Going in less than a week to Japan and scared...

[TinyTear]

First long haul holiday in ages (probably 15 years (pre-kids) and I am scared
Been exhaustively planning since we booked it in April and probably researching way before if I am being honest.

Kids are 13 and 10 and also super excited.

It will be Japan, with 3 cities in the itinerary and I have a good list of stuff to do, but not too full and tiring that we will be rushing from place to place without appreciating things...

But what if? what if? what if?
what if things go wrong? what f we get covid on the flight (might take masks)? what if kid 1 gets sick as she tends to get car sick and sea sick and plane sick even short haul...

What if we can't find foods she will eat? what if we get bad stomachs? what if the heat is too much?

Please talk me down!

I have researched and researched , i will buy cooling wipes and UV umbrellas and Pocari Sweat and so on...

• please reassure me?

If you have been before - give me hints and tips - even if just for me to say "yes I know that, I read that, I am prepared!!"

Thanks!

So glad you're having the great time we knew you would. Should have warned you about natto! Can't wait to hear more.

So glad to hear you’re having a fabulous time. Accidentally buying natto is all part of the experience. 😂 On our first trip DP bought some pizza flavoured crisps only to discover they were seafood pizza flavoured with a strong fish and cheese taste that neither of us could stomach.

Looking forward to hearing about your trip when it’s all done.

UPDATE!

Hi all. Thanks SO MUCH for bringing me down.
I have now been back a week and finally over jetlag (a bit) and wanted to say it was amazing.

to be brutally honest I wouldn't mind going back alone (but that will never happen) as there were many things I didn't get to do because of the children, but still, I had a great time (and I think the family did too)

It was a good mix of modern and old

Temples and shrines - but references to some animes even in Fushimi Inari
Anime, gachapon, anime locations, cheap manga
Shibuya crossing a bit underwhelming, but hey
pokemon cafe, pokemon centres, a few
Universal, Mario, Demon Slayer
Cup noodles museum
Chinatown
Skytree and Tokyo Tower
Ghibli

Yes, one child didn't eat much, picky to a pathological extent, shite nutrition, but we managed.
Yes, the other child got overwhelmed in some instances but we managed to avoid meltdowns by swift returns to the hotel room and her comfort toys and food
Yes, child was sick on the flight there AND on the flight back but we managed... sigh
but no one caught covid, at least...

Happy to answer questions if anyone has them.

Just didn't want to leave this hanging.
Thanks!

great stuff!

did you feel like a total fool at the pokemon cafe - like HURRAH I AM HERE, i scored those very hard to get reservations. but then - hmm this food is a bit meh and i am having to watch a pokemon dance and sing now. AND I CAN'T EVEN NAME 2 POKEMON!!!!!

No, I felt SO PLEASED as we didn't score reservations (sold out in 3 minutes each day) and i didn't want to use a tout. so we just went and queued at the Osaka one and were in in 20 minutes !

And the whole family plays pokemon Go so we were fine there! :-) I was prepared for shite food, but wasn't as bad as i expected

yes, that was my thought on the food. "not as bad as i expected" :D

I’m so glad to hear you had a great time OP. It sounds like the perfect trip for anime lovers.

Glad you had a fab time OP. I'd like to go back without my dcs too!

Glad you had a good time op.

@ConfessionsOfAMumDramaQueen
Stay one night in a proper onsen/ryokan for the experience. We stayed in a few and there was an awesome one we stayed in and the onsen was on the roof outside with a view of mount fuji.

where was that? Sounds amazing!

Hi OP
I just found this thread...planning a very similar trip with my 2 kids next Easter....they will be 10 & 13! Just wondered did you break up the flight there with a stop over anywhere? We are considering maybe Dubai on the way out....would you mind sharing how long you stayed in each place and would you recommend doing anything differently?

It was in Fujikawaguchiko :) truly beautiful place.

Hi
We didn't break up the flight.
Kids aren't that keen flyers so all in one go was better - no extra take off and landings - just direct from Heathrow...

we did

2 days Tokyo
2 days Osaka
3 days Kyoto
7 days Tokyo

Osaka was mostly for Universal, 2 days was ok.
We took it a bit relaxed, missed out on some things i wanted to avoid meltdowns but mostly did what was in my plan.

book important things like Ghibli Museum and universal if you are into that (we were) but others can be booked on the day like Skytree and Cup Noodle Museum.

we didn't get a Pokemon Cafe booking, but managed to get in the stand by queue in the Osaka one...

Thank you so much, did you stay in family rooms or 2 rooms in each place? Did you find accommodation expensive?

Accomodation ended up at about £2k for all two weeks.

Some places more expensive - we treated ourselves to a Mimaru in Kyoto which I totally recommend (family room with bunks for the kids) - as the Tokyo ones were too expensive .

osaka stayed in an studio apartment (booked with Booking . Com but sort of airbnb) that was dirt cheap (£50 a night)

We went for family rooms - looked for 3 adults + 1 child as otherwise we were being given really tiny options. in other places have stayed in two interconnecting rooms, but in Japan decided to stay all together

Wow that's fantastic value for 2 weeks! Thank you for sharing all the information, it's a big help

@Sockmate123 Accomodation is very reasonably priced in Japan. Especially at the current exchange rate. I’d advise booking hotels now for April. Prices will go up and availability will go down as we get closer to the time.

Most bookings will be completely cancellable, but if you book now you should be able to lock in a decent price.

That's great advice thank you. We like our space, usually book connecting rooms or suites when we travel in Europe etc are we best booking 2 rooms? 1 adult & 1 child per room?

We travel alone as a couple so no direct experience. I’ve definitely seen family and interconnected rooms on hotel listings though.

Depends. Some places might not guarantee two connecting rooms.

Check the Mimaru as they are great. Spacious, double bed for the adults and big bunks for the kids, kitchen area, separate toilet and bathroom.
Ours had a room with vending machines that even had a cup noodle vending machine...

And Pokémon rooms but those were above our budget.

Space and hotel rooms in Tokyo don't match... It might be cosy...

We got rooms with 4 beds in most places..