Japan in Sept - recommendations please!

[Katie]

We are spending the Qld Sept school holidays in Japan- flying via SYD-HND to get QF Y+ seats on the flights. Our travel party is me, Mr Katie, and Tall* Miss 10 (very nearly 11 on this trip). We arrive on a Sunday morning, and leave Sat night 13 days later.

I am hoping to burn some Hilton, SPG, IHG and maybe Hyatt points.

Where should we go? What should we do?
Mr Katie and I were in Tokyo 14 years ago for a wedding, just one week there. Did day trips to Nikko and Hakone/Fuji - it was early April. I spend two days in Tokyo in 2016 thanks to winning a seat on QF's re-launch of BNE-NRT flights.

I'm thinking we will head off elsewhere - Osaka? Kyoto? Hiroshima? on the first day, and spend the last 5-7 days in Tokyo. If 7 days, likely to include Tokyo Disney.

Where would you go? What would you do? What experiences should we have? Can Tall Miss 10 have an experience dressing up a geisha somewhere, or in a kimono?

*She's getting close to *my* shoulder, for those of you who've met me - I really can't use Little anymore!!

 

[Denali]

I loved Kyoto more than Tokyo but Im a boring "temple person". Loved all of Japan but couldnt get enough of temples.

Yes to your daughter having the Kimono experience, I saw quite a few young ladies doing it in Kyoto. No idea where/how much but in Kyoto, it was very picturesque as I saw the young ladies walking around the various sights and some tourist would take photos of them. Google is your friend.

 

[Daver6]

Kyoto is a great spot. Osaka is a 10 minute train ride on the shinkansen. Can do a day trip to Hiroshima too.

I've stayed at the Hyatt there and it was pretty good. I'd recommend it since you're looking to burn Hyatt points.

 

[Denali]

Im also going to suggest some classes. We ended up doing a cooking class and husband did a Japanese drum class.

Maybe your daughter might like origami or calligraphy or even something cheesy like Samuri or cosplay.

 

[LadyC]

A few random thoughts:

1. Is your daughter into Japanese anime? There are some well know movies in that genre such as Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle that were produced by Studio Ghibli. There is a Ghibli museum in suburban Tokyo that you could visit. I went a few years ago as I enjoyed the movies but it is much more kid than adult focused.
2. Food experiences - are there any specific food experiences that might interest you? Japanese restaurants are usually focused on a particular style/item. There are great okonomiyaki restaurants in Osaka (and Tokyo) which would be fun and not expensive. Obviously lots of others to choose from like tempura/sushi/yakitori. Nishiki market in Kyoto is worth visiting and you can buy lots of samplers at the different stalls.
3. There are lots of temples in Kyoto but I think Arashiyama is also worth visiting. We hired electric bikes for the day and rode out to Arashiyama and then to a temple or two. A nice way to see Kyoto with lots of iconic Japanese vistas if it is not too hot in September.
4. Some nice parks to visit in Tokyo including Yoyogi Park.

 

[yohy?!]

2 weeks give you plenty of time to explore - try and venture outside Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka (although they are all worthwhile destinations in their own), a Japan Rail Pass will be good value.

 

[Spongbob]

I agree, if in Kyoto then Arashiyama is worth a day trip (the up hill hike to see the monkeys and view might be good for children).

 

[Katie]

Thanks everyone, here's our plans:
Day 1 - arrive into HND, get our JR passes swapped over, and then shinkansen to Hiroshima. Two nights the Crowne Plaza in Hiroshima.
Day 2 - Hiroshima
Day 3 - Hiroshima to Osaka. 3 nights at Crowne Plaza in Osaka. Didn't manage to burn points in either of those cities.
Day 4 - Osaka/Kyoto
Day 5 - Osaka/Kyoto
Day 6 - Osake to Hakone. One night stay in a Ryokan in Hakone, dinner in-room included, and private bath on the balcony.
Day 7 - Hakone to Tokyo. Burned all of my 430k+ Hilton points on Hilton Shinjuku and Conrad stays, but still had to pay for a couple of nights.
Day 8 - 14 - Tokyo. 4 nights Hilton, 3 nights Conrad. Planning a mid-week day at Disney Sea, seeing family on the weekend, and who knows what else ...

