18 days in Japan with a 2 year old & oldies
 

Hi guys

I'm new here and desperately need help with our itinerary in Japan. We'll arrive in Osaka on 4th Nov at 19:10 & depart from Tokyo on 22 Nov at 20:25, so we'll ahve 18 full days in Japan. We'll be travelling with our 2 year old daughter & also my parents, so we want to travel at a leisurely pace.

I've drafted our itinerary (well.. actually just plot the main city/area we want to visit, not sure about the attractions yet) but would very much like your opinions and suggestions please.

4 Nov Arr Osaka, check in at hotel
5 Nov Osaka Aquarium (& other nearby attractions)
6 Nov Osaka (factory outlet maybe?), Dotonburi
7 Nov Day trip to Nara
8 Nov Osaka to Hiroshima, then straight to Miyajima
9 Nov HIroshima, then leave for Kyoto
10 Nov Kyoto
11 Nov Kyoto
12 Nov Depart Kyoto to Takayama via Nagoya, enjoy the town then straight to Shirakawa-go for the night
13 Nov Spend the day at Shirakawa-go then back to Takayama
14 NOv Takayama via Nagoya to Hakone (i checked on hyperdia that this will take something like 5 hours, would like to stop somewhere worthwhile to break it if possible)
15 Nov Hakone to Tokyo
16 Nov Day trip to Nikko
17 Nov Disneyland
18 Nov Disneysea
19 Nov Tokyo
20 Nov TOkyo
21 Nov TOkyo
22 Nov TOkyo

Ok, even as I typed this I can this is not a very good attempt LOL
At this point we'll be happy to just work out where to stay the nights so we can start booking for accommodation & apply for visa, then we can fine tune the details later.

We deliberately want to spend 2 days at Disneyland & Disneysea and avoid going there on weekends (not sure whether Friday nite will be crowded there). Also do you know if the Xmas decoration will be up already at this time?)

Main problem for us is from Takayama to Hakone as travel takes too long I think for my daughter and for my old parents. SHould we stop & stay over at Nagoya? Heard there aren't much to do there, what else is the option?

As you can see towards the end I just list Tokyo Tokyo TOkyo (probably too many days), where else should we visit around TOkyo?

Thank you so very very much in advance :)

My opinions- do like I say on the Fodor's Japan guide and pick up Osaka Unlimited passes, and get discounts for entry for attractions like the Osaka Aquarium (and BTW, Universal Studios Japan is just across the waterway- there is a ferry to it from the Aquarium bank) and to restaurants in Dotonburi.

Nagoya is a bit of a nothing city, but if you want a bit of a break, there are plenty of nice hotels near JR Nagoya, and of course the obligatory shopping inside and around the station building.

Hakone could be considered a day trip from Tokyo, so instead of going to Hakone from Takayama, make an longer stop in Nagoya as a good rest break, and then take the two hour train trip to Tokyo, and then try and fit a day trip from Tokyo to Hakone inside your stay in Tokyo. This also pushes forward your arrival in Tokyo, and means you could go to Disneyland/sea on Wednesday/Thursday.

Thanks Sydney2K!
I've looked up Osaka Unlimited Pass & Kansai one as well. Good idea, maybe we should go for Kansai one since we'll be going to Nara as well? So during our stay in Osaka we dont have to use JR pass at all and can get around using subway?

Also my parents will arrive on 5th Nov nite, so would you recommend us to stay at hotel near airport so we can go and pick them up when they arrive? And for our first day we can then go to factory outlet close to airport (if it's worth a visit?)

I have thought about Takayama-Tokyo then daytrip to Hakone, thanks for confirming!

I would do Kyoto & Nara right after Osaka because it is so close by, then head to Hiroshima & Miyajima. If you do it this way, you can possibly get by with just a 7 day rail pass taking you from Kyoto to the south, then back up to Tokyo.

I'd also go to Hakone on the way to Tokyo, rather than making a whole separate round trip from Tokyo. Hakone as a day trip just seems like it would be such a rushed experience. I'd spend a night there. One day is enough to do the Hakone sights, but we liked being able to go straight to our inn, having a nice dinner and soak, then heading back to Tokyo in the morning after breakfast Or, if you come straight from Takayama or Nagoya you can spend the night in Hakone area, then do the circuit in the morning.

Nagoya is not that interesting of a city to me, but they do have a castle and a nice aquarium The castle is a reconstruction, so it has elevators and lots of child friendly spaces.

In late November, it will get dark early, so you'll have less sightseeing hours in outdoor places like Hakone & Nikko.

I wouldn't bother with a factory outlet in Japan. What are you looking to buy there? And do you want to lug your purchases around your whole trip? Why not go to a discount store in Tokyo at the end?

As far as staying at Osaka airport, I think it would be easier (and cheaper)to have them take the airport limo to your hotel when they arrive, or just one of you go to meet them that night.

Thanks lcuy.
Originally we planned to go from osaka-kyoto-hiroshima-takayama so we save on the railway pass. but because the trip from hiroshima to takayama is quite long, we decided to change it from osaka-hiroshima-kyoto-takayama. but now i'm actually thinking maybe we should stick to original plan except that on our way to takayama we can stay the night in osaka or kyoto. hmm... i never realised planning a trip is so hard.

thanks for your advice, i'll try to rework the itinerary over the weekend. Cheers.

Why not go from Osaka to Kyoto then on to Hiroshima. That would save you from activating a pass until you left Kyoto. Osaka to Kyoto is cheap.

Aloha!

I'm guessing Hiroshima to Nagoya is 2.5 hours and another 2 hours to Takayama. You can either stay in Nagoya or go all the way. The trains are very comfortable in Japan, and also quite expensive. I'd try to get my major trips all on one 7 day pass, and I feel like its easier to do one long train ride, than spend two days going to and from the stations.

Hawaiiantraveler, yes i'm now considering to go back to our original plan. Just wanting to confirm that we can get around anywhere in Osaka/Kyoto/Nara with Kansai Unlimited Pass? That'll save 6 days of JR pass for us.

lcuy, i totally agree with you. I myself would have preferred to just go all the way. But not sure whether my 2yo can handle being on the train so long tho it's comfy. I'm afraid she'll get bored and start screaming haha.. But i will check with my parents and see if they're ok with this.

btw is there anywhere we can go for shopping? are the factory outlets in japan worth visiting or too expensive?

also how easy is it to find laundromat around the city or town? using hotel's laundry service is usually too expensive.

thanks!

It's the Kansai Thru Pass shown here:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html
Not good on JR trains but youu don't need to travel via JR in the Kansai region. The JR West Kansai pass will only let you use the JR trains while the Kansai thru pass will let you use trains, subways and buses throughout the region

Aloha!

If I were you, I might try to do the Shirakawa-go/Takayama excursion earlier. this area enters the early winter phase in around mid-November, and the weather(especially in Shirakawa-go)would become more rainy/snowy (more rainy than snowy at this stage).

average of past few decades
http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/...1&day=&view=p1
http://translate.google.com/#ja|en|