Are We Finally Going? (A Pre-trip/Trip Report)

[soniam]

This is my attempt to do my pre-trip report. This might change into just the report. I will update with new posts, but they will have links in this main post.

I guess I should explain the title. We had originally planned to go to Japan, but the big tsunami and nuclear reactor disaster happened in Fukushima. Our son was pretty young, so we decided to hold off. Then we tried again in 2022, but Japan was still closed. Tried in 2023, but stuff was still opening and getting off the ground. So, hopefully, finally, we make it to Japan in June 2024.

US:
Couple in their early 50s and 18 year old son. We have been to Europe and South America but never Japan. We go to WDW and Universal Orlando frequently and are pass holders. We go to Disneyland often and some to Knott’s Berry Farms and Universal Hollywood. We live in Texas. All monetary values listed are in US dollars unless otherwise specified.

RESOURCES:
I used the TDR Explorer guide books and website. I also used the Disney Tourist Blog and Travel Caffeine websites. I obviously used the DIS boards Tokyo Disneyland forum. I used some newer groups on social media: the Tokyo Disneyland holiday planning and Universal Japan holiday planning.

LINKS TO POSTS
Pretrip Planning:
- Itinerary
- Hotels
- Tokyo Disney Resort Hotel
- Reservable Restaurants/Experiences
- Transportation
- Theme Parks
- Suica
- US Smart Traveller Program
- eSim
- Japan Immigration QR Code

Trip:
- Arrival
- First Day in Tokyo
- Second Day in Tokyo
- Third Day in Tokyo
- Fourth Day in Tokyo
- Fifth/Last Day in Tokyo

- First Day in Osaka
- Second Day in Osaka
- Third Day in Osaka/First Day at USJ
- Fourth Day in Osaka/Second Day at USJ
- Fifth/Last Day in Osaka

- First Day in Kyoto
- Second Day in Kyoto
- Third Day in Kyoto
- Fourth/Last Day in Kyoto
- Ghibli Park

 

[soniam]

ITINERARY:
We are playing it loose for now and will decide some things closer or while there. I have a list of stuff to do in each city. I have really only listed the stuff that has reservations or tickets. Since Fantasy Springs, a new land inside of Disney Sea, is opening on June 6, we moved our Tokyo Disney visit to the end of our trip. We didn't want to be there opening day. Planning has been hectic enough being there a week or so after it opens.

Fly out June 1. Land in Tokyo Haneda in the late afternoon June 2.
Tokyo June 2-7. Pokemon Cafe June 3. Dinner @ Trader Vic's June 4. Teamlab Planets June 6.
Train to Osaka on June 8. Osaka June 8-13. Universal Studios Japan June 10-11. Himeji June 9???
Train to Kyoto on June 13. Kyoto June 13-16. Nara from Kyoto???
Train to Ghibli Park on June 17. Then train to Tokyo Disney.
Tokyo Disney June 18-21.
Fly home June 22.

 

[wabbott]

I wish we had a Disney Sea @ WDW. I think it would be a great fit.

 

[soniam]

Flights
Plenty of options between American out of Dallas and United out of Houston to both Narita and Haneda. Flying from Austin. Chose American non-stop to Haneda from Dallas, since we will be hitting TDR at the end of the trip. It’s about a 30 minute cab ride from there to Haneda. Bought on December 2, 2023. Leaving June 1, 2024, and returning June 22, 2024. Bought coach, ~$2300/person. Premium economy was ~$6300/person. Business class was ~$7700/person. Didn’t really price around much. We really wanted a non-stop from Texas. These were purchased on December 2, 2023. Following website was recommended to shop around.

https://matrix.itasoftware.com/search

Found out later when I got a flight change email that my husband had decided to surprise us and got business class. We won’t have a ton of time to take advantage of the really good lounge in Dallas but maybe on our return flight.

