Need Advice - First trip to Japan (with Family)
 

Hello travelers,

I am taking off to Japan on the 7th of June and will have 2 full weeks to travel around. I am taking my wife and daughter (8 years old) with me.

I am looking for ideas as to how to fill our itinerary. My basic thoughts so far are:
-Tokyo (2 or 3 days): Wife is not very keen on big cities but I think Tokyo has enough to offer. We definitely want to hit the Tsukiji Fish Market.
-Kyoto (2 days): Do we need more?
-Hakone (1 day): I understand it will not be possible (advisable) to climb Fujisan (nor I think my family would be up to the challenge), I think it is still worth it
-Kamakura (1 day)
-Nikko (1 day)
-Hiroshima/Miyajima(2 days): I am debating on whether I should take the shinkansen or go by air. Is there anything else worth around there?
-Yokohama (1 day): I know it is not a very touristic place but I need to stay at least one day there to visit relatives.

So far, I got 11 days here. I welcome suggestions as to how to fill the other 4 days that we have available. Feel free to drop your comments and recommendations. From there I will bug you again with lodging and restaurants.

Thank you very much!

A couple of suggestions...

I would skip Kamakura and possibly Nikko, instead use these days to Kyoto. You can easily spend 3 full day at Kyoto. If you have additional day, I recommend Miho Museum--an amazing structure about 1hr train ride from Kyoto.

Probably 2 days for Tokyo would do, though there are many attractions (incl Tokyo Disney Land) that may appeal to your daughter so I'm tempted to make it 3 days. Yokohama is about 30-45 min train ride from Tokyo, so can be easily done as a day trip.

Hakone--you are correct, Mt Fuji won't open till July. Anyway, if the weather is good, you can have a good view of the mountain along the bullet train. Still a scenic area with lots of traditional ryokan. You take the local bullet train to Odawara, change into a non-JR train that goes up the mountain. We liked the open air museum.

Hiroshima/Miyajima--you just take the bullet train west from Kyoto. Kurashiki is another lovely town (though a day trip should suffice).

I presume you're getting Japan Rail passes. Also, you might want to bear in mind that June would be rainy season.

Thanks W9London.

We do understand that it is going to be the rainy season in Japan but we are taking advantage of the school break plus using airline miles to travel so the dates are pretty much set.

As far as Disneyland is concerned, we live in Florida so we are not very excited about it but I appreciate the thought. On the other hand, it made me think about how to keep our group entertained. I am concerned that visiting temples,shrines and museums for 2 weeks will be kind of boring...

About Osaka, Kyoto, Nara: Should I set base in one of these cities and make side trips from there or stay at local lodging in each place?

I am definitely considering the JR pass. Not sure if I should take the 7-day or the 14-day pass. The other question that I have is whether to fly to Hiroshima (using JAL's Yokoso fare @ 10,000Yen) and then take trains back or do everything by train.

Regards.

Having take my own daughters to Japan at age 8 (and once in June), I think your schedule is okay, although I would add days to both Tokyo and Kyoto.

There are plenty of things to do with kids in Tokyo- parks, the ferris wheel, the Asakusa Kannon Temple- where our girls loved feeding the pigeons and shoppping at all the souvenir stalls nearby-, and spending a Sunday checking out the kids and shops at Harajuku.

Kyoto has many temples, which the girls again liked because of the park-like grounds -and they really enjoyed Nijo Castle. They also had fun hunting down Maiko in the Gion area one evening, visiting a hands-on craft place, and the tourist center (near the train station) helped us find a firefly festival that was happening one evening at one of the temples.

Our kids loved Kamakura...the big buddha, and walking walking from site to site. Plenty of snack food places. We took the train to one end of town, then waled to many of the temples, and ended up in town, eating all the way!

I would only go to Nikko if you aren't visitng Hakone. If you do go to Nikko, also go up the waterfalls and the lake. In June, you may be able to take the little boats out on the lake. We were there in late May and it was pretty drizzly, but still an enjoyable time (we stayed there for 3 days).

Another town we loved with kids was Takayama. We visited the float museum and several other museums that were very fun for the girls, plus rented bikes to go up the the park with restored village homes nearby. Another plus in hot and wet June is it is nice and cool up there!

We took the Shinkansen to Hiroshima. Stopped in Himeji to visit the castle on the way. The train ride itself is still a fond memory of ours.

One nice thing about travel in Japan is that you don't have to "do" a lot to entertain kids there. Everything is so bright and foreign that they will be amused just wandering, and even a trip to a department store (food in the basement, all kids of cool kid stuff on the stationery floor, and of course the kids dept with Hello Kitty and friends) will be memorable.

Even though you live in Florida, you should research Disney Sea. It is unlike any other amusement park in the world (and no, it is not like Sea World or any Disney park). It is by far the best park for themeing that I have ever seen (and we have been to the Florida parks and CA ones), and it is great for an 8 yr old girl (she'd love Mermaid's Lagoon and the show there, and the rides that are not found anywhere else) My daughter and I loved it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_DisneySea

So if your wife is not very keen on big cities, what does she envision for the trip? Since she is a big part of the trip and seems to have some opinions, it would be good to know what she wants out of the trip.

I would think that an 8 yr old girl would like Senjosi temple the the shopping street leading up to it, s well as the Drum museum and the plastic food stores nearby.

I don't understand what you are saying about Fuji-san. Are you saying you want to climb it alone, since it seems you know your family is not up to it and it isn't advisable?

I can't think of any reason that anyone would fly to Hiroshima instead of taking the shinkansen from Kyoto to that city, esp. since you will make out better w/the JR pass if you are doing the Tokyo/Kyoto/Hirshima route.

Seems to me that esp. w/a child you would want to minimize the hotel moves. So stay in Tokyo a few days, then either stop in Hakone a night in a royokan (or go to Hakone as a day trip from Tokyo, although I think it warrants an overnight), and go on to Kyoto. Go to Osaka and Nara as day trips from Kyoto. Go to Hiroshima for a day (although consider if the bomb museum and site is perhaps too much for the 8 yr old), and stay on Miyajama a night.

