This September, my family finally came to Japan and I was super happy and excited to show them around, to bring them to all my favorite places and to see what they think about this country that I love so much: Japan. Planning everything for 5 persons was not easy, but starting early with the reservations for hotels and tickets for certain places helped to ensure everything will go smoothly. I hope this post will help others who are planning a family trip or any kind of trip to Japan or at least give you some ideas.
In September you obviously don’t have cherry blossoms and it might be too early for autumn leaves, however, the temperatures are not as high as they are during summer (especially August), it is not as rainy as in June and although there are chances of encountering a typhoon, I still think it is a good time to visit Japan. Another advantage is that it is a bit off the peak season, thus some places might not be as crowded as they would be during cherry blossoms or autumn leaves seasons. Given Japan’s recent popularity and the fact that Japanese students are still on holiday, some places might still get quite crowded even in September. For example, we had a crowded day at Tokyo DisneySea, even though we went on a weekday… For Universal Studios Japan, I checked their crowd calendar (unfortunately available only in Japanese) and managed to go there on a really good day, without many people. Here is some info about how this calendar can be read.
9 days might not be a lot, but in these days, we managed to see many interesting places, both cultural and modern, visit nice restaurants and have a variety of activities, I’ll let you learn more about our itinerary below.
Highlights
Must-see places in Tokyo: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa, Harajuku
Museums: teamLab Borderless, Ghibli Museum
Restaurants: Kani Doraku, Ippudo, Ichiran
Must-see places in Kyoto: Fushimi Inari Shrine, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, The Golden Pavilion, Gion
If traveling with children: Tokyo DisneySea, USJ
Day 1 – Arrival Day – Exploring Shinjuku
My family arrived at around 8 AM at Narita Airport. We used the Keisei Bus (cheapest option from the airport to Tokyo Station, only 1000 yen) to go to the city center. It was a bit too early for hotel check-in, so after leaving their luggage at the hotel, we went straight to a kaiten sushi place! It was such a fun experience having sushi in Japan with my family for the first time, they were surprised by how different the taste of sushi is compared to the one they have tried before in Europe. There are many kaiten sushi (conveyor belt sushi) chains in Japan, but my favorite is Hamazushi! It is both cheap and delicious, and Pepper the robot will greet you at the entrance and help you find a table, an example of how technology is successfully used in Japan and how robots have started replacing some jobs. Sometimes, especially on weekends, it can get quite crowded, so a reservation is required.
After sushi, we went straight to Shinjuku, one of Tokyo’s busiest wards, where we visited the Observatory of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. The information I found online or on Google Maps was not accurate, so here is the schedule according to a board that can be found at the entrance there:
Hours 9:30 – 23:00 (Enter before 22:30)
Closed 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month / December 29th to January 3rd (except January 1st)
The best part about this place is that you can get a free gorgeous view of Tokyo.
Then I showed everyone my favorite little alley in Shinjuku, Omoide Yokocho, which has recently become quite a tourist attraction, I’ve seen many groups of tourists going there together with their guides.
We ended the day as early as we could (around 6 PM) because everyone was tired after the looong flight to Japan…
Day 2 – Temples, Popular culture, Digital art, and Disney
Our second day started quite early, at around 8 AM and we first headed to Harajuku, famous for popular culture, crazy fashion styles, and the tapioca boom.
Out first spot of the day was the Meiji Shrine, an important cultural spot that one must visit when in Tokyo. One of the most significant shrines in Tokyo, Meiji Shrine is very popular for hatsumode (first shrine visit of the year). One can take part in typical Shinto activities here such as writing their wishes on an ema (wooden board), praying at the main hall or buying omamori (good luck charms).
After Meiji Shrine, we went to the popular culture part of Harajuku, to the famous Takeshita Street where we had fun doing various activities such as shopping, taking purikura-style photos, eating cotton candy and Harajuku crepes and of course, taking many photos. My sister and her friend enjoyed this place the most!
