1st time to Japan
 

Hi all

Need lots of help! Planning a family vacation to Japan for Spring 09 - 3 adults and a toddler
Wishing to go to Tokyo (including Disneyland) & Osaka, but very open to adding other cities in between.

- How many days should I give for each city that I might cover the sight?
- What other cities should I add?
- What should we do in each city?
- How should we travel from Tokyo to Osaka?
- Which hotels would you recommend?
- R there any temple stays in Tokyo/Osaka?
- Any other helpful hints would be greatly appreciated

Thanks all!! Desperately trying to plan but have NO idea how to start =)

Guidebooks are always a good beginning.
These websites might be helpful.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/
http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en/

How many days in each place depends on how long you've got and what you want to see.

Other cities...adding destinations depends on timeframe, budget, what you want to see.

There are trains, buses and airplanes between Tokyo and Osaka. Car is unreasonable. Train is most commonly used. Train and plane are about the same price. Bus is cheaper.

Hotel recommendations are based on budget and what facilities and services you want, as well as if you want ryokan or hotel.

Mt. Koya is the most known place for temple stays, and the most foreigner friendly.

Don't visit Disney on a weekend, holiday or school break.

I'd say browse some websites, get a couple of guidebooks and read them, and come back with more information about your length of stay, budget, and what interests you. I'm sure then you'll get helpful answers.

Another good website for Japan trip research is:

japan-guide.com

Hi KimJapan: Thanks for the reply.

We got about 7-10days total for Japan.
- What's the difference between the JR green pass and ordinary? Huge difference in the comforts of seats ?? or something else?
- At the moment, we were thinking for Tokyo: Mt Fuji, Sakura blossoms, onsen, jeans shopping. Osaka: temple visits. Pls kindly suggest the must see and do attractions =)
- We're willing to spend about $150/hotel room nights max $250. Or should we stay in a ryokan for all of us?
- Should we bring our prams for our toddler? Or will it be too cumbersom travelling with pram in the trains? Or carrying him in a carrier is better? I have seen the "sardine" like state of the trains =P ..just thinking with a pram we would never get on a train =PP
Thanks again for the help in advance

7 - 10 days...Tokyo and Kyoto with a stop in Osaka if you like is plenty imo.

Green cars are available on many but not all long distance trains. Basically, more space between seats and fewer people. I never pay the extra to use green car, regular seats are fine.

For must see sightseeing, there is plenty in Tokyo and Osaka, and guidebooks and websites map it all out for you. Pick what you are interested in. There is so much, and my must sees may well not interest you. Kyoto is someplace I would think you would not want to miss, and is more known for its temples than Osaka, though in Japan, temples are everywhere.

If your stroller is the type that can be opened and closed with one hand and is lightweight enough for you to carry it and the child up and down stairs, one in each arm, then bring it. If it's not as I describe, you could buy one here, or use a carrier. We used both a backpack carrier and a stroller when our daughter was younger, and found both fine.

Trains aren't as a rule packed like sardines unless it's rush hour on a commuter train. They can be crowded at other times, but not so packed. In Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Kyoto we've used buses, trains, subways outside of rush hour with stroller and backpack without trouble.

I agree with KimJapan about the itinerary of Tokyo and Kyoto. You might take a day tour from Tokyo to see Mt Fuji. With Sunrise Tours/JTB for example. I believe that they have overnight trips from Tokyo to an onsen ryokan/hotel in Hakone.

Getting a green car JR Pass won't save you from packed commuter trains. The commuter trains don't have green cars.

The intercity trains that have green cars also have reserved seat cars. So you'd be sitting in your comfortable reserved seat between Tokyo and Kyoto. Kyoto to Tokyo could be on a commuter train or an intercity train (by that I mean shinkansen or limited express train, not local).

KimJapan:
Hi KJ I forgot to ask in my last post. When are the school holidays in Japan?
Just like you said, not to visit Disney during the vacations. *thanks for that, never thought about that* =P

Thanks again for the site. I will look into them and come back to you if I have more questions =)))

Thanks mrwunrfl for the replies =)

Last week in March, first week in April all schools are out. Second week in April many junior h ighs and high schools have class trips to Disney. Month of March universities are out of session. Last week in April, first week in May is Golden Week.

