April 2023 trip planning

We are planning a family trip to Japan from about 3rd April to 24th. It would have been later except for the return to school and... Golden Week starting soon.

We are four... my husband and I who have travelled to most of Japan before from the bottom of Kyushu to Hokkaido, our daughter and our grand-daughter who will be 14 by then. We've had the joy of visiting with the daughter and grand-daughter before covid so we (the oldies have been there a lot but the others only once (and loved it!).

Here's the current idea. My husband and I will go early on 3rd/4th April and the other two will arrive on 11th (they have to stay here for a wedding - no choice and it's good for us to do something alone anyway) and then we'll all return on 24th.

We are thinking that the two of us will arrive in Osaka - pick up a car and, over 5-6 days drive through Yoshino area to Ise Temple and then gradually up, close to the coast, to the Izu peninsula and maybe finish at Hakone, drop the car and take a train up to Narita to meet the girls.

We'll spend the first night with them in Narita (lovely town) and then train to Ashikaga to see the area and the Flower park (two nights there). Then we'd head to Nagano and pick up a car, go to Obuse for the Hokasai gallery etc and then head down to Matsumoto where we'd centre ourselves for perhaps another 3 nights enjoying one of my favourite towns/castle, do a drive out to Takayama and surroundings etc.

Then we'll drop the car back in Nagano and train to Tokyo where we have found a lovely house in Asakusa for 6-7 days. The girls want plenty of time in Tokyo.

Questions:?

Does this work in early April?

Are we too early for Ashikaga to be gorgeous (we'd be there 12th/13th April)?

Do you have any other suggestions of lovely places to visit on day trips out of either Nagano or Matsumoto?

Do you have any suggestions for activities for us with a 14 year old girl in any of these places, especially Tokyo? We've been to Disney World (fabulous) and Ueno zoo and just hung out in Tokyo for a week before. The Edo museum is still closed unfortunately but is there anything as great as that?

I am trying to work out how to get tickets ahead for the Ghibli museum but it's hard in English - any helpful instructions please?

I think that's enough for now - it's all very exciting - getting back to Japan after such a long lockout and I really want to organise it so everyone has a wonderful time.

thanks in advance!

Are we too early for Ashikaga to be gorgeous (we'd be there 12th/13th April)?�¨
The wisteria season is around Golden Week, so it will be quite early.
https://www.ashikaga.co.jp/fujinohana_special2022/jp/
Fun places for 14 year old girls
Sanrio Puroland
https://www.puroland.jp/
Mother Farm
https://www.motherfarm.co.jp.e.apt.hp.transer.com/
Minatomirai
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3200.html
Hakkeijima Sea Paradise
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3213.html
Moominvalley Park
https://metsa-hanno.com/
The Harry Potter facility is also scheduled to open in 2023, though a date has not yet been set.

Hi!

If you like dessert and like Ghibli, you might want to go to:
http://www.shiro-hige.net/

Shiro Hige's Cream Puff Factory. I've not been to the main branch just the Kichijoji one, we loved the cookies.

What you want to do with a 14 year old partially depends on what the 14 year old is interested. I plan to take my tween to Team Lab Planets, because I regret we missed Borderless, despite her having been to Japan multiple times.

If she likes theme parks, she might like USJ. We're planning to try Nagashima Spa Land. It's an amusement park, an onsen facility, and there is a nearby flower park Nabana no Sato.

I k now you've said you've been to Japan before, but just be aware the drop off fees for a car rented in Osaka and dropped off in Hakone is going to have very high drop off fees. I remember once thinking of renting a car in Takayama and dropping it off in Matsumoto, and I was looking at 10,000 yen additional. It is possible yours will be much higher because Osaka is considerably further from Hakone.

Good luck!

Ikuta Ryokuchi Park may also be good.
Fujiko F Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum)
Japanese Minkaen
Taro Okamoto Museum of Art
and so on.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3250.html
https://fujiko-museum.com/english/
https://www.ikutaryokuti.jp/forein_en.html

thank you for all these answers. Sorry for the late reply, work has been crazy and now Christmas is coming up!! I have most bookings in place now so I think I'll be back onto the forums early in the new year with lots of questions.
So good to have experienced people to turn to. Thank you!