 

[soniam]

Hotels
Finding something for 3 adults was kind of difficult. Many Japanese hotels either come with twin size beds (slightly larger than a US twin) or king beds. 3 adult size people may not feel comfortable in 2 twin beds. We really needed at least 2 twins/1 king and a sofa bed or 3 twins. Europe and South America have similar issues.

Tokyo
Looked for hotels in the Imperial Palace, Marunouchi (Tokyo Station), Ginza, Nihonbashi, and Asakusa areas, preferably on the Ginza, Yamanote JR, or Maranouchi lines or Akasaka-Mitsuke Station. Fodors listed a lot of very expensive or mediocre places, not much in between. We liked the Hotel New Otani Tokyo. It’s conveniently located and generally reasonably priced. However, one of our nights was ~Yen170,000, so the average price was high. Asking in a post on DISboards, someone suggested the Mimaru Asakusa. There are actually 2 and several others in Tokyo and other Japanese cities. They are apartment hotels, and most have kitchenettes. We chose the Mimaru Suites Tokyo Asakusa, because they also had washer/dryers. Credit card was declined at first. The bank sent me a code but then also sent an email and text asking if it was fraud. It said to try again. I did, and it worked. It was ~$2166 (JPY 324,612) total for 6 nights. We booked on 12/9/2023.

Kyoto
We decided to go the same route here and stay with the same company from Tokyo. We are staying at the Mimaru Suite Central Kyoto. This place also has a kitchenette and washer/dryer. Plenty of space and beds. It’s decently located too near a main train station with a 2 subway lines. It was ~$1697 (JPY 254,600) total for 4 nights. We booked on 12/17/2023.

Osaka/Universal Japan
For Osaka, we decided to stay in one hotel for the entire visit. There is a train station stop right at Universal, so it just made sense to stay there. I wanted to stay in one of the official park hotels to be nearby. We booked the Park Front Hotel. I ended up booking it through booking.com. It became available there first as opposed to the Park Front Hotel direct site. Also, their descriptions of the bed arrangements was more clear. There was no deposit required, and the cancellation is free up to 2 days before checkin. We got a Superior Floor Park View Triple room. The cost was ~$1580 (JPY 237,000) total for 5 nights. We booked on 1/2/2024, when it became available.

 

[soniam]

Tokyo Disney Resort
Booking TDR has been the hardest part. Since it's complicated, I am making this a separate post.

Vacation Package
Vacation packages opened up for my dates (6/18-20) on 1/16/2024 at 3pm JT, about 4-5 months out. This was midnight my time. I opened the vacation package reservation site about 45 minutes before. It made me wait in a queue for about 10 minutes. I then opened another browser (different browser software) about 30 minutes before and was put into a queue that said I had more than an hour wait. My first window had kicked me out when I checked about 30 minutes before and also put in a queue that said more than an hour wait. My phone browser window and an incognito window all said the same thing. I finally got in about 3 hours after packages were released. I had all of the info in a spreadsheet, ie dates, room type preferences, breakfast time, and attractions with times. I knew what I needed from doing practice runs earlier. This all went smooth. I entered my card, Citibank Mastercard, the same one I used to reserve the other hotels in Japan. The website denied the card. I got a text and email from the credit card company asking if it was fraud. I responded no, and they said to try it again. I still had a chance to try again, but it was denied. I had one more chance and tried another card that was also denied, a Mastercard. The TDR site then kicked me out. This is where the other browsers came in handy. I had one that was just a few minutes away from becoming available.

I finally got the 3 day/2 night package at Miracosta with Harbor views. We did the attraction only (Enjoy Attractions), no character meet & greet (Enjoy Attractions & more). We want to do 4 days in the parks, so once another window was available, I booked a 2 day/1 night attractions package at Miracosta with Canal views. The Harbor view wasn’t available. I was able to use a Chase Disney Visa on both of these.

