Winding Roads & Never Ending TalesFamily trips, wrong turns and the places we still talk about.
Osaka and Kyoto with Family: USJ, Temples and a Coastal Detour
Osaka and Kyoto belong in the same journey, but not in the same description. For us, Osaka meant Dotonbori after dark, strawberry desserts and the excitement of USJ. Kyoto was temple lanes, a slower evening and places where we wanted to keep walking and looking. We had been looking forward to both. Of course, our version also includes getting lost with luggage and hunting for vegetarian food. Beautiful places do not automatically sort out a hungry family! Here is how these two very different stops worked out for us.
Days 5-6 are our Osaka story. Days 7-8 belong to Kyoto city. Day 9 takes us out to Amanohashidate and Ine on the coast, a separate day trip from our Kyoto base. Jump to the part you are planning, or come along in the order we travelled.
In this article
- Osaka | Days 5-6: Dotonbori nights and our USJ day
- Day 5: A bullet train and a city that stayed awake
- Osaka Castle: an afternoon by the moat
- Dotonbori at night: strawberries, singers and one more walk
- Day 6: USJ without Express Passes
- Our USJ hunger games: looking for lunch between the rides
- The 15 minutes that became 40
- Kyoto | Days 7-8: temple lanes, ramen and taking our time
- Day 7: Getting lost, then finding our pace
- Gion and Yasaka Pagoda: a walk into old Kyoto
- Fushimi Inari after dark: very glad we did not skip it
- Day 8: Arashiyama, a river gorge and excellent pens
- The coast | Day 9: Amanohashidate and Ine
Travelled in May 2026. Part 2 of our Japan family travelogue. Prices, menus and ticket rules can change.
Osaka | Days 5-6: Dotonbori nights and our USJ day
Osaka was not only our stop for USJ. We had the castle and its gardens in the afternoon, then Dotonbori after dark, when even a simple walk kept turning into another food stop. Staying near the canal made it easy to enjoy that part without worrying about a long journey back to the hotel.
Day 5: A bullet train and a city that stayed awake
We had reserved seats for the Shinkansen and picked up a bento at the station. With our bags along, I was glad we had found the correct carriage marking before the train arrived. One less thing to figure out while boarding. Off to Osaka!
Check your ticket and the carriage signs rather than relying on the seat-light system you may have seen on a different train. We were tired by the time we reached Osaka, so there was no need to make the afternoon more complicated.
Osaka Castle: an afternoon by the moat
We checked into Holiday Inn Osaka Namba, close to Dotonbori, dropped the bags and went to Osaka Castle. The moat and gardens were nice to walk around before the evening crowds.
Even a trip to the public toilet gave us things to discuss. Heated seats, wash buttons, sound buttons, quite a setup. You do end up noticing these things when travelling in Japan.
Dotonbori at night: strawberries, singers and one more walk
Dotonbori near the bridge was something else at night. Lights on both sides, their reflections in the canal, people everywhere, and us finding another reason to stop for food. This was where we tried those lovely strawberry desserts, along with cheese pastries and crepes. Bas ek aur, then we will walk. That was not a very convincing plan with so much around us.
There were local singers performing too, which gave us another reason to hang around. You could just walk along the canal, stop to listen and watch the evening go by. No need to make every minute a separate activity. Between the music, the lights and the food, Dotonbori felt like it had no intention of going to sleep.
The canal boats offer a different view of the same area, looking up towards the bridges and all those signs from the water. It is another way to see the lights rather than only walking beside them. Check the Tombori River Cruise information for the boarding point and departure times, or ask at the ticket counter. This is an option for your evening, rather than a ride from our own trip.
We also wanted Rikuro's cheesecake, but the available batch sold out before our turn. Kismat dekho, hamari baari se pehle hi khatam. Later we found vegetarian ramen in the backstreets, so dinner at least ended well.
We got our Glico sign photo, picked up supplies from Don Quijote and headed back. Next day was USJ, so another early start was waiting.
