u/twinlandia

We are heading to Japan in October for 21 days. Our trip includes some plans based on if my husband will be with us or not as this is combining a work and family trip for my husband. This is not the first international trip for my kids; they are wonderful travel companions and love train travel.

Can we fit more in our should we cut some stuff out? Would using luggage forwarding be a good idea, or not necessary since we only have 3 hotel changes?

We love anime and Pokemon (obviously). I figure for food we will just find stuff to eat mostly where we are at the time with the exception of Pokemon Cafe and Flippers. We have ND kids and one also has an eating disorder, so we typically do food as we go and maybe we aren't all eating at the same time in the restaurant.

I tried to keep things as close as possible for our day exploration of Tokyo, but also had to consider what my husband also wants to see and when he is available.

TIA

October 5-25 (we are staying in AirBnB in Shinjuku during our time in Tokyo)

Arrive 3pm October 5 NRT

• Oct 6
  • Pokepark
• Oct 7
  • Breakfast at Flippers
  • Explore Shibuya
  • Rest/Tokyo Night Light show
• Oct 8
  • TeamLab Borderless
  • Pokemon Cafe
• Oct 9
  • Disney Tokyo
• Oct 10
  • Tama Zoological Park (researched zoos as much as I could to find an ethical place. My son loves to visit a zoo every place we visit)
• Oct 11
  • Gotemba Premium Outlets
• Oct 12
  • Fukui Prefecture Dinosaur Museum (dinosaur obsessed kids. we can't miss Fukui... even with the long travel)
• Oct 13
  • Akihabara
  • Pokemon Centers (Tokyo Station and DX)
• Oct 14
  • Tsukiji Fish Market
  • Kidzania (afternoon session)
  • Small Worlds?
• Oct 15
  • DisneySea
• Oct 16
  • Temple Zojo-ji
  • Maple Waterfall/Tokyo Tower
  • Akasaka area exploration
• Oct 17
  • Sky Tree
  • Pokemon Center (Sky Tree)
  • Imperial Palace
  • Senso-ji
  • Asakusa
• Oct 18 (Patina Osaka Hotel)
  • Travel day to Osaka
• Oct 19
  • Nintendo and Pokemon Store
  • Possibly Kirby Cafe
  • Neco Republic Cat Spa
• Oct 20
  • Kaiyukan Aquarium
  • Pokemon Center Osaka and DX
• Oct 21 (Travel to Mimaru Hotel in Kyoto)
  • Osaka Castle Grounds (am)
  • Nintendo Museum (pm)
• Oct 22
  • Hiroshima Day Trip
  • Peace museum
  • Maybe Miyjima Island
  • Pokemon Center Hiroshima Station
• Oct 23
  • Open explore day (temples)
  • Pokemon Center
  • Nintendo Store
• Oct 24
  • Samurai/Ninja Museum and experience
  • Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
• Oct 25 (Fly out KIX at 6pm)
  • Explore Osaka for day - husband missed all of Osaka earlier

I have been reading and researching the JR Pass now for a few months and I feel like there is mixed information on a JR pass being needed or not. *Clarifying that if a pass is more expensive, but will make travel easier with kids, then I am fine with a minimal price difference for convenience.

My family of four (2 adults and 2 kids-9 year olds) will be in Japan for 21 days traveling between Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nirasaki and perhaps Nagano and Fukui; does the JR pass make sense? My husband will likely be the only one going to Nirasaki, but the kids and I will definitely travel between Tokyo, Kytoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and possibly either Nagano or Fukui.

I can't decide on what will be better and it has been hard to plan out the fares vs the pass when I get to the reserved and not reserved. Will I have to have it all planned out before we get there or can we choose day of for a day trip to Hiroshima say? We will need the Nex' from the airport to Shinjuku area, and then from Kyoto we will fly out of Osaka (KIX).