irishkaren

Hi all, I’m looking for some advice on our itinerary in Japan. We will be there from 5-18th June, husband, myself, two teens and one 12 year old. We are a little restricted in hotel locations because we are trying to use some airmiles but are happy with what we have so far. We arrive into Tokyo and will stay there until Sunday 10th when we will activate our 7-day JR passes. The kids are busy researching what they are interested in Tokyo so I think we will have no problem filling up that time. It looks like we won’t be able to get tickets for the Sky Tree though, which would have been cool. What do you think is the best view of the city otherwise?

So, the main questions I have are for the next leg. We are basing ourselves in Osaka for 5 nights and will do day-trips from there. Kyoto is top of the list, I reckon we will need two days there? Other options are Nara, Hiroshima, Kobe and Kanazawa. Could we combine a trip to Kobe and Hiroshima for example? Is Nara different enough from Kyoto to hold the interest of the kids? I can’t quite remember why Kanazawa made our original list but it looks like a lovely place to visit but it may be too far out of the way to make sense? We’re looking for a balance between the traditional and modern. We have a list of things to do in Osaka too, (including a Hanshin Tigers game) so our idea bank is pretty full! If you can help us streamline it we’d be very grateful. Our last night before heading back to Tokyo will be in Takayama from where we will have to get back to Tokyo like Cinderella before our JR passes expire! That will bring us to 16th June. We have booked a hotel in Narita for our very last night on 17th as we have an early flight out the next day, but are open to suggestions for 16th when our passes expire.

I’d also like to get to Kamakura but at the moment I can’t see a way to fit it in unless we do a day trip from Tokyo? We have tried to keep the hotel changes to a minimum so we don’t have to lug suitcases around but it will be unavoidable on our last couple of days. What are our options for leaving our luggage at train stations en route from Takayama to Tokyo if we wanted to stop somewhere for a while?

We are so excited about this trip, the 12 year old is busy with a Learn Japanese app and the two teens are researching best places for camera equipment and electronics while I am listing shrines and temples and husband is looking at food options! Hope we have everything covered before departure. Thank you in advance for your expertise....

mrwunrfl

Which hotel in Osaka?

I strongly recommend that you visit Hiroshima as one of your day trips, if not overnight. Yes, you can visit Kobe enroute to/from Hiroshima. Instead of Kobe you might want to look into visiting Miyajima along with Hiroshima. If you stay overnight then you might be able to see a Hiroshima Carp game.

You can pass on Kamakura this time. Nara is definitely worth a trip from Osaka. Nara has the Todaiji.

There are coin lockers for luggage at JR stations. You should read about the baggage delivery service to see how you might fit it into your plans:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html
You can, of course, leave luggage at a hotel between, before, or after stays.

So, lugging suitcases around IS avoidable.

There is a grand sumo tournament in Nagoya in June. Nagoya is on your route.

Your DH will want to try Osaka-style okonomiyaki. I will see if I can find the name of the place that the Westin Osaka recommended. Then in Hiroshima, try their style of okonomiyaki.

irishkaren

Thank you mrwunrfl, that's really helpful info. We will definitely visit Nara and will look at switching Kobe and Miyajima with Hiroshima in the same trip. Also great to know that luggage will not be a problem. We will get the hang of the lockers and will go with that, thanks! I'll note the baggage delivery link somewhere too in case I find a treasure that won't fit in my suitcase.

The okonomiyaki look delicious, dh will definitely want to try those. We are staying in the Hearton Kita Umeda in Osaka. I hope it's okay, we were a little restricted because we need a triple and a double. It only opened in 2011 so at least that's in its favor!

Thanks a mill for taking the time to reply.

mrwunrfl

I understand that you are leaving Takayama on the 16th. What day do you get to Takayama? Sounds like it would be the 15th.

irishkaren

Yes, Takayama on 15th, then back to Tokyo on 16th for one more day in case we missed anything first time around!

hawaiiantraveler

sounds like you have your trip well planned and thought through and mrwunrfl's advice is spot on as usual. I have used the jibbigo japanese/english app on my iphone for translation and conversing in Japanese in a pinch....really works well, just type or speak in what you want to say and voila there it is in japanese type and speech.

if you are traveling lightly then luggage with your family should be no problem on the trains but if you are heavy travelers(two bags or more each) then the takuhaibin service can be a godsend, we use it on every trip to japan. ie if i were only spending one night in takayama i would take a small carry on bag from location before takayama to takayama and send the rest of my luggage via luggage courier to my hotel in tokyo from stop before takayama. sometimes smaller train stations lockers will be full if on busy days and with 5 of you traveling together with all your bags.....

sounds like your going to have a wonderful trip. let us know how it went when you get back.

Aloha!

mrwunrfl

ht got to where I was going: send some luggage from Osaka to your Narita hotel. Combine what y'all will need for one night in Takayama and one night in Tokyo into 1 or 2 bags and ship the rest.

Where do you think you would want to use a coin locker? How much luggage will you have?

