Travelogue: Tokyo in Three Days with a Five Year Old

 It's been five years since we've had a five year old, and, also being honest, the youngest of three doesn't usually get treated his age and instead has to grow up quickly to keep up with the older brothers.  So, we had forgotten how to pace ourselves for a five year old.  

There's a great blog for living in and visiting Tokyo (and Japan more broadly).  I look things up here regularly and should have stolen ideas from it when planning this trip: https://bestlivingjapan.com/ 

In any case, after so much family time in Kyoto and over Christmas, my three kiddos needed a break from each other.  So, when back home in Tokyo, we assigned each of them a day to spend with their cousin and pick an activity.  Though this was a survival mode decision for me (trying to maintain happy spirits among the siblings), it turned out to be a great way to have individual time/conversation.  Filing this away for future family visits! 

Day 1: Middle Child Day.  First stop was Heiwa No Mori (Peace Park) field athletics (aka obstacle) course.  After all the temples in Kyoto, this was reportedly a blast.  Kids can spend hours here if you go on a day that it isn't too crowded (which it wasn't) and you don't have to wait in line for each obstacle.  

I'm not sure what lunch was, but then they took the train back into our neck of Tokyo to visit a favorite candy store.  With most treats averaging Y10-Y20 (under a quarter), a little money can go a long way.  It's not a fancy or glittery store, just a normal neighborhood shop with endless opportunities for browsing Japanese sweets.

Day 2: Solo day with the Oldest.  In a true Tokyo experience, the 15 year old took his cousin out into Tokyo on his own.  I can't really imagine another city where this would happen.  Maybe somewhere in Europe with good public transportation networks, but I've never lived in those places, so I'm not really sure!

They visited the TeNQ Space Museum in Tokyo Dome City.  All on one floor, when discussing options, I thought it looked manageable and within an appropriate attention span.  Apparently it was super fun, because they didn't leave to find lunch until close to 1pm.  By that time, all the noodle shops were full and with lines, so in order to avoid a hangry situation, the teenager made an executive decision McDonald's was in order.  The parents joined after lunch for bowling, also in Tokyo Dome City, finishing up the afternoon.

Day 3: Out with a 10 year old.  The youngest really doesn't like to travel far, preferring locations accessible by his scooter.  This was just fine for his cousin, so they headed to "Robot Park" nearby our house.  After playing their hearts content (and watching how Japanese parents meticulously train Japanese children from a very very young age to properly stand in line and wait their turns), they walked over to Roppongi Hills to choose a lunch.  Given the noodle failure the day before, a fancy soba/udon shop was in order.  They then stopped at a Tsutaya Roppongi bookstore, which has a good selection of kids books in English and also fun books like Where's Waldo in Japanese.  Not to mention I hear there was also a Starbucks pit stop :).

Mostly, when we ate as a group, we ate at home -- it isn't easy to find places in Tokyo to seat 10 people without having to choose a course menu.  With a request for some Tokyo craft brew, we ate one night at TY Harbor -- in addition to the beer and a view of the water, it's a great spot for visitors craving an American-style salad after lots of cooked foods.  Plus they had a kids menu and coloring set, like a family restaurant back home.  

Another day at lunch, I had planned to eat at City Bakery Brasserie Ruben (unlimited bread basket is great for the kids!), but it had filled up by the time we arrived.  Instead, we headed next door to Ark Hills Cafe, which turned out to be an even better choice.  In addition to being a touch more casual (always easier with kids), its lunch menu had both Western and Japanese options - so we could order chicken sandwiches and hamburgers as well as udon and ginger stirfry pork.

As a family on other days around Chrimstas, we had short outings to Tokyo Tower (also has a VR boat race in the basement and a ball pit for toddlers), a B League basketball game, and Kiddy Land + crepes in Harajuku (my favorite outing as a kid in Tokyo!).  

We also considered a few of these itineraries, a day at Ueno Zoo, a day at Yomiuri Land amusement park, or day trips to Kamakura, Hakone or Nikko, but ultimately decided to take it easy and enjoy family time rather than sightseeing.  Tokyo Disney and Tokyo Disney Sea were early candidates as well, but we collectively ruled those out even before visitors arrived with us not really being Disney people, and them realizing how exhausted the five year old might be the day after such a Disney adventure.

Travelogue: Kyoto in 3ish Days

We went to Kyoto with our full family (10 people, ages 5 to 75) - it was quite a production! I decided to hire a tour guide, so I could also have a vacation.  A splurge, for sure, but it was worth it alone just to have someone else the kids could pester for what the schedule was. 

Day 1:

We left Tokyo on an 8:20am shinkansen arriving in Kyoto at 10:30.  Our tour guide met us on the platform and took us to Toji Temple which has an open air fair on the 21st of every month.  Everything from fresh fruits/vegetables, to old kimonos and obis at Y1000 per item, to new art.  I found a shawl remade from old shibori cloth. 