After Harajuku, we headed to Odaiba in another part of the city to visit the famous teamLab Borderless digital art museum! It was already the third time for me to see it, however, I think I’ll never get bored of seeing it. It is worth the one hour trip to Odaiba and having to buy the tickets in advance. Often tickets are already sold out on the day so it is better to buy them online here. Teamlab Borderless is their permanent exhibition in Odaiba, but they also have a temporary exhibition in Toyosu which is a bit different.
And after enjoying digital art at teamLab, we headed to Tokyo Disney Sea, as after 6 PM, their tickets are cheaper compared to going there all day, and since we were short on time, we couldn’t dedicate a whole day only to Disney. 1-day Passport for an adult is 7, 400 yen compared with an After 6 Passport which is 4,200 yen.
It might not have been the best idea because it was much more crowded than I expected and we didn’t have time to go to all the attractions the girls wanted to try or buy any souvenirs… however we could see the parade and ride the famous Tower of Terror and overall feel a bit of that magic atmosphere, but I would definitely recommend spending the whole day there if your itinerary permits doing so.
It was a day filled with many places and activities, maybe too many if you want to enjoy them slowly and probably our busiest day, but I’m glad we managed to go to all of the planned places!
Day 3 – Ghibli Museum, Kichijoji, and a traditional festival
Day 3 started even earlier than Day 2 because our tickets for the Ghibli Museum were at 10 AM and Mitaka is quite far so it took us one hour to get there. My sister is a great fan of Totoro (maybe because of me, haha) and we used to watch many animations by Studio Ghibli at home, so I really wanted to go there mostly for her, but everyone enjoyed the beautiful art of animation and the attention to details that can be observed at this museum. We also had lunch there at the Straw Hat Cafe, a unique restaurant that can only be found at the Ghibli Museum and for which you usually need to queue at least one hour… but the food was delicious and organic so I recommend it if you are visiting the Ghibli Museum.
After spending a few hours at the museum, we went to Kichijoji and to remain in the theme of Studio Ghibli, we went to Shirohige’s Cream Puff Factory – Kichijoji, where you can get the adorable Totoro shaped cream puffs with delicious fillings. For summer, they had a limited edition mango flavor. To our surprise, Shirohige himself (Hayao Miyazaki’s brother) was selling the cream puffs! We felt honored to meet him and we had a small chat about how much we love Studio Ghibli, Totoro and also his cream puffs. I was also super happy that he didn’t refuse to take a photo with us as I’ve known he is quite a shy person.
After this adventure, we returned to Waseda, where a small local festival was taking place, the Ana Hachimangu Shrine festival, a festival that I also attended when I first came to Japan back in 2015. Summer is the season for most Japanese festivals, but I was happy we got to see this small festival happening in September so that my family could get a taste of what Japanese festivals are like.
Day 4 – Asakusa
Asakusa is my favorite place in Tokyo and although it is very touristy, I love that traditional Japanese feeling that you can get here. We spent a whole day here, first visiting Sensoji Temple and drawing omikuji, shopping on Nakamise street, having lunch at a famous Monjayaki place and trying different sweets of Asakusa such as glazed strawberries! In my opinion, Asakusa is a must if you visit Tokyo!
After Asakusa, we went to Shibuya and went to the top of the Magnet building in Shibuya to get a great bird’s eye view over the famous Shibuya crossing.
We ended the day with ramen, my family trying it for the first time. They loved it!
Day 5 – My graduation ceremony
The main reason my family came to Japan in September was to attend my graduation ceremony. For this occasion, I wore a special type of graduation outfit in Japan, kimono + hakama. We attended both the university-wide ceremony and the one just for my graduate school. It was a day filled with emotion, a sense of achievement and happiness that my family could be together with me.
