Day 1 · Arrival
Met in the arrivals hall with a name board, luggage handled, and a direct private transfer to Tamachi. Rooms open at three, so the balloons and the welcome bags were placed before the group ever saw the room. An informal first drink at the hotel bar in the evening, deliberately unbooked. Nobody wants a reservation on the day they land.
Day 2 · Kimono, Asakusa and old Tokyo
Kimono dressing for the full party in the late morning, with the photographer joining at the fitting and staying through the afternoon. Senso-ji, the Kaminarimon gate and Nakamise, all of it photographed in kimono. Lunch, then a private tea ceremony. Kimonos returned mid-afternoon before anyone had to walk far in them. Shibuya Crossing in the late-afternoon light, then Meiji Jingu, which is the deliberate opposite of the crossing and works best directly after it. Dinner at Neboke in Akasaka, Tosa cooking from Kochi, where the katsuo is seared over a straw fire at the table.
Day 3 · Ginza, Harajuku and the denim atelier
A twelve-thirty pick-up, three hours later than the day before, because the first full touring day with children is always the one that costs the most. Ginza Six and then Ginza Loft, which is six floors of stationery and design and is the most reliable souvenir stop in the city. Ura-Harajuku in the afternoon, the back streets behind Omotesando rather than Takeshita Street. Then the denim atelier, where each adult had a pair customised to fit with their own choice of rivets, patches and buttons. Sizes were collected weeks ahead so the stock was on the bench when they walked in. The children came along and watched. Evening free.
Day 4 · Disneyland
Park tickets for nine, dropped at the gate in the morning, collected at six. No guide, no schedule, no plan. This is the day that makes the rest of the week possible. Dinner afterwards at Rokkasen in Shinjuku, all-you-can-eat wagyu yakiniku grilled at the table, prepaid, which is the correct format for eleven people and nobody keeping track.
Day 5 · Sumo, teamLab and Shinjuku
The two additional adults joined from this morning and met the group at each venue directly rather than at the hotel, which saves everyone a pick-up loop across the city. A sumo show with chanko hot pot for lunch, former professionals demonstrating in the ring and guests invited in afterwards. teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills on a timed ticket, then an hour in the complex above it. The day ended with a walking food tour through the Shinjuku backstreets and Omoide Yokocho, and the vehicle stood down at the drop-off.
Day 6 · Go-karts and the birthday
A free morning, then the group split. Eight adults took a guided kart convoy through the streets in costume. The three children went up Tokyo Tower with the driver-guide and rejoined the group afterwards. Splitting the party and putting the vehicle with the half that needs it is usually the answer when an activity has an age limit on it.
The karting has one requirement that catches people out: an International Driving Permit, which has to be obtained in your own country before you fly. It cannot be issued in Japan. We raise it at proposal stage and again in writing before departure, because there is no fixing it on the day.
The birthday dinner in the evening at Shunju Yurari in Ebisu, private room, the full party of eleven. The cake was delivered to the venue and brought out during the meal.
Day 7 · Departure
Check-out and a private transfer to the airport, timed to the flight.
How a program like this is built
The celebration is the fixed point and everything is scheduled outward from it. That means the private room and the venue are held before the touring days are drawn, not after.
Décor is timed to arrival rather than to the party. Balloons that appear in a room before the guests do are worth more than balloons at a dinner they were expecting.
A cake is a delivery problem, not a bakery problem. Custom work gets specified weeks ahead, made to the color asked for, and delivered to the venue on the night. Nobody in the party carries it anywhere.
Dinners for a group this size are reserved with private rooms and prepaid where the venue allows it. It removes the two things that go wrong at the end of a long day, which are the wait and the bill.
Where an activity has an age limit, the party splits and the vehicle goes with whoever needs it more. Nobody sits in a hotel lobby.
Party size is allowed to change. Two guests joining for two days met the group at each venue instead of adding a hotel pick-up to two mornings.
