yk + family 10 days in Japan, April 2025
Apr 30th, 2025 | 08:06 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2004
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yk + family 10 days in Japan, April 2025
Hello! We (husband, myself, our 12-year-old son) were in Japan mid-late April for approx 10 days (12 days if you count travel days). Thank you for those who answered my questions and gave suggestions, as well as many of you who posted detailed TRs here.
Just a little about ourselves - I went to Japan twice when I was a child, in '81 and '85, but I really don't remember much from those trips. My spouse and my son have never been. It was my husband's wish to go. Given that we live in Boston and our son is in public middle school, we are limited by school vacation schedule. I know we don't want to travel during xmas (too cold, plane tickets too expensive) or summer (too hot), so that only leaves Feb vacation or April vacation, both of which are only 1 week. This year our april vacation week gets extended one more day due to Good Friday, and we had our son take off 2 additional days from school, making it 12 days total. My son isn't into manga or anime or pokemon at all (which saves me a lot of money in that aspect!) We aren't huge foodies so we mostly just ate wherever convenient and nearby; I didn't want to make reservations as I didn't want to be bound by having to be at a place at a certain time.
With only 10 days/10 nights, we focused on the big cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto. Our itinerary:
Tokyo 3 nights (Hotel Vista in Tsukiji)
Osaka 2 nights (APA Ekimae Tower by Namba Station)
Kyoto 3 nights (Elcient Hotel by Kyoto Station)
Tokyo 2 nights (Hotel Tobu in Shibuya)
Things booked in advance:
Hotels (all booked in December for early-bird discounts), first 3 hotels booked directly, hotel Tobu booked via Agoda because their rate is way cheaper than hotel website)
Miyako Odori tickets in Kyoto
Teamlab Planets
Universal Studios Japan tickets + Express passes
Yasult Swallows baseball game
NHK Symphony Orchestra concert
Shinkansen tickets (booked 1 day in advance on Smart EX app)
Trip observations:
1) Money - as others said, you need cash in Japan. Credit card is accepted in hotels, major stores and restaurants, but there are plenty of eateries that only take cash, same for some tourist sites (such as the smaller temples in Kyoto)
2) Language - we don't speak Japanese except for the very basic pleasantries, however I do read Kanji which I find very helpful because English isn't always widely available, so reading kanji helps decipher a lot. I was somewhat surprised to encounter a few tourist-facing folks who don't speak English much at all, and had to rely on the translator gadgets. One was the luggage-forwarding service at our Osaka hotel, another was an attendant at Universal Studios Japan. For the most part, gesturing was adequate to get our points across.
3) Navigation - All the subways, trains, buses have digital displays in 4 languages (Japanese, Chinese, English, Korean), and every subway stop is assigned a alphabet + a number, so even if you don't read Japanese, you can always rely on the station number. At times I do find it slightly challenging when we transfer at big stations, trying to find where to go/ which direction. And I consider myself fairly savvy when it comes to public transit. Part of the challenge is all the stations are very busy and crowded, so you feel like you need to keep moving with the crowd and can't really stand still to look at the signs carefully. This is where google map directions come in handy - most of the time it will list which platform , which exit, and even which section of the subway train to ride on for faster access.
4) Public transit - we used physical IC cards that we inherited from friends and family. I prefer physical cards over digital ones esp since my son doesn't have a phone. He has a lanyard with a plastic sleeve for his IC card. Between the 3 of us we spent ¥15000 on transit (not including Shinkansen)
5) Shinkansen (Tokyo - Osaka; Kyoto - Tokyo) - Initially I was going to wait until we arrive at the station to buy tickets from machines. Then I changed my mind because I didn't want to stand in line. Instead I used the Smart EX app to buy, which is super easy to use. I bought our tickets one day prior; if you buy a few days ahead on Smart EX, there is a slight discount. I didn't want to commit too far in advance not knowing our exact departure time. Our tickets came out to just about $100pp per trip. Once you purchase on the app, you get a QR code which you use to go through the gates. At the gate, it will spit out a piece of paper for you which has your seat assignment printed. We found the overhead rack was adequate for our carryon size suitcases. If you have large suitcases then you may want to reserve the luggage racks.
6) Hotel rooms - We stayed at mid-range hotels and rooms are small. The first 3 hotels are "triple rooms" whereas the last one is a "2 twins + sofa bed". All our rooms measure about 20 sq m (~ 200 sq ft). There is little space to navigate, once we open our suitcases there is hardly any space left to move around. Bathrooms are tiny and can fit one person at a time. But all our hotels are v quiet with excellent blackout curtains (except for Tobu). We ate hotel breakfast whenever we can, and the first 3 have excellent breakfast spreads.
7) Luggage - We each had a carry-on size suitcase and a personal bag: day backpacks for me and my son, my husband had a x-body man purse. I cannot imagine traveling with any larger suitcases in Japan, unless you take a taxi every time. Most stations you have to use stairs, a few has elevators. Subways and trains are always crowded. But then, what do you do with all the souvenirs you buy? At many stores they sell suitcases! I packed 2 collapsible duffle bags with us and used both for our trip home, so as to not buy an additional suitcase.
8) Restaurants - we found that many restaurants have long lines, sometimes we waited, other times we walked around to look for any place that has no lines. If you have your heart set on certain places, I def recommend making reservations. I didn't because I didn't want to commit to be at a place at a certain time. If flexible, eating early helps.
9) Laundry - Many hotels have laundry room. The machines dispense detergent so you don't need to bring your own. Some machines can do both washing and drying. IME, the drying cycle isn't enough and we had to add extra drying time
10) Luggage forwarding service / lockers - We used luggage-forwarding service once, as we were traveling from Osaka to Kyoto via Nara day trip. We used the service at the hotel, and the cost was more than what I expected (but still worth it). They charge it by size + distance; for us it was ¥1650 per suitcase. Also keep in mind it takes 24 hours so you will be without your suitcase for one night. We noticed there are plenty of luggage lockers at stations, esp at major stations, they are plentiful and in various sizes. We did use station lockers on our day to Nara: once at Nara station and once at the Inari JR station in Kyoto. Some lockers allow you to use IC card, others require coins.
11) People - it goes without saying that the Japanese people are polite! Hats off to them for tolerating the onslaught of tourists and still being so hospitable and polite. I think I've bowed more in the past 10 days than my entire life!
12) Convenience stores - everywhere you go there are Family Marts, 7-Elevens, and Lawsons. One disappointment I have is they don't seem to sell much fruits. We like buying fruits and eat them in our hotels at night, but finding fresh fruits was not as easy as i thought.
