18-22 weeks pregnant: Japan in May

Hello everyone,

My husband and I booked our honeymoon trip to Japan for May 2015. Very recently, I found out I am pregnant and I'll be about 18-22 weeks pregnant when we go abroad. Our planned schedule (by day) is as follow (the * means we will have a JRP):

1* Tokyo airport to Osaka
2* Osaka daytrip to Kobe
3* Osaka daytrip to Himeji
4* Osaka to Nagasaki
5* Nagasaki to Fukuoka (Hakata train station). Fukoka daytrip to Dazaifu
6* Fukuoka (Hakata train station) to Kagoshima to Yakushima
7* Yakushima
8* Yakushima to Kagoshima with half day trip to Satsuma Peninsula
9* Kagoshima to Kumamoto
10* Kumamoto
11* Kumamoto to Takachiho
12* Takachiho to Fukuoka
13* Fukuoka to Tokyo
14* Tokyo (festival)
15* Tokyo (festival)
16* Tokyo to Kyoto
17* Kyoto daytrip to Amanohashidate
18* Kyoto daytrip to Uji
19* Kyoto to Toyama - daytrip to Takayama
20* Toyama to Tateyama Alphine Route to Tokyo
21* Tokyo daytrip to Nikko
22 Tokyo
23 Tokyo
24 Tokyo daytrip to Fuji Five Lakes
25 Tokyo
26 Tokyo half day trip to Mt. Takao
27 Tokyo
28 Tokyo to London

We have been a couple of times before, so I'm not worried about the general food concerns that pregnant women have, especially in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka where the food and drinking options are hugely varied. Obviously, we'll try to slow the pace down though do any of you think we have to many 'difficult' daytrips? Difficult in the sense that the daytrips will be far too hard/tiring for a pregnant lady.

We have never visited Kyushu before and I'm wondering if the pace is too fast and whether we should visit Yakushima? I'm not sure how slippery the place is and I obviously want to avoid falling! We had planned to rent a car there but i had planned to do some hiking around the place as it's meant to be beautiful.

If anyone has any general or pregnancy-specific advice, suggestions or comments regarding schedule, please feel free to comment!

Thanks so much,

Pang

With regards to Yakushima, I do not recommend it.

It rains nearly every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. It does rain less in summer, but there's no reason to take the risk. Yakushima is a charming island but considering the time it takes to get there and the "what I feel is over rated" nature, I do not recommend it.
During some parts, holding onto ropes or branches are the only way to ascend and the ground has many branches.

I would like to point out that Osaka to Nagasaki would take quite a long journey. How about, the previous day stay the night at Hiroshima or Okayama? Helps to break the distance down.
In my opinion, Himeji and Kobe can be down in a day. Himej in the morning and Kobe in the evening. You could use the next day to explore Hiroshima and then head to Nagasaki.

In Takachiho, the gorge requires self-paddling. Expect to get slightly wet.
If these aren't an issue then good.
Also note, that the gorge is not accessible by bus. As most people drive there, you might have to beg someone for a ride out. (You could take a cab from the city center but getting out is the issue) Unless walking (15 minutes uphill) is fine for you...
If this does not seem possible, do skip Takachiho.
The Yokakura was pretty boring. But I went on new years eve so it was interesting to see the new year shrine visit.

I would rearrange you schedule to skip Yakushima and instead have a full day in Kagoshima, half a day in Ibusuki and half a day for Kirishima Shrine. (Note that although close by these destinations has infrequent and slow trains thus the time allocation.)
If you are interested in onsen:
Sakurajima seaside hotel @ sakurajima
Shiroyama @ Kagoshima
Hakusuikan @ Ibusuki
These hotels has amazing views/baths and open there onsen for day trippers

After Kagoshima you could head to Miyazaki and from there Kumamoto or straight to Kumamoto.
Miyazaki takes a full day to enjoy at a slow pace. It is a tropical beach resort (has coconuts).
Easy to walk about and many buses/trains.

Thank you for going to Uji. Most people choose Nara as a daytrip from Kyoto. I prefer Uji due to less walking, no agressive deers, and better nature scenery.

make sure your travel insurance covers anything at all relating to your pregnancy.

Hi Joshua,

Thanks so much for your advice. I thought Yakushima might be quite rainy, so Ifm glad youfve confirmed my suspicions. Ifve changed the route and omitted it – wefll definitely be visiting Japan regularly so Ifd much rather experience it in its full glory without worrying about where I step and not making the most of it.

Ifll have a look into Hiroshima and Okayama – do you have a preference? Ifve never actually heard of Okayama ☺

Haha, I was wondering how much Kobe beef my wallet and stomach can fit in – probably only a dinnerfs worth, so you might be onto something about fitting them in on one day.

When you say self-paddlingc do you mean wading through water? How deep is it? I donft mind getting wet but wouldnft want to chance slipping on rocks or anything. Wefre also quite good with hiking (in past experience), but I have no idea how tired/big Ifll be in May so Ifll definitely take that into consideration closer to the time.

