10 Days in Japan with Kids: Tokyo & Kyoto
Kids ages: 9 & 7
Month of visit: November
Japan was a bucket list destination for us. After postponing due to pandemic closures, we couldn’t wait to bring our kids with us to explore the storied island. We fell in love with Japan for lots of reasons, including the friendly people, the awe-inspiring scenery and design, the culture of respect and deeply-rooted history, and the amazing food. There is much to see and do here, and we left eager to return.
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DAY 1-6 & 10 | TOKYO
Tokyo is a vibrant city with an excellent transportation system. We loved how clean and safe the city felt. Our Japan trip started with 6 nights in Tokyo staying at the Mandarin Oriental in Nihombashi (the financial district), and spent one additional night here before flying home. The hotel was incredibly family-friendly with connecting room configurations and several great dining options on-site. Experience highlights included visits to both Tokyo Disney parks, TeamLab Planets, Shibuya Sky, the Ghibli Museum, shopping at Mitsukoshi Nihombashi, and riding the Shinkansen bullet train. We also thoroughly enjoyed our day trips to Nikko (including a delightful family lunch at The Lakehouse at The Ritz-Carlton) and Kamakura. Dining highlights included daily hotel breakfasts, our Michelin 3-star date night dinner at L’Osier, family lunch at Sense, dinner at Sushi Shin, and surprise in-room pizza dinner from The Pizza Bar at 38th.
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DAY 7-9 | KYOTO
We visited Kyoto during fall foliage season (last two weeks of November), and it was beautiful but very busy. The Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto was an ideal base for our 3 nights in Kyoto, set in a quiet enclave of the city with a serene Japanese garden and pond. We stayed in a 1-bedroom residence with all the amenities for a “home away from home” experience. Our experience highlights here were a rickshaw tour of the city, spending time at the pool, and exploring Arashiyama. Dining highlights included hotel breakfasts, Japanese afternoon tea at the Fuju Tea House, and family dinner at La Locanda at The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto.
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GOOD TO KNOW
The train and metro systems in Japan are incredible and fairly easy to navigate. If considering buying a Japan Rail Pass, price out your journey to see whether there is actually any cost savings to a rail pass instead of buying individual tickets. We had our luggage shipped between our hotels so we didn’t have to lug it onto the trains, and this was wonderful (this can also be arranged from the airport to your hotel). Many attractions and dining reservations in Japan need to be booked well in advance.
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