Need help with 2 week itinerary with a 3 years old

10 comments

1. Did you do Disney yourself last time? You don’t say where you’re staying or where you land, but IIRC Haneda airport is super close to Disney. With a 3YO I’d just do it up and stay at a Disney hotel or one of the ones next to Disney. Especially for jet lag purposes.

2. Sorry if this is hard to follow, just trying to answer some points as I read through your post quickly. For reference, I have a toddler and live in Tokyo.

   For day 3, I’d recommend skipping Harajuku (if you mean Takeshitadori), and heading over to Omotesando/Aoyama for more kid friendly restaurants and shops. You’ll pass by Kiddyland if you’re coming from Yoyogi, which is fun for kids. Omotesando Hills is over there and a nice place to take a break for families.

   Day 5 – I don’t know how you are going to fit this all in with a toddler. It’s packed even if it’s just adults on the trip.

   For Day 11 and 12 are these just possible options? There is no way you can fit these in together in one day.
   – Overall Akihabara isn’t great for young kids unless you are just planning a visit to a cafe.
   – Golden Gai is not kid friendly. I don’t think many places there even serve dinner but I could be wrong. I only go there for late night drinking.
   – I saw earlier in the post you asked about breweries and those are a safer bet for being kid friendly, especially if it’s a large restaurant (small places are much less likely to be kid friendly). If you’re not sure, check Tabelog since it will say.

   Parks in Osaka: I recommend Banpaku Kinen Koen/Expo 70 Commemorative Park
   Less touristy kid friendly spots in/near Tokyo: Futako Tamagawa, Musashikosugi, Jiyugaoka. More touristy and further out, but Yokohama is pretty great for kids (some theme parks, and attractions like ramen museum and anpanman museum).
   I would recommend USJ Nintendo world if you can get the advance tickets. My daughter loved it when I took her (I think she was almost 2 years old).

3. I personally wouldn’t suggest doing Hiroshima and Miyajima on the same day, I enjoyed having the time to explore what I wanted and wish I had even more time to do so. Not to mention I’m sure with a toddler it will be more difficult.

4. I’m still just in the planning process for my family trip to Japan, so I can’t answer any more specifics, but I’ve traveled with kids a bit. I wouldn’t plan anything for the first day (Day 2), especially not something as exhausting and potentially overwhelming as Disneyland. You know your kid and possibly how he travels, but for my kids, even a 2 hour time difference would’ve thrown them right off when they were that age. I’d plan a day of wandering in Tokyo on day 2, then Disney on day 3.

   We’re booking in to Sheraton next to Disney for the reasons mentioned by others. If you get a room in the Park Wing, apparently you can see fireworks from your bedroom. There’s an indoor pool, a playground and various restaurants. If your little one struggles to make it through the first day, you could just spend the rest of the day there for a reset.

5. Does your 3 year old not need afternoon naps? It’ll be tough to do most of these days especially the day trips. I’d suggest trying to fly in to Tokyo or Osaka and fly out at the opposite end rather than looping back to Tokyo.

6. For your first few nights accommodation, might I suggest somewhere near Hatchobori station (between that and Tokyo Station)? As you fly into Haneda, you can easily get to Tokyo station, and then from Hatchobori station it is a direct line to Maihama. It will make it quite easy to navigate on the day you land, whilst also simplifying the to-from to Disneyland.

   I am doing the same thing in my upcoming Tokyo trip, because between Tokyo Station, Hatchobori station and Kayabacho Station (all fairly close together), it can be a good option for various areas.

   Personally I would also swap around Day 2 and Day 3 (up to you though of course), so you can take your trip to Yoyogi/Harajuku quite easy (also echo what others are saying, hit up Omotesando, and avoid Takeshita street depending on the time/day of the week. Apart from the rainbow fairy floss, there’s not a heap that will excite a toddler). This way you might be able to save a bit more energy and enthusiasm for the Disney day for your son’s first time 😊

   Can I also suggest the Osaka Aquarium? Not sure if you’re interested in that type of thing, but it’s such a lovely laid out aquarium and I feel like it would be a delight for your son to see. I’m not really much for visiting attractions based on animals but I think this is quite a good one.

7. Which period will you travel to Japan? Will you have jet lag?

8. I am here with my 3-year-old now. You know your kid best, but for my kid, days 5, 8, 9, 11 and 12 would all be way too much. Most of the attractions you have on these days are all in different parts of the cities (why are you doing team lab and kidzania on different days?), and that’s a ton of travel, which is pretty tough for little kids.

   Moving hotels can be annoying, but with kids I think it’s much better than day trips with 5 hours of transportation.

   Also, kids might surprise you with their interests. My kid hasn’t minded the shrines and such because there are cool stairs and buildings to look at and wander around. They see things differently than adults.

   Something my kid LOVED and has been talking about nonstop is the Anakuma cafe in Harajuku. It’s an outdoor store front with no visible workers but a hole in the wall, and a person in a bear costume sticks their hand through and pretends to be a bear and gives you your coffee etc. the worker gave her a ton of high fives and a free ice cream and she was STOKED.

   On a non-kid note: If you love Kyoto why not stay there? Just because “people say Osaka is the better hub” doesnt mean it’s the right place for you.

9. I feel day 8 is too much, even for adults-only trip. Monkey park is in Arashiyama, and Kinkakuji Temple is far from anywhere. I’d suggest to enjoy Arashiyama with monkey park as the highlight and then go to philosopher path before Gion if there’s enough time.

   Your 3 years old might love Sagano scenic train?

10. Day 5 is incredibly packed, even for adults. I suggest taking getting a simple hotel overnight in Hiroshima, arrive in the morning and do Miyajima Island first then doing the memorial museum on the morning of the next day. The Hiroshima peace park is actually really nice I recommend doing your planned park walk on Day 6 there.

    Also fair warning that Hiroshima museum is a very somber and quiet experience with some difficult topics and images. Personally wouldn’t take a 3-year-old there but you know your child best.