I think a full day and night in Yokohama would be great. Go to Chinatown or MM21, and most of all try to take the family to a Yokjohama Baystars baseball game.

With the additional few days, you could maybe get to Takayama. (calling mrwunrfl...)

You didn't mention Nara or Osaka in your original post. So do you plan to go to those places? What are you planning for Osaka?

I think mrwnrfl is in NZ or maybe just got back.

emd and lcuy give good advice.

you might want to:

Tokyo - 4 nights then shinkansen to

Hiroshima/Miyajima - 2 nights
train to:

Kyoto(day trips to Nara, Himeji) - 6 nights train to:

Hakone - 1 night
train to:

Yokohama - last 2 nights then limo bus to Narita

check train fares using the hyperia.com website to see if a jr pass or buying direct tix are cheaper.

You can also fly from Tokyo to Hiroshima to save time and maybe money. About 11000 yen per person. See about using a One world or Star Alliance visitors pass. See here for complete information

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2364.html

Aloha!

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Our itinerary is a work in progress and in my first post I really had no idea but this is what I have in mind so far:

-Days 1-3: Tokyo, with a possible day trip to Nikko
-Day 4: Travel day to Hiroshima, stopping at Himeji (borrowing this idea from lcuy!)
-Day 5: Hiroshima-Miyajima
-Day 6: Travel to Osaka (or Kyoto)
-Day 7: Osaka (Otaue Shinji Festival)
-Day 8-10: Kyoto
-Day 11: Nara
-Day 12: Kobe (or additional day for Nara)
-Day 13: Hakone
-Day 14: Kamakura
-Day 15: Yokohama

emd: My wife is big into photography, especially flowers. I still need to go over the traditional Tokyo to show her that it is not only about the big city feeling...

About Fuji-San: I meant that even if it was open for the climb, we would not go. I understand that even in June, we can still go all the way up to the 5th station but I wonder if it is worth it. Maybe we should take the time to explore Hakone instead. Opinions?

Question about hotels/Ryokans: We are more or less on a budget but we do want to spend a night (maybe two) in a Ryokan to really have that experience. The other nights we are likely to use my hotel points to stay at western hotel chains or go for business hotels.
If I were to choose one place to stay at a Ryokan, which city do you recommend? Which Ryokan?

Hiroshima: I agree with you about the bomb museum being a bit too much for my daughter (maybe even for my wife). It is a place that I personally want to go. As a plan B, can you recommend another activity for my girls while I take my time at the A-Bomb site?

Yokohama: I liked the idea about MM21 (didn't know about it) especially because I might volunteer to stay with a 2 year old girl that day. I had the same thought about watching a baseball game. But I was thinking about watching a Giants game instead. Do you think the experience in Yokohama would be better?

Osaka/Nara/Kobe: Now they are there. As I mentioned in my itinerary, we do want to see how a Japanese festival looks like and it seems that the only one advertised on the web is this one in Osaka.
My wife is also big into culinary and we read that Osaka is a good place for that. Any recommendations on that front?
Finally, do you think it is worth to get to know Kobe or we better off visiting Nara for an extra day?

Thanks again for your recommendations!!!

Another thing: I tried the Hyperdia website and the travel time that it gives when flying is pretty much that same as if I had chosen to go by train all the way to Hiroshima. That seems to be because the commute to and from the airports (especially in Hiroshima). From your previous traveling experiences, can you confirm that? Because if it is true/accurate, then I see no point in flying even with JAL offering this 10,000 Yen per leg promotion.

Thanks!

Re festivals: You might want to look into the Oaba Matsuri, which takes place in various locations (including Kyoto, and also Koyasan) in mid-June.

See:

http://tinyurl.com/ytgsoy

Re baseball: The Giants at Tokyo Dome would be better, in my opinion, but I thought you were looking for somethign to do in Yokohama, that is why I offered info on the Baystars. Also, it can sometimes be hard to get walk-up tickets at Tokyo Dome, depending on who the Giants are playing that day. the baseball schedule for 2008 won't be out til mid-February.

Your wife is going to be in heaven re photography in Kyoto. Some of the temple gardens are stunning. There is a nice bamboo grove in back of Shoren-in temple in Higashiyama that I highly recommend (assuming you don't make it to Arashiyama in western Kyoto to see the Sagano bamboo, although your daughter would likely love the monkey park in Arashiyama- it is amazing!)

I think the purple iris are going to be blooming in mid-June in Kyoto. The grounds of Ryoan-ji is full of iris. And Hydrangea will be blooming in June in Kyoto also. See these photos taken of flowers at the temples in summer, and recommendations for where to go for flowers:

http://zen.rinnou.net/exhibition/ex_03.html

http://kyotoinside.com/?cat=13

Also, this place is supposed to have great flowers in summer:

http://tinyurl.com/2c9w57

Although flowers are not a central part of Japanese gardens (they are considered a distracting from the Zen aspect of Buddhist gardens) you will see them if you look. Esp. lotus, in particular at the pond at Hokongo-in temple.

http://www.taleofgenji.org/hokongoin.html

Here is a good guide for your wife re the flowers that bloom in June at different Kyoto temples:

http://kaiwai.city.kyoto.jp/raku/bac.../buttone4.html

Personally, I'd stay in a ryokan in Hakone for a night.

Hi emd.

Great advices. I will share the info with my wife and also do my own research on all the info that you have provided.

As for the baseball schedule, I think at least there is a preliminary schedule available already.

http://www.japanesebaseball.com/team...&Year=2008

As I understand, in June there will be some interleague games and I might be able to catch the one between the Giants and the Hawks. Do you think I will have a better chance to buy the ticket upon my arrival on the 7th? I heard that buying tickets from out of the country is a frustrating experience.

