A family trip · 二〇二七
日本
J A P A N
Two weeks across Japan
Tap into any day for hour-by-hour notes, photos, links, and the hotel for the night. The plan is firm in shape, soft in detail — open questions are noted in each day.
Arrival in Tokyo
Land at Narita mid-afternoon. Get to the hotel, eat something easy, walk the block once, and crash by 8 PM Tokyo time. No sightseeing — winning the first night is the whole job.
Easy day — Asakusa & Ueno
Everyone's awake at 4 AM. Use it. Senso-ji at opening before tour buses arrive, breakfast crawl down Nakamise, then a slow Ueno Park afternoon with playground time for Rosetta and benches for the grandparents.
teamLab Planets · the kid wow day
The kid 'wow' activity. Timed-entry teamLab Planets in the morning when energy is high, lunch in Toyosu, then a long rest block before an early-evening neighborhood wander.
Tokyo Disneyland
The Rosetta-gets-a-win day. Anti-optimization plan: no rope drop, pick 3–5 things, leave before everyone melts. Linda + Kerry can come for the parade or take a rest day at the hotel — no pressure.
Flexible Tokyo · forward the bags
Last Tokyo day. Sleep in. Quiet shrine in the morning, Harajuku for Rosetta, Shibuya in small doses. Critical task: hand the big bags to Yamato so they show up in Kyoto on Day 8.
Tokyo → Hakone · Romancecar
One train, no transfers, reserved seats. From Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto in 80 minutes. Ryokan check-in, tea, in-room onsen, kaiseki dinner served on the table. The exhale.
Hakone · slow day
Don't over-program this one. Slow ryokan breakfast, the Open-Air Museum (kid-friendly, outdoor), maybe Lake Ashi if weather and energy hold, then back to the onsen. Kaiseki again.
Hakone → Kyoto
Last ryokan breakfast, Hakone Tozan rail back down to Odawara, Shinkansen west to Kyoto. Bags are already at MIMARU Kyoto waiting. Easy evening — Kamo River walk, food-hall dinner.
Higashiyama · Kiyomizu
Kyoto's most photographed half-mile. Taxi to Kiyomizu-dera before the crowds, walk down Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka through the old wooden streets, lunch in Higashiyama, rest, evening in Gion.
Arashiyama · bamboo & river
West Kyoto. Bamboo grove early before the tour groups, Tenryu-ji's stroll garden, lunch by the Hozugawa river. Skip the monkey mountain — it's a steep hike. Optional: Sagano scenic train.
Day trip · Nara & the deer
Easy day trip — 45 minutes by train. Nara Park is hundreds of free-roaming deer that bow for crackers, Todai-ji's Great Buddha, lots of grass and benches. The grandparent-and-toddler dream day.
Day trip · Miyama (rural)
The countryside day. Private van picks us up at MIMARU, ~90 min into the mountains to Kayabuki no Sato — a thatched-roof village of 250 people. Lunch, walk the village, drive home. Worth every yen vs. trying public transit with this group.
Last full day · choose your Kyoto
Sat morning in Kyoto. Pick one anchor activity (Aquarium, Railway Museum, or Fushimi Inari at dawn), Nishiki Market lunch, last shopping, and a special last dinner. Pack tonight.
Departure · Sayonara
Open question on routing. Linda + Kerry probably fly KIX → YVR (seasonal nonstop). Jake/Jess/Rosetta likely Shinkansen back to Tokyo for the NRT → DEN nonstop. Either way: simple breakfast, taxi, plane, home.
- JJakedad
- JJessicamom
- RRosettadaughter
- LLindagrandma
- KKerrygrandpa
Visit Japan Web (do this 2 weeks before)
docsPre-clear immigration and customs online. Get the QR codes into everyone's Apple Wallet before the flight — saves 30+ minutes at Narita.
services.digital.go.jpTourist visa — none needed for US/Canada
docsU.S. and Canadian passports get visa-free entry for tourism up to 90 days. Passports valid for the full stay with blank pages. Verify a few months out — rules can change.
U.S. Embassy Tokyo
docs1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku. For Jake/Jess/Rosetta if a passport disappears.
jp.usembassy.govCanadian Embassy Tokyo
docs7-3-38 Akasaka, Minato-ku. For Linda + Kerry if a passport disappears.
canadainternational.gc.ca