Many thanks to everyone who posted trip reports and answered questions on this forum. It helped us plan our trip. Our family of 4 (kids 15 & 13) visited Japan the last two weeks of June and stayed in Tokyo (Hotel Kitcho), Hakone (), Takayama (Rickshaw Inn), Miyajima (Momijiso) and Kyoto (Palace Side Hotel) . Days trips included Nikko, Hiroshima, Himeji, Nara, Osaka and Shirawakago.

Our favourites were:

1. Monkey park in Arashiyama, Kyoto. Very nice break from temples and culture. It was incredibly hot (32C) and the climb up steep and punishing. Nice surprise to find hut on top of hill air-conditioned (sort of) and the keepers handed us chilled face wipes. One of the keepers spoke English and told us a lot about the monkeys. My kids really enjoyed the visit.

2. Hida beef – we had a small kitchenette in Takayama and had shabu-shabu and steaks both nights we were there. There are different grades and 5 is the highest. The meat was about 2000 yen per 100 g (about Cdn $100 per lb). While it doesn’t literally melts in your mouth, it came pretty close. There was definitely very little chewing required. Extremely high in saturated fat!! As my husband says, either the cow dies of clogged arteries or we do!! It was very delicious but definitely not something you’ll have on a regular basis. We saw beef in a Ginza shop for 4,000 yen per 100 gm. We asked if it was Kobe beef but the sales person didn’t really understand us.

3. Shirakawa-go – a day trip from Takayama. Very charming. The museum (to the right of the bus stop if you face the village) where they have relocated farm houses from neighboring villages well worth the visit. Glad we didn’t spend a night there as a) didn’t have to deal with luggage and b) my eyes started watering after spending time in the farm houses. I think I would have difficulties sleeping under the smoked roofs.

4. Food stalls in the basement of department stores - Daimaru was our favourite.

5. Private hot tub in Hakone – we were not prepared to do the public bath thing so opted for a ryokan with a private hot tub. We are now converts to hot spring soaking (still in a private setting). The tub was very small but we loved it and would have gladly stayed another day to soak.

6. Trying out massage chairs at Ishimaru Denki in Akihabara. We were all dead tired when we stumbled into Ishimaru Denki. We went from floor to floor till we came to one that sold massage chairs, blood pressure monitors etc. We saw a couple of Japanese people relaxing on the massage chairs for what seems like forever. They were obviously not serious buyers and the sales person never approached them. We decide to follow the locals and tried out the foot massages and massage chairs. AHHHHH….. . heaven. After about 20 minutes, my husband decided we must move one. It was so difficult to leave.

Comments on the hotels:

1. Hotel Kitcho – room could do with updating but still best value for money. Very big and deep bath tub. Free coffee and water every day. Refund of 50 yeen per person per night if you do not use the yukuta. 150,000 yen for 4 per night. Nice quiet neighbourhood. Lots of small restaurants and shops. Close to subway but inconvenient for JR (need to transfer). Only one washer and one dryer. One load takes about 2-3 hrs to dry. Be prepared.

2. Ichinoyu Hakone - very Japanese. Staff almost freaked out when my husband inadvertently walked in without changing into slippers. Big room, separate sitting area. We had our own hot tub. Tiny but did the job. Both husband and daughter who were against soaking are now converts. Still not ready to be naked in public so the hot tub was perfect. 260,000 yen for 4 per night.

3. Rickshaw Inn – biggest and most modern bathroom. Very big and deep tub. Room needs updating. We had a small kitchenette so we could cook our Hida beef dinner. 280,000 yen for 4 per night.

4. Momiji-so – our splurge for the trip. 540,000 yen for 4 per ngiht, dinner and breakfast included. A bit of a disappointment as I thought dinner was served in the room (may just be my mistake, they had never said dinner was served in room). Nice rooml, great dinner. They prepared a a very nice cooked seafood dinner as we had requested no raw fish. While the park was nice, I wouldn’t stay overnight again. Check-in was 3 and check-out was 10 a.m. Not really enough time to visit the island. I would stay in Hiroshima and spend a whole day in Miyajima as a day trip (that way, don’t have to worry about check-in /out or luggage).

5. Palace-side Hotel – nice and functional business hotel. Free use of computers. A bit inconvenient to sightseeing. Few restaurants in area (most close by 8 p.m.) 150,000 for 2 rooms per night. Would stay somewhere more convenient. 3 washers and 2 dryers, 1 of the dryers is a commercial dryer that actually works!!


One more comment re buying cameras. Only the bigger cities have shops with international warranties (Tokyo, Osaka.for sure). We bought ours from Yodobashi Cameras in Osaka. A Sony T30, about $250 cheaper than at home (all taxes included). The local model was $100 cheaper but has no warranty and all software is in Japanese. The biggest surprise was that you bargain at Yodabashi. It is just like Future Shop here. The sales people all have calculators. You name a price, they counter and so on. At some point he consults the manager and come back with with what appears to be the final price.

great report. that's interesting info about the camera purchasing.

At Momiji-so did you have your dinner in a different room, i.e. a private room different from the room you were staying in? Or did you have dinner out front where the breakfast was served?

Both dinner and breakfast were served in the dining room. We were the only people there so I guess it was a private room!!!

