Itinerary for July 2020 Olimpics

First of all Greetings to all!
Im exited to assist to my first olimpics and in Japan!
This would be my Third time there, the other two being in the Sakura Season.
Im traveling now with my sons, my twins. that are going to have two years at the time.

Im posting my itinerary to see is there are any flow are can you give me any more ideas or events in the days im going to be there

My Flight is bought, im arriving to Narita on Saturday July 04 and departing on Tuesday July 28
I too have reserved my Airbnbs in the locations so i think i have everything ready.

Day 01 Saturday July 04 Tokyo
We arrive at 6 Am at the airport (Narita)
We expect to be ready to move from our airbnb at around 1:00 or at the most 2:00 pm
This first day we would like to go to Sanrio Puro Land, at 1 hour from our location

Day 02 Tokyo
Harajuku - Meiji Shrine - Shinjuku

Day 03 Tokyo
Shitamachi Tanabata in Asakusa

Day 04 Tokyo
Ogawamachi Tanabata and in the night the Washi Candle Night in Zojoji Temple

Day 05 Tokyo
Disneyland

Day 06 Tokyo
DisneySea

Day 07 Tokyo
Yokohama

Day 08 Tokyo - Osaka
Travel to Osaka, our airbnb is near Dotonbory so we are going to sighseeing there

Day 09 Osaka
The aquarium and the Kids Plaza Osaka

Day 10 Osaka
Universal Estudios, Hopefully the Mario Land, Land is going to be open, not expecting to ride (mostly for the crouds and our twins) just to see the land and visit other parts of the park
Also the new movie of evangelion is going to be premiere one month before (june) so im expecting to see some theme like attack at titan inside the park

Day 11 Osaka - Miyajima
Sighseeing the dome and hiroshima castle (Not entering the museum) and then proceed to the island

Day 12 Miyajima - Okayama-Naoshima
This are going to be a dificult day, but i think can be made

Day 13 Okayama-Naoshima - Kyoto
Go to Kyoto, Visit Gion street, yasaka shrine and dinner at kawadoko if possible

Day 14 Kyoto
Gion Matsuri
Kiyumisumadera

Day 15 Kyoto
Go to nagoya at legoland

Day 16 Kyoto
Arashiyama

Day 17 Kyoto
Go to Nara and Fushimi Inari

Day 18 Kyoto - Tokyo
In the morning before departing try to go to keage incline

Day 19 Tokyo
Ghibli Museum

Day 20 Tokyo
Kamakura and Shimbashi Koichi Festival

Day 21 Tokyo
Inauguration of the olimpics

Day 22 Tokyo
olimpics sport in the morning, Odaiba after that and in the night Sumida River Fireworks

Day 23 Tokyo
Olimpics sport in the morning and Shinjuku Eisa Festival

Day 24 Tokyo
Stroll around and relax and enjoy the festivities

Day 25 Tokyo - Departure


We have some tickets bought for the olimpics, exceptions for the inauguration but we have some others. if i do not manage to adquire for the opening ceremony (That i think will happen) then were do you suggest to see it?

Thanks in advance for any tip and suggestion you may have!

Regards!

So i guess is everything ok with my itinerary then =)

Hi!

Sorry, my child has been off school and we went on a vacation, so I've not been responding. I can't speak for other posters.

First, I don't know where you are from, but many people find the heat and humidity in Japan in mid to late June, July and August incredibly oppressive. I've been going Summer the last 4 years and it really can vary from being OK to just miserable and I have a relatively good tolerance for heat and humidity unlike many other forum posters.

Unless you've pre-booked to stay on property I would switch your TDR days to a two day period between July 7-9. This is the generally recommended crowd calendar : http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/disney/ You are much better off going to the lightest colored days as possible for both parks. Sea in particular gets insanely crowded though Land will have the new B+B ride.

Please be aware, unless it is bad weather, even on not crowded days the parks, especially Sea, get super crowded and make sure to give yourself time to get there. It's commutable from Tokyo, but it takes longer than you would think. If the park opens at 9 people will be there in line at 7:30 am or earlier. If you have jet lag and are up early take advantage of that. I like all the Tanabata Days merchandise.

Generally, with USJ they work out their themes ahead of time and I am not sure they are going to switch things up in early July. The crowds can be awful there and they have a crowd calendar as well. http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/usj/ Though it can take a while for it to update for your actual dates vs. TDR is updated for June and July already. Express passes can be wonderful. We used them one trip. The other trip it is pouring rain so a non issue.

I think it would be possible to get from Miyajima to Naoshima depending on when you leave and what you want to do on the way and do in Naoshima. The same is true for Naoshima to Kyoto. Just have low expectations. Last I checked, there were no children's bikes available on Naoshima so you will be relying on the buses or walking and it will be hot and humid.

I think Nara and Fushimi Inari in one day is a long day and I am generally a faster paced tourist. I think it can be particular hard with heat, crowds, and traveling with children. I can honestly say, that unless your children are seasoned travelers who thrive in heat and humidity, I think you need to find one day with less activity. I know for mine, we took one day to relax and do karaoke and crafts at the Kyoto Handicraft Center.

I can not imagine anyone spending a full day in the Ghibli Museum. It is tiny. Make sure you know how to get tickets and get yours in advance. There are different possibilities depending on your home country. My kid loves Miyazaki films was was not wowed by the museum. I think it is most popular with people who want to buy lots of merchandise from the museum gift shop.