I AM hugely interested in onsen though Ifve been told to avoid it due to the bump, which is a bit sad. Ifll properly do an onsen tour sometime, canft wait to be a Gunma cabbage one day.

Wefve been to Nara – we visited on our first trip, and it was a nice stroll out but I didnft get that ewowf factor like some people do. I have heard itfs nicer in Winter, so it may be more magical then. Ifm super excited about Uji - I have high hopes for Uji too as someone did recommend it to us after we told them how much we enjoyed Kamikochi!

Hi Wowo,

Thanks so much for reminding me about that! I've checked since and they do cover me fortunately for a lot of things.

Thanks again,

Tanya

Although I've just been informed that we've visited Korakuen Garden before which is in Okayama... oops! It was beautiful, but we didn't explore much else!

Yes. I do prefer Kanazawa's garden over Okayama's. Besdies the Castle and Garden, Okayama has little to offer. If you like bunnies there is the bunny island in between Okayama and Hiroshima. But besides that I wouldnt recommend Okayama.

Since you are already heading to Nagasaki, you might want to spend more time in Hiroshiima exploring Mitakidera, Miyajima, and just walking about the city (I rented a bicycle) over visiting the atomic bomb museum and peace park. Naturally, if you do have the time, do visit them.

You can actually have Kobe Beef in other parts of Japan. Namely, Osaka. I went to a beef restaurant in Kobe for Kobe Beef and was told that none of the restaurants in the area had Kobe Beef. There was other types of Wagyu beef though. I confirmed this with various other restuarants.

I would only recommend Kobe for the night view atop Mount Rokko and strolling from thhe bay to Sannomiya Station.

:( on the onsen
Kyushu is an onsen wowderland.

Takachiho Gorge requiring self paddling means you are in a boat, and you do the rowing yourself. In this case, I doubt it is you who is doing the rowing. Expect many bumps with the other unskilled drivers (paddlers). It is not all too deep in the sense of the paddle being able to reach the bottom and life jackets are provided.

As said previously, do find transportation to and fro Takachiho Gorge. It is totally not recommended to walk in and out. The out especially.

If you do not have a vehicle and insists on going to Takachiho, you MUST stay at Takachiho Hotel. It is the nearest to the gorge.

So how about Miyazaki? A good one or two days is sufficient.

The main thing that comes to mind with your itinerary is to wonder why you are crisscrossing the country so many times. Looks like it would be easy to reorganize your trip so you are spending less time in transit and more time for relaxed exploring.

We have never visited Kyushu before and I'm wondering if the pace is too fast and whether we should visit Yakushima? I'm not sure how slippery the place is and I obviously want to avoid falling! We had planned to rent a car there but i had planned to do some hiking around the place as it's meant to be beautiful.

Yakushima is absolutely beautiful, and highly recommended, however it would probably be better to make the long trek out there when you are not pregnant and can fully enjoy the experience.

Joshua,

Ifm not too bothered about bunnies since Ifve grown up with them, so Ifll have a look into Hiroshima. We have visited Miyajima, which was a nice daytrip out. However, it wasnft so amazing that wefd visit againc the oysters and ice cream were delicious though! Ifm still a bit on the fence (though Ifm unsure as to why) but I should probably just man up and visit the place at least once.

Thatfs interesting about the Kobe beef thing – thanks, we wouldnft have ever known that without going therec it seems a bit bizarre doesnft it? We had Hida beef in Takayama, which was absolutely gorgeous (wefre visiting again for this sole greedy reason). Nevertheless, I would like to see Mount Rokko and the bay, so Ifll definitely keep it as a half-day trip.

I may just go do an onsen tour one year in winter – grab some fukubukuro (which I MUST do) and then just tour the baths as much as I can in January! Wefd need to save up a lot thoughc so maybe it'd be a retirement trip?!

Ohh yes! Boats, I do remember seeing boats on the Takachiho Gorge page. Ifll give the rowing a go – Ifm hoping I wonft be too sedentary on this trip! We had originally planned to stay at a Takachicho hotel, but wefve decided to rent a car (in case it all gets a bit too much) so, wefre doing it as a day trip from Kumamoto.

Regarding Miyazaki, to be perfectly honest, we thought wefd save a lot of the east coast of Kyushu for our next trip there.

--

Yllwsmrf,

I can see why youfd think our plan has a weird trajectory! Wefve chosen this route since wefve been fortunate enough to visit a lot of places on our first two trips and we've deliberately avoided some of the places; instead of doubling up too much (apart from the places we absolutely love), we wanted to try and see a lot of new sights/places.

Wefre only going back to Tokyo half way through due to the Kanda and Sanja festivals (which I really wanted to go to!) as wefve not been able to experience any festivals before. Otherwise, I agree, it would be utterly silly to go there for a few days in the middle when wefre spending our last leg in Tokyo.

I will make sure I am as fit and agile as a monkey when I go visit Yakushima in the future ☺

Thanks,

Tanya