Day 6: USJ without Express Passes
We reached USJ early and headed towards the Wizarding World. Now, my daughter and I are Harry Potter fans. My wife is not. So while two of us were getting excited about every familiar thing, she was very kindly accompanying us through another round of Hogwarts. Tokyo's studio tour had clearly not finished our quota.
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was one of our favourites, followed by Flight of the Hippogriff. Seeing the places from the films is one thing; being inside a ride in that world is another. We were both thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Bachchi ka excitement samajh aata hai, but the father was no less involved.
Later came Jaws and Jurassic Park - The Ride. That plunge from the top, followed by the splash! We got wet, of course. This was the water ride, not The Flying Dinosaur coaster. Reading about a big drop from home and actually reaching it in the boat are two very different things. Achha, ab samajh aaya.
WaterWorld was a very pleasant surprise. We did not understand all the Japanese dialogue, but honestly the action was enough to keep us watching. Very glad we did not skip that show.
The parade was another matter. We got caught up with the rides, lost track of time and found ourselves in the wrong part of the park. By the time we reached the route, the good viewing places were gone.
That was our mistake, not a lack of things to do. If there is a show you really want to see, keep its time in mind before joining the next ride queue. We were enjoying ourselves and stopped watching the clock.
Then came Super Nintendo World. Going through the green pipe and seeing those familiar blocks moving around was great fun, for us adults as much as for our daughter. The Donkey Kong queue was longer than we wanted to take on, so we left that one. There was still plenty to look at.
Ticket distinction: a Studio Pass, an Express Pass and an Area Timed Entry Ticket serve different purposes. Check USJ's area-entry guidance and the inclusions of your chosen Express Pass. Same-day app availability is not a guaranteed advance booking, and access arrangements depend on the day's operation.
Our USJ hunger games: looking for lunch between the rides
Then our own hunger games began. Not a ride listed on the USJ map, unfortunately. We had done so much homework on what to ride, and now we were searching around the park for a proper vegetarian meal. Ab kuch khaane ko bhi dhoondh lein?
Food was there, of course. Finding something that worked for us was the problem. We ended up falling back on fries and desserts. Usually I am quite happy to find an excuse for dessert, but after all that walking we wanted lunch, not another round of sides.
The funny part is that I had worried about ride queues before the trip. I should have given the lunch plan some of that attention. A family can be very enthusiastic about the next attraction until everybody is hungry. Then finding a suitable meal becomes the main attraction.
So yes, plan the rides, but save the food stops too. We could have spared ourselves some wandering if we had known where to go before getting hungry.
Later we finally learnt of a sit-down restaurant with a vegetarian pizza and pumpkin soup. Arre, yeh pehle pata hota! We had been making do with fries and desserts while a more promising meal option was somewhere in the park. Azzurra di Capri and Kinopio's Cafe in Super Nintendo World are names to check when planning that food search. Ask the crew what vegetarian pizza or soup they have that day, and whether the stock has meat or fish in it. I am not sure the exact pumpkin-soup combination is still on the menu, so please ask rather than going by my memory alone.
USJ's current plant-based menu guide is a much better starting point than wandering around hungry. It currently lists a mushroom-and-vegetable marinara pizza at Park Side Grille, but that is a current option, not confirmation of the restaurant we learnt about in May. Check the day's serving hours and ingredients, including the soup.
This is what happened on our visit, not a claim that USJ has no vegetarian meals. Check the suitable restaurants beforehand and ask about ingredients. Fries and desserts are not automatically right for every diet either.
There was another little distraction at USJ: collecting stamps. The ones we found built up into a lovely souvenir when stamped in the right positions. Rides were not the only treasure hunt happening that day!
Our small cheat code was to look near the washroom areas and around the entrance area, where we found several. That is a memory from our visit, not a permanent map of the park. Ask the crew what stamp activity is running that day and follow its sheet or map; these things can be event-specific. No point missing a ride because I sent you looking for last season's stamp.
Minion Mayhem was our last ride. By then our feet were killing us. Between the queues, walking, missed parade spot and food search, we really had done a full day.