I realize I posted an extra zero in the room prices. So Momijiso was 54,000 not 540,000. That would have been a splurge!!!!!!!!!

I'm so glad you liked the monkey park! It was a highlight of my trip w/my daughter. And it sounds like you might have had the same room we had at Ichinoyu (Take, #3 rm) or a similar one.

I have a few questions:

How was Nikko? I missed out on that day trip to to heavy rains. I still want to go.

Please tell me more about what your kids liked and didn't like. I have taken both my then-14 yr old son and my 13 yr old daighter on separate trips. What was their impression of Hiroshima and the Peace Park and museum? Were they adventurous in trying out new foods?

Can you say a bit more about what RIckshaw Inn was like? Did you sleep in beds or on the floor there? One rm big enough for 4?

And the hotel Kitcho in Tokyo- I've never heard of it. Why did you choose it and how was it?

What did you do in Osaka?

Thanks in advance. I very much appreciate your report!

Hello emd,

Nikko – we only visited the Toshogu Shrine. My daughter became ill and had very bad crams so we left early. While the Shrine was nice, we were more impressed with the giant cedar trees in the area. If I don’t have my shrines mixed up, over 3000 trees were planted when the shrine was constructed. Of that, 1500 remains. I can imagine how beautiful the rest of the park would be. We walked back to town and quite enjoyed the leisurely stroll. The town is quite small. Apart from the usual souvenir shops there were a few shops with beautiful wood carvings. The tourist information centre was actually quite interesting as they had a video on Nikko and also lovely pictures of the park.

Other things my kids liked:

1. Looking for Geishas in Gion. They said they felt they were like paparazzi or stalkers.
2. They liked shopping for cheap but cute souvenirs for their many friends. My son started collecting key chains with this Japanese character on them – the funny looking man with big whirly eyes. Both of them love the 100/200/300 yen shops. And Tokyu hands. They were thrilled by the smallest things – the conductor bowing every time he enter/exit the train compartment, the bento boxes, even discovering that the yellow triangles and white circles at platforms mean something (where to line up). They loved the toilets with warmers and sprays and sound effects. They think Japan is really neat.
3. Odaiba. They particularly liked the Toyota show room (lots of interactive games), Tokyo Joypolis (arcade games and simulation rides), Decks (little HK and old Japanese shops), riding the electric train. Just walking around was fun as there were people performing on the promenade (singing). Didn’t go on the Ferris Wheel as it looked awfully high.
4. They were also very excited about going to Shibuya and the Hachiko Statue because they saw it on the Amazing Race.
5. In Kyoto they liked going up the hill by the Fushimi Inari Shrine and walking through all the tori gates.

We didn’t have any problems with food as they like sushi and Japanese food in general . We all found the Japanese food in Japan tasted better than what we had at home. Other foods they liked: okonomayaki.; the fizzy soda drink (the one where you pop a marble to start the fizz), rice cakes, mango ice cream, shaved ice. They definitely don’t like anything with red bean or green tea.


What they thought of Hiroshima: “informative:
What happened in Hiroshima is tragic and the Peace Park and Museum is testament and record to why it should never happen again. To help you put my children’s comment into perspective: their grandparents lived under Japanese occupation for a number of years during WWII and are witnesses to the atrocities and terror inflicted by the aggressors. While thousands did not die instantaneously like they did in Hiroshima, thousands and thousands and thousands died and thousands and thousands raped. My children still think Japan is a wonderful country; they just have a different perspective to its history.

Rickshaw Inn – Only other guests we saw were all foreigners. While there were no backpackers, the inn definitely had a hostel feel. We stayed in the family room for 4 – tatami room, a sitting area with table and 4 chairs, a small kitchen (a small hotplate, no microwave) and a HUGE bathroom. The bathroom was very modern and must have been updated recently. All fixtures were new. Bathroom was almost as big as the tatami room. The family room was on the ground floor, right next to the parking lot. We didn’t have any problems with noise but it was also not a busy time. The kitchen came with the room but I had not planned on cooking. As it turned out, we ate in both nights , which was quite a nice break from eating out all the time.

Hotel Kitcho – my criteria for choosing hotels were price and 4 in the same room. There were many favourable reviews of Kitcho in Trip-advisor.com. For the price and value it offered, it can’t be beat. $150 for 4 people. It is near Tokyo City Terminal, one subway stop from Akihabara. It is about 20-25 mins from Shibuya and Shinjuku by subway.

Osaka – We went twice – one time to buy the camera at Yodabashi, second time to visit the Osaka Castle. It has been turned into a museum. Free admission for kids. Inside it is air-conditioned, an elevator takes you to the top. My son liked it as he got to try on samurai armour. My daughter liked it as it was air-conditioned and she didn’t have to hike up any steps. There is also a huge underground mall under the Osaka station. Quite unreal. Took us a long time to find its entrance. Osaka is a big city, very similar to Tokyo.

This is longer than I intended but I could go on and on. It was a very intense and packed 2 weeks!

Those reviews of Hotel Kitcho on tripadvisor are very good indeed. That is a good price for 4 people in one room. There are always people on here asking about where to stay w/four people. This is a good option.

Thank you for the additional info! I didn't know the kids could dress in samurai costume at Osaka castle; my son would have liked that.