This is my first post. First I want to say how helpful this forum has been in our trip planning – I have tried to incorporate what I have learned from reading many trip reports but I am sure I have missed some things! I really appreciate any feedback or suggestions the forum has to share. Our itinerary is posted after the logistics questions.
My family of 3 (2 adults (50) and 1 young adult (13), all in good health and used to walking, hiking and biking on vacation) are so excited for our 2 week trip to Japan this spring! Our priorities for this trip are cultural experiences and enjoying scenery and local sights, as well as eating sushi, ramen and new dishes. We are not focused on Tokyo and “big city” experiences so we don’t have a ton of time there.
Here are some burning questions I have about logistics for our trip:
Trains! We are planning to use the train system for all of our city to city transport. I feel like I had read on this forum that during cherry blossom season it would be critical to book some, if not all, of our train tickets ahead of time. I tasked my husband with researching the cost (should we get a JR pass or not) and looking at availability and deciding if we should purchase or not. Historically he has been our train guru on trips and his conclusion was that we did not need the JR pass and that we shouldn’t book our tickets in advance. If you have strong evidence for me to present him with to change this approach, please bring it!
Luggage: at the moment we are all planning to travel with largish backpacks – think multi day camping trip. Mine for example is 60L. We don’t want to be dragging roller bags all over the streets. Thoughts? We will need to put them in luggage storage, luggage compartment on trains, possibly luggage forwarding.
Pretty much all the train/transit info in our itinerary at this point was brought to me by AI so please scold me and tell me what is wrong if you see it. We will confirm it by real research before we leave! If you happen to notice that our itinerary is a little inefficient around the Gifu Prefecture – yes, I know. We really want to do the Nakasendo Trail walk, and the hotel we wanted to stay in Magome only had a room for the one night so we built around that and yes we will be doing some back-tracking!
Kyoto TeamLab Biovortex – I do not think our time in Tokyo allows for TeamLab in Tokyo so I do want to book our tickets in advance in Kyoto – suggestions on time of day would be very appreciated, in the context of the other sights we want to experience in Kyoto.
Both my husband and my daughter are musicians (him: drumming, her: piano, clarinet, bassoon). I included the option of a Taiko drumming class in Asakusa but we are very interested in any music experience suggestions.
I tried researching fiber arts opportunities that would be teen-friendly and I don’t have something solid. Hoping for something in Kanazawa connected to the College of Arts and Crafts? Any recommendations welcome!
Any specific info or recommendations on bike options would be very appreciated. We are all experienced bike riders. Do we need to bring a helmet for my 13 year old or are they available (I would prefer we ALL have helmets but it is a non negotiable for her!)
Those are my specific questions for help, here is our itinerary for any comments. Thank you in advance for your help and support!
Japan Itinerary: March 22 – April 4, 2026
Day 1 – Sun, Mar 22: Arrival in Tokyo (4 pm)
- Overnight: Shinagawa Tobu Hotel (Tokyo)
Day 2 – Mon, Mar 23: Tokyo → Kyoto
- Transit: Shinkansen Tokyo → Kyoto (~2–2.5 hrs)
- Stay in Airbnb near Shijo-Omiya station
Day 3 – Tue, Mar 24: Kyoto
Kyoto Options to decide on and schedule:
- Teamlab Biovortex Kyoto (this is a definite must for our family, looking for recommendations as to which day of our trip and time of day to schedule for)
- Fushimi Inari Taisha
- Nishiki Market + Teramachi arcades
- Gion
- Tea ceremony at Maikoya Kyoto (kid-friendly with sweets) (This was suggested by AI so any real life experiences or other suggestions are very welcome!)
- Arashiyama Bamboo Grove + Monkey Park
- Kyoto Aquarium with dolphins and giant salamanders (a maybe, only if we decide not to go to Nagoya)
Day 4 – Wed, Mar 25: Kyoto
- See options above
Day 5 – Thu, Mar 26: Kyoto → Himeji → Miyajima Island
- Need to arrange luggage forwarding if possible
- Kyoto → Himeji: Take the Shinkansen (Nozomi or Hikari) from Kyoto Station to Himeji Station. Travel time: 45–55 minutes
- Visit Himeji Castle + Kōko‑en Garden (~9 AM–12 PM) (we may decide to skip this if the travel time/day seems too challenging)
- Himeji → Hiroshima: Take the Shinkansen (Sakura or Hikari). Travel time: ~2 hours
- Take the JR Sanyo Line local train from Hiroshima Station to Miyajimaguchi Station. Travel time: ~30 minutes.
- From Miyajimaguchi, board the ferry to Miyajima Island. Travel time: ~10 minutes. Arrive by 3 pm, hopefully.
- Stay at apartment (1 night)
- Ropeway? Hike?
