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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/IRENE_OH on 2024-03-23 11:52:46.
Hi, all! Reporting on our family trip to Japan in case you find anything useful.
Background: Me: European, studied in Japan 15 years ago, was never able to go back after leaving due to working hard to build my career, starting a family, prioritizing other plans and life, in general. Husband: also European, never visited Japan before but very eager to see all the wonderful things I talked about 15 years ago. We were in our first year of relationship and did long distance while I lived in Japan. Boys: 9 yo and almost 6 yo (2 weeked shy of 6 yo), love gaming, heard about mom’s Japanese life all the time so curious and excited to experience Japan themselves.
Our trip is an emotional one so we prioritized visiting special places for me, walking down the memory lane. Also, it’s our family vacation so we adapted the itinerary and activities to our likes and dislikes and our leisure pace during vacations. Therefore, we ended up doing things a bit differently versus the very good advice found on this Reddit, still worked great for us.
Flight from EU was via Doha, Qatar, mid March. First long haul for my husband and kids, went better than I expected. Landed at Haneda very late, 10 PM but managed to get to sleep very efficiently soon after :D
What helped: I had bought Ubigi esim beforehand, activated it after landing, worked like a charm the whole trip, used about 7 GB of data on a 10GB plan. Husband had also booked a pocket wifi and asked for delivery at our hotel, found it there when we checked in. We did both esim and pocket wifi, as you can see, because sometimes we would wander around (ex. in Yodobashi Akiba me at the J beauty floor and him and the boys at the electronics floor :)) and wanted to have both flexibility and backup in case one option did not work well enough.
Then: we decided it was too late to get a taxi and pay the night surcharge and ride into Tokyo so we booked a hotel close to Haneda. We are 100% happy with that choice, hotel had free shuttle bus. So, as soon as we cleared immigration with QR codes, we took some cash from the ATM, bought 2 Suicas for adults and 1 for our 9yo (youngest rides for free since he is not 6 yet), loaded 5000 yen/adult and 3000 yen/child (we spent it fully) and shortly after hopped on the free hotel shuttlebus, checked in after 15 min and enjoyed a good night’s rest.
I saw on this Reddit most people wake up too early due to jetlag, which is good to get to places early, if open. We are the opposite: coming from EU, we woke up late, which is very much in line with our schedule during weekends and holidays anyways. So we did not get to any place early. What we did instead was take it slow in the mornings, have brunch and good coffee at cafes near our hotels, chat with our kids (amazing to spend this time with them and discuss about where we want to go, what are their thoughts about Japan and other topics, very good bonding time).
Here’s our itinerary:
- 3 days Tokyo West - stayed in Shibuya (except 1st night, as previously stated), explored by foot the whole area, Shibuya Crossing, Nintendo Store, ate amazing ramen in a randomly found place. I did not bother to cram many activities on the first day and didn’t want to take the train anywhere even though we were in good shape after the flight.
Kids had saved up money and decided they wanted to spend it on Nintendo Switches, customized in Japan and much cheaper vs our own country.
What worked well for us in terms of accomodation and activities is to book hotels within walking distance of our major points of interests. This is why we split Tokyo time into West and East and stayed at different hotels.
Second day we walked to Meiji Jingu and Harajuku, very pleasant weather, 30 min from hotel to Meiji Jingu. On the way, each of us holds one kids’ hand and we try to look at things around us and talk about them, find fun things to discuss, give the kids small jobs (ex. help me buy the tickets, interact with people at the counter or selling ice cream, taught them a few Japanese phrases, wash our hands and mouths before entering the shrine, ask them to pray for health, peace and good fortuner etc). Of course, they had times when they complained their feet hurt, we don’t usually walk all day, sometimes we stopped at a cafe or had (more) icecream next to whatever we visited, sometimes we stopped at a playground and sometimes we went back to the hotel for a break. Adults enjoyed those breaks too.
