Seeking help to refine our Japan itinerary. We are 2 adults and 3 teens (18, 16, 12) visiting Japan for the first time in mid-July. We have 2-3 weeks to spend. Kids would also like to add on South Korea but not sure if that's feasabile as I want to see and do as much as possible in Japan. We love outdoors, nature, culture, hiking/walking, local history...kids are also excited for anime, manga, Toyko fashion, shopping. We are from Miami, FL USA so the heat aspect isn't as daunting. After spending tons of time here and around the web this is what I'm thinking. Can't wait to hear your thoughts.

• Tokyo (5)
• Nagoya (1 - only if we can time for Sumo festival July 14-28, 2024)
• Takayama (2)
• Kanazawa (2)
• Kyoto (5 - with daytrip to Nara)
• Osaka (1 - mainly to eat)
• Hakone (2)

Questions - should we do both Takayama and Kanazawa or pick one spot and stay 3 nights? I want to eat in Osaka but I don't think I'm interested in another big city for multiple nights. Is one night good (basically food tour) or just daytrip from Kyoto? Hakone – to hopefully see Mt. Fuji and stay in ryokan with onsen...or is there a better spot to (maybe) see Mt. Fuji and stay in ryokan w/ onsen?

Other areas of interest but not sure if we should add and remove other stops, or add because it's so worth it it's a MUST:Hiroshima/Miyajima – read here that there are hour long lines to take a pic with the floating torii gates, i can't see us waiting for that or being able to appreciate the view

• Nikko – would love to make this work. more intersted in the nature aspect than the shrines (at least I say that now without seeing either)
• Mt. KoyaWe've pretty much ruled out the other islands (tho the beaches of Okinawa look amazing as does Hokkaida). Too far/long on a train.

Thanks in advance!

I’m by no means an expert, having just come back from my first trip to Japan, but looking at your plan, I already have some thoughts.

5 nights in Tokyo sounds good! More if you want to add a day trip to Nikko.

I haven’t been to Nagoya, but the idea of a sumo festival sounds wonderful! Maybe someone else (mrwunrfl?) has some experience or knowledge of what this would be like.

Kanazawa -2 - I wouldn’t do 2 nights here. Much as I like Kanazawa, it’s a city. There are a lot of areas that are fascinating, but to stay here for 2 nights doesn’t seem worth it to me. Of course, I like to go as slowly as possible, so there might be others who feel it’s fine. I say this as someone who really liked Kanazawa - if you DO want to visit, I’d add a day. Or even 2! There are many things to see here but it is a city so it requires more effort to get around.

I would suggest Takayama over Kanazawa - it’s a charming and very small city, feels more like a small town, and has an old-fashioned air about it. I think it would be fun for all of you. There’s a great temple walk above the town, and even if you’re getting templed out, i think it would be fun to wander from one to the next. It’s got a nice morning market and, though it’s small, there are fun nooks and crannies. 3 nights was perfect for us. But it doesn’t have the number of things to do that Kanazawa has, so it really depends upon what kind of experience you want.

I didn’t go to Osaka but it’s a big city and again, to change your location for 1 night seems unnecessary. Add a night to Kyoto and do a day trip instead.

I also didn’t go to Hiroshima so I can’t speak from personal experience, but with 3 teen sons, I’d want to take them there.

Oh, and prepare for crowds in the popular places!

You have some excellent advice from progol. Where she and I differ is Kanazawa versus Takayama; between the two I would choose Kanazawa and thought the three nights I had was not enough. That said if you are looking to be outdoors, perhaps go with neither and spend time in Kamikochi or one of the onset towns in Okuhida from where you can get into the Japanese Alps for day or overnight hikes.

Based on your itinerary, I don’t see a reason for the one nighter in Osaka unless you are flying out of there. You can easily visit Osaka from Kyoto, although I would prioritize Nara or Himeji over Osaka. Hiroshima from Kyoto is also possible if you plan on concentrating your visit on Peace Memorial Park and Museum, and perhaps okonomiyaki. Sure, the food is good in Osaka but the food is excellent all over Japan. You will be able to try everything you want in Tokyo, although do go for Hida beef if you find yourself in the Hida region (Takayama).

What I don’t see on your itinerary is a classic Japanese castle. You can get that at Himeji. Another option is Hikone, which you could visit as a day trip from Kyoto. Nagoya Castle is good too for the palace even though the main tower is closed for renovation.

Hakone at the end makes sense if you’re flying out of Kyoto. Otherwise, logically, it would make sense to place it between Tokyo and Nagoya.

By sumo festival with those dates, I guess you mean the sumo tournament which is in Nagoya then. You would need to get tickets in advance for the most part. You can check buysumotickets.com for information about when you can purchase them. I have used that site many times for sumo tickets.

