We just returned from a fantastic trip to Japan with our older daughter. This was a much-delayed trip for her college graduation which happened back in 2021. First Covid then grad school delayed the trip, but about a year ago, we decided to plan on August 2026 as her favorite Japanese rock band (Scandal) would be playing their 20th anniversary concert in Osaka. She’s been a big Japanese music/anime/manga fan since she was young and this trip would be her chance to see many of the places portrayed in her favorite Japanese songs, movies and books.

August is not the ideal month to visit Japan as it is very hot and humid. We actually avoided the peak of the heat which was a few weeks before we arrived (over 100F) but it was still unpleasantly hot especially in Kyoto which sits inland between mountains and does not get the benefit of a bit of a cooling breeze like Osaka from the bay and Tokyo from the ocean. We spent 10 full days and 11 nights in Japan, split as follows: five nights and four days in Osaka (including a day trip to the Hiroshima area and two half-day trips to Arashiyama and Nara), one night and two days in Kyoto, and five nights and four days in Tokyo (including a day trip to Mount Fuji). I was told by many before the trip that we needed more time in Kyoto, but given that we added an extra half-day in the western part of Kyoto (Arashiyama) on a day trip from Osaka and that it was unbearably hot there, I think we ended up with a good itinerary.

A couple of years ago, our daughter won a sweepstakes through an online game that earned her a huge credit for a travel website called Tinggly that offers hotel and tour booking all over the world. We took advantage of this and booked several tours for our time in Japan for free. Because it was a less-busy time for tourists than the peak months of March/April/October/November, two of the tours that weren’t even supposed to be private ended up being for just the three of us.

We left from Atlanta on a Sunday evening on American Airlines in First Class to Dallas then spent the night at the DFW Hyatt Regency. The next morning, after a visit to the new Chase Sapphire Lounge, we flew from Dallas to Tokyo on Japan Airlines new A350-1000 with me in First Class and my wife and daughter in Business Class. We continued on a domestic flight to Osaka to begin our time in Japan there.

In Osaka, we stayed at the Conrad using Hilton points (with the fifth night free), where my wife and I got upgraded to a junior suite and our daughter had her own room booked with points. We also took a day trip to Miyajima/Hiroshima on the Shinkansen bullet train and a half-day trip to Nara to see the famous deer and temple. My wife and I also went to the Arashiyama area of Kyoto for a half-day to see the monkey park while our daughter was with friends that day to attend the concert we built the trip dates around. We also did a food tour of the Shinsekai area of Osaka. We explored various areas of Osaka including Amerika-mura, Namba, Shinsaibashi, Osaka Castle, Umeda and a few others.

In Kyoto, we stayed at the Hyatt Place for one night, again in separate rooms using Hyatt points. I managed to see most of the major sights although my wife and daughter were both feeling the heat (and the fatigue in their legs from all the walking) so they rested up a bit in Kyoto to prepare for Tokyo. We did all participate in a great tour of the Nishiki Market for lunch and walked around the historic Gion area.

In Tokyo, we stayed at the Hyatt Centric Ginza, which I was able to book with Hyatt points and use a suite upgrade award to guarantee a full suite. Our daughter had her own half-bath and the hotel set up a bed for her in the living room of the suite. Even though we were sharing some of the spaces (like the shower), it still felt pretty spacious for three adults as there were lots of sliding doors to close of areas of the suite. In Tokyo, we did a tour of the Tsukiji Outer Market, visited TeamLab Planets and took a full day private tour to Mount Fuji. We explored various areas of Tokyo including Asakusa, Shinjuku, Shibuya and a few others.

On our return, after a visit to the Japan Airlines First Class Lounge (for two of us anyway), we flew Japan Airlines A350-1000 from Tokyo to New York. This time, my wife got to fly in First Class and my daughter and I were in Business Class. We then visited the JFK Sky Club and flew from New York to Atlanta on Delta to end the trip.

I’ll have posts about our flights, lounges, hotels and activities in Japan over the next few weeks. I’ll also include how I booked the flights and hotels with points. I’m going to skip the American Airlines lounge in Atlanta, the AA flight to Dallas, the JFK Sky Club and the Delta flight to ATL as I have reviewed all of these things before and they rarely change. Many of the posts will have a lot of pictures as well. I will update the links below as each part gets posted.

1 – Hyatt Regency DFW King Suite Review

2 – Chase Sapphire Lounge DFW Review

3 – Japan Airlines A350-1000 DFW-HND First Class Review

4 – Navigating an International to Domestic Connection at Haneda

5 – Japan Airlines 767 HND-ITM Economy Class Review

6 – Conrad Osaka Junior Suite Review

7 – Osaka Shinsekai Food Tour

8 – Osaka Activities

9 – Osaka Omakase Restaurant Review

10 – Day Trip to Miyajima/Hiroshima

11 – Half Day Trip to Arashiyama

12 – Half Day Trip to Nara

13 – Hyatt Place Kyoto King Room Review

14 – Nishiki Market Kyoto Tour

15 – Kyoto Activities

16 – Kyoto to Tokyo on the Shinkansen Green Car

17 – Hyatt Centric Tokyo King Suite Review

18 – Tsukiji Outer Market Tokyo Tour

19 – Mount Fuji Full Day Tour from Tokyo

20 – Tokyo Activities

21 – Japan Airlines First Class Lounge HND Review

22 – Japan Airlines A350-1000 Business Class HND-JFK Review

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