_around_tokyo_with_senior/)
    [“Itinerary Check: Osaka and Kyoto with older parents who can’t walk too much (December 16-21)”](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/e4mi1d/itinerary_check_osaka_and_kyoto_with_older/)

    We also have some excellent past posts [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/search?q=elderly&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all) as well.

    Happy Planning!

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  3. This appears to be a post regarding travel with babies, toddlers or children in Japan. We have a lot of past posts on these topics, feel free to start with our [Travel With Kids Wiki.](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel/travelingwithkids)

    If you are looking for more information on travel with Children, please check out our search [here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/search?q=children&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all)

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    Japan-Guide.com also has a great page with information [here,](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2460.html) as well as a [‘Travel With Kids’ Blog Series.](https://www.japan-guide.com/blog/traveling-with-kids/)

    Happy Planning!

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  4. I stayed in Ginza for my last trip and really liked how quiet it was. It was still really easy to get around to everything I wanted to do. I think for a trip with grandparents and young kids, that would be more ideal than Shinjuku. Being close to Tokyo Station was also a big plus for shinkansen and airport travel (although Shinjuku is probably equally convenient).

  5. ​

    Your Kyoto day sounds really spread out. I’d maybe split it into a more focus half / half day. Like, spend 3-5 hrs in Arashiyama, with the monkey park (it’ll be a trek for the 3 year old but 1 year old would be fine in a carrier), bamboo forest and wandering around… then pick Fushimi Inari OR the nishiki market…. doing both would be a lot of crowds later in the afternoon.

    Nijo castle might be easier because it’s on the direct Saga line from Kyoto station, with a stop in at Shinsen-en Garden, the shibori museum and a couple of the restaurants.

  6. >I have a sense we will be eating lots of 7/11 as not many places will take our groups. Will places like yoshinoya and coco curry, be able to seat us?

    Those, or family restaurants like Denny’s should be able to accommodate you guys.

    If you want to go to more upmarket restaurants, have a look at the upper floors of department stores. They often have a whole floor of restaurants that are usually large enough to accommodate families.

    Probably best to avoid peak times so you’ve got a better chance of getting a table that’s large enough to fit everyone.

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