Wow, they are posting the schedule a lot earlier now, that is great. Yes, it is hard to get tickets to baseball from outside the country. Maybe your hotel concierge (if you'll have one) can help before you get there. I really wish I had contacted our hotel concierge before our last trip for this purpose as I ended up missing the game I wanted to see (a highly desirable game btwn the Tigers and Giants at Tokyo Dome). BUt if is a regular game, you could have luck getting tickets when you get there.

Monkey park:

http://www.munky.net/travel/japan/japan06-monkeypark/

Flowers: don't miss Meiji Shrine in Tokyo for its iris garden. (The place is very tranquil esp in early mornings). Also hydrangea should be in bloom in June--she'll find whole clusters in Kamakura (there's a temple famous for hydrangea) and Hakone. My other favourite gardens in Tokyo are Rikugien and Hama-rikyu.

Mt Fuji: If you have a car, you'll probably be able to go to the fifth station, but of course you won't see the silhouette of the mountain. You can take a long-distance bus to Lake Yamanaka, but I think Hakone is a better choice from logistic point of view.

Osaka: If your wife is not keen on big cities, I'm tempted to recommend skipping this one. There are enough foodie opportunities in rest of your itinerary, including savory pancakes in Hiroshima, open-air market (can't remember the name) in Kyoto. Kamakura has a pedestrian side street with lots of food shops (some with demonstrations) along the way.

My kids liked big bath/amusement park in Odaiba (O-Edo Onsen?), Hello Kitty store at Daimaru department store (they could have moved, since the area is being refurbished), game arcades in Shibuya, Kiddy Land toy store in Harajuku and Hakuhinkan Toy Park on the south end of Ginza (Kimono-clad barbies!!)

Thanks W9London for your many two cents!

Mt Fuji: I guess I would need to get some kind of tour to get there. I assume there is no regular bus that goes all the way up to the 5th station. My point of going there was probably to have a taste of those breath taking views from high above (I did the Haleakala in Maui but was not lucky and did it on a cloudy morning). I am leaning towards exploring Hakone and try different angles of Fujisan from there.

Osaka: My wife got interested in the Ferris Wheel on top of the HEP Five shopping mall but I know that there is one by the Tokyo Dome as well... I would like to hear from those who went to Osaka if it really makes a difference to try the food there.
The open air markets will be mandatory stops!

I will printout all the kids recommendations and take them with me.

I highly recommend the big ferris neon wheel that goes over the water in Tokyo Bay, it is located in Odaiba. Wow, I had to close my eyes and count to get thru that one. Daughter loved it. The one at Tokyo Dome is cool because a roller coaster GOES THRU THE MIDDLE OF the ferris wheel!! Looks amazing to watch it, but I didn't go on it.

If your interested in climbing Fujisan see here for some information

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6901.html

I have seen the sunrise on Haleakala snuggled in a hotel blanket a few times now....always different, always spectacular!

The Grand Hyatt in Roppongi is perfectly situated in Roppongi. I prefer to be in the Hyatt in Shinjuku though.

Aloha!

Hopefully your wife will enjoy Tokyo. My husband and I visited Japan for the first time this past October and had 2 nights in Tokyo. I'm not a huge fan of big cities and would have just assumed skip Tokyo altogether had my husband not expressed the desire to see it. I'm glad we did because I ended up really liking Tokyo. It's a fascinating and marvelous city.

I too would add more time to Kyoto. We spent 4 days/nights and could have easily added another night or two. It's a photographers dream, and the temples and sights are just amazing. I too highly recommend visiting Arashiyama to visit the bamboo forest.

If your interested, my trip report can be found at http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...=tcreath+japan.

Best wishes and happy planning!
Tracy

We live in Tokyo (and have an 8 year old daughter) and I agree with the suggested itineries. I don't know your daughter, but our girls do tire of seeing temples in shrines. In Kyoto for example, they could only see a few before overloading! Sometimes we have to intersperse these visits with shopping trips and fun things like Harajuku Street in Tokyo.

I can't tell you anything about Tokyo Disney because we still haven't been-nor are we that interested! But friends who are experienced Disney people say that Disney Sea is really unique and beautiful. Personally, we don't see the point of coming all this way to go to Disneyland but if you have extra time in Tokyo and need something fun, then go for it! There are plenty of other things to do with kids though, such as Tokyo Tower, or Odaiba or the Fish Market.

Hope this helps...

Flying to Hiroshima is not a good idea UNLESS you connect at Narita airport on Day 1.

Base in Kyoto for Osaka and Nara, and even for Himeji.

Skip Kobe.

One day for Nara. I am one who does not enjoy the deer park at Nara but your 8 y.o. will probably like it.

You are right about putting Hakone, Kamakura, and Yokohama together. You could base yourself in Yokohama to visit those places and use non-JR rail.

So I decided to open a blog to report my trip:
http://satrijoe-japantrip.blogspot.com/

The latest and greatest will be there but I will be cutting and paste my dailies (with some delay) over here too.

Hope you enjoy it.

Day 1: Trip - Arrival and first exploration
The day started early (We left home around 3:45AM to board on 6:15AM departure flight). This first flight took us to Dallas where we made our connection and from there straight to Tokyo (some 13h flying in this segment).
The only complaint that "the boss" had was that AA switched our seats and we ended up in the bulk head row. Other than that, my only comment is... what a long trip. I don't remember how many movies I watched. And I also had time to work a little (oops!), read the tour book (Tokyo related piece only) and slept (very little).
Upon landing, we took a tram from the satellite to the main terminal and luckily encountered a very short line at immigration (they were asking for citizens from Peru, Bolivia and Brasil to fill out a questionnaire but I pretended I did not listen to that and they did not refer to it at any moment anyways). Bags were out very fast and we had no issues in customs (no questions asked. We are traveling moderately light - 1 medium size luggage and one back pack each).

