169. Kyoto with Kids, Travel Mistakes & the Full Trip Cost: Japan Spring Break Breakdown
Point Me To First Class
Devon Gimbel MD
4.9 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 25 May 2026
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Have you ever fallen so in love with a city that you started seriously considering moving there?
That's exactly what happened to us in Kyoto. In part two of our Japan spring break trip recap, my husband Brandon and I continue our family travel story as we settle into five nights at the Park Hyatt Kyoto, a property so beautiful that I can confidently say it's the most stunning hotel I've experienced anywhere in the world. Brandon and I share our honest take on each Kyoto activity we did as a family, from the interactive art experience at Team Labs that became our trip highlight to the Nintendo Museum visit that had Brandon rethinking our packing strategy, to discovering that the famous bamboo forest came with far more crowds than we expected.
We also talk about the incredible food we ate that genuinely made us fantasize about relocating permanently, the travel decision I made for our journey home that turned into a stressful mistake, and the full accounting of what this entire nine-day trip actually cost. Listen as I break down every flight and hotel so you can see the real investment required to make this happen for a family of four.
Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/japan-family-trip-recap-part-2
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Point Me to First Class, the only show for employed professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners who are looking to optimize their higher than average expenses to travel the world. |
| 0:10.7 | I'm your host, Devin Gimble, and I believe that your expenses are your greatest untapped asset, if you know how to leverage them. |
| 0:17.8 | Ready to dive into the world of credit card points and miles so you can travel more, travel better, and travel often. Let's get started. Welcome back to the podcast, |
| 0:31.3 | everyone. Today we're picking up on our spring break breakdown where we left off at the end of last |
| 0:35.8 | week's episode. Welcome to Kyoto. |
| 0:38.8 | In part one of this trip recap was the booking saga, the flight drama, and the Tokyo highlights. |
| 0:44.6 | This part is where this trip really opens up. Kyoto is a city that I genuinely did not expect to |
| 0:49.8 | fall in love with the way that I did. And I think by the end of this episode, you'll understand why. |
| 0:54.1 | Brandon is also back with me today. And we are picking up right where we left off. In this part, |
| 0:59.0 | we are covering our five nights at what I will say without hesitation is the single most stunning |
| 1:04.3 | hotel I have ever stayed in, every activity we did in Kyoto, and what we actually thought of each one, |
| 1:10.5 | the food moments that had us |
| 1:11.8 | seriously considering moving there permanently and the things that we would do differently |
| 1:16.2 | if we went back, including one decision I made about our journey home that I will fully own |
| 1:21.4 | was a grievous mistake. We also wrap up everything with a complete points and cash |
| 1:25.9 | breakdown for the entire trip. Every flight, |
| 1:28.2 | every hotel we booked, so you can see exactly what it takes to do something like this as a family |
| 1:32.5 | of four. All right, everyone, let's get into it. First, we had to get to our hotel. And like I mentioned, |
| 1:39.1 | we had booked five nights at the park high at Kyoto. I was so excited about this hotel. This is very much the kind of |
| 1:45.5 | property I love. It's small. It is very kind of local in the way that it is designed and |
| 1:51.7 | decorated. It's quiet favorite thing ever. Amazing location in a super walkable neighborhood. |
| 1:59.6 | If there's a downside to the park high at Kyoto, |
... |
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