We didn’t visit any tourist spots on this day but after my ceremony, we went to celebrate at a restaurant that I’ve been wanting to go to for a long time: Kani Doraku, a restaurant that specializes in kani (crab). It is a traditional type of restaurant and also a very popular one so reservations are needed weeks in advance. It is a great place to experience kaiseki cuisine (traditional multi-course Japanese dinner) at an affordable price.
Day 6 – Kyoto, ryokan and onsen
We didn’t have many days for this trip, but coming to Japan without visiting Kyoto is not possible in my opinion, thus I somehow had to include Kyoto in the itinerary. We took the shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Kyoto. For our first night in Kyoto, I chose to stay at a ryokan and reserved a huge tatami room for all of us. It was not easy to find a budget-friendly ryokan with onsen, dinner and breakfast included, but after a lot of research in Japanese and on a lot of local sites, I found a great ryokan called Kyoto Gojo Hotel Shuhokaku, unfortunately, I couldn’t find any information about it in English. But I am sure they are welcoming to travelers who only speak English as well as most of the info was written in English as well.
For only 8,000 yen per adult and 4,200 per children, we had a delicious kaiseki-style dinner with many local and seasonal specialties, we could enjoy the 3 types of onsen baths they had (one of them being available for rental) and also had a delicious breakfast. I recommend this place for a traditional ryokan experience without having to go bankrupt.
Day 7 – Visiting Kyoto’s attractions: Fushimi Inari Shrine, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, The Golden Pavilion and Gion
We only had one full day for Kyoto so I tried to squeeze all the important places in a day. It was not impossible and I think we also managed to enjoy them properly.
Our day started early at Fushimi Inari Shrine, considering how popular it is, better go there as early as possible. We didn’t go to the top of the mountain, but we reached somewhere around the 5th station which is pretty good I think. And of course, took lots of photos with the hundreds of vermilion-color gates.
From Inari station, we went by train to another part of the town, where the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is located. It took us about one hour and when we arrived there, we had a small snack break at a place famous for wagyu (Japanese beef) and Japanese croquettes.
Then we stopped for dessert at a taiyaki place and yuba (tofu skin) soft cream at another place.
After passing by the Togetsukyo Bridge, we reached my favorite coffee place in Kyoto: % Arabica. As my mom also loves coffee, we had to try it together and for my sister, she ordered their equally delicious lemonade.
Then we admired the beautiful landscape of Arashiyama with the forest and the boats along the Oi River, after which we headed to the famous bamboo forest which was less crowded than usual. It was already my third time there, but the first time I wasn’t there alone. I felt so happy that I could share the beauty of Kyoto with my family. We also went to a famous shrine where you can pray for love, Nonomiya Shrine.
From Arashiyama, we headed to Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion) and it took us around one hour by bus, but we managed to get there before sunset. I will never forget the moment when I visited this temple for the first time and I had tears in my eyes, brought by its beauty.
After this temple, we had a dessert break at Maccha House, for their maccha tiramisu.
And finally, we ended the day with Gion, where we were lucky enough to see a geisha.
It was a tiring day, but I am happy we managed to see so many important places in just one day.
Day 8 – Osaka, USJ
Finally, I got to visit Universal Studios Japan! As a huge fan of Harry Potter ever since I was an elementary school student, visiting it was on my list of places to see ever since I first came to Japan in 2015. We spent a whole day there especially at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ where we enjoyed the attractions, the shops, the food and most importantly, the BUTTERBEER! Yummm!
Day 9 – Back to Tokyo
On Day 9, we returned to Tokyo and packed everything, I had to pack a lot of things since it was also the day when I moved out of my apartment in Tokyo… and we all headed to a hotel near Narita Airport.
This is how I planned the trip to Japan for 9 days for my family. They seemed to enjoy all the places I chose and were surprised by so many things that the country of The Rising Sun has to offer.
This is also how another chapter of my life has come to an end, graduating from Waseda University as an MA student. I am a bit sad that this chapter has too come to an end but also excited about what will come next.
Thank you for reading!
