Our 8 Nights, 9 Days Japan Trip — A Complete Family Itinerary, Real Costs, Transport, Hotels & Halal Food Guide
If you’re planning your first trip to Japan, you are probably wondering about the same things we were wondering before our trip:
Where should we stay? How do we travel between cities? How much does everything actually cost? Is public transport difficult? How much walking is involved? Where can we find halal food? And what happens when you’re travelling with children and a lot of luggage?
So, instead of making this another generic Japan travel guide, I wanted to share exactly what we did on our 8-night, 9-day Japan trip in June 2025.
I’m including our actual hotel prices, flight costs, bus fares, train journeys, transfer times, places we ate, things we loved, things we didn’t, and some mistakes we made along the way.
Hopefully, this makes planning your own Japan trip a little easier.
Important: All prices mentioned in this blog are based on what we paid during our trip in June 2025. Visa fees, hotel rates, exchange rates and transport prices may have changed since then. Use these figures as a reference and check the latest prices before booking.
🇯🇵 Our Japan Trip at a Glance
Our itinerary was:
City
Nights
🇯🇵 Osaka
2 nights
🎋 Kyoto
2 nights
🗼 Tokyo
4 nights
Total
8 nights / 9 days
We were travelling as a fairly large family group:
6 adults + 3 children — including two 12-year-olds and a 2-year-old.
And yes, we travelled with:
6 large suitcases
4 strollers
Plenty of shopping bags by the end 😂
That luggage becomes important later in the story!
✈️ Before Japan — Visa & Flights
🇯🇵 Japan Visa
We got our Japan visas through Cherry Blossom Travels, Kanpur.
At the time, we paid approximately:
₹3,650 per person including service charges.
This was the amount we paid in 2025. Visa and service charges have changed since then, so please check the current rate before applying.
✈️ Delhi to Tokyo — Air India
Our international flight was with Air India.
Delhi → Tokyo Haneda
Departure: 8:20 PM
Arrival: 7:55 AM the next morning
Route: Delhi → Tokyo Haneda
Flight: Direct / non-stop
Price: Approximately ₹44,000 per person round trip
The flight itself was fine.
It was also relatively empty when we travelled. Because the Air India accident had happened only a short time before our journey, I noticed that there were quite a few empty seats.
Our flight left Delhi on 23 June 2025, and we arrived in Tokyo the next morning.
🛂 Tokyo Airport — Do This Before You Fly
One thing I strongly recommend:
Fill out your Japan arrival information beforehand.
We used the Visit Japan Web process to complete the arrival forms before reaching Japan.
There is quite a lot going on at the airport — immigration, face scanning and other automated processes.
Having the required information ready beforehand makes the whole process much easier.
Especially when you have children and a lot of luggage!
✈️ Tokyo Haneda → Osaka Itami
We didn’t stay in Tokyo immediately after landing.
Instead, we had a domestic flight to Osaka.
Our flight was:
Tokyo Haneda — 11:30 AM
↓
Osaka Itami — 12:45 PM
The domestic flight cost approximately:
₹8,000 per person one way.
We used a domestic connection with JAL/ANA.
🧳 Important Haneda Luggage Tip
This was something I found extremely useful.
If you are connecting from an international flight at Haneda to a domestic JAL or ANA flight, you can check your bags for the domestic flight at the international airport itself.
After completing the required arrival procedures, you can drop your luggage for the domestic flight.
Then you need to transfer to the domestic terminal.
There is a free airport shuttle bus outside the arrival hall.
The bus takes approximately 10 minutes to reach the domestic terminal, and it was free for passengers with valid domestic tickets.
This saved us from dragging all our luggage around the airport.
🏯 OSAKA — 2 NIGHTS
🚐 Osaka Itami Airport → Hotel
Once we landed at Osaka Itami Airport, I had already booked a taxi through Klook.
We needed something big because we were:
6 adults + 3 children + 6 bags + 4 strollers.
The transfer cost:
₹10,948
The journey took approximately:
30 minutes
We booked the Meet & Greet option.
And honestly, I recommend it if you have a lot of luggage.
The driver came to pick us up at the arrivals area and helped guide us towards the vehicle.
You can obviously find the parking area yourself, but with this much luggage and children, having someone meet you at arrivals makes the process much easier.
🏨 Henn na Hotel Osaka Shinsaibashi
Our first hotel was:
Henn na Hotel Osaka Shinsaibashi
We paid approximately:
₹8,500 per night with breakfast
👍 What we liked
The hotel was:
Very clean
In a convenient location
Close to Shinsaibashi
Around 10–13 minutes walking distance from Dotonbori
Had free soft drinks available in the lobby throughout the day
And then there was the fun part.
🦖 The dinosaurs!
The hotel reception has two dinosaurs.
You scan your passport and complete the check-in process yourself.
If you want human assistance, there is a button on the side. Press it and you can speak to someone.
