Hi, I’m going to Japan with my family on the 10th until the 22th. We’re a family of five with no small kids.
Here is our general plan
(10) Hokkaido
– Arrive in Hokkaido at roughly 11am and take the rapid express train to sapporo station
– Explore sapporo (beer museum, chocolate factory, sapporo tv tower)
– snooze
(11) Hokkaido
– Eat at sakanku market
– Daytrip to Otaru
– Explore Otaru (sakaimachi street, music box museum, denuki koji)
– Go back to sapporo and enjoy the christmas market at odori park
(12) Hokkaido -> Osaka
– Catch flight in the morning
– Arrive in namba station, put luggage in coin locker
– Namba yasaka jinja
– Osaka castle
– Umeda sky building
– Dotonbori (dinner)
(13) USJ
(14) Day trip Nara
– Starting the day a bit later (prob gonna be tired after USJ lol)
– Rent a kimono at waplus
– Five story pagoda
– Stroll around Sagiike pond and Nara park (nakatanidou)
– return kimono
– lunch at soba-dokoro
– Todaiji temple
– Back to Osaka
(15) Day trip Kyoto
– Start the day early
– Arashiyama bamboo forest
– ninezaka street
– kiyomizu dera
– fushimi inari
– tofukuji temple
– Go back to Osaka
(on a dilemma wether i should prioritize the bamboo forest, ninenzaka street or kiyomizu dera to arrive early at)
(16) Osaka -> Tokyo
– staying in akihabara
– ginza area (aquarium museum, sanrio world, muji flagship store, etc.)
– Asakusa area (sample ya, nakamise dori street, sensoji temple)
(17) Mount fuji trip
(18) Disneyland
(19) Tokyo
– tsukiji early morning
– staying in shibuya
– meiji jingu
– takeshita street
– Shinjuku
– tokyo metropolitan government bulding
(20) Disneysea
(21) Tokyo
– Tokyo tower (aren’t going up just exploring the area)
– Tsujihan midtown
– shibuya 109, mega donquijote, etc
– shibuya sky
– Roppongi (illumination)
(22) Tokyo
– honestly still not sure, was thinking of going around shibuya but we have to check out by 11 am and then be at the airport at 3 pm to catch an afternoon flight
* Does anybody have experience with coin locker in Japan? any tips?
* We were planning to go to fuji and then spend the rest of the day in gotemba until the latest we could do. Do transportations (bus and train) run as late as 7 pm?
* I heard that early December is actually still considered fall for a lot of area of Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto). Would we still get the pretty leaf colors during this time?
* is it necessary to have winter gear for hokkaido during early december? If so, whats the most important? (coming from someone who lives in a tropical country T T)
1 comment
I was just in Sapporo! That sapporo beer museum was pretty boring. I did learn about the evolution of logos. By chocolate factory do you mean the royce one at the airport or out in sapporo suburb? I had thought about the hq/factory but it was a trek. I would highly recommend the newly opened AOAO aquarium in sapporo. Super beautiful. You will be happy to know that there is an underground passage/mall in sapporo from the jr station that extends south a few train stops. I stayed at the nikko jr station sapporo and would highly recommend. You can walk underground and pop up next to tv station, aquarium, etc. the fish market doesnt connect but you exit the underground passage to a covered surface shopping street. There is a bus from outside the jr station to the sapporo beer museum. If you want to eat there make a reservation in advance. Beer hall closes like at 4pm (but confirm!). Sapporo also not big so can just take cabs.
Also took a day trip to otaru. The music box museum is really a store. It took about 10 min and I tried to spend as much time in there as I could. Be sure to eat a dessert at letao.