Rather than social media highlights (of which we have posted plenty), this is focused on learnings, tips, and other practical advice that can help others planning similar trips.
TL;DR
Seattle -> Tokyo. Two adults, two children (10, 12 yo).
4 nights in Kyoto. 6 nights in Tokyo.
$19,000 USD: including $5500 for flights, $5200 for accommodations, $1800 for major transit, and $2600 for pre-booked tours and resort passes.
Rating: FIVE STARS! A+++ would travel again. This was our first big post-COVID trip, and arguably the biggest trip we've done since having kids, and went better than we could have hoped.
Key tips:
- Plan in advance, at least four months out. The economical and most convenient flight/hotel options fill up early. Some major tourist attractions fill reservations three months in advance.
- If possible, plan your desired itinerary, then fill hotels and flights to match. We ended up doing this backwards, and had to book some very expensive Shinkansen rides to hit certain attractions (notably Ghibli Park out of Nagoya).
(note: even with all our Shinkansen use, the JR Rail pass would only barely break even on cost). - Pack small. Wheeled suitcases are ubiquitous in Japan, but travel becomes more difficult with multiple or oversized bags. Large bags are discouraged on local transit, long-distance rail has only limited luggage space, and even the largest taxis are the size of a compact American car.
- While credit cards work at larger facilities, cash is still prevalent for smaller shops, street vendors, and arcades. Always carry some 100¥ coins for gachapon and vending machines.
- You can get cash from an ATM, and for me the exchange rate was better by about 3% to just charge directly in JPY vs whatever the local device's USD conversion was offering.
- Almost nobody outside of tour operators could speak a word of English, even in tourist areas. While street signs were often in English, details (eg. food menus) often weren't. Get comfortable communicating in hand gestures and pointing at menus. Get some practice in Google Translate and Google Lens, as you will rely on them frequently
- If you're ever stuck, Uber works in Japan! Waits were short, and having both navigation and payment covered in the app avoids communication challenges. Uber also offers options for big (for Japan) vans, which are what you will need if you have even moderate amounts of luggage.
Daily Overview
Day 0
Woke up on departure day to a notice of a two hour flight delay from Japan Airlines. While an extra two hours certainly eases some stress on the departure, this actually meant some problems for arrival as we were planning to travel from Narita to Kyoto on our first afternoon. This pushed those plans firmly into our first evening, meaning our airport transfer, our Shinkansen tickets, and our hotel arrival were all too early!
However we were breathing a sigh of relief - we had previously debated whether it would have been more convenient to book a commuter flight from Narita to one of the Osaka airports. That plan would have unrecoverable with a two hour delay. Whereas rebooking the Shinkansen a day in advance was no problem.
It's been awhile since we've done international travel. Two free checked bags, proper meals, complimentary drinks. It brought me back to the glory days of air travel from my youth I so fondly remember.
Day 1 (and a lot of background)
We arrived in Narita airport Terminal 2 about 5:30pm on Friday. We had left a good 90 minute window to exit the airport (by revised schedule), but I think it only took us about 30 minutes to clear customs. There was almost zero line.
The first hiccup was the "Visit Japan Web" website. By pre-filling the form, you can in theory scan a QR code and not fill in any other immigration information. This does allow you to check in additional travelers. Maybe it was operator error, but even adding our entire family only generated a single QR code. Through Google Translate, the immigration officer was quite insistent that we needed FOUR QR codes, so we had to go back and fill in paper forms. But no problems after that.
Next was customs, where we addressed the elephant in the room, ADHD Medication. Stimulants are VERY illegal in Japan. Thankfully Vyvanse is considered "Stimulants Raw Materials" - still prohibited, but you can request an exception through the Narcotics Control Department. The idea of sending a weird form full of medical data to an email address on a poorly-written website seemed crazy, but it works exactly as intended. It took about four days to get a confirmation from NCD. They were pretty strict - I had to retake some photos so they could see every detail on the pill bottles. About a week before departure they sent certificates approving the imports.
In any case, on the aforementioned Visit Japan Web site, I had to declare "Prohibited Items" (not "Restricted Items"). At least the customs booth accepted our QR code. The prohibited items box raised an eyebrow with the officer, but they seemed to understand pretty quickly when presented the import certificates. They took a brief look at the pill bottles and let us through.
