Our trip to Nagoya with a stop in Disney :)

[crista]

Hi everyone I need some advice. I will be joining my husband for a business trip to Nagoya japan in July. After jumping on the computer and researching the area I realized the a trip to Japan would not be complete without a stop in Toyko Disney. So we will are looking into staying over the last night of our trip. What I need is any information on traveling from Nagoya to Toyko. The best and most time efficient way we can. Dining advice would be great as well as I am a very picky eater. I have been reading the threads the last day or so and would like to say Thanks to everyone that posts. You all have great information and have been a huge help to me already.Thanks again.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

You can travel between Nagoya and Tokyo Disney Resort by train or bus. http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tdr/english/plan/access/index.html

Bullet trains stop at Nagoya en route to Tokyo. At Tokyo station, you simply transfer to a local train going to Maihama station (at the parks). You don't have to plan very much to take advantage of the train -- they run several times each hour for most of the day. The walk between train platforms at Tokyo station is long, but well signed. Total travel time 2.5-3 hours. Reservations may be required for the bullet train if you are travelling during holiday periods. Regarding the local train from Tokyo to the parks -- try to avoid rush hour if you want a seat.

There are also buses that run directly from Nagoya station, which has a limited schedule and requires advanced reservations. I also suspect they would be much slower than the trains, as you have to drive across Tokyo. Tokyo traffic is just as bad as any gridlocked city in North America.

If you have baggage, consider if you want to carry it through Tokyo station before you opt to take the train. You can also ship your bags to your next hotel for relatively little cost. Within the Tokyo region, we paid less than $15 per bag. It might be marginally more from other cities.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Dining:
The most challenging factor we found was that each dining location specialized and menu items were available at one location only. For example, in Disneyland, hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken and pizza must be purchased at four different counter-service restaurants. Each is the only restaurant that sells that item in the park. It’s not just western food that is allocated this way, but local foods as well. (There’s only one place for noodles, sushi, meat patties, pastries...) You almost need to design your park visiting around what kind of food you want to eat. That said, the food was always delicious.

Don’t expect to find a lot of authentic Japanese food inside the parks. Instead you will find a lot of familiar American, Italian, or Chinese foods, each with a little Japanese twist. For example, hamburgers are often topped with fried egg (tastes better than it sounds). A “normal” bacon cheeseburger is available, but it’s buried half-way down the menu. The most common pizza was shrimp and broccoli, not pepperoni. An Italian themed restaurant will likely serve a variety of pastas, but some may not have coffee or desserts. The pastries shops have croissants and cherry turnovers, as well as pastries filled with corn chowder, pork sausage or red bean paste. There are no Mickey ice cream bars, but there are Minnie-shaped frozen pineapple treats. Experiment a little and you may be surprised. My favorite treat was a Mickey waffle with green tea mouse, red beans, and brown sugar syrup.
Japanese style breakfasts are very filling and good to pre-load calories for a big day in the park. However, they are usually a buffet including both western and Japanese breakfast items. (We paid about $30 per person for the breakfast at Ocean’s, inside the Hotel Miracosta.) I would typically fill my plate with grilled salmon, rice, seaweed, noodles and green tea. My wife tended to eat more western food croissants, sausage, fruit salad and coffee. We fed our daughter from the buffet (for free), usually with scrambled eggs, noodles, fruit, yogurt and milk.

Complete trip report: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2330560

 

[DisCopper]

The train system is very easy to use. You can always find signs in English (and/or someone who speaks English who will help you). The trip by bullet-train from Nagoya to Tokyo, then by local line to Disney is easy and fun.

The Japanese do not travel with their baggage... they ship it. Because of this: 1) The trains are not designed for anything other than small carry-ons, and 2) The shipping service (pronounced Tak-u-bean) is insanely efficient. I STRONGLY urge you to use it. You fill out the paperwork at your hotel, give them your bags, and they will be delivered from hotel to hotel overnight. Trying to lug a lot of baggage through Tokyo station is a nightmare.

Unless you can afford the insanely expensive Disney resorts, stay at one of the Disney neighbor hotels. They're all on the monorail system, and they're all more than adequate.

You should have absolutely no problem finding food that will satisfy you in the Parks. Don't worry about that for one second.

If you go into Tokyo, there are a million options, so you also won't have any problems. For some reason, there seem to be a lot of Britsh Pub-type restaurants! Must be a fad.

I only spent an afternoon in Nagoya, so I can't comment on food there, but from my experiences in Japan, with just a little work, you shouldn't have to worry about the food. Many restaurants put pictures of the food in the windows, so you will have an idea of what you're getting into before you even go in.