We reached at around 2 PM, but check-in officially started at 3 PM.
They wouldn’t give us the rooms early, but we could leave our bags there.
😅 The rooms
The room was very small.
Like… really small.
Once you open a suitcase, it basically becomes part of the room’s architecture. 😂
You have to step over your luggage to reach the bathroom.
But I have to say:
The room was extremely clean.
The breakfast was okay. It was more of a Japanese-style breakfast, and I personally just had milk and cereals.
🍛 DAY 1 — Dotonbori, Halal Food & Osaka Night
You can have some of the amazing crepes at ETOILE CREPES , we found it by chance when lookingfor Hafez .
We started looking for food around 2:30 PM.
Our first option was Hafez, a Middle Eastern restaurant about 10 minutes from the hotel.
Google reviews were good and we were looking forward to eating there.
Unfortunately…
It was closed.
It opened around 7 PM, so we moved on.
Instead, we went to:
Ali’s Kitchen Osaka Halal Pakistani & Arabic Restaurant
This was a good decision.
We ordered things like:
Biryani
Kebab
Tandoori chicken
The food was good and the portions were generous.
If you are a normal eater, one dish can easily be enough for two people to share.
If you’re a big eater, one serving should be comfortable for one person.
🌃 Evening — Dotonbori
After checking into the hotel and sleeping for a few hours, we headed out around 6 PM towards Dotonbori.
It was approximately a 13-minute walk from our hotel.
You eventually come out near the famous:
Don Quijote Ferris Wheel
And from there, you’re basically in the heart of Dotonbori.
🛍️ Don Quijote
You can find almost everything here:
Watches
Cosmetics
Medicines
Souvenirs
Snacks
Pain-relief patches
And PLEASE buy those Japanese pain-relief patches!
Especially if you’re travelling with parents or grandparents.
After walking around Japan all day, these patches were extremely useful.
But here’s my advice:
Don’t start your souvenir shopping on Day 1.
You will find Don Quijote and similar shops all over Japan.
You’ll have plenty of opportunities later.
🐙 Takoyaki
Of course, we had to try Takoyaki.
These are the famous Japanese octopus balls.
They were delicious.
A little expensive, but worth trying if you like seafood.
We paid around:
₹1,200 for 6 pieces
🎡 Dotonbori Canal & Glico Man
You can also take a canal boat ride around Dotonbori.
We didn’t do it because there was too much rush when we were there.
And obviously, we had to take pictures with the famous:
Glico Running Man
Dinner — Mithila Indian Restaurant
For dinner, we went to Mithila, an Indian restaurant located around Dotonbori.
The food was good and, considering the location, it wasn’t particularly expensive.
After dinner, we walked around the area.
And if you like strawberries and sweets:
🍓 Try Tanghulu
Those candied strawberries were surprisingly good.
Sweet, crunchy and juicy at the same time.
🧀 Rikuro’s Namba Japanese Cheesecake
Then we went for the famous:
Rikuro’s Namba Japanese Cheese Cake
The famous jiggly Japanese cheesecake.
And yes…
It really does jiggle. 😂
The cheesecake was:
Soft
Smooth
Fluffy
Full of texture
Very sweet
Melt-in-your-mouth
It is also mainly egg-based.
One cake is quite large and one piece is enough for several people.
For me, it was a great one-time experience.
💴 Currency Exchange — An Important Lesson
This is one thing I want to emphasize.
Yen is king in Japan.
Please carry enough Japanese Yen with you.
We found some currency exchange rates in tourist areas to be extremely poor.
If your travel agent is comfortable accepting dollars, that’s another option, but I would still recommend keeping Yen with you for everyday expenses.
We kept dollars more as an emergency backup.
🍥 DAY 2 — Naruto x Boruto & Awaji Island
On our second day, our group split into two.
My parents and brother went to:
Osaka Castle
Osaka Aquarium
I went to Awaji Island with my 2-year-old to visit:
🍥 Nijigen no Mori — Naruto x Boruto Shinobi Village
If you’re a Naruto fan, this is one of those places that you really want to visit.
I booked the ticket through the KKday app.
The package was:
Nijigen no Mori — Naruto x Boruto Shinobi Village Admission Ticket with Bus Service
Cost: approximately ₹3,800 per person
This included the park ticket and return bus service.
🚌 Osaka → Awaji Island
We took the morning bus around:
9:00 AM
from the Osaka JR area.
We reached around:
11:00 AM
So it was approximately a:
2-hour bus journey
🥾 The Walk to Naruto Park
This is something I wasn’t fully prepared for.
From the bus stop, you have to walk uphill.
It’s around:
30 minutes
But honestly, with a child and stroller, it feels like 50 minutes. 😂
So:
Wear comfortable walking shoes!
You will see other anime areas along the way, including the Godzilla area.
But I was specifically there for Naruto.
