"At Last I See the Light" - Our Nov 2024 Anniversary Trip Report

[Sophie’smom]

Thank you so much for the detailed trip report. I really enjoyed reading it. I have watched many jdramas with Kimura Takuya and I love Disney. When you were eating at the smaller restaurants it reminded me of the dramas and the food looked so delicious. I learned a lot from your report. We would love to go, but mainly take Disney cruises now or go to Disneyland and are in that small bubble. You guys had a real adventure and saw beautiful things. Your honesty and sincerity about things was heartwarming to read. I get emotional at Disney too very special memories.

How much Japanese can you speak ?
I read articles this summer that Kyoto was feeling pressure/resenting tourists. Did you see anything like that?

 

[fatmanatee]

All the general recommendations are A+ and necessary for all visitors, specifically seconding your recommendation of a coin purse because I DIDN'T have one. I totally underrated how many coins you'd end up with, it piles up very quickly. Started keeping them in my pocket but that was annoying, then just dumped them into a small pocket of my backpack, and ended up having trouble fishing them out whenever I wanted to unload them for small purchases (basically every time I bought food at a convenience store). It's a silly mistake but I definitely regret not getting one at a few of the souvenir stores I went to early on.

I read articles this summer that Kyoto was feeling pressure/resenting tourists. Did you see anything like that?

I wasn't in the area for my trip last month (visited in 2018) but my understanding is that there's an overload in the Gion district and tourists are doing too much. Entering residential areas, taking photos of the geishas, etc. Japan in general is very uneasy about unauthorized photography and there's a law (not sure if its still in place) about phones there being required to have a shutter sound when they take photos.

There's also a litter issue, and as @Nakkira mentions above, it's recommended that you carry your own trash bag and dispose of trash at your hotel, since they don't have public trash cans. Unfortunately a lot of tourists aren't clued into this. I definitely noticed more litter on the streets for this trip.

TBH there's been a tourism overload in general in Japan due to the weak yen, I didn't feel that locals were noticeably resentful about it though. As long as you follow recommendations you should be ok.

 

[wanderlust7]

I enjoyed your trip report. Brings back memories and makes me excited for FS. Your DPA experience is helpful as I consider vacation packages.

I also loved S's tankas!

 

[skellinton]

Thank you so much, your pictures and detailed reporting is so helpful as I plan our trip for Oct/Nov next year.
I seriously took notes!
One thing I am wondering about is temperature, I can’t seem to get a read on what the weather is actually like. Part of it is it is so relative to people’s personal preferences. I know when I was in WDW last December people were wearing scarves, puffer coats and mittens to watch the nighttime show and I was just in a long sleeve t and short pants. Obviously the people from Florida thought I was nuts, but being from the PNW I guess I am used to colder weather. They also didn’t have any wind, which to me makes a huge difference.
Do you think you would have been fine with a good hoodie or should I take a warmer jacket?

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Thanks for the input. I find simulation rides hard (I have never and will never attempt Mission: Space) so will probably skip Peter Pan or ride at the very end of the day.

 

[Sophie’smom]

I wasn't in the area for my trip last month (visited in 2018) but my understanding is that there's an overload in the Gion district and tourists are doing too much. Entering residential areas, taking photos of the geishas, etc. Japan in general is very uneasy about unauthorized photography and there's a law (not sure if it’s still in place) about phones there being required to have a shutter sound when they take photos.

There's also a litter issue, and as @Nakkira mentions above, it's recommended that you carry your own trash bag and dispose of trash at your hotel, since they don't have public trash cans. Unfortunately a lot of tourists aren't clued into this. I definitely noticed more litter on the streets for this trip.

TBH there's been a tourism overload in general in Japan due to the weak yen, I didn't feel that locals were noticeably resentful about it though. As long as you follow recommendations you should be ok.

Thanks for explaining. Respecting the culture and customs is so important. Research beforehand helps, it’s such a beautiful country to visit.

 

[fatmanatee]

Thanks for explaining. Respecting the culture and customs is so important. Research beforehand helps, it’s such a beautiful country to visit.

Yeah I had seen some inflammatory headlines about tourists being BANNED from the area and I was surprised at first but it’s deceptive. Main street still open, surrounding alleys where there are restaurants are probably still fine, seems like they have signs indicating what’s off-limits so it should be easy to navigate.

 

[Nakkira]

Thank you for taking the time to post this trip report! DH, DS16 and I will be in Japan in June/July 2025 and your insights have helped so much!

I'm so glad that you enjoyed it and that it was useful to you. Thank you for reading!

 

[Nakkira]

How much Japanese can you speak ?
I read articles this summer that Kyoto was feeling pressure/resenting tourists. Did you see anything like that?

I maybe have a vocabulary of a 50-80 words and a couple dozen useful phrases. My husband knows more Japanese and can have small conversations. So when something is being spoken all in Japanese I can pick out and identify those words and phrases. But he can often get the gist of the context.
I don't feel that we we're treated with any hostility or any open resentment at all as Tourists in Kyoto but then again we are hyper aware of the fact that this is their home and try to stick to being as courteous as possible so as not to be problematic tourists. I think it is also helpful that we both know how to say. "Thank you". "Excuse me" "please" "hello" etc. it shows them that we are trying and they always seem to appreciate our attempt to at least exchange the courtesy phrases with them in their own language and I think that puts us off on a good foot.
I do see a lot of foreign tourists doing things that honestly, in my opinion, would be rude anywhere and it makes me feel bad because I can understand why some Japanese people are getting fed up with them.