The 15 minutes that became 40
And then we remembered: the keyring! We had forgotten to buy it. We also wanted the night photographs. My daughter and I asked my wife to sit for a little while; we would just go and come back in 15 minutes. Bas pandrah minute.
Those 15 minutes became 40 without us even noticing. The two Harry Potter fans were busy with their last little mission, while my wife was still waiting with equally tired feet. We came back to a very angry wife. Quite fair, honestly. Our enthusiasm had not made her wait any shorter.
So that was the real end of our USJ day: not the last ride, but an overdue return from a keyring-and-photo expedition. Buy the small souvenir when you first decide you want it, or at least give the person waiting a realistic time. Apparently I needed that reminder.
Kyoto | Days 7-8: temple lanes, ramen and taking our time
Kyoto deserves its own story. I remember the creaking floors at Nijo Castle, that satisfying meal at Engine Ramen, and the torii gates after dark. The streets we walked in the evening felt quieter, and we liked that. Quiet did not mean there was nothing to do; our tired legs had quite a different opinion. But first, we had to find our way out with the bags.
Day 7: Getting lost, then finding our pace
Moving to Kyoto sounded straightforward until we were underground with our bags, trying to follow the phone. The GPS was wandering, we went the wrong way, and the short transfer became longer than expected.
Itni trains pakad li thi, but clearly we had not become experts yet. With luggage, every wrong turn feels that much longer.
Look for the operator, line, platform and exit on physical signs. Some transfers require leaving one company's gates and entering another's; others do not. A two-minute walk on a phone screen does not tell the whole story.
After checking into Holiday Inn Kyoto Gojo, we managed another small confusion on the bus. We tried tapping at both ends, and the driver patiently explained what to do. On the regular Kyoto city buses we used, we entered at the rear and paid as we got off near the driver. Achha, ab samajh aaya.
Do check the particular bus, though. Kyoto has a flat-fare zone, routes outside it and sightseeing services with different arrangements. It is not one fare and one boarding routine for every bus. Kyoto's official fare guide explains the differences. At the stop, we used Google Maps to get close, then checked the route number on the actual stop pole. Some stops were easier to miss than we expected. Get there before the departure time, not while the bus is pulling away.
Nijo Castle had lovely gardens and those creaking wooden floors. Afterwards we went to Engine Ramen and had one of our favourite meals of the trip. A proper satisfying bowl of ramen was very welcome.
We went through Nishiki Market and tried a matcha donut at Koé Donuts. The donut was not really to our taste. It happens. Sab famous cheez apne taste ki ho, zaroori thodi hai. I would still rather try something and find out than spend the whole trip eating only familiar things.
We also visited Heian-jingu before walking around Gion and the Yasaka Pagoda area. This part of Kyoto needs more than a passing mention.
Gion and Yasaka Pagoda: a walk into old Kyoto
These streets had that old Japanese-era feeling we had been looking forward to. Wooden fronts, narrow lanes, tiled roofs, and then the pagoda rising above the street. Bas, yahan aaram se chalna hai. Not every place needs a ride or a big activity; sometimes the walk itself is what you came for.
Gion grew around Yasaka Shrine and is still a working neighbourhood, known for its teahouses and the traditions of geiko and maiko. Around Hanamikoji, the traditional buildings are part of everyday life, not a film set put up for us tourists. There are restaurants, cafes and shops too. The official Gion and Kiyomizu area guide gives useful background if you want to understand what you are walking through.
A small map clarification: Yasaka Shrine and Yasaka Pagoda are not the same place. The pagoda belongs to Hokan-ji Temple, in the nearby Higashiyama streets towards Kiyomizu-dera. That is the tower in our evening photograph. With similar names appearing on the map, it is worth saving the correct pin before setting off.
Around the pagoda, the sloping lanes and low rooftops give the area such a lovely old-world look. Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka are the nearby stone-paved streets to look up when planning this walk. There are small shops and places to stop along the way, including ceramics and sweets. Do not turn it into a race to collect three more location pins. Leave room to look around, and remember that slopes and steps also mean a little more work for tired legs.
