10 days from Tokyo to Osaka with a 2 year old

Hi guys, i have tickets into Narita on 19 july (early morning) and out of Osaka on the 28th of July in the evening.

We are traveling with a 2 year old and our budget for the trip is around €1500, including hotels, food, transfers and, of course, excluding flights.

My idea is to stay in Tokyo for 3 nights, and then slowly make our way down to Osaka. As were traveling with a young kid, i think it makes sense to not to move from hotel to hotel everyday, but make more of our days in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and preferrably one more stop along the way.

I am not planning on getting a rail pass as its only one way.

Does it make sense to stay 3 nights in Tokyo, 1 night somewhere between tokyo and Kyoto (fuji? Hakone? Nagoya? Or somewhere else?), 3 nights in Kyoto and 2 nights in Osaka?

Sorry to ask, but is this budget a day? If you could, you could stay 4 nights in Tokyo (many things for the kids - Tokyo Disney Resort, Ghibli-Museum, Yoyogi-Parks etc.) 1 night in Hakone and 4 in Kyoto with Kansai Pass you can go to Osaka as many times as you wish , Even on the last day to the airport, go to Nara, Himeji, Uji and many other places, if your budget of 1500 € is for 10 days ..... you do not even need to go.

With only 10 days, I'd just stay five day Tokyo and five days Kyoto. Day trip 25 mins away for Osaka for example. Saves moving hotels.

Or if you are keen on a night somewhere else, then add in Hakone as is it on the way between the two locations so you wont loose much from your ten days.

I agree with hakata14.

BTW, you have 10 days, so you are talking about 150 euro per day for the... is it for 3 of you including your child?

If that is the case, you'd need to plan for your accommodation well - secure a budget place.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2410.html

Since this example excludes the domestic transportation, you need to think about the big item on your itinerary, which is the way from Tokyo to Osaka/Kyoto. You don't really want to take a local train all the way...

As suggested, you could consider stopping over at Hakone for a night. Or maybe you could take the slower JR Shinkansen train for a bit discounted price (see Puratto Kodama Plan).

Sorry i made a mistake; the 1500 euro excludes the hotels. € 150 a day should be doable with just food, drinks, transport and entry tickets right? I am used to budget travel and don't need fancy restaurants. If we keep spending down a bit (by eating street food/from convenience stores or cheap restaurants) that should be possible right?

The expensive part would be a shinkansen trip to Kyoto. I am also considering an overnight bus, i dont mind that at all.

I'm now thinking 5 days Tokyo, 4 days Kyoto and 1 day Osaka. Do you guys think its possible for this budget or do i need to add?

Oh that sounds more like it, I mean the budget :)

I wouldn't really recommend taking the night bus with a small child. Please look into the slower Shinkansen option I mentioned above. Your child might be interested in the train itself too.

Ahhhhh excluding hotel !!!! This value will be left for you and yours, I did 26 days with daily budget of 10000 yen (+/- 90 € and left over everyday .... I would continue doing 5 days Tokyo with the tours and 4 nights in Kyoto with Kansay pass, first day strolling around the city and in the 3 others with the 3 day pass (5200yen) and with him to the airport and could visit Nara which is very interesting and other cities (Himeji, Uji etc)
From tokyo you can go one day and return to Hakonne, or Kamakura which is guaranteed a very beautiful visit

I have friends who use to do the night bus between Osaka and Tokyo and I would not recommend it. I think it would be particularly hard with a child.

I would maybe do 4 nights Tokyo, 2 nights Hakone, and 4 nights Kyoto. There are direct Haruka trains from Kyoto station to KIX. Osaka has some fun stuff to do for the day, but I'm not sure I would pick to stick there. Based on the trip I am currently planning, I think you get a nicer and bigger hotel room for your money in Kyoto unless you are picking to stay someplace near Universal where the rooms tend to be big, but with transfers it can take 15-20 minutes to get many places. (though if you go to Universal, I would highly recommend staying at the Keihan, the rooms were quite large and if you do the breakfast plan, the breakfast is substantial.) I know both Universal and Disney are cheaper than the same parks in the USA, I can't compare to Europe. Universal, as it is newer, has actual physical waiting areas near the ride start if you child swap. I am pretty sure Disney does not.

You can get to Hakone from Tokyo for about ~5000 yen (or less for two adults) from Shinjuku. It will cost you around 26,000 yen (for two adults) to get from Odawara to Kyoto by Hikari shinkansen. However, that will be your one expensive train day. So most days would be less than that. Most activities don't charge for children under 5. My daughter, who was 5 last Summer when we went loved: feeding the koi at the Fujiya Hotel. She could have honestly spent more time than you would think doing that, we would have gone to the sculpture museum which also offers it but it was rainy. Osaka Universal (though this trip we are trying Disney.) the Osaka Aquarium, the Monkey Park in Arashiyama, and Licca-chan castle. She also sometimes enjoyed onsen. Yunessun is cheesy good fun and might be more fun for a 2.5 year old. Some places have discounts and specials.

I've heard the beach in Kamakura is a lot of fun and it is open in July. :D

My daughter got bored at a lot of temples and shrines relatively quickly. I am hoping this year will be better because she has her own camera.

Good luck!