Thank you so, so much for the detailed recommendations of hotels, toy stores, and tourist attractions! They are a huge help. Thanks also for enforcing our Hiroshima choice. It's good to know we have a good rough itinerary.

It's looking now like we won't be making it to Japan quite next week (!), but that we will be planning for a future trip at a somewhat more leisurely pace. So having all your good recommendations will continue to be very helpful - thank you all!

Another vote for Hiroshima as a must. Can't speak to distance/time from Tokyo as I visited as a college student 20 years ago when I was in Oita. I'm well traveled now and Hiroshima remains one of the most powerful, amazing places I've visited.

When you are in Tokyo don't miss a visit to the Tsukiji fish market. I think someone already mentioned Kiddyland--that is a great toy store in the Omote Sando neighborhood. It's just a short walk from the Harajuku, famous for the kids hanging out in all kinds of crazy fashion on Sundays. That is also near the Meiji shrine area. If you can hit up one of the shrine sales (basically a flea market) they have in that area, that is a lot of fun too.

I can't imagine going to Japan and NOT going to Tokyo. That would be crazy.

Very cold in the north. Kyoto will be far too cold. DD was there for a month this summer and it was cold even then.