Aloha Everyone,

I am going with my family to Japan in mid-March. It will be me, my wife, and 2 kids ages 4 and 8. I have spent a great deal of time in planning where we go and where we stay, but I would love any input from the forum as to specific places to go along the way..must-sees that we might miss...really good food in areas we will visit. Basically if you can pass along any suggestions that might make our trip more enjoyable.

Of course I've been watching lots of JapanChannel on youtube and have fairly good concept of the Japanese cultural style. We're SO excited!
Living in Hawaii I see aspects of this all around me, so some things won't be too strange. Plus our whole family loves Japanese food...I even made okonomiyake last night for dinner.

We are getting 14 day JR rail passes (probably not Green service though, just regular service).

The itinerary below is pretty much fixed, but we can do day trips and other things nearby. Please pass along any ideas and suggestions you have to make our trip more fun.
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* March 15 Arrive Haneda Airport 11pm direct from Honolulu

* March 15 thru March 19 Stay at Prince Sakura Hotel in Shinagawa area

* March 19 travel to Nagano area stay at Ryokan Kamesei

* March 20 thru 21 travel to Nikko stay at Ryokan Honke Bankyu

* March 22 thru 25 Kyoto Hyatt in Kyoto town (day trip to Hiroshima on March 24)

* March 25 Guesthouse Yougendo in Nara region

* March 26 thru 27 Hotel Nikko Nara in Nara town

* March 28 and 29 Hotel Nikko Tokyo and then return
via Haneda midnite March 29.
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So did I do OK with my choices of places to go and to stay? I wanted to mix the traditional with the modern.
I used a lot of reviews on Trip Advisor and booked through 4 different wesites to secure the various rooms (Priceline, Expedia, japanguesthouses.com, and another one I can't recall). Prices for the whole family range from as high as 45'000? per night to as low as 18'000?..so pretty pricey (though food is included in high priced Ryokan) but we really want to see the country and enjoy ourselves. I scored at the Hyatt in Kyoto getting a nice large Western room for around 22'000 per night for the whole fam..that was a Priceline deal.

What about my 4 year old staying in the Ryokans? I'm assuming she (and all of us) will need to be on our very best behavior, yes? Is Disneyland in Tokyo very much like the ones in the US?

And I still don't see how I am going to ever be able to have sex with my wife on this trip! Super small rooms...ryokan with paper walls...how do Japanese people manage to "do it"?

Thanks for any help you can offer.