emd3

It is too bad you will miss sumo tournaments in Japan. There aren't any in April...

IMO, you should take your SIL and DD to Hiroshima. It is good to go with someone, to have someone to discus what you saw with after you leave. The Peace park and museum are incredibly moving.

There is a ceremonial tea you can also sign up for that happens just before the Miyako Odori. We sied up for it, but my daughter and I arrived too late to attend it, we had to go straight into the performance.

If you are in Kyoto on the day of the monthly Toji Temple Market or the Kitano shrine market, GO, even if only for an hr. or two. Very colorful displays of merchandise (Toji has lots of antiques, kinos, etc) much of it handmade, and people-watching and food, and you can see the temple/shrine at same time. Chion-ji temple also has a monthly handicraft market.

Tell your DD I said that Disney Sea is much better than Tokyo Disney. Disney Sea is one of a kind, no other in the world. The theming of Disney Sea is awesome, nothing like it in the world. If I was to pick, it would be Disney Sea for a day, definitely. Amazing. Do not miss Ariel's Grove, glow in the dark underground cave theming for Little Mermaid. It is kind of like what I imagine a good LSD trip might be like, without the drug part.

In Kyoto you ned to build in time to walk by and through the main temples in Higashiyama. Find out which ones are going to be lit up at night while you are there and see those after dark. If cherry blossoms are in bloom, do NOT MISS the Philosopher's Path walk.

mrwunrfl

e, you gave a small dish from that tea ceremony before the MO. I use it often as a soy sauce dish when I bring home sushi.

Mara

If you like tofu, there is a restaurant called Sasa No Yuki - it is close to the Uguisudani station on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo - it is listed on bento.com on the Ueno page at the bottom under 'nearby'. I ate lunch there on my first visit to Japan in 2004 - it is a very famous old restaurant....many courses of tofu.....if you are in the Ueno area to see the park or museums maybe you could try it.....

emd3

mrw, I still have Celine's and my dishes, and I also use them regularly, esp. when I go to the international grocery store near our house and get mochi and serve it for dessert. (p.s. Celine is 19 now and at Radford U. And still a force to be reckoned with. Where did she get that from.)

veeolette

Really do want to do whole Miyako Odori experience including Tea Ceremony!

Do they have passes at Disney that would allow you to do a 1/2 day in each?

Everyone has given me such wonderful ideas. As soon as I have the itinerary together, I'll ask for advise again.

Thanks everyone!

veeolette

Just thought of something very important - Dress Code? What is appropriate? Slacks and tops with sandals; dresses with sandals; jeans with t-shirts and athletic shoes?

KimJapan

Disney multi day passes allow you to change parks wirhin the same day from day 3 I think - definitely not on the first day or a single day.

Dress- whatever you are comfortable in. If you'll be visiting temples and shrines or entering old buildings, shoes that are easy to put on and take off are best. In cities and especially in upscale hotels people tend to dress well.

emd3

Try not to dress frumpy (like crummy jeans w/tshirts and athletic shoes). You will feel better in Tokyo if you wear dark slacks and nicer tops. Sandals are fine (just not crummy ones), dresses fine, skirts fine. Take a nice purse. Tokyo is a fairly cosmopolitan city and the workers, esp. the women, dress nicely whether they are at work or play.

travel4425

veeolette,
You’re really lucky! Oh to experience japan for the first!! What a wonderful feeling. For me when i went just being there standing in the streets, the big lights of Tokyo was amazing. You almost have to go twice, since, at least for me i was light a deer in headlights! It was everything that I had imagined and totally lived up to everything that I thought it would be. And since you are going in April you will get a good chance to see the cherry blossoms. What a sight!!! That alone makes the trip to Japan worth t!!! I know you mentioned Disney, however you might want to go to hello kitty land (not the real name but that is what i call it)
http://www.puroland.co.jp/english/welcome.html
You might want to go to tokyo tower, which offers a great view of the city. And if you have time maybe a trip to Mt. Fuji. (i never made it, ran out of time)
Also if you or any of your family are into tech gadgets and things like that you will defiantly not want to miss the "Akihabara" district. If they don’t have an electric device, it just hasn’t been invented yet.
All in all you will have the time of your life, even just by standing in the street and looking up!

mrwunrfl

emd, how did you get the Miyako Odori tix? They were in a perfect spot. IIRC, you got them via a hotel concierge?

Osaka has its own style of okonomiyaki. If you are considering staying in Osaka then I might be able to find the name a great okonomiyaki on the map that the Osaka Westin concierge gave me. There might be an okonomiyakiya in Kyoto. Reading about the dish really didn't prepare me for it; didn't realize how good it was going to be.

You might like to visit Meiji Jingu when you are in Tokyo.

mrwunrfl

That is to say that I highly recommend a visit to Meiji Jingu. It is an oasis.
http://www.meijijingu.or.jp/english/about/1.html

Do take the time to visit the empress's fishing spot. It is just off the path to the shrine. It is on the left side as you go to the shrine and there will probably be a man standing at the start of the path down to the pond. His job is to indicate to people going to/from the shrine that there is something there that they might want to see. It is easy to miss.
http://www.meijijingu.or.jp/english/nature/2.html

emd3

mrw, you are right that I arranged to get them thru the concierge at the Hotel Okura before I arrived. I recall phoning and then emailing w/her. And I just found a posting I did realted to this in MArch 2007:


"Yes, I called the concierge at the hotel I was going to stay at and she arranged for the tickets. I think I called about 6 or 8 weeks before we went and we got great seats."