13) Crowds - everything you've read about crowds is true. If possible, try to arrive early before 9am. Also, you can seek out other walking routes to get to your destination instead of the most popular streets. Once you veer off the main touristy places, it's not so bad!
14) Bathrooms - public bathrooms are plentiful everywhere and extremely clean!
15) Taxis - we took a taxi twice, both times in Kyoto. I downloaded the Taxi Go app ahead of time but I didn't need to use it at all. No trouble finding a taxi both times. the first taxi is older one so cash only, the second is a newer one and CC is accepted. Taxis are inexpensive.
16) Costs - overall we find Japan inexpensive, thanks to the US Dollar. The priciest hotel was Hotel Vista in tokyo, it was $385/n. The cheapest was hotel Elcient in Kyoto, $138/n. Our average hotel cost came out to $250/n. Food was inexpensive, most of our meals range between ¥4000 - ¥10000 for 3 ppl. The only truly expensive day was the day at Universal Studios Japan.
17) Kids - In Japan, age 12 is the cut-off between child price and adult price. It varies from place to place. Since our son is 12, for public transport, he is considered adult. For sights, sometimes he gets in for free, other times he gets the child price. At one hotel he was charged adult price for breakfast, at another he was charged child price.
Just a little about ourselves - I went to Japan twice when I was a child, in '81 and '85, but I really don't remember much from those trips. My spouse and my son have never been. It was my husband's wish to go. Given that we live in Boston and our son is in public middle school, we are limited by school vacation schedule. I know we don't want to travel during xmas (too cold, plane tickets too expensive) or summer (too hot), so that only leaves Feb vacation or April vacation, both of which are only 1 week. This year our april vacation week gets extended one more day due to Good Friday, and we had our son take off 2 additional days from school, making it 12 days total. My son isn't into manga or anime or pokemon at all (which saves me a lot of money in that aspect!) We aren't huge foodies so we mostly just ate wherever convenient and nearby; I didn't want to make reservations as I didn't want to be bound by having to be at a place at a certain time.
With only 10 days/10 nights, we focused on the big cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto. Our itinerary:
Tokyo 3 nights (Hotel Vista in Tsukiji)
Osaka 2 nights (APA Ekimae Tower by Namba Station)
Kyoto 3 nights (Elcient Hotel by Kyoto Station)
Tokyo 2 nights (Hotel Tobu in Shibuya)
Things booked in advance:
Hotels (all booked in December for early-bird discounts), first 3 hotels booked directly, hotel Tobu booked via Agoda because their rate is way cheaper than hotel website)
Miyako Odori tickets in Kyoto
Teamlab Planets
Universal Studios Japan tickets + Express passes
Yasult Swallows baseball game
NHK Symphony Orchestra concert
Shinkansen tickets (booked 1 day in advance on Smart EX app)
Trip observations:
1) Money - as others said, you need cash in Japan. Credit card is accepted in hotels, major stores and restaurants, but there are plenty of eateries that only take cash, same for some tourist sites (such as the smaller temples in Kyoto)
2) Language - we don't speak Japanese except for the very basic pleasantries, however I do read Kanji which I find very helpful because English isn't always widely available, so reading kanji helps decipher a lot. I was somewhat surprised to encounter a few tourist-facing folks who don't speak English much at all, and had to rely on the translator gadgets. One was the luggage-forwarding service at our Osaka hotel, another was an attendant at Universal Studios Japan. For the most part, gesturing was adequate to get our points across.
3) Navigation - All the subways, trains, buses have digital displays in 4 languages (Japanese, Chinese, English, Korean), and every subway stop is assigned a alphabet + a number, so even if you don't read Japanese, you can always rely on the station number. At times I do find it slightly challenging when we transfer at big stations, trying to find where to go/ which direction. And I consider myself fairly savvy when it comes to public transit. Part of the challenge is all the stations are very busy and crowded, so you feel like you need to keep moving with the crowd and can't really stand still to look at the signs carefully. This is where google map directions come in handy - most of the time it will list which platform , which exit, and even which section of the subway train to ride on for faster access.
4) Public transit - we used physical IC cards that we inherited from friends and family. I prefer physical cards over digital ones esp since my son doesn't have a phone. He has a lanyard with a plastic sleeve for his IC card. Between the 3 of us we spent ¥15000 on transit (not including Shinkansen)
5) Shinkansen (Tokyo - Osaka; Kyoto - Tokyo) - Initially I was going to wait until we arrive at the station to buy tickets from machines. Then I changed my mind because I didn't want to stand in line. Instead I used the Smart EX app to buy, which is super easy to use. I bought our tickets one day prior; if you buy a few days ahead on Smart EX, there is a slight discount. I didn't want to commit too far in advance not knowing our exact departure time. Our tickets came out to just about $100pp per trip. Once you purchase on the app, you get a QR code which you use to go through the gates. At the gate, it will spit out a piece of paper for you which has your seat assignment printed. We found the overhead rack was adequate for our carryon size suitcases. If you have large suitcases then you may want to reserve the luggage racks.
6) Hotel rooms - We stayed at mid-range hotels and rooms are small. The first 3 hotels are "triple rooms" whereas the last one is a "2 twins + sofa bed". All our rooms measure about 20 sq m (~ 200 sq ft). There is little space to navigate, once we open our suitcases there is hardly any space left to move around. Bathrooms are tiny and can fit one person at a time. But all our hotels are v quiet with excellent blackout curtains (except for Tobu). We ate hotel breakfast whenever we can, and the first 3 have excellent breakfast spreads.
7) Luggage - We each had a carry-on size suitcase and a personal bag: day backpacks for me and my son, my husband had a x-body man purse. I cannot imagine traveling with any larger suitcases in Japan, unless you take a taxi every time. Most stations you have to use stairs, a few has elevators. Subways and trains are always crowded. But then, what do you do with all the souvenirs you buy? At many stores they sell suitcases! I packed 2 collapsible duffle bags with us and used both for our trip home, so as to not buy an additional suitcase.
8) Restaurants - we found that many restaurants have long lines, sometimes we waited, other times we walked around to look for any place that has no lines. If you have your heart set on certain places, I def recommend making reservations. I didn't because I didn't want to commit to be at a place at a certain time. If flexible, eating early helps.
9) Laundry - Many hotels have laundry room. The machines dispense detergent so you don't need to bring your own. Some machines can do both washing and drying. IME, the drying cycle isn't enough and we had to add extra drying time
10) Luggage forwarding service / lockers - We used luggage-forwarding service once, as we were traveling from Osaka to Kyoto via Nara day trip. We used the service at the hotel, and the cost was more than what I expected (but still worth it). They charge it by size + distance; for us it was ¥1650 per suitcase. Also keep in mind it takes 24 hours so you will be without your suitcase for one night. We noticed there are plenty of luggage lockers at stations, esp at major stations, they are plentiful and in various sizes. We did use station lockers on our day to Nara: once at Nara station and once at the Inari JR station in Kyoto. Some lockers allow you to use IC card, others require coins.