After exiting the customs area, I exchanged dollar into Yen. The exchange rate was 103.06. This is a much, much better rate than what I could get had I exchanged money back in the US. Thank goodness I exchanged some ideas with some fellow travelers at the fodor's forum.
Finally I paid for the transportation from the airport to the hotel (Limousine Bus) 7,500 Yen for 2 adults and one child. It took us about 1h30min to get to our hotel (Hilton Shinjuku - including stops at the Shinjuku station and the Shinjuku Washington hotel). Bought the ticket at 2:20PM and the bus departed at 2:25PM. Talk about Just-In-Time. The commute was also uneventful mainly because it was a Saturday, I think. We ended up not having time to look for a Tourist Information Center at the airport but hopefully we will find one today.

After freshening up, which included a visit to the executive lounge area (another benefit of being a frequent traveler), we went for a walk around the Shinjuku neighborhood. In fact our walk was limited to 3-4 blocks from the Hilton to the Shinjuku station. We basically had time to view what was available at the Bic Camera store (which made my wife itchy to spend her fist Yens since she is into photography) and the Odakyu Department store (known as depato here). We concentrated in the grocery floor (another big wife interest) and then finally went to the lowest floor where the restaurants were. My wife went for some Octopuss balls and Gyoza. My daughter and I decided to split a butterflied panco breaded Shrimp (technical term according to the in-house expert) with rice and curry. By that time, everyone was tired, especially me and my daughter, so we decided to come back to our hotel, eat the food and call it the day.

Expense summary (all in Yen):
Transportation Airport - hotel: 7,500
Food: 483 (Takoyaki) + $620 (Gyoza) + 1500 (Breaded Shrimp+Rice+Curry) +370 (two bottles of Coke Zero) = 2973

Look forward to reading more.

Thanks satrijoe -

I went to your blog and I'm looking forward to future installments.

One question - did you purchase your baseball tickets in advance? Or did you walk up and get them?

Totorofan:
I went to the ticket office at the stadium 3h in advance. They had both seats for the 1st. base and 3rd. base. They said the 3rd. base seats were better but in the end they were closer to the outfield seats than the 3rd. base itself... Of course they were more expensive (I paid 3,700 Yen a piece).
Anyway, I had my concerns that I would not find tickets at all so I was happy that I could walk in and get them.

More comments in my day 2 report - stay tuned.

Day 2 - Having Fun in Tokyo (Sunday)
Still feeling the effects of the time zone change, everyone woke up around 5:30AM (4:30PM back home). We took our time to get dressed and decided to go for a hearty breakfast at the hotel. By the way, we are very impressed with the Hilton Shinjuku. It was great that we arrived during the weekend which gave us the chance to get acquainted with the transportation system without being overwhelmed by the huge crowds.

Today we learned that the hotel has underground connection with the Nishi-Shinjuku Station (M07 - Marunoichi Line). To be absolute honest, walking from the hotel to the Shinjuku station is not much more than this underground connection but... Anyway, we bought the day pass (710 Yen for adult and 360 Yen for child) and headed to the Imperial Palace. The concierge instructed us to take the Marunoichi line all the way down to Tokyo Station (M17). From there it was a short walk to reach the Imperial Palace grounds.

The Imperial Palace
We got there through Miyuki Dori which led us through the Wadakura Fountain Park and the Sakashitamon. We decided to walk south so that we could take a look at the Imperial Palace itself (we were told that you can only enter the walled area if you have a special permit - which of course we did not have). A few tour buses dropped lots of visitors in that area so it was kind of hard to take quality shots of the guarded gates and the Ni-ju-bashi. We walked all the way down to the Sakuradamon and then decided to walk back since it would be too long of a walk to continue surrounding the palace in our clockwise path. By the way, lots of joggers were running around the palace that day. Seems a very popular spot.

So we went back north and entered the Imperial Palace East Gardens (Kokyo Higashi Gyoen) via the Ôtemaimon. Lots of things to see there. Our favorite was the Ninomaru Garden which features beautiful flowers with a nice color mix. We didn't even enter any museum and just like that we spent 3h in the Imperial Palace grounds. It was time to take off since my wife had to attend her Soba making class.

Our schedule was very tight and we ended up having lunch at a McDonald's. Yeah, I know... Wife is a chef and we still went for a MickeyD? Even after watching SuperSize Me? We did... Kind of embaressed to do it but... I don't remember exactly how much we spent there. Her Soba class was in the Tsukiji district and we spent a good 10-15 min trying to decipher the instructions given by the instructor and the maps on the streets.

One of my goals in this trip was to watch a baseball game in Japan and the most popular team in the country is supposed to be Tokyo's Yomiuri Giants. Right now they are playing interleaguegames between central and pacific leagues, so I decided to take my chances and headed to theticket office at the Tokyo Dome, where the Giants hosts their games. We were lucky and found tickets for the match against the Seibu Lions that same day! I ended up chosing 3rd base seats which were supposed to be better but waskind of disappointed as they ended up being closer to the outfield seats (paid 3700 Yen each).
While we were waiting to get into the stadium my daughter convinced me to take the Thunder Dolphin ride, one of the attractions at Tokyo Dome City, an entertainment complex built around the baseball stadium. The minimum height to enter the ride is 1.30m and the minimum age is 8. The interesting thing is that this roller coaster goes through the ferris wheel and it has an impressive drop (80m tall). My daughter was exhilarated. Me? I am getting too old for this!

A few notes from the baseball experience in Japan
*While attendees also eat and drink before and during the game, I noticed that the stands were very clean after the game, nothing like the big mess that is left after MLB games.
*Throughout the whole game, there are girls who sell all kinds of snacks and drinks to the attendees. No big deal there. The Japanese touch is in the fact that they come all the way down to the bottom ofthe stairs, take a bow and work their way up trying to sell their items, usually with a big smile (granted sometimes a fake smile).
*Like in the US, things are not very cheap in the stadium. I paid 800 Yen for a small draftbeer plus 250 Yen for a small cup of water.
*The featured player that night was #8 Tani (center fielder, I think) and he actually made the difference, hitting the only home-run of the game, scoring 2 in a 4-0 shutout win by the Giants. The pitcher Utsumi threw a complete game improving his record to 4-4. Still the Giants are 3rd. or 4th. in the standings...

