Tokyo with kids in Dec

I am planning a 7 day trip to Tokyo in early Dec. Can someone help comment if this itinerary is do-able or how to enhance it. Pls help suggest what to do on Day 5 - should I squeeze a day trip to Mt Fuji?

Day 1 Mon - arrival + Asakusa
Day 2 - Tsukiji/Akihabara/Ginza
Day 3 & 4 - Disneyland/Sea
Day 5 - ??
Day 6 - Imperial Palace
Day 7 - Harajuku/Yoyogi park

Thanks!

Mt Fuji would be great, but freezing. Have you thought about the Ghibli museum? My family loved it, far more than Disneywhatever, though Ghibli is better if you are a Miyazaki fan. If you are not a Miyazaki fan already, watch "my neighbor totoro" which is brilliant in subbed japanese, passable in english and if you are bitten by the bug, other Miyazaki movies like "ponyo" or "kiki's delivery service". The museum is great if you are a fan, probably not particularly interesting if you are not, and the area (Mitaka) is quite pretty and handy to Tokyo too. You have to book well in advance though. If THAT isnt your cup of tea, Nikko is nice, and you might get some snow though it could be a little early.

Thanks Pious I will certainly check out Ghibli museum and re think Mt Fuji

What is your advice re accommodation? I plan to stay at -
Ryokan - Asakusa (1 night)
Disney area for easy access (3 nights)
Shinjuku (2 nights)

Is it wise to move hotels based on the itinerary?

Cheers

I've spend a very little amount of time in Tokyo compared to Kyoto, but I can say :-
1.disneyland is a fair hike from town. Probably 45 minutes by cab (ouch!). A friend stayed at the Sheraton there and loved it.
2. I stayed atthe Hyatt at Shinjuku for a weekand to be honest, I didnt really like the area overmuch, though it is handy to the train station (which I found a bit intimidating because it is so big and busy). I'd previously stayed at Shiba Park Hotel, near Zozoji (or Jojoji, cant remember) and Tokyo Tower. That was a nice part of town, maybe a little quiet and far from Tokyo station. If I went back, I'd probably look to stay around Ueno which has a lovely big park, zoo etc (with some pretty lazy Pandas) and seemed a nice place.

It looks like I have posted this 3 times by mistake. Oops!

cool will go check out all the hotels you have listed :) thanks for your help!

1.disneyland is a fair hike from town. Probably 45 minutes by cab (ouch!). A friend stayed at the Sheraton there and loved it.

No need for a cab. Disneyland is only a 15 min, 210 yen train ride from Tokyo Station.

Also, no need for an entire day at the Imperial Palace. Only the gardens are open to visitors and it only takes about 2 hours tops to see including transportation. Perhaps work that in with another day's activities.

As for accommodation, Shinjuku isn't really convenient for your itinerary. I'd suggest staying around Tokyo or Shimbashi Stations if your budget allows or Ueno or Asakusa if you have a tighter budget.

Asakusa ryokan (and Tokyo ryokan in general) tend to be on the budget end. Just a no frills tatami room with futon, but no meals or onsen baths.

If you want the real ryokan experience I'd head to an onsen town. Perhaps you can work in a 2 day to Nikko, with an overnight at a ryokan in Kinugawa Onsen. There's some great passes that cover that area directly from Asakusa, and you can spend a day at the shrines, and then another day at the amusement parks in Kinugawa. Edo Wonderland would be a great place to take the kids.

check out more info here:

nikko
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3800.html

kinugawa onsen:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3875.html

Yep, Nikko is great. I stayed at the Kanaya Hotel there which was up there as one of my favorite times at Japan, though we were lucky and woke up to snow.

Another possible idea for the 5th day is to visit the Hakone region. You can see Mt Fuji from there, and riding different types of transport could be fun for the kids.

There are lots of great onsen to try. There is a great outlet nearby as well with Mt Fuji views.
Hakone is a great overnight trip but many do it as a day trip as well.

About Hakone:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5200.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html

Gotemba outlet:
http://www.premiumoutlets.co.jp/en/gotemba/

Sheraton at Disney is great, very family oriented and kids will love the room decor.

Shinjuku we stayed in low cost no frills hotel at Kadoya and love it. It's few steps away from the train/bus station and food all around. I like it that there is coin laundry, which is quite important for me when bringing kids.

Hi Didi,
actually I was wondering why you plan to change accomodation if you're there for such a short time anyway???? If been to Tokyo many times and public transport is so efficient and easy I wouldn't waste time on changing....
As for accomodation, if you want to have a nice ryokan experience at a reasonable price you should definitly check out the Hoemikan in Bunkyo. http://www.homeikan.com/ It's absolutely lovely, authentic and quietly located in a residential area. And it is also conviniently located to the several subway stations, we mostly used Hongo Sanchome, which is only three stops from Tokyo.
And I agree with some other posts: Nikko is great, or maybe Kamakura with the Great Buddha and its many temples... also very nice....
Enjoy!!! Tanoshinde ne!!!

Hello all

Thanks vm for your feedback esp choice and range of accommodation and what to do on Day 5. Looks like I've got time to re-work the itinerary. Cheers!

Hi didi
sorry to tap yr thread.

How old are yr kids? Will u hv lots of luggages? How will u tag them if u have to move from places to places? Could share?

Hello lbct

They are 15, 14 & 11 respectively and frequent travellers ie used to packing and carrying their own load. We will probably get around in 3-4 backpacks.

Ooh. My kids age 14, 10, 2 n 1. So backpack is a no no. More so it's winter.

Hi,

Recently, I went to Tokyo w my kids 6 and 3. Below us my itinerary.

Day 1: Asakusa, Ueno for Sakura and Odaiba.
I find nothing much at Odaiba so you can skip it. For Asakusa, you refer to href=http://recipemummy.blogspot.com/2010/05/tokyo-asakusa.html

Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland
http://recipemummy.blogspot.com/2010/06/tokyo-disneyland.html

Day 3: Hello Kittyland and Shinjuku shopping

Day 4: Thomasland, Lake Kawaguchi for view of Mt Fuji and Gotemba Outlet mall for factory outlet sale.

Day 5: Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, Shibuya, Ginza and Tokyo Tower.

Since you have young kids, I would advise you to stay at a hotel which is accessible by the Airport Limousine bus. As it will bring you directly to and fro Narita airport to the hotel lobby. You would not need to drag you luaggage on the street in winter.

Below are some addition information to you.

Where to stay in Tokyo?
http://recipemummy.blogspot.com/2010/05/where-to-stay-in-tokyo.html

What to buy in Japan?
href=http://recipemummy.blogspot.com/2010/06/what-to-buy-in-japan.html

How to travel from Narita Aiport to Tokyo City?
http://recipemummy.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-to-travel-from-narita-airp...

All the best to your holiday. Cheers!

Your feedback & blog are really helpful thanks!

Hi recipe mummy. M impressed how u go do yr trip ESP factory outlet with yr 3 yrs old? Could share? Btw where us thomasland? Worth the visit? More for younger kids?