What to book before you leave Australia (and in what order)

Some things in Japan genuinely sell out and must be booked from Australia; others you can happily leave until you arrive. Getting the order right is what stops a family trip unravelling. Here’s the sequence that matters, from “book before anything else” to “sort on the day”.

Book first (as soon as your dates are firm)

• Return flights — the biggest cost and the fastest-moving around Australian school holidays, cherry-blossom season (late March–early April) and New Year. Lock these before anything else.
• Accommodation with genuine family rooms — rooms that actually fit four or five sell out earliest, especially in Kyoto and in ski season. Verify the real occupancy; don’t assume five fit in one room.
• Ski school and childcare if you’re skiing in peak season (January–February) — family lesson and crèche spots at Niseko and Hakuba book out months ahead.

Book months ahead (timed-entry that sells out)

• Ghibli Museum (Mitaka): advance reservation only, sold through Lawson Ticket, released at 10am Japan time on the 10th of the month before your visit — weekend slots can vanish within minutes. Set a reminder and register a Lawson account beforehand.
• Dated theme-park tickets — Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea and Universal Studios Japan. DisneySea’s Fantasy Springs (opened June 2024) and Universal’s Super Nintendo World often need timed area entry or a paid pass on top of your ticket; buy dated tickets early and check exactly what’s included.
• teamLab Planets / Borderless — timed tickets that regularly sell out for popular slots.

Decide on the JR Pass before you buy point-to-point

Since October 2023 the nationwide Japan Rail Pass is far pricier (a 7-day adult pass is ¥50,000 and 14-day ¥80,000 as of 2026), so it only pays off with a lot of long-distance travel. A Tokyo–Kyoto round trip is roughly ¥26,000, so a standard Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka–home trip usually does NOT justify the pass — individual Shinkansen tickets or a regional pass are cheaper. Work this out before you commit; the planner flags when a pass is worth it for your route.

Book a few weeks ahead

• Any special restaurant or experience with limited seats (character cafés, a sushi counter, a tea ceremony).
• An eSIM or pocket Wi-Fi — cheap and easy to arrange before you fly so you land connected.
• Travel insurance — have it in place from the moment you book flights, not just before you leave.

Sort on arrival

• IC cards (Suica/ICOCA, or a Welcome Suica) at the airport or station for effortless local trains, buses and konbini.
• Luggage forwarding (takkyubin) between cities — arrange it at your hotel front desk to make transfer days hands-free with kids.
• Reserved Shinkansen seats for specific trains — usually fine to book a day or two ahead, though reserve earlier around peak holiday travel.

The planner produces a booking checklist tailored to your trip, in the right order and timed to your travel window, so nothing important slips through.