possible trip for family of 4 to Japan over New Years. Is it worth trying?
 

Hi, My husband and son were just kicking around the idea or going to Japan during THIS college winter break. This would likely be over Christmas and til 1/4/15. We would plan for about 14 days . I just spoke with a friend of mine, who lived in Japan for several years . She said that things are generally shut down from 12/29 until 1/2 or so. I was there many years ago as a summer exchange student so am somewhat familiar with the sights. We would hope to see Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima . The kids are now 19 and 23, have never been to Japan, and are keen to go. This will likely be the last time we travel together since son will ( hopefully) have a job by summer and not have much vacation.
I have gotten lots of good advice on this forum so I thought I would run it by ya'll. Is it reasonable to do this,at this late date? Is it worthwhile going when so much is likely to be closed? If so, where would you recommend that we spend the New year's holiday ?
I would much appreciate your thoughts before I get too excited about the potential plans.
Sincerely,
Evelyn

I'm afraid I can't be much help here, except to say that in principle, I think 2 weeks is reasonable for a trip that includes Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. BUT I don't know about the time of year or how that would affect your options. Certainly, days will be shorter, and that means that your opportunities to see the glorious gardens of Kyoto's temples would be much more limited.

Here's some information from one of the best available sources of information about visiting Japan, japan-guide.com:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2276.html

If you do go, try to fly into Narita and out of Kansai or vice versa to avoid backtracking.

Hope that helps!

We were in Tokyo on the way back from SE Asia for New Years about 6 or 7 years ago with our then teens. The weather wasn't too cold (in the 40s F) and we had a terrific time. Everything seemed to be open except on Jan 1st.

We went to a very cool New Years celebration at Zojoji Temple in Shiba Park, a calm, unplugged version of Times Square. At midnight a large crowd of people count down and release white biodegradable balloons with wishes inside.

Stayed in a hotel in that park - the Prince Park Tower, which was very reasonable for large rooms, had Mt. Fuji views and was and a good mix of old and new. Included an onsen, oxygen bar and bowling alley. Your kids are older though, and might want to be closer to nightlife.

I think this would be very fun. And Japan is one of the easiest places to plan last minute trips, especially if you are willing to be flexible on your lodgings. If you're going to those 3 cities, you might want to start in Hiroshima and work your way north to celebrate New Year's eve in Tokyo.

We spent Dec 26- Jan 2 in Tokyo a few years ago. Many places were closed on Jan 1 and we found some places closed Dec 31 & Jan 2 as well, but it wasn't a problem that we couldn't work around.

The city was decorated and there are often large "events" for the holidays. We walked down a street with an amazing "tunnel" of christmas lights overhead for nearly ½ km.

It snowed in Tokyo that year, but other times I've been in Japan in December and it was probably in the 40's in the daytime. Wear layers!

Like lcuy said, some shops closed Jan 1 (mostly to prepare for the massive crowds to buy the "fortune packets" when they reopen Jan 2 or 3.

Bigger issue is that new year is heavy travel period. Book trains/buses/flights early and expect to pay full fare if flying.

Thanks for your good advice. I think I should start planning!