Japan Trip Booked - Your Recommendations or Advice?

[mickEblu]

Hope you don’t me asking this here @Disney Analyst. My cousin is in Japan and I talked him into an impromptu trip to TDR tomorrow. They don’t sell park hoppers so he bought one day tickets to both TDL and TDS. I told him that he should probably start at Disney Sea as there are more unique rides to him as he is a So Cal native who’s been to Disneyland many times. I also know that Disney Sea is very popular right now because of Fantasy Springs.

Anyone have any advice on how my cousin should tackle a day at both parks? Should he hit Fantasy Springs first thing? I’m guessing he should definitely rope drop and purchase whatever fast pass system they re selling.

On another note he just left Shanghai and was in Hong Kong before that for work and didn’t go to either Disneyland. He’s just out there living my dream lol and not even bothering visting the parks.

 

[Disney Analyst]

@mickEblu No worries at all, hopefully someone here can help you figure out a plan for your cousin!

Update for us, now potentially changing our flight and pushing trip back. Now seeing Journey to Centre of the Earth will be closed through November 19th!! I will not be going all the way there to not get a chance on that attraction.

 

[mickEblu]

@mickEblu No worries at all, hopefully someone here can help you figure out a plan for your cousin!

Update for us, now potentially changing our flight and pushing trip back. Now seeing Journey to Centre of the Earth will be closed through November 19th!! I will not be going all the way there to not get a chance on that attraction.

Thanks! Have a great time. Jealous of you and my cousin! lol

 

[maxairmike]

If you're still looking at hotels and haven't booked, in Kyoto we stayed at the Miyako City Kintetsu Kyoto Station and would definitely stay there again. The location in the station made it super easy to get around (getting off the train and not having to leave the station building was so nice), with way more options for food than we could comprehend. The room was nice, and looking down over the station as trains were coming and going was pretty cool, but we never noticed any train sounds, so you don't have to worry about that, at least on the higher floors.

For Tokyo we stayed in 2 hotels (excluding our Disney hotels), and I would stay at both again, though the first is probably not one that most would be interested in unless they're staying there for Disney. Our first hotel was the JR East Hotel Mets Tokyo Bay Shin Kiba. Right outside the Shin Kiba station. I thought this ended up being a pretty convenient location just 4 stops from Tokyo Station, 2 from Disney, and an easy connection to the monorail (we flew in and out of Haneda). However there is nothing else besides the station nearby as it is in a warehouse/business district, so if you're wanting to be more in a city center kind of area with bars/clubs/etc. within walking distance this definitely isn't your hotel. Our second non-Disney hotel was the Keisei Richmond Hotel Oshiage, which is next to the Skytree. This room was spacious compared to our other non-Disney hotels on the trip, although be aware that you have to make sure you book a non-smoking room here. Again I felt this had pretty good connection to the areas of Tokyo we spent time in (close to Asakusa and Ueno which were our focus on this leg in Tokyo), I loved being next to Skytree, and there were some good looking options for food within a few blocks if you don't want to eat in the mall, we just never ended up doing so. I booked a Skytree view room, and they also have a deck on an upper floor with a great view where I took some pictures one night.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Thank you @maxairmike for all the advice! Appreciate your time and information

We’ve now officially adjusted our dates to ensure we don’t visit while Journey is down. Panic averted.

 

[Robbiem]

Do you need to visit both Kyoto and Osaka? The two cities are very close by Shinkansen so you could avoid a travel day by using one as a base and visiting the other. I did this from Kyoto and didn’t have any problems. Another option would be to change one of them for Hiroshima or Kanazawa to see another part of Japan

I would definitely recommend using hyperdia to plan your rail journeys- very easy to get the timetables for wherever you want to go

If you are interested in Japanese history and want to visit the imperial palaces in tokyo or Kyoto you can book online before you go

Whatever you end up doing I’m sure you’ll have a great time

 

[Disney Analyst]

Do you need to visit both Kyoto and Osaka? The two cities are very close by Shinkansen so you could avoid a travel day by using one as a base and visiting the other. I did this from Kyoto and didn’t have any problems. Another option would be to change one of them for Hiroshima or Kanazawa to see another part of Japan

I would definitely recommend using hyperdia to plan your rail journeys- very easy to get the timetables for wherever you want to go

If you are interested in Japanese history and want to visit the imperial palaces in tokyo or Kyoto you can book online before you go

Whatever you end up doing I’m sure you’ll have a great time

We've thought about it, but we do like the idea of having a home base in both cities. You don't think it would be a pain to transit every day and back? My plan was to just book the Shinkansen to Kyoto, and then back from Osaka, and use regular metro from Kyoto to Osaka.

