I (43) am travelling to Japan with my daughter 13yo 17-27 Oct. Its our first time in Japan and looking for some advice on a few things which I have summarised at the end of my post.
**Itinerary (so far)**
**Tokyo:** 18th – 22nd October
Hotel: JR East Hotel Mets Akihabara
**18/10 (Western Tokyo):**
AM: Meiji Jingu Shrine
PM: Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku
**19/10 Full Day:** Tokyo Disneyland or Disney Sea
**20/10 (Southern Tokyo):**
AM: teamLab Planets TOKYO
PM: Odaiba (Gundam statue, National Science Museum, Aquacity)
**21/10 (Northern Tokyo):**
AM: Ueno Park
PM: Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo National Museum (Optional)
**22/10 (Central Tokyo):**
AM: Koishikawa Korakuen
PM: Akihabara (Note: Street closed on Sunday)
Ginza (Optional)
Tsukiji Market (If time permits)
TBC in Tokyo:
Samurai Museum (Optional)
Tokyo Government Building (Optional)
Artnia Square Enix Cafe (Consider)
Ghibli Museum (AM, Optional)
**Yamanashi:** 23-24th October
Hote: HOTEL MYSTAYS Fuji Onsen Resort
**23/10:**
AM: Travel to Yamanashi (Drive or train?)
PM: Explore Yamanashi (Seeking recommendations!)
**24/10:**
AM: Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park (is half day enough?)
PM: Travel to Osaka
**Osaka: 24th – 26th October (**Seeking recommendations for hotels and things to do)
27/10: Travel to Tokyo Airport via Shinkansen
​
**Questions:**
1. Our Tokyo hotel is unavailable on our last night 22/10 so we need to find somewhere to stay. Thinking either another night in Tokyo or somewhere along the way to, or in Yamanashi? Or even maybe Nikko for a night? Seeking recommendations.
2. Not sure whether to drive or train it to Yamanashi – perhaps the above will dictate.
3. Would love some recommendations / tips for half a day to do in Yamanashi
3. We can’t decide whether to go to Tokyo Disney or Disney Sea? Haven’t been to either and unlikely we will have a chance to go to another Disneyland while she is young enough to enjoy it.
4. We have 2 night in Osaka but I have nothing yet planned or a hotel booked. Seeking recommendations here.
6 comments
Hi!
I travel to Japan with my daughter, who is currently 12.
I would not add a night in Nikko unless your child is really into sitting on public transit or sitting in a car, because it is going to take a minimum of 1.5 hours from Nikko to get back to Tokyo before even heading to Yamanashi.
You are not going to the Ghibli Museum unless you already have tickets. It’s not an optional activity. It’s extremely popular and tickets sell out very fast on the day they are released.
I’m pretty sure the Square Cafe is reservation only as well.
Lots of people have strong opinions about Disney, particularly Sea vs. Land. We went to both in June. We are somewhat Disney people and my daughter has been to World in FL and Land in CA, as well as the Japanese parks. Disney Sea is a more immersive themed park, but I find it has fewer rides. Neither is going to compare to FujiQ for ride intensity. We usually just do Sea, but I ended up enjoying Land a lot more than I expected last trip. But I am a sucker for Duffy+Friends merch and Sea is the place to go for that.
You are going to the Kawaguchiko Area. [https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6900.html](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6900.html)
You can read up on popular activities there. There are direct buses from many stations in Tokyo there as well as trains. If you want to rent a car you could, but be aware unless you drive it back to Tokyo, you’re going to get hit with a substantial drop off fee.
From Kawaguchiko you either need to back track to Tokyo to catch a train to Osaka, or take a bus to Mishima and take the train from there. Do be aware you need a seat reservation for the bus.
I think no matter which method you do, you will not be getting into Osaka until late.
I don’t mean to be rude, but why are you even going to Osaka if you don’t know what you want to do there? You could save a lot of time just not. I 100% get looking for hotel recommendations, but if there are no activities you want to do there it seems weird to go.
Good luck!
1) Nikko and Hakone are both good options, plenty of Hotel and Ryokan options
2) Kyoto for 3 days and Himeji for 0.5 days, Nara for 0.5 days. Suggest removing Fuji Highland from your plan.
Me and my wife are staying in the exact same hotel in Tokyo on those exact dates.
For that one-off night in Tokyo, you could sleep at a capsule hotel. It’s an interesting experience in and of itself. At the other end of the cost spectrum, you could spend the night at a ryokan.
October 22 is a Sunday. Tsukiji might be closed.. please check their timings to confirm.
Fuji-q highland is more an ‘all day’ thing, especially when you factor in the time to get there and back again. I don’t think you would even get in 3 rides before you have to leave, if you were trying to squeeze it into a half day. Generally when I’ve been, I’ve caught the early bus, and then the last bus back to Tokyo, to ensure I got in maximum count of rides. I believe they’ve recently opened a ‘squid game’ type activity (and other times had haunted houses etc.), all of which take a good 45 mins (minimum) to enjoy. Queues can be long too, particular for the ‘big’ coasters.