17 Nights In Japan {Family Itinerary and Tips}

Our family spent almost 3 weeks in Japan in November 2023. Here’s where we stayed, what we loved, and what we’d do differently if we could do it again. 

Quick Hits: Things We’d Change

I’ll go into all of these into detail below but if you’re looking for the big picture, here are things we’d change.

1. Flying on United. Flight experience was the worst we’ve experienced going to Asia and we’ve been five times with our kids. Instead I recommend planning further ahead to book on JAL via American Airlines. 
2. Tokyo Hotels. We wanted to stay in one location for our 6 nights in Tokyo. In retrospect, we should have split 4 nights in central Tokyo and 2 nights close to the Disney parks.   We would have enjoyed staying at Miracosta Hotel inside DisneySea. 
3. Nara: We took two day trips to Nara, but would have enjoyed spending a few nights here! We adored this town. 
4. Universal Japan: We’d skip this. It was very expensive (1 day cost $1,000) and it was crowded with sub-par food. Go to the Universal parks in the US instead!

Quick Hits: Things We Loved

Again, I will add more detail on these further into this post but here were our favorites. 

1. Seeing the Grand Sumo tournament. This was costly in that we had to travel to Fukuoka to see this. But we enjoyed it a lot.  
2. Getting Club Access at hotels. We get this as Hyatt Globalists but even without elite status, you can often book into Hyatt rooms with Club Access. Club lounges in Asia are known to be the best in the world!
3. DisneySea and Disneyland Tokyo. We aren’t huge into Disney parks and have never been to the US parks but these parks were beautiful and affordable. 
4. Airbnb Experiences: This is our favorite way to get one-on-one interaction with locals by participating in unique experiences. We made wagashi, learned card games, and learned samurai and ninja history!
5. Visiting in November. The weather was great – very pleasant and in the 50s.

Quick Hits: Tips

If you’re going to Japan, it can feel like quite a learning curve. Here are some more tips I accumulated in the process of planning our trip.

• How to navigate and pay for public transportation (Part 1 and Part 2)
• Browse prepared food at 7/11, Lawson, and FamilyMart for quick and cheap meals and snacks. Our kids particularly loved the pizza buns and curry buns.
• Cheap souvenirs  — Don’t forget to go into CanDo or other 100 yen shops!
• You need to bring plastic bags around with you to carry your garbage, public garbage cans are VERY hard to find
• Tipping is considered rude, so you don’t need to do it
• Use Google Translate to translate menus, signs, etc. We even typed in a phrase a few times to it and showed it to our server to make sure it was understood.
• Get GOOD comfortable shoes. We were often walking 20,000 steps a day even when feeling like we were taking it easy.

How we flew to Japan with points

We flew on United but used Avianca Lifemiles to book our tickets. See more on other options to fly to Japan here. 

Overall we paid 352,000 Avianca Lifemiles to book our flights and $708 in taxes for four round trip tickets. 

Our points came from a variety of credit card points currencies.

• We transferred 164,000 American Express Membership Rewards® to Avianca when Amex had a 10% bonus which gave us enough points to book four one-way tickets from Chicago to Tokyo on United. 
• We transferred 176,000 points from a combination of American Express Membership Rewards®, Citi ThankYou® Points, and Capital One Venture miles for the other direction (Tokyo to Chicago)

Our take: The flight to Japan was tolerable because it was not a full flight and we were fortunate to have an extra middle seat. Even so, the service and food was sub par – as one example, we were given sandwiches that were still half frozen. 

Our flight from Japan to Chicago was full and was even worse. Economy seats on United are some of the smallest in the industry for trans-Pacific flights. In the end, we decided we will never fly on United for a flight to Asia again. Instead we will prioritize Asian airlines like Japan Airlines (JAL) or All Nippon Airways (ANA).  That was actually our first plan but when we decided to move our trip up from June to November, all the flights on JAL (using points) were sold out. 

Map: Our Itinerary + Recommendations

This custom map shows the same locations as below but organized by city. When you click on an icon it will show our take.

Six Nights near Tokyo

We landed at Haneda airport and spent 6 nights in the Tokyo area at the beginning of our trip. Around Tokyo, we used all public transportation and paid for it with our Pasmo cards (on our smartphones).  You can watch more in my videos here. 

Tokyo Hotel: Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay

In Tokyo, we stayed six nights at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay. This hotel is currently a Category 4 property and we paid 15,000 points per night for a total of 90,000 points. As Hyatt Globalists we had also earned a confirmed “Suite Upgrade Award” which we confirmed ahead of time with Hyatt and used for this stay.  We stayed in the “2 Twin Bed Regency Terrace Suite.”