🍥 Naruto Park
The park was great if you’re a Naruto fan.
There were different packages available.
I chose the cheapest package, which was included with my bus ticket.
It took us around:
2 hours
to complete the ninja activities.
There is quite a bit of physical activity involved, so it wasn’t exactly easy with a 2-year-old.
But we managed it.
If you’re a Naruto fan, I would absolutely recommend it.
If you aren’t into Naruto, however, I’m not sure I’d make the trip specifically for this.
And if your wife doesn’t like Naruto…
Well…
She has to come with you anyway. 😂
🍔 Food at Nijigen no Mori
During our visit, there wasn’t a halal food option available to us inside the park.
We had:
Fish burger
Frozen dessert
The food was okay, but expensive.
Near the bus station there were also places selling:
Coffee
Croissants
Boba tea
There wasn’t halal food there either, but fish options were available.
🚌 Return to Osaka
We took the:
4:00 PM bus
back to the Osaka JR Station area.
🥐 GARIGUETTE Osaka
Once we reached Osaka, definitely try:
GARIGUETTE Osaka
It is at:
Grand Front Osaka, Umekita Court 1F, 4-1 Ohfuka-cho, Kita-ku
It’s approximately 1 minute from the Chuo-kita exit of JR Osaka Station.
They make freshly baked circular mille-feuille pastries, known as mille-pressé.
Very good.
Definitely worth trying.
🍽️ Dinner — Japanese Restaurant Lesson
Later we went to try GYUMON Halal Steak.
But when we reached there, we realized something important about smaller Japanese restaurants.
The place was small and the portions were quite large.
However, it was essentially one serving per person.
So even if one serving is large enough for two people to physically share, you may still need to order separately.
We decided not to eat there.
Eventually, we ended up having:
McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish
And that’s how our Osaka trip came to an end.
🚐 OSAKA → KYOTO
Because we were travelling with a large group and a lot of luggage, we decided not to take the train.
We booked a private transfer with the same company that had picked us up from Osaka airport.
HiGo Taxi
Miss Yuri was our contact.
We used them for:
Osaka → Kyoto hotel transfer
Kyoto → Tokyo arrangement
If you speak to them beforehand, you can also arrange payment in US dollars, but let them know in advance.
We had a:
10-seater van
Cost:
₹11,000
From our Osaka hotel to:
Holiday Inn Kyoto Gojo
The journey was approximately:
1 hour
All prices mentioned here are what we paid around 25 June 2025, so please don’t assume the same rates are available today.
🎋 KYOTO — 2 NIGHTS
🏨 Holiday Inn Kyoto Gojo
This was probably:
⭐ Our favourite hotel of the entire trip.
We booked directly through the IHG app because there was a deal available.
We paid approximately:
₹7,000 per night with breakfast
The hotel had:
Good-sized rooms
Excellent breakfast
Quiet neighbourhood
Lawson nearby
7-Eleven across the street
Compared with our Osaka hotel, the room felt much more comfortable.
The breakfast was also excellent — almost like a full English breakfast.
🎋 DAY 3 — Arashiyama, Fushimi Inari & Pontocho
We left Osaka and reached Kyoto around:
9:30 AM
Our room wasn’t ready yet, so the hotel kept our luggage.
We then started exploring.
🎋 Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
We took a bus from near the hotel towards Arashiyama.
The journey took approximately:
1 hour 30 minutes
We had to:
Change the bus once.
The total cost was approximately:
₹500 per person, one way
The important thing here is that Google Maps is your friend.
Bus routes and stops can change, so check the live route on the day you travel.
🌿 Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
The bamboo grove itself is:
FREE
No entrance ticket is required for the grove.
You can also take a traditional rickshaw ride.
We were quoted approximately:
₹4,000–₹5,000
for the experience.
We didn’t take one.
Instead, we explored the area ourselves at our own pace.
🍛 Halal Lunch — Yoshiya Oku No Niwa
For lunch we went to:
Yoshiya Oku No Niwa
It’s a halal restaurant and cost us around:
₹1,200 per person
The food was good and it has more of a fine-dining feel.
I also believe there is space for prayer facilities.
⛩️ Fushimi Inari Shrine
After spending time around the river in Arashiyama, we headed towards Fushimi Inari.
We took a bus and had:
1 change
The journey took around:
1 hour
and cost approximately:
₹300 per person
Once you arrive around Fushimi Inari, you have to walk a little from the bus drop-off.
There are actually different approaches to the shrine, so check Google Maps or ask someone nearby.
⛩️ Fushimi Inari
This is the famous shrine with thousands of orange-red Torii gates.
The surrounding area also has plenty of:
Snacks
Matcha
Ice cream
Street food
We didn’t walk very far uphill.
We went approximately 5–10 minutes up, took pictures and came back down.
If you’re fit and have more time, you can obviously explore much further.