National holidays in spring 2009 are
March 20, April 29 - May 6.

Outside of those times on weekdays is your best time to visit Disney.

Depending on whether you've been to the other Disneyland venues, you might want to consider Disney Sea as well or instead of DL.

You have received some great advice already...I just wanted to add that for jeans shopping, you will pretty much need to be a size US "0" or a "2" in most shops except for Gap! Most Westerners shop in other countries because even foreign brands are often "Japan sized." For example, Banana Republic only carries up to a size 6,(and only in a couple items!) which is actually a US size 4.

PS:
I totally agree that Disney Sea is much more interesting (and usually less crowded) than Disney Land. And this is a place where a small stroller would be very handy. I think a stroller would be difficult in the Tokyo iteself because there are so many steps (and not usually stroller/wheelchair friendly). You may want to consider staying a night in Disney Sea at the Miracosta (expensive but I've heard it's worth it!)or even one of the other hotels, then you are right there, which would be much easier-especially with a toddler.

I have taken a toddler to Japan. I used a carrier and believed it was the right choice. There are stairs everywhere. Additionally, keep in mind that many places require you to take off shoes and leave them at the entrance along with your stroller. You can keep the carrier even in no shoe allowed areas. Be sure that the carrier can be removed and mounted back on quickly.

Hitting the cherry-blossom season can be tricky. The season is very short at a given place.

The difference between an ordinary car and a green car is very little in terms of comfort. This is not an airplane. One thing I found advantageous for a green car was that we were able to sit together during a busy time as a group of four at the last minutes. There were seats in ordinary cars, but we could not sit together as a family.

We spent a week in Japan in October and split our time between Tokyo (2 nights) and Kyoto (5 nights) before departing from Nagoya. We loved Tokyo and really loved Kyoto. If you want to see temples, Kyoto should definitely be a considerion.

We did tons of hotel research and ended up at the Royal Park hotel in Tokyo and were very very happy. We chose the hotel because it is connected to the City Air Terminal. We took the CAT bus directly from the airport and it drops off at the CAT, making it very convenient. The hotel is gorgeous and their is a subway stop directly below the hotel. Check out www.tripadvisor.com for more reviews. It should be within your price range. I think we booked through travelocity.com and got a better rate than what was offered on their website.

Best wishes,
Tracy

Bookmarking - thanks.

Why Osaka? I'm not sure I understand why that made your top 3...agree with other posters that Kyoto is a "can't miss". Maybe consider Hiroshima?? I highly recommend Himeji castle as well.

Hmm, I'm not sure why I wrote "Kyoto to Tokyo could be on a commuter train ...". That is not true. Kyoto to Tokyo would be on the shinkansen and you'd be able get a reserved seat (probably). By "between Tokyo and Kyoto" I meant both ways.

Point was that trains that have green cars also have reserved seat cars. OTOH if you end up on a limited express train between Kyoto and Osaka during the late afternoon and don't have a seat res you can end up standing in a crowd at the end of an unreserved car.

Bookmarking

Dear all,
I'm from Singapore and please give me some tips and advices on the followings :
1)We have 3 adults and 1 child (3 years old).
2)I want to plan for a 7 days trip to tokyo with 4 days 3 nights at one of the disney hotels, can anyone advice which is the cheapest ? Or any other accomodation is near the disneyland which is convenient for us to tranvel to and from the disneyland daily ? The remaining days will be spending at tokyo city hotels.
3) We also like to spend 2 days in disneyland and 1 day in disney sea.

Dear all,
Can anyone also advice any school holidays from 18.10.08 to 25.10.08 ?
Is there any holiday planners out there available ? I need searching and booking of hotels in Japan.
Thanks in advance !

leeshsg - We were at Disney Tokyo in June. Stayed at the Sunroute hotel at the park. Nice hotel with a good rate.
http://www.sunroute-plaza-tokyo.com/
Breakfast buffet was expensive $28.00, but you can ask for a menu for something else.
We live in Florida and go to Disney World very often, so we spent more time at Disney Sea, which is different and the kids really liked it.