This suite would cost 21,000-29,000 points per night if you booked it directly with points and would also come with Club Access for everyone in the room.  Booking with that number of points would still be a good value, considering the spacious room and breakfast and dinner included.

Our Take: This is a great hotel with attentive staff and an amazing club lounge. For breakfast your club access lets you eat at the extensive breakfast buffet which includes Japanese and western dishes. The variety and quality of food was wonderful and  completely satisfied everyone in our family.  Evening appetizers and cocktails are also included, which was essentially our dinner during our stay. The evening appetizers are much more limited than the breakfast buffet, but they were tasty. 

This hotel also provides a free shuttle service to the closest train station and also goes to and from both Tokyo Disney parks. The hotel is about 15 minutes from the train station and about 30 minutes from Disney via the shuttle. 

Despite loving this hotel and finding it to be a great value, we would not be likely to stay here again. We picked it because we wanted to stay at one location for all six nights without moving.  We also chose it because we have Hyatt points, often prefer Hyatt hotels, and by staying at Hyatt hotels we have continued to earn Globalist status, which provides several perks. But in retrospect, it would have been worth splitting our time among two hotels in the Tokyo area. 

It would have been better to stay four nights at a hotel more centrally located in Tokyo and then move to a hotel close to Disneyland Tokyo. I wish we had splurged for Miracosta Hotel in DisneySea because DisneySea is so beautiful and you can get into Disney parks 15 minutes early (trust me, this matters). 

Tokyo Activities Itinerary:

Arrival (Day 1): Our flight arrived in the late afternoon. The only thing that’s important to do on arrival is to get a Pasmo card at the airport if you have kids. This will give them a discounted rate on public transportation. Adults can download a Pasmo card with the app on a smartphone, but to get the discounted Pasmo cards for children (an actual physical card), the airport is the best place to get it.  

We took the Airport Limousine Bus to within a block of our hotel. You can buy these bus tickets ahead of time or right before your trip at the airport station (which is what we did). 

Day 2: Our biggest priority when adjusting from jet lag is to get outside early!

We enjoyed a hearty breakfast at the hotel, visited a playground across the street from our hotel,  and walked to a 7-Eleven. 

Then we walked to a nearby onsen! An onsen has pools naturally fed by hot springs and this one is family friendly. There are sections inside where men and women are separated and there is nude bathing – but in the outside area swimsuits are required and kids are welcome, too. You can also eat lunch there, get a massage, or just relax. This was the perfect low key activity for our first day. 

Day 3: 

We took the trains in Tokyo and arrived early at for our reservation at Dawn Avatar Robot Cafe. 

Nearby was the Currency Museum so we decided to stop in and this was a great stop! It’s free and well worth a short visit if you’re in the area. The exhibits were kid friendly but also interesting to adults. 

The Dawn Avatar Robot Cafe is a great concept but we wouldn’t do it again or necessarily recommend it wholeheartedly. Basically it uses avatars that are operated remotely by people with disabilities who may not otherwise be able to work. We love this idea but in practice it was hard to understand (even though our table host was speaking in English) and my kids found the look of the robots to be unsettling. It was also a much pricier meal than many of our other meals and the food was just mediocre. 

Instead I wish we would have gone to this museum to their robot exhibits. 

After this we went to explore. We headed to Ueno Park and walked around hoping to possibly visit the zoo. Unfortunately when we arrived at the zoo in Ueno park there was a sign noting a long line for the Panda exhibit and that it was also closing early.  We did find a Pokelid, though! These sewer covers are around Japan with Pokemon characters. 

Day 4: 

We were focused on making Jerome’s Pokemon wishes come true this day. We hadn’t been able to score a reservation at the Pokemon Cafe, which theoretically you can reserve online one month ahead,  but they are very difficult to secure. Instead we went to the Pikachu Sweets Cafe and got there 15 minutes early to be first in line. 

While Jerome did enjoy this, the food was somewhat overpriced and not very flavorful. Afterwards we walked right across the mall to the Mega Pokemon Center (which is a store) and we were surprised at how crowded it was for a Monday morning in November. Jerome picked out a stuffie of his favorite Pokemon (Groudon) and we were able to get some Japanese Pokemon card booster packs at the register. 

We ate some gyudon at Sukiya for for a quick cheap bite which was very satisfying!  Micah had seen this chain on an Instagram reel and you can find Sukiya and similar type chains all over Japan.  

We surprised Ruby with a visit to the 2D Cafe. She loved it! Like other theme cafes, it was about twice the price of other Japanese cafes and restaurants.

On the way back to the hotel, we walked through Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, which cost about $3.50 for adults but the kids were free.

Day 5:

This was our Tokyo Disneyland day! We had a blast at Tokyo Disneyland. I’m not a true expert here but I highly recommend you take a look at the videos from TDR Explorer to plan your day out. 