🚆 Returning to the Hotel
From the shrine, we walked approximately:
6 minutes
to the nearby railway station and took the metro/train back towards our hotel.
After some rest, we went out again in the evening.
🏮 Pontocho Alley
We went to:
Pontocho Alley
We took a bus towards the area and walked approximately 5 minutes from the bridge to reach the alley.
And this place…
Is beautiful at night.
It’s a narrow historic alley with:
Small restaurants
Shops
Traditional buildings
Lanterns
Night-time atmosphere
It feels completely different from modern Tokyo.
🌯 Pontocho Kebab Kyoto Halal
For food we tried:
Pontocho Kebab Kyoto Halal
They serve chicken and meat shawarmas along with tandoori chicken.
The shawarma was approximately:
₹500
and was filling.
After walking around the area and doing some shopping, we took a taxi back to the hotel.
And that was the end of our first day in Kyoto.
🦌 DAY 4 — Nara Park, Deer, Kiyomizu-dera & Kyoto Streets
We woke up around:
8:00 AM
and had breakfast at the hotel.
Again, the breakfast was excellent.
🦌 Kyoto → Nara Park
We first took a bus to the metro/train station.
Then we took a train towards:
Kintetsu-Nara Station
The journey cost approximately:
₹500 per person
The journey itself was around:
30–35 minutes
Once we reached Kintetsu-Nara Station, we took a short bus ride towards Nara Park.
🦌 Nara Deer Park
This is one of those experiences you shouldn’t miss.
There are deer everywhere.
You can buy special deer biscuits and feed them.
The biscuits cost approximately:
30 Yen
And let me warn you…
The deer KNOW you have food. 😂
They will come towards you, and some will even chase you once they realize you have biscuits.
It’s hilarious until you have a whole group of deer following you!
🍮 Mahoroba Daibutsu Pudding
Near the park we found:
Mahoroba Daibutsu Pudding — Yumekaze Square
And seriously…
Don’t skip this.
I had two puddings myself.
We tried around 3–4 flavours, but my favourite was:
Custard
The pudding was incredibly smooth, rich and delicious.
🍛 Halal Food in Nara
There is also:
Sahha Halal Restaurant
We didn’t eat there because we had already had coffee, snacks and street food.
But it is an option to keep in mind if you’re looking for halal food in Nara.
🚆 Aoniyoshi Sightseeing Train
For our return journey, we decided to take the:
Aoniyoshi Sightseeing Train
It cost us approximately:
₹1,500 per person
with reserved seating.
The train was:
Scenic
Clean
Carpeted
Comfortable
Booking Tip
The seats can fill up quickly.
We hadn’t booked our return tickets beforehand.
But when we reached Nara in the morning, I noticed that the Aoniyoshi had seats available on the return journey.
So we booked them directly at the station.
If you specifically want to experience this train, I’d recommend checking availability beforehand.
🛕 Kiyomizu-dera, Ninenzaka & Sannenzaka
After returning to Kyoto, we went back to the hotel for some rest.
Later, we headed towards:
Kiyomizu-dera
Ninenzaka
Sannenzaka
All of these are around the same area.
And let me tell you:
Prepare to walk.
There is:
Uphill walking
Downhill walking
Stairs
Narrow streets
Crowds
If you’re travelling with elderly people or small children, keep this in mind.
During our uphill walk, we stopped for some cotton candy.
Honestly, it helped. 😂
☕ Starbucks Kyoto Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya
Another interesting stop here is:
Starbucks Kyoto Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya
It’s located inside a historic-looking traditional building.
Even if you don’t want coffee, it’s worth seeing from outside.
🚕 Back to the Hotel
By this point, we were exhausted.
We went to a nearby bus stop and called an Uber.
It was more expensive than taking the bus, but we were simply too tired.
Sometimes you have to spend a little more to save your feet!
We reached the hotel around:
6 PM
and rested.
🍜 Dinner — GYUMON Kyoto
For dinner we went to:
GYUMON
They had halal ramen and other Japanese food.
The food was very good.
Again, the restaurant was small and the portions were large, but the expectation was essentially one serving per person.
It cost us approximately:
₹1,500+ per person
🚅 KYOTO → TOKYO BY SHINKANSEN
This was one of the things I was very happy we researched before booking.
We did not book our Shinkansen tickets through Klook, GetYourGuide or Viator.
Instead, we booked directly through the Shinkansen system.
The direct booking was cheaper for us.
And we were able to select the side where you can see Mount Fuji without paying an additional fee.
Some third-party platforms were charging extra for similar seat preferences maybe around 2000 rs
🧳 Oversized Luggage Tip
If you’re carrying large suitcases, there are designated seats with luggage space behind them.
We booked those seats.
Again, this was something we were able to arrange directly without paying the additional charges that some third-party booking platforms were adding.