Re: Kanazawa vs. Takayama - I happened to like Takayama very much and found it absolutely charming. It may also be because we stayed in a traditional ryokan run by truly lovely people and the whole experience was so personal. I do agree with tripplanner that Kanazawa may offer many more interesting options for sightseeing and the more I think about it, the more it may be a better place for your family.

And 2 days is not enough! We were in Kanazawa for 4 nights (3 full days) and there were still plenty of things we didn’t do.

You've received great advice from others. A few ideas based on my several trips to Japan...including one (2009) with our then 16-year-old daughter.

If your teens are into anime, see if they're interested in the Ghibli Museum (in the Tokyo suburbs). Our daughter was way into Miyazaki at the time, and we all enjoyed our visit. It does require advance reservations.

This past May, we went to a Japanese baseball game in Tokyo, and it was a lot of fun with all the constant singing, chanting, etc.

Takayama/Kanazawa: I've enjoyed both on several trips, but Takayama would be more of a different experience between larger cities. Great street food, and more of a small town feel. We thought about doing a biking tour in the area this year but didn't have time. You could do a day trip to Kamikochi for hiking - or to the nearby ropeway. We spent a day/night in Kamikochi this past May and really enjoyed it.

Hiroshima/Miyajima: I've heard about the crowds at Miyajima lately and am glad I've been there previously - would probably only go now if spending the night. I do think visiting Hiroshima is a very valuable experience for teens - as they get to see (and not just read about in history class) the impact of the war. The Peace Museum is very moving. We practically had to drag our daughter out of it at closing time, aided by a staff member following us . But it's also inspiring to see how the city has been reborn from destruction. And yes, the okonomiyaki experience is fun for all. It is a long day trip from Kyoto but possible (we did that in 2009) if you don't want a separate stay.

Enjoy the planning. I'm sure your family will have a great time!

Appreciate the feedback so far...

progol oh yes! I've read your planning post and have been enjoying your trip report. Sounds like dropping Kanazawa and maybe adding a night to Takayama would be good for us. I think the contrast to the big cities will be great and being close to the Alps (right?) for hiking/walking. I had a friend do a bike tour in that area that seems like a great way to spend a day. I had been leaning to adding a night to Kyoto and daytrip to Osaka - so true, hassle to move for one night.

tripplanner001 I don't have Kamikochi on my radar. I will have to dig further into it - the pictures look gorgeous tho. We do value out outdoor nature experience (but stop just short of overnite hike, hah). I have written down in my notes that Takayama is at the base of the Japanese Alps - did I misinform myself? uh-oh. Planning on daytrips to Nara and hopefully Himeji Castle. Himeji would certainly make the most sense if we ended up adding Hiroshima (Himeji as stop on the way there). Noted re: Osaka. I guess my apetite was taking over the planning process but you all are right of course - too much trouble for 1 night. Glad to hear I can eat to heart's content everywhere else.

Mara yes you are correct. I have the link and the pre-sale and sale dates on my calendar. Fingers crossed. I think that would be a fun experience.

ms_go yes! Ghibli Museum is on the list. All 3 kids are into anime. Thanks for the note about reservations. I was not aware of that. There's no way I could talk my family into baseball in the USA, but we all said it would be fun in Tokyo. Once I firm up dates I will definetly look into that. Do you think we could stay in Takayama and easily get to Kamikochi for the day. That would be ideal. We would get the small village vibes, bike riding, the morning market, plus the Alps. Is 3 nights enough?

If we add Hiroshima/Miyajima - would 2 nights suffice? 3 nights?

So would this order/flow work (taking into consideration the comment on not ending in Hakone):

• Tokyo (5)
• Hakone (2)
• Nagoya (1 – only if we can time for Sumo festival July 14-28, 2024)
• Takayama (3 – daytrip to Kamikochi)
• Kyoto (5/6 - with daytrip to Nara, daytrip to Osaka)
• Hiroshima/Miyajima (2/3? – stop at Himeji Castle, would try to fly out of Osaka but ultimately cost of flights will decide that)

Yes, you are able to visit Kamikochi as a day trip from Takayama; we did just that last month. A half day or a full day would be good for Hiroshima, and similar for Miyajima; expect massive crowds in Miyajima though.

I went with my kids when they were 16 and 13.

You should do Disney Sea one day. Nothing else like it in the world. Honesty, it shouldn't even exist, makes no sense that they spent such a ridiculous amount of money on it, but it shows.

Shibuya 109 is the department store your kids should go to. But warning, they might not find anything to wear unless they are as skinny as Japanese kids.

As far as the heat is concerned, you need to think about head coverings. In the shade you'll be fine, but the sun can really beat down on you. The Japanese flag will make sense to you when you are there in July.

We loved Takayama and encourage you to visit.
We enjoyed Miajima and are horrified to hear of the crowds which we didn’t have to deal with there.