11) People - it goes without saying that the Japanese people are polite! Hats off to them for tolerating the onslaught of tourists and still being so hospitable and polite. I think I've bowed more in the past 10 days than my entire life!
12) Convenience stores - everywhere you go there are Family Marts, 7-Elevens, and Lawsons. One disappointment I have is they don't seem to sell much fruits. We like buying fruits and eat them in our hotels at night, but finding fresh fruits was not as easy as i thought.
13) Crowds - everything you've read about crowds is true. If possible, try to arrive early before 9am. Also, you can seek out other walking routes to get to your destination instead of the most popular streets. Once you veer off the main touristy places, it's not so bad!
14) Bathrooms - public bathrooms are plentiful everywhere and extremely clean!
15) Taxis - we took a taxi twice, both times in Kyoto. I downloaded the Taxi Go app ahead of time but I didn't need to use it at all. No trouble finding a taxi both times. the first taxi is older one so cash only, the second is a newer one and CC is accepted. Taxis are inexpensive.
16) Costs - overall we find Japan inexpensive, thanks to the US Dollar. The priciest hotel was Hotel Vista in tokyo, it was $385/n. The cheapest was hotel Elcient in Kyoto, $138/n. Our average hotel cost came out to $250/n. Food was inexpensive, most of our meals range between ¥4000 - ¥10000 for 3 ppl. The only truly expensive day was the day at Universal Studios Japan.
17) Kids - In Japan, age 12 is the cut-off between child price and adult price. It varies from place to place. Since our son is 12, for public transport, he is considered adult. For sights, sometimes he gets in for free, other times he gets the child price. At one hotel he was charged adult price for breakfast, at another he was charged child price.
Apr 30th, 2025 | 01:15 PM
#2
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,984
Likes: 0
Day 0-1
Day 0 -1, getting there
From Boston, we have the option of flying nonstop via JAL, but the plane tickets held steady at around $3000pp for economy. I followed the price for 6 months and it never dropped. Instead we flew UA/ANA via IAD (Dulles in DC) for about half the cost. I picked the itinerary that has one flight (IAD-HND) codeshare on ANA metal, but that only gives us 1hr to transfer in IAD outbound. I was v stressed about it but it worked out fine with plenty of time to spare, and our checked luggage made it too. The flight was fine; I know people rave about ANA but I didn't find it that exceptional. Food was okay, movie selection is on the slim side. Upon arrival at Haneda, it took 1 hr from touchdown to exiting customs. We found our way to the Keikyu airport line, loaded up our IC cards, and took the train to Higashi-Ginza station. I find the Keikyu airport line confusing, at one point I wasn't sure if our train will continue on to the Asakusa line so we got off at an intermediate station and got on a later train that I was sure continues to Asakusa. It took us another hour to get to our hotel, Hotel Vista in Tsukiji.
Our triple room "feels" the smallest among the 4 hotels we stayed in, even though all 4 were around 20 sq m (~ 200 sq ft). The distance between the foot of the beds and the wall is maybe 2.5 ft. Once you put your suitcase there, you can barely pass through. OTOH, the bathroom areas is bigger than most, as each facility has its own (small) room - a room for the shower/tub, a room for toilet, and a room for sink. So that more than 1 person can use the bathroom facilities at a time, unlike the other hotels we stayed at.
After settling in, we went out in search of dinner. Tired and hungry, I looked on google map and picked the closest soba place called Yudetaro (2-7-12 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo), 2 blocks from our hotel. It's one of those where you order from the vending machine outside, then you present the ticket to the staff. Both DH and I got hot soba (mine with pork, his with duck) while our son got cold soba (¥3000). Afterwards we stopped at the Lawson convenient store next door and got ice cream (¥600).
From Boston, we have the option of flying nonstop via JAL, but the plane tickets held steady at around $3000pp for economy. I followed the price for 6 months and it never dropped. Instead we flew UA/ANA via IAD (Dulles in DC) for about half the cost. I picked the itinerary that has one flight (IAD-HND) codeshare on ANA metal, but that only gives us 1hr to transfer in IAD outbound. I was v stressed about it but it worked out fine with plenty of time to spare, and our checked luggage made it too. The flight was fine; I know people rave about ANA but I didn't find it that exceptional. Food was okay, movie selection is on the slim side. Upon arrival at Haneda, it took 1 hr from touchdown to exiting customs. We found our way to the Keikyu airport line, loaded up our IC cards, and took the train to Higashi-Ginza station. I find the Keikyu airport line confusing, at one point I wasn't sure if our train will continue on to the Asakusa line so we got off at an intermediate station and got on a later train that I was sure continues to Asakusa. It took us another hour to get to our hotel, Hotel Vista in Tsukiji.
Our triple room "feels" the smallest among the 4 hotels we stayed in, even though all 4 were around 20 sq m (~ 200 sq ft). The distance between the foot of the beds and the wall is maybe 2.5 ft. Once you put your suitcase there, you can barely pass through. OTOH, the bathroom areas is bigger than most, as each facility has its own (small) room - a room for the shower/tub, a room for toilet, and a room for sink. So that more than 1 person can use the bathroom facilities at a time, unlike the other hotels we stayed at.
After settling in, we went out in search of dinner. Tired and hungry, I looked on google map and picked the closest soba place called Yudetaro (2-7-12 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo), 2 blocks from our hotel. It's one of those where you order from the vending machine outside, then you present the ticket to the staff. Both DH and I got hot soba (mine with pork, his with duck) while our son got cold soba (¥3000). Afterwards we stopped at the Lawson convenient store next door and got ice cream (¥600).
Apr 30th, 2025 | 05:55 PM
#3
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,719
Likes: 0
Lots of good practical travel info.
>> Most stations you have to use stairs, a few has elevators.
I understand that was your experience. Stairs are the obvious and often the first option you see. Escalators are common at subway and railway (JR) stations. You might have to look around for elevators, but they are often available. You exit a train and you see a stairway and most people use it. But if you look around, walk down the platform, you can usually find an elevator or escalator. I would be shocked if there was no elevator (erebeta) to get to/from a shinkansen platform at any shinkansen station in Japan. I would have the same expectation for access to a JR limited express train platform, except in rural areas. As the population ages Japan has become more accessible.
