booyun

Hi all,

This will be my first time visiting Japan (and Asia for that matter) and wanted to get your thoughts on my itinerary. I am traveling with my wife and 2 kids (age 5 and 8). Here is my proposed itinerary:

- Jun 27 Arrive in NRT at ~1300. Take Limo bus or NEX to Tokyo. Check-In to hotel (any suggestions on hotel near train station so we can quickly check in to hotel and easily depart the next day for Osaka/Kyoto?)

- Jun 28 Check out and take Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka. Stay at St Regis Osaka.

- Jun 28 - Jul 2 Explore Osaka along with day trips to Kyoto, Nara and maybe Himeji.

- Jul 2 Depart Osaka and head back to Tokyo. Check in to Conrad Tokyo.

- Jul 2 - Jul 6 Explore Tokyo with maybe day trip to Nikko

- Jul 6 Depart out of HND

Would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, tips, etc. Thanks all!

nishimark

You could easily get to Osaka on arrival day by plane (to KIX or ITM) or shinkansen. Or, have you thought of an open jaw ticket? (Arrive KIX, depart NRT or HND)

booyun

I considered the plane route but read some reviews that LCCs may not be reliable (schedule changes, cancellations, etc.)? As far as shinkansen, I've been debating that as well, but I'm wondering if we will be too exhausted after a 12 hour plane ride and just getting a hotel and bed is what we might prefer??? But if someone else has gone straight to Osaka and think it's reasonable, please advise. Unfortunately, my flights are already booked and I don't have the open jaw option.

jib71

With a 1pm arrival at NRT, I think it's not a bad idea to press on and get the train to Osaka same day. Sure, you'll be a little tired on arrival, but that may mean that you can grab a bite to eat, get an early night, and - properly exhausted - get a decent night's sleep.

nishimark

As a tourist, you can get Japan domestic air flights (ANA, JAL) for a discount. You could fly from NRT to Itami (ITM), the domestic airport in Osaka that is closer to the city as well as Kyoto.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/tr...count/air.html
I live in the general Osaka area and routinely do this transfer to and from the US with my family.

LizGross144

If you happen to have some Avios, flights from Tokyo to Osaka are 4,500 Avios + a few dollars per person.

nishimark

If your airline has a connection with JAL or ANA you might be able to ticket all the way to Osaka.

abmj-jr

I would probably go straight on to Osaka - by train, not a miniature seat in Y on a Japanese LCC. On the other hand, I would not be traveling with 2 elementary school-aged kids. Only you know how they might react to the long day. As for plane versus train, I would think the bullet train might appeal to the kids. It is certainly more comfortable than other means of transportation. For the flight option, the flight is less than an hour and the bus into Osaka is about the same. I am sure the limo-bus stops at the St. Regis.

If you decide to do an overnight before taking the train the next day, I'd suggest a hotel near Shinagawa Station rather than Tokyo. The shinkansen departs from there as often as from Tokyo Station and Shinagawa is a LOT easier to navigate for first-timers. The train ride will take from 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 hours depending on which train you use. The ride into Shinagawa on the N'Ex is about an hour. All in all, the flight option will get you there faster but the train option will be more comfortable and offer some sight-seeing out the train window, along with the chance to enjoy a train lunch box (eki-ben) on the way.

Since your total time outside Tokyo is 7 days, I'd think the 7-day Japan Rail Pass would be a good option for you, especially if you plan a day trip to Himeji or Hiroshima. Activate it when you arrive at NRT, before your flight or train. If you choose to use trains and forego the domestic flight option, you could use the Rail Pass to pay for the N'Ex in addition to the longer train trips. On the other hand, if you fly to Itami and only do Shin-Osaka-Tokyo one way, the Rail Pass may not pencil out and you would be better off just buying tickets as you go.

nishimark

Actually, not bad, especially for a 1-hour flight. I've never felt overly cramped and I'm a normal US sized kind of guy. Other things in the post above are good points.

evergrn

I have similar-age kids. I do this all the time. I would press onto Osaka. You are flying in from LAX, correct? What flight is that? Singapore? If so, excellent choice!

If you do decide to press on to Osaka the first day, then I would recommend flying. As long as you find a decent connection at NRT, flying should be faster than the train. Also cheaper (see below). The later it gets that afternoon, the more tired and cranky your kids will be. LA is 7hrs ahead, so it'll get more and more past their bedtime.

