We flew direct from Naha to Osaka in October over Columbus Day weekend to check out Universal Studios, Japan and Kyoto, skipping out of town right before Typhoon Kong-Rey struck. Universal Studios was not super convenient to reach by train - in fact the whole train system in Osaka is confusing, consisting of several big loops with spike-routes coming off of it. Universal City station was at the end of the of these spikes.

Once we found it though, nothing could be more convenient than the train station’s vicinity to the front of the park, and our hotel’s location right at the entrance. We stayed at Park Front Hotel - a brand new building with a fun steampunk vibe - each floor was a different decade accessed via the elevator time machine! We keep recommending this hotel to everyone heading to Universal for the friendliness, huge family rooms, and upscale atmosphere. The park itself was similar to a Universal Studios anywhere (except all the characters speak Japanese), but the kids really liked staying at night for the Halloween zombies. Even on a chilly Thursday, lines for the big roller coasters were long. Express passes (usually purchased online) were all gone when we walked up to buy tickets. But the theme park was fun, immaculate, didn’t feel too crowded, and had lots of fun shopping and some familiar American restaurants nearby.

An afternoon/evening at Universal was plenty of time for us and the next morning we had a Shinkansen to catch to Kyoto!

Train routes, stations and tickets are not easy to figure out. When possible, we tried to buy our tickets at counters so we could be sure we knew where we were going and any connections we needed to make. But the bullet trains come through regularly every 10-15 minutes. You get an assigned car and find a seat as you can. We didn’t get to sit all together on this ride, but it was only a 15 minute journey to Kyoto Station. Our hotel was near the Gion District, on the east side of Kyoto.

Gion Hanna Stay was perfect for our 3 day stay in Kyoto. It was located right near some major attractions, just a short subway ride or walk to the famous geisha area, the Path of Philosophy, the Nishiki market, Pontocho alley, and numerous shrines and Buddhist temples. Our hotel had an awesome futon loft for the kids, a kitchenette, Japanese washer/dryer and a happy little toilet that greeted you by automatically opening the lid and playing music when you entered the bathroom! This hotel also was clean and had staff that went out of their way to help us, whether it was finding a place to eat dinner or calling a taxi. We would definitely stay here again.

Kyoto itself is a beautiful city. The aesthetics of the wooden temples, colourful shrines, narrow ancient streets and alleys, wide shallow river Kamagawa, lanterns and traditional machiya (wooden row houses) transport you to earlier times, when it was the home of the imperial family. For centuries, when the government moved on to Tokyo, Kyotos continued to represent the cultural and religious heart of Japan. Without an agenda, we set out to wander the streets. One thing is certain - you will do a lot of walking in Kyoto.

Streets in Japan are notoriously safe, even for wandering at night. Every place we found to eat, whether ramen, pizza, Wagyu beef, or French pastries, was delicious.