Very few people left the game before its end, so the bulk of the 40K + attendees left at the same time and it seemed like everyone headed to the subway station. Still, everyone did it in a very orderly fashion and it was not difficult to get on the train back to our hotel. The bad thing was that it was already late and we did not find anything opened (not even the food courts in the nearby i-land or even at the Odakyu Department store in Shinuku. The alternative was to eat at a Denny's nearby. The food was ok (the menu had nothing to do with the US Denny's menu) but the cigarrette smell was very strong even though we were sitting in a non-smoking area. Probably that was the low-light of the day.
---------------
Just got a phone call from my mother-in-law asking if everything was OK. I did not understand what she was talking about until she explained that there was some wacko in Tokyo who stabbed to death 7 people and left 11 more wounded. Here is the CNN update on this tragedy: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapc....ap/index.html
I am thankful that we were not visiting Akihabara, the district in which this took place, today. Our hearts go out to the families of those who were affected by this.

Day 3 - Senso-Ji and Odaiba (Monday)
We had a late start and decided to visit Senso-ji in the Asakusa district. Actually our first choice was to visit Ueno Park and its many attractions but we did not pay attention to the fact that most of the museums were closed on Mondays. (Deduct one star in the planning department)

It was cloudy when we left the hotel and when we got to Asakusa (Ginza line - G19) it started to rain so eventually we had to buy a couple of umbrellas (I brought my rain coat with me after checking the weather forecast. Add one star in the planning column). While the Senso-ji complex is located in a rather small area, there are many small buildings in it and we spent around 4h in there. This includes shopping time which is mandatory when traveling with my wife.

It was our first stop in a religious location but it really felt more like a tourist attraction. Anyway, it is one of those mandatory stops. By the way, I will not try to describe the attractions in details as my objective is not to replace guide books. Especially because I am sure I would end up missing in accuracy and details (not to mention that it would make this report way too long).

We were going to follow the recommendation of the Fodor's guide and have lunch at the Tempura place along the Asakusa avenue (Aoi-Marushin) but it just so happened that they were closed for maintenance that day (no points deducted - they were supposed to be open). Plan B was to head back to the Asakusa information center where the gentleman who talked to us suggested we try the restaurant across the street (Santei, the first on the right of the Kamanari-Mon). The food was OK (we ordered two tempura dishes) and the prices seemed right at 3120 Yen. But we also had in the back of our minds an advice from a friend: Never trust a restaurant in which the waitresses are wearing kimonos.

After that, our party split again. My wife decided to go to Kappabashi Dori, a street 4-5 blocks from the Tawaramachi station (G18). This is a restaurateur/chef's heaven as they are specialized in cookware and other restaurant related goods. Definitely not for me or my daughter. So we headed to the Tokyo station where I needed to get my actual JR pass.

JR Pass Exchange
One word of advice: If you can, do the exchange upon your arrival at Narita. I don't know how convenient it us to go from the arrival area to the exchange office there but I can tell you I spent at least 1h30 just to get mine at Tokyo station. The JR exchange office is located in the Yaesu "area" which is a long walk from the subway station. We had to go through a few connectors, spent some valuable time stopping by wrong "green windows" and crossed an underground shopping area to finally get there. While the line at the ticket office was small, the exchange process itself took around 30 min.

Odaiba
I decided to go with my daughter to Odaiba so that she could have some fun and hopefully escape from the bad weather that we experienced in the North side of Tokyo. In order to get there we had to go back to the Ginza station, change to the Ginza Line, stop at the Shimbashi station and then walk to the annex station to take the Yurikamome line. Odaiba is located on the bay and it was quite a nice ride with a good view of the city and the bay since all the ride was made on an elevated track. I chose to stop at the Telecom Center station to get to the Miraikan museum (National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation). While the Fodor’s guide says that the museum closes at 7:00PM, it failed to mention that the deadline to enter the museum is 4:30PM. Major disappointment! Thank God I chose to buy the unlimited pass (800 Yen for adults and 400 Yen for child - The guide book said it was 1000 Yen for an adult).

So we ended up going to the entertainment area called Venus Fort (Aomi station) where we met with my wife (she went back to our hotel once to drop her shopping from Kappabashi). One of the main attractions in this place is the giant Ferris wheel, and they also feature a few other things like Toyota's showroom, Toyota's test drive (the sign said that you needed to have either a Japanese or an international driver’s license. Since I did not have either one, I did not even bother registering for the test drive), a ride in Toyota's automated car (the car makes turns, accelerates and breaks by itself, granted it does not go past 10 kph in a closed track), a pet store, a game room with lots of coin operated machines and even a display of old cars which included an F1 race car (drivers were Mika Salo and Alan McNish). Once again, we stayed out until 'late' (10PM) so we were exhausted in our return from Odaiba back to Shinjuku. Time to shower and crash...

I'm enjoying all your posts! Keep them coming please!

Great stuff, <b>satrijoe</b> -- thanks!!

Day 5 - Hiroshima - The A Bomb Experience (Wednesday)

Half the day was a travel day. We had reservations at 7:40AM headed to Shin-Osaka and from there to Hiroshima arriving at 12:30PM.

This was the first time we took the Shinkansen (bullet train). It is amazing how precise things are in the train stations. The train does not stop for more than a few minutes so everyone is ready to jump in or out as soon as it stops. We realized that the trains do not have any special compartment for large luggage and it was somewhat of a hassle to drag the luggage across platforms. We are seriously considering to ship some of our luggage from one city to another (maybe skipping cities) and travelling lighter since we were told that the courier service (Takyubin) is very reliable and inexpensive. We also noticed that the reservation ticket does not say from which track your train departs so you either have to ask one of the staff members or find the information in a monitor.

Upon arriving, I met with my cousin who lives in a town 3h away from Hiroshima and headed to our hotel, which was about a 100m from the station (Toyoko-Inn Hiroshimaeki Shinkasenguchi). The checkin time was only at 4PM (the hotel asks you to vacate the room between 10AM and 4PM for cleaning purposes), so we had to drop our bags at the lobby and went for a tour.