🚅 Our Shinkansen
Our journey was:
Kyoto — 10:06 AM
↓
NOZOMI 326
↓
Tokyo — 12:21 PM
Cost:
Approximately ₹7,000 per person
This included our reserved seating and oversized-luggage arrangement.
💳 Card Tip
We had problems using SBI credit cards on the booking platform.
HDFC and ICICI cards worked for us.
So if one card doesn’t work, don’t panic — try another card.
🚉 Kyoto Station Is HUGE
One more thing:
Come early.
Kyoto Station is massive.
If you’re a first-time traveller, you need some time just to figure out where the Shinkansen area is.
Our Uber driver dropped us at the main/front entrance, and it took us some time to reach the bullet train area.
So don’t arrive at the station 10 minutes before your train and expect everything to be obvious.
Give yourself plenty of time.
🗼 TOKYO — 4 NIGHTS
🏨 Centurion Hotel Grand Akasaka
Our Tokyo hotel was:
Centurion Hotel Grand Akasaka
Price:
₹10,500 per night
Breakfast was not included.
We used the nearby 7-Eleven, which was around 2 minutes away, for breakfast.
The hotel area had plenty of:
Pubs
Restaurants
Nightlife
So I’d say the area is lively and convenient, but not necessarily the most family-oriented environment, especially compared with Kyoto.
The room itself was okay.
It wasn’t the cleanest hotel we’d stayed in, but it was acceptable.
I’d compare it to a 3-star hotel in India.
There are two Centurion hotels/buildings very close to each other — approximately one minute apart — so check carefully which building your booking is for.
🛍️ DAY 5 — Harajuku & Shibuya
Our first destination was:
🛍️ Harajuku
Akasaka-Mitsuke Station The metro station was approximately:
5 minutes from our hotel.
From the station, it was only around a couple of minutes to the famous Harajuku shopping streets.
🎀 Takeshita Street
This is a vibrant area filled with:
Cafes
Fashion shops
Souvenirs
Cat cafes
Pig cafes
7-Eleven
Street food
There are also plenty of affordable souvenirs.
🌯 Halal Food — Kebab Box J
We ate at:
Kebab Box J
We had chicken and meat shawarma.
Price:
Around ₹500 per person
It’s a small restaurant with limited seating.
Interestingly, the people there knew Hindi as well.
I also noticed quite a few Nepali people working in Japan during our trip.
🚶 Shibuya Crossing
Next stop:
Shibuya Crossing
We took the metro from Harajuku.
One thing you’ll quickly learn about Tokyo:
The stations are huge.
Most stations have elevators, but the elevator might be at a completely different exit.
If you’re travelling with a stroller, you may have to walk quite a bit to find the correct elevator.
🐕 Hachiko
We saw the famous Hachiko statue.
There was a huge line for photographs, so we didn’t wait and just took a picture nearby.
Then we went to:
Shibuya Crossing
And as an Indian, I think we all have a little FOMO.
You reach the crossing…
You look around…
And you’re like:
“Okay. Checklist completed.” 😂
So many people crossing together is definitely something you have to experience once.
🍥 Anime Shopping
Across the street we went into:
MAGNET by SHIBUYA109
I explored the anime merchandise, including:
One Piece
Fairy Tail
If you’re into anime, this area is definitely worth exploring.
💴 Best Currency Exchange We Found
There was a currency exchange counter near the train station, opposite MAGNET.
For us, this gave us the best exchange rate we got during the entire Japan trip.
Again, though:
Carry Yen.
Don’t rely entirely on exchanging money at tourist locations.
🍛 Dinner — Saray Akasaka
For dinner we went to:
Saray Akasaka
Halal Turkish cuisine.
Price:
Around ₹800 per person
The food was good and reasonably priced.
🗻 DAY 6 — Mount Fuji & Gotemba
This was one of our biggest days.
We booked a private 10-seater vehicle.
Cost:
$445 / approximately ¥64,000
for 6 adults and 3 children.
Our children were:
12 years
12 years
2 years
The itinerary was:
8:00 AM start
Planned route:
Akasaka, Tokyo
↓
Lawson
↓
Mt. Fuji Ropeway
↓
Lake Kawaguchiko
↓
Oshino Hakkai
↓
Gotemba
↓
Tokyo
The agreed price was ¥64,000 / $445, with an additional ¥5,000 per hour if we exceeded the 10-hour limit.
🥪 Breakfast — 7-Eleven Tamago Sando
Before leaving, we stopped at 7-Eleven.
If you haven’t tried it:
Get the Tamago Sando.
It’s the Japanese egg sandwich made with soft, crustless milk bread and creamy egg filling.
It cost us around:
₹250
It was surprisingly good.
🏪 Lawson Fuji Viewpoint
Our first stop was Lawson.
We stopped for around:
5 minutes
for photographs and then continued.
🚠 Mt. Fuji Ropeway
The ropeway ticket was not included in our private vehicle price.
