10 day itinerary for Japan with family
10 day itinerary for Japan
Anubhav and I travelled to Japan with my parents, his parents and our two kids. We planned our 10 day trip during the Cherry Blossom season. This is was our second trip to Japan and we wanted our parents and kids to experience this fascinating country.
We started our trip in Tokyo and ended in Tokyo because Tokyo has many direct flights to Delhi from Air India, JAL and Air Nippon.
Here is how we planned our time
Itinerary for Japan
How to get around Japan
We bought the 7 day 2nd class JR pass from jrpass.com. It was great value for money. Unlimited travel at $265/adults and $120/children. They shipped the passes to us before we left India. It took them 4 days after the order to deliver, so plan this early.
Where to stay in Tokyo
We stayed at an Airbnb in Shinagawa. It was really close to Shinagawa station, which is on the JR Yamanote line. This circular line covers a lot of the common sights in Japan and it was really convenient for us even though it was a little bit tight for all of us. The only complaint was it got loud in at night because it was next to an Izakaya.
https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/4917781
What to see in Tokyo
Here are our top things to see in Tokyo.
Day 1 in Tokyo
Tokyo Imperial Palace
Eat at T’s Tan Tan Veggie Ramen at Tokyo Station. We are there 3 times.
This was a short day since we arrived in the afternoon. It took about 2 hours to get to the hotel using the Friendly Bus from Tokyo Airport.
We also used this tour to get acquainted with the city
Day 2 in Tokyo
Get up early to see Tsukiji fish market to understand Japanese fascination with sea food
Next, see Takeshita-dori on a Sunday.
Go to the Harajuku station on JR line and walk down Takeshita street and then onto Omotesando.
See Kiddy land and buy a bunch of toys for the kids. Eat at Shakey’s Pizza right next door
Before heading off to Takeshita-dori consider seeing the Meiji Jingu shrine in Yoyogi park is great. We saw a wedding ceremony there.
Spend the night at Shibuya – shopping and eating and Seeing Hachiko.
Head to Kyoto the next day.
What to see in Kyoto
Here is what we saw:
Day 3 in Kyoto
- Arashimaya Bamboo forest
- Tenryu-ji
- Ginkakuji Temple
- Hishashimaya Geisha Village with wooden houses
- Kiy0misu-dera temple with a nice balcony over looking Kyoto
We took the Last Samurai tour of Kyoto. It was entertaining.
Here are some pictures of Kyoto from our trip to help you get a sense of the place. We start at Arashimaya and then move onto Tenryu-ji temple before moving on to Ginkakuji.
We found this detailed Guide to Kyoto by Japanesquest really useful to plan our trip to Kyoto
We headed back to Tokyo after two days here.
What to see in Nikko
We decided to spend a day in Nikko to see Toshogu – Japan’s most decorated shrine and the mausoleum of Tokugawa-Ieyasu. Both these sights were good to see and the day trip was fun.
Here are a few pictures from Nikko
Here is a detailed Guide to Nikko that we found helpful:
What to see in Kanazawa
During the Edo Period, Kanazawa was the capital of the Maeda Clan. It was the second most powerful clan after the Tokugawa in terms of rice production and size of the kingdom. Kanazawa grew to become a town of great cultural achievements, rivaling Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo). You must see three things in Kanazawa:
- Kenroku-en National park: It is supposed to be one of the three great gardens of Japan. We went there because my father loves garderns.
- Kanazawa Castle
- Nagamachi – The old Samurai district
- Higashi chaya district: District with tea houses where Geisha’s perform
We took a day tour through Kanazawa to see its sights. Our guide was super helpful.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Kanazawa sky. It had good breakfast and was convenient to sights.
Here are some photos of kenrokuen
Here are some Kanazawa city photos
Kanazawa samurai district photos
What to see in Tokyo before heading out
On Day 3 in Tokyo, we saw
- Shinjuku Goyen to see the Cherry blossoms
- Afternoon shopping in Shinjuku
- Senso-ji temple and shops in Asakusa
- Tokyo Sky tree Tower – shopping and dinner
- Spend 3 hours at Oedo-onsen in Tokyo. It was really refreshing and easy to get to.
In the end we just ran out of time. There is way too much to see in Japan. I’ve been there 8 times and I still look forward to going there.
Photos of Shinjuku goyen during cherry blossom season
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