We took the tram which departs from the south side of the station. The shinkansen tracks are on the north side so you need to use an underpassage to cross from one side to another. At the tram stop, there are machines that you can you use to buy a 1-day ticket (600/300 Yen - Adult/child). Since we only anticipated going to the A-Bomb site and return we decided not to buy it (a single trip costs 150/80 Yen - Adult/Child)

My other major objective in this trip was to visit the A-Bomb museum and because we read that some of the displays were too graphic, we thought that it was not appropriate for my daughter to visit it, so my wife took her to do some window shopping nearby the Peace Memorial Park. Unfortunately it was raining so taking pictures was not an much an option that day which is almost a disaster scenario for my wife. Anyway, window shopping is a 'sport' that she enjoys as well.

The A-Bomb Museum
I got an audio tour guide for an additional 250 Yen to make sure I would not miss any detail from the exhibit but noticed that it did not add much to the explanation offered in each of the displays (text is available both in Japanese and English). It starts with the history of the city and focus on its military roots as it grew and became more important (at one point the emperor and the parliament/diet set their temporary headquarters in Hiroshima). That was probably the main reason why Hiroshima was in almost all lists of target cities prepared by the US intelligence. It also tried to explain the rationale for the bombing as there were other alternatives discussed to end the war. But in the end it seems that the threat posed by Stalin convinced the US that the bombing would be the best solution from a political strategy stand point. While the population in Hiroshima participated in many drills to prepare for air strikes, the US decided to spare Hiroshima from those strikes so that they could carefully determine the impact that the A-bomb would cause.

The exhibit shows the city in miniature scale before and after the A-bomb exploded to show the magnitude of the devastation. After that, there is a wall with copies of letters sent by the mayor of Hiroshima to foreign authorities asking that they stop nuclear development, tests and eliminate nuclear weapons altogether. On the second floor of the first building there is a display of measures taken to rebuild the city of Hiroshima throughout the years with a few buildings in miniature scale and a copy of the A-bomb dome hanging. The exhibit up to this point was informative but not shocking, so I felt like the rest of my family could have joined me. I think that visitors can choose to end the tour at this point (not sure though).

From there you go through a passage that connects to the next building where the real exhibit is located. Here you will find the objects recovered and donated to the museum, which included clothing, personal belongings and even parts of buildings. But I guess the real disturbing part of the exhibit are the photos and a small scene (with wax models) showing the horror of the survivors right after the explosion. This area also has a section dedicated to the girl who survived the bombing but years later developed leukemia and hoped that by making 1000 paper cranes (origami/tsuru) she would be cured. Eventually she lost the battle but her history goes on and there is a monument in the peace memorial park in her memory that also features origamis sent from schools in Japan and elsewhere.

This is one of those things that make you put things in perspective and also think about the big picture. After that I was amazed to look around at the city and look at its transformation. The last picture in the museum shows a plant growing back 2 months after the bombing, contradicting a prediction that said that nothing would grow back there for years.

I then rejoined my family and had a quick dinner and returned to the hotel.
--------------------
A quick word about the hotel: For those looking for an affordable option, the Toyoko Inn is a very good alternative. Do not expect luxury though. The room had space for the 2 beds and that was about it (their suggestion is to store your luggage under the beds). Anyway, the free Internet, coin laundry, location and even a basic japanese breakfast (Onigiri, misoshiru and coffee) made it worthwhile.

Sorry, I skipped day 4.

Day 4 - Nikko (Tuesday)
Our original plan for day 4 was to go to the Tsukiji fish market very early in the morning but unfortunately that did not work. The subway opened at 6AM and we woke up at 7AM. we then changed our plans and went back to one of my original ideas of going to Nikko. We packed our bags and checked out from the hotel and headed to the JR ticket office where we were informed that the next train available only left at 10:35AM, so we had to wait for about 1h30 at Shinjuku. Lesson learned: make your reservations in advance. They have no cost if you hold a JR pass and it can only save you time and give you peace of mind.We stopped by the JR travel center (called View Plaza - pronounced Byu Puraza) but they did not have any information in English so it was a waste of time.
We had a quick connection at Shimo-Imaichi before reaching Tobu Nikko station (these stations are roughly 8 min apart). At the Tobu Nikko station, they have a very helpful staff that speaks good English and off we went to take the bus towards the shrines and temples. We didn't realize that there were two bus routes and we ended up missing the stop that we wanted so we had to take a 150m walk back from the Taiyu-in mausoleum entrance to the Toshugu shrine. It was a very pleasant walk with huge trees standing at both sides of the unpaved steet giving a very soothing atmosphere to the whole place. The Treasury house is located in this street.
Another poor planning made us loose some precious time. We should have taken the spare time at Shinjuku to buy some bento box or something else. When we got there, we were hungry and ended up eating at the restaurant/souvenir shop located in the end of this street that we came through. We ordered Curry Rice, pork loin and rice, and Yuka Soba. Food was OK but the place had too many flies...
The suggestion was to start the tour from the Treasure Hall but we skipped that and went straight to the Rinno Temple. Apparently there are guided tours that goinside the temple where the 3 gods standing 8m tall are located. I caught bits and pieces of the tour guide explanation with mybroken japanese and understood that the gods represented a family (father, mother and a child) and each one was responsible toprotect different things.
From there we went upstairs and visited the whole Tosho-Gu complex. Every little corner seems to be one of those &quot;Kodak&quot; moments and you can spend hours recording and taking pictures of the pagoda, the gates and all the buildings. The place really deserves to be one of the World Heritages. Unfortunately the main hall fa&Ccedil;ade is under rennovation so it did not allow for a good picture. I assume that the this place is visited by groups of tourists and students all year around. On that day in particular there was a group of elementary students that was sitting on the grounds of the complex and getting yelled at by their monitor/supervisor. Apparently a few of them got too excited about the visit and misbehaved. It was interesting to seethe group mentality in action. The whole group was getting reprimended and the instructor went on and on about the embarassment of having to do that in such a sacred place and in front of a lot of people. They had to stay quiet forseveral minutes to ponder on the reasons why they were here and their responsibilities as visitors.
We then had to rush to Futura-san Jinja. By the time we got there we realized that our schedule was too tight and we would not have timeto do anything else. We just took some pictures from the outside and headed down to the Shinkyo (Sacred) bridge. This was kind of a disappointment. I thought it was going to be in a more secluded location, being sacred and all, but instead it was right by road with no signsand there was not even a decent pedestrian sidewalk surrounding it. From there, we took the bus back to the Tobu Nikko station.
I was worried that we would not make it on time for our train in which we had reserved seats since it was leaving at 4:45 from the Shimo-Imaichistation. Luckly that train actually left from Nikko Tobu station so we were fine. I did not understand why I had to pay for tickets at the Tobu station. EVentually the crew member that checks your tickets explained me that that line was a like a code share betweenJR and Tobu but it actually belonged to Tobu so I actually paid for a suplement (2,400 Yen for the three of us). The trip back was uneventful butI left with that feeling that I should have gotten there earlier and spend the whole day visiting the place. Hopefully there will be the chance for a next time.
We then went back to our hotel to pick up our luggage and headed to Shinagawa district in Tokyo where an ex-MBA colleague leaves with her husband.They were so kind to rent a guest room in their apartment building. We took a nice shower (japanese style, including Ofuro!) and had an excellent dinner at their apartment. A real treat. It was actually our first experience sleeping on the tatami floor and I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.(maybe because my back has been bothering me lately and sleeping on a harder surface is better for your health).

