Japan 2weeks help itinerary please
Aug 15th, 2016, 02:41 PM
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Japan 2weeks help itinerary please
Hello,
I have my flight tickets booked for Japan, flying to TOKYO 20th of October and back from OSAKA 5th of November. So we have 15 full days, we are going to be travelling with our 1 year old baby girl. I am looking at the accommodations but need to know exact dates of our itinerary to start booking it and thought great travelers here could help me out.
I am trying to find out what is the best route we should follow to be comfortable and to see as much (it´s not a problem to move a lot by trains, etc, we are used to it..).
My plan is to take the 14 days Rail Pass to travel by trains and cover Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka. Would it be clever to activate JR pass it directly in Tokyo and then the last day not to use it in Osaka (as we will just need to get to the airport for a flight back I guess)?
I am thinking to visit :
Tokyo (5 days with excursions to Kamakura, Nikko and/or Hakone(and maybe a night there?) so need advice which are more recommended especially with a child, for example in Hakone although she couldnt enter onsen, are children allowed to stay in onsen ryokans at all?
Takayama (1 day, 1 night), going also to Shirakawa go (by bus I guess?)
Kyoto (4 days with a day excursion to Nara, as I heard really nice place...)
Hiroshima + Miyajima ( 1 day Hiroshima and go to spend and a night and a day in Miayjima seems like a good option, is it??)
Osaka (to spend an evening, a night and a day as we fly back from this city at late evening)
The question would be what to add or take off the list as we still would have 1-2 extra days I guess depends on how we get on with catching trains etc although I heard transport system work perfectly..
wee I have a lot of other doubts but firstly want to sort out our route,
THANK YOU!!
I have my flight tickets booked for Japan, flying to TOKYO 20th of October and back from OSAKA 5th of November. So we have 15 full days, we are going to be travelling with our 1 year old baby girl. I am looking at the accommodations but need to know exact dates of our itinerary to start booking it and thought great travelers here could help me out.
I am trying to find out what is the best route we should follow to be comfortable and to see as much (it´s not a problem to move a lot by trains, etc, we are used to it..).
My plan is to take the 14 days Rail Pass to travel by trains and cover Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka. Would it be clever to activate JR pass it directly in Tokyo and then the last day not to use it in Osaka (as we will just need to get to the airport for a flight back I guess)?
I am thinking to visit :
Tokyo (5 days with excursions to Kamakura, Nikko and/or Hakone(and maybe a night there?) so need advice which are more recommended especially with a child, for example in Hakone although she couldnt enter onsen, are children allowed to stay in onsen ryokans at all?
Takayama (1 day, 1 night), going also to Shirakawa go (by bus I guess?)
Kyoto (4 days with a day excursion to Nara, as I heard really nice place...)
Hiroshima + Miyajima ( 1 day Hiroshima and go to spend and a night and a day in Miayjima seems like a good option, is it??)
Osaka (to spend an evening, a night and a day as we fly back from this city at late evening)
The question would be what to add or take off the list as we still would have 1-2 extra days I guess depends on how we get on with catching trains etc although I heard transport system work perfectly..
wee I have a lot of other doubts but firstly want to sort out our route,
THANK YOU!!
Aug 15th, 2016, 03:29 PM
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When you say flying to Tokyo on Oct 20, does that mean you land on Oct 20? If so, you have 16 calendar days in Japan. If you arrive Oct 21, you have 15.
You say you have a one-year old but that's vague because at that age MONTHS are more important than years - will the baby be 12 months, 18 months, 22 months? Is the baby currently holding onto tables and chairs and pulling herself up and walking with those aids?
Your itinerary, as written, is not viable. You have set an itinerary that you and your spouse would do on your own. You cannot. The baby will slow you down because her needs are greater than yours. The baby will also be upset with having as many as FIVE or SIX different lodgings during the 14-15 nights you have. You need to dial back and pick no more than 3 places where you will reside overnight, preferably two.
You say you have a one-year old but that's vague because at that age MONTHS are more important than years - will the baby be 12 months, 18 months, 22 months? Is the baby currently holding onto tables and chairs and pulling herself up and walking with those aids?
Your itinerary, as written, is not viable. You have set an itinerary that you and your spouse would do on your own. You cannot. The baby will slow you down because her needs are greater than yours. The baby will also be upset with having as many as FIVE or SIX different lodgings during the 14-15 nights you have. You need to dial back and pick no more than 3 places where you will reside overnight, preferably two.
Aug 15th, 2016, 05:48 PM
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Right on, BigRuss. You must be a father, and understand how miserable all that running around can be for a toddler.
