We're going to Japan!!!

[aussie shaz]

but not on the really cheap Jetstar flights

Anyway, we've finally got our leave confirmed, so we're leaving just after Easter next year. I think we will fly into Osaka and stay there 4 nights. We'll do a day at Universal, a day trip to Kyoto and a day trip to Hiroshima (and possibly do Miyajima Island on the same day)

Then we'll take the Shinkansen to Tokyo and stay in Shinjuku for 4 nights. Do the areas of Tokyo like Akihabara, O'Daiba, Shibuya etc. My son likes all things techie, anime etc, so that there will keep him happy.

Then we'll transfer to the Sheraton Tokyo Bay for 3 nights. We'll do a day at each park, then fly home from Tokyo. (And that there will keep me happy)

I'd love to hear if anyone has any ideas, suggestions etc on what they think is not to be missed in those areas, or any hints, that would be great.

Also any idea of a hotel in Osaka which is very close to a train station as we'll be taking the train every day we're there. Looking at the Granvia, which looks great, but would love something slightly cheaper.

 

[mimishat]

YAY very exciting! We went to Japan in 2007 for 10 days and loved it. Flew in and out of Osaka with Jetstar and grabbed a train pass to travel around.

You will be pressed doing a day trip to Hiroshima and fitting in Miyajima Island on the same day - we loved both areas and glad we had a couple of nights to wander around and take our time. We stayed at the Hilton in Osaka which is really close to the train station - managed to get a really decent rate too (they do the most fabulous breakfast! and are close to the under ground shopping mall). Keep your eyes on prices and you'll be able to get something at a decent rate. Make sure to go and see Osaka castle too - whilst not that spectacular inside - the views are wonderful and the castle and the grounds are stunning.

Your son will love Akihabara if he is like we are (love techie stuff, gadgets and anime). We came across a 5 story game centre and spent quite a few hours just in there lol.

In Osaka be sure to go to the dotonbori and get an okonomiyaki (there are a couple of restaurants where you can cook it yourself!). It is AMAZING! Dotonbori is a must do at night - stroll along and take in all the lights/music/atmosphere and listen to the pachinko places

 

[aussie shaz]

Thanks Mimishat. I'm very excited. I've been looking a bit more today and think we'll just do Hiroshima. If for any reason we feel like we need something else to do and have time, we can always go to Miyajima on the day. I doubt that it will happen though.
Not sure how much time we'll actually have in Osaka. Maybe an evening, depending on how long our day trips take us.
I'll keep an eye on hotel prices.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Lucky you. Sounds like a great trip. Some people are disappointed with Kyoto on day trips (we loved it but stayed there among the temple district) so look carefully if you do an organised tour or do some research and plan your day yourself-the buses and trains are easy to use. We really loved Nara (half way between Osaka and Kyoto) but you have your days full whilst in Osaka so no time.

 

[frangipanisam]

What dates will you be in Tokyo? I just booked flights yesterday and we'll be staying at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay from the 16th to 21st April

 

[aussie shaz]

Awww. We arrive into Tokyo on 29th March, and will be at the Sheraton from 6-9April. Pity we couldn't do a Dismeet in Japan!
Have you booked the Sheraton yet? I found that the quad room was heaps cheaper direct on the hotels website than from the travel agent or any other online booking agent like Booking.com etc. Not sure about the other room types.

 

[frangipanisam]

What a shame! Ohh ok thanks for the tip, the best price on hotels combined was $1307 for a quad capacity for 5 nights but I'll defiantly compare on their website first.

 

[Kristin5]

Oh, I look forward to reading about your trip! We've just started looking at a possible holiday to Tokyo for next September school holidays. Basing ourselves in Yokohama and travelling to DL for 4 days (do they need to be consecutive?) and just doing touristy things for 5-6 days. DS is really into Pokemon so we will be visiting Pokemon centres, and maybe anime museums? Also want to go on the bullet train.

I did look at maybe doing split stay between the Sheraton near DL and Intercontinental Yokohama (where we are looking at staying) but it was more expensive so we are thinking of just doing the daily trip. An hour each way though, will be tiring maybe. But I also like the idea of just staying in one place and not shifting.

I also wondered about visiting Hiroshima, but not sure on how possible this is from Yokohama? Or Mt Fuji (I think we see this from the bullet train?). Planning is very much early stages, so I will follow yours for sure!

