We leave for our trip to Japan in just about two months now, and with our daughter’s passport appointment later this week, we’re really in full-on planning mode! Fortunately, I think we’ve got a lot of our logistics in a good spot. Here’s what we have figured out so far for the two weeks we’ll be in Japan…
Stop 1: Montreal, Canada
Since we’re flying Air Canada, we actually have layovers in Montreal on both legs of the trip. We’ll ultimately spend two nights here, but it gives us a chance to explore the city, as well as break up the journey (never a bad thing, when you have kids in tow). We still need to lock in accommodations, but I’m excited to get a chance to explore this part of Canada. I’ve only been to Toronto and Niagara Falls, though I’ve heard excellent things about Montreal!
Stop 2: Tokyo, Japan
We’re set to fly into and out of Narita International Airport (NRT), so we have book-ended our time in Japan with stays in Tokyo. We’ll spend six nights here total, across two different parts of the city. At the beginning of our trip, we’ll be at the Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba, which is to the south of Tokyo proper, near the Daiba metro station. For our return to the city, we booked a room at the Mimaru Tokyo Ueno Inaricho, which is to the north, a short walk from Ueno Park.
Stop 3: Urayasu, Japan
Of course, no visit to Tokyo would be complete without a visit to Disney! I had a great time at Disneyland Paris during both my study abroad and my girls’ trip with my mom and sister. While our kids haven’t yet visited Disney World in Orlando, we’re thrilled to share this experience with them – I know my mom is especially excited to check another park off her list. We’ll spend three nights here, to ensure we get one full day at both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.
Stop 4: Kyoto, Japan
We’re still looking into our accommodation options for Kyoto – it seems that an Airbnb may be a better fit than a hotel in this area – but we’re planning to spend five nights here. This will be a nice to see a different part of Japan, as it’s known for offering a look into “traditional” Japanese culture. The rail options make it pretty easy to get around, so we may also explore different day trip possibilities – Nara and Osaka are both on our radar as nearby options.
We’re definitely still figuring out our best stops, so if you have any recommendations for while we’re there, please let me know!