Japan Planning Thread 3

[Takoneko]

Hi!

This is a new Japan Planning Thread for when our last one is full.

Feel free to ask any questions here related to travel in Japan, regardless of budget or style of trip.

We’ll probably be a bit too early in a lot of the places we will be going to, but it is looking good for Tokyo and Kanazawa for us. Keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t shift too much.

When are you going, @Takoneko ? We’re going on 25th March. It feels like it’s snuck up on me now, when for so long it’s been a date far ahead in the future!

@Actnaturally We’re flying out on 28th March. I also feel like it’s gone from being ages away to just around the corner just like that.

We’re going Tokyo-Nagano-Kanazawa-Omiya-Morioka-Tokyo plus day trips.

What sort of route are you taking?

Looks like our route is going against the flowering which is annoying, we’ll just miss peak in Kagoshima and Fukuoka but to be honest I’ve planned the trip thinking if we catch full bloom it’ll just be a bonus

@Citygirlrurallife What dates are you there? We were fully expecting the cherry blossom to be over when we went last year but we were pleasantly surprised to catch some really pretty blooms in quite a few places. If you’re going to be there somewhere close to peak bloom then there will be cherry blossoms around. I actually think the prettiest time is after the peak when the petals flutter around in the wind.

Pretty hot on the tails and we should catch full
bloom in Seoul. Full trip in Japan is 30th March - 12th April

@Citygirlrurallife I am confident that there will be tons of cherry blossom in that window. I don’t think there’s really any chance you’ll miss out. The best time to see them is in the few days to a week(ish) after the peak when the petals are falling.

If you’re chasing on the heels of peak bloom then that should be the perfect viewing conditions. In my opinion, sakura are at their most beautiful as they begin to fall.

This photo was taken last year on April 15th in Kawagoe (about a week after full bloom) and it felt like the perfect time to see them there. The still photo doesn’t quite capture how pretty it was watching the petals drifting in the breeze and swirling in the water.

Aw that’s fantastic - yeah I’m sure we’ll still see a lot and I have the big parks saved in maps which we’ll go to anyway, I just didn’t want to plan the holiday around Sakura and then get disappointed!

I’m getting a bit worried we’re trying to fit too much in but it’s so hard when there’s so much to see and do! Korean airlines have moved our flight from Seoul which is annoying because it means we’ll miss the last ferry to Yakushima so have had to move those dates to do a night in Kagoshima, 3 nights in Yakushima then back to one night in Kagoshima before our road trip

Hello, so glad I found this thread as we’ve just booked our flights for our first-ever trip to Japan and are starting to plan the rest , very excited!
We’ll be there for 17 nights (2 of those are travel days), arriving in Tokyo and flying home from Osaka. It’ll be me, my DP and 13 yr old Ds. We arrive 23rd May.
So far, we only have the flights booked. We’re planning to book a hotel in Tokyo for around 5 nights to start the trip and would love some recommendations for good areas or specific hotels that work well for for travellers with kids but are also accessible. I have a few saved in the Shinjuku area which seems to be a good base?
Any tips for a first time visit would be hugely appreciated!

@KatRe Shinjuku is well-connected and has a lot going on, but the central Shinjuku area is not where I would choose to stay with a young teen. It’s very busy and parts can be a bit seedy. Kabukicho has been sanitised a lot compared to a decade or two ago, but it is still a red light district.

I usually stay in eastern Tokyo (Ginza, Ueno, Asakusa etc.) but I’ve also heard really good things about Akasaka/Roppongi/Azabudai as a base.

Joining the thread as we have booked our flights and hotels for our holiday in October, doing Osaka-Kyoto-Tokyo and flying back out from Osaka. There will be 6 of us, including my 19yo who has a learning disabilities and ASD. This will be my second time. I didn't do Kyoto last time.

A little worried as we have booked flights with Air China as they were so much cheaper than everywhere else, but the diplomatic tensions between Japan and China are causing loads of flights to be cancelled. One of our legs has already had to be changed.

