In May, my wife and I are taking a trip to Japan! We planned on going in a few years, but decided to take the trip this coming Spring instead because my cousin (who split time between MLB and AAA in each of the past four seasons) signed a contract to play baseball with a Nippon Professional Baseball team. It just made more sense for us to go when he would be there so we can watch him play.

We're going for 12 days, but the first and last day will be spent entirely on airplanes and in airports. So we'll have 10 days actually in Japan. We're staying in Osaka for the first 5 days, then staying in Tokyo for the rest of the trip.

My dad and step-mom will also be there at the same time. They're flying out of a different airport and staying at different hotels, but we're going to do some things together.

Here are some of the things we plan to do:

While staying in Osaka:
-Hiroshima (Peace Museum, Peace Park) and Miyajima
-Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
-Kyoto (Nishki Market, etc.)
-Nara (Nara Park, Todai-ji, etc.)
-Osaka (Osaka Castle, Umeda Sky Building, Dotonbori, Shinsekai, Abeno Harukas 300 Observatory)
-Baseball game in Nagoya and baseball game in Osaka
-Loutre Otter Cafe
-Pokemon Center Kyoto, Pokemon Center Osaka DX
-Pokemon Cafe

While staying in Tokyo:
-Imperial Palace Gardens
-Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
-Meiji Shrine
-Akihabara (Madarake, etc.)
-Shibuya
-Senso-ji
-Nakamise-dori Street
-Tokyo Skytree
-Mt. Fuji guided tour
-Tokyo Disneyland
-Tokyo DisneySea
-Pokemon Center MEGA Tokyo, Pokemon Center Tokyo DX, Pokemon Center Skytree Town

Has anyone here been to Japan before? Any suggestions for things we absolutely must see or do?

It's a bit out of the way, but the Izu Teddy Bear Museum is pretty cool. If you're near Narita airport, there's an old, kinda historically significant train station called Higashi-Narita that's practically abandoned.

You also need to make sure that you take full advantage of the Shinkansen.

zanderlex: We'll be taking the Shinkansen all over the place, from Tokyo to Osaka as soon as we land, Osaka to Nagoya and back, Osaka to Hiroshma and back, and Osaka to Tokyo when we switch hotels.

We won't be near Narita airport at any point, unfortunately; we're flying into and out of Haneda.

I'll look into the Teddy Bear Museum, thanks! It's definitely out of the way so I'm not sure if we'll be able to fit it in, but I'll take a look and talk to the wife about it.

That's awesome! I haven't been to Japan, but I recently got back from a two week trip in China, so I've been over in the area. I did briefly fly over Japan on the way home though!

Congrats to your cousin too, that'll be an awesome experience.

I want to go to Japan at some point as well, but China drained my bank account so I'll have to hold off on that. I know I'd want to go to the Sanrio themed parks there, but I doubt that'd be something you'd be interested in haha.

Enjoy the flight over, it is certainly a difficult one. If you can, upgrade for some extra legroom on the flight, 100% worth it unless you're in premier seats.

Have fun, and make sure to do an update post!

Barathemos: I did see pics of your China trip on Instagram, that's awesome! I definitely want to go to China at some point as well. Similar to what you said though, going to have to wait a few years for the bank account to fill back up a bit. The company I work for is Chinese, so maybe I can ask my coworkers to teach me some Mandarin before I go, whenever that may be.

A few years from now I can give you suggestions for your trip to Japan, and you can give me suggestions for my trip to China.

I hadn't head of Sanrio before, but upon Googling, I obviously know Hello Kitty. You're right though, the Sanrio them parks probably won't make my list lol.

I'm definitely not looking forward to the flight. We booked JAL both ways, rather than an American airline. I've heard they are top-notch, and it was actually cheaper than Delta or any of the other options I looked at. We went with standard economy, but I plan to walk up and down the aisles periodically to stretch out the legs. My dad and step-mom got the middle section seats (not sure what the term is, the ones between economy and first class), but they ended up paying more than triple what my wife and I did. (Part of that is that flying out of New York was more expensive, it's not just the upgraded seats.)

Congratulations to you and your cousin on your upcoming trip to Japan! I've always wanted to go, but probably won't for another year or two. I have a friend that lives there since he works for a Japanese video game company, so I might visit him if I ever go.

You have an incredible itinerary planned–it covers a nice mix of cultural, historical, and modern attractions. The gardens will be undoubtedly beautiful, and I'm definitely jealous of all the Pokémon centers and cafés you're planning to visit.

You've already got a packed schedule, so all I'll suggest is to take some time to soak it all in and not rush too much. I know the flight there and back will be grueling, but I'm sure the experience will be well worth it. Safe travels and definitely give us an update post or two while you're there!

Nice! I've always wanted to go there, maybe someday. It's very nice looking though! Japan has very cool Video Game stuff- which is why I'd like to go there. Also, I love the Mini capsule hotels, and the vending machines. Cool that you're going there though!