Category: trip reports

Kyoto and Osaka, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info

Trip motivation In July 2023, our family visited Kyoto and Osaka! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. We visited in late July and combined this trip with a Hawaii visit and 3 days in Seoul. We visited Asia previously (Tokyo 2017) but this was the first time Ellie came and the first time we visited the Kyoto/Osaka area. Traveling internationally with kids can be daunting but with a little preparation and research and tips from other travelers, we had a successful trip! This post covers our flights, hotel, itinerary, planning process, and international logistics such as using the subway, getting a phone card, and finding budget restaurants. Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple Planning our Itinerary I love planning trips, especially through well-traveled places where there’s a ton of information to read through and make plans for. Many online blogs were really helpful! One tip for traveling with kids is take a 3-day best of guide and cut out half of it to make it actually realistic. We spent 4 nights in Kyoto and had 4 full days of exploring. Several months before, I sketched out our plan in excel and on google maps with a balance of activities, rest time, food, rest, and fun. We made sure to research how far areas were and tried to schedule several anchor points with a few optional activities so we didn’t overstuff our schedule. Overview Day 1: Arrival, Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Day 2: Universal Studios Japan, Osaka Dotonbori Day 3: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Gion Day 4: Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri, Gion Day 5: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple Some spots in the Kansai area we’ll save for our next trip: Railway Museum Samurai exhibit Golden Temple Fushimi Inari red shrines Side trips to Himeji, Nara, Kobe, Hiroshima Flying to Kyoto/Osaka Prior to this portion of our trip, we spent some time in Hawaii visiting family and a few days in Seoul. From Seoul airport to Kansai airport, we booked one-way flights on Jeju air. The flights were 2 hours. We use miles for a lot of trips and we did use miles for our Japan to Nashville portion. Its not all or nothing. We were able to save money in other ways on this trip and decided to pay cash for this portion. We used the Chase Sapphire Reserve to get more points for our next trip! See more detailed tips on using points and miles here. Flying to the US Flying back from Japan to the US, we used United points to fly from the Kansai area to Tokyo to New York to home. We had some travel difficulties coming home but ultimately made it back together. Sleeping on planes West to East: Plan to sleep! For the overnight red-eye flight, we emphasized that after dinner service, everyone was going to try and get some sleep. I gave each kid a dose of melatonin and they passed out pretty immediately. We packed these cheap pillows from Amazon (They came with eye masks!). On arrival, get outside and try to limit naps so you can readjust. For more on our favorite activities and tips for flying, see our post here. Headphones Melatonin Airplane pillows Hyatt Place Kyoto For 2 nights, we stayed at the Hyatt Place Kyoto. We booked 2 connecting rooms! We used our Hyatt credit card to get points for future Hyatt stays. You can also use points from this stay. You can earn Hyatt points from Hyatt stays, the Hyatt credit card and Chase points which can be transferred to Hyatt. Learn more about points here. Chase Sapphire Preferred Apply Here Chase Sapphire Reserve Apply Here Chase Hyatt Apply Here We were glad to have 2 rooms so we could spread out. We even set up the kids TV with the nintendo switch! For more on sleeping on vacations, see this post here. All team members spoke excellent English and were very willing to help us. The location was about a 5 minute walk to the train station and taxi rides were $10-$15. Airport Hotel On our last night, we stayed at an airport hotel so we could save time in the morning. The hotel was great and very convenient right across the terminal. Transportation in Kyoto Hello Kitty Train! We kicked off the Japan portion of our trip with a ride on a Hello Kitty Train! The Haruka runs from Kansai airport to Kyoto station and has cute decoration, seats, and even bathrooms lo. Tickets are about $24 per adult and half-price for kids In the, we mapped destinations using google maps and compared the time/cost/effort to use a taxi, train, bus, or walk. We used uber or the train depending on where/how far we were going. If you have little ones, it might be harder to use a taxi due to the car seat. If you plan on using a stroller on the subway, many have elevators, but be prepared to fold it and carry up stairs. Eating in Japan Our hotel came with free breakfast, and we enjoyed starting the day filling up with omelets, noodles, and rice dishes. During the day, we tried to balance quick meals with sit-down meals. We didn’t do any true gourmet fancy meals but did have some excellent food. A few

Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori

Background In July 2023, our family visited Kyoto and Osaka! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. We visited in late July and combined this trip with a Hawaii visit and 3 days in Seoul. We visited Asia previously (Tokyo 2017) but this was the first time Ellie came and the first time we visited the Kyoto/Osaka area. This post covers our visit to Universal Studios Japan and a brief visit to the Osaka area. Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple General Tips for Amusement Parks Research: As early as possible, start researching your plans and have a rough idea of what your priorities for the day will be. There are also constantly changing procedures for how the lines work with names such as fastpass, maxpass, lightning lane, genie, etc. Even reading what other people have done 2 months ago may not apply to your visit, but it’s still good to get a general idea. Get there early! I know it’s vacation and sleep is valuable, but the first hour of the park is a prime time to get as many rides in as possible, and then you can take a mid-morning break to re-group and figure out the rest of the day. If you’re staying off-site, you’ll need to add time for driving in, going through security, and making your way through the turnstiles. Also, often the parks will actually open 30 minutes before official. Again, read some of the blogs that are dedicated to staying up-to-date on current procedures. Save time and money on dining: We packed some snacks and ate them while walking between rides. Take advantage of mobile ordering in the park and quick-service options. Share a meal when possible, and save room and money for snacking (Both brought from home and purchased at stands) Prepare yourself and kids for lines: Unless you’re going on a truly slow day such as a rainy Wednesday in the off-season, you’re going to experience lines. Activities and snacks and patience patience patience are so important. Phone apps and other games are nice to bring along. Also, many lines have theming that you as the adult can help direct attention to and ask to point out characters and colors. Don’t minimize “small” rides and experiences: This is a tip for myself as well as others. Don’t be overly focused on big-name rides. Some of the characters will have minimal waits and some of the artistry shouldn’t be rushed through just to get on to the next item on a to-do list. This is especially true when line waits get long. Is it better to wait in a line for an hour for a 5 minute ride or spend some time in a playground or looking at fun sculptures. Park Highlights and Itinerary Universal Studios Japan Date of visit: July 2023 Kids’s ages: 5.5-year-old Ellie and a 8-year-old Carter. Highlights: Nintendo Land, Jurassic Park Coaster We decided on this trip to not purchase the extra add-ons Express Passes. These options allow you to pay fees to skip lines either for a group of rides or individual rides. One of the key tips for all theme park trips is to start your day on time. “Rope drop” is the term used for arriving 30 minutes early and being at the entrance turnstiles when the rope drops to mark opening. In the morning, we took a train from our hotel in Kyoto to Universal City where we spent the morning and afternoon at Universal. Although the park was open from 9a-8p, we compromised with our theme park hating family members (cough cough) and prioritized a few sections with arrival at 8am and plans to stay until lunch and then explore Osaka. This was a rough itinerary of all the highlights we hit: Universal Studios Japan: We bought tickets ahead of time from Klook and got to the front gates at 8a, one hour before official opening. We didn’t buy any express passes and planned to head straight to the Nintendo area. For the Nintendo area, you need a specific entry pass which you can get as soon as you enter the gates. I messed up my app (turn it off and turn it back on Jennifer!) and we ended up getting tickets for 11am. We did some rides in the Jurassic area and Harry potter world. Ellie was not big enough for the Harry potter ride but the rider swap system worked out great for this area. We watched a short parade and then headed back to our main reason for making the trip to Universal: Nintendo Land! Nintendo Land: Oh my goodness, this area was so fun!! Even besides the rides, the whole area was so cool with moving scenery and characters to visit. We didn’t purchase power bands or any snacks in this area (because sometimes we’re cheap lol) but still enjoyed the area so much. Ideally, we would have entered earlier when lines weren’t as long but it is what it is. We grabbed a lunch ticket for the cafe (that we ended up not using) and went to the yoshi ride. This wait was about 45 minutes and there were lots of sights along the line. We also brought books and snacks and made sure to potty break ahead of time. The ride itself was a slow tour around the area. Really

