Originally Posted by MFK

Hey FTers,
Our *A miles were about to expire, so we booked our family of three on a trip to Japan (1 April - 17 April). It is our first intercontinental trip with our 5 year old daughter so quite curious how she's going to deal with jetlag etc. This is our scond time in Japan.

Our main purpose is to walk around, eat local food and visit fair amount of science museums / planetariums / zoos / aquariums etc.

At the moment I'm thinking of (we have been in all three cities before, so more focus on finding places for the young one):

• Tokyo, 1-6 April: National Museum of Nature, Ueno Park, Miraikan, DisneySea. Leasure strolls in Shinjuku / Shibuya.
• Kyoto, 6-11 April: Railway Museum, Nijo Castle, Manga Museum, Day trip to Nara
• Osaka 11-15 April: Osaka Science Museum, Osaka Aquarium
• (maybe) Lake Kawaguchi with view on Fuji Mountain (15-16)
• departure to Taipei on 16th (my better half is Taiwanese)

I'm looking for a bit of advice on following:

• Last time we travelled A LOT and JR Pass was a good deal. This time we will have 3 major train legs within 2 weeks, so tickets economically make much more sense, esp after price increases. Would you agree?
• Are there any major / cool spots in any of these three places related to science / geography you would recommend to go with 5 year old?
• Big fan of electric guitars here - any major shops / markets I can't miss?
• Any advice on where to eat in a family setting (mid to upper price is OK)?

Thanks a ton!
M