Doing this would result in having overlapping packages with them overlapping on day 3 of package 1 and day 1 of package 2. With the opening of Fantasy Springs, the packages included a Fantasy Springs day pass on one of the Disney Sea days. With this opening, they also changed the order of the park days. Day 1 is now Tokyo Disneyland. Day 2 is Disney Sea with Fantasy Springs. Day 3 is only Disney Sea, no Fantasy Springs. This second package was a back up, in case I could not get a room only night for the night of the 3rd park day. Plus, with the additional Fantasy Springs pass, it could be very advantageous. The first package was 3 day/2 night (Enjoy Attractions) Miracosta Harbor view for 3 people and cost ~$3350 (JPY 503,100) total. The 2nd package was 2 day/1 night (Enjoy Attractions) Miracosta Canal view for 3 people and cost ~$1900 (JPY 283,500) total. Packages must be paid in full at time of booking but are fully refundable up to 22 days before checkin. Since my 3rd card was the one that finally worked, I unfortunately ended up using one with foreign transaction fees, so that added to the cost and they are non-refundable fees. I was finally able to replace the shorter package with a Miracosta Harbor View to match my first package. It cost ~$2100 (JPY 314,700).

Hotel Room Only
I got an additional card with no foreign transaction fees; it’s a Chase Visa. Room only reservations for all of the hotels, except the new one, Fantasy Springs Hotel, were released at the normal 4 months out at 11am JT. The first night was for our arrival night, before the 1st package starts. I had practiced this too. The queue was much shorter, only a minute, if at all. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to time reloading the page to get the new date just as it became available. That was pretty hard. The site was slow to load room availability. Once I selected a room, it was very slow and often came back saying no availability for that room type or it would kick me to a completely different page saying the site was slow. It was rough. I never could get anything for Miracosta for my room only nights. I needed the night before and the last night of the trip. I also wanted to get a room for the 3rd day in case we decided the package was not going to work. So, I had to do this over 3 separate nights, since they are released each day. I did get nice rooms at the Disneyland Hotel, but that was going to require us to run over to Miracosta our first park day to get our Miracosta package and then run back to Disneyland for early entry. I kept checking and finally got something at Miracosta for our first night. It does not have a view, but at least we won’t need to run over there to get our package. I am still trying to get Miracosta for the other room only nights. My new card has been working since on multiple nights. The site has even remembered it, so I only need to enter the CVC. The vacation packages didn’t seem to do that, but maybe the site was too overwhelmed.

Since my original hotel room only attempts, I had gotten Miracosta for both the night before the package and the night at the end. I got a Piazza View for the night before, and then I finally got a Harbor View that matches my packages for the night before. This was April 17. It cost ~$670 (JPY 100,500). The night after is a Harbor View, but it’s a 4 bed. It cost ~$760 (JPY 113,900). My other rooms are 3 bed Harbor Views. I am still trying to get the 3 bed Harbor View for the last night, but it's looking unlikely. Very little hotel availability for the last night.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Following along! I spend so much time on the TDR hotel reservation site, it's going to be weird not refreshing it anymore! Hope you can get your room! I have seen a lot of Piazza rooms open up but no Harbor rooms as room-only, they must be so sparse outside of packages. I actually saw a terrace room for the first day and was tempted, but then I remembered how much merch I plan to buy

I don't have my Tokyo/Kyoto days mapped out too well yet so hopefully I can learn a bit from you. The three bed requirement certainly adds another layer of complexity, I bet!

 

[bennifer]

I'm so happy you're doing this report! We're planning something very similar for 2025. We will be a family of 3, DH, myself and our 16 yr old son. It's really hard to find info about traveling anywhere with one older male teenager, so thank you!

 

[Flossbolna]

We might run into you! We will be at the TDR parks 6/18 (TDL) and 6/19 (TDS) which seems to equal your vacation package days.

We stayed at the New Otani in 2017 and loved it. Is Trader Vic’s still there?

 

[YayforMickey]

One of our TDS days is 6/19 too. Good luck to us all!

 

[Flossbolna]

One of our TDS days is 6/19 too. Good luck to us all!