Third day we (finally) took a train to Shinjuku, we all liked riding the trains :) and we asked kids to help navigate, look at Google Maps, count the stops, explained about being quiet on the train etc. Went up to see the views from Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and then spend time at a playground nearby which had slides and other fun equipment. Went back to the hotel and wandered around again during the evening/night.
- 4 days Kyoto. We took the shinkansen. Luggage shipped beforehand via Yamato so travelled light with the kids. Bento boxes less yummy than I remembered, we did not buy them second time we took the shinkansen. Found shinkansen shaped candy, kids love them as souvenirs for themselves.
Kyoto is magical, for me! It’s filled with amazing houses, people dressing up in kimonos and walking the streets, beautiful small shops, shrines and gardens and walkways, old mixed with new. I don’t think you need to go from shrine to shrine, it’s fine to pick 1-3 and enjoy.
Our family does ok with crowds outside. Inside is a different story and we do skip inside spaces like playgrounds if crowded. We are also not big on Disneyland or Legoland or amusement parks, in general so we skipped them on this first trip and prioritized other activities.
So, 1st day in Kyoto we simply walked around our hotel in Gion, ate whatever caught our eye, bought souvenirs and, amazingly, ended up walking Sannenzaka and Ninnenzaka both during daylight and evening. Caught the last open hour in Kiyomizu Dera and enjoyed the views.
2nd day in Kyoto we had a very slow morning, strolled through the streets to Nishiki Market, ate at various shops/stalls and then took a taxi to Kinkaku-ji. Amazingly beautiful to walk the pathways, not too crowded, actually…less crowded vs when I first visited as a student. Took a taxi back to the hotel area and stumbled on to a Michelin star ramen restaurant, had amazing ramen for a very good price, rested.
3rd day in Kyoto took the train to Fushimi Inari, climbed the stairs, not too crowded at around 12-1 PM, I guess people are eating at those hours. We did not climb to the top because…we did not feel the need to. Instead, kids prayed at a small shrine, and we preferred to take side paths going down, where allowed/signaled and safe. Went back to Gion, had snacks and coffee at a cafe, walked to Maruyama Park. Explored some small streets in the area.
4th day went to Arashiyama, saw the monkeys and walked some of the bamboo walk, sat on the river bank, ate more ice-cream!, went back to hotel, rested, went back out to see Pontocho area by night.
- 2 days: Nara and Kobe. Kids loved feeding the deer in Nara, save some cookies for the deer closest to the Todai ji temple, the ones at the park were full and not eager to eat :)) Kids loved going through the hole in a pillar at Todai ji, said to be the same size as Buddha’s statue nostril and bring health and good luck. We loved the temple’s idea to repair the roof: you can donate a tile and they ask you to write your well wishes, names and date on it by calligraphy brush. Hope our tile stays within the new roof for many years :)
Kobe is my former university town so we met my professor after 15 years, introduced the family, caught up on life, saw my previous dorm, cried a bit in nostalgia, walked to the port area in the rain, very romantic :))
My kids asked my professor if they can also come study in Japan. He’s retiring in a few years so it was very emotional as he said he’ll wait for them to choose Japan as their mother did.
- 3 days in Tokyo East, stayed in Ginza. Took the shinkansen again, non reserved seats, a bit challenging to sit together but we managed because we started at Shin-Kobe station. Osaka-Kyoto-Nagoya leg very crowded, many people standing on the isle.
Explored Ginza by foot, bought food, souvernirs, more Nintendo games, explored Akihabara a bit and rode the monorail to Odaiba on our last day. Loved the parks in Odaiba, kids played in the sand, we had quiet time and coffee :) Had one last epic sushi meal and departed from Haneda.
Japan is as amazing now as 15 years ago! Google Maps works well, you can get around so much easier as a foreigner vs 15 years ago, check restaurants, make reservations, there is more signage in English. 7/11 and Lawson and Family Mart are as useful and fun as I remember them, so are the various drinks machines and gachapon :) We all hope we can go back together again to spend time as a family exploring Japan.
Hope all of you going will have an amazing time experiencing its culture and people!