We planned to get Suica cards (stored value tap cards for transit), but the "Welcome Suica" designed for tourists are only sold at very specific locations. This took quite a bit of searching- they were a set of two ATM-sized red vending machines in the train terminal on floor B1, across from the regular ticket machines on the wall. I was able to load all our Suicas using a credit card.
I started with loading 10,000¥ on my Suica card, and probably went through 14,000¥ by the time I was done. This was mostly local transit, and the occasional vending machine or arcade game. Conversely, my 10yo qualified for child rates, and only went through about 7000¥ in total.
Note: the child cards will make a "bird chirp" any time they go through a transit gate. This is a good noise, meaning it has recognized him as a child, and not a warning of any problem.
Then we rode our private towncar, which was thankfully able to accommodate the adjusted schedule. We needed to get to Tokyo Station to take the Shinkansen, but we had been afraid we would not be able to figure out public transit under pressure after a 10 hour flight. The drive took about an hour (it would have been much longer if we had arrived at our original time), and cost 3x what the Narita Express would have. Whether or not it was the right decision this time, now being experienced with rail travel in Japan, I would just use the faster cheaper train system.
In a towncar outside Tokyo Station
By 8:22pm we're on the Tokaido Shinkansen, bound for Kyoto. Despite all the challenges, we were actually still ahead of schedule, so we took a non-reserved car. This is a pretty common mechanism for the longer-distance trains - if you wish to take an earlier or later train, you can simply wait in front of the non-reserved cars and try to get a seat. We never had any problem finding non-reserved seats together, though apparently later in the seasons the demand goes up and they eliminate the non-reserved cars entirely. We had wanted oversized luggage space, but managed to wedge our largest suitcase... creatively... into the overhead bins.
This turned into a theme in all our Shinkansen travel. Booking through Klook is like a travel agent - you make your request, then Klook attempts to find a seat for you. While our weeks-in-advance bookings had no problem getting luggage space, none of our rebookings, even a day in advance, were able to. We had to rely on the overhead bins for all our travel. We would have used the SmartEx app - which would have let us directly reserve seats - but they didn't accept my credit cards.
Now you may wonder... why fly into Narita to travel to Kyoto immediately? Well, travelling from Seattle, the flights are the single largest expense, and the most time-sensitive. So we booked them first, three months in advance. Even then good flight options were quickly disappearing. We figured we'd do Osaka near the end of the trip. It was some weeks later when our research led us to consider Kyoto at all, let alone at the start of the trip. We were only booking hotels weeks later.
In any case, we made it to Kyoto Station, and to our hotel, Mimaru Kyoto Kawaramachi Gojo. Despite being past the 10pm check-in deadline, we simply rang and after-hours bell, and had no problems checking in.
Day 2 - Kyoto (aka. 32000 steps)
This was our main "visit Kyoto day". We had heard that attractions fill up fast, so we booked an early morning walking tour. Admittedly this was pretty painful given our late night arrival - as noted earlier, booking airfare before making an itinerary has consequences. But also perhaps one of the best moments of all our time in Japan. We visited three BEAUTIFUL sites.
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
Kinkaku-ji Golden Temple
Even with the early start, the bamboo forest was packed by the time we arrived. The other two sites were only moderately busy.
At this point, the fam went back for some much needed rest, while I snuck off to visit the Suntory Yamazaki distillery. I just wanted to visit the distillery, but to get tickets, I had to do a tour that included the Asahi Art Museum. Roughly translated: rich dude buys a mountain and three Monets to make tourists legs hurt.
But with that out of the way, I got to visit the distillery which did not disappoint. A (very small) museum, leading to a tasting room. The samples cost money, but very economical overall.
Reuniting in Kyoto, we did our evening Gion tour. This consisted of walking through a night market and temple, but not all that worthwhile as it was literally filled shoulder-to-shoulder. We then wandered the Geisha district; while this was basically equivalent to wandering dark alleys at night, in Japan this is actually quite nice. We did see a few geiko actively working.