The typical route from Osaka to Takayama would be: train to Shin Osaka, Hikari shinkansen to Nagoya, and the Ltd Exp (Wide View) Hida train to Takayama.

Some of those Hida trains depart from Osaka station and go to Takayama. It is about 25 minutes slower than the typical route, but simpler. For example, there is a 7:59AM departure from Osaka that goes to Gifu, then 15 minutes in Gifu, and continue to Takayama. You will see it listed as Route 2 in the link below.

http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi/en/searc...d&sum_target=7

With that 15 minute stop in Gifu you could look for two things: a coin locker in Gifu station and good weather. If you found both of those then consider visiting Gifu castle. Stow luggage, get reserved seats for a later limited express train for Takayama, and then go to the castle. It is a small castle and a repro, but interesting, and fun to get to. That is assuming you can get your squad on a train at 7:59AM.

hawaiiantraveler

just realized you will traveling in early june or the tsuyu(rainy)season of japan. just be prepared for rain and lots of it at times though this is also one of the sunniest times of the year....go figure,lol.

this yr will be an especially active typhoon season along the japan's eastern coast and current and will start early.....just ht's prediction but worth heading none the less.....umbrellas are plentiful and inexpensive and seem to pop up out of no where when the rains starts falling upon the streets of nippon. get the second cheapest ones....70mm not the 60 unless you are diminutive in stature....something mrw and ht are not

Aloha!

hawaiiantraveler

heeding.....

irishkaren

Brilliant stuff, thank you both. We are planning on traveling light with one bag each, but as you say, that's still 5 bags on the move. We will look into sending our bags on ahead to Narita to free us up at the end of our trip.
I was expecting to have to break out the rain jackets, but hadn't considered typhoons hawaiitraveler! The 12 yr old spotted your reply earlier and has declared that in the event of typhoons we will just head to one of the shopping centers she has earmarked and "shelter" in there while shopping! If nothing else it will be something we are unlikely to experience at home in Ireland.
Any tips for getting sim cards or data plans for our phones while there? Between us we have 3 iPhones, 1 Blackberry and 1 HTC. It's ridiculous how addicted we are to our "devices", but maybe we'll just have to use hotel wifi in the evenings and survive on that?

hawaiiantraveler

Didn't mean to worry you about typhoon season but you just need to be aware of.... If one were to get close you will get plenty of advance notice.

I use Rentafone Japan for my pocket wifi and phone rentals(for Mrs HT) located here:

http://www.rentafonejapan.com/index.html

I used the pocket wifi for the first time this past November and it worked out great. The speed is not lightning but quick enough and it even worked on the train enabling us to do internet on the shinkansen. We have rented Justin's phones for years and find this to be the best deal I can find. The good thing about his phones is that they work well in the countryside as well as in the cities. We have found other rental phones such as Pupuru did not work well outside of the larger cities.

You've probably figured out either to train(NEx or Keisei) or limobus into Tokyo from NRT on that first day. Know that there are special tickets that include either a one-day Tokyo Metro Pass of a SUICA card filled with ¥2000. See here for details:

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/nex/suica_nex.html

http://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetud...ial/index.html

http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/discou.../en/index.html

Aloha!

kalihiwai2

We just got back from Tokyo and I thought I could offer some tips.
As to view points either the Mori Museum / Skyview at Roppongi Hills or the FujiTv Building in Odaiba.
Both are close to other stimulating attractions. The emerging Science Museum was pretty cool.
The roof deck of the Amuse museum in Asakusa has a nice view of the temple area and Skytreeand an interesting small museum. The entry fees do add up though.
On the adult side the Mandarim Hotel bar is a cool place for night time drinks and jazz with a spectacular night view.

Check out Bento.com for restaurant tips they also have a sister site Where in Tokyo., they also have a listing for cafes with free wifi. Brooklyn Parlor in Shinjuku was a pretty cool place to hang out.

Also I used a apple airport express in my hotels rooms. most are wired only so with the express you can have access from multiple devices. Set it up before you go if you use one.

Have a great time!

irishkaren

Hi, I can't believe we're back already. We had an amazing trip, Japan exceeded every wonderful expectation, it was awesome! Apart from a little rain we had decent weather and it was surprisingly easy to get around (directions to specific buildings were more difficult to get the hang of though!)
We did as you suggested and sent our luggage from Osaka to Narita so we just had a small backpack each which made a huge difference. I was very taken with Takayama, such a contrast to Tokyo and the big cities. We took the bus from Takayama to Matsumoto which was a lovely route and we saw a completely different side of Japan as it was so rural. When we got back to the bright lights of Tokyo that evening it was difficult to believe that we were in the same country! I will try to get around to writing a trip report next week and I will ask our 'official photographer' aka 16yr old son to put some photos up somewhere too. He has a great series of our Hiroshima okonomiyaki being made layer by layer.
All in all, the trip of a lifetime and one I think the kids will remember as a highlight of family holidays for sure.

hawaiiantraveler

So happy to hear that it all went well. Yes the rural Japanese countryside is very different from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Anxious to read about your Japanese experience in your trip report. Welcome back!

Aloha!