prinstela

Hello. Our family will be spending Christmas in Japan and New Year in Taiwan. Could you please go over our itinerary and comment or suggest how we can make it better?

Dec 19- Arrival in Osaka
Dec 20- Universal Studio
Dec 21- Osaka to Kyoto
We actually don't know where to go in Kyoto yet and for how long to stay there. Please suggest.
Kyoto to Tokyo
Dec 22- Disneyland
Dec 23-Disney Sea
Dec 24- my mother-in-law wants to go skiing with the kids in Yuzawa. I don't know how to do this.
Is there a better place that's nearer for this activity?
Dec 25- 29 no plans yet but everyone else will be going home so it's just hubby and I.
Where can we go for really good food,
themed restaurants,
something very Japanese,
or Chistmas-y?
Anything goes.

Dec 29- evening Tokyo to Taipei
Dec 30 to Jan 4-no plans yet
But we'd like to make the most out of our trip.
Will driving around Taiwan be a good idea since my mom and brother will be joining us?
Will roads be safe?
Where is the best place to celebrate New Year's Eve?

BigRuss

First, you need to go to japan-guide.com. Your knowledge of Japan that can be inferred from your itinerary is that it has two Disney properties and a Universal Studio theme park - kind of like what you can find in Orlando.

Second, Kyoto is not a day trip. If you view its offerings and have no interest, skip it. If you are interested, spend days there.

Tokyo to Yuzawa is a four-hour train ride.

Uh, you do realize you're going to a non-Christian country and therefore the whole CHRIST part of Christmas is a bit irrelevant to the 127M residents, right? Xmas is not a holiday of high priority.

Something "very Japanese" on Xmas is Kentucky Fried Chicken.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/christma...nel-1450477246

Kathie

It is not clear to me what you want out of this trip. You plan to be in Japan at Christmas, a holiday that they do not celebrate except as an occasion to buy gifts and you plan to be in Taiwan at New Years - except it won't be the New Year holiday that Taiwanese celebrate. So start by re-adjusting your expectations.

Are you traveling with a number of children? Is that why you are spending all that time at theme parks?

I agree with Russ, study www.japan-guide.com and see what you want to do/see/experience in Japan. Plan your time around that. We loved Kyoto and spent 5 full days there (6 nights) and would have enjoyed more time, but if you aren't interested in Buddhist Temples and temple gardens and Shinto Shrines, you may not want to go there.

If you want to "make the most out of our trip" you have a lot of research to do. I'd suggest, given what you have written, that you might be better off choosing some place else to go for the holidays.

I thought you were going to Europe over the holidays... have you given up on that idea?

SambaChula

Agree with folks above about Kyoto and devoting more time to it.
If you do your research and a bit of "home schooling" with the kids, you should be able to make the city magical for them too. Lots of castles and samurai clothing to fire their imaginations, for one small example. Show them some Hokusai prints and ask them to make up stories about what is happening. Get them a little stone garden set to care for, so they can appreciate the ones they will see, like Ryoan-ji. Kikakuji, Ginkakuji amd other temples, Kiyumizu and Nijo castles, the monkey park--all might interest kids if they are well prepared.

SambaChula

btw. the first year I lived there, someone expressing interest in my being a gaijin asked me on the 25th if the next day was Christmas.

TTjpn

First of all on Kyoto. From your itinerary it looks like you only have one night there which seems like a shame. You'd want to give yourself at least a couple of night in Kyoto, I would have though. I recommend seeing the shrine Nanzenji and taking a walk around that area. Very big, beautiful and away from the crowds. From there you could walk along the Philosopher's Path to Ginkaku-ji. A very nice walk with some nice city views along the way.

This is a good resource to learn about Kyoto ...

http://www.deepkyoto.com/

In terms of driving in Japan, I feel like it's pretty safe. Drivers are usually well mannered, and highways are in good condition. Driving around cities might be bit of challenge. Sometimes roads are very narrow and their are lots of people riding bicycles to look out for.

For a few tips on driving on Japan's highways head over to City-Cost | Japan which has a couple pieces about driving in Japan.

Japan’s Expressway Driving Experience:
https://www.city-cost.com/blogs/Tomuu/MY5BM

kja

Wow, I completely missed this post, as I had no idea -- from the title -- that there were questions about travel in Japan outside of Tokyo.

If its not too late: A stay of 4 to 6 nights in Kyoto is not unusual for a first visit to Japan, particularly if traditional Japan is of interest to you.

As others suggested, I think you would do well to study the valuable information on japan-guide.com

Good luck!

thursdaysd

I saw my first sign of Christmas this year in the form of a large Christmas tree in Kyoto station. In October. So it's not true that the Japanese are unaware of Christmas, and there are certainly Christians and active Christian churches in Japan. However, I also suspect that it mostly a commercial event, but then that is also true in the west, no?

There is no reason to drive in Japan with your proposed itinerary, read up on the trains. For trains you might check http://seat61.com/Japan.htm as well as the site already mentioned. I would also highly recommend buying/borrowing guidebooks.

There are also good trains in Taiwan. With such a short stay I would only consider a side trip to Taroko Gorge, but then it is not clear from your post whether you have any interest in scenery. In fact, it is not clear that you have any interests outside of Disney theme parks and skiing, perhaps you could clarify your interests? Why, for instance, have you chosen to visit Japan?