Today was a free day, with nothing explicitly booked. This went better than we could have hoped, as we were able to explore at our own pace. We found amazing food, gachapon stores by the dozen, and experienced two good cities.
Tourist trap? Sure. But I wanted to pet deers, and pet deers we certainly did. Travelling from Kyoto to Nara is as easy as any other local subway travel. Then a quick walk to the park, where there were indeed hundreds of deer wandering around.
Deer loose on the sidewalk
It's worth walking a ways in before buying crackers for feeding. The deer closest to the street tended to be very aggressive, and would push or even headbutt if they felt they were being denied their just rewards. The deer farther away from the road would still follow you around, but far less aggressively
We shopped a bit in Nara and grabbed some lunch, but I don't think you need a full day there. We metro'd off to Osaka for the afternoon.
We explored a few places in Osaka, starting at the Pokemon Center, then wandering over to the famous Dotonbori shopping and entertainment district. We discovered our first three-story gachapon stores. We also discovered our first arcade with Taiko no Tatsujin (a drum game), which became a favorite for the rest of the trip.
Just one of five floors of gachapon dispensers in this one Osaka store
We visited an Owl Cafe. Not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, petting owls was a unique experience. But they were literally strapped to their perches in a small room, which didn't feel quite right.
Finally we went to the Final Fantasy 14 Eorzea cafe. Meh. Some game video loops, collectible coasters, and mediocre food. Even by theme cafe standards, it was a little weak.
Day 4 - Super Nintendo World
Believe it or not, the whole origin story of this trip began with the desire to visit Super Nintendo World, at the time a newly announced zone in Universal Studios Japan. Since then, they've also opened a Super Nintendo World in the US, so technically we didn't have to travel to Japan for it anymore.
For the record, I hate Universal Studios. While they undeniably create some of the most intricate and wonderous environments, it's commercialized to a scale far beyond even Disney. Every shop is just a chance to sell more merchandise, more overpriced themed food. Overcrowded until every line is two hours long. Universal Japan combines peak Universal Studios capitalism with Japan's famous theme park crowds.
We had timed entry to Super Nintendo World, which ended up by lottery at the end of the day, so we didn't even head to Osaka until the afternoon. We decided to do a Japanese pancake breakfast, but realizing: Japan really doesn't do early! Nothing really opens until 10am, and the very few places that do open at 10 are wildly crowded. But with some perseverance we got our pancakes, and then made our way back to Osaka.
Well... back to Universal Studios. It was SO crowded through most of the main throughfares of the park. Never saw a line under 100 minutes. We had a couple of express passes with our entry package, but there wasn't really anything else we could do until it was time to go to Super Nintendo World.
But finally we got into Super Nintendo World. It's split evenly between Mario themed and Donkey Kong themed zones. You buy (of course) an NFC wristband that lets you punch bricks and collect coins. This syncs with the Universal app to track achievements. There's even an ARG where you complete tasks to unlock an exclusive "boss fight" shadow game.
Sadly a very late timed entry and wall-to-wall crowds meant we couldn't quite finish everything before the park closed.
Day 5 - Travel to Tokyo
We had taken the Shinkansen once before, but it was at night and we were wiped out. We got a mid-day trip, and experienced the Shinkansen in its full splendor! I wouldn't quite describe it as a tourist attraction in its own right; it's very much utilitarian for getting from point A to point B, just very very fast.
Hey, at least we saw Mt. Fuji
Funny enough, we hadn't actually been to a sushi restaurant at this point. It's actually a bit challenging finding a middle ground between fast food and fine dining omakase when it comes to sushi in Tokyo. Eventually we compromised on Sushiro in Tokyo Station. What a great choice! Sure, it was conveyor belt sushi, but even still it was some of the better sushi I had in my life. And for a family of 4 eating our fill, only $50.
Day 6 - Tokyo Tour
Before this trip, we were unsure how well the kids would take to a long walking tour. So this was a bus tour, which I think was a nice way to see a large number of neighborhoods. We saw a variety of sites, but also got a sense for the city, and noted some neighborhoods we wanted to return to in future days.
