First Time Planning for JPN Trip

[vampielgod]

Planning for a first time JPN Trip for my family in Dec.
Not sure if i am jumping the gun.

Looking at 11 ~ 13 days.

Place / countries of interest:
1. hokkaido ( 2- 3 days), no driving
2. Nara Park
3. For Kids (2) DisneyLand / DisneySea
4. USJ worh it?
5. for adults, jalan jalan see see look look, maybe 1 of the sea food market in the wee morning jiak freshly cook seafood? or scenary viewing?

Becaue from what i am seeing myself, Nara Park closer to Osaka / kyoto, not so feasible to travel from Tokyo, dont really want to spend 2 - 3 hours in transport, and not by domestic air also.

While Disneyland / DisneySea is in tokyo.

Need all experts to advise.

 

[wongkc]

Planning for a first time JPN Trip for my family in Dec.
Not sure if i am jumping the gun.

Looking at 11 ~ 13 days.

Place / countries of interest:
1. hokkaido ( 2- 3 days), no driving
2. Nara Park
3. For Kids (2) DisneyLand / DisneySea
4. USJ worh it?
5. for adults, jalan jalan see see look look, maybe 1 of the sea food market in the wee morning jiak freshly cook seafood? or scenary viewing?

Becaue from what i am seeing myself, Nara Park closer to Osaka / kyoto, not so feasible to travel from Tokyo, dont really want to spend 2 - 3 hours in transport, and not by domestic air also.

While Disneyland / DisneySea is in tokyo.

Need all experts to advise.

May i know whats your intention for just 2-3 days in Hokkaido? I think many will suggest u skip Hokkaido if it is just for 2-3 days...

 

[Vitaqen]

Hi,


For your first trip, it is best for you to focus on one region and enjoy it to the fullest without rushing.
I suggest you skip Hokkaido and focus on Kanto/Kansai


1)Nara

Skip Nara if you are going to use JR pass and just going for the deers.
Can dedicate around 2 days to slowly explore Hiroshima & Miyajima(do-able with just 1 day trip)
*If no JR Pass, then go Nara

2) Travel
Depending on your day of flight - you can plan your trip around it.
Try to plan your disney on weekday

Assuming your flight is from SG>Narita/Haneda
*If you reach on saturday/sunday, then go disney on the Mon/Tues/Wed
Buy Platt Kodama one way ticket to Kansai and slowly explore
Ta-q-bin your luggage to hotel
Domestic flight back to haneda/narita and catch return flight to SG
*You can do the opposite way of flying first to not waste time then train back. This depends on your day trip how you are scheduling your trip to avoid going disney on the weekend.

Platt Kodama + Domestic can be cheaper than taking JR 7 days, if planned properly
The reason is because domestic air ticket can be bought cheap and your itinerary may not necessarily be using JR line all the way. If you take a look at Tokyo, metro can be more convenient unless you are staying at the main JR stations and only visiting Shibuya/Shinjuku etc


3) Kansai Region
Seafood wise, you have 3 options for common spots

1- Kuromon Ichiba
2- Nishiki Market
3- Wakayama Kuroshio Market

I will recommend you go wakayama kuroshio, if you have a day to spare and taking the kansai airport domestic route to return



4) Hokkaido
You can still go here but must skip Kansai region
Allocate 4-5 days
Otaru Canal, Furano, Lake Akan, Ashikawa were some of my favourite spots

Travel Tips

1) Ta q bin your luggage
2) Get e-sim
3) Do not stay airbnb but stay hotel because you have kids
Look for hotel with free breakfast and those that are near train station walking distance


Why do not stay airbnb?
If you reach early morning , you are stucked with your luggage and can't check in /store luggage unless you have special arrangements with host. After checkout last day, you also need to bring luggage around unless have special arrangements. If you ta-q-bin to second accoms which is airbnb on special timing, you need to be there when it arrives also. Best to do things that is more convenient for yourself because have kids


I hope this helps! Anything just PM

 

[s7460597]

How old are your kids? Most Japanese hotel rooms are small and not possible to add bed.

Do note traveling in trains with big luggage isn't easy as popular routes are usually busy.

I stayed in Airbnb in recent trip in Kyoto and Osaka. In both cases I deposited luggage before check-in. Usually hosts will indicate off arrangements can be made.
Have to ascertain if late check is ok. Some don't permit

 

[vampielgod]

Hi @Vitaqen , thanks for your reply, Hokkaido is for kids to enjoy some light snow, not sure if we are able to see it. we will be travelling for 6 pax including 2 kids, will be going for redeye flight.

Tentatively mid dec.
So most likely will reach Tyoko airport in the morning, then domestic flight to Hokkaido. The favourite spot that you are mentioning is reachable with self driving?

Actually, i thought of doing a sucide mission, by bring the kids to DisneyLand / Sea nearer to Xmas say 23rd / 24th.

*If no JR Pass, then go Nara ==> Means what ah?

So if let's see i put Nara in the picture, accomodation wise, is t advisable to still stay in Tyoko due to Disneyland?

Ta-q-bin, is available at the airport?

 

[vampielgod]

if hotel most will be 2 rooms.
3 aside.

 

[Sauron]

Betta not go so many places that are spread out and stick to 1 area.

Eg, if you go Osaka, you can easily cover Kobe, Nara and Kyoto

But in winter , imho, should go and experience snow, so I would spend a few days in hokkaido, so another possibility half the time in Tokyo (can include Disney and Yokohama) and half the time in hokkaido

 

[Vitaqen]

If you are going to disneyland, you MUST stay in Tokyo. I recommend you stay at Toyosu Area. If landing at haneda, can take direct bus.

