To begin, I want to say how amazed I am by the generosity of this subreddit. I’ve spent the past several months reading and thinking and planning a prospective trip to Japan, and I’m staggered by what a resource this place is: your replies and comments (and then visitors’ trip reports) make it probably the best place on the internet (and one of the best resources \*ever\*?!) for travelers to Japan. Everyone who takes the time to reply, making small recommendations or pointing out mistakes, is donating time towards helping their fellow humans discover and appreciate new places, and I’m really grateful for it. Hopefully you can help us a little bit too!
We are thrilled that Japan is opening to visitors and we’ll be able to visit for the first time, for the last half of February 2023 (departing HND March 3). We are a family of three from Montreal, Canada—we’re artists, and our son is six years old.
We don’t want to be constantly moving between attractions, so although there are a number of legs to this tip at each stop I hope to just take it slow and soak in neighbourhoods etc (rather than zipping between museums, restaurants or temples). We also want to keep transits short and simple when possible, rather than too many connections.
That said, we don’t know when/if we’ll have a chance to come back to Japan, so we want to make the most of this.
Some random notes:
* Our son gets car-sick, so we’ll try to avoid buses/car trips when possible.
* I have a bunch of saved Avios points (good for JAL flights), hence the idea of maybe a flight here or there instead of shinkansen?
* For accommodation we are on a budget and seeking simple, nice lodging – the Prince Sakura stay at the beginning is a gift from a family member!
* We’re most excited in unique, authentic and laid-back cultural experiences
Proposed Itinerary
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Day 1 (Fri) : Arrival in Tokyo
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* Arrive in Tokyo Narita at 6:45pm
* Narita Express to hotel and crash for the night/wander around Shinagawa
Accommodation: 1 night at Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo (booked on points!)
Days 2-6 (Sat-Wed) : Tokyo
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Explore Tokyo:
* exploring neighbourhoods on foot, classic tourist attractions, hidden gem restaurants, playgrounds (?), gardens
* Moominvalley Park (our son loves Tove Jansson)
* Pokemon Cafe (see also: six-year-old boy)
* Kidzania? Baseball?
Accommodation: 4 more nights at Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo, ??? for night 6
**Questions**:
* In terms of “unusual experiences,” are any of the animal cafés genuinely pleasant?
* Although we’re not really baseball fans, a Japanese game looks like it would be tons of fun. Unfortunately, I think we’ll only be in Japan pre-season… Are these games too tame? Do people still let out balloons, etc?
* Where is the best place to go to see cosplayers?
* We have a 5-night booking at the Prince Sakura hotel; where do you recommend for a different flavour/neighbourhood for one last night in Tokyo? A ryokan maybe?
Days 7-8 (Thur-Fri) : Naoshima
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* Flight from HND to Takamatsu
* Ferry from Takamatsu to Naoshima
* Visit Benesse House, Chichu Art Museum and maybe other sites
* Play at the beach
* Use free shuttle to get around
Accommodation: 2 nights at Tsutsujiso yurts
Days 9-11 (Sat-Mon) : Kyoto
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* Ferry from Naoshima to Takamatsu
* Train to Kyoto
* Explore Kyoto area
* Arashiyama
Accommodation: 3 nights TBD
**Questions**:
* Any strong suggestions for areas to stay in Kyoto or basic family accommodations?
* Which temple sites are the most pleasant for families who don’t want to wait too much in lines?
Day 12 (Tues) : Miyajima
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* Train to Hiroshima
* Ferry to Miyajima
* Misen Hike and monkeys (cable-car one-way?)
Accommodation: 1 night at Omotenashi Hostel Miyajima
Day 13 (Wed) : Miyajima and Hiroshima
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* Explore Itsukushima, Daisho-In
* Ferry to Hiroshima
* Peace Park, Aquarium?, okonomiyaki
Accommodation: 1 night TBD
Day 14 (Thurs) : Hiroshima? Haneda?
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**Questions**:
* Not sure how we should split up Day 14 – we need to make sure we are close enough to Haneda to catch a 12:15 flight on Day 15. Morning in Hiroshima? Fly to Haneda and stay at a hotel nearby? Shinkasen back to Tokyo? Any thoughts for the approach that would balance low stress with making the most out of our time here?
Accommodation: 1 night TBD
Day 15 (Fri): departure
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* 12:15pm flight from HND
Final **question**:
* I have assumed, given our relatively few train trips, that a JR Pass isn’t practical for us. Please let me know if I’m mistaken and I should spend more time looking into the various passes and which might be practical.
_In conclusion_ I am so, so, so grateful to anyone who takes the time to look at this and help plan a very special holiday for our family. Take care.
2 comments
Depending on the animal, several places are questionable when it’s question of animal welfare.
Best place to see cosplayer… events like Comiket. Honestly, it’s unlikely you are going to see any appart from some rare people doing photoshoot, I’ve seen that a couple of times. Years ago there was people doing cosplay or just being dressed up that where hanging in Harajuku, but even 10 years ago it was starting to fade away.
If you are to take public transport from Naoshima, it may make more sense to take the ferry to Uno and train to Okayama instead of ferry to Takamatsu.
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About the order, it would make much more sense to do Hiroshima after Naoshima.
If you do Kyoto first here is how you will move (you won’t stop by Okayama, but pass by), you will do Okayama-Kyoto, Kyoto-Okayama, Okayama-Hiroshima, Hiroshima-Okayama, Okayama-Kyoto.
If you do Hiroshima first, it will be Okayama-Hiroshima, Hiroshima-Okayama, Okayama-Kyoto.
This mean you would save a round-trip Okayama-Kyoto by doing Hiroshima first. It will also be a shorter trip to go to Tokyo from Kyoto than from Hiroshima.
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Kyoto I would suggest area around Kawaramachi/Sanjo/Gion. That area is a bit more interesting than the area round Kyoto station.
There is not usually lines at temple and shrines, it’s more that they can be crowded. You can basically go to whatever temple/shrine you want and it will not make a huge difference. Obviously there is more chances that the famous one will be more visited and more crowded.
I am not sure if there is monkey on Miyajima, but there is for sure in Arashiyama Monkey park. But there is deer in Miyajima, no mistake on that.
I would personally try to avoid long distance train on the morning of your flight, so you may want to check to sleep in Tokyo for the last night.
JR Pass is not about the number of trips, but the cost of the train tickets. If you do it in the order I suggest, JR Pass is about the same price as a 7 days pass, so there is no strong reason to take it, not having the pass would allow you to ride faster shinkansen. If you do it in your order, yes, you would save money using the 7 days pass from the moment you leave Naoshima to arriving to Tokyo.
is it not possible to just book a multi city flight? so you don’t need to go back in day 14 and just depart on day 15.
so your flight would just be your country to tokyo and hiroshima (depending on your country this mostly have a stop over in tokyo) and back to your country.