We had been mulling over Japan for years. Our daughter and her young family are currently living in Asia so we planned to vacation together in Japan. We traveled with an almost-two year old and a four year old. The idea was: good infrastructure, lots to see and do, easy public transportation. Enjoying time together prioritized over a full itinerary. All of that was true.
But beyond the basics I didn’t know much about Japan. I found “Lonely Planet Experience Japan” a great starting point to understand places and experiences to consider. It organizes the best activities by region and helps turn a passive itinerary into a more engaged one. I like to take a deep dive into the history and culture of a country before traveling there. It adds so much to the experience! I highly recommend the podcast ‘Sightseeing Japan”, which covers history, culture, and travel tips all in depth. https://www.sightseeingjapanpodcast.com/ It’s an amazing resource and my drive-time listen for months.
We chose first half of September due to work schedules and other events. Just before our trip in the econd half of August Japan went on high alert due to the estimated higher risk of a major earthquake on its east coast, and also had high rainfall and flooding that temporarily closed the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya. There was also a conga lie of typhoons blowing into Asia from the Pacific. We experienced temperatures and humidity at Tokyo Disney that were so high that Disney repeatedly interrupted the theming to announce that due to extreme heat please rest, seek shade if needed and stay hydrated. Late September or early October are probably a better choice.
My husband and I flew JAL from Dallas to Haneda, reading that JAL has one of the best premium economies of any airline. For various reasons we find the extra room in premium economy helps us arrive in better shape so we sometimes splurge. We thought the seats were pretty narrow and the unique seat extension not that helpful. Despite the 12 hour time difference we were in really good shape on landing and managed to get in several hours of sightseeing before going to bed at 20:00. JAL purchased new equipment for the route after we booked, and we found ourselves in very different seats than booked, in the two middle-most seats with a tall partition between us. It was almost like traveling solo. Fortunately JAL fixed this on the flight home but but there was no alternative on the flight out.
We traveled to Tokyo, Nikko, Takayama, and Kyoto.
Since there were six of us we booked Mimaru Suites in Tokyo. That gave us a seating area with couch, small kitchen, breakfast bar, two baths and washer/dryer. It was great to have a common area for all to relax together. The kids went to bed early and whoever was watching them for the evening didn’t have to go to bed too.
One of the outstanding activities in Tokyo that wowed all of us was Teamlab Borderless. This TeamLab is in the posh Rippongi Hills mall where we grabbed lunch afterwards at an over-the-top grocery/take-out that included carving stations. Rippongi is a beautiful area of modern high-rises.
Tokyo DisneySea is unique to Japan. It’s gigantic, the theming is noticeably good, and there is the added cultural layer of being in a park that is beloved in Tokyo. If you love Disney theme parks it’s really worth it. We day tripped from Tokyo Asakusa (about an hour one way) but it didn’t feel like an overly long day. There was a gigantic line to get into the park because a new area had just opened. There was no shade and it was unpleasantly hot.