satrijoe:

I would definitely extend the time in Kyoto..we stayed there last year for five days and would have liked a bit more.(also visited in 1946 when there were no tourists, just well-behaved fellow G.I.'s on leave)

W9's suggestion to visit Miho Museum, among the most unique in the entire world, should be followed.

&gt;&gt;&gt;If you have additional day, I recommend Miho Museum--an amazing structure about 1hr train ride from Kyoto&lt;&lt;&lt;

However, it is a 15 minute train ride from Kyoto to nearby Ishiyama Station. There, you go down the stairs to the Teisan bus, which leaves at 10 after the hour...it takes about 45 minutes of countryside driving to reach the Miho..then about a ten minute scenic and unusual tunnel walk to get to the museum proper. It is beyond being well worth the time and effort. I have pix which I'll sort out and post them for you.

We thorughly enjoyed the quasi-ryokan in Kyoto called Three Sisters Annex..daughter will get a kick out of it also. From there, very easy to get around to all of the major sites...can even walk to a few of them...rate is about 17,000Yen,($160) and I don't think Kay Yamada will charge an extra fee for another futon.

http://tinyurl.com/36dkgh

As Icuy mentioned, there is a lot to see and do in Tokyo, much of which your daughter will love, too.
Stu T.

sorry...did not take notice of the date. misread it to July...so you've come and gone...happy that it seems to be going well for you.
stu t

Tower: Appreciate your comments. Unfortunately we already left Kyoto. Anyway, useful hints for those travelers who might read this thread in preparation for their trips.

Sorry I am very late with my posts but I have been returning tired from my daily sightseeings and my wife is the one who's been getting first access to Internet. By the time she finishes with her stuff I am already snoring...


I will be updating this report soon.

By the way, a lunatic killer and an earthquake during this trip. We were not affected at all by any of these unfortunate events, but our friends and relatives have been worried.

Guys, we are OK!

Day 6 - Hiroshima - Miyajima (Thursday)
Since we were not able to thoroughly enjoy our experience at the Peace Memorial Park due to the rain, we decided to go back there on Thursday especially because the weather turned out great that day. We spent a lot of time taking nice pictures of the A-Bomb Dome, the cenotaph and the memorial for Sadako Sasaki (the girl I mentioned in the day 5 post).

From there we walked North to visit the Hiroshima castle. It was really hot and we took our time to get there. Little side comment: There are vending machines spread everywhere (throughout Japan) and we spent our share in sodas, juices and waters. If you are a smoker you will find plenty to choose from (I didn't check what brands were on sale though). Once you enter the main entrance (the castle is surrounded by a moat), you need to cross the grounds towards the northwest corner to reach the castle itself. We climbed all the way up which gives you a good view of the whole city. The displays were interesting but not very impressive.

Miyajima Island

We walked back to the a-bomb dome where we caught tram #2 heading towards Miyajima. It is a very long ride (the a-bomb dome tram stop is M10 and the Miyajima Guchi is M39 - the last one). Probably it would have made more sense to go back to Hiroshima station and take the JR train from there. There are two companies providing ferry services from there to Miyajima island. They are side-by-side and we took advantage of our JR pass to ride &quot;for free&quot; on the JR Ferry to Miyajima.

Right outside of the Miyajima pier, you start seeing deers in the park nearby. They roam freely and are part of the Miyajima scene. Some of these deers are not shy to approach you searching for food (be careful as they eat paper too - meaning: watch out for your map). Following the map that we got at the pier, we went to the Ometesando shopping street which is parallel to the one coasting the water. There are many souvenir shops and restaurants to choose from. We chose Tachibana for our much needed lunch break and my wife tried deep fried Oyster while I went for the more conservative fried shrimp with curry rice.

With our appetite satisfied, we decided to skip the Itusukushima shrine and went straight to the ropeway. There is a free shuttle service that takes you to the ropeway station. It picks you up from a bus stop in front of a hotel, just past a couple of souvenir shops - a 5 min walk past the shrine. The ropeway gets you close to the top of Mt. Misen in two steps. You need to reserve at least a couple of hours to explore the sites once you get to the end of the ropeway since you need to follow a trail that requires 30-45 min to reach the final point.

Back down from the ropeway we waited for the sunset to take those postcard pictures from the Itsukushima shrine facing the famous &quot;floating&quot; torii. You need to time your visit so that you have mid-to-high tide and enough water to give the floating impression to the torii. For this task, you don't need to be inside the shrine as there is a little sandy area between the shrine and the daiganji temple where you can set up your tripod and wait for the right moment for the perfect picture.

