First time Traveler and First time visiting Japan

11 comments

1. 1. Hottest month. Prepare yourself ahaha.

   4.) this would depend on your countries policies for bringing meat. In Canada, this would be a nope.

   5.)Home cafe Akihabara

2. Hi!

   I am an adult who just went to Japan with my 12 year old daughter.

   1. Hot and humid. It felt like 100F when we were there, expect August to be the same. If you’re from the Philippines, you will probably be fine.
   2. What is your budget? This is definitely late to book August is a domestic vacation time as well.
   3. Can’t help you there, we are vegetarian.
   4. Can’t help you there.
   5. I don’t think Maid Cafes are kid friendly.
   6. You will need an IC card for convenience.
   7. Hanabi usually refers specifically to sakura and sakura will be long long long gone. There are places to see sunflowers and lavender, but not necessarily near Tokyo and Osaka.
   8. Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo all offer kimono rental or yukata rental.

3. 1）Prepare yourself for hot and humid, and generally very uncomfortable. Have water/electrolyte drinks with you at all times, esp. for your kid.

   3) Ask at the hotel you will be staying at.

   4) Bringing back meat products is generally a no. You (obviously) need to check with your country regulations

   5) No. Kid-friendly maid cafe is not a thing.

   A very general comment: is your daughter and/or yourself anime fan(s)? If yes, go for it, but if no, there are many other things you could add to your list that would bring a bit of variety while giving you a taste of Japanese traditional culture.

4. I love the TeamLab Planets in Tokyo but the TeamLab Botanical Garden wasn’t anything special, imo. I’d skip it and just do Osaka Castle + Dotonbori.

   5. I went to Home Cafe in Akihabara and it seems kid-friendly. They did nothing offensive. I just ate, talked to my maid and took a photo with her. I think your daughter will be fine.

   6. You can buy a JR Pass to take a bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo. For travelling within Osaka and Tokyo, look into IC card and Suica card. Use Google Maps to your advantage when it comes to trains. It has a feature that tells you all the routes from point A to point B. Let me know if you have more questions regarding this.

   If you’re interested in a nice view – I think Shibuya Sky has the best views/photoshoot opportunities. But book it in advance.

5. Universal Studios has anime themed stuff in their park (more than Disney) but the anime featured in the park changes up depending on the period. Since you mention that your trip is in late August, the anime featured then would be “One Piece”, “Jujutsu Kaisen” and “Pokemon”. If your daughter enjoys any of these titles, then she should enjoy that anime aspect of the park.

6. Day 2, aquarium instead of teamlab

   Maybe add a Japanese candy making class?

7. Since no one answered 9, it sounds like you are looking for thrift stores/2nd hand clothing stores. I dont have any recommendations, but there are a lot of YouTubers who make videos of their purchases along with which store/location they visited. Hopefully, that will give you some ideas on which places to check out.

8. 1. Hot, humid.
   2. I won’t suggest a hotel because there are many, but I will advise you pick a central location with convenient access to trains/public transit. Don’t, for the sake of saving a handful of dollars, pick suburban areas – for example, staying in Shin-Osaka might be a little cheaper than staying near Osaka or Umeda, but Shin-Osaka is a residential area with not much going on. It’s nice to not have to commit extra amounts of time getting to/from your lodgings every day just to get to another place that will have better transit connections/stuff.
   3. If you follow (2), you will be able to find whatever you want via Google Maps/Tabelog, and usually within walking distance or even downstairs from your hotel. There are so many restaurants in Tokyo and Osaka that you don’t really need to go out of your way to eat most things.
   4. You need authorization from the Philippines Department of Agriculture to bring fresh/frozen meat home into the country. So I’m going to lean toward ‘no’ because usually this means you need to have certificates and other proof that the meat has been inspected and declared free of things that your country doesn’t want to let in.
   5. No opinion, probably Maidreamin’ – plentiful, and I see a lot of tourists in those when I walk by them).
   6. IC card. If you’re landing in Tokyo, get a Welcome Suica or Pasmo Passport. If you’re landing in Osaka, get an ICOCA. Taking the Shinkansen/bullet train requires separate tickets. Note that there are also things you can’t ride with *just* an IC card, like trains requiring “Limited Express” tickets.
   7. Will need to look up a schedule.
   8. Look up ‘kimono rental store (city name)’
   9. I don’t know what videos you’ve been watching – sounds like you want to go thrifting/used clothes shopping? In Osaka, check out Amerikamura (it’s a neighborhood). In Tokyo, Shimokitazawa or Harajuku (both neighborhoods/cities). More generically, there are stores/chains like Hard Off that sell used goods/clothes (and aren’t necessarily geared towards vintage/collector’s clothing).

   —-

   Also, if you don’t already have Ghibli Museum tickets, you may not be able to get them if your trip is in August.

9. Hot hot hot hot hot hot hot and it will also be hot

10. For public transport, I suggest using the Navitime app for directions. Then all you need is a Pasmo or Suica card to tap on and off to public transport.

    If you are going to be in Shibuya, your daughter might also like the Harajuku area

11. Are you going in 2024 or 2023? Just warning you if you don’t have tix for Ghibli Museum for Aug. 2023 already they are long gone.