We paid approximately:
Adult: ₹500 round trip
Child: ₹250 round trip
The ride was beautiful.
There isn’t a massive amount to do at the top, but the views towards Mount Fuji and the surrounding area are excellent.
We spent approximately:
1 hour
there.
Then we came back down.
🌊 Lake Kawaguchiko
We spent some relaxed time around Lake Kawaguchiko.
We didn’t actually go very close to the lake or take the boat ride.
There are plenty of activities available around the lake, so you can spend considerably more time here if your itinerary allows.
🏘️ Oshino Hakkai
Next we went to:
Oshino Hakkai
This was one of the most scenic parts of the trip.
It’s a traditional village with beautiful surroundings and clear spring water.
There isn’t necessarily one huge attraction you have to see.
It’s more about:
Walking around, enjoying the scenery, taking pictures and breathing some fresh mountain air.
I think everyone should visit it once.
🛍️ Gotemba Premium Outlets
And then came the shopping.
Gotemba Premium Outlets
If you’re shopping for branded items, this can be a fantastic place.
There were many brands and, for us, the prices were surprisingly good.
If you’re in Japan for a wedding or shopping for premium brands, I’d definitely consider adding Gotemba.You will love the prices there . I would say plan your time , as it’s too big .
🍱 Lunch — 7-Eleven Again!
We found halal food options in the area, but they were too far away for us.
So…
7-Eleven saved us again.
I had:
Fish cutlets
Custard pudding
And the fish cutlet was really good.
😭 The Gotemba Traffic Disaster
Now comes the painful part.
We were supposed to leave Gotemba around 4 PM so that we could reach Tokyo around 6 PM.
We were already about 30 minutes late getting back to the vehicle.
And then…
There was a major road accident.
The traffic was terrible.
Instead of arriving around 6 PM, we reached around 2 hours late.
So we had to pay the driver extra for the additional time.
Around ₹5,000 extra.
And the funny thing?
That ₹5,000 was basically the money I had saved by not booking through Klook. 😂
So yes…
The universe collected its commission.
🍛 Dinner — ANNAM Indian Restaurant Ginza
Because we were so late, most places around us were already closed.
We went to:
ANNAM Indian Restaurant Ginza
The food was good and it was a nice way to finish a very long day.
🎢 DAY 7 — Tokyo DisneySea
Now for:
🏰 Tokyo DisneySea
We booked our tickets online.
The price was approximately:
₹5,500 per person
If you’re visiting, buy the tickets online in advance.
🚇 Getting to DisneySea
We used public transport.
The journey involved:
Metro → Tokyo Station → JR Keiyo Line → Maihama → Disney Resort Line → DisneySea
There is quite a bit of walking involved, especially inside Tokyo Station.
One thing you should know:
You can easily walk 40,000 steps at DisneySea.
We did.
And that’s with public transportation, because you’re walking inside stations, between platforms, inside the park and everywhere else.
If you’re travelling with elderly family members or small children and your budget allows it, a direct taxi can save you a lot of walking.
🎢 DisneySea Experience
It was fun.
But there is something important to understand.
If you’ve already visited Disney parks in Orlando or Paris, some of the rides may feel less thrilling.
The Japanese Disney experience seems to focus much more on:
Details
Storytelling
Immersive environments
The overall experience
rather than simply making rides as extreme as possible.
So don’t go expecting every ride to be a huge roller coaster.
📱 Download the DisneySea App
This is important.
Download the official Disney app and upload your tickets.
The app can provide access to available Priority Pass/Fast Pass-type options, including complimentary options when available.
Check the app during the day.
🍿 Food & Fast Pass
Food inside the park is expensive.
Fast-track/priority options can also become expensive depending on what you choose.
I’d recommend carrying some snacks in your bag where permitted and taking advantage of water refill stations.
🌃 Night Show
There wasn’t a traditional fireworks show during our visit.
Instead, there was a large:
Laser show
Projection show
Character entertainment
around the central area.
It was actually very good.
And here’s my tip:
Don’t necessarily stay until the very end.
Once the main characters you want to see have appeared, you can start leaving before everyone else.
Because when the show ends, everyone heads towards the exit at the same time.
🍕 Late-Night Dinner
We reached the hotel around:
10 PM
Most places were closed.
Luckily, there was a pizza shop nearby.
Napoli’s PIZZA & CAFE Akasaka Hitotsugi Dori
We ordered vegetarian pizza.
Perfect after 40,000 steps!
🌌 DAY 8 — teamLab Planets, Senso-ji & Shinjuku
Our final full day in Tokyo.
🎨 teamLab Planets
Our appointment was:
9:15 AM
Tickets:
Around ₹2,200 per person
I booked directly through the teamLab website.
And honestly:
This was one of the best family experiences of the trip.
There are different rooms with:
Water
Interactive installations
Mirrors
Digital art
Immersive environments
Our 2-year-old absolutely loved it.
