**updated itinerary
I’m planning our second trip to Japan again travelling with 2 small kids (1 & 3yo) In April/May. this time we’re meeting friends there. They are flying in later and we want to be able to match their itinerary.. I’m worried it’s too much travelling for my two kids.. our friends will be in Kyoto and Disney the same time and we can’t do the 5N in Tokyo last after Disney because we have to fly out after Disney.. wondering if I should just skip Tokyo
10 hour flight
5N Tokyo -> 1 h to airport, 2h50min flight, 2 h drive to hotel : Total 6 hours transport from Tokyo hotel to Okinawa Hotel
6N Okinawa ( 4 night Motobu – 2 night Naha) -> 30 min to airport, 1h30 min flight, 1h30 min transportation to hotel : Total 3h30 min from Okinawa hotel to Kyoto hotel
Is it better to stay on Onna instead of Motobu?
Day 1 — Morning Playground / Travel to Okinawa
- Flight: Itami → Naha
- Arrive in Okinawa, car rental, drive to Motobu hotel (total duration 6 hours)
- dinner in area or on the way to hotel
Day 2 — Churaumi Aquarium + Ocean Expo Park
- Glass house glass making
- Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (whale sharks, kids’ zone)
- Dolphin show
- Emerald Beach, Ocean Expo Park
Day 3 — Kouri Island / Nakijin
- Kouri Bridge + Kouri Beach (stroller-friendly)
- Kouri Ocean Tower
- Nakijin Castle ruins up
- Dinner near Motobu hotel
Day 4 — Kouri Island / Nakijin
- pineapple park
- Beach time
Chatan/Naha — May 3 – May 5 (2N)
Day 5 — Move to Chatan/Naha
- Check out Motobu hotel
- Stops: Ryukyu Village or Cape Zanpa + Zanpa Park Playground
- Check in Chatan / Naha hotel
Day 6 — Pokémon Center + Beach
- Forward luggage to Kyoto hotel
- Pokémon Center Okinawa (AEON Rycom)
- Araha Beach Playground / Naminoue Beach
- American village
- Naha Kokusai Dori Shopping Street
- Team labs future park
Day 6 — check out + fly to Kyoto
- Check out of hotel
- return car
- fly to itami -> train to Kyoto hotel
6N Kyoto -> 2h30 min train
3N Disneysea/Disneyland
fly back home
by Msbbt
8 comments
Yes! Okinawa has a lot of things to offer especially for kids. Churaumi Aquarium in Motobu and Junglia in Nakijin, beaches, Kokusaidori and more! I highly recommend getting a rental car to make your travel more convenient! 🙂
I’d run you itinerary through r/JapanTravel.…
Okinawa isn’t that big, no need to stay in Motobu unless you’re after cheaper hotels/pretty views. Otherwise stay in Naha and get a rental car to travel around Okinawa (if you don’t have an IDL honestly skip Okinawa you almost need a car to make it worthwhile).
Not a bad itinerary tho, I wouldn’t worry about travel times to much you’re thinking to far into it, just book flight times that line up with check-out/check-in times
if you can rent a car, it absolutely is.
if not, i don’t suggest it.
I’d say Okinawa is pretty kid-friendly, but if you come in May you may run into rainy season down here. It’s a great place for water activities, but if you’re not interested in that, maybe not worth it. You could rent a car from the airport and immediately drive up to Motobu, don’t need to spend a night in Naha. Naha is good for end of the trip omiyage shopping.
Definitely stay in motobu. It’s much more convenient with little ones if your checking out churami and junglia although the latter may be more for the older kids. Might try pineapple park and there’s a dinosaur park both very close to motobu.
Golden week is April 29 to May 5. It may impact rental car and hotel availability as well as pricing. However it’s not insurmountable. I’ve been there during that time.
I just got back from Okinawa with our kids similar age. It’s a good place to go. But only advice, not just for Okinawa but in general, is everything takes much longer with kids. For example; day 6 seems packed. So just prepared to have to skip few things in your itinerary. Just depends on how well your kids handle nap time and eating. We just hit 1-2 activity or location a day.
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