Next year, we’re hoping to spend a couple weeks in Japan. (“We” being me, my wife, and our two teenaged kids.) It’s too early to say that we’re “planning” the trip, especially since Japan hasn’t fully opened up. I think the country is only allowing package trips right now, but if that includes packages that don’t involve anything other than pre-booked hotels and train tickets, it’s not a big deal.

What recommendations do you people have?

We definitely want to see Kyoto and Tokyo. The Shinjuku/Kabukicho/Golden Gai area is high on my list. My son wants to visit some manga-related places, and my daughter wants to visit markets.

Are there cities, villages, and neighborhoods we shouldn’t miss? Is Osaka essential? (It looks cool, that’s for sure.) Touristy stuff is fine too; I don’t want to skip Kyoto, to pick one example, just because it’s touristy.

Hey hey, fun topic! I've been to Japan approximately ten times in the past 15 years (not counting numerous connections through Tokyo-Narita airport). I can provide some info, though perhaps take with a grain of salt as these have all been business-related trips, and I haven't really traveled far and wide throughout the country.

First, cities in general. I have vastly preferred visiting what I will call the less gigantic cities that are closer to the scenery such as Kobe and Kyoto. Kobe (a satellite city outside of Osaka) is probably my favorite city in the country, being smashed between the bay and the hillsides; more or less just a few streets wide. It reminds me quite a bit of (the best parts of) the San Francisco Bay area, with the water, hills, and bridges. And it sounds like you are already aware of Kyoto; also a very pretty city in the hills, and obviously a city with a lot of history. With respect to the two megalopolises - I prefer Osaka to Tokyo. I don't really have much tangible to provide as evidence why, other than just a feeling. I felt more comfortable there. Tokyo just felt like all business; seemingly all the business folks there wear the same black-and-white suit to work.

Getting there and around: easiest to fly into either Tokyo-Narita or Tokyo-Haneda and then you can take trains or subway almost everywhere. The rail systems generally all have signs in English and you shouldn't have too much trouble navigating them. Occasionally, you may have to take a taxi; oftentimes, the drivers do not speak (much) English, so it's best to prepare to show them your destination in writing (i.e. show them on your phone, preferably written in both English and Japanese).

Where to stay: there will probably be folks who disagree with me on this, but with a family in tow, I think it will be easiest for you to stay at international hotels with restaurants, at least ones that serve breakfast. I hope this doesn't come across as xenophobic, but there are fewer folks in Japan than you might think that speak English well (as compared to, say, Europe). This is NOT a knock against Japan; it's Japan after all, not England or the USA. But if you don't speak Japanese (it's not exactly an easy language to pick up) or don't have a local guide, you will likely get yourself in situations where you don't know what to do or where to go. It's best to make your home base a place where staff does speak English and can help in those situations, especially starting your day.

Other tidbits of information:

- Mt. Fuji is spectacular, but the odds of actually seeing it (i.e. weather is clear) are extremely low. If you definitely want to see it, give yourself as many opportunities as possible, and try to plan your visit in fall or winter (definitely not summer).

- Take the Shinkansen (bullet train). Take it many times. Forewarning: there are like four (I think) different levels of trains with respect to how express they are (i.e. fewer stops), and I still haven't been able to fully figure it out. If you're going big city to big city, try to take the ones that make the fewest number of stops as possible. This sounds obvious, but as I said, I still can't figure out their system (likely attributable to user error).

- The best and most authentic food you'll get are tiny little places off of the street that might just have two employees (owner plus a relative perhaps), a counter, and maybe one or two tables. It might feel awkward going into places like these but it is worth it almost 100% of the time.

- Go visit a temple. The obvious one(s) are in Kyoto, but they are all over the place and any of them are worth visiting.

- My daughter is obsessed with Japan and wants me to take her at some point, which I will. She loves all of the oddities like the vending machines that are everywhere, and loves sushi and ramen. She's also obsessed with amusement parks and really wants to go to Fuji-Q Highlands, which would kill two birds with one stone (see Mt. Fuji and go on roller coasters).

Japan is one of my favorite countries to visit and I'm sure you'll have a great time.

That's all that's coming to mind at the moment. Happy to try to answer any questions you might have.

jfv

Sounds weird to recommend this, and I've never been, but my understanding (from knowing a few Los Angeles chefs from Tokyo) is that Tokyo has some of the best Italian food outside of Italy. I would definitely search this out if I was there.

Have a great time.

My and my wife’s last big, pre-Covid holiday was to Japan, and we loved it. Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, the Shimanami Kaido, Tokyo, Gumma province, Kamikochi, back via Tokyo and Kyoto. Loved it all. Tips above look solid. If you like cycling, the Shimanami Kaido is a stunning ride, one of my all-time favourites, floating across islands via beautiful suspension bridges. A video about it here.

Thought of more stuff.

- If you enjoy karaoke at all, do it here.

- I don’t know if this is a thing everywhere in Japan, but at least in the Osaka area, they have vendors that make hot dogs with the strangest combinations of ingredients. Like as many as in a Chicago dog but seemingly random ingredients. It’s so weird but amusing.

- Japan is really quirky, in a good way. I don’t know how else to explain it.

- Business culture is very conservative during the day but things get wild in the evenings.

- Things I haven’t done there yet that are on my list: see a sumo wrestling match, see a baseball game, go to one of those giant, multi-story (golf) driving ranges, and see Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

One of my favorite countries in the world. Was last there in 2018, for two months.