Lunch was chicken sukiyaki in a restored home: http://chisouinaseya.com/menu/index_en.html Though quite centrally located near the Kyoto town hall, we were glad to have a guide to show us it - I would have never found it on our own.  Our visitors tried fu (麸), a protien-packed wheat gluten cake.  Some loved the chewy texture that soaked up the sukiyaki sauce - and for others, one nibble was enough.

In the afternoon, we walked through Shijo and Nishiki Market, checking out food stalls, shops run by the sixth generation, and stopped for a donut snack.  Then it was on to Gion, ending up at Yasaka Shrine at sunset when the lanterns were lit.  

Dinner was a simple yakitori.  I wanted to take everyone out for kushiyaki (fried things on sticks), but most places wanted us to  order a set menu for 10 people.  No one was that hungry being two days off the airplane, and Americans also aren't really a fan of "course menu" abdicating choices with no substitutions to the restaurant.

Day 2: 

We started at 9am and went first to Kiyomizu Temple - by the time we left around 10:30, it was really filling up so going first was a great call.  

We then we Kennin-ji, a temple i had never been to before, though it is apparently the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto.  Also interesting is an area with some of the first tea plants brought to Japan - and it is very flat, so easy to walk through for old and very young legs tired from walking up the Kiyomizu Temple.  After that, we tried again to spot a geisha walking through Gion, but it wasn't our lucky trip.  

For lunch, we headed to the north of the city for some udon and soba - the hot noodle soup was so welcome to warm up after a chilly morning walking around.  The kids menu, including onigiri (rice balls) and vanilla ice cream was a hit. 

No stop in Kyoto is complete without Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion).  A full remake of the walkways during low tourist traffic due to closed borders during COVID has led to a much more comfortable experience with such crowds.  Actually, the light rain during our visit kept away most of the crowds - and thankfully was light enough not to bother us too much.  

We were able to squeeze in a walk through the Imperial Palace gardens.  So strange to be able to walk in without an appointment - when I studied in Kyoto over 20 years ago, it was a long process to apply for permission which had to be done by mail (ahem, only nascent Internet at that time) at least three weeks in advance.  

Through arrangement with our tour guide, we then split into two groups for an experience, having already seen so much.  I took the kids for a taiko (Japanese drumming) lesson with a guy who (before COVID!) performs internationally.  We had some good rhythms going!  

Greg joined the adults at a sake brewery tasting at Kagura Brewery, reportedly Kyoto's oldest.  Our tour guide explained to me it used to be one of the biggest breweries in Kyoto, but some years ago when the market wasn't so great, the family removed the large brewery and on their land built rental properties.  They now generate most of their income from real estate, allowing them the flexibility to keep making sake in a traditional (labor intensive, expensive) way and also experiment with new flavors.  They've also hired a retired American finance guy to help expand their appeal to foreign customers.  Our crew left with three bottles, so I guess their taste is good!

At dinner, we reconnected with friends of ours from Ho Chi Minh City over pizza.  Three meals in a row of Japanese food was about all some of the group could take :) 

Day 3: 

I was too ambitious with Days 1 and 2 above, forgetting about jet lag and small five year old legs.  Thankfully, I had sensed that might be the case a week before the trip, so I had already cancelled the tour guide for that day, and had a few things in my back pocket, depending on moods.  

We opted for Nijo Castle and then to take a lunch time shinkansen home.  Nijo was a great morning activity - it opens at 8:45 and is self-guided.  Kids can run around the gardens, getting their energy out.  Because it had frozen over night, pockets of frost on bridges and benches meant some opportunities for drawing pictures in the frost, too.  Note to future visitors: as you have to take off your shoes to see the inside of the castle, if you visit on a day when it is freezing, bring an extra pair of socks or some slippers.  Our toes were more than a little chilly by the end of seeing all the rooms (the castle is not heated).  

We were looking forward to showing our visitors all the "eki-ben" (train station bento boxes) to choose one for the ride home.  Unfortunately, we couldn't find where they were in Kyoto station, so settled for unexciting options.  Once we finally got our whole crew with new tickets for the earlier train through the ticket wickets ... we found the stalls *inside* the gate.  Sadly we didn't have time to browse for a better lunch selection before our train, so I noted this for the future.  We did have time, though, to stop at a convenience store for the niece to buy a super soft cotton shinkansen kids mask to wear on the shinkansen.  Have to travel in style!

Visitors! Tokyo in August

 We had our first visitors in two years come in August.  First thing we learned is DON'T VISIT TOKYO IN AUGUST.  Seriously.  It is hot, humid, and miserable to walk around.  Because, we walk A LOT in Tokyo.  Japan also is eco conscious and keeps minimal airconditioning in buildings and trains.  So, one doesn't even get much relief when coming out of the sauna that is the city. 