- Sunset – 6:25 – tide will be coming in. Ideal viewing time for torii gate
Day 6 – Fri, Mar 27: Miyajima → Hiroshima → Kanazawa
- ~7:45–8:00 AM, high tide, torii gate
- Return to Hiroshima Station, luggage storage
- Peace Memorial – depart by 2 pm
- Continue to Kanazawa: Shinkansen Hiroshima → Kyoto (~1h 40m), Limited Express Thunderbird Kyoto → Kanazawa (~2h 10m).
- Arrival in Kanazawa: ~6:00–7:00 PM, depending on departure.
- Stay in Airbnb close to National Crafts Museum
Day 7 – Sat, Mar 28: Kanazawa
Options to decide on and schedule:
- Kenrokuen Garden + Kanazawa Castle
- Bike tour of Kanazawa
- Crafts Museum + Higashi Chaya district
- Omicho Market dinner
- Nagamachi Samurai District
- Ninjadera ("Ninja Temple")
Day 8 – Sun, Mar 29: Kanazawa
- See options above
Day 9 – Mon, Mar 30: Kanazawa → Magome
- Kanazawa → Nagoya (Hokuriku Shinkansen, ~3 hrs)
- Nagoya → Nakatsugawa (JR Chūō Line, ~50 min)
- Nakatsugawa → Magome (bus/taxi, ~30 min)
- Afternoon: Explore Magome post town
- Overnight: Tajimaya Minshuku – onsen. Dinner (6 pm) and breakfast (7:30 am) included.
Day 10 – Tue, Mar 31: Magome → Tsumago → Takayama
- Morning: Hike Magome → Tsumago Nakasendo Trail (~8 km, 2.5–3 hrs)
- Lunch: Tsumago soba or set meal
- At Tsumago: taxi to Nakatsugawa (~30–40 minutes).
- Luggage: Forwarded from Magome to Nakatsugawa, collect at station.
- Route: JR Chūō Line Nakatsugawa → Tajimi (~40m), JR Taita Line Tajimi → Mino-Ota (~30m), JR Takayama Line Mino-Ota → Takayama (~2h 50m). Total: ~4h.
- Scenic: Long stretch on the Takayama Line.
- Evening: Arrive Takayama, stroll Old Town
- Overnight: Thanyaporn Hotel Apartment
Day 11 – Wed, Apr 1: Takayama
- Options to decide on and schedule:
- Takayama morning markets
- Hida Folk Village (open air museum, includes gassho-zukuri houses with thatched roofs) + Hida Takayama Crafts Experience Center
- Family‑friendly bike tour
- Evening: Hida beef dinner
Day 12 – Thu, Apr 2: Takayama → Nagoya or Nagano → Tokyo
- Transit: Decide between 2 options:
- Via Nagoya: ~4h 10m, fastest and most frequent. Could leave Takayama around 3:30–4:00 PM and still reach Tokyo by 8 PM. Leave Takayama at 8 am and we could spend 5 hours in Nagoya at the aquarium, and see cherry blossoms while there. (this is probably what we will do, for the 13 year old)
- Via Nagano: ~5h+, more scenic through the Hida Mountains and Shinano River valley. Need to leave Takayama by 1:30–2:00 PM to comfortably reach Tokyo by 8 PM. Could stop in Nagano for up to 7 hours if we leave Takayama early. If we do this should we also stop for Matsumoto Castle? (this is probably over ambitious, we are just sad we did not fit Nagano into our itinerary)
- Evening: Arrive Tokyo illuminated cherry blossoms at Ueno Park if not too late
- Overnight: Airbnb by Ueno Park
Day 13 – Fri, Apr 3: Tokyo
- Options to decide on:
- Asakusa (Senso‑ji, Nakamise shopping street) + Taiko drumming class
- teamLab Planets in Odaiba (advance reservation required) – 1 hr each way from hotel
- Day trip to Nikko or Mt. Fuji (Kawaguchiko) (probably not)
- Visit Cafe Capyba, the Capybara Cafe (advance reservation required)
- Enjoy cherry blossoms at Sumida Park
Day 14 – Sat, Apr 4: Departure
- Morning: Light sightseeing or shopping
- Luggage: Storage at Ueno Station (easy access to Skyliner)
- Transit: Skyliner to Narita (~1 hr)
- Flight: Depart 6:25 PM
BTW: I love cherry blossoms, but we did not intentionally book this trip around viewing them – it just happens to be spring break. I included a few details in our itinerary about when I hope to see them (which I just looked at a forecast and probably need to update those bullets!), but at the moment it doesn’t look like our schedule lines up with peak bloom which is fine – I would rather it be a little less crowded where we are. We have already booked all our accommodation for the trip knowing that the cherry blossom season would affect availability. This is all to say…don’t worry about telling me how to rearrange the trip so that we will be where the cherry blossoms are blooming 😉
by quincequeen