Hi everyone! I will be traveling to Japan this December 22-31 with my daughter who will be turning 7 during our trip. This will be my third time to Japan, her first, and we are traveling from Florida.
Our interests are everything Kawaii, contemporary art, shopping, and picturesque places. We do not have interesting Disney or USJ as we live in Florida. I purchased our JR passes this week. I would really like to minimize overfilling our days and avoid too much walking as my daughter is too old for a stroller but not yet able to keep an adult pace or mileage. Any insight or things we should check out appreciated!
I would love to schedule in some hands-on workshops like sushi making or shiburi dyeing but not sure where would be a good place in the itinerary for that.
My daughter would REALLY like to see snow as she has never experienced snow before- I was thinking of spending a morning at Yuzawa Kogen for some snow play as a day-trip from Tokyo but I feel like it might be too much.
**Day 1**\- Land in Haneda late afternoon, private car to hotel in Ginza
**Day 2**\- **Tokyo to Kyoto** if we wake up early due to jet lag, Tsukiji outer market. Hopefully we can get tickets to the Kusama museum as this will new the only day of the trip we could go as they close for the new year.
\-Take Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. Nothing lined up for our first evening in Kyoto (open to suggestions)
**Day 3**\- **Kyoto area**. Early morning Arashiyama bamboo and then monkey park, lunch at Sagonya restaurant, Daikakuji temple. Light drink/snack at Rilakkuma Tea House. Rest, and then evening in Gion district (restaurant recs?)
**Day 4- Nara day trip**
**Day 5-Kyoto** Kiyumizu-dara, Ninenzaka street. Tea ceremony? Hands-on workshop? Ship bags from Kyoto to Tokyo
**Day 6- Kyoto-Osaka-Tokyo** travel from Kyoto to Osaka by train, leave a small day pack at the train station. Explore Osaka: Namba Yasaka, Cup Noodles museum, lunch in Shinseki area. Dotonburi? Take afternoon train from Osaka to Tokyo and check in to hotel in Ginza (same hotel as day 1, and I will have them hold a suitcase at beginning of trip with the clothes for the second half of our trip)
evening arcade play in Shinjuku or just a quiet evening in Ginza
**Day 7- Tokyo** Gotokuji shrine morning, lunch at Fuji or Nippon gyoza.
afternoon in Harajuku- Harry Hedgehog cafe, Totti candy, Pompourin cafe
Dinner at Kumachan Onsen in Shibuya (teddy bear hotpot)
**Day 8- Tokyo** Team Lab Planets 9am. Kappabashi Street and fake food making at Ganso .
Lunch recommendations nearby?
Afternoon at Sunshine City- Sanrio store to make a custom stamp
**Day 9- Tokyo** potential snow day (might have to flip with day 8 in order to use JR pass)
If not going to snow, shopping day. potentially add an art museum or special experience or tour
Yakinuki dinner in Ginza
**Day 10 (Dec 31 so many things closed for New Year)** Mori Art museum open, last minute shopping, 7pm flight from Haneda back to the US
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8 comments
Hi!
I too am a US parent, who loves going to Japan with their daughter. We are going to be in Japan a similar time period as you because we had such a great time last year then. It can be hard making things work around the New Years holidays, but I am addicted to fukubukuro. I am hoping this year we get lucky with the Pokemon Center. We did get the Mister Donuts x Pokemon fukubukuro.
Do be aware that from around the 26th or 27th onwards, the Japanese are likely to be on vacation and crowds can be quite bad from domestic tourism. We went to Harajuku last year on the 30th and it was just unpleasantly crowded. There were really long lines for most places too. We did Team Lab at 10:00 am on the 30th. It was crowded, but not awful. I enjoyed it, by daughter did not.
If your daughter is 7, there should be craft classes available in Kyoto. We did one through Kyoto Handicraft Center, but that was pre-Covid. I’ve been thinking of trying a few others. I’ve been looking at doing a fabric experience if it fits our schedule.
We are planning to try to do the Mister Donut experience in Osaka.
Last December we did an afternoon tea/buffet at the Ritz Osaka with a Christmas theme and it was fabulous.
I would make reservations for whatever you can, like Kumachan onsen, or expect really long lines.
My daughter loves snow, but I despise it, so hopefully we can skip seeing it during our trip. I would have some flexibility in dates because going away to go skiing in popular with domestic tourism and the shinkansen can fill up. You can try to go non-reserved, but it’s something to be aware of. We had no problem booking most of our trains last year, except Morioka to Tokyo on 1/2/23. We ended up having to go non-reserved.
Make sure you bring warm enough clothes. Public spaces like trains and depatos and hotels tend to be quite warm, but since you are from FL, the outside temperatures might seem cold. A good hat, scarf and gloves really help.
I am hopefully getting us reservations for the Kirby Cafe. My daughter is a huge fan and the food is very cute.
Good luck!
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I don’t suggest going to the hedgehog cafe or any exotic animal cafe here. They’re super unethical and cruel. I know they might sound like fun but they’re very sad 🙁
What private car service are you using? I am also looking for a car service from the airport to Shibuya
I’d skip Osaka in this trip. You will only have a few hours there and it adds a lot of time and stress getting on and off trains and storing luggage. Spend one more day in Kyoto or else go back earlier to Tokyo. Just enjoy being with your daughter and make some time for low-key play with Japanese kiddos in the local park. Years from now, she will remember less than .01% of this trip and what she does remember will be something random, like petting a cat at the hotel lobby. My parents took me to Korea for 3 weeks when I was 7 and all I remember is playing jumprope with another girl in the courtyard of the inn. Not that it isn’t worth going together, but don’t stress about seeing the famous sights or squeezing everything in.
I’m not sure I’d recommend Gotokuji if you have a seven-year-old. We live near Gotokuji, and it seems as if it would be a bit of a walk for a 7-year-old, unless she’s used to walking a couple of miles. Note that the distance to the actual entrance to Gotokuji is farther from the nearest station than mapping programs make it out to be because the entrances are on the sides of the grounds most distant from the station most convenient to the built-up areas.
If you do decide to go, take the Setagaya Line train from either Yamashita/Gotokuji Station or Sangenjaya Station to Miyanosaka Station. The entrance to the shrine is only about 500 meters from there. If you are prepared to wait for a few trains to go by, you might be able to board the cat train, one of the 11 trains that run on the Setagaya Line. It’s decorated like a cat and has some interior cat-themed decorations.
Why is Nara a full day?
Not sure if it’ll be available since y’all are going during the holidays, but a few days ago my friend and I did an airbnb experience in Kyoto that I think would be fun for your kid – sculpting “kawara” aka little gargoyle tiles out of clay. It was super fun and imo playing with clay is dope at all ages. I also saw a few other craft activities available, e.g. making your own chopsticks, doing kintsugi, traditional papermaking, pottery, etc. If your daughter is into making stuff there are a ton of options out there and really cute lifelong souvenirs created in the process!