Tokyo merits at least five days, ideally a week or more. Just to come to grips w/the place. It's huge.

A site called Tabelog is handy for restaurants (way pickier and better than Yelp or Google or TripAdvisor or whatever), but you'll need to be able to read some Japanese or run it thru a translation page to get much use out of it. Still, once your trip is booked, I'd be happy to PM you some good places to eat at a variety of pricepoints.

Shinjuku and Kabukicho remain a neon entertainment zone like no other and they hold my fascination almost as much as they did in the 1990s. The Golden Gai is still cool, although there are now a lot of explicitly foreigner-oriented places to drink there. Still, Uramado (wonderful little rock bar and a must if you ever got into bands like High Rise or Kousokuya) and Niboshi Ramen Nagi (late-night ramen place famed for its umami-overdose broth made w/baby sardines; very handy for jet lag or a post-gig meal) are wonderful spots.

Last I checked, Airbnbs had really brought hotel prices down, although I'm not sure what the scene is like post-pandemic and -Olympics. But it seems like Tokyo business hotels offer decent specials for multi-night bookings.

Even if this is your first trip to the country, I'd recommend a few days in a smaller city or out in the countryside, to get a feel for someplace not so hectic or full of tourists. Matsumoto, the gateway to the Japan Alps, is very pleasant, underrated, chill, and full of good food. Also a cool city if you like hot springs. It's just a few hours by bus from Tokyo.

I've been 3 times for work. The city of Nara is an even older temple city than Kyoto and is cool to see. There are sake breweries you can tour that are also cool to see and the process is way more involved than you may think. If you go to Hiroshima make sure you you do 2 things: have okonomiyaki Hiroshima style which is way better than Osaka style, and go to the island of Miajima which is a temple island you get to via ferries that cross a bay full of oyster beds. Hiroshima is a hard place to be as a US citizen, Everything you see...everything but the ruins of the Chamber of Commerce building...postdates the bomb. Everything. We laid that entire city to waste with a single bomb the size of a Volkswagon. Still fucks me up to think about it.

have fun! Japan was always a fun perk of work that I'll never experience again

sparky wrote: Sat Aug 13, 2022 5:52 pm My and my wife’s last big, pre-Covid holiday was to Japan, and we loved it. Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, the Shimanami Kaido, Tokyo, Gumma province, Kamikochi, back via Tokyo and Kyoto. Loved it all. Tips above look solid. If you like cycling, the Shimanami Kaido is a stunning ride, one of my all-time favourites, floating across islands via beautiful suspension bridges. A video about it here.

Did you bring your bikes over or rent some?

Rented, which was a wee bit fiddly for reasons I can’t fully remember. I think the main issue was that we only had time to do a day trip, which was to traverse the islands in one direction only, so we had to arrange someone to pick us up near the other end. In retrospect, we could’ve covered both directions - we were in decent shape, and it isn’t a physically demanding 60km. Or, better, we could’ve spent a couple of days, made some sort of arrangement with our luggage, and traced out every wrinkle of those islands. I’d go back in an instant.

If you are a bike nerd (hello), about a forty minute train and bus journey from Shinjuku is the workshop and showroom of Cherubim bikes, which I love. We got to meet and chat to (via an English-speaking colleague) master bike/builder Shinichi Konno, who is just plain lovely. That’s a fantasy job, to me, to be a master bike builder.

All good advice.

I've been there a couple times for music. When we went a few years ago as a family, we were there two weeks. I want to go back.

We had a rental place in Mita, between the Ebisu and Meguro JR stations, that was good as a central location. Not a lot right by us, which was nice actually. Quiet, but it was very easy to get to pretty much anywhere in Tokyo.

Kept that place for the duration and took one trip on the bullet train, to Kobe for a couple days and then Kyoto for one.

Kobe is terrific and I recommend it. It's a sister city of Seattle which makes a lot of sense. Great food all over. Stayed at the Oriental Hotel there--great.

Kyoto is a good visit, and we stayed in a little rental by the river that was excellent. It's way more of a tourist destination than Kobe and you feel it. Which is fine...I'm a tourist after all. The temples are remarkable, and if your kid wants to see markets, time it so you're there during the markets and she'll get a lot of them.

You can easily burn a week or two in Tokyo alone. Osaka is a working city, more like Chicago than New York (Tokyo). It'd be easier to live in than Tokyo, for sure. For visiting, it's less splashy and packed with thrills (which isn't saying much--Tokyo is jammed). It's like, Bologna would probably be the place I'd pick to live in Italy, but if someone is going on vacation, you're probably gonna go to Rome, Florence, Sicily, the coasts...

Harajuku is absolutely packed, mecca of both high-end and thrift shopping...went back three times, I think. Side streets are where it's at.
Shibuya in general good for younger people for sure.
Shimokitazawa is one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city, kind of slack and chaotic in a good way.
I wasn't into Ginza which was just Mag Mile/5th Ave type glitz for the most part, although Dover Street Market is up there if you want to look at gajillion-dollar streetwear (I do and did).
Tsukiji market has been broken up so the fish market is separate--the main market is great for street food.
Akihibara is where you go if you're into geeky stuff like anime--there's more of it there than anyone can possibly take in.
Ueno just north of Akihibara has several excellent museums, big park, zoo.
The Miyazaki/Ghibli museum is delightful, if somewhat out of the way from most tourist attractions.
If your family is into baseball at all, go to a Yakult Swallows or Yomiuri Giants game--fun.

Get the rail passes and hit it!