We were able to get a Disability Pass for Jerome which did really cut down our time waiting in line. If you have a child with a disability, I recommend getting a State Disability ID that has the word “Disability” printed on it (not just for this, but in general) – it made it easy to show each employee. 

We also had to show this at the entrance because we had bought a disability ticket for him. 

Day 6: 

DisneySea! I have never walked into a theme park and thought “WOW this is beautiful” until I walked into DisneySea. We absolutely could have spent 2 full days here. 

It was so fun to be able to say “yes” to all the snacks and food because they are affordable. For 2 full days for 4 people, we spend just $580 including tickets to enter, food, and a few souvenirs!

Two Nights in Kyoto:

From Tokyo, we took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. We used the SmartEX app to book tickets – but note that Visas don’t often work for this, so we paid with an American Express card. We paid $280 for all four tickets. 

Within Kyoto we used all public transportation and could continue using our Pasmo cards. 

Kyoto Hotel: Mimaru Kyoto Kawaramachi Gojo

We booked this hotel as a surprise for Jerome when we failed to secure Pokemon cafe reservations which was the one thing he had asked to do in Japan. 

We used Expedia points (from a 2018 credit card offer!) to pay for one of the nights. The other night we booked on Agoda (asian based booking site) for $320. This was our most expensive hotel we stayed at.

The room itself was fairly spacious by Japan standards! We had a king bed and a twin bunk bed. It also includes a kitchen and table and chairs. I think we could have gotten a better price if we had planned in advance but it was a last minute switch to try to make up for missing out on the Pokemon cafe. 

With the purchase of your hotel stay you receive little Pokemon gifts (a bag and some stickers) and the decor, plates, and cups are all Pokemon themed, including a giant Snorlax stuffed animal!  Overall it is a fun hotel, though a bit pricey compared to other options. 

Kyoto Activities Itinerary:

Day 1:

We arrived and enjoyed surprising our kids with the Pokemon room. 

We visited a vintage kimono shop because we thought it might make a fun souvenir and the kimonos are more affordable. We decided, however, a kimono wasn’t something we would actually wear. 

Day 2:

We started our day at Sawano Coffee which is small local cafe where the owner makes elaborate fruit creations. We went there at opening and were the only non-locals there. We also bought his fruit creations instruction book which he gladly signed for us. Just FYI – smoking is allowed in restaurants in Japan and locals were smoking inside while we were there. 

Next stop was Nijo Castle.  Our kids were not very enthusiastic about it, but it is a lovely place to see historical architecture and Japanese gardens. 

Then we headed to the Samurai and Ninja Experience we had booked via Airbnb. I looked at booking this through other sites but for our dates, Airbnb was cheapest and most convenient. While a bit gimmicky, this was still very enjoyable. The Samurai lesson was very interactive, our guide for the Ninja museum was very enthusiastic and informative, and throwing ninja stars at the end was a hit for everyone. 

Conveniently, the Ninja Museum is in the Kyoto Shinkyogoku Shopping Street (a covered shopping area) so we were also able to do some souvenir shopping and get some custom engraved chopsticks.  Restaurants and take out places are interspersed between souvenir shops.  We enjoyed ramen for lunch.  Later in the afternoon we sampled some treats: Takoyaki (octopus cake balls) which Micah wanted to try, taiyaki (custard filled fish-shaped pancakes)  which are Ruby’s favorite, and a few unique Japanese fast-food items from Wendy’s. 

Day 3: 

We headed to the famous Fushini Inari Shrine with the thousands of vermilion torii gates. It is very crowded at the bottom area unless you arrive very early (We didn’t). If you go, I highly recommend you do the full hike up Mt. Inari. Not only do crowds really thin out (some people only hike part of it)  but you get a beautiful view.

There are tea houses along the way, too – we stopped on the way down for a bowl of udon soup and ate among the trees! We saw kids as young as 3-4 doing this hike. With younger kids you would just have to be patient with them and buy them snacks at the tea houses and vending machines along the way!

Five Nights in Osaka

From Kyoto to Osaka, it’s a one hour local train ride. You don’t need to buy tickets in advance and you can just use your Pasmo or other reloadable IC card to pay. 

Osaka Airbnb

We chose to stay near Nishikujo station which was a great location, as it was only train ride away from Universal Studios Japan. It was easy to get to various places in Osaka via public transport. 

The Airbnb was basic but very affordable. For 5 nights our total was $533 and we covered $500 of that with Airbnb gift cards that I earned via Swagbucks. 

We had two bedrooms, a basic kitchen, a dining room, 1.5 bathrooms, and a washer. The stairs were very steep. 