14) Bathrooms - public bathrooms are plentiful everywhere and extremely clean!
Seems like it is a basic human right in Japan to have access to a public toilet. But not to a trash can.
>> Most stations you have to use stairs, a few has elevators.
I understand that was your experience. Stairs are the obvious and often the first option you see. Escalators are common at subway and railway (JR) stations. You might have to look around for elevators, but they are often available. You exit a train and you see a stairway and most people use it. But if you look around, walk down the platform, you can usually find an elevator or escalator. I would be shocked if there was no elevator (erebeta) to get to/from a shinkansen platform at any shinkansen station in Japan. I would have the same expectation for access to a JR limited express train platform, except in rural areas. As the population ages Japan has become more accessible.
14) Bathrooms - public bathrooms are plentiful everywhere and extremely clean!
Seems like it is a basic human right in Japan to have access to a public toilet. But not to a trash can.
May 1st, 2025 | 08:17 AM
#4
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,984
Likes: 0
Day 2 - Tokyo (east)
Day 2 (Saturday) Tokyo
When we checked the weather forecast before we left, most days were high 60sF - low 70sF, which we consider comfortable. What we didn't anticipate was the humidity, which makes it feel a lot warmer.
When I booked Hotel Vista, I got their early-bird special + breakfast. We were up fairly early due to jetlag, and were a bit bummed when breakfast doesn't start until 7am (the other 3 hotels start at 6:30am). Having said that, their breakfast buffet is quite a delight, with a decent selection of both Western and Japanese items. As a family, we like hotel breakfast buffets because everyone finds something they like, it's more relaxing and we can return to our room afterwards to get ready, and also we tend to eat a big breakfast to start our day. The 2 breakfast attendants are absolutely delightful.
Finally we were on our way to Senso-ji in Asakusa, which is an easy subway ride. We got to theKaminarimon (Thunder Gate) around 8:45am and while crowded, it's still manageable. The street that leads up to Senso-ji (Nakamise) is also manageable, as the stalls haven't opened yet. It didn't take us too long to visit the temple and its surrounding buildings and garden. By the time we left, around 9:30am, it was much more crowded, with many tour groups, and Nakamise was packed with tourists as most stalls are open by then.
Next we headed over to Tokyo Cruise to check for tickets as we want to take the ferry from Asakusa to Hama-rikyu Garden. They used to run the ferry in both directions but now it's only one-direction, and tickets can only be booked in-person and not online. We bought our tickets for 10:40am (¥2830 for 2 adults/1 child) which is the first one to depart for this route. Since we still had over 30mins to kill, we decided to go for a walk in the riverside park along Sumida river (north of the ferry pier), away from the crowds. Part of the park was preparing for a Horseback Archery event... it would have been cool to witness it but it wasn't scheduled to start until later that day.
We returned for the ferry ride, which isn't particularly scenic but it was relaxing (vs taking the subway). We got off at Hama-rikyu Garden pier and wandered through the garden. We found some late-blooming cherry blossoms, wisteria, and also some early peonies. We also stopped at the tea house (Nakajima no ochaya) for the matcha tea set (¥1000/set).The tea house is really nice and we scored a table that is by the window, with a lovely view of the pond.
Finally we left the garden and headed towards Tsukiji Outer Market. it being a Saturday afternoon, the place was pretty crowded. By now it was 1pm, we were hot, tired, and hungry. While all the stalls look enticing, we didn't feel like eating standing up, so after wandering around for a bit, we chose a place that serves only unagi (grilled eel), Unagi Haibara Tsukiji Nigoten. They offer several different sets, and we all got the basic. 2 sets was unagi set on rice (with sauce), the other was unagi served on a plate with plain rice. They do warn you that the eel is cooked to order so expect a 30-min wait for the food. The eel is super tender! (¥3500 / set, cash only). After lunch we wandered around the surrounding streets for a bit more and got dessert at Strawberry Mania, a mochi topped with strawberry for my husband, a strawberry/vanilla twist soft serve topped with strawberry for my son (¥1150).
By then jetlag has caught up with us so we walked back to our hotel for a quick nap. Later in the afternoon we went out for a walk in Ginza. It being a Saturday the main N-S thoroughfare was closed to traffic. It was really nice for a stroll and people-watching. We ended up doing some shopping before looking for dinner between Ginza and our hotel. At first we came across a Chinese restaurant that has knife-cut noodles (we could see the chef slicing the dough!) but after waiting for 15 minutes we gave up (it was a small resto and none of the customers were in a hurry to leave). Our next option was one of the Sushi Zenmai locations, with the closest the Tsukiji Ekimae location. There was a line again and this time we decided to wait; I figured even if we tried another location, chances are there is a wait. Finally we were seated at the counter, spouse and I both got sushi set plus couple hand rolls, our son got a few tuna rolls (¥7133). We headed back to the hotel and collapsed.
~ End of Day 2 ~
When we checked the weather forecast before we left, most days were high 60sF - low 70sF, which we consider comfortable. What we didn't anticipate was the humidity, which makes it feel a lot warmer.
When I booked Hotel Vista, I got their early-bird special + breakfast. We were up fairly early due to jetlag, and were a bit bummed when breakfast doesn't start until 7am (the other 3 hotels start at 6:30am). Having said that, their breakfast buffet is quite a delight, with a decent selection of both Western and Japanese items. As a family, we like hotel breakfast buffets because everyone finds something they like, it's more relaxing and we can return to our room afterwards to get ready, and also we tend to eat a big breakfast to start our day. The 2 breakfast attendants are absolutely delightful.
Finally we were on our way to Senso-ji in Asakusa, which is an easy subway ride. We got to theKaminarimon (Thunder Gate) around 8:45am and while crowded, it's still manageable. The street that leads up to Senso-ji (Nakamise) is also manageable, as the stalls haven't opened yet. It didn't take us too long to visit the temple and its surrounding buildings and garden. By the time we left, around 9:30am, it was much more crowded, with many tour groups, and Nakamise was packed with tourists as most stalls are open by then.
Next we headed over to Tokyo Cruise to check for tickets as we want to take the ferry from Asakusa to Hama-rikyu Garden. They used to run the ferry in both directions but now it's only one-direction, and tickets can only be booked in-person and not online. We bought our tickets for 10:40am (¥2830 for 2 adults/1 child) which is the first one to depart for this route. Since we still had over 30mins to kill, we decided to go for a walk in the riverside park along Sumida river (north of the ferry pier), away from the crowds. Part of the park was preparing for a Horseback Archery event... it would have been cool to witness it but it wasn't scheduled to start until later that day.