 

[Matt_01]

We did the same trip last year, Myself, MrsM and MissM (9 at the time) 15 days in Sep/Oct school holidays. The activities for the trip were all first time things as MrsM and MissM had not been to Japan (I have been have been there multiple times)

In tokyo we did a total of 3 days in Disney area, kidzaina is worth a visit (they have english programs), visited Uneo Zoo and we also took a trip out to San Puro Kitty Land. Outside of these we did all the usual thing in Tokyo shopping in Ginza, Shibuya and Harajuku. IMO another must do in Shinjuku is the Robot restaurant, it is gaudy, tacky and loud but it is iconic, they provide ear defenders for kids if you are worried about the noise. The Ghilbi Museum is also worth a visit, you will need to pre purchase tickets in AU and there is only a couple of places that sell them. They are available 3 months out and normally sell out within days if not hours.

Maybe outside your time frame, we also went to Kinugawa Onsen to see the regional aspect. Near Kinugawa you can easily get to Edo Wonderland and Tobu World Square.

Depending on your travel dates the Takayama Autumn festival will be on (9-10 Oct), worth a look but very busy as it one of the major Japanese festivals. We went however MrsM and MissM were a bit overwhelmed.

In Osaka the Aquarium is excellent for kids as is Kids Plaza. Like others mentioned Kyoto is only 15 minutes away from Osaka on the shinkansens and a great place to visit. Osaka/ Kyoto is also easy striking distance to Nara and feed the deers, the deers are over friendly and expect to be feed.

On your current route, if you wanted to visit a castle I would recommend getting off at Himeji about an hour west of Osaka, with a second choice being Nagoya.

Japan is one of my favourite places, have fun.

 

[Hvr]

Can certainly recommend the Osaka Wonderloop tour:

OSAKA WONDER LOOP（大阪ワンダーループ）

Did it with a fellow AFFer in June and we both enjoyed it.

 

[Spongbob]

If you have spare time in Tokyo you could have an interesting experience by visiting all 5 statues of Godzilla.

 

[cosi]

My number 1 tip when visiting Japan, is to visit the basement (B1) of any department store.

Its an amazing experience.

 

[Katie]

Well the trip is off to a good start. 9am yesterday (approx. T-59hrs), the upgrade for the three of us from Y+ to J cleared!
EF had been showing J7 on Wednesday, so I thought we were in with a good chance, and I was delighted for it to come through. Mr Katie said "Well, now I don't need to pack a pyjama shirt" .
This will be our first flight in a long time where we haven't pre-ordered a children's meal for Tall Miss almost-11. She found a couple of items she's interested in for the supper after leaving SYD tomorrow night; though I doubt she'll eat much after dinner in the FLounge. She doesn't eat much on flights for some reason (perhaps she'd just rather be watching the IFE).

Weather's looking warm and maybe wet ... we'll just have to make the best of it!

Has anyone used laundry services in Japan? I can keep on top of undergarments with the hotel bathroom sinks, but we may need shirts or shorts laundered at some point.

I'm so excited!!!

 

[Cossie]

Sorry, late in on this, if you can, visit Nara, easy day trip from Osaka or Kyoto. Hand feeding the deer is quite an experience. You can rent kimonos just about anywhere and in Kyoto we saw what appeared to us to be a rental geisha costume. Don't think she was a geisha, but a tourist.
We spoke to kimono wearing people from Indonesia, Taiwan, PRC, Philippines and others. All were happy to have their photos taken, guess that's one reason why it's done.
Don't forget cat cafes! We liked Cafe Arles in Shinjuku. Others here Shinjuku Tokyo - 4 Popular Cat Cafes You Can Meet Cute Cats!
Hope you don't mind me posting these. Hope you have fun as I'm sure you will, we can't wait to go back.