In the end, we settled on about half days of activities, with resting in the house or at our pool in the afternoon.  We also opted with this group of visitors to not do any day trips (Kamakura, Nikko, Hakone, Enoshima, Karuizawa, etc etc) because we know they will be back.  This was truly a "family visit with some Tokyo thrown in," rather than a "see everything Tokyo has to offer" visit. 

Day 1: arrive about 4pm at Narita.  Enjoy the Narita Express, get a look at Tokyo Station, dinner at home, and crash around 8 or 9pm

Day 2: slow morning.  Fancy sushi lunch at Sushi Ten (for the sushi eater) or burger the floor below at Counter Burger (for the carnivore).  Walk around Tokyo Midtown to see the fancy shopping mall, gift fruit store, mini food hall.  Take the subway to Shibuya to see the big scramble (sadly, the Starbucks viewpoint was a fail) and the Nintendo Store.  

Day 3: Fancy lunch at Maison Marunouchi, with table overlooking Tokyo Station to watch the shinkansen coming and going.  After walk about Tokyo Station Character Street to do a little shopping.  Walking by the Imperial Palace was on the agenda, but one step outside and everyone bailed and went home.  Another time when it isn't 90+ degreed and 90+ percent humidity.

Day 4: Early morning visit to Toyosu Fish Market (this has replaced Tsukiji).  Optional sushi breakfast.  We had planned to possibly visit Odaiba and Team Labs that afternoon, but for various reasons didn't.  We had tickets to a Yakult Swallows game, but ended up only enjoying dinner at the ball park because the game was rained out.  (cultural note: the game tickets were refunded 14 days later ... not sure how this would have worked for tourists!)

Day 5: Haircut in the morning (yes, Japanese salons are lovely!).  We had planned to go to a waterpark (either Yomiuri Land or Summer Land), but still raining so ... hung out at home. 

Day 6: Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit and mini summer festival at Kadokawa Culture Museum in Saitama.

Day 7: Morning in Asakusa and knife shopping.  We had planned a lunch out, but it was Sunday and many things were closed (no tourists yet).  We had also thought about adding on Tokyo Sky Tree, but again the heat was just too much so ... we went home.  Late afternoon tour of the Olympic Stadium (this option is now closed).

Day 8 / 9: I forgot to document!  I think there was a visit to a mini pig cafe.  And Tokyo Tower.

Day 10: Return home

Here's a list of things to make sure and eat in Tokyo.  There's more than just sushi and ramen (of course, do eat those)!  Karaage (Japanese fried chicken), gyoza, tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet), yakiniku (grilled meat over open fire, usually do it your self), yakitori (grilled chicken, usually done for you), soba or udon (noodles), Mister Donut, Japan McDonald's for the seasonal/Japan specific things.

Other things in Tokyo do do that weren't listed above: Ueno area (zoo and museum).  Zojoji Temple near Tokyo Tower.  Meiji shrine followed by Harajuku walk (and a cute ice cream shop).  Hanging out at Arisugawa park, getting snacks from the convenience store (only if you have kids, bring balls/stuff to play with).  Check out what festivals might be around (e.g., Nakameguro Obon festival was during this time, and then could have visited the Starbucks Reserve near by)

Travelogue: Nagoya

 We headed to Nagoya out of desperation.  We had been planning to welcome grandparents to Tokyo and then travel to Kyoto, but omicron revoked their visas.  Then we were planning another trip to Tohoku, but we waited too long and all the hotels in our budget were full.  Universal Studios and Disney were sold out.  So, I thought, maybe the boys are still young enough to enjoy Lego Land? 

I found a hotel that sleeps 5 and booked it.  As we started researching, so many options kept popping up we didn't end up at Lego Land at all.  I'm sure it would have been fun, but 14 is a bit old for it - and it looked very similar to the one we enjoyed in KL a few years ago.  So, what did we do in Nagoya?

Day 1 - Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya.  Lunch and leave luggage at the station.  Train out to Inuyama Castle, one of five "national treasure" castles in Japan.  We had visited Matsuyama Castle earlier this year, so somehow we'll have to make it out to the other three before we leave (two are fairly remote, so that will take some planning).  Train back and then over to our hotel in the Osu area of Nagoya, checking in about 4pm.  The boys then took a little screen break, while Greg and I walked around Osu - it had a lot of used clothing shops and some traditional Japanese shops from rice crackers to kimono.  In addition to the window shopping, I found some used haori (kimono-like jackets) that I can use for koto concerts if I don't want to get all dressed up in kimono.  

We scouted many delicious dinner locations, but settled on miso-katsu, the Nagoya version of fried pork cutlet.  And, we opted for the biggest chain, Yaboton, over some of the tiny places, because they had no problem seating five people at one table.

