10 days japan trip, advice needed
 

my family (2 adult with 1 kids - 6yrs old) plan to hv vacation at japan for 10 days. Basically like to visit tokyo especially Disney, mount fuji, kyoto, and osaka. This our first trip to japan, so, would like to seize some good advice how to plan our trip.
will appreciate who can advise the below question :
1. which is good place to stay ? Shinjuku or shinagawa ? Looking for convenient, affordable place that easily to access to all the places. near to the subway and train station.
2. how many days needed to stay at Kyoto, could we stay at tokyo and only having day trip to kyoto ?
3. If we would like to cover both kyoto and osaka (mainly for the aquarium and universal studio, how many days needed ? and should we stay at kyoto or osaka ?
4. worth to visit Fuji mount ?

looking forward for someone that could help, thx.

If I were planning a trip to Japan I would recommend staying in Shinjuku if possible as it is a major transportation hub with connections to the subway, surface transit as well as rail service to the airport. It depends on your budget but I suggest you check out a website like expedia.com to get a good price.

I am not sure how many days to suggest for a stay to Kyoto but I think it would be a bit too far to go for one day from Tokyo. It would probably be good to stay over night at least one night. Same goes for a trip to Oasaka.
As far as I know the climbing season for Mt. Fuji is finished and all of the restaurants and lodging are closed for the season. Within a few weeks it will be covered with snow as it is only 5C at the top in the middle of August. Just some suggestions!

thx for your quick respond. Our visit to japan happen during 13 nov to 23 nov. How is the wheather duirng this period ? Since a lot of people hv good comment about Kyoto, I think I would plan my trip as below :
13 nov - directly go to kyoto from narita airport. Spend 4 nights at kyoto and plan day trip to osaka. Any good recommedation accomodation at kyoto budget US100 - 150?
17 nov - heading to Tokyo and spend rest of 5 days at tokyo. Any good hotel recommendation ?
Need some advice on this plan. thx.

You should find travel with a child quite easy at this age. Hotels do not usually charge for the extra person (child) unless you require an extra bed. Ryokan and onsen hotels charge a child rate that is significantly cheaper than the adult rate. Train and bus fares are about 1/2 price for kids, and often free for children younger than elementary school age. If your 6 year old hasn't started school yet, you'll save big.

We've been 3 times to Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea...each time for 4 days. 3 days in the parks, and one day for shopping and relaxing. Disney is quite a trek from Tokyo, so I strongly recommend staying at either one of the 2 Disney hotels (which are not cheap at all so we haven't stayed at either one), or, more reasonably, one of the several official hotels located just outside the park. We always stay at the Tokyo Bay Hilton, and it takes us no time to get to the parks from there...monorail goes all day and into the night, stopping at the official hotels station, Land, Sea and Ikspiari shopping center, running in a loop.

In Tokyo itself, you can't really go wrong with hotels. Public transport is efficient, so maybe pick a place that is centrally located and near a station. Knowing your budget would help.

Kyoto...I'd plan on staying some nights there, or at the very least, staying in Osaka, and taking the train to Kyoto. A day trip from Tokyo to Kyoto, while possible, would be a very, very long day for an adult, never mind a child.

The Osaka aquarium is quite good. We've been a few times and enjoyed it. The small shopping area outside is cute, too, though we didn't find much to buy. If the giant ferris wheel is running when you visit, the views from the top of it are nice.

Universal Studios is a fairly small version of the US ones. It is certainly doable in one day, where Disney is not.

In your planning, do your best to go to Disney and Universal Studios on days that are NOT weekends or holidays. The crowds are unbelievable.

Staying in a hotel that has a pool is a prerequiste for our family. Our daughter, now 8, is fine to sightsee for a good part of the day, as long as she knows she'll get pool time later.

1) I've stayed in Shinjuku a few times and in Shinagawa only once (and very briefly). I would prefer Shinjuku. I think it is more centrally located and more interesting. The place I stayed in Shinagawa was up a hill from the station and just not as convenient as many places in Shinjuku. A tourist staying in Shinagawa might go to Shinjuku but not the other way around. OTOH, I do remember seeing brochures and stuff advertising packages to Disney stuff from the Shinagawa hotel (maybe Disney stuff is close? I didn't pay much attention to that).

2) I agree with the others that Kyoto is not a day trip from Tokyo. I would recommend 3 days or more in Kyoto if you have the time to spend. Or less if you don't, but definitely stay overnight.

3) KimJapan nailed this one, see above. Looks like your revised itin has you visiting Osaka on a weekday which is what she recommended.

4) yes, IMO. The weather will be nice during your trip. You can visit the Hakone area and see Fuji-san in a day trip from Tokyo. Or stop over enroute from Kyoto. Leaves will be changing color in Kyoto and Tokyo when you are there (actually may be just about peaking in Kyoto as you are leaving on the 17th, unless they change early and still should see colors in Tokyo area, like in Kamakura, or maybe Shinjuku Gyoen?)

thx rfmitchi, Kimjapan and mrwunrfl,
your valuable advice. After considering the inputs, We hv decided our trip as below :
13 nov to 16 nov stay at kyoto for 4 nights. Go for a day trip to Osaka during 1 of the days.
17 nov to 22 nov stay at Tokyo.
I'm still trying very hard to get a good hotel for both Tokyo and Kyoto. (budget around US100 to US150 for all of us, 2 adult with 1 6yrs old kids). Any good recommendation ?

Hi

My wife and I went to Japan in May 2005 and we went to Tokyo, Kyoto and had stops in Osaka, Hiroshima, Kobe etc. We stayed in the Akasaka area in Tokyo and we found that to be great...it was very easy to get to Ginza, Shinjuku, Shibuya etc on the metro. We also did a day tour to Mount Fuji from Tokyo...I have posted a trip report with pictures on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com :-) Maybe you can find some useful info there. We did not go to Disney, Universal studios etc so I can't really comment on that. Have a great trip.

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

I agree with everyone else - and you too - Kyoto deserves at least 3 days.
I stayed at budget hotels in April last year.

In Tokyo I can *highly* recommend: Hotel Asia Center of Japan in Akasaka http://www.asiacenter.or.jp/topeng.htm

It is imho the best budget hotel I have ever stayed in - and I always travel budget only! Close to the subway and only a few stops from the center of town. Also is in the opposite direction of the rush hour crowds, so easy travelling. Always seats available on the subway. Excellent breakfast in the hotel, good eateries in the neighborhood.

In Kyoto I stayed at another budget hotel: The Palace Side Hotel http://www.palacesidehotel.co.jp/english/fr-loc-en.html
A standard budget hotel but an excellent location. Across the street from the Old Imperial Palace, quiet, green and pleasant. Don't eat there - bad food and overpriced. Lots of eateries in
the neighborhood and even a McD if your son requres that :)

Have fun!