Hi,
I’m planning a trip to Japan this July for my family of 4 – 2 teenage boys and my husband and myself. I read a lot of itineraries on this site, and I’ve come up with this one for us. Is this too ambitious? In Tokyo we want to visit Harajuku, the Ghibli Museum and sit in on Sumo practice (at the least). In Osaka I think we’ll visit the Sega joyopolis and maybe take in a baseball game (again, this is in addition to more cultural activities . I was hoping to perhaps escape the heat and maybe see some snow monkeys in Kamikochi? Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Our itinerary:

Day 1: Leave U.S.
Day 2: Arrive Tokyo stay at Westin Ebisu
Day 3: Tokyo
Day 4: Tokyo
Day 5: Hakone stay at Fujiya Hotel
Day 6: Kyoto
Day 7: Kyoto / Nara
Day 8 : travel to Hiroshima & Miyajima Island daytrip return to Kyoto at night
Day 9: Osaka
Day 10 : Osaka
Day 11: Kamikochi stay in log cabin
Day 12: Kamikochi
Day 13: Tokyo stay at Shigetsu Ryokan
Day 14: return to U.S.

Thanks!
Mary

It is ambitious. Kamikochi is a bit out of the way. You'd take a train to Nagoya and another to Takayama then bus to Kamikochi. From there, you would take a bus to Matsumoto and train to Tokyo. Check on the travel times to see if it is ok with you.

I think that an overnight in Hiroshima or Miyajima would be a big improvement. You could take your time at the Peace Park and spend some time exploring Miyajima. There is a beach on Miyajima.

There is a grand sumo tournament in July in Nagoya which is on your travel route.

Thanks! I think I'll just scrap Kamikochi!

Just a heads up. You have to buy your Studio Ghibli tix in advance. They go on sale 3 months ahead of time. I am going the end of June and plan to buy my tix beginning of April. You can get them online at JTBUSA.com. It's also closed on Tuesdays.

Thank you! I'll get my tickets in MAy then.

I would skip Hakone and add an extra day to Kyoto. Hakone is very touristy and kitschy--catered to Japanese tourists. It's not worth the time and expenses. And it's quite expensive up there--lodging, food, the pass, etc.

The Fujiya hotel sounds really charming in guidebooks, but it's not something I would regret not staying. I stayed there last June. The room was spacious, but everything was old and peeling away--part of the charm I guess. And it was very expensive too--$150 USD on a weeknight.

It's much better to stay longer in Kyoto, and perhaps see if there's a festival around that time, so you could spectate.

If you do want to stay at Fujiya, ask for the special "foreigners rate". It's one dollar for every year they have been open. We are paying $126 for a double.

Hmm.. Thanks!