Itinerary help

Hi,

I am planning to visit Japan from 26th Feb 2019 to 6th March 2019. (arriving at 6 PM on 26th and leaving at 10 Am on 6th march).

Below are the places i shortlisted. please feel free to suggest if any other places i could see nearby or en route.

Can you please help me how best i can plan my itinerary to cover all these places.

Places:
Gala Yuzawa Snow Resort (half day tour)
tokyo city (half day tour)
Disneyland and disneysea (Planning for both on one day, I know its tough but we are planning to complete the disneyland pretty quick for my 4 year old)
fuji q highland
Kawazu-zakura Festival 2019 -
kusatsu onsen/hakone
Himeji Castle
Shinjuku Gyo-en
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
Shopping - 1 day

Thanks
Anil Kumar

You have lots of stuff in/around Tokyo and then throw in a 4 hour trip south to Himeji and then a plane trip to Okinawa - those two are odd additions.

If you want an aquarium Fukushima Aquamarine is very good (day-trip north of Tokyo), and there are a few castles around (like Odawara - a modern rebuild, but ok) so you don't have to go all the way to Himeji.

Tokyo Disney doesn't sell one day park hoppers unless you are staying on property. Your only options to visit both parks on the same day would be to buy either 1) two separate tickets, one for Sea and one of Land for the same day or 2) buy a one day for Sea or Land and then see if there are Twilight tickets available that day for park #2. I personally think it is really hard to do both parks in the same day unless the weather is bad. The lines get long very quickly even on off days and fast passes can just go.

Most of the days for your trip are predicted to be quite crowded at TDR.

http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/disney/

I went this Summer on a 35,000 person rated day and you would have to pay me to ever go back for such crowds at Sea. It was miserable just walking around.

So....7 full days for all of that? It looks very unrealistic.
Himeji Castle is definitely one of the very best (as is the Kokoen Garden near it).
https://goo.gl/65ZtRi

But you list nothing else in Kansai. Are you thinking of doing it as a day trip? Trains would take you 6 hours round trip minimum. I'm afraid it is not a practical idea.
The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is another gem - but again, just that? Leave it for a future trip.
Shinjuku Gyoen is not bad - the Japanese garden is easily the best. The French garden is a long line of roses (out of season). The English "garden" is a big empty lawn. There are some better gardens to see in Tokyo:
https://goo.gl/tAECfM

Also Kusatsu and Hakone - in one day? Nonsensical.

Which airport(s) will you fly into and fly out from?

You now plan too many things for a 4-year old kid to experience during only 7 days.

I recommend you choose one among Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea and Fuji-Q Highland.
Tokyo Disneyland would simply be enough for your kid to enjoy himself/herself and get so tired to be sleepy on the following day.
When a little kid visits plural theme parks in succession, he/she may confuse the similar memories in the future.

It sounds better to leave the Okinawa aquarium for the next chance.
In recent years, also in and around Tokyo, many aquariums got renewed or newly opened.

Himeji Castle has narrow and steep staircases inside its donjon.
Unless your kid is interested in the architecture of this traditional castle, it may be better to let him/her and one parent of him/her stroll in the nearby garden while the other adults are exploring the donjon.

You can make side trips to Hakone and Kawazu on your way from Tokyo for Kansai Region.

Thanks you all for the wonderful replies, Really appreciate the suggestions from each one of you.

1. I am planning to stayback at the Disney Resort, So will try covering both on one day with fast track or twilight tickets. Worstcase, If its too crowded will get settled with one of them.

2. Planning to skip the okinawa sea aquarium since its only accessible by flight and difficult to accommodate in our tight schedule.
3. we are reaching Narita Airport on 26th Feb at 6 PM.

Itinerary so far :

1. Hakone 2 days :
1st day - Onsen and Kawazu-zakura Festival 2019
2nd day - Fuji Q highland and lake Kawaguchi
2. Kyoto - 1 day
Himeji castle and Bamboo forest
3, Tokyo - Disneyland/DisneySea - 1 day
4. Tokyo- Gala Yuzawa Snow Resort - half day

So totally I was able to plan for 4.5 days , Still have 2.5 days completely in hand.

Please suggest me if im missing any of the must see places with your expertise.

Thanks
Anil Kumar

To be frank, I think your trip sounds miserable. It's all racing between sights and theme parks with no time to enjoy any of them. Is this trip just checking off items on a list, or do you want to actually have fun and enjoy your trip?

Yeah, look you'd struggle getting those things in if you had 2 weeks.