Day 2 - breakfast at a delightful breakfast-only place called Early Birds.  Little did we know the day we visited was their 9th anniversary, so we had to wait for a table as many regulars were eating that day, too.  Highly recommend the biscuits and bacon!  The boys enjoyed the last friend chicken and gravy (only one left - they had to split it.)  Given that it only sat about 20 customers at once, somehow we all squeezed around a table meant for three.  

Then we went out to the redeveloped port area (Nagoya-ko).  After Odaiba's sparkle, we all felt like this redevelopment needed a little sprucing up, but it didn't detract from the fun.  The public aquarium was fantastic, with two giant tanks for dolphins and orcas.  Because it was a random Tuesday, it was only us and parents with preschoolers ... so plenty of time to plop down and simply watch the tanks. 

After a few hours, we headed over to the Fuji Antarctic ice breaker ship.  That was a pretty quick exploration, but fun all the same.  Though the boys complained at first, the small Maritime Museum had some really fun moving dioramas of how the new port works - and two simulators where one could drive a ship into a port and also time yourself to take cargo off a ship and into the port.  A trip up to the observation deck rounded out the day. 

The area also houses a small amusement park and a human-size maze.  We tried to go to the maze, but missed the hours ... and then the boys were too tired to walk all the way back to the other side to the amusement park, so we decided to call it a day and went home for an hour rest in the hotel. 

Dinner was out and about in Osu.  I had seen a delicious-looking three table yakiniku (grilled beef) restaurant - but apparently it was so delicious it was all booked all night.  So we ended up at a random Turkish restaurant - the authenticity was questionable, but if the kids ate it up, I'm not complaining.  And then we enjoyed walking around to find some sweet treats for dessert. 

Day 3 - Breakfast at Denny's.  Reliable, quick, comfortable seating for 5, and affordable :)  Then we headed out to the JR Central museum - shinkansen (bullet train!) galore! Definitely recommend for any train enthusiast of any age!  In addition to going in various trains, you can get tickets for a shinkansen driver simulator, a normal train driver simulator, and being a conductor on a train.  The parents mistimed lunch, however, and we almost had a meltdown on our hands when all three boys wanted the same type of sandwich and only one was left.  So, that grumpiness cut our time at the museum slightly shorter than we had anticipated. 

After we filled up the stomachs and moods stabilized, we headed to the Nagoya Science Museum.  At only 400 yen / adult (ages 15 and up, so only me and Greg) for the standard exhibits, this was an amazing deal.  Also amazing - all of the hands on exhibits were open (with hand sanitizer everywhere).  Had we gone in the morning, we could have also gotten tickets to the planetarium and the deep freeze lab room (not sure what that was, but donning parkas was involved).  There was an awesome looking playground outside the museum - but as we went in the afternoon, it was getting dark and cold by the time we were done.  So, note to future travelers: visit the science museum first thing in the day!

Greg and the boys went home for a little screen time, while I headed into a koto shop we had passed on the bus on Day 1.  The shopowner was so surprised to talk to me, but he of course found what I had needed (a stand that broke during our move here) and also recommended some new pieces to me.  

For dinner, we met up with the one State Department officer stationed in Nagoya and his wife - for Nagoya chochin chicken.  We tried it many ways (fried chicken wings, grilled on a stick, as fried nuggets, with a sauce over rice, and then pudding made from its eggs) and all were very tasty!  For this meal, given that we'd be 7 people, I did make reservations.  I had to call four places before I found one that could seat us! 

Day 4 - while Greg and I could have stayed longer, the boys were getting tired.  They are out of practice for sightseeing and experiencing so many new things after two years of COVID staying home.  So, we decided we'd go one place and then head home. 

Breakfast again at Denny's, where the waitress couldn't believe we wanted to order 6 plates of french toast.  But, hey, keep the boys fed!!  Then we headed over to the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology, at the site of its first weaving company (before it became a car company).  We chose it because of its proximity to Nagoya Station - though there were two other Toyota museum options!  

The museum had a hands on activity center for kids (currently time-limited to 30 minutes due to COVID restrictions) and plenty of exhibits about how weaving looms, steam engines, car parts, car manufacturing, etc etc and so on work.  And a big open floor with Toyota models over the ages.  

Lunch was the famous "Toyota curry" at the museum shop.  Tasty, filling, and reasonably priced.  We walked back to Nagoya Station through the Noritake Garden, with a quick stop for me in the Noritake shop and outlet.  I wish I had time to actually shop, but maybe better for my pocket book (and my limited Tokyo kitchen storage space) that I didn't.  

2pm shinkansen back to Tokyo, and we were home to start laundry and dinner without being too tired.  

All in all, a very surprisingly enjoyable excursion - and we probably could have spent another day, had we gone to Nagoya Castle, Atsuta Jingu (shrine), one or both of the other Toyota museums... or even added on LegoLand.