I just googled "Miyako Odori tickets" and the first posting is a good post on Kyoto travel on how to get tickets. There is a fax and phone number for reservations, but also sys you can get them in advance from your hotel conceirge. The three levels of tickets are described. For some reason the way my new laptop is set up, I can not copy the link (I really dislike Geek Squad service), but just google it.

mrwunrfl

Do you see the URL in the browser? What browser?
Either way, you can try this:
hit the F6 key to select the URL
<ctrl>c to copy
<ctrl>v to paste
http://www.kyoto.travel/miyako_odori_wo.html

veeolette

You are lifesavers!

Question: What about jewelry? I avoid taking jewelry to Europe because of all the warnings. Is it safer in Japan?

Do you have a suggestion for our first evening? Nothing too much as I'll be flying in from LAX. We are staying in Roppongi. I was thinking dinner at My Back Pages in Shibuya-ku. Any opinions on this restaurant?

After that? Ginza? What? We are open for suggestions.

emd3, thank you for the dress tips. I am rethinking my packing list. I wasn't planning on grungy jeans and athletic shoes but I wasn't planning on a business wardrobe either. What about men? My SIL lives in shorts!

mrwunrfl

Average high temp in Tokyo is 62F in April, so if SIL lives in shorts at those temps and lower, then she should pack some.

I wear the same clothing in Tokyo as I wear in New York. My newer jeans, not the old ones. Beige jeans. Casual trousers that are not jeans but would not qualify as business casual. Casual LL Bean shirts, which is pretty much all I have. A zippered hoodie. Running shoes.

In Japan, I am a big gaijin. I've got that going for me and going against me (to some extent). In the very rare cases where I have gone some place fancy I dressed as me. It worked out.

mrwunrfl

But, yeah, in Tokyo, on weekdays when people are in their office attire some gaijin look like bag ladies and hoboes.

DO take off your shoes when you are expected to take off your shoes. Personally, I would consider it a fashion fopah to wear a swimsuit (or anything else) in a gender segregated onsen bath.

mrwunrfl

And you are going to the planet called Disney. Anaheim, Tokyo, Orlando, Paris. All the same.

mrwunrfl

And yes it is safer in Japan. I've seen Japanese women who you would consider careless (but actually care-free, maybe) about securing their personal possessions in public.

In Barcelona, maybe, you might see a woman with her purse strap around her neck and under her arm and holding the purse to her belly. In Tokyo, even I could have pickpocketed a camera or wallet from a purse on a few occaisions.

Take standard precautions, as you would at home, around foreigners, tho.

AFAIK, the only thing that Japanese steal are umbrellas and bicycles. You won't be taking a bicycle. Don't take an expensive umbrella as you might leave it behind somewhere, being jet-lagged and all. And umbreallas are cheap in Japan.

KimJapan

Dress - whatever is comfortable. Wear shoes that don't hurt because there is typically more walking here than the states. I wear comfortable pants or skirts and fleece pretty much every day, even to work. On my feet, dansko. Easy on an off and supremely comfortable.

Safe. Sure. It's normal for 6 year old t o walk to and from school alone. My daughter has been able to go to nearby shops alone since she was 5 - she's 14 now. Kids as well as men and women are out at night. I've left my wallet on the bus and gotten a phone call that they had it before I knew I didn't. All money still there. We've left our car unlocked overnkesight more times than I care to admit to but our spendy high tech navi entertainment is still there, and so aIre the maybe ¥2000 in coins I keep in the tray between the two front seats.

I've mistakenly run out of my house distracted and in a hurry, leaving the front door wide open. The only unwanted visitor was a cat. I was gone all day!

That said, we've had 2 bikes and countless umbrellas requisitioned for use by others. I've also inherited just as many umbrellas that people leave in my house or car. Some of them are nice.

Do exercise common sense. Don't sport 4carat diamonds and a LV bad then flash a thick stack of ¥10,000 at the corner bus stop. But do feel free to wear jewelry. I just wouldn't carry around a skew of extra for fear I would lose it or forget it, not that sb else would steal it.

I worry very little here. Crime happens but less. People are watching. I know this for fact from experience and although sometimes its odd often it's comforting.

veeolette

Thanks everyone for all of your suggestions. We have a few tentative plans.

Day 1 After arriving and checking into the hotel, we thought a fun, funky dinner at "Dining with Dylan". A bit of strolling around to get acclimated. Some desert from one of the wonderful bakeries and early to bed.

Day 2 Tsukiji Fish Market and breakfast at Sushi Dai. Sightseeing. Haven't actually picked destinations - Any must see suggestions here. And, since it's Easter Sunday and we have much to be thankful for this year and are celebrating a few things - dinner at Lawry's - our family go-to celebration place. Maybe Akihabara for my SIL after dinner.

Day 3 Disney. Everyone says to see Disney Sea, so we are trying to talk the DD into Disney Sea during the day and Disneyland in the evening.

Day 4 Yokohama. Ramen museum, Chinatown for Dim Sum, the Submarine and Rocket museum, and anything else that catches our eye. Back to Tokyo for the last minute "have to see" places.

Day 5 Last minute sightseeing. Train to Kyoto. Check in. Start walking.

Day 6 Kyoto Imperial Palace; Nishiki Market; Higashiyama

Day 7 The Miyako Odori; Philosopher's Path; Kiyomizudera.

Day 8 1/2 day Kyoto. Train to Osaka. Osaka Castle, Sumiyoshi Taisha.

Day 9 A partial performance of the Bunraku Theater. Umeda Sky Building, Shinekai, Mino Park - not necessarily in that order.

Day 10 Peace Osaka. Airport.

Days 11 - 18 Okinawa.