2 days in Tokyo with a 2 years old
 

Hi

I will be in Tokyo from March 31st till April 6th. I'm going with the tour group. So uncool, I know. Thing is I'll be traveling with my 2 years old and I can't speak Japanese :P The whole family is going together. I'd love to hear your comments on my tour itenerary.


Day 1 - morning - Osaka - Universal Studio
- afternoon - Kyoto - Heyan
- evening - Nagoya
Day 2 - morning - Nagoya - Shinkanseng
- noon - Toyohashi - Hamana lake
- Fuji - kawakushi
Day 3 - Kawakujiko - Hokone - Ashi
- Owakunida - Yokohama - Ramen Museum
- Tokyo - Shinjuku
Day 4 - Tokyo - Asakusa - Disney Sea

So we decided to stay for 2 more days in Tokyo. Here's my problem. The hotels are so pricey.

1. What are the good reasonable hotels.I have read about Ryokan. What exactly is it like? Is it kids-friendly? I'm looking to pay around $100.00-$150.00 US. I'd also prefer "shibuya" area since by brother's family will be staying there with their friends.

2. Is it a good idea to stay in The Disney Land Hotel?

3. What are the cool places?

I hope you have a great trip! It's a good idea to add a couple of more days at the end, I think. Your tour is very, very busy.

1/2 a day for Universal Studios is probably not enough if you enjoy theme parks. It's a full day place, with a nice night parade/show.

1/2 a day in Kyoto is nowhere near enough either. At least a couple of days would be nice, if not more.

Perhaps you could skip Univeral Studios and devote one day to Kyoto.

Day 2 and 3 - wow wow wow...It doesn't look like you've got time to even breathe. These 2 days should take more like a week or two. I really don't think you'll get to see much at all.

Day 4 - Asakusa can be a morning outing, but Disney Sea is a good day, maybe 2 days.

With a week, and a 2 year old, I might skip the tour, honestly.

2 year olds - and my six year old - wouldn't be able to handle an itinerary like this. There isn't time in there for properly timed meals, naps and play time - I think you'll end up with a miserable child and, therefore, group.

Maybe Day 1 - Relax in Kyoto, maybe see one temple (Kiyomizu Tera is nice) and castle. Walk around Gion area.

Day 2 - Kyoto - Silver or Gold Temple, another temple of your choice, shopping.

Day 3 - Tokyo - sights of your choice or day tour if you like.

Day 4 - Tokyo - repeat of yesterday with different sights.

Days 5 - 6 If you want to spend time at Disney Sea I'd do it on these days, and yes, I'd stay nearby. I would recommend staying at either the Disney hotels or one of the 7 hotels right there at the park area, as you may end up wanting to relax midday, give your child a nap.

We've travelled LOTS with our daughter since she was born, and we've found were all much happier if we don't have a tight itinerary and allow plenty of down time. I don't know where you are coming from, but if you aren't from Asia, you've got to think about jetlag too.

Ryokan are kid friendy, except for the most luxe ones. True ryokan aren't cheap, though there are some places that call themselves ryokan that are cheap and perfectly nice. The difference will be in the beauty of the place, quality of service and food, not safety, and usually not cleanliness.

Have a great trip...

Thank you so Much for your comments.
The tour itenerary is crazy. I don't think we get to go to all those.
I never like tour group. The only reason for going with them is the family. My brother's family (with a 4 years old daughter) and my mum are all going. If it was just us, I would definitely plan my own trip ...sniff sniff. But it's a good opportunity for my mum to be with her grand-children.
Do you live in Japan. I'm from Bangkok, Thailand. Actually, I travelled alone with my 2 years old boy on a two hour flight to Singapore last week. It's not easy. You're so right about the down time. We didn't get to do any shopping while in Singapore.

Here are a few more questions, if you don't mind :>

I'm looking for a hotel in Tokyo. Do you have any suggestions?

1. The Mansion at Rappongi ($160USD)
2. Crowne Plaza Metropolitan Tokyo ($168USD)
3. Dai Ichi Hotel Annex ($136USD)

Thank you so Much for your comments.
The tour itenerary is crazy. I don't think we get to go to all those.
I never like tour group. The only reason for going with them is the family. My brother's family (with a 4 years old daughter) and my mum are all going. If it was just us, I would definitely plan my own trip ...sniff sniff. But it's a good opportunity for my mum to be with her grand-children.
Do you live in Japan. I'm from Bangkok, Thailand. Actually, I travelled alone with my 2 years old boy on a two hour flight to Singapore last week. It's not easy. You're so right about the down time. We didn't get to do any shopping while in Singapore.

