Sharing Plans for 9 days Family trip to Osaka (Kansai region) during Cherry Blossom

Hey everyone!

It's been quite a while since I've joined Steemit and maybe I was overthinking about what to post; so here's my first 🙌

Visting Japan during 🌸 cherry blossom season 🌸 has been on my bucket list and I'm finally getting to do it this year. Yes! And while I generally like to let things happen while keeping mind of some high-level things to do, this has been getting increasingly difficult because my daughter is now becoming pretty vocal about what she likes and not. So I sat down last week, writing down some things each of our family member will enjoy and roughly mixing them up so that everyone is happy.

And then.. I got carried away 😱
The more I got into it, I started discovering all these cool places to go to, food I want to try, things my wife and daughter would love...... and it's become a huge mess. (Then I remembered why I didn't like over-planning trips)

Anyway, I started making lemon juice out of this situation and starting pinning everything on Google maps. Here are some “rules” I made for myself as I was making this:

be ready to skip, or bend or break the itinerary if we end up liking a particular thing/place more than we expected.
walking is better than transportation, but don’t forget we have a 8 year old
good food makes everything better. keep a list of good food and treats where ever

Hope this helps anyone who is planning a family trip to Osaka/Kyoto/Kansai area, especially with kids. I'd say the itinerary is still open to ideas so I welcome any comments, questions, and suggestions.

Quick self-intro:
I've grown up in Korea, US, Germany and I enjoy traveling very much. Also run a startup tackling cross-border shopping problems.

Thanks!

Areas covered: Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Kinosaki

and Link to Google Maps with daily itinerary

Day 1: getting to Osaka and night walks in sakura

Hotel - Kita/Umeda - Nakasakicho - Osaka Castle
Kita is a shopping district with a lot of good restaurants, which was bleeding into Nakasakicho, which had some quirky coffee shops that looked interesting. Osaka Castle is open late during sakura season only and expecting that to be a pretty grand sight.
Food in mind: Shabu-shabu,

Day 2: Osaka - food 🍣 🍱 ☕️ and shopping

Namba Parks - Dotonbori - Orange street
Namba Parks is a mall but I’m mostly interested in Yoshino Sushi for its lunch menu. Thought about going to Kuromon market but saving it for later. Don’t want to contribute to the tourist crowd at Dotonbori more than its necessary and passing through to Orange street.

Stopping by Sanrio and Opa for my girl so she can fill her kawaii needs. Opa has a section for Pripara a video game which my daughter is deeply in love with.

Food in mind: Yoshino Sushi, Anago, Japanese Curry, late night Okonomiyaki,
Shops/cafés: Wad, Sanrio and Opa

Day 3: Osaka - chill & maybe Kobe

Leaving this day blank with a chance of Kobe beef and the “million dollar view” of at night.
Fun fact: Kobe Bryant’s parents decided to name him Kobe after their trip to Kobe.
Food in mind: Unagi, Gyoza, Kobe beef

Day 4: Kinosaki Onsen

Grab a bento and jump on train to Kinosaki. Staying at a ryokan and the concept of this little onsen town is intriguing: the train station is the front door, the street are the hallways, and the ryokan is your bedroom. The town looks amazingly beautiful and the idea is that you can stroll around the village in your yukata and jump into any one of the seven public onsen.
Food: kaiseki

Day 5: Kyoto - east side

Grab a bento and jump on train to Kyoto. After checking in at hotel, start from from Ginkaku-ji Temple - Philosopher’s Path - Gion - Ninenzaka - Kiyomizu-dera
Hotel’s especially during sakura season is really really expensive. I decided to go with a new establishment that had very little / wildly varying reviews.
optional: after dinner and resting at hotel, head over to Maruyama Park for night illumination and sakura
Food: there’s like a million restaurants, cafés that look all good.

Day 6: Kyoto - west side

Starting from Arashiyama (maybe get on a boat) - Ryōan-ji - Nijō Castle - eventually making down Kamo river towards the hotel
The area between Nijō castle and Nishiki Market seems to filled with a lot of interesting shops.
Late night: stroll to local coffee shop
Food: soba -

Day 7: Kyoto - Osaka

Early morning visit to Fushimi Inari Taisha to avoid crowds and get the perfect shot. Grab ekiban at Isetan before hopping on the train to Osaka.
Last minute shopping (drug stores & heavier stuff) Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shotengai
Food: Kuromon Ichiba Market

Day 8: Universal Studios Japan

Full day reserved for USJ. Bought entrance tickets and express passes to avoid long lines. During the time we are visiting, USJ is having a “Cool Japan” event (which is very uncool to say) but it’s bringing all these Final Fantasy, Detective Conan, Sailor Moon, Monster Hunter stuff for the fans out there.