Inside Meiji Jinyu Shrine
About as close as you're getting to the Imperial Palace
If doing it again, I would skip the Imperial Palace. It's pretty, but it's basically a flat park, and you see some buildings behind a wall in the distance. Similarly, our tour included a harbor cruise which was completely uninteresting.
Day 7 - DisneySea
One of the two parks on the Tokyo Disney campus. It was good, but also basically what you'd expect from a Disney park. Took over an hour to clear security. We managed a few fast pass reservations, other lines were long, even on a cloudy mid-week morning. But even in a fairly short day, we got five rides in and a few key souvenirs, including some very important popcorn buckets.
Scallop flavored popcorn, not nearly as good as you'd imagine
Crowds and rain led us to leave by 3pm.
In the evening, we decided to check up Akihabara, the famous Tokyo electronics/gaming/anime district. The kids played rhythm games for hours.
Day 8 - Tokyo
We went to Shibuya, mostly to visit the Google office. But here is the Shibuya Scramble, a famously busy intersection.
Visited the Pokemon Cafe. This famously requires hard-to-get reservations, but the standby line certainly didn't look bad in the end, maybe we could have just walked in. The cafe was okay - dancing Pikachu, decent themed food, and lots of memorabilia. It was fine, but maybe not "reserve a month in advance" good.
Not sure I like the implications of this...
Day 9 - Ghibli Park
Despite our best effort, we were unable to obtain Ghibli Museum reservations for Tokyo. However, we found a day tour for "Ghibli Park" instead. We didn't really understand how this worked until we arrived. This is a large public park in a town outside of Nagoya, that happens to run several Ghibli themed attractions. The main attraction is the Grand Warehouse, a warehouse-sized building with Ghibli history exhibits, a small movie to watch, themed rooms, and so on. You could spend a couple of hours in here, but not really an all-day thing day. Around the park was also a Princess Mononoke themed village, a Valley of Witches themed zone. The center of the park is a big public space with performers and food trucks.
Our tour technically included the Museum of Flight, but we ignored this part, abandoned our bus, and made our own way back to Nagoya. The impression I got was that most passengers did the same.
The most expensive part of this trip was that it departed from Nagoya, which is most of the way to Kyoto. Thankfully the Shinkansen took us door-to-door but the round trip between Nagoya and Tokyo ended up costing us $600, which is a pretty steep price to visit a public park.
Ride in the Valley of Witches
Our first truly "free" day, we had not even considered any plans in advance. I'll admit, by now, we were pretty desperate to slow down the pace a bit. We're not exactly a high-energy family, but this trip had us going full speed for a week straight.
Our first destination was "Cat Cross" in Shinjuku, the famous 3D cat billboard. What I didn't realize is that you hear it too! So there's a giant cat meowing as it knocks fake objects off the building ledge. It's only a few minutes of content before it loops, but it's absolutely worth seeing.
We randomly explored, did some shopping. Sadly our adventure was cut short by a slip and fall in a subway station, so we called it a day.
Day 11 - Departure
We were taking an afternoon flight out, leaving several hours between hotel check-out and when we needed to head to Narita. Because it's so easy to get around Tokyo, we decided to go ahead and hang out in Akihabara for another hour. I visited an electronics store, bringing me back the familiar feeling of a Fry's Electronics in the USA. The prices didn't seem so impressive (though cheaper than the US), but the sheer scale and selection made it a wonder to browse.
This time, we took the Narita Express ("N'EX") train to the airport. Awkwardly it's in like the fifth sub-basement of Tokyo Station, it's a ten minute adventure just getting to the platform. But then it's a comfortable train ride. As comfortable as Shinkansen, but with ample room for even oversized luggage. I'd also argue even more scenic than the Shinkansen as you pass through so many small towns on the way to Narita.
One challenge in Narita was that I was relying on mobile check-in. But all of the boarding passes were on my phone, which is apparently not allowed as each passenger must carry their own pass. Then the check-in kiosk broke down. The (sometimes aggressively) helpful agents quickly helped me get new printed boarding passes and our bags checked. Train-to-gate was about 40 minutes, even with zero lines at security, but would have been much faster for a solo traveller.
Then we went home, a tired but immensely satisfied family! Groggy and dreaming of when we'd visit Japan next.