The 11/12-year-old kids loved it too.
And the funny thing is:
You completely lose track of time inside.
You think you’ve been there for 30 minutes and suddenly realise much more time has passed.
🛕 Senso-ji Temple
After teamLab, we took the metro to:
Senso-ji Temple
There is a small South Indian restaurant near the metro station.
I unfortunately don’t remember the name, but the food was good and halal.
🛍️ And Then… Shopping
Since it was our last day, the shopping officially went into:
FULL POWER MODE. 😂
We visited:
Daiso
Don Quijote
Regular shops
Cosmetic stores
Chocolate shops
Souvenir stores
At this point, everyone was buying everything they had seen earlier and said:
“We’ll buy it later.”
Well…
Later had arrived.
🛕 Senso-ji
We also took photographs around the temple.
By this point we were extremely tired, so we took a taxi back to the hotel.
We rested.
And then…
🍜 Dinner — Shinjuku
Around 8 PM, we went out again.
We headed towards Shinjuku.
Dinner was at:
Honolu Shinjukugyoenmae Halal Ramen
The food was excellent.
It was approximately:
₹2,000 per person
Again, it was essentially one serving per person, but the food was absolutely worth trying.
🦖 Shinjuku at Night
After dinner, we walked around Shinjuku.
We saw:
Godzilla Head
We also:
Ate Pokémon-filled custard desserts
Played gachapon
Walked through the neon-lit streets
Saw street performers
Went shopping
And eventually bought:
Onitsuka Tiger
🧾 Tax-Free Shopping
One thing to remember from our 2025 trip:
For tourist tax-free purchases, the VAT/tax refund was processed at the shop itself when we purchased the item and showed our passport.
It wasn’t something we waited to do at the airport.
However, this was our experience in 2025, so check the current rules before your trip because Japan’s tax-free shopping system can change.
😂 One Last Donki Run
We came back to the hotel.
Everyone was exhausted.
The day was finished.
The trip was almost finished.
But my wife had one final mission:
Don Quijote.
Late at night.
Because apparently there is always one more thing to buy in Japan. 😂
🛫 DAY 9 — Japan → India
Our flight was:
Tokyo Haneda → New Delhi
Departure: 11:50 AM
Arrival: 5:25 PM
We booked another private 10-seater taxi through Klook.
Cost:
Around ₹8,000
from our Tokyo hotel to Haneda Airport.
🛍️ Haneda Airport
Haneda itself is a big airport with plenty of shops.
You can also find:
7-Eleven
Lawson
Souvenirs
Snacks
Japanese sweets
And before leaving Japan:
🍪 Try Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory
Their cookies are excellent and make a great gift to take back home.
🇯🇵 Our Final Thoughts on Japan
And that was our entire:
8 Nights & 9 Days Japan Trip
From Osaka’s neon streets and Dotonbori…
To Naruto’s hidden world on Awaji Island…
To Kyoto’s temples and bamboo forests…
To feeding deer in Nara…
To travelling on the Shinkansen…
To Shibuya Crossing…
To Mount Fuji and Gotemba…
To walking 40,000 steps at DisneySea…
And finally ending our trip with ramen and a late-night Donki shopping run.
Japan was one of those trips where almost every day felt completely different from the previous one.
But there are a few things I would definitely tell anyone planning their first trip.
💡 10 Things I Learned From Our Japan Trip
1. 💴 Carry Yen
Don’t rely entirely on cards or currency exchange counters.
Keep enough Japanese Yen with you for everyday expenses.
2. 👟 Good Shoes Are Not Optional
Japan involves a LOT of walking.
Some days you’ll easily cross 15,000–20,000 steps, and at DisneySea we went far beyond that.
Comfortable shoes will make a huge difference.
3. 🚇 Tokyo & Kyoto Stations Can Be Huge
A journey that Google Maps says takes 15 minutes may involve another 10–15 minutes of walking inside the station.
Especially with children and strollers, give yourself extra time.
4. 🧳 Think About Luggage Before Booking Transport
If you’re travelling as a family with several large suitcases, private transfers can sometimes be worth the extra money.There are also luggage transfer service called Takkyubin or Takuhaibin, lets you ship suitcases securely from hotel to hotel, airport, or convenience store. Ididn’t used it .
Our Osaka airport transfer and Osaka → Kyoto transfer were much easier because we didn’t have to manage all our luggage on trains.
5. 🚅 Consider Booking Shinkansen Directly
We found direct booking to be better for us than using third-party platforms.
We were able to select our preferred seating and luggage arrangement without the additional charges we saw elsewhere.
6. 🍜 Check Restaurant Serving Rules
Don’t assume a large Japanese restaurant portion means you can simply share it between several people.
Smaller restaurants may expect each person to order, or you will eat mc donalds like us 😂
7. 🕌 Plan Halal Food in Advance
We found halal food in all three cities, but sometimes it required planning.