Would making Kyoto the home base be too costly for that long, as hotels are probably cheaper in Osaka?

Open to suggestions for sure!

 

[Robbiem]

We've thought about it, but we do like the idea of having a home base in both cities. You don't think it would be a pain to transit every day and back? My plan was to just book the Shinkansen to Kyoto, and then back from Osaka, and use regular metro from Kyoto to Osaka.

Would making Kyoto the home base be too costly for that long, as hotels are probably cheaper in Osaka?

Open to suggestions for sure!

Another point to consider is there are two main staions in Osaka, Osaka station in the city and Shin Osaka outside where the shinkansen bullet trains stop - you then have to change to the local trains to get into the city.

Its about 15 mins from Kyoto to shin Osaka station by shinkansen and about 30 mins to Osaka station. Depending on where you stay you might spend the same time in local transit. It really depends on what you want to do in each city but remember in Osaka you need to go to shin Osaka for the shinkansen which adds to the travel time to Tokyo if you aren’t staying nearby and if you are you may need to travel further to see what you want to see in the city.

We stayed by Kyoto station which was generally cheaper than central Osaka and found it really convenient. We didn’t spend much time in Osaka - a day in the city and a day at Universal. We did do a few day trips past Osaka to Himeji (really recommend as a day trip), Okayama and Kobe which were easy from Kyoto as was the trip to/from Tokyo.

When you travel between bases look at using takubin luggage delivery like the Japanese do. You can send your bags ahead and take the train and your bags are waiting when you get to the next place, really convenient. Hotels or convenience stores can organise. Kuro Neko (black cat) is the most popular. Its sort of like a nationwide version of magical express!

 

[Disney Analyst]

Another point to consider is there are two main staions in Osaka, Osaka station in the city and Shin Osaka outside where the shinkansen bullet trains stop - you then have to change to the local trains to get into the city.

Its about 15 mins from Kyoto to shin Osaka station by shinkansen and about 30 mins to Osaka station. Depending on where you stay you might spend the same time in local transit. It really depends on what you want to do in each city but remember in Osaka you need to go to shin Osaka for the shinkansen which adds to the travel time to Tokyo if you aren’t staying nearby and if you are you may need to travel further to see what you want to see in the city.

We stayed by Kyoto station which was generally cheaper than central Osaka and found it really convenient. We didn’t spend much time in Osaka - a day in the city and a day at Universal. We did do a few day trips past Osaka to Himeji (really recommend as a day trip), Okayama and Kobe which were easy from Kyoto as was the trip to/from Tokyo.

When you travel between bases look at using takubin luggage delivery like the Japanese do. You can send your bags ahead and take the train and your bags are waiting when you get to the next place, really convenient. Hotels or convenience stores can organise. Kuro Neko (black cat) is the most popular. Its sort of like a nationwide version of magical express!

Thank you for that. Lots to think about. We want a day trip to Nara from Kyoto, and then maybe something from Osaka, but we were not sure with the time we had. But if we do choose one as a base, it is possible. Was very much thinking of Himeji, and also Kobe.

 

[Robbiem]

Thank you for that. Lots to think about. We want a day trip to Nara from Kyoto, and then maybe something from Osaka, but we were not sure with the time we had. But if we do choose one as a base, it is possible. Was very much thinking of Himeji, and also Kobe.

Himeji definitely its great and the castle is amazing. Nara is worth a trip as well. You will see a lot of what inspired the Japanese pavilion at Epcot. Kobe is OK but unless you want to see something specific I would probably do another day in/around Kyoto as there is so much to see

 

[maxairmike]

I’ll echo the idea to pick either Kyoto or Osaka as a base for that part if you’re not doing Universal or only doing one day. We did split the two for our trip, mainly because we did a day and a half at Universal and wanted to stay right there for that instead of dealing with a park dump on a train (and boy were we glad we did, we could look down to the station from our room both nights and it was PACKED!). If I remember correctly the express trains are about a 35 minute ride between Osaka Station and Kyoto Station, and a local train will be about 50. We thought we were getting on an express to Kyoto, but found out it was a local after we didn’t skip any stops.

