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.