Here are a few more questions, if you don't mind :>

I'm looking for a hotel in Tokyo. Do you have any suggestions?

1. The Mansion at Rappongi ($160USD)
2. Crowne Plaza Metropolitan Tokyo ($168USD)
3. Dai Ichi Hotel Annex ($136USD)
4. Shiba Park Hotel
5. Shinjuku Prince

Thank!!!!!!

Hi...I do live in Japan, not Tokyo, but Kanazawa on the west coast. Any of those places would be fine. Tokyu Hotels and Washington hotels are of similar quality. You could try them to see their prices.

If you are locked into the tour, then you will really welcome the days at the end. If you aren't locked into the tour, I'd really encourage your family to reconsider, maybe still take a tour, but a less ambitious one, you know? With two kids, you could easily enjoy Disneyland and Disneysea for 4 days!

We've been to Bangkok 3 times and love it!

I am totally with KimJapan! I have read over your initiary a few times and still cannot figure out how it can possibly be done. Seriously, your tour is so busy you probably won't remember what hit you when you get back home.

Kim's initiery with extended days in Kyoto sounds very nice. If you could only visit one place in Japan, I would say it has to be Kyoto. The beautiful, old-world atmosphere is like no other. Kiyomizu, Heian-ji, Kinkakuji are all must-sees. One set back is that Kyoto is very pricy.

For Tokyo, I would suggest Asakusa and Harajuku for shopping. The hotels you asked about are more or less similar in my opinion, so you should choose by how convenient it is to where you plan to tour.

If the main purpose of your vacation is family (Grandma and the kids), a couple of days at Disneyland and Sea may be a good idea. I'm sure the kids will love it. It's also very very popular with Japanese families. If you plan to go, try to go during the weekdays. Remember, it's spring break and there will be people, people everywhere!

Thank you so much for your comments. :( Guys We already paid a $400 deposit for the tour sniff sniff. Besides the crazy itenerary, we just found out that there will be 40 people in the same tour. I KNOW! No tour for our next trip to Japan I promise.
Since we have 3 more days after the crazy tour, do you think we have enough time for Disney Land, Kyoto and shopping? I'm trying to convince my husband to stary for 4 more nights :)

I think after that tour, you should maybe head to Disney and spend 2-3 days. There is shopping mall there, Ikspiari, that has nice shops.

In 3 - 4 days, Disney, Kyoto and shopping is doable but not relaxing. When we go to Disney, we spend 3 days in the parks...take it slow and easy with lots of breaks rather than sprinting from attraction to attraction...and then 1 day shopping.

Shopping...what do you want to buy? To be perfectly honest, I've found Bangkok to be better for shopping than anywhere in Japan...unless you are looking for Japanese crafts/pottery/lacquerware. Electronic goods with international guarantee aren't usually a bargain.

Like the other poster said, if family time is one of your goals, then staying in one place at the end of your trip may be better too. Your tour will be busy, busy, busy. If Disney isn't a place you'd like to spend so much time in, then maybe stay in Kyoto for the last few days. I really think the last thing your going to want to do is change hotels.

Hi Nodda,
Disney sea is a great place to visit, but try to get there away from peak times, its as hectic as any Disney.
If you can go when the kids are in school it will cut the lines by 30%.
The transport link to disney is quite good.
We stayed in Shinjuku in December and went from there to Disney sea quite easily.
One tip.. When you arrive at Disney, purchase your return rail tickets. Don't wait until closing time or you will be in another line for a long time.

We stayed at the Shinjuku New City Hotel which was ok really and reasonably priced, we needed 2 rooms and this was the cheapest way to do it ias we chose a hotel and not a Ryokan.
It has a free bus shuttle to Shinjuku station in the morning and late evening.

Disney Hotels are fabulous and convenient but with that comes cost.
If cost is no problem go for it, its great to have an afternoon knap and your 2 year old will surely appreciate it too.

Have Fun

Muck

Dear Kim and Muck

Thank you so much for your reply. Kim, you're so right about staying at one hotel. I decided not to do Kyoto this time. I have to keep telling myself to relax :) We can't afford Disney resort. The cheapest rate is around 58000 yen. We have narrowed down to a couple of hotels now. Keio Plaza Shinjuku and mansion at rappongi. Keio seems very convenient location-wise while Roppongi has nice and spacious rooms. Any suggestions.

Kim, I just want to walk around the city and look for cool japanese stuff.:)

The Disney Sea is already in a tour itenerary. a full day trip (thank god).
We'll see how it goes on our first day at Disney. May be we'll come back for a 2nd day.

nodda