Ugny, you need to be realistic about travelling with a toddler. You don't want her to be miserable, and you two don't want to end up with frayed nerves. That being said, I would do something like the following:
Tokyo (day trips only)
Takayama three nights
Hiroshima, possibly, but maybe cut out
Kyoto (Nara day trip)
And then, can you take the train or limo directly from Kyoto to Kansai airport, depending on your departure time?
Big Russ is right, four destinations are pushing it, so I might cut out Hiroshima. The museum is amazing, but what could your child possible get out of it? Also, the train or tram right to the Miyajima ferry is a schlep, and then you have to get on the ferry....
I think Tokyo will actually be easier with a toddler. You can go for little walks, assuming you have a centrally located hotel. I would not cut out Takayama, since it's so cute and quaint. We stayed three nights, with a bus trip to Shirakawa-go. Your toddler would enjoy walking around the houses there.
First finalize your itinerary, then maybe ask about the JR pass.
Oh, and I would try to find hotels with pools, and I mean cold ones. I saw a little Japanese girl crying at an hotel onsen, because her mother was forcing her into the hot water. It is not fun for a small child. And no ryokans, please, you need a big western hotel where one of you can walk around the downstairs area while the other gets ready. Also, it's not fair to the other guests.
Ugny, you need to be realistic about travelling with a toddler. You don't want her to be miserable, and you two don't want to end up with frayed nerves. That being said, I would do something like the following:
Tokyo (day trips only)
Takayama three nights
Hiroshima, possibly, but maybe cut out
Kyoto (Nara day trip)
And then, can you take the train or limo directly from Kyoto to Kansai airport, depending on your departure time?
Big Russ is right, four destinations are pushing it, so I might cut out Hiroshima. The museum is amazing, but what could your child possible get out of it? Also, the train or tram right to the Miyajima ferry is a schlep, and then you have to get on the ferry....
I think Tokyo will actually be easier with a toddler. You can go for little walks, assuming you have a centrally located hotel. I would not cut out Takayama, since it's so cute and quaint. We stayed three nights, with a bus trip to Shirakawa-go. Your toddler would enjoy walking around the houses there.
First finalize your itinerary, then maybe ask about the JR pass.
Oh, and I would try to find hotels with pools, and I mean cold ones. I saw a little Japanese girl crying at an hotel onsen, because her mother was forcing her into the hot water. It is not fun for a small child. And no ryokans, please, you need a big western hotel where one of you can walk around the downstairs area while the other gets ready. Also, it's not fair to the other guests.
Aug 15th, 2016, 07:09 PM
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As a preface, note that I don’t have children, and so defer to those who do for all relevant comments.
Personally, even as a solo traveler, I would not try to visit Takayama and Shirakawa-go with just one night. You might consider cutting that destination and adding your day and night to one of your other destinations.
Yes, Miyajima is, IMO, an excellent option and it is, IME, much nicer after daytrippers leave!
Personally, I would add your extra time to Kyoto and Nara, so that you have at least 6 full days there. And if you are going to try to visit Kamakura AND Nikko from Tokyo, you might want an extra day there, but it depends on what you want to see and experience, whether you will experience jet lag, and whether you include Hakone or not.
If you haven’t already done so, spend PLENTY of time with japan-guide.com, which has excellent information on just about every aspect of traveling to and in Japan.
Hope that helps!
Personally, even as a solo traveler, I would not try to visit Takayama and Shirakawa-go with just one night. You might consider cutting that destination and adding your day and night to one of your other destinations.
Yes, Miyajima is, IMO, an excellent option and it is, IME, much nicer after daytrippers leave!
Personally, I would add your extra time to Kyoto and Nara, so that you have at least 6 full days there. And if you are going to try to visit Kamakura AND Nikko from Tokyo, you might want an extra day there, but it depends on what you want to see and experience, whether you will experience jet lag, and whether you include Hakone or not.
If you haven’t already done so, spend PLENTY of time with japan-guide.com, which has excellent information on just about every aspect of traveling to and in Japan.
Hope that helps!
Aug 16th, 2016, 02:56 AM
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Thank you all for your opinions. We arrive on 20th of October evening (19pm).
Our daugther will be exactly 12months on the day trip starts thats why I was saying 1yo. She crawls and tries to stand up but doesnt start walking yet although we do not know how it goes in couple of months.
Miyajima is actually one of the places which we want to visit the most. And yes maybe spending two or three nights in Takayama seems good. As I also want to see Kanazawa and Shirakawa go. I do not see a big problem to change accommodations, thats a big country and we will probably wont have opportunity to go there again so really want to make the most of it but doesnt mean our toddler will suffer. But I know a lot of people who did much more complicated routes with toddlers (couple of them) and they were completely fine.