Kyoto: Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery

Background In July 2023, our family visited Kyoto and Osaka! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. We visited in late July and combined this trip with a Hawaii visit and 3 days in Seoul. We visited Asia previously (Tokyo 2017) but this was the first time Ellie came and the first time we visited the Kyoto/Osaka area. This post covers our visit to central Kyoto including Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market and the Pokemon Center Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple Day 4: Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri This day was a detour in our plans. We had originally planned on heading to Nara with deer and other fun sites. The kids were feeling the end of the trip running around woes and we decided to re-group and do some more kid focused activities. We had a great time and got to see some spots that I’m sure wouldn’t make many people’s must do itineraries but were fun additions to our day Aeon mall: I saw on an instagram a fun arcade area in a mall near Kyoto station. This would also be a good detour if the Kyoto Railway museum is on your list. At the mall, we stopped by UNIQLO for some cute outfits and pokemon shirts. I always love uniqlo in Hawaii. We also went to DAISO, a dollar store where we spent too much money on small trinkets, toys, chopsticks, and washi tape. So much washi tape! At the arcade, the kids loved the pokemon and kirby game and we watched some streamers do some really complicated taiko drumming. So cool! Nishiki Market: We didn’t get to wander the korean markets as much as I wanted to so we prioritized a spot at Nishiki market, a long strip of food stands and little market shops. We ate so well and for relatively cheaply. Ellie was in heaven with crab stick, Carter continued his love of eel, and we had takoyaki (octopus balls), tempura (fried shrimp), beer, mochi, and more. Note that you shouldn’t eat and walk so we kinda hovered at each stand. There were also options for sushi, steak, oysters and more. Pokemon Center: After all the planning we did to avoid crowded places on weekends, we did not think about the craziness that would be the pokemon store on a Saturday afternoon. The line took about 30 minutes. There were lots of unique items and people playing games, both online and card games. It wasn’t particularly cheap but some of the items are exclusive to the store including really cute sleepy stuffies. Gion Matsuri: We happened to visit in July during the Gion Matsuri Festival season. Although we didn’t see the actual parade, we were still able to see a really cool gallery exhibit next to the park that has pictures and a small gift shop. The floats are huge! We stopped for ramen for dinner, one of our favorite foods in Japan! More Asia 2023 Posts Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple

Kyoto: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens

Background In July 2023, our family visited Kyoto and Osaka! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. We visited in late July and combined this trip with a Hawaii visit and 3 days in Seoul. We visited Asia previously (Tokyo 2017) but this was the first time Ellie came and the first time we visited the Kyoto/Osaka area. This post covers our fun day in the Arashiyama area including a boat cruise, monkey park, and bamboo gardens! Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple Day 3: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Gion Hozugawa River Boat: This was a highlight of our trip! A common recommended route for people visiting the Arashiyama area is to take a train west to Kameoka station and then a riverboat back. We went straight to the Kameoka station from our hotel to start our day. This area itself was really cute with a huge soccer stadium and some small shops nearby. The boat ride was about $50 for adults. From my reading of reviews, I thought this would be a relaxing picturesque ride. It was so much more! Parts were peaceful, but parts were rapids-ey with bamboo poles pushing us within inches of rocks. As I was writing this blog post, I also saw that there have been capsize accidents in the past. A good reminder to do research ahead of time. We would do this tour again. There were cool animals to see and really fun sights. Towards the end of the ride, a small motorboat pulled up with snacks! So fun! Lunch: Per the recommendations of several blogs, we stopped at Arashiyama Yoshimura, a really yummy tempura and soba spot. We were able to get a window seat and relax. The food was delicious! A little pricier than other spots we went to throughout the week but it was great. Although the boys said give them ramen over soba anyday. Iwatayma Monkey Park: This park has Japanese Macaques living all over the park. There is a steep 20 minute climb to the top of the hill and a small entrance fee. At the top there are monkeys swimming, monkeys playing, monkeys being mean to other monkeys. So many monkeys! There was a small area where humans could get in a room/cage and feed the monkeys. It was very silly 🙂 The area also has nice views of the city including all the way towards Kyoto city. Bamboo Gardens: By this point, we were kinda tired but we wanted to see the famous bamboo grove. It was really cool to see the tall stalks moving in the wind. It was really hot during our visit and we didn’t do this full hike as the kids were exhausted. Hotel time: With most of our itineraries, we try to plan lots for the morning, take a break after lunch (used to be nap time but it’s a little more flexible now) and then head out for dinner and maybe one more activity. While we were in Kyoto, we set the kids up in their own room and hooked up the switch to the TV. Dinner: Conveyor Sushi: Near the Kawaramachi area, we planned on doing some shopping and eating dinner. We were pretty exhausted and did some wandering around the Pontocho alleys and decided on conveyor belt sushi at Morimori. Around this part of town there are also fun spots like Kiddyland toy store, Takashimaya department store and other cool spots. We also stopped at a grocery store to grab some drinks so we would stop stopping at every vending machine More Asia 2023 Posts Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple

Kyoto: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru

Background In July 2023, our family visited Japan! We visited in late July and combined this trip with a Hawaii visit and 5 days in Seoul. This post covers the Higashiyama Temple area. This was split between our first half-day and our last half-day. Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Hello Kitty Train! We kicked off the Japan portion of our trip with a ride on a Hello Kitty Train! The Haruka runs from Kansai airport to Kyoto station and has cute decoration, seats, and even bathrooms lo. Tickets are about $24 per adult and half-price for kids Lunch: Eel! Near our hotel, we found a small chain called Nakau that sold curry, eel, salmon, and fried chicken. Super cheap too! After getting settled into our hotel after our day of travel, we decided to go see some temples. We didn’t have big plans for the day but just wanted to visit a few sights on our first day. Because we didn’t head out till around 4pm, many of the sites were closed by the time we got there. If you’re copying our plans, this should be done earlier in the afternoon rather than later like we did. Southern Higashiyama Temples: Chion-in Temple was the first temple we visited. Chion-in is very grand with a huge entrance gate (the biggest in Japan!). There are beautiful pagodas and gardens. The cost is less than $5 for adults (paid in cash). We walked by the entrance gates and continued our walk to Maruyama Park Maruyama Park: This cute park is beautiful and has lakes and bridges and mountains in the background. We grabbed some vending machine drinks and walked through the park to the Yasaka Shrine area. The kids rang the bell and we saw the large and beautiful shrine. Gion Walk: We skipped some of the temples as we continued south through Ninen-Zaka & Sannen-Zaka Streets. This area is super cute with beautiful houses and a 100-year old starbucks. Warning that there are lots of stairs in this area! 🙂 But check out these views of the Yasaka Pagoda! This pagoda was built in 592! We continued the walk towards Kiyomizu-Dera temple. Although we were too late to view the temple, it was still awesome to see. If we had planned our day better, we would have tried to grab some convenience snacks for lunch and headed out immediately so we could see the sights when they were open Izakaya dinner: For dinner, we had some awesome yakitori (and edamame!) at a restaurant near our hotel. There were no English speakers but we survived with google translate and papago and it was delicious! Day 5: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple Random Kyoto neighborhoods: I made this a category of its own because it was a fun little side adventure. We decided to save some of the other farther sites such as Nara and Fushimi Inari for a future visit but still wanted to visit a few more good free temples on our last full day. I saw a blog post for some off the beaten path spots and we wandered over to Takenaka Shrine and Shinsho Temple. These are not on anyone’s top lists but were still gorgeous. And we found a neighborhood playground. Always a joy. Philosopher’s path and Nanzenji Temple: We walked along the philosophers path from North to South. This path is a beautiful walkway next to a small canal. I’ve read its especially gorgeous during cherry blossom season. The walkway got its name from a philosopher who used to wander the street to walk to University. The walk itself is only about 15 minutes. We ended the walk at Nanzenji Temple. This temple was absolutely gorgeous with gardens and mountains in the background. It even had an aqueduct. So cool! In the afternoon, we took the Hello Kitty train and headed to a hotel near the airport for an early morning flight. Some spots in the Kansai area we’ll save for our next trip: Railway Museum Samurai exhibit Golden Temple Fushimi Inari red shrines Side trips to Himeji, Nara, Kobe, Hiroshima More Asia 2023 Posts Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple

Our Family Trip to Seoul, South Korea!: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info

Trip motivation In July 2023, our family visited Seoul, South Korea! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. In the last few years, k-drama watching for Jenn has made it jump higher on the list. We visited in late July and combined this trip with a Hawaii visit and 5 days in Japan. We visited Asia previously (Tokyo 2017) but this was the first time the family visited Korea. Traveling internationally with kids can be daunting but with a little preparation and research and tips from other travelers, we had a successful trip! This post covers our flights, hotel, itinerary, planning process, and international logistics such as using the subway, getting a phone card, and finding budget restaurants. Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple Planning our Itinerary I love planning trips, especially through well-traveled places where there’s a ton of information to read through and make plans for. Many online blogs were really helpful! One tip for traveling with kids is take a 3-day best of guide and cut out half of it to make it actually realistic. When taking trips with kids, a key to enjoying the trip is really spending time on the planning process. That’s not to say that every minute is planned but we don’t want to waste time looking up times or directions and not having a plan. We also made sure to add some sights that we as a family were interested in and asked for advice from friends who had made a similar trip. We spent 4 nights in Seoul and had 3 full days of exploring. Several months before, I sketched out our plan in excel and on google maps with a balance of activities, rest time, food, rest, and fun. We made sure to research how far areas were and tried to schedule several anchor points with a few optional activities so we didn’t overstuff our schedule. Overview Day 0: Arrival evening, settle into hotel Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Day 4: Fly out to our next destination, Japan! Other reconmmend spots we’ll save for next time Gwangjang market Additional palaces Han River Boat cruise Cafe hopping in Bukchon, Insadong, and Ikseodong neighborhoods DMZ tour Art, Science, and Children museums Day trip to Nami Island Amusement parks Everland, Lotte World Other parts of Korea: Busan, Jeju Flying to Seoul Prior to this portion of our trip, we spent some time in Hawaii visiting family. We were able book cash flights to Seoul Non-stop on Hawaiian Airlines. Our flights were 10 hours and the one-way flights were $650 each. We use miles for a lot of trips and we did use miles for our Japan to Nashville portion. Its not all or nothing. We were able to save money in other ways on this trip and decided to pay cash for this portion. We used the Chase Sapphire Reserve to get more points for our next trip! See more detailed tips on using points and miles here. Long flight tips: Sleeping on planes West to East: Plan to sleep! For the overnight red-eye flight, we emphasized that after dinner service, everyone was going to try and get some sleep. I gave each kid a dose of melatonin and they passed out pretty immediately. We packed these cheap pillows from Amazon (They came with eye masks!). On arrival, get outside and try to limit naps so you can readjust. For more on our favorite activities and tips for flying, see our post here. Headphones Melatonin Airplane pillows Activities for long flights East to West On the long flight, the kids were happy playing with the personal screen and alternating between coloring, reading, tv, games, and snacks. Ellie has been loving the Magic Treehouse books and when they were little, they used to love activities in the Magic Ink and small play pack coloring books (Amazon links). We have one Nintendo Switch that the kids love. For more on our favorite activities and tips for flying, see our post here. Grand Hyatt Seoul- Itaewon We had a wonderful stay at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. We booked a basic room using cash ($250/night) and used a suite upgrade award (from status) to get a suite with a separate living space for the kids. We used our Hyatt credit card to get points for future Hyatt stays. You can also use points from this stay. You can earn Hyatt points from Hyatt stays, the Hyatt credit card and Chase points which can be transferred to Hyatt. Learn more about points here. Chase Sapphire Preferred Apply Here Chase Sapphire Reserve Apply Here Chase Hyatt Apply Here We love having suites on hotel stays. Some space to spread out is lovely. We even set up the kids TV with the nintendo switch! For more on sleeping on vacations, see this post here. In addition to having the suite upgrade, our Hyatt globalist status gave us some cool perks. The hotel was gorgeous with a beautiful pool. There was a kids area (not drop-off) and spa that we didn’t take advantage of on this trip. Everyone was so kind and we were received a welcome gift of wine, and pastries along with a hand-written note. The hotel was grand (haha

Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market

Background In July 2023, our family visited Seoul, South Korea! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. In the last few years, k-drama watching for Jenn has made it jump higher on the list. We visited in late July and combined this trip with a Hawaii visit and 5 days in Japan. This post covers our 3rd full day in Seoul and visits to Gangnam, COEX aquarium, and Myeongdong Night Market. Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Starfield Library Gangnam: About a 30 minute cab ride from our hotel area is the Gangnam area. Gangnam means south of the river. This area is very fancy and trendy. It has become more famous since the Psy song, Gangnam style. We spent the morning at the Coex mall. Here we took some pictures and oohed and ahhed at the starfield library. Kind of a bookstore, kind of just an instagram spot, it was a sight included in many of the must-do lists. Nearby, we also visited a large statue of the gangnam hands where the song played on loop. The kids were actually familiar with the song from past weddings lol! COEX Aquarium COEX aquarium: As part of the mall, there is also a huge movie theater and an aquarium in the mall. There are several throughout Seoul. This one was really fun! It had a stamp book to encourage walking through the exhibits and some cool features such as a room with framed art with the fish inside, a turtle section, a mermaid show, and some octonauts theming. The kids appreciated being indoors after a few days of more adult-focused touring. For lunch, we went to the nearby Hyundai Mall food court area where we got a variety of yummy foods like musubi, cutlet, egg, fried chicken, tteokbokki and mochi. Myeongdong night market: In the evening, we went back to the Myeongdong area where we had a delicious KBBQ grilled dinner and wandered some small market stands selling grilled lobster, fruit, squid, chicken, ice cream, and so much more! More Asia 2023 Posts Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple

Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae cafes

Background In July 2023, our family visited Seoul, South Korea! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. In the last few years, k-drama watching for Jenn has made it jump higher on the list. We visited in late July and combined this trip with a Hawaii visit and 5 days in Japan. This post covers our second full day in Seoul and visits Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanghwamun Square, and Hongdae Cafes. Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae cafes Hanbok Rental Hanbok Rental: This was one of the highlights of our trip! We rented outfits for 2 hours and walked to the palace across the street. We used a company called chambok. Outfits were 10-20 each for the 2 hours and it also came with some small hair decorations. The ahjummas were so sweet and helped us pick our outfits and get dressed. Ellie was a princess and Carter loved dressing up as a magistrate. From here we walked half a block to the palace Gyeongbokgung Palace Gyeongbokgung Palace: The palaces have free entry if you’re wearing a hanbok outfit. About a quarter of the visitors were wearing hanboks. It was so fun people-watching and sightseeing while dressed up. The palace was gorgeous, although busy. There are a few short guard changing ceremonies at different times throughout the day. It was hot hot hot and we didn’t time a tour or get a lot of context but it was fun to walk through the buildings and take pictures. We only stayed about an hour Gwanghwamun Square Gwanghwamun Square: Right across the street from the palace, there’s a small square with large statues. Gwanghwamun Square is mainly known for its two landmark statues? The King Sejong the Great of Joseon and Admiral Yi Sun-shin. Its a popular spot for K-drama films including memories of the alhambra where the statues come to life in a VR game. Very fun! From here, we caught a taxi to Hongdae (This was a 30 minute drive) Hongdae Cafes Hongdae Cafes: This neighborhood was so fun! On the main streets, there were tons of cute shops and activities. We stopped for a fantastic lunch of grilled meat that was really cheap. Per the recommendation of a friend, we stopped at 2 cafes. The first was a meerkat cafe where you could pay a fee and pet animals such as racoons, kangaroos, and meerkats! FYI, you had to be 7 to play in the meerkat room and Ellie was too young. We still had fun watching and seeing the other animals. We also went to a harry potter themed cafe! It was a little pricey as drinks purchases were required for each person. There were several floors of sights to visit and some cute visuals but only a small interactive robe section and the kids weren’t familiar with Harry potter. The hongdae atmosphere was really fun with lots of people hanging out including some dancers in the streets. There is also a cooking show called NANTA that was recommended on many of the blogs I read. Itaewon dinner: Near the hotel, we had some pork cutlet and pastries at a shop near our hotel. If we had more energy, it would have been great to go out to one of the night markets to explore but we were pretty tired. More Asia 2023 Posts Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple

Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower

Background In July 2023, our family visited Seoul, South Korea! This has been at the top of our family wish list for a few years. In the last few years, k-drama watching for Jenn has made it jump higher on the list. We visited in late July and combined this trip with a Hawaii visit and 5 days in Japan. This post covers our first full day in Seoul and visits to Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Namsan Seoul Tower, and more. Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple Myeongdong We started our morning by taking a cab to the Myeongdong area. This area had lots of cute shops and sites to see. Near the Myeongdong cathedral, there was a small market selling veggies and cute art. Around this area, there are tons of cosmetics shops as well. We stopped by some convenience stores for snacks and also had some delicious bingsu (shave ice) at one of the cafes. Namsangol Hanok Village Namsangol Hanok: Namsangol Hanok Village is a replica of a traditional Korean village that was built in the 1970s. There is a small pond and lots of houses to look at. When we visited, there were some “yard games” to play with. During other times in the year, they also have other cultural programs such as arts and crafts and tea ceremonies. N. Seoul Tower Cable Car: This is a fun and scenic way to get to the tower, and the views from the cable car are great, although a little squished. Note you can’t take strollers but you can leave them at the bottom for a round-trip ride. At the top, there’s still a few steps so be prepared. Seoul Tower: The views were spectacular in all the directions. It was crazy seeing how many people call Seoul home. There were some love locks on various bridges which was fun to look at although we didn’t purchase any. You can pay to go up the tower itself but the views are great from the base. I love look-outs and this was an awesome spot. Lunch: Near the bottom of the cable car, we found a great restaurant that served cheese-filled pork cutlet. So good! Hotel and Dinner Hotel time: With kids, down-time is so important. For a few hours, we played by the pool, enjoyed some Nintendo switch time and the adults went down for drinks at the hotel bar Dinner: We walked to a nearby fried chicken restaurant a few minutes from the hotel. So good! More Asia 2023 Posts Read all of our 2023 Korea/Japan posts at the following links: Seoul, South Korea: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Seoul Day 1: Myeongdong, Namsangol Hanok, Seoul Tower Seoul Day 2: Hanbok rental, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanham square, Hongdae Seoul Day 3: Gangnam Area, COEX Aquarium, Myeongdong Night Market Kyoto, Japan: Flights, Logistics, and Hotel Info Kyoto Day 1: Higashiyama Temples: Maruyama Park, Yasaka Shrine, Kiyozdemeru Osaka: Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Osaka Dotonbori Kyoto Day 2: Arashiyama River Cruise, Monkey Park, Bamboo Gardens, Kyoto Day 3:Aeon Mall, Nishiki Market, Pokemon Center,Gion Matsuri Gallery Kyoto Day 4: East Kyoto Temples: Philosophers Path, Nanzeji Temple