This was the first time we noticed that Japanese students take lots of field trips around the country as they were flocking the souvenir shops of Ometesando. They are loud and &quot;spacious&quot; as other kids around the world and we would find them many times again during our trip.

On our way back, we had to take the Matsudai Kisen Ferry (170/80 Yen - Adult/Child One way) as we would have to wait for 40 min for the next JR ferry. From there we made the right decision to take the JR train back from to Hiroshima station (the JR station is just one block futher away from the tram station).

For the amount of activities available in this island and the charm of its streets, I strongly recommend that you stay overnight in Miyajima to fully explore it. Unfortunately I had prepaid my two nights in Hiroshima so I could not change my plans.

Once again we ate at one of many restaurants available at the ASSE department store (&quot;depato&quot;), attached to the Hiroshima station.

I'm enjoying your report. We also travelled to Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima, in the summer of 2006. I can't wait for the rest of your report...

Day 7 - Osaka (Friday)

The day before we made the decision to send 2 pieces of luggage straight to Kyoto thus making it easier for us to travel from Hiroshima to Osaka. My wife was a little reluctant to do it but after hearing positive comments from my cousin and the friends from Tokyo about their accuracy and reliability, she agreed to do it. We paid 1790 Yen for the shipment. The hotel receptionist tied the two pieces together making them one large piece (the weight is not so important, the dimensions/volume is what counts) which made it more even more cost effective.

We started developing the habit of stopping by the convenience stores located at stations to buy our breakfast and eat it during our Shinkansen commute. Lots of people do that. You will find traditional bento boxes and onigiris all the way to more western-like pastries which suited more our taste. Other alternatives are the little udon/soba kiosks where people can quickly slurp their way into those dishes before jumping on a train. From Shin-Osaka where the Shinkansen stopped we took the subway all the way to the Tanimachi-Yonchome station where unfortunately there was no elevator to go up to the street level so I had to carry the remaining two pieces of luggage through the stairs. Quite a fatiguing job.

In Osaka, we stayed at yet another Toyoko-Inn which was located right by Exit 8 of the subway, a selection made on purpose. Since we arrived before the check in time, we left our luggage at the lobby (they don’t have a storage area per se, instead they just put a net over your luggage and give you stubs to retrieve your luggage later), and went to the Tennoji station (still using the same Midosuji line) to get some info at the tourist information center.

Our main purpose for staying in Osaka was to attend the Otaue Shinji Matsuri, or the rice planting festival, the only event that we found that would coincide with our travel schedule. They were very helpful at the information center (keep in mind that there is train information desk right before you reach the tourist information center if you walk towards the exit. Of course, I stopped at the train information desk asking for information just to realize that I was at the wrong place). The Otaue Shinji Matsuri was going to be from 1PM to 3PM the next day at the Sumiyoshitaisha Shrine (I actually thought it was going to be held at the Shitennoji shrine which would have been a big mistake). We got some maps, ate something at the train station and went to visit the Osaka Castle (Osaka Jo), which happened to be 15-min away on foot from our hotel.

The Osaka castle was much more impressive than the one in Hiroshima. It definitely had a richer history and its main tower is an important landmark in Osaka’s horizon. On the inside, the exhibits are well structured and they feature an elevator for those who are not in the greatest shape (or for the handicapped). We spent a good amount of time going through the different exhibits (they even have a multimedia exhibit with some sort of re-enactment of life in the old days of the castle). This is a visit that I highly recommend. We also found our first coin souvenir machine (more details in this link: http://www.traded.name/2007/10/07/ja...coin-souvenir/) and got our first coin there (even though the machine in the castle didn’t allow you to engrave your name like others that we found later did). We tried to visit more of the Castle grounds but many locations were off-limits due to the G8 summit that was held there (http://www.summit2008osaka.jp/english/index.html). So we decided to go back to our hotel, chill out and prepare for the festival on the following day.

My findings about trains/subways in Japan

-It is amazing how people in Japan have developed the ability to sleep during their commute to their destination, even standing. Not that I don't feel asleep myself, but it seems that they go into a deep coma and then automatically snap out of it in their stop.

-If they are not sleeping, they are either reading something of texting on their cell phones. It is requested that they do not speak on the cell phones as a polite gesture to others and, with very rare exceptions, they do follow this rule. On the shinkansens, I usually saw people going to the phone booths located in between cars (where they can actually have some privacy). On the subway, I have seen people leaving the car to make phone calls (and assume they jumped back on the next car after finishing the call)

-While the Japanese tend to be very respectful of the rules, this is really not the case in the stations. Normally people make lines to hop on trains but on many occasions I have seen opportunists quickly jumping the lines when the train arrived. Sometimes even while forming the lines I have seen some not so old ladies passing in front of my like I was not standing there. Also, even though there are preferential seats for elderly, expecting mothers, etc. I did not see people giving up on their seats as often as I expected.

Satrijoe: We spent the first 2 weeks of June in Japan so I'm really enjoying your trip report. Our favorite parts of the trip were Kyoto and Hakone. We will go back there for sure. We spent the better part of one cool drizzly day in Hakone at the Yunessun hot springs amusement park and spa resort. We had a fantastic time. Kids loved it of course, as they loved the &quot;volcano&quot; cooked eggs. We were first in line on a weekday at the outdoor museum so had it to ourselves for a while. Beautiful ! We live in Florida and have Disney season passes, but went to Tokyo Disney just for Disney Sea. It's different and we had a great time. Loved Kyoto! Beautiful clean, exciting city with lots to do and many easy day trips. Will skip Tokyo next time for Kyoto.

TravMimi: I am glad you are enjoying my report. Lots of common things in our trips. We also went to Hakone and bought the volcano cooked eggs and to Disney Sea. Unfortunately in both days we had nothing but rain so our experience was not as enjoyable as it could have been.

I am working on the reports.

(BTW: If you had the patience to read the whole post, you know that I am also a Floridian!)