The big-picture route we took across 14 days in Japan — Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Nara, and Osaka — and how we decided what to see where.

We spent months planning our Japan trip before we ever boarded the plane — here are the 10 lessons that actually made the difference, from how we mapped our route to what we'd do differently next time.

Is Japan actually kid-friendly? After 14 days traveling with our five-year-old, here's what surprised us, what we wish we'd known, and what we'd do differently — from the walking to the quiet trains to the small hotel rooms.