For planning your own walk: Gion and Yasaka Shrine, then the Yasaka Pagoda area, Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka, and onwards towards Kiyomizu-dera make a useful sequence to map out. This is a suggested route, not a turn-by-turn record of ours. Kyoto's official Higashiyama morning walk covers these areas in the other direction. An early start can give you a quieter walk, but shops may not be open yet. If going inside a temple matters, build the walk around its opening hours. We learnt that part the hard way.
We saw a geiko on her way between appointments and kept our phones down. In Gion, respect people going about their work, private lanes and posted photography restrictions. Kyoto's official visitor guidance explains the etiquette.
By the time we reached Kiyomizu-dera, we were too late to go inside. Disappointing, but we had left it too late. Do check each temple's own timings while planning the day. Someone local also suggested Kodai-ji for bamboo, which went onto the list for another visit.
Fushimi Inari after dark: very glad we did not skip it
Our legs were ready to stop, but we still wanted to see Fushimi Inari. So we took a taxi. After such a long Kyoto day it would have been easy to say, chhodo, next time. I am very glad we did not. This was an amazingly beautiful place, and it deserves more than one line in our trip.
The shrine buildings were lit up against the night sky, and then there were the red torii gates, one after another. The paths we walked were much quieter by then. We kept wanting to look a little further along, take another photograph, stay a little longer. Tired toh the, but leaving immediately did not feel like a very good idea either.
What we had not realised was that our last train connection back to our hotel was around 9 pm that evening. The station was right beside the shrine, so we had not worried enough about the journey back. Being close to a station and having the connection you need are clearly not the same thing!
That 9 pm timing was for our hotel route on our visit, not a rule that all trains from Fushimi Inari stop then. Save the full return journey, including transfers, before getting absorbed in the gates. JR Inari Station on the Nara Line is right next to the shrine; it is a JR station, not a metro stop. And keep an evening walk within what your family can comfortably manage. We were there to enjoy the place, not to prove anything to our already tired legs.
Day 8: Arashiyama, a river gorge and excellent pens
We got to Arashiyama early, while the bamboo paths were still fairly quiet. From there we entered Tenryu-ji on the northern side and walked through the gardens towards the main exit. The pond with the mountains behind it was lovely.
Our Sagano Romantic Train was booked already. It followed the Hozu River through the gorge, and we kept looking from one side to the other as the train turned. Quite an enjoyable ride.
Back in town, we went into a TAG Stationery shop. My daughter came out with pens and was very happy with her shopping. Between stationery and the theme-park shops, she was finding plenty of things to take home.
We finally gave ourselves a break at the hotel. Shopping and ramen nearby were enough for the evening. No need to go racing across Kyoto again.
The coast | Day 9: Amanohashidate and Ine
This was a day away from Kyoto city, up to the coast of northern Kyoto Prefecture. Not another temple stop squeezed into the city itinerary. We kept a whole day for the sandbar, chairlift and boathouses, and were glad we did.
For Amanohashidate and Ine we booked a guided day tour through Agoda. After sorting out our own trains and directions for so many days, it was nice to let somebody else handle the connections for once.
We still had to find the meeting point near the Avanti building at Kyoto Station, which took a little looking around. Check the exact landmark in your booking; just reaching Kyoto Station does not finish that job.
At Amanohashidate we stopped at Chion-ji and prayed for our daughter's studies and our future. Then we took the chairlift up to Viewland. And what a view, with that long stretch of pine-covered land across the bay.
I really enjoyed the chairlift coming down. The sea was right ahead of us and we could just sit and look. After all our walking, this was one very comfortable way to enjoy a view.
Food again took some searching. We found an omurice option and had snacks too. If you are vegetarian, ask about the filling, sauce and stock rather than assuming egg and rice are the only ingredients.
Next was Ine, with the wooden funaya boathouses along the water. We took the sightseeing cruise past them, looking at the boats sheltered below and the homes above. Birds were circling around as we went along. A very different place from the Kyoto streets.
A seaside stop, a frozen mango bowl and then the bus back to Kyoto. We were glad we had kept this coastal day in the plan. There was a lot more around Kyoto than we could fit into this one trip.
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