We will be at TDS also on 6/12 and 6/14. I will try to briefly report our experiences in the FS thread after each day.

I am amazed that no day, not even June 6 has sold out so far.

 

[cinnamoroll]

Keep refreshing!! I hope you can switch from Piazza to Harbour

 

[soniam]

We might run into you! We will be at the TDR parks 6/18 (TDL) and 6/19 (TDS) which seems to equal your vacation package days.

We stayed at the New Otani in 2017 and loved it. Is Trader Vic’s still there?

Look for the woman with short light blue hair (lighter than my pic) and say hi! It is still there, and I got reservations for dinner.

One of our TDS days is 6/19 too. Good luck to us all!

Look for me and say hi! I have short light blue hair.

Keep refreshing!! I hope you can switch from Piazza to Harbour

I did get Harbor, but it's a 4 bed. All of our other rooms are the Harbor 3 bed. It's not a huge deal though.

 

[soniam]

Reservable Restaurants/Experiences
This is for restaurants or experiences that we can reserve/purchase in advance.

Tokyo
There are several themed cafes in Tokyo, Harry Potter, Sanrio, various Disney pop-ups. However, the food didn’t look very appealing to our son, so we only picked Pokemon and Kirby.

Pokemon Cafe
Booking the Pokemon Cafe is a very difficult. You have to book a day at a time at 6pm JT 31 days out, 4am my time. There are a few items that you can only purchase when you make your reservation or when actually ordering for your meal. I did a practice run and wasn’t successful. We had one small item, a coaster, that we wanted to pre-order. I had decided that I would try booking, since I had several days in Tokyo and and Osaka. However, I thought I would need to go out of town suddenly. I decided to try a service, VIP Pokemon Cafe Booking, that books it for you for $20. They can’t pre-order items though. I figured it was a cheap assurance that I at least got a reservation. I tried my first eligible day and was unsuccessful, but they got it no problem. Since we wanted the coaster, I decided to keep trying. Second day was a bust too. I gave up after waking up at 4am CDT for 3 days in a row, since we had gotten one already. The pre-order coaster wasn’t that important.

Kirby Cafe
The Kirby Cafe has no pre-order merchandise, so I decided to let the same people, VIP Pokemon Cafe Booking, to get this for $20. This one is released at the 10th of the month for the next month at 6pm JT, 4am again my time. They couldn’t get one, but I didn’t have to pay. Someone else said the service couldn’t get them one for June either. Must be pretty busy.

I was contacted by them 9 days after bookings opened for June. They had a cancellation and were able to get a reservation for me. Luckily, we had not booked anything during the time. Best $20 I have spent.

Trader Vic’s
My husband and I are big tiki people and have a goal to go to a tiki bar everywhere we visit. We have been to the original in Emeryville, California. I knew I wanted to go. I need to call to make the reservation. They don’t really do online reservations. I think I can cobble together enough Japanese to do this, as long as they speak slowly.

I went to book it, and they changed to have online reservations. Yeah!!! It wasn’t difficult at all, and now we have a yummy dinner and cocktails. Plus, they have beef, so our son should like that. Hoping to buy a cool tiki mug to go with our collection, mostly from Trader Sam's on both coasts.

Teamlab Planets
We decided to do Planets instead of Borderless. This one is barefoot in water, which seems gross. However, since it’s Japan, I bet it’s cleaner than my house It was very easy to book online. I booked it on May 11 JT for June 6. The tickets had been released several months earlier. There was still a lot of availability but not for the times before 11:30am.

Tokyo Skytree
You can buy tickets ahead of time, but I am thinking we might just do it once we are in Tokyo or even day of.

Osaka
Since we got a reservation for Pokemon Cafe in Tokyo, we didn't need another in Osaka. There really wasn't anything that I found that I thought we should reserve ahead.

Kyoto
There are a couple of shrines for which we could buy tickets online. I haven't decided yet if we will just wait until Kyoto or even day of.