If you can, definitely look into the luggage transfer services. We were never in a hotel more than 4 nights, which I would not suggest if you can avoid it with your itinerary. If you’re interested in a few day trips in the area, basing out of Shin-Osaka might be a more convenient play to have shorter train trips.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I’ll echo the idea to pick either Kyoto or Osaka as a base for that part if you’re not doing Universal or only doing one day. We did split the two for our trip, mainly because we did a day and a half at Universal and wanted to stay right there for that instead of dealing with a park dump on a train (and boy were we glad we did, we could look down to the station from our room both nights and it was PACKED!). If I remember correctly the express trains are about a 35 minute ride between Osaka Station and Kyoto Station, and a local train will be about 50. We thought we were getting on an express to Kyoto, but found out it was a local after we didn’t skip any stops.

If you can, definitely look into the luggage transfer services. We were never in a hotel more than 4 nights, which I would not suggest if you can avoid it with your itinerary. If you’re interested in a few day trips in the area, basing out of Shin-Osaka might be a more convenient play to have shorter train trips.

Thank you!

Just to add, now that we’ve shuffled our dates to ensure Journey is open, this in my new itinerary:

So the second half of the trip after Disney is pretty open to be adjusted.

 

[Robbiem]

If you are traveling by train to Disney and staying in one of the hotels at the resort you can drop bags off at the welcome center next to the station and enjoy the resort until your room is ready. When I stayed at the Sheraton you could fully check in and they sent your bags straight to your room. When I stayed at the Hilton they took the bags and you had to check in at the hotel. Might have changed as it was pre covid

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Our goal is to stay at Miracosta, as it's a honeymoon trip and we feel like we can justify being a bit bougie, but I always struggle with hotels... We will spend the entire time in the parks go-go-going, so is it worth it? Or should we stay elsewhere? Stay there for 2 nights, and switch hotels?

Any changes you would make to this potential itinerary? If you have recommendations for places to stay, neighbourhoods to stay, restaurants, tips & ticks, anything... I'll take them.

A lot of people line up at least an hour early in Tokyo. If that's your approach, you'd be saving travel time AND early entry should mean not having to line up so early.

That would certainly make for a more relaxing day. The option to have an afternoon nap is always nice.

To me, the Miracosta is like the Grand Floridian. It's a luxury that is probably intended for people who don't even blink when they see the prices. For me, the benefits are obvious but the money could be better spent on other experiences in Japan.

It's been a while for me but I did find doing Tokyo Disney was tiring. The parks are busy so you really need to do the full days in order to do everything. I can't imagine doing a "pool afternoon" at the hotel like I do at WDW.

I was exhausted at the end of day three, but I didn't have any issue travelling from offsite.

 

[fradz]

I've done a few long Japan trips now, let me know what you need and I'll drop the knowledge I have. Whether it's hotels, places to see, places to eat, what to pack, how to get around the country efficiently, etc

 

[CalebS]

The Tokyo parks are absolutely slammed you need to be prepared to spend some money on premier access passes if you want to make the most of your day(s)

 

[tanc]

Honestly you need 2 days at each park to really take in everything imo, like Disneyland in itself is a new experience. One day could be more relaxed than the other, but if you rush attractions in a single day you just can't really enjoy the beauty of the park. You will be in lines literally all day since TDL lines are pretty insane, but I get you have limited time.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Honestly you need 2 days at each park to really take in everything imo, like Disneyland in itself is a new experience. One day could be more relaxed than the other, but if you rush attractions in a single day you just can't really enjoy the beauty of the park. You will be in lines literally all day since TDL lines are pretty insane, but I get you have limited time.

Yeah I can’t dedicate that much time, and Disneyland has the most rides I’ve already done. I think one day will do it, but may do the evening ticket for our arrival day.

Disney Sea we have to dedicate two days I feel.

 

[fradz]

You are correct. Disneyland in one day is fine, Disneysea 2 days is what you need. I've spent one day there almost done no rides host walking around and doing shows. The one thing you need in Disneyland is a good DPA speed for BatB, I grabbed 4 in one day last time in December (1 from vacation package and 3 in the park).

 

[Disney Analyst]

You are correct. Disneyland in one day is fine, Disneysea 2 days is what you need. I've spent one day there almost done no rides host walking around and doing shows. The one thing you need in Disneyland is a good DPA speed for BatB, I grabbed 4 in one day last time in December (1 from vacation package and 3 in the park).

We should have HE, so was thinking of trying to book it right to BATB and ride first thing.