Here I am planning for Japan and we haven't even gone on our big US trip yet - 7 weeks until we go!

 

[aussie shaz]

So, I haven't really told everyone what we've actually planned to do!

We will fly to Tokyo and stay for 4 nights in Shinjuku. At the moment I've got 2 rooms at the Blossom hotel booked which is really close to the station and all the shopping, lights etc. Will see if something else better comes up at another hotel. Japan is funny as lots of hotels only release rooms at 3 or 6 months out. This is not good for planners like me!

We will do most of a day at O'Daiba, which has the science museum with Asimo, Sega Joypolis, and the Toyota Megaweb. We'll probably spend most of a day at Akihabara, which is where all the Japanese techie, geeky stuff is. My son is really looking forward to spending his money on 'Gachapon' which are those machines that you put in $1 or $2 and they spit out a plastic ball with some fun little thing inside. I hate to think how many of these we will come home with.
Right near Shinjuku is Shibuya where the huge pedestrian crossing is, and also the Hachiko statue. Some other things we'll look to see are the Tokyo Skytree, Sensoji temple, and Harajuku.

We'll also go to some parks, as its Sakura (cherry blossom) season right when we'll be there, so of course we'll check out the blossoms.

We will then take the Shinkansen to Osaka. We're staying just near one of the stations, but there's not much else there I don't think. We'll be there by midday, so check out Osaka proper.

From Osaka we'll do a day trip to Kyoto, possibly a day trip to Hiroshima (or Nara, or somewhere else!), and also a day trip to Universal.

I am so excited to go to Universal as they have the Wizarding World of Harry Potter there. I've heard The Japan theme parks get really, really busy, so I'm not taking any chances, and will buy Express passes to guarantee entry to Harry Potter. It also give Express entry to the main Harry Potter ride, and 4 others.

Then we'll take the Shinkansen back to the Disney area. I've booked a quad room at the Sheraton, which is a Disney Good Neighbour property. It'll be easy to get to the parks with the monorail nearby.
We were going to get a 2 day ticket, and do one day at Disneyland and one at DisneySea (as you can't hop for the first 2 days). But, I realised we can make it there by about lunchtime from Osaka, so have decided to buy a 3 day pass. We'll do a half day at Disneyland. Then we'll do day 2 at DisneySea. Then we can decide what to do on day 3 (where we can hop if we want). I'd say there might be a couple of rides at Disneyland we may need to go on first thing, so we'll go to Disneyland and do anything we missed on Day 1, then spend the rest of the day at DisneySea. From what I've read, this is the better park, and seeing we've already done Disneyland California.

Then, sadly, we head home from Tokyo.

 

[aussie shaz]

Kristin, I'm jealous that you have your US holiday coming up. My last holiday was last January to Bali, so I'm hanging out and counting down the days.

With the Disney passes in Japan, you do need to do consecutive days. You can also not hop until day 3. So you will need to decide which parks you will visit on days 1 and 2 when you buy your tickets.

I think you may get very tired going 1 hour each way on the train. I also hear that the locals line up 1-1 1/2 hours before official entry, so it might be some very early mornings for you.

I look forward to hearing about your US holiday and then your plans for Japan.

 

[Kristin5]

Thanks for the heads-up. We might need to do a split stay then. But I'll think more about that after our upcoming holiday (and by reading your TR, that might give me some tips as well )

 

[lorryx3]

The lines for Tokyo Disneysea are crazy. I was there in september 2012. and they were much busier than wdw in late september 2011.
it's so cute though. lots of teenagers go in groups and wear matching outfits.

the only must do really is Duffy!! he is so cute.

 

[aussie shaz]

Really looking forward to some people watching at the parks. I plan to be at the parks really early on our last 2 days, but we'll see how that works out seeing it's at the end of the holiday.

 

[shushh]

Hello! I haven't been around for a while...but we're here in Osaka right now at the beginning of our 6 week trip around Japan!! Feel free to follow along on my blog for ideas or ask questions if you have any. http://deliriouslydemented.blogspot.jp/2015/12/were-off-to-japan.html
Japan is awesome

We will be in Tokyo Disney Resort from Jan11 -16

 

[aussie shaz]

Thanks Shushh. I'm loving the blog already. Will be waiting every day for a new post!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Ohh goody. 6 weeks how lovely to be able to explore so thoroughly.

 

[shushh]

We are very lucky indeed! We figured while we are here, we may as well explore Japan from top to bottom!