 

[princesscinderella]

I’m am curious to learn more about the “dress code” not sure if thats the right thing to call it. I know we are already going to stick out as tourists but I want to be respectful too. Are jean shorts and athletic leggings ok to wear for women while out touring? Do men primarily wear pants or are shorts ok too and are T-shirts too informal? Especially touring museums and shrines.

 

[soniam]

I’m am curious to learn more about the “dress code” not sure if thats the right thing to call it. I know we are already going to stick out as tourists but I want to be respectful too. Are jean shorts and athletic leggings ok to wear for women while out touring? Do men primarily wear pants or are shorts ok too and are T-shirts too informal? Especially touring museums and shrines.

Shorts and t-shirts are fine; it won't be disrespectful. Caveat is shrines. I haven't read or heard anything about dress codes there, but churches in Europe and mosques are very strict, so it's possible. However, I would think something would say, because there were warnings everywhere for Turkey and Sicily. Japanese don't wear leggings out, but no one is going to give you looks or say anything. They are not rude like us Americans. I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you are going in the summer, wear summer clothes. Don't try to wear pants. No sense in being miserable for no reason.

 

[Disneyhanna]

I’m am curious to learn more about the “dress code” not sure if thats the right thing to call it. I know we are already going to stick out as tourists but I want to be respectful too. Are jean shorts and athletic leggings ok to wear for women while out touring? Do men primarily wear pants or are shorts ok too and are T-shirts too informal? Especially touring museums and shrines.

I found looking up recent "walking tours" on YouTube really helpful. Basically someone with a camera just walks through the streets, so you can get a good idea of how both locals and tourists are dressing. Japanese women do not generally wear leggings / yoga pants outside of the gym and jean shorts are also rather uncommon (skirts are far more common than shorts in general). But at the end of the day, I don't think it's offensive at all to dress this way as a tourist, you just may not see many others dressed similarly (other than tourists). I saw tons of above the knee skirts/dresses in videos at Disney so I think it's more common there than in Tokyo itself.

T shirts are totally fine. Women generally cover their shoulders and wear high neck tops, or thick straps if they do wear tanks in the summer (still not super common). If you watch those walking tours long enough you'll see a bit of everything, even if 95% of people seem to be wearing a standard outfit (long skirt, flowy blouse lol). Again, as a tourist I think you're totally fine dressing how you're comfortable. As long as nothing is hanging out (LOL) you should be fine at museums/shrines as well. Maybe bring a lightweight button down to throw on if you're self conscious. The younger crowd definitely seems to show more skin than the adults, showing leg is far more common than showing shoulders. I saw plenty of male tourists in shorts in videos, if it's hot I certainly would too.

 

[princesscinderella]

Thanks for the clothings tips we try to pack light so I want to make sure I have all our bases covered. My girls plan to do lots of shopping while there for clothes. I’m not sure I will have as much luck as I’m tall and wear a size 14 pants and I have read that larger sized clothes are harder to find there.

 

[Kwami]

I’m am curious to learn more about the “dress code” not sure if thats the right thing to call it. I know we are already going to stick out as tourists but I want to be respectful too. Are jean shorts and athletic leggings ok to wear for women while out touring? Do men primarily wear pants or are shorts ok too and are T-shirts too informal? Especially touring museums and shrines.

On average, you'll see nicer clothing than in a typical American city. But, nobody will think anything if you're just wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Those are common, too.

One thing that will make you stand out, and which will likely attract more attention than you want, is cleavage.

If you're visiting temples or anywhere else that would require you to take your shoes off, then you'll probably want to be wearing socks!

 

[soniam]

On average, you'll see nicer clothing than in a typical American city. But, nobody will think anything if you're just wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Those are common, too.

One thing that will make you stand out, and which will likely attract more attention than you want, is cleavage.

If you're visiting temples or anywhere else that would require you to take your shoes off, then you'll probably want to be wearing socks!

Good reminder. I wear sandals. I have little socks that I brought to slip on when we went to mosques in Istanbul. I don’t like to be barefoot.