I can't answer for your Olympics questions as I've never seen them and have zilch desire to see them. I want to be out of Japan waaaaaay before they start.

Good luck!

BTW, do not assume you will be able to use lockers in the train stations. I don't know if they will do the same thing for the Olympics, but for the G20 this past Summer, all lockers and trash bins were closed for several days surrounding the G20 through out Japan. I was in Tohoku during it and lockers were still closed there even though it was nowhere near where the Summit was in Osaka.

Sumida River Fireworks has been moved up to July 11th for 2020 as far as I know (considering the Olympics). This should be an indicator that Tokyo will be in a very �gunusual�h situation during the Olympic Games, or at least it is expected to be. As a Tokyo resident I wish I could stay completely away from it�c I do expect a lot of travelers coming to Japan during this upcoming summer, and things could be awfully packed. So plan your days giving plenty of time for transportation and queuing up at places.

Thank you so much rkold
At the contrary, im glad and very thankful that you had the time to answer my doubts!

im from Mexico, so the weather is not going to be a very big issue

i have prebooked my stays in a Airbnb all the week in Tokyo, so we could be going and returning to our stay the same day, my little kids at the time we are there in tokyo are going to be two years old exactly, so even if the parks are insanely crowded we are not going to be able to ride the majority of the main atractions, and instead we are going to be in the flying dumbo, seeing the shows and the parades, etc.
We are planning to be in Disney on Wednesday 08 and Disneysea on Thursday 09, so we are good with the period you are recomending! Thank you =D

For Universal Studios, is going to be the same, just some kids friendly atractions and shows, so i would believe the express pass is not going to be necesary, im going to miss the new atractions at Mario Land =( until the next visit or the next opening at Orlando =P when my kids can ride the atractions!

In Naoshima is the tipical photo with the yellow pumpkin in the sea and enter some museums
Its going to be our first time in the island (The other sites would be our third time, including the parks)

Nara and Fushimiinari, we are not expecting to go all the way up to the mountain, just the necesary, take some pictures, stamp our album with the temple stamp and follow to Nara! to see the kids impresions with the deers =P
and see if they can fit in the hole in the pilar at the buda, relax a little bit in the park, etc.
I didnt know the Kyoto Handicraft center, im going to look at it and see if we can visit it! thank you for the suggestion!

Yeah... the first time i visit the ghibli museum was a little disappoint it... and i know with less than half a day we are good, but my plan is to go to the museum in the morning and stroll in the park next to the museum and ride a boat with the kids in the pound, relax and enjoy a little calm from previous and tiring days.

For the lockers, i have the idea i can storage my excess baggage and even send it to our next destination with the Yamato Transport... but i still dont know because is a little bit expensive =P but i cant see me carring the babys and my luggage for example from the airport to our stay =(

Thanks again for your time!

Thank you AK!
Holy wacamolis... the change in the sumida river fireworks is a big... BIGGG dissapointment... as for that saturday we are traveling to Osaka =(
So im 90% sure im going to miss the show

The idea i have for commuting is to reserve my trips in the shinkansen when i arrive to Narita, to have it beforehand and not rush in the same day.
I have been there before in the sakura season and everything was packed, i expect something similar. (Hopefully)

Thank you for your time!

Hi!

Oh good, I am glad you are OK with the weather. A lot of people posting here are from Europe, Australia and New Zealand and they don't seem able to deal well with heat and humidity. There are plenty of places where it is just a fact of life.

I'm surprised your 2 year olds don't need to nap. Mine use to need one religiously and didn't stop with napping until around 3 or 4. Sometimes I miss it, though having an older child means we can do a lot more. For rides without a height line, shows and parades, they can still be ridiculously crowded in Tokyo Disney and just walking around can be difficult. Our last two trips just getting around the parks was hard and the lines at Sea for the kid rides were a good 30-40 minutes. Dumbo is insanely popular, even with adults. I think you underestimate how bad lines can get even on quiet days. BTW you can go on the bigger rides if you want and use child swap. I've not done it at Disney as my spouse never comes with me. USJ also offers child swap and for many rides has a super nice waiting room near where the ride loads and unloads. In general, I found the kiddie rides at USJ completely empty. They're Sesame Street and Peanuts themed. I believe your children are free at all the parks.

I am unsure about sending luggage to and from AirBnBs. I know it is possible, and I know takyuubin is only around 2000 yen on a big suitcase, but I only do hotels or ryokan. You will need to figure out delivery since you don't have a hotel concierge to receive your bags. Also be aware that specifically the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu shinkansen is changing their luggage rules this Spring: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2274.html

I just think it is good to be aware that garbage and lockers could be closed. The lockers didn't affect me personally, but there were a few times I was walking around with garbage from snacks I had eaten on the train. I hadn't thought it would affect me since I was in Tokyo and Tohoku.

The crafts at the Handicraft Center are geared towards older children or adults. When mine was 2, we only traveled within the US. Her first long flight was at 5 for Hawaii (10 hours) and then that Summer we did Japan for her first time. I will say, going to Japan with a kid after going to Japan without one is really different. My kid at 2 was fairly active and would not have enjoyed quite so much sitting time on some of your longer train trips.

Good luck!