We returned for the ferry ride, which isn't particularly scenic but it was relaxing (vs taking the subway). We got off at Hama-rikyu Garden pier and wandered through the garden. We found some late-blooming cherry blossoms, wisteria, and also some early peonies. We also stopped at the tea house (Nakajima no ochaya) for the matcha tea set (¥1000/set).The tea house is really nice and we scored a table that is by the window, with a lovely view of the pond.
Finally we left the garden and headed towards Tsukiji Outer Market. it being a Saturday afternoon, the place was pretty crowded. By now it was 1pm, we were hot, tired, and hungry. While all the stalls look enticing, we didn't feel like eating standing up, so after wandering around for a bit, we chose a place that serves only unagi (grilled eel), Unagi Haibara Tsukiji Nigoten. They offer several different sets, and we all got the basic. 2 sets was unagi set on rice (with sauce), the other was unagi served on a plate with plain rice. They do warn you that the eel is cooked to order so expect a 30-min wait for the food. The eel is super tender! (¥3500 / set, cash only). After lunch we wandered around the surrounding streets for a bit more and got dessert at Strawberry Mania, a mochi topped with strawberry for my husband, a strawberry/vanilla twist soft serve topped with strawberry for my son (¥1150).
By then jetlag has caught up with us so we walked back to our hotel for a quick nap. Later in the afternoon we went out for a walk in Ginza. It being a Saturday the main N-S thoroughfare was closed to traffic. It was really nice for a stroll and people-watching. We ended up doing some shopping before looking for dinner between Ginza and our hotel. At first we came across a Chinese restaurant that has knife-cut noodles (we could see the chef slicing the dough!) but after waiting for 15 minutes we gave up (it was a small resto and none of the customers were in a hurry to leave). Our next option was one of the Sushi Zenmai locations, with the closest the Tsukiji Ekimae location. There was a line again and this time we decided to wait; I figured even if we tried another location, chances are there is a wait. Finally we were seated at the counter, spouse and I both got sushi set plus couple hand rolls, our son got a few tuna rolls (¥7133). We headed back to the hotel and collapsed.
~ End of Day 2 ~
May 1st, 2025 | 08:25 AM
#5
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,984
Likes: 0
Day 2 photos
Inside Senso-ji compound
Inside Senso-ji compound
Crowds at Thunder gate as we were leaving (~9:30am)
Scene from river cruise
Found some late-blooming cherry blossoms at Hama-rikyu garden
Matcha tea set at Hama-rikyu garden tea house
Wisteria at Hama-rikyu garden
Unagi set for lunch
Strawberry mania
Sushi dinner at Sushi Zenmai
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May 1st, 2025 | 01:19 PM
#8
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,984
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Day 3 - Tokyo
Day 3 - Tokyo (Sunday), gardens and baseball
Once again we were waiting by the breakfast room at 7am. The spread has plenty of fresh fruits and also veggies, which we loaded up on as our restaurant meals don't come with as much veggies as we are normally used to back home. Our first outing today is TeamLab Planets, (¥4000/pp) which I have mixed feelings about. Several friends who went have raved about it, and i know my son would enjoy it more than me (old folks). I picked Planets over Borderless because of the proximity to our hotel. The stop for Bus 05-2 is conveniently 1 block from our hotel, and a fairly short ride to Teamlab Planets. Our reservations is for 9am (first slot of the day). We arrived at 8:45am and the line was already round the corner.
Overall it didn't feel too crowded inside, and I liked it okay? My son, unsurprisingly, liked it a lot more. We were there for about 2 hours. Then we took bus 05-2 back but rode all the way to the last stop, which is Tokyo Station so we can go visit the Imperial Palace gardens, but first, lunch. As I said, I didn't really research restaurants ahead of time, so we wandered into the Marunouchi Building and started browsing the restaurant listings. We decided on Hakata Ramen Akanoren on the 6th Floor. I had the kimchi rice + ramen set. Lunch was ¥3140.
Then we walked over to the Imperial Palace. We spent most of our time in the East Gardens, where the azaleas are in peak bloom. We also climbed up the ramp for the castle ruins. I thought we could exit the grounds via a South entrance but looking at the map I wasn't so sure, so we exited the same way we came in from (Ote-mon gate) and got on the subway at Otemachi Station. From there we headed to Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station for Shinjuku Gyoen Garden. By then we were feeling our jetlag so I thought perhaps a coffee break would help before seeing another garden. Quick check in google map suggests COIS coffee, where we found a line outside, pretty much all local young people. We got in line and certainly stood out from the rest of them. The place serves several types of coffee but only 1 type of cake - basque cheesecake, which you can choose regular or "burnt". We each got a drink and a slice of cheesecake (¥4900).
Refueled, we went inside Shinjuky Gyoen Garden (¥1000, child is free) and found half of Tokyoites in there. It was a beautiful sunday afternoon and there were lots of people just picnicking on the grassy areas. It is a beautiful garden and we found a few late-blooming cherry blossoms as well. I can only imagine how it looks like during full bloom. We were there for a little over an hour; by then it was 5pm so we started making our way to Meiji Jingu stadium (a 30-min walk) for a baseball game (starting at 6pm).
That evening's game was Yakult Swallows vs Yomiuri Giants. All I can say it that was so much fun and such a positive experience! Thank you to whoever suggested it. What I enjoyed most is the congenial atmosphere, and especially love the songs they sing for each player, complete with a trumpet quartet and drum! While I already knew about the umbrella dance/song at the 7th inning, what I didn't expect was they do the same after a HR, which happened early in the game so that was quite a surprise. Like, all of a sudden everyone around us whipped out their tiny umbrellas! And I love that it's not just young people/kids who do this, there were several middle-aged men sitting in front of us and voila they all took out their umbrellas. Also lots of fans have a pair of mini plastic bats which they beat instead of clapping their hands, as your hands will get swollen from all that clapping.
For dinner, we got a couple of the gyudon at the stadium (¥3200), a beer (¥900) and a carton of 5-piece fried chicken (¥750). We left after the 7th inning stretch as it was getting late and we had been out for 12 hours. We walked 10.1 miles today. (9.3 miles the day before)
~ End of Day 3 ~
Once again we were waiting by the breakfast room at 7am. The spread has plenty of fresh fruits and also veggies, which we loaded up on as our restaurant meals don't come with as much veggies as we are normally used to back home. Our first outing today is TeamLab Planets, (¥4000/pp) which I have mixed feelings about. Several friends who went have raved about it, and i know my son would enjoy it more than me (old folks). I picked Planets over Borderless because of the proximity to our hotel. The stop for Bus 05-2 is conveniently 1 block from our hotel, and a fairly short ride to Teamlab Planets. Our reservations is for 9am (first slot of the day). We arrived at 8:45am and the line was already round the corner.
