Japan

[PlanningJapan]

We are planning a trip to Japan next year with 2 teens. Any recommendations for useful travel books to look at before we start booking things? I’m keen to get a rough itinerary planned so we can book accommodation and travel early but don’t want to realise we have missed out on some must-sees.

TIA

Highly recommend visiting an onsen near/on Mount Fuji. Hiroshima & Kyoto are beautiful cities. In Nagaski the Crazy Horse Bar was well worth a visit.

I lived in Japan for a couple of years may moons ago and went back for a trip last year. I was really impressed with Tokyo which I'd missed really when I lived there. Kyoto was great but busy. The whole travelling round Mt Fuji on cables cars and the boat on the lake for a day was really good (we were luck with the weather - very clear). We went in Autumn, it was busy but not as manic as cherry blossom season and lovely weather and the leaf colour is amazing.

I really like Nara and Nikko.

Try and get a little off the tourist trail at some point.

good thread https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/holidays/5152514-japan-planning-thread

My Japan itinerary was Tokyo, Hakone (Onsen and Mount Fuji), Kyoto and Osaka then back to Tokyo to fly home.
Top tip is luggage forwarding (Takuhaibin). Almost every hotel will forward luggage on and store luggage for you prior to arrival. It makes getting the bullet trains and travelling around so much easier.

A few of the things we loved: the onsen, booking a karaoke booth, Samurai experience, playing arcade games, the science museum, Bamboo forest, visiting 99yen stores, Nishiki market and Shinto shrines.

My kids were 4 and 7 when we went and they are now early teens and desperate to go back!

My advice is not to plan it like it’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip (even if it might be). There’s so many amazing things to see and do in Japan and it can be easy to try to cram too much in and just end up rushing from one overcrowded tourist hotspot to another to tick them off a list. We found ourselves doing that in Kyoto last year and learned a lesson. This time we’ll be going to some smaller towns and cities that we think look interesting and enjoyable and not stressing about what is on the usual must-see lists. Our favourite temple experience in Japan last year was Engaku-ji in Kamakura, which was completely deserted when we were there. I’m sure there’s many other equally wonderful temples that don’t get the same attention as the big name places, where you can have a much more relaxed and enjoyable experience.