We got to do one last spring break trip since I am back to teaching in the classroom! It is our last big trip in Japan, before we move back home this summer! We were excited, but also nervous because we went in the dead center of sakura season! We knew it would be both beautiful, and crowded as hell. I wanted to hsare our itinerary and travels in case other folks want to make a trip with littles but don’t want to plan too much!
Kyoto Accommodations
For Kyoto we prioritized being somewhere near Kyoto Station! We found this great little airBnB Machiya that had plenty of space for the three of us, and a super cool bath. Being near the station was ideal (7 min walk) because we knew we may want to come back in the afternoons for Emme to nap. We wanted to be able to easily get to and from the apartment.
Travel Day
The shinkansen from Fussa to Kyoto station cost about $150/person each way (did not pay for Emme). We left late that day because we wanted Emme to nap at home, so we checked into our hotel around 7pm.
Kyoto Day 1
Day one was raining, but we decided to make it a long day anyways! We started by heading to Arashiyama! Arashiyama is home to the famous bamboo forest. We gave ourselves a few hours to explore the area. There is a 15 minute train ride to Saga-Arashiyama Station from Kyoto station. We used this walking tour which was perfect! First you hit the Tenryu-ji Temple which has beautiful gardens. Then you enter the bamboo forest at a less crowded area, and find Okochi Sanso Villa at the top of forest on the right. It includes a tea house which was something I had been really wanting to do! The views were amazing, even in the sprinkling rain.
Emme ended up napping in the stroller, so we decided to check out Fushimi Inari-Taisha, the famous Red Torii Gate tunnel. This was a 5 minute train ride to Inari station, which was perfect for the first evening! Afterwards we went to dinner at Restaurant Namaste which was near the Fushimi-Inari Station. Then we were tuckered out from walking in the rain all day!
Kyoto Day 2 (+ Nara)
Nara was my number one bucket list item while living in Japan! I wanted to see the bowing deer so badly. We took about a 35 min train ride from Kyoto to get to the Kintetsu-Nara Station on day 3. It was a 35 min direct train ride. We found this Japan Guide link for Nara but ended up only visiting a few stops, as the museum was closed. We unfortunately thought the deer part was a tad overrated. It was cute to see Emme with them though!
After the park we went to the Isuien Garden which was much better than being attacked by deer. It has several tea houses inside it!
Emme took a nap in the carrier so we decide to head straight to the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden to see the sakura there. This was beautiful. We found a gorgeous park for Emme to play. The Kyoto Botanical Garden is just a stop or two after the National Garden, so we went there after! Also an amazing stop for kids and adults. We had dinner at In the Green (a brick oven pizza place!) which is right by the entrance.
To top off the long, sunny day, we visited Nijo castle, which had a special temporary digital art exhibit going on, called Naked Flowers. I think it was 1400 yen to enter and then you walk around outside and were able to see the sakura trees all lit up. We loved that stop!
Osaka Universal 1.5 day pass
Admittedly, one of the reasons we waited so long to visit Kyoto and Osaka was because we really wanted to visit Universal Studios! It was off-limits for us as SOFA members for about a year due to COVID! SO GLAD WE WAITED. Even though we went with an 18mo old and didn’t actually ride that many rides, lol! There was a new super nintendo land inside which was cool to see though! They also have a great child swap system for people who had children that can’t ride, so we used that on the rides we really wanted to do. Basically you stand in line together, then one person and the child sit and wait while the first person does the ride, and when they get off, the next person gets on the ride.
We ended up purchasing a 1.5 day pass which got us in after 3 on the first day, and then a full day the next day. This worked great for us, because we were coming from Kyoto that morning, were able to check into our hotel (Hilton Osaka), give Emme a nap, then head out refreshed! It was about a 30 min train ride from Kyoto to Osaka.
The full day in Universal was so much fun but we were so tired! I was happy that was the end of the trip and knew the next day we would be sitting on the train most of the day. I needed a day to relax before I got home and had sakura sessions for three days in a row!
Need more Japan travel ideas?
We are so glad we finally got this trip in as one final goodbye to our magical time here in Japan! To see our Hiroshima trip, click here. Fuji is here! For Hakone, click here. For New Zealand, try here and here!