Overall it didn't feel too crowded inside, and I liked it okay? My son, unsurprisingly, liked it a lot more. We were there for about 2 hours. Then we took bus 05-2 back but rode all the way to the last stop, which is Tokyo Station so we can go visit the Imperial Palace gardens, but first, lunch. As I said, I didn't really research restaurants ahead of time, so we wandered into the Marunouchi Building and started browsing the restaurant listings. We decided on Hakata Ramen Akanoren on the 6th Floor. I had the kimchi rice + ramen set. Lunch was ¥3140.
Then we walked over to the Imperial Palace. We spent most of our time in the East Gardens, where the azaleas are in peak bloom. We also climbed up the ramp for the castle ruins. I thought we could exit the grounds via a South entrance but looking at the map I wasn't so sure, so we exited the same way we came in from (Ote-mon gate) and got on the subway at Otemachi Station. From there we headed to Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station for Shinjuku Gyoen Garden. By then we were feeling our jetlag so I thought perhaps a coffee break would help before seeing another garden. Quick check in google map suggests COIS coffee, where we found a line outside, pretty much all local young people. We got in line and certainly stood out from the rest of them. The place serves several types of coffee but only 1 type of cake - basque cheesecake, which you can choose regular or "burnt". We each got a drink and a slice of cheesecake (¥4900).
Refueled, we went inside Shinjuky Gyoen Garden (¥1000, child is free) and found half of Tokyoites in there. It was a beautiful sunday afternoon and there were lots of people just picnicking on the grassy areas. It is a beautiful garden and we found a few late-blooming cherry blossoms as well. I can only imagine how it looks like during full bloom. We were there for a little over an hour; by then it was 5pm so we started making our way to Meiji Jingu stadium (a 30-min walk) for a baseball game (starting at 6pm).
That evening's game was Yakult Swallows vs Yomiuri Giants. All I can say it that was so much fun and such a positive experience! Thank you to whoever suggested it. What I enjoyed most is the congenial atmosphere, and especially love the songs they sing for each player, complete with a trumpet quartet and drum! While I already knew about the umbrella dance/song at the 7th inning, what I didn't expect was they do the same after a HR, which happened early in the game so that was quite a surprise. Like, all of a sudden everyone around us whipped out their tiny umbrellas! And I love that it's not just young people/kids who do this, there were several middle-aged men sitting in front of us and voila they all took out their umbrellas. Also lots of fans have a pair of mini plastic bats which they beat instead of clapping their hands, as your hands will get swollen from all that clapping.
For dinner, we got a couple of the gyudon at the stadium (¥3200), a beer (¥900) and a carton of 5-piece fried chicken (¥750). We left after the 7th inning stretch as it was getting late and we had been out for 12 hours. We walked 10.1 miles today. (9.3 miles the day before)
~ End of Day 3 ~
May 1st, 2025 | 01:43 PM
#9
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,984
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Day 3 photos
Inside Teamlab Planets, designed for the IG crowd
Inside TeamLab Planets designed for the IG crowd
TeamLab Planets
Ramen + kimchi rice set at Hakata Ramen Akanoren
Azaleas in bloom at East Imperial Palace Garden
Coffee drinks and basque cheesecake at COIS
Very picturesque Shinjuku Gyoen Garden
Time to play ball!
May 1st, 2025 | 08:38 PM
#10
Joined: Apr 2025
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
You chose the most popular route. While all those places are nice, I found the off the beaten path places in Japan to be much more rewarding. And I am not talking about remote or non touristy places, but rather 'not too far, yet not too crowded' locations like Koya San, Nara (at night), Fujikawaguchiko, Izu pensinsula, Kinugawa Onsen etc.
May 4th, 2025 | 08:58 AM
#12
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,818
Likes: 0
Nice trip report. We also eat a lot of fruit when traveling. In Japan there are often streets that have lots of food stalls and every department store has a wonderful food floor. Some supermarkets also exist and often you can find lots of food options including fresh fruit near rail stations especially in areas that people live
May 4th, 2025 | 10:48 AM
#13
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,984
Likes: 0
Thank you to all your comments!
Yes, you're right, most stations seem to have elevators though they tend to be in the far end of the station. So if you're on the other end, it may be just easiest to take the stairs than trying to navigate against the crowd to get to the elevator.
Yes, I know. With our limited time, our itinerary was by choice. If our son weren't coming along, we would have skipped osaka and chosen a smaller town to visit instead.
Yeah, I didn't really think about this beforehand, I just assume I could easily get whole fruits from convenience stores. We got our fills at hotel breakfasts.
Lots of good practical travel info.
>> Most stations you have to use stairs, a few has elevators.
I understand that was your experience. Stairs are the obvious and often the first option you see. Escalators are common at subway and railway (JR) stations. You might have to look around for elevators, but they are often available. You exit a train and you see a stairway and most people use it. But if you look around, walk down the platform, you can usually find an elevator or escalator. I would be shocked if there was no elevator (erebeta) to get to/from a shinkansen platform at any shinkansen station in Japan. I would have the same expectation for access to a JR limited express train platform, except in rural areas. As the population ages Japan has become more accessible.
14) Bathrooms - public bathrooms are plentiful everywhere and extremely clean!
Seems like it is a basic human right in Japan to have access to a public toilet. But not to a trash can.
>> Most stations you have to use stairs, a few has elevators.
I understand that was your experience. Stairs are the obvious and often the first option you see. Escalators are common at subway and railway (JR) stations. You might have to look around for elevators, but they are often available. You exit a train and you see a stairway and most people use it. But if you look around, walk down the platform, you can usually find an elevator or escalator. I would be shocked if there was no elevator (erebeta) to get to/from a shinkansen platform at any shinkansen station in Japan. I would have the same expectation for access to a JR limited express train platform, except in rural areas. As the population ages Japan has become more accessible.
14) Bathrooms - public bathrooms are plentiful everywhere and extremely clean!
Seems like it is a basic human right in Japan to have access to a public toilet. But not to a trash can.
You chose the most popular route. While all those places are nice, I found the off the beaten path places in Japan to be much more rewarding. And I am not talking about remote or non touristy places, but rather 'not too far, yet not too crowded' locations like Koya San, Nara (at night), Fujikawaguchiko, Izu pensinsula, Kinugawa Onsen etc.