Personally I'd forget Himeji. Yes it is pretty, but not a 4 hour trip then 2 hours in a line pretty. I'd go if it was an hour out of my way. There are nice original castles much closer to other places that you want to go, like Hikone (just near Kyoto) or Matsumoto. Matsumoto would be my pick because of other places you are going. It also has some nice artifacts. I'd goi to Hikone if you are going on to Kyoto, which I wouldnt.

I'd also forget the bamboo forest. It isnt like the pictures you see, there is no peace there, just a mass of people with some bamboo on either side of them. Arashiyama is pretty, but I wouldnt travel 3 hours to see it.

If you want a trip with theme parks, a castle, and onsen town, and Fuji views you can do all of that in a less frantic way, eg Tokyo Disney - either Hakone or Lake Kawaguchiko - Matsumoto - Bessho Onsen - Tokyo, then for some temples have a day trip or overnight trip to Kamakura and Enoshima (Kamakura has a bamboo grove as well). Or if you are keen on Kusatsu Onsen, I would go ...Matsumoto - Karuizawa - Kusatsu Onsen - Tokyo.

As for Hakone or Lake Kawaguchiko, there is more to do at Hakone but the views of Mt Fuji from Lake Kawaguchiko are better - quite spectacular. I quite like both, but I wouldnt go back to Lake Kawaguchiko whereas I am going back to Hakone albeit I was last there nearly 10 years ago.

Dude,

Indeed like the others have mentioned your itinerary looks really horrible, unless it is really about ticking as many boxes as possible. You are planning to go to Tokyo and Kyoto, without actually even seeing the places. Do yourself a favour and plan 4 days in Tokyo and 5 days in Kyoto and cover some of the places mentioned from there as side trips. Also plan your sightseeing by clustering sights that are close by. Himeji and bamboo forest on the same day do not make sense as you will pass by 100+ sights in between.

For Kyoto:
- Download the tourist bus map (e.g. http://youinjapan.net/maps/kyoto_maps.php), study it and look up on this site all the 3 star sights listed under Kyoto on this website. Plan your trip to hit multiple sights that are close by each other. Get all day passes for your entire family for each day you spend in Kyoto.
- Do not miss some of the great sights like Fushimi Inari, Kyomizu Dera, Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji. - Consider Nara as a side trip, which is great with amazing temples and the deer park.
- Osaka is also close by as a side trip, which is worth spending an evening at Namba / Dotonbori. Maybe good to close off a day after spending the morning and early afternoon around Himeji. I definitely think Himeji castle is worth a visit.

For Tokyo:
- For your kid Akihabara may be nice for your kid with the different arcades, although 4 year old may be a bit young.
- Do not miss out on Shibuya and Shinjuku after it gets dark . Also has some good shopping areas. During day time the Shinjuku Gyoen (park) is also nice to have some quiet time. Not sure how it is during winter, but in spring it was really nice.
- Not sure what you plan to see and do in Hakone. I experienced it to be a bit of a rush to do the round trip in one day. It was fun, but if I had to choose between Hakone and Nikko for side trips the latter would be my definite choice.
-Covering both Disney theme parks in one day is less theme park time for your kid as you spend a lot of time entering/travelling/exiting parks. It's up to you but I would pick one.

Okinawa is too far to go for a 8 day itinerary. Slow you are right near the end of the snowy season, so any snow flieds will be more ice and slush. I'd omit those two places.

For a 8 day trip, I'd just do 4 days Tokyo and 4 days Kyoto, with your suggested side trips attached.

But considering the theme parks you wanna do. I'd stay just in Tokyo for the full 8 days. With Karastu, Fuji Hakone, shopping, theme parks, tokyo tour, you'll easily use up the 8 days. And you trip will be significantly less expensive as you are not purchasing transport options to gallivant across the country. Saving big dollars or rupees for another trip to cover those missed locations.

After seeing the itinerary you posted on 2018/12/30 21:06, I say still you have it too busy.
I guess you completely underestimate the time it takes to travel between places.
Kawazu is NOT in Hakone. Fuji Q Highland and Lake Kawaguchi are NOT in Hakone.
Himeji Castle is NOT in Kyoto. Gala Yuzawa is NOT in Tokyo, so it is impossible to go/enjoy/return within a half day.

Thank you very much for taking time and providing your suggestions.

Luckily Iam able to extend my stay from (26th Feb to 10 Mar) - 11 Complete days. Should I stay in Tokyo for 6 days and Kyoto for 5 days and make side trips from there.

Thanks
Anil Kumar