From what I heard and read Japan is really comfortable and safe to travel with children so I think we can enjoy as much and see different places. But obviously our girl comes first and she is not okay we can change our plans at any time.
Thank you for the website suggestions will spend some time reading it as there is loads.
Now from what more I read maybe our itinerary could be also saving and getting just 7 day JR pass. Does his seem doable?
Tokyo
Tokyo
Tokyo
Tokyo
Tokyo - Nikko day trip, validate 7 day JR Pass on this day
Tokyo - Takayama
Takayama - Shirakawago - Kanazawa
Kanazawa - Hiroshima
Hiroshima - Miyajima
Miyajima - Hiroshima, train to Kyoto
Kyoto - Nara day trip, evening in Osaka, back to Kyoto
Kyoto
Kyoto
Kyoto to Airport
Thank again.
Our daugther will be exactly 12months on the day trip starts thats why I was saying 1yo. She crawls and tries to stand up but doesnt start walking yet although we do not know how it goes in couple of months.
Miyajima is actually one of the places which we want to visit the most. And yes maybe spending two or three nights in Takayama seems good. As I also want to see Kanazawa and Shirakawa go. I do not see a big problem to change accommodations, thats a big country and we will probably wont have opportunity to go there again so really want to make the most of it but doesnt mean our toddler will suffer. But I know a lot of people who did much more complicated routes with toddlers (couple of them) and they were completely fine.
From what I heard and read Japan is really comfortable and safe to travel with children so I think we can enjoy as much and see different places. But obviously our girl comes first and she is not okay we can change our plans at any time.
Thank you for the website suggestions will spend some time reading it as there is loads.
Now from what more I read maybe our itinerary could be also saving and getting just 7 day JR pass. Does his seem doable?
Tokyo
Tokyo
Tokyo
Tokyo
Tokyo - Nikko day trip, validate 7 day JR Pass on this day
Tokyo - Takayama
Takayama - Shirakawago - Kanazawa
Kanazawa - Hiroshima
Hiroshima - Miyajima
Miyajima - Hiroshima, train to Kyoto
Kyoto - Nara day trip, evening in Osaka, back to Kyoto
Kyoto
Kyoto
Kyoto to Airport
Thank again.
Aug 16th, 2016, 08:33 AM
#7
You can move Nikko to an earlier day traveling on the Tobu trains. You won't really need your JR Pass on the Nara day as the fares will only be about 2000 yen total. Either way, you can add a day (or two) to the Takayama- Kanazawa part.
What you have now gives you only a few hours in each of Takayama and Kanazawa, so adding a day would help.
You could:
-skip Shirakawago and visit Hida no Sato in Takayama instead
-skip Takayama and go to Kanazawa, visit Shirakawago as a day trip from there.
What you have now gives you only a few hours in each of Takayama and Kanazawa, so adding a day would help.
You could:
-skip Shirakawago and visit Hida no Sato in Takayama instead
-skip Takayama and go to Kanazawa, visit Shirakawago as a day trip from there.
Aug 16th, 2016, 05:55 PM
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I must admit that this plan would not satisfy me – too much time in Tokyo and not nearly enough time in Takayama, Kanazawa, or Kyoto. Consider skipping Takayama and Kanazawa and adding that time to Kyoto and Nara, and also consider shifting a day from Tokyo to Kyoto. JMO.
Aug 18th, 2016, 12:24 AM
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I agree, for me the single nighters in Kanazawa and Takayama are really not worthwhile. Travelling time will eat up most of what little time you have in either. Better to leave for another trip. Or do 2 nights in Takayama and leave Kanazawa for later - we did that on our first trip and on our recent third trip, finally made it to Kanazawa for 4 nights.
I'd also give the Osaka night to Kyoto and just do a visit for a half day, including the early evening so you can stroll and dine in Dotonbori area.
I'd also give the Osaka night to Kyoto and just do a visit for a half day, including the early evening so you can stroll and dine in Dotonbori area.
Aug 18th, 2016, 07:20 AM
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You're probably going to have trouble with the toddler since you're insisting on bouncing from place to place. That said, there's no way she's going to do this day without freaking: Kyoto - Nara day trip, evening in Osaka, back to Kyoto.
Aug 19th, 2016, 07:55 PM
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Good strategy, Ugny. Baby in tow or not, you have to stop and smell the roses. Now is the time to figure out what to do with your luggage on your departure day. Ordinarily, I would tell you to send at least some of your luggage to the airport, but you may need all kinds of baby paraphernalia, so that may not work. Maybe there is a central hotel in Osaka that will take your luggage for the day.