Nice trip report. We also eat a lot of fruit when traveling. In Japan there are often streets that have lots of food stalls and every department store has a wonderful food floor. Some supermarkets also exist and often you can find lots of food options including fresh fruit near rail stations especially in areas that people live
May 4th, 2025 | 11:32 AM
#14
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,984
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Day 4
Day 4 - Onward to Osaka
After a later-than-usual evening, we slept in a bit before heading downstairs for our final breakfasts at Hotel Vista. Even though our room was tiny, we were sad to leave; I think partly was because of the friendly breakfast attendants, and partly because the hotel is on the small side (149 rooms) and located a bit off the busy parts of town, it feels like a refuge from all the craziness of Tokyo. We departed the hotel around 8:45am and headed to Shinagawa Shinkansen station for our 10:06am train to Osaka (~US$300 for 3 tix, bought on Smart EX app). I picked Shinagawa station because it's easier to reach (direct on Asakusa/Keikyu line from Higashi-Ginza station) than Tokyo Station.
We got to Shinagawa with plenty of time so we browsed the food court and bought some food to eat on the train (chinese-style steamed buns for spouse and son, onigiri for me, plus a couple of desserts) ¥2200. I picked us seats on the R side for Mt Fuji so son and spouse sat together and I sat in a window seat the row behind.
I booked us at APA Osaka Namba Ekimae Tower, which has just opened in Dec 2024. From Shin-Osaka it's a direct subway ride to Namba station and then a 7-min walk to the hotel. We dropped off our luggage as check-in wasn't until 3pm, so we headed towards Ebisubashi-Suji shopping street in search of something to eat, before getting onto the subway. Quickly we saw stalls selling takoyaki so we got 8 to share ¥600 (just me and DH; our son rejects most foods that contain seafood).
We then took the subway toward Osaka Castle, first stopping at the Osaka Museum of History. (¥600 per adult, kids free) It's a nice museum spread out on 3 floors, with models and reconstruction of some street scenes. We spent an hour there before walking over to Osaka Castle. We walked around the castle but chose not to go inside to visit, then returned to our hotel to check in and proceeded to do laundry.
Not wanting to venture far for dinner with our laundry underway, we went to Namba Walk and checked out various restaurants and decided on a soba/udon place called Kazokutei. our son had a soba set with katsu don, while I had a bowl of udon but TBH not sure what the toppings were that I ordered. Spouse had duck udon. Dinner was ¥4750
We finished our laundry at the hotel; and bought breakfast items from the hotel 7-11 (yes, there is a 7-11 on the 4th floor of our hotel) as we have an early start the next day for Universal Studios Japan.
Total distance walked today: 6.7 miles
After a later-than-usual evening, we slept in a bit before heading downstairs for our final breakfasts at Hotel Vista. Even though our room was tiny, we were sad to leave; I think partly was because of the friendly breakfast attendants, and partly because the hotel is on the small side (149 rooms) and located a bit off the busy parts of town, it feels like a refuge from all the craziness of Tokyo. We departed the hotel around 8:45am and headed to Shinagawa Shinkansen station for our 10:06am train to Osaka (~US$300 for 3 tix, bought on Smart EX app). I picked Shinagawa station because it's easier to reach (direct on Asakusa/Keikyu line from Higashi-Ginza station) than Tokyo Station.
We got to Shinagawa with plenty of time so we browsed the food court and bought some food to eat on the train (chinese-style steamed buns for spouse and son, onigiri for me, plus a couple of desserts) ¥2200. I picked us seats on the R side for Mt Fuji so son and spouse sat together and I sat in a window seat the row behind.
I booked us at APA Osaka Namba Ekimae Tower, which has just opened in Dec 2024. From Shin-Osaka it's a direct subway ride to Namba station and then a 7-min walk to the hotel. We dropped off our luggage as check-in wasn't until 3pm, so we headed towards Ebisubashi-Suji shopping street in search of something to eat, before getting onto the subway. Quickly we saw stalls selling takoyaki so we got 8 to share ¥600 (just me and DH; our son rejects most foods that contain seafood).
We then took the subway toward Osaka Castle, first stopping at the Osaka Museum of History. (¥600 per adult, kids free) It's a nice museum spread out on 3 floors, with models and reconstruction of some street scenes. We spent an hour there before walking over to Osaka Castle. We walked around the castle but chose not to go inside to visit, then returned to our hotel to check in and proceeded to do laundry.
Not wanting to venture far for dinner with our laundry underway, we went to Namba Walk and checked out various restaurants and decided on a soba/udon place called Kazokutei. our son had a soba set with katsu don, while I had a bowl of udon but TBH not sure what the toppings were that I ordered. Spouse had duck udon. Dinner was ¥4750
We finished our laundry at the hotel; and bought breakfast items from the hotel 7-11 (yes, there is a 7-11 on the 4th floor of our hotel) as we have an early start the next day for Universal Studios Japan.
Total distance walked today: 6.7 miles
Last edited by yk; May 4th, 2025 at 11:41 AM.
May 4th, 2025 | 11:41 AM
#15
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,984
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Day 4 photos
Final breakfast at Hotel Vista- East meets West! Bowl of ochazuke (dashi over rice) and Bowl of yogurt topped with fruit
View of My Fuji from Shinkansen
When in Osaka... Takoyaki!
Osaka castle
My bowl of udon for dinner - unclear what the toppings were
May 5th, 2025 | 08:43 AM
#16
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,719
Likes: 0
At first glance it looked like the sheets are tofu and the disk in the middle might also be tofu. I googled 'tofu sheets' and found yuba aka tofu skin. Yuba udon is a famous dish in Nikko but not Osaka. Osaka had kitsune udon but that has a deep-fried tofu "pouch' called inari age (sliced tofu not yuba).
The disk on top might be deep-fried tofu though inari age is typically rectangular, not round. It could be inari - fried tofu stuffed with rice. My second guess is that it is fish.
I think the sheets might not be yuba but slices of tofu like in kitsune udon except the slices are not deep-fried. And then you have that round inari age on top. In that case the dish you had was a version of kitsune udon which is an Osaka thing.
There are some pickled? veggies bits on top. Was the green stuff on top a hunk of wasabi? Were the leaves minty?
The disk on top might be deep-fried tofu though inari age is typically rectangular, not round. It could be inari - fried tofu stuffed with rice. My second guess is that it is fish.
I think the sheets might not be yuba but slices of tofu like in kitsune udon except the slices are not deep-fried. And then you have that round inari age on top. In that case the dish you had was a version of kitsune udon which is an Osaka thing.
There are some pickled? veggies bits on top. Was the green stuff on top a hunk of wasabi? Were the leaves minty?