For the sake of $$ and not feeling stretched over travelling for one spot, best to skip Nara.
If you really die die want to see Nara, you can actually take this option of domestic from Hokkaido to Kansai airport then take a one way ticket(platt kodama ) back to tokyo to catch your return flight. However, you will need to plan some days to visit Osaka/Kyoto to really make it worth it.


My sincere advice is you skip Nara, focus on Hokkaido + Tokyo.
Your trip to Kansai region(Nara) can be done on another trip.




*If no JR Pass, then go Nara ==> Means what ah?
- If you have the JR 7 day pass, you can visit other neighbouring areas like Hiroshima(Miyajima) - which has deers. It will be more worthwhile to visit this place than going Nara.

Assuming you dont have JR pass, just visit Nara since it will be cheaper than visiting Miyajima

 

[jim889]

Planning for a first time JPN Trip for my family in Dec.
Not sure if i am jumping the gun.

Looking at 11 ~ 13 days.

Place / countries of interest:
1. hokkaido ( 2- 3 days), no driving
2. Nara Park
3. For Kids (2) DisneyLand / DisneySea
4. USJ worh it?
5. for adults, jalan jalan see see look look, maybe 1 of the sea food market in the wee morning jiak freshly cook seafood? or scenary viewing?

Becaue from what i am seeing myself, Nara Park closer to Osaka / kyoto, not so feasible to travel from Tokyo, dont really want to spend 2 - 3 hours in transport, and not by domestic air also.

While Disneyland / DisneySea is in tokyo.

Need all experts to advise.

trying to do too many things at one go and.. too many places to go..

just concentrate maybe hokkaido / tokyo.

maybe skip osaka.

 

[Gixxerfied]

skip Hokkaido and do Tokyo and Osaka max.. also quite packed already..

one day one theme park, Disney alone 2 days gone.

 

[vampielgod]

Hi @Vitaqen ok noted, then i think we should skip Nara then, cause i think is a bit stretched too, after doing a bit of research.

As is a first family trip, dont want to do a rush like mad itinerary.

I think for start the flight itinerary will be something like this,

Sin (Morning 7am) ----> Tokyo (Haneda)
Haneda --> New Chitose Airport
New Chitosa Airport ----> Sapparo Station (If necessary)

For 6 paxs , initally i am looking for service apartment, might be more cost effective, but what you say is true also for the lagguage and stuff.

If go for taqbin, is it easily get from the airport? need to do any 1 days in advance kind of booking?

 

[vampielgod]

Yeah, seems like this is the way to go.

 

[Ayumix6]

if first time going Japan, maybe can just consider staying in Tokyo?? Can slowly explore the areas in Tokyo, pretty accessible by their subway..
at least you and your family no need to rush here and there, can fully experience the atmosphere..
-just my opinion nia

 

[vampielgod]

Hi Thanks, going hakkaido is mainly for kids to enjoy the snow, and hopes it snow, even light snow.
due to kids schooling, is quite impossible to go Jan / Feb.

 

[Quasar]

Hi Thanks, going hakkaido is mainly for kids to enjoy the snow, and hopes it snow, even light snow.
due to kids schooling, is quite impossible to go Jan / Feb.

I think most of the contributors here wish to caution first timers from squeezing too much into your plans especially with children.

If snow it what you are looking for and you wish to avoid driving, I would also suggest avoiding Hokkaido. The place is twice the size of Switzerland, you spend a lot of time commuting to and fro, and delays can add up due to winter weather.

Other places with snow in Japan can be Nagano, which can be easily reached by shinkansen in 1.5 hours from Tokyo station, and there are plenty of ski resorts in Nagano as it was previously a winter olympic city.

 

[zeroX26]

Planning for a first time JPN Trip for my family in Dec.
Not sure if i am jumping the gun.

Looking at 11 ~ 13 days.

Place / countries of interest:
1. hokkaido ( 2- 3 days), no driving
2. Nara Park
3. For Kids (2) DisneyLand / DisneySea
4. USJ worh it?
5. for adults, jalan jalan see see look look, maybe 1 of the sea food market in the wee morning jiak freshly cook seafood? or scenary viewing?

Becaue from what i am seeing myself, Nara Park closer to Osaka / kyoto, not so feasible to travel from Tokyo, dont really want to spend 2 - 3 hours in transport, and not by domestic air also.

While Disneyland / DisneySea is in tokyo.

Need all experts to advise.

If you are going with kids plus its 11-13 days, I suggest you just stick to 1 region. Kansai alone should be able to occupy those 2 weeks. Osaka got many kids' friendly places like USJ, the big aquarium where the ferriwheel is, lego stuff etc.

 

[Hisashiburi]

yea...dont go to Hokkaido on first japan trip, just for snow.

 

[Vitaqen]

Yeah, can consider go hakuba or yuzawa if really die die wanna see snow

 

[vampielgod]

haha.. Thanks guys for your information and contributions.
Will need to see the pirorities and plan bit by bit.

 

[tomsss]

ya like what the others have mentioned, don't try squeeze so much activities for first time trip. My this coming first time to Japan later this month, initially i was overwhelmed by the sheer number of attractions i wanted to visit in just tokyo alone..... but i told myself i should go easy and have a feel of how it's really like there when reach. Maybe plan like 3 locations per day as a start and have enough room to slip in one or 2 more if need to.