Any can't miss sites/food? We are visiting in June - Tokyo for almost a week interspersed with wedding activities and then Kyoto for long weekend. (Group of 5 ages 83,2x50s,2x20s)

• Akihabara - Electronics City
• Kappabashi - Culinary stores, I recommend buying a nice knife
• Shinjuku - Meiji Shrine and if you want a cultural experience, try the McDonald's or the Hooters
• Harajuku - Take****a Street
• Roppongi - Party area for drunken Gaijin, avoid this area and the Nigerian scammers
• Tokyo to Kyoto - you must take the Shinkansen - First Class "Green Car"

My advice: Hire a guide for the day. We did this on our trip to Kyoto 20 years ago and it made it a wonderful experience. Also, be willing to talk to locals, especially school kids who want to practice their English.

The Shinkansen means you can easily do day trips to places other than Tokyo and Kyoto. At least when I went, a tourist pass was available for purchase ahead of time and was a significant cost savings. I did day trips every other day, with the in between day staying in town for an easy "recovery" day. For those day trips, I did guided bike tours but I'm sure there are other options for an 83yo. https://www.japan-guide.com/ Was super helpful when planning.

I forgot to mention:
Get cash at the airport because not all ATMs in Japan are International ATMs.

A family member just visited Tokyo and raved about DisneySea and the Pokemon Cafe. Maybe something the 20-somethings might enjoy.

What does something like this cost and how far ahead do you need to plan it? My daughter really wants a family trip to Japan before college. She's a senior next year.

TyHolden said:

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What does something like this cost and how far ahead do you need to plan it? My daughter really wants a family trip to Japan before college. She's a senior next year.

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Can't speak to costs as my trip was pre Covid. But for planning, it doesn't (or at least didn't) take much. I had about 6 weeks notice for tagging along on my husband's business trip. But I am a well versed traveler super comfy navigating public transit and going off on my own while the hubs was stuck at work. Probably the biggest decision is time of year. We happened to go early-mid April and got super lucky the cherry blossoms were late that year. It was gorgeous! The Japan guide site was very helpful for figuring out what I wanted to see and where, and drafting up a location itinerary. If something in each city was important to me, I made sure whatever tour I went on included it. Japan is littered with gorgeous, easy, historical walking trails. I did the nakasendo. That was an easy day trip.

HollywoodBQ said:

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I forgot to mention:
Get cash at the airport because not all ATMs in Japan are International ATMs.

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Good advice. A Lawson or 7/11 should work too

$2000 per person for flights