May 5th, 2025 | 11:34 AM
#17
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,984
Likes: 0
At first glance it looked like the sheets are tofu and the disk in the middle might also be tofu. I googled 'tofu sheets' and found yuba aka tofu skin. Yuba udon is a famous dish in Nikko but not Osaka. Osaka had kitsune udon but that has a deep-fried tofu "pouch' called inari age (sliced tofu not yuba).
The disk on top might be deep-fried tofu though inari age is typically rectangular, not round. It could be inari - fried tofu stuffed with rice. My second guess is that it is fish.
I think the sheets might not be yuba but slices of tofu like in kitsune udon except the slices are not deep-fried. And then you have that round inari age on top. In that case the dish you had was a version of kitsune udon which is an Osaka thing.
There are some pickled? veggies bits on top. Was the green stuff on top a hunk of wasabi? Were the leaves minty?
The disk on top might be deep-fried tofu though inari age is typically rectangular, not round. It could be inari - fried tofu stuffed with rice. My second guess is that it is fish.
I think the sheets might not be yuba but slices of tofu like in kitsune udon except the slices are not deep-fried. And then you have that round inari age on top. In that case the dish you had was a version of kitsune udon which is an Osaka thing.
There are some pickled? veggies bits on top. Was the green stuff on top a hunk of wasabi? Were the leaves minty?
https://kazokutei.co.jp/menu/kzt_tan...e_id=nanbawalk
and the dish is
蓮根まんじゅう湯葉あんかけ
the translation is something like yuba and lotus root manju. Honestly I don't really remember what the green veggies tasted like.Pretty sure this restaurant is a chain so the menu isn't necessarily just Osaka specialties.
Last edited by yk; May 5th, 2025 at 11:37 AM.
May 5th, 2025 | 01:49 PM
#18
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,984
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Day 5
Day 5, Tuesday - Osaka, Universal Studios Japan
I'll try to keep this brief since I don't think most people are that interested in USJ. I know it seems silly to come all the way to Japan for this, but it's a compromise to keep everyone happy. The deal is, our son gets his day at USJ, and the adults get several days of temples and shrines at Nara & Kyoto. Besides, he's never been to any Universal Studios (neither has my husband who is 53). We aren't theme park people and the only theme park our son has been was Disneyland in Hong Kong. Never been to Orlando.
I read up a lot about USJ on Reddit prior to our trip, and decided to splurge on the 7-pack Express tickets (2 in Harry Potter World, 3 in Super Nintendo World, plus 2 other rides which you have a choice; we picked Minions and Jurassic Park). The Express pass allows us to skip the lines so we didn't have to show up to USJ at the crack of dawn. We ate our 7-11 breakfast in our room (the only hotel room on our trip that has 2 chairs & 1 stool so we each has something to sit on other than our beds), then took the subway to USJ. Opening hours change from day-to-day, on the day we visited it was 9a-9p, but they always open before stated time. We arrived around 8:35am and there were already people on the rollercoasters.
With the Express passes, you get a designated time to enter Super Nintendo World, which is one that's super popular and you're not guaranteed entry if you only have a regular park ticket. Anyway, apart from the 7 rides that came with our express pass, we also saw 3 additional shows (Doreamon 4D, Sing on Tour, Waterworld), 2 street performances, and still had some downtime to kill. We never waited longer than 15 minutes for each ride, whereas the regular line ranges anywhere from 45 mins to 120 minutes depending on the ride. We left 10 hours later at 6:30pm. In addition to the tickets, we spent ¥9600 on food and snacks. Did not buy any souvenirs however!
From there we took the subway back to Namba and headed towards Dotonbori to see the Glico sign. By then it has gotten dark so all the neon lights are lit, and the bridge is packed with people. We wandered the streets along the river looking for a place to eat. Eventually we stumbled across a ramen shop that looks good, one that requires diners to order from the vending machine outside. It turns out it is one of the Kamukura Ramen branch, and it's super busy. I got one of their seasonal special which has clams with veggies, while my spouse got the extra-veggies ramen. Dinner was ¥4180
We walked 9.2 miles
~ End of Day 5 ~
I'll try to keep this brief since I don't think most people are that interested in USJ. I know it seems silly to come all the way to Japan for this, but it's a compromise to keep everyone happy. The deal is, our son gets his day at USJ, and the adults get several days of temples and shrines at Nara & Kyoto. Besides, he's never been to any Universal Studios (neither has my husband who is 53). We aren't theme park people and the only theme park our son has been was Disneyland in Hong Kong. Never been to Orlando.
I read up a lot about USJ on Reddit prior to our trip, and decided to splurge on the 7-pack Express tickets (2 in Harry Potter World, 3 in Super Nintendo World, plus 2 other rides which you have a choice; we picked Minions and Jurassic Park). The Express pass allows us to skip the lines so we didn't have to show up to USJ at the crack of dawn. We ate our 7-11 breakfast in our room (the only hotel room on our trip that has 2 chairs & 1 stool so we each has something to sit on other than our beds), then took the subway to USJ. Opening hours change from day-to-day, on the day we visited it was 9a-9p, but they always open before stated time. We arrived around 8:35am and there were already people on the rollercoasters.
With the Express passes, you get a designated time to enter Super Nintendo World, which is one that's super popular and you're not guaranteed entry if you only have a regular park ticket. Anyway, apart from the 7 rides that came with our express pass, we also saw 3 additional shows (Doreamon 4D, Sing on Tour, Waterworld), 2 street performances, and still had some downtime to kill. We never waited longer than 15 minutes for each ride, whereas the regular line ranges anywhere from 45 mins to 120 minutes depending on the ride. We left 10 hours later at 6:30pm. In addition to the tickets, we spent ¥9600 on food and snacks. Did not buy any souvenirs however!
From there we took the subway back to Namba and headed towards Dotonbori to see the Glico sign. By then it has gotten dark so all the neon lights are lit, and the bridge is packed with people. We wandered the streets along the river looking for a place to eat. Eventually we stumbled across a ramen shop that looks good, one that requires diners to order from the vending machine outside. It turns out it is one of the Kamukura Ramen branch, and it's super busy. I got one of their seasonal special which has clams with veggies, while my spouse got the extra-veggies ramen. Dinner was ¥4180
We walked 9.2 miles
~ End of Day 5 ~
May 5th, 2025 | 07:07 PM
#20
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,245
Likes: 0
I for one am very interested to hear about your impressions of USJ! Or more importantly your son's impressions. And if you have any photos. I have been twice to Tokyo Disneyland. It is not silly at all.
Before I went to TDL, I had no idea what I was in store for. Particularly Tokyo Disney Sea, which is unique unto the world.
Before I went to TDL, I had no idea what I was in store for. Particularly Tokyo Disney Sea, which is unique unto the world.