Our only non negotiable is Universal Osaka to go to Nintendo world. I've booked us some organised trips which should be good fun.

@TravellingSpoon That sounds fantastic.

Without wanting to cause unnecessary alarm, I’d be very wary of Chinese airlines right now. The diplomatic tensions might get better, but I think there’s a good chance that they get worse and the flight cancellations continue to get worse. Sanae Takaichi isn’t going anywhere anytime soon (having just won a two-thirds parliamentary super-majority) and I don’t really see her becoming more conciliatory towards China.

On the last thread there was a poster whose flights were cancelled mid-January for a trip in March.

Make sure you’ve got good insurance and put aside money to cover replacement flights, just in case you need to do so at short notice.

@Takonekothank you for the heads up on Shinjuku. Will carry on looking!

The flights are already booked so all we can do is hope.

My plan B is to keep the flights between London and China and if we can't get to Japan, spend the time in China instead.

@TravellingSpoon If they let you keep the China portion of the flight then you could always take a flight from China to Japan with a Japanese airline. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Are you going via Shanghai? Those routes seem safest at the minute and have been least affected by cancellations.

We are flying via Shanghai on the way out and Beijing on the way home. It's the Shanghai-Osaka leg that's changed three times 😭

We stayed in Shinjuku (Kabukicho) and Shibuya (Shinzen). With two young but energetic kids, we wanted lights, bustle, shopping, energy. All was very safe, but I agree that if you don't enjoy 'rough edges' stay in West Shinjuku, not east. It's much saner and a short walk from the bustle. I found Shibuya was more of what we wanted. The shopping and food was excellent, and you don't get the 'unsavory' elements of Shinjuku.

If/when we go again, I will stay in East Tokyo because we've had our fill of the energetic West Tokyo.

@TravellingSpoon That sounds very stressful. I hope it all works out for you.

@KatRe we stayed in Asakusa in an AirBnB with our then 7&11 yr olds, lovely neighbourhood and well connected. The local temple had a festival on while we were there which was awesome!

We’re flying into Tokyo, staying a weekish. then Fuji, Kyoto by the sea, Kyoto/nara (still not booked this part yet 🙈), Osaka, ferry to Busan and then home.

@Actnaturally That’s a great itinerary! Amanohashidate should be a real treat at that time of year. The cycle car at viewland looks absolutely magical in Sakura season.

@Takoneko I've never been to Japan, but Fuji and Amanohashidate are what im
currently most looking forward to. I’m expecting Tokyo to be a bit crazy.

My DH was talking to a colleague from Kyoto last week, who said Kyoto is a lot quieter than usual at the moment - they suggested it was a lack of Chinese visitors, but also fewer Japanese tourists to Kyoto due to the weak Yen (not sure how that works, unless tourist infrastructure are putting their prices up to match $ € £?, they work in finance though so I’m accepting what they say). I still think we’re going to stay in Nara and travel to Kyoto for the day.

@Actnaturally It’s encouraging to hear that Kyoto feels quieter. We may spend some time there over the autumn-winter season.

I think a lot of Japanese tourists have been priced out of Kyoto. Hotels there are expensive by Japanese standards, because overseas tourists can afford to pay the premium. I think they’ve probably also been put off by the endless stream of news about overcrowding and over-tourism.

Sounds like there will be a few of us there at the same time! We go on 28th March too. We had a very stressful day last week when Air China cancelled our flights though!! We got our money back very quickly and managed to book new flights which are a couple of hours longer and in to Narita rather than Haneda but at least we are still going - though now have a long list of destinations for future holidays as we started to look at alternative options! Our route is Tokyo - Osaka - Hakone - Tokyo. We have booked Teamlab Plantets, A baseball match and Universal so far and are planning on a no. of day trips from Tokyo and Osaka (Kyoto, Nara etc) Very excited!!