Originally Posted by Mileage Lover
Hi,
I'm planning on redeeming Northwest mile for a first time trip to Asia next summer. I have a 10-year old so thought Japan would be fun. We want to spend around 2 weeks and hopefully redeem my Hilton and Priority Club points for hotels.
If you were going on a family trip, what 2 or 3 cities would you go to? I need to figure if I should fly into and out of Narita or fly into one city and out of another, etc.
Any advice or recommendations? (P.S. I know my daughter would love Tokyo Disneyland).
Thanks much!
Two weeks? That is a long time in Japan. You could see and do a lot.
As for places, I suggest Tokyo and Kyoto for sure. Beyond that, there are a lot of great choices. You probably should get a couple of good guidebooks and compare choices. Some options are Hiroshima, Kamakura, the Hakone area near Mount Fuji and the ancient city of Nara (near Kyoto.) Without knowing what your daughter likes, it is hard to be specific, but don't miss the river cruise in Tokyo, the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Tokyo and all of Kyoto. The better guidebooks, like Frommers, all have sections of suggestions for traveling with kids.
Summer is not the best time to visit, but if you are working around school vacation you may not have much choice. June is the typhoon or rainy season and July/August can be pretty hot and muggy in Tokyo. Plan accordingly. There are several festivals or "matsuri" in summer, so keep an eye out for that. Most guidebooks list dates and locations for the majors.
I am a big fan of flying into NRT(Tokyo) and out from KIX(Osaka/Kyoto) - or vice versa - and using the trains in between. I think you could do that on NWA or one of their codeshares.
Search through past threads in this forum. We have had many similar questions and the information contained herein is extensive. Just this morning, there was a wealth of information posted about getting from NRT to Tokyo and on to Kyoto.
JR