This was our first trip to Japan. Max was 10 years old and Stella was 5. August was hot and humid (26c/80f), but we were lucky and arrived a week after a heat advisory. Occasional showers helped with temperatures and our kids enjoyed splashing around. The highlight of the trip was having Big Max and Rin show us around Tokyo. Stella now calls them “our Japanese best friends”.
I enjoyed all of the food, except for one ramen place in Osaka and a weird deep fried tuna ball thing. Instead of online reviews, I preferred finding a dense street of restaurants and wandering around. Train stations and malls were good ways to escape the heat, eat, and rest. We didn’t do omakase because the kids were too young, but conveyor belt sushi was delicious, fun, and very affordable. Though breakfast came included in two of our stays, we preferred trying out different onigiri’s and pastries from 7-11, Lawsons, and Family Marts. Breakfast, lunch, and dinners ran around ~1k yen, ~3-5k yen, and 5-9k yen respectively, with only a few meals being significantly more.
Apple Wallet supports Suica transit IC, under 6 is free, but I wish we bought a child card at the before leaving the airport because they validate age with a passport. Some JR Ticket Office (midori no madoguchi) can issue a card, but we didn’t carry our passports after the first day. The kids enjoyed figuring out transit routes and using coins to purchase tickets.
Shinkansen was spacious, quiet, and allowed food. We purchased an extra seat ($300 USD total) for Stella southbound, but it wasn’t necessary and caused us to be seated in different cars. Northbound we bought 3 tickets ($250 USD), which kept us in the same row. The JR pass didn’t make sense for two stops. While we did get snacks for the ride, I was jealous of the luxurious ekiben our neighbors had.
August 5, 2025
Comfort Self Hotel HACHI-EMON
We loved the tatami style room, which allowed us to jump around during the day, and have maximum bed space at night. The lobby downstairs has a vending machine, coffee, and a table to play cards. We arrived before check-in and stored our luggage in the lobby. Having the shower and toilet in separate rooms was convenient in the evenings. The small laundry was useful for humid days, and we air dried washed clothes on the shower rail. We used the small fridge, sink, and kettle in the kitchenette. Shoten-Dori was a walkable street right out front with several restaurants. Fukushima was the nearest JR stop.
We didn’t make it to Abeno Karukas (16th floor museum, tall sky scraper view), Tsutenkaku (neon lights tower), Mega Donki (big grocery store)
August 7, 2025
Shizutetsu Hotel Prezio was a smaller western style hotel room. Compared with the apartment style inn, it felt more cramped because of the larger bathroom with a tub, and bed frames. 7-11 was right across the street.
We didn’t make it to Nintendo Museum (requires advance booking), Manga Museum, Museum of Kyoto, Nara Deer Park (though we did see one while feeding macaque monkeys).
August 10, 2025
We stayed at an Airbnb near Taichiaigawa station on the Keiyu line. While it was close to Haneda airport, and our friend’s place, we with we stayed with our friends to see them more, or chose a more central location in Tokyo. Our place felt cramped because of chairs with backs, a folding leaf table that was missing the piece that held up the leaf, and a too-large refridgerator. Once again, we found the laundry convenient. Wendy took a call on the balcony sitting on the AC one day, and another call in the hallway that could be closed into a room when it was too hot outside. There was an AEON market downstairs, and Taichiaigawa station had Lawson’s, Matsuya, and a take out sushi place.
Big Max and Rin came up with a great itinerary for us. They helped us book Ghibli Museum and TeamLab Planets in advance. They had great picks for vegetarian food too.
We didn’t make it to kitchen street, sky tree. Many more areas to explore in Tokyo.