As nishimark points out, there are special gaijin discount air fares. Perhaps an even better deal might be 5000 UA miles one-way on NH. Award seat availability is excellent on domestic NH, but keep in mind that they open up the inventory only 2 months out.

If you do decide to spend the first night in Tokyo, then I concur with the suggestion to stay near Shinagawa station.

booyun

wow, you guys are awesome! a lot of good suggestions there and really gets my mind churning on various options now. I will certainly look into the domestic flight options as it may be faster.

evergrn, yes, i am flying in from LAX on SQ 11 business class...really excited for that flight! my kids are actually very well behaved when we travel (and we travel quite a bit but this will be our first International trip (excluding mexico)) so I'm not too worried about melt downs etc. But it may change my strategy in trying to get them to take a nice long nap on the flight in.

Another question I had was I know a lot of people love Kyoto. But based on my research so far, it seems like Kyoto has a lot of traditional Japan type of sites, etc. and I'm just not sure how much my kids would appreciate all that. I don't necessarily need kid activities and sites (kid museum, disney, etc.) but I do want them to see some of the temples, etc mixed in with some kid type of stuff. So with that in mind, I'm not making a mistake by not staying in Kyoto, right? Personally for me, I just want to eat all the great food in Japan (amongst other things)!!

nishimark

Staying in Osaka, for example Umeda area, is quite good for getting to Kyoto as well as other places such as Himeji. You might want to keep a list of ideas rather than a set itinerary and go a day at a time, depending on how the kids are doing. As you probably know, USJ is a very popular major theme park in Osaka.

There's also a ninja town that you could go to for a day trip.
http://iganinja.jp/en/

And another in Kyoto as part of a traditional Japanese movie set park.
http://www.toei-eigamura.com/en/

evergrn

Ok, so then your flight gets into NRT at 1.45pm. Actually, in June, LA is 8hrs ahead. Business class should help, but nonetheless your kids may not sleep much on the flight. Even then I would still press onto Osaka for the sake of not having to check into and out of a Tokyo hotel for just 1 night, which is always a hassle. I know my kids would handle the extra short flight (+ bus/train ride from ITM/KIX into town) just fine. Nonetheless I would definite suggest plane over bullet train, as stated above. If you fly NH from NRT to Osaka, I presume you'll be able to tag the bag through to Osaka. But at NRT, you have to claim your checked bags regardless, do customs and then recheck your bags. NRT is very efficient, though, and it's really painless. NH's bag drop area is right after customs towards the right.

You will get different answers from different people on this. One thing for sure is you should pick one hotel to stay in, whether it's Kyoto or Osaka. It is easy to go between those two cities. 30min on express JR train from Osaka to Kyoto, 40min on Hankyu train from Umeda to the heart of Kyoto, even faster on bullet train. So your choice of where to stay could be dictated by the hotel price/points, hotel status perks, etc.

I was mesmerized the first time I went to Kyoto. I've gone back there many times since, but I don't find it all that exciting anymore. But keep in mind there're others who'll say Kyoto gets better and better each time they go back. Anyways, I still go there from time to time. In fact, we just spent 3 nights there last month. But I never spend more than a day there when I visit. Last month, 1 day of hanging out in Kyoto was enough. We went to other places the rest of the time. If you wanted to see most of Kyoto, you need 3 days or more. But you could easily cover certain highlights in 1 day. For instance, Fushimi Inari for 1.5hrs and then swing by Kiyomizudera and down along the nearby shops to Gion (another few hours total), then bus over to Kinkakuji.

shuigao

You're right, they probably won't. Heck, the first time I visited the UK my uncle took me on a lake district cruise and a picnic with tea and scones and even at 14 years old I didn't appreciate it one bit.

But this is a family holiday so you should mix in things that you and your spouse would appreciate (even though your kids may not). Feeding the deer at Nara will be amazing for the kids, and perhaps exploring the Osaka aquarium ... and maybe certain attractions at USJ.

RTW1

Travelling to Osaka on that arrival day may indeed be the better plan. But don't forget to factor in time and costs when deciding how to travel.

If you plan to do some travel the decision on going by train and buying a RailPass is an easy one. The main problem I normally have with taking a domestic flight is that you need to factor in time for delays and immigration for your longhaul. Then the schedule by train (where you can depart every 10-15 minutes) becomes a lot more attractive, especially if your hotel is anywhere near a station).

But beware activating that voucher at NRT can also take some time....