Don’t wait until you’re starving and then start searching.
That’s how you end up at McDonald’s. 😂
8. 🚌 Don’t Underestimate Bus Journeys
Kyoto especially involves a lot of buses.
Sometimes you’ll have to:
Walk → Bus → Change Bus → Walk → Destination
Google Maps helped us enormously.
9. 👶 Travelling With Kids Changes Everything
Japan is family-friendly, but walking + stairs + huge stations + crowds can still be exhausting.
A stroller helps, but it doesn’t magically remove the walking.
Sometimes a taxi is worth paying for.
10. 🛍️ Don’t Buy Everything on Day 1
You’ll keep seeing Don Quijote, Daiso, anime shops and souvenir stores throughout your trip.
If you see something you really want, remember where you saw it.
You might find the same thing later — or at a better price.
❤️ Final Word
Japan was a fantastic family trip for us.
Was everything perfect?
No.
We had tiny hotel rooms.
We got lost inside giant stations.
We walked until our legs hurt.
We missed restaurants because they were closed.
We paid extra because we were late.
We took the wrong/less convenient routes sometimes.
We ate convenience-store food.
And we probably spent far too much time in Don Quijote. 😂
But that’s also what made the trip memorable.
💰 What Our Japan Trip Actually Cost — 6 Adults + 3 Children
People often ask how much a Japan trip really costs. Rather than giving you an estimated figure, I want to show you what we actually spent on our 8-night, 9-day trip.
Our final recorded expenditure was
Important: These are our actual expenses from June 2025. Exchange rates, hotel prices, flight fares and attraction prices may be different now.
🚕 Airport Transfers, Taxis & Porter Charges
This is where having a large group really made private transport useful.
🎟️ Attractions & Experiences
| Experience | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tokyo Disneyland tickets | ₹4700 |
| Rapunzel Premier Access | ₹1312 |
| Mt. Fuji private tour | ₹4200 |
| teamLab Planets | ₹2400 |
| Naruto Park + return bus — 2 people | ₹3700 |
| Total | ₹16312 |
🍜 Food & Smaller Expenses
This is the part I think is most useful for anyone planning a similar trip, because these little expenses are very easy to forget when making a budget.
Some of our recorded food and smaller payments were:
- Pontocho Alley food: ¥6,340
- Kyoto Station food: ₹5,143
- J Kebab: ¥8,200
- Saray: ¥13,420
- Other food: ¥8,320 + ¥12,300
- Nara return transportation: ¥10,560
- Late/overtime fee: ¥10,000
- Osaka → Kyoto: ¥22,000
And then there were all the smaller day-to-day purchases that don’t look significant individually but add up over nine days — buses, metro/train fares, snacks, drinks, street food, desserts and other small purchases.
💴 Currency We Took
We exchanged:
- $500 at ₹87.20
- Later, we exchanged another $300 for ₹26,500
So we had both Yen and US Dollars available during the trip.
I strongly recommend keeping enough physical Yen with you. We found that some of the smaller expenses were much easier to pay in cash, and the exchange rates available at some tourist-area counters were not great. ITS A RIP-OFF.
🧮 The Big Picture
After adding up the major expenses, transport, hotels, attractions, insurance, visa costs and the smaller payments we recorded, our trip came to:
For:
6 Adults + 3 Children
8 Nights / 9 Days
Osaka → Kyoto → Tokyo
- Estimated Cost per Adult: ~₹1.5 Lakhs (Includes flight, stay, food, intercity transit, and sightseeing)
- Estimated Cost per Child: ~₹80,000 (Factoring half-price child tickets for Shinkansen, theme parks, and airline discounts)
- Average Per-Head Spend (Flat Split across 9 pax): ~₹1.33 Lakhs
And that’s exactly why I wanted to include the real numbers in this blog.
When you’re planning Japan, it’s easy to look at a flight and hotel price and think, “Okay, I know what my trip will cost.”
But then come the airport transfers, trains, buses, taxis, attraction tickets, food, currency exchange, luggage, little snacks, shopping and those unexpected expenses..
THE RATES OF THE ATTRACTIONS AND FOOD CAN CHANGE AT ANYTIME , SO PLEASE CHECK THE CURRENT PRICES AND ALL
Those little things are what turn a theoretical budget into a real one.
One important note: some expenses above were paid in Yen or by credit card, while others were already covered through our exchanged cash.
This isn’t a perfect itinerary. It’s the itinerary we actually lived.
And that’s exactly what I wanted to share on TravelWithShez — the real details that you don’t always find when you’re planning a trip.
If you’re planning Japan, I hope our experience helps you avoid some of our mistakes, save some money, and most importantly, enjoy your trip a little more.
🇯🇵 Happy travelling, and I hope Japan is as amazing for you as it was for us!
— Shez
TravelWithShez