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Dec15 Trip-Tokyo-Osaka-Kyoto-Nara-Tokyo 2015/4/20 12:49
Hi,

We are a family of 4 (including 2 primary school kids). This will be our first Free and Easy trip to Japan from 5-15 Dec15. We will be getting a 7 days JR pass. Would appreciate if anyone can provide comments for this itinerary or help to advise on some queries.

Day 1 : Arrive Haneda 9pm - overnight at Haneda airport hotel or Shinjuku area?
Day 2 : Check out Haneda hotel. Check-in Disney resort official hotel. Travel around Tokyo City (Ginza-Asakusa-Nakamise Shopping Street- Skytree)
Day 3 and 4 : Disneyland and DisneySea
Day 5 : Osaka
Day 6 : Day trip to Kyoto
Day 7 : Day trip to Nara-Kyoto
Day 8 : Back to Tokyo. Check-in at Shinjuku area. Travel around Harajuku and Shibuya
Day 9 : Day trip to Iwappara Ski Resort or Karuizawa Prince Ski Resort for snow play
Day 10 : Day trip to Hakone. Night time to Odaiba?
Day 11 : Morning departure from Haneda

For Day 6 and 7 : How should I plan my route as the places I would like to visit are as follows. Hope to use my JR pass as much as possible
a) Arashiyama - Sagano train/Bamboo Groves/Togetsu-kyo Bridge / Catch the Hanatouro light festivals in Dec15?
b) Kiyomizu-dera.
c) Higashiyama District
d) Nishiki Market
e) GION
f) Nara park - half day

For Day 9 (13Dec), may we know which ski resort will be a better choice for kids activities as we do not know how to ski

For Day 10, if we are just doing a Hakone round course and perhaps including a 1 hour onsen, will we be able to reach Tokyo city by 6pm?

Welcome all comments and appreciate very much!
by vonnywee  

Re: Dec15 Trip-Tokyo-Osaka-Kyoto-Nara-Tokyo 2015/4/20 13:55
1. I'd stay in Tokyo for your first night; then when you check out in the morning, ask your hotel to hold your luggage, collect it after your day of sightseeing and then go to your Disney hotel. This will save you time and extra train trips, as Disney is not near any other tourist attractions in Tokyo.

2. In Kyoto, skip Nishiki Market. It's just one street, not a big, expansive market. Yes, it has lots of foodsellers, and yes, it was an interesting place, but if you've got limited time in Kyoto I would spend more time elsewhere. Plus, I can't see your kids enjoying it.

3. Do Gion at night - much more atmospheric, and this gives you more sightseeing time during the day. There's also lots of great restaurants.

4. You won't be able to use the JR Pass once you get to Kyoto. The major public transport in Kyoto is buses, and they can be lengthy trips because of the traffic and because most of the tourist sights are outside the city centre. The only place I took a train to is Fushimi Inari - a sight you definitely should not miss. I think the kids would enjoy it too, especially the fox legend and statues.

5. You should be able to fit in your chosen Kyoto sights and possibly even Fushimi Inari over 1.5 days if you start early (most sights open at 9am) and don't dawdle too much. Be aware that the Sagano train is most popular in autumn because of the beautiful foliage - this will be fading when you arrive (November is peak). The Sagano train is very popular so make sure you book tickets early! I think this is a JR train, so plan ahead and make bookings when you exchange your Pass.

6. You won't be able to make it back to Tokyo by 6 after a day in Hakone, especially if you are including an onsen trip. Hakone is about two hours away! There will also be lines for the Round Course elements as it is popular. If my counting is correct, you'll be there on a Monday, which will be less crowded than the weekend, but still busy. My friend and I went at pretty much the same time last year and there were still plenty of people! And we had a great view of Mt. Fuji from Owakudani ropeway station - I hope you will be as lucky!
It is a great day out though, and the Round Course lots of fun. There's also a Le Petit Prince Museum in the main town (need to catch a bus to and from) which the kids might like if they know the book. But if you go there, you'll probably have to skip the onsen.

7. I don't know about the ski resorts. Sorry I can't help you there. But be aware there might not be much snow as it will be so early in winter. You might want to look that up, if you haven't already.

8. When travelling between cities, think about doing the train trips in the evening. You're unlikely to be sightseeing then, and it would save you daylight hours. Plus, the kids can just nap on the train (it always sent me to sleep), especially on the Tokyo-Osaka routes (a very long trip - about 3 hours, longer if you end up on the Kodama). Try and book tickets for these long trips when you exchange your Pass too, to make sure you get seats together. Just a bit more peace of mind and less stress later.

9. Maybe consider staying at the Haneda airport the night before you fly out. Saves you a bit more stress if you miss a train, or the kids hold you up, etc., especially if your plane is in the morning. It'll be a long day doing Hakone and then travelling to the airport, though.

Sounds like you've already got a pretty good trip planned! I hope you have a great time.
by sq (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Dec15 Trip-Tokyo-Osaka-Kyoto-Nara-Tokyo 2015/4/22 17:34
Thank you for your valuable advices!

For Day 1 - at first we also thought of travelling to the hotel in city. But after almost a 10hrs flight including transit, think it may be better for us to stay over at Haneda if the cost if reasonable?

For Day 2 - will mainly focus on Asakusa & Obaiba perhaps. Hence will it be better to drop off our luggages first at Disney hotel by taking Airport Limousine in the morning? Will it be easy to travel back to Disney resort from Odaiba?

For Kyoto/Nara, please advise of this is ok
Day 6 : Arashiyama & Fushimi Inari (include Kinkakuji if possible)
Day 7 : Nara Park & Kiyomizu Dera/Higashiyama/Gion

As for the Sagano Romantic Train, if we only taking one-way journey, do we alight at Torokko Arashiyama station to go to Bamboo Groves? And from there is it possible to walk back to Saga Arashiyama station?



by vonnywee rate this post as useful

Re: Dec15 Trip-Tokyo-Osaka-Kyoto-Nara-Tokyo 2015/4/22 18:08
Not a direct flight? You can take a nap during transit if possible.

First Cabin Haneda is what i would recommend. A budget business hotel. Clean and professional.

But if possible staying in tokyo city is ideal. Maybe you could even go to Disney hotel. Its nearer to the airport than the city. just shows how far it is from Tokyo city. Do Disney then. Maybe explore Tokyo at the end of the trip instead. After Hakone. So you won't feel so rushed getting out of hakone. Have a buffer day in Tokyo.

How about dropping them off at a train station locker. There are plenty around train stations. It saves the trouble of backpacking and saves the time required to travel to and fro the hotel. Disney is in a whole other prefecture!

Day 6&7 is no problem. I can easily do more than that in half a day. But i dont have kids. The attractions do not require much walking. Though Kiyomizudera is located atop a slope.

Though, i am uncertain whether traveling all the way to nara just for some deer is worth it. Nara's deer aren't known to be the friendlist around. There are signages warning about the deer's behavior.

If you alight there you wont be able to see the autumn foilage which is the reason why people get on the train. You might want to reconsider this by purchasing two way tickets or not going on it at all. To answer your question, yes you can walk. In fact, a popular route is to exit Arashiyama station, walk over ot Tenryuji (less than 5 min), see the beautiful garden (half an hour or soe), maybe have lunch at the garden restaurant ($$ though but great monk style food), the garden exits leads to the bamboo grove (15 min).

You can do a loop within an hour.

cheers
by joshua hugh (guest) rate this post as useful

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