Family Beach Weekend: Our Free Stay at Hyatt Place Panama City Beach 2023

Trip Motivation In May 2023, Our family wanted to enjoy a relaxing beach vacay in Panama City Beach for 2 nights (Memorial Day weekend). We had a wonderful time enjoying the beach and pool at this new-ish hotel and would definitely come back again! Driving: Nashville to Panama City Beach: 8 hrs The closest beaches to Nashville are on the Gulf of Mexico, specifically the coasts of Florida and Alabama. You can make it here in 7 hours! Just close enough for a weekend trip and perfect for a 3-day weekend. Check out and this post for tips for road trips with kids. There are numerous options along the coast for every type of beach vacation. We have family in Pensacola and have made family trips over 10 times with kids as young as 1 month old. A few years ago, we took a minivan full of friends to a wedding in Grayton Beach on 30A. Nearby, we also visited Orange Beachin AL. From Nashville, you’ll take I-65 down through TN and AL towards Montgomery and then, depending on which area of the gulf you’re heading towards, you’ll cut down on smaller highways to get to the beach. See this post here for a few of our favorite stops on this well-traveled path that make the long drive with kids more fun. Hyatt Place Panama City Beach We spent 2 nights at the Hyatt Place Panama City Beach. The hotel is about 20 minutes from the airport and right across the street from the beach. We paid $0 out of pocket thanks to our credit card perks! Hyatt Place is a lower brand but the hotel is great for families as it has space with a pull-out couch and free breakfast. When sleeping with kids, extra space to spread is always a great perk. Chase Sapphire Preferred Apply Here Chase Sapphire Reserve Apply Here Chase Hyatt Apply Here You can earn Hyatt points from Hyatt stays, the Hyatt credit card and Chase points, which can be transferred to Hyatt. Learn more about points here. Between the beach and hotel activities, we filled our days full. Read on to learn more about what to do in this cute city. Beach Time The water temp was still a little chilly but that doesn’t stop our kiddos! They loved the sand, and adventuring out for sand dollars and shells. We spent several hours playing and relaxing on the beach. It was very convenient to the hotel where there were showers and bathrooms nearby. Pool Time Our hotel had a fantastic heated pool. This is one of the reasons we planned this trip! Although it was advertised as a lazy river, it was really a fantastic pool with a small area with currents. lol. There was a zero entry area and a lot of space to spread out. We packed goggles and dive sticks and had a blast. My favorite kind of vacations involve pina coladas and sitter-vising. Virgin with cherries for the littles. Other Activities We took a break from the beach on one of the days and went to Wongo Adventure to play a round of mini-golf. This was in walking distance from the hotel! There were also go-karts, carnival games, small rides, and lots of fun things! Eat, Eat, Eat! Hotel breakfast: Our kiddos are becoming spoiled from hotel breakfast! This hotel had a free breakfast buffet for all guests and it was a step above typical hotel food. Loved the waffles and breakfast burittos! Lunches and Dinners: We weren’t too impressed by the hotel offerings for lunch and dinner. We enjoyed the poolside drinks but the food could use some work. Along the main street, there are tons of choices for yummy seafood and other delicious options. Our favorite spot was Shuckums right next to the hotel. Crab legs and fried shrimp! Yum! We also drove to a nearby strip mall and had some fantastic burgers at Craft Bar. Other Panama City Recommendations Gulf World Marine Park Shipwreck Waterpark Shell Island Boat Tour Pier Park Final Thoughts This was a quick trip but so much fun!

Traveling Little Morsels

Sharing memories and tips for enjoying travels with littles. Always looking forward to our next adventure!

❤ Jenn Morse ❤

TRAVELING LITTLE MORSELS