Activities in Osaka

Day 1: We just arrived and settled in. We went to Manmaru for dinner which was a lively, flavorful, and relatively inexpensive.

Day 2: We headed to Nara for the day and instantly regretted staying in Osaka over Nara! This town is so lovely. 

We ate the viral green mochi (made more famous by social media), saw the 2nd highest pagoda in Japan, and then headed to another Airbnb experience: making wagashi. I can 100% recommend this experience. 

Day 3: 

Piecing together some of our random interests, we decided to go to Costco, the Cup Noodles museum, and a place where you fish for your dinner. 

Costco, which was in Amagasaki (a city Northwest of Osaka) was interesting – if you want to buy a Nintendo Switch or Switch games, they are significantly cheaper here.  It was fun to see large quantities of different Japanese products, but the overall layout of the store is very simliar to other Costcos in the US.  We enjoyed some free samples, bought a tray of sushi to share, and purchased few items from the Costco cafe, including an all- PORK hot dog and clam chowder.  My husband was quick to point out the large quantity of trash cans inside the store, which is a stark contrast to the few number of bins available in public areas of Japan. Ironically, it is one of the cleanest countries in Asia, as individual responsibility of refuse seems to be a high priority.

At the Cup Noodles museum in Ikeda, Osaka, you pay about $3.50 to make a custom Cup Noodles to take home and then there is a short museum exhibit displaying the history of products and production. It is worth a stop if you’re nearby. 

Zauo Fishing is located in the Dotonbori district, known for Osaka’s food culture.  There are giant aquariums and you can sit and eat on a boat shaped platform and fish for your own dinner. Is it gimmicky? Of course. But is also a fun place for dinner. 

Day 4:

Universal Studios Japan. Overall, I truly think this was a waste of time and money. Our kids had wanted to go to Super Nintendo World. But now that’s available at the Universal Studios in California. The Harry Potter area is smaller and much more crowded than the same replica of Hogsmeade in Florida. Tickets alone cost $680 (because we paid for Express passes) and food and souvenirs cost $420. Our kids enjoyed it but I’d say it wasn’t worth the hefty price tag. 

Day 5:

We went back to Nara! Again, we wish we would have stayed there over Osaka (or at least split the stay), On this day we spent more time feeding the local deer, which are considered sacred and roam around Nara Park. There are approximately 1400 deer in Nara!  We also left lots of time for visiting the Nara Visitor Center  which offers free origami lessons, free calligraphy lessons, and more. They even have very affordable tea ceremonies, though we didn’t have time for one. 

We booked another Airbnb Experience to learn some Japanese card games and had a great time. I recommend this experience as well. 

Our Airbnb Experience host recommended that we eat at Saizeriya for dinner (he assumed rightly that our kids might be getting tired of Japanese food) and this restaurant was a hit. It’s a Japanese style Italian food chain and is so affordable! We went there again in Fukuoka. 

Four Nights in Fukuoka:

We took the Hello Kitty Shinkansen from Osaka to Fukuoka, which was about a 3 hour train ride. This runs on certain days between Osaka and Fukuoka. We paid $306 for four one way tickets. In retrospect, I maybe would have used the JAL Explorer Pass to buy airline tickets for the same price and gotten there faster. 

But if you’re a Hello Kitty fan, this is for you!

Fukuoka Hotel: Grand Hyatt Fukuoka

We used a combination of Category 1-4 free night certificates and points to book four nights at the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka. The hotel was sold out on the nights we were there so we were in a standard room with no upgrade. 

The two twin room officially sleeps 2 adults and 2 children. The “twin” beds were more like doubles. So it was tight but we managed. 

The club lounge at this hotel is newly renovated and fantastic. It has an outdoor terrace where we loved to sit – they will even bring you blankets. The cocktail hour was extensive and very high quality. Breakfast was similar, with a variety of delicious choices! 

The hotel is located inside a mall that also has a fun fountain show throughout the day that is timed to music. There is also a Kirby Cafe nearby, which was unique, though overpriced. 

Fukuoka Activities:

The only reason we came to Fukuoka was for the Grand Sumo Tournament, which was happening in November.  Sumo is seasonal and annual tournaments vary by location. This was yet another highlight of our trip. Check out this video for more about the tournament. We bought tickets from BuySumoTickets.com in advance. 

We didn’t do too much else around Fukuoka besides TeamLabs (this was fun but we didn’t love it as much as other people do) and souvenir shopping and taking it easy around the hotel. 

We did go to the Kirby Cafe which was cute and much easier to get a reservation at than in Tokyo but overall like most of the theme cafes we went to, it wasn’t as much of a hit for the adults and so much more expensive for lower quality food than other restaurants.. For the kids, yes, they loved it.