Hey all, just returned from our family of three's (Mom, Dad, Teenager) first trip to Japan and we absolutely loved it. I thought I'd post a trip report because reading through some of the Japan travel subreddits, we had a somewhat unusual itinerary, and to maybe ask some feedback on Trip #2!
First, I should state what we were looking to do: my son and I are both big "rail fans", he's also an aviation buff, so the "means of conveyance" for us wasn't a hassle for the most part, but the often the point. Also, we were looking to do some skiing, not hard-core "Japow", more just mellow groomer cruising, but good snow is always nice, while at the same time experience the amazing city vibes for which Japan is so justifiably famous. Finally, we wanted to do some "forest bathing" and hiking as well as get exposed to at least a bit of Japanese history and culture. Another factor affecting our planning is that our travel style generally is more "find a base and explore locally/regionally" as opposed to trying to hit as many "must-see" spots as possible. We had basically eight nights to work with, based on a school holiday.
We ended renting an Airbnb in Karuizawa for all eight nights and buying "Hokuriku Arch" rail passes that allowed seven days of free rides on the Shinkansen trains that passed through Karuizawa many times a day, the station for which was just a few minutes walk from our Airbnb. With that base and pass, we did the following:
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Two days of exploring Karuizawa itself, often on bicycles. There's a ski area there, it's not epic "Japow", but it was walking distance from our place, low-stress, and included some really nice beginner and intermediate terrain, plus amazing views from the top of Mt. Asama, Karuizawa and the Shinkansen trains going by. Right next to that there's a nice outdoor shopping center with every store you could The Kyu-Karuizawa ("Old Karuizawa") area was really atmospheric to walk around, with lots of trees, narrow lands, paths, old churches, shrines, etc. We also went over to Naka-Karuizawa, which has a bunch of paths and a river and classy terrace. All of the food that we had in Karuizawa was top-notch. The weather was also surprisingly nice, for a mountain area in February, a little cold but mostly sunny. We really loved Karuizawa, we could've happily spent the whole week there.
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Two days of exploring Tokyo: Omiya Railway Museum (of course), Shibuya, Cat Street, Takeshita-Dori, Meiju Jingu, Ometesando, Ueno Park, Ameyoko, and Ginza. It was all really cool, we probably liked strolling along Cat Street and through Ueno Park the best. The only thing that I might say I found a little disappointing was Ameyoko, but maybe that kind of thing just doesn't appeal to me. Good railfanning territory though, with the trains running by overhead.
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One day in the Nagano area: we made it up to the Togakushi Cedar Avenue, which was absolutely magical, there was fresh snow all around, then over to Iizuna for skiing with hardly anyone out and a beautiful ride on the train that goes from there back to Nagano, a little exploring of the central area of Nagano leading up to the Temple.
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One day skiing and exploring Nozawa Onsen. Excellent skiing there, the village was cool, but the vibe was a little too "Aussie".
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Our rail passes expired before our last full day, so we rented a car and drove to Kusatsu to ski and then explore the onsen town. The skiing was good, not quite like Nozawa though, but the onsen town was much better, if still a little "kitchy". But Sainokawara rotenburo was a highlight of the whole trip, and Yubatake was striking. Just the walk from the ski resort to the center of town is amazing!
With that, we were back on the Hokuriku for the ride back to Tokyo and then out to Haneda, which has an observation platform that is Valhalla for avation buffs, so that was a nice epic way to end the trip!
The next two places that are pretty high on my list are Sapporo for more skiing mixed with city vibes and Kyoto for more "wooded paths and narrow lanes", if I can block off enough time, I'd like to a trip broken into two pieces, one for each.
I do wonder a little bit about whether there's anything that we really left on the table in Tokyo. I feel like we saw what we wanted to there, obviously, you could spend a lifetime endlessly exploring all of the little niches and crannies of a city of 41 million, but there's nothing in particular that jumps out as "must-see".
by Icy_Peace6993