2025 Japan Trip Report (no Disney)

[nono]

Hello everyone! Just (as in 11 hours ago) landed back in New Jersey. 5th or 6th trip. Again, no Disney. Posting because maybe some of the things we did will be helpful to others who are planning trips.

So. Why no Disney, again? Well, because we have plans for next year. And in between, the last trips to TDL/TDS have been so satisfying, we are waiting, so it'll be just as fresh next time. And also, because Universal. USJ took me by surprise last year. So much so that we jammed it into this year's trip again.

This is our 5th vacation trip I think since 2019 to Japan, but it has changed because now we have two young adult children in college there. The best part of the change is that I don't have to plan everything! And for real, there's an ease with in-country apps and a feel for when to make ressies, when to just show up that made for an easier process this trip. Japan can be hard because things work differently than one's home country. And with jet lag, it can be really hard. We didn't really have jet lag this trip at all and changed 14 time zones, and I had our two kids helping. It was fantastic!

TRAVEL: We left Saturday, Dec. 13, and got a 4 hour early evening stay at the TWA hotel at JFK. Great! Had dinner than walked through the hellscape of Terminal 5/Air Train and got to Terminal 7. Note again to JFK airport: Bringing JFK into the 21st Century isn't a good slogan when a full quarter of the century is complete and you have an "Escape from New York" feel. Flew ANA Premium Economy and had a delay of a couple hours leaving (so instead of almost 1 am take off, we had about a 2 hour delay and then had to be de-iced 2x before leaving.) We were zombies by the time we took off in low vis. We returned Jan. 4 on United Premium Economy to Newark Terminal B. Also, sucks because....Terminal B! WTH United. We were notified like 36 hours before travel that there would be a 4-6 hour delay which was great. Paid for another 6 hours at our hotel, so we could chill at the end of our stay. Super full flight. That should give us a fast-pass to a C gate. Or at worst an A gate. Should not have to endure the nearly bathroom free experience of Terminal B before leaving Customs. Everyone loves ANA over United. Except me. I like them equally. Neither are perfect. But I find them both very good. Even though we had problems in both directions with keeping a schedule.

Will pick this up later. Gotta go pick up my dog at the kennel and get to work....

 

[nono]

OK, made it through the day. Here's our overall schedule:

Tokyo: 15-20th
Osaka: 20- 24th
Hakodate: 24-25th
Sapporo: 25th-2nd
Tokyo area: 2nd-4th

Arrived early and goofed around in Haneda airport for a while 'til we could get our bus. Always something fun to do there, so if you don't need to rush out to get somewhere the landside has a lot of fun things to do. Since we did a lot of family stuff v. touring stuff, I will try to summarize each section. Like our entire first day was spent checking out my son's new apartment and his neighborhood. Fun for us, but not good trip report content.

General highlights from Tokyo:
1. If you happen to find yourself in the Futako-Tamagawa area of Tokyo at lunchtime, and like pizza and pasta, there's a place a couple blocks from the station called Esola. It's on google maps. All you can eat lunch and all you can drink wine. No time limit at lunch. Delicious. Limited English but cool with translation technology.

2. Ad Museum Tokyo. Did this as something to do before lunch in the Caretta Shiodome complex. It was really fun! First part is like a library annex with reference books. Then downstairs is a fun Ad Museum that was a real trip for a 60 year old person who spent a lot of years in advertising.

3. The roller coaster and the Christmas Illumination at Tokyo Dome. Heka fun and the Illumination is not on everyone's must-do list at the moment, so it was sweet and quite enjoyable.

4. Le Coin Vert. Within Shinjuku City. Legit French Patisserie. Also near The Mathematical Experience and Letterpress Factory if these are areas of interest to you. Enjoyed both tremendously. We like low key museums, etc. and these fit the bill.

Will add photos tomorrow. Long first day back.

 

[nono]

Still some nice fall foliage in mid-December in Tokyo...


The Letterpress Factory


Tiny bit of TokyoDome's Illumination


Ad Museum Tokyo

 

[nono]

On Dec 20, we took a shinkansen from Shinagawa to Shin-Osaka Station. We went to the station early so everyone could pick out their favorite eki-ben. And, we had gotten our tix via SmartEX. I hadn't really paid good attention when buying and also didn't link IC cards through the app. They had young men set up near the gate who explained that you could simply scan your QR code and then just tap the IC card to pay the base fare since I hadn't set up the link via the app. The young man who helped me had done a study abroad in Nebraska USA.

General Highlights from USJ/Osaka:
1. The rainy days, people still go. So did we! It poured all day and night. It was rough because there are less restaurants available v last year. But sheesh did we have fun. I picked up old-fashioned galoshes at Lawson the night before and dang they worked great. (Along with unused leftover throwaway cheap slickers from previous Disney trips).

2. Still love their roller coasters. So smooth and joyful. My kids say I am all dread on the way up the lift hill first time, but in the first drop I start chanting "Yes" through each feature section. Was not prepared to love SPY x FAMILY XR Ride as much as I did. Originally it was supposed to be ending right about now, but not sure what's going on with that ride overlay. Met so many older women from all over jamming the single riders line!

3. They really need to increase the number of eateries (with a couple of recent restaurant closures it was particularly awful on the rainy day as no outdoor seating was useable). Or, let people exit to Universal Walk and come back in...

4. Namba Parks South. Kura Sushi flagship store and a really good Workman Girl store (maybe it was a Workman+, as there was definitely men's items too). Not packed with tourists the day we were there.

5. Hotel Universal Port's dinner buffet. We walked over there to watch a drone show the day we arrived and went back the next night to their buffet. Responsive and friendly staff and a good mix of food.

 

[nono]

A few photos from USJ and Osaka.


Namba Parks South


Walking to Namba Parks South, Takashimaya Osaka in background


Backdrop doing its thing in the evening.


The Buffet dining room at Hotel Universal Port

 

[nono]

So our next day, we flew out of Itami Airport to Hakodate for one night. Nice Embraer jet and smooth flight.

It was rainy in Hakodate. Didn't get the best impression of the place. It was like several cruise ships were in town and there were busses everywhere moving the visitors around. Not many people walking...don't think I'd go out of my way to go there again any time soon. Also we stayed at our hotel for the onsen experience. Ended up not going as the foreign clientele were kind of disruptive and a couple of them didn't properly wash. So, we skipped that, and it was too bad, because that was the whole point of our layover there. On the upside, the Christmas Illumination was enjoyable, and the Hakodate Beer Hall and gift shop in the same building were fun too.

Still enjoyed the night we had.