What I Packed for Our Family Trip to Japan
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We started the year with an 18-day family trip to Japan with our two primary school aged kids. It was one of those trips that had a bit of everything—Tokyo, Disneyland, snow, great food, and a little drama thrown in!
So the adventure started almost immediately when the suitcase with all of the kids’ clothes didn’t arrive with us in Tokyo. Luckily, we were staying near a Uniqlo so I enjoyed a little impromptu shopping spree and may have picked up something for myself too 😉 Thankfully it turned up 3 days later so we had all their skiing gear ready for the snow.
Tokyo itself didn’t feel quite as cold as I was expecting. Temperatures were around 7–10°C with sunny clear skies most days, so layering worked really well. We packed fairly light for the whole trip, which made travelling between places much easier. My usual outfit for exploring the city was a long sleeve crew neck base layer, a woollen jumper, and a long down coat. That combination kept me comfortable walking around all day without feeling bulky.
I didn’t end up needing leggings under my jeans while we were in Tokyo, but good socks were essential for long days out. We did a lot of wandering—temples, neighbourhoods, shopping streets—and somehow always ended up stopping at a 7-Eleven for snacks along the way.
Disneyland and Disneysea were pretty epic, the lines were long though so fast passes were a must. We were told by multiple people that Beauty and the Beast was a must-do and it really was so impressive! I embraced the Tokyo experience and gave it to my daughter’s insistence that we go to an animal café, and we ended up drinking sprite with miniature pigs which I must admit were kind of adorable.
One of our favourite days was visiting TeamLab Planets. An experience for all the senses, the kids absolutely loved it and even the ramen at the café there was excellent.
The biggest highlight for the kids, though, was seeing snow for the first time. We spent several nearly a week skiing in the Nagano region. It was my first time skiing as well… and I wasn’t exactly a natural. I fell over more times than I can count and stuck mostly to the green runs, feeling slightly terrified most of the time. Meanwhile the kids picked it up straight away of course.
It was colder in the snow and I wore an O2wear skivvy under a fleece and my ski jacket, with leggings under my ski pants. I was worried I might feel cold, but that never actually happened. If anything, I got a bit hot—probably from the stress of trying to stay upright.
I get a lot of questions from customers about what temperatures our base layers are suitable for and really that’s a tricky one to answer. With customers buying them for a Queensland winter and an Alaskan cruise, it’s quite a big range! The key is layering. What I will say though, is if you are travelling somewhere cold as a tourist/visitor then sticking with a light weight base layer like O2 is often going to be the most versatile. Cold countries have excellent heating, so museums, cafes, trains and indoor environments can get quite toasty. The risk with choosing a base layer that is too thick is that you end up overheating as soon as you go inside. I have found multiple layers with a longline thick jacket to work best (but don’t forget good socks and shoes!).
