We went for about 4 days on our way home from Europe. Did all the touristy things. Spent time in Shibuya (sp) Mt Fuji The palace... With kids you could also do Disneyland, but as J was only 18 months old we didn't. Now that they are older, we would probably ski too if we went in winter.
Depends on where in Japan you are going but when I was there (sans kids) I went to the Tokyo Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Ueno Park, bonsai museum (can't remember the name of it but I can dig out info), Shibuyu shopping district, Shinjuku.
So.... we're going in January. Just shy of 3 weeks so a bit more than we originally intended and almost a year later.
I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed with choice. I've had a thumb through a guidebook and poked around online a bit.
I'm thinking that with a short time we might just stick to skiing and Tokyo, Kyoto and anything in between them. DS2 wants to see Mt Fuji and DS1 wants to see a martial arts fight.
We'll give Disneyland a miss. The boys went to EuroDisney so that's enough Disney to last me a lifetime.
Obviously we're going to ski because that's what we do. Hakuba V's Shiga Kogen V's Nozawa Onsen? Hakuba has a ski school for the boys that comes very highly recommended but I'm sure the other resorts have ski schools with English speaking instructors. Shiga Kogen is huge and closer to the snow monkeys. Nozawa Onsen is smaller and has a fire festival that could coincide with our visit. On one hand festivals are fun but on the other hand they create crowding and increase prices for the week they are on. Has anyone visited any of these resorts?
I've been looking at JRail passes. I'm not sure if it's economical if we're not traveling about a lot. How many train journeys do I need to do to make a JRail pass work for us? Can you use them on the subway?
Definitely stick to Toyko and Kyoto - both have so much to see including Disneyland, although DH and I were there pre kids!!!! Shinkansen to Kyoto. We also did Hiroshima which was amazing but also really sad. We also went to Matsue and stayed at a traditional inn, not too many tourists head up that way. I loved Kyoto more than Toyko, lots of gorgeous amazing gardens, inns and temples.
Nozawa!!!! If I had 10 days in Japan in January I wouldn't go anywhere else. We were a few days early for the fire festival, but we saw the preparation, it would be wonderful to go then. Nozawa is a great place to samle Japanese culture - the traditional onsens, the temples, heaps of great food too. The people are super friendly, and the skiing is GOOD. I don't know about ski schools or kids, but it's a very family friendly mountain. Heaps of facilities, and nothing is too expensive. The coffee sucks though.
January there is sumo in Tokyo, look online for schedules of when it is. I don't know about other martial arts. We also went to see keirin racing, fun and interesting, but akin to coming to Australia and going to greyhound acing just because you like dogs.
We only saw Mt Fuji out the window of a Shinkansen, but that was amazing enough for us.
I have been thinking about doing this too. I have been by myself but have never taken the kids.
Top of my list is a visit to Studio Ghibli! A friend told me the bus that picks you up from the station to get there is painted as a 'catbus'! My kids would have an absolute fit to be able to ride catbus - Totoro is one of their favourite ever movies. Anything to do with Totoro or Ponyo would keep my kids entertained for days.
Other kid friendly highlights:
Tokyo - Yoyogi Park on a Sunday - for the walk from Harajuku station past all of the Harajuku boys and girls dressed as manga and anime characters - or whatever else takes their fancy, the rockabilly guys dancing in the square, the hip-hop dudes, the 'battle of the bands' buskers playing around the outside of the park and the amazing use of space in the actual park. Every single bit of space was being used by people of all sorts. Sports, games, music, picnics… yet it still felt relaxed and spacious. It is a great example of urban green space being enjoyed by people.
Tokyo - toy stores - just cos they are there and they are huge!
Nara - Take the kids to squeeze through Buddah's nostril. With the deer park already mentioned, plus there is a giant golden Buddah in a shrine there that is impressive. In the shrine there is also a wooden column with a hole in the base that is said to be the same size as the giant Buddah's nostril. It is said that anyone who can squeeze through the hole will be granted enlightenment. I like the fact that only children can make it through and it makes them feel pretty special by the look on their faces. The temple also has some excellent scary looking guard statues.
Kyoto - random wandering through the back streets of the old part of Kyoto was wonderful. We found all sorts of interesting things going on off the regular tourist circuit.
Hiroshima - The shinkansen from Tokyo to Hiroshima was awesome! Bento boxes on the train, country life to watch through the windows and a fast fast amazing trip. The Peace memorial museum in Hiroshima was well worth the visit. It was difficult and moving but really well put together and a really important part of the visit to Japan for me. I am not sure how old your kids are and whether it would be appropriate for them age wise, but even just a walk around the gardens and outside of the museum and a visit to the dome would be good. The paper cranes everywhere are a great access point for kids to get a handle on some of the stories tied up in the bomb.
There is a beautiful island off the coast of Hiroshima - Miyajima. It is a short tram ride from the center of town and then a ferry ride to the island. It is a beautiful place with lots of deer, and one of the most impressive shrines I saw. It is the location of the famous giant Tori Gate - up there with the Opera House as an iconic vision of a country. When the tide is out you can walk up to the Tori Gate and touch it. There are also lots of walks and other activities on the island.
On the train back to Tokyo we stopped at Himeji castle. Lots of stairs to climb and an awesome view at the top. It is one of the oldest surviving castles in Japan and is a great glimpse into the past.
Something I didn't do but kids might enjoy - Sumo??
Himeji castle is great! There was a fire there recently though I think?
Yoyogi park is not as good in January. It's holiday time so a lot of the costume kids go home to their families. Some cool ice sculptures when we went though.
I had a google of Hijemi Castle and apparently it's in the midst of restoration works. I hate visiting sites that are being restored and are all ocovered in scaffolding and half closed so this time I will give it a miss
Bad coffee huh? The most important drink of the day is my morning coffee but I could probably survive a week of bad coffee (just).
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7 - 10 days in Japan.
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