 

[Nakkira]

I enjoyed your trip report. Brings back memories and makes me excited for FS. Your DPA experience is helpful as I consider vacation packages.

I also loved S's tankas!

He's been wondering if anybody enjoyed them so I will let him know that you did. He'll be very pleased!

 

[Nakkira]

Yeah I had seen some inflammatory headlines about tourists being BANNED from the area and I was surprised at first but it’s deceptive. Main street still open, surrounding alleys where there are restaurants are probably still fine, seems like they have signs indicating what’s off-limits so it should be easy to navigate.

Yes, internet and the headlines have definitely blown it out of proportion and there's only some areas that they have blocked to tourists.

 

[Nakkira]

Thank you so much, your pictures and detailed reporting is so helpful as I plan our trip for Oct/Nov next year.
I seriously took notes!
One thing I am wondering about is temperature, I can’t seem to get a read on what the weather is actually like. Part of it is it is so relative to people’s personal preferences. I know when I was in WDW last December people were wearing scarves, puffer coats and mittens to watch the nighttime show and I was just in a long sleeve t and short pants. Obviously the people from Florida thought I was nuts, but being from the PNW I guess I am used to colder weather. They also didn’t have any wind, which to me makes a huge difference.
Do you think you would have been fine with a good hoodie or should I take a warmer jacket?

So one thing to know about Japan, especially in the transitional seasons like spring and fall:
The answer to the question of what kind of weather to expect is yes.
What I mean is there were a couple days in Osaka where we were hot and sweating but then just a couple weeks later in Tokyo, I was shivering. We experience temperatures in 2 weeks time that were anything between 65° f and 20° f.
The biggest advice I can give is to be prepared to dress in layers. Have a few t-shirts or short sleeve shirts of some type. Have a few long sleeve shirts. Have a light jacket or hoodie. Maybe have an extra sweater. There was wind coming off the bay and it did make it feel even colder then the temperature alone would have made me feel.
On our last day at Disney c I had on a long sleeve shirt with a t-shirt over it and a light hoodie over that. Early in the morning I wore it all. Midday I tied the light hoodie around my waist and when the sun started to go down the hoodie was back on.
I'm from the Mid-Atlantic specifically the Delmarva peninsula. We have slightly less rain but honestly. The drastic changes of temperature in just a few days time is something we are very used to living on a peninsula.. last week my pipes froze. Early this week it got up to the '60s. Lol
And definitely factor in humidity that is on level with Florida.
But yes, while I was cold on my last couple days at Disney on our first day, it was actually 20° warmer and we saw some of the local people wearing honest-to-god puffer jackets and fuzzy hats. So I truly guess it's what you're used to.
Also be prepared for rain. Rain is almost guaranteed to happen at some point in your trip.

 

[Agent 86]

Then I saw it. The Popcorn bucket I wanted most of all. Paired with a popcorn I actually wanted to try.

For anyone following along - if you want a particular popcorn bucket at a popcorn stand, but not the popcorn flavour at that stand, you can ask for a ticket / voucher to redeem at a different popcorn flavour stand.

 

[Agent 86]

One thing I am wondering about is temperature, I can’t seem to get a read on what the weather is actually like. Part of it is it is so relative to people’s personal preferences. I know when I was in WDW last December people were wearing scarves, puffer coats and mittens to watch the nighttime show and I was just in a long sleeve t and short pants.

As Nakkira said, I would consider bringing layers and at least one big / thick jacket.

I've found the weather in Japan to be increasingly unpredictable and to have quite extreme variances (i.e. very hot and humid to very cold and windy / rainy within just a couple of days).

I'm very much like Elsa in that the cold doesn't bother me, but there's been at least one November trip where I ended up buying a beanie and mittens while at Disneyland (and that was after already leaving the park to go back to our hotel to get extra jumpers / jackets).

If you're a relatively standard size, then you could wing it and grab anything you need at Uniqlo or similar as the prices are quite reasonable.

 

[Nakkira]

For anyone following along - if you want a particular popcorn bucket at a popcorn stand, but not the popcorn flavour at that stand, you can ask for a ticket / voucher to redeem at a different popcorn flavour stand.

Great tip! Thank you for sharing!

I didn't realize that until later, so it is definitely good information to have.
Or actually, I knew that you could ask for a ticket voucher to exchange at a different stand, but I thought that was only when you were picking up the vacation package popcorn bucket. (I don't know exactly why I thought that other than I only heard this policy being referred to when people were talking about picking up their vacation package popcorn buckets)
I passed up on my chance to get the Tangled popcorn bucket because I found it at a cart that had a flavor I didn't want and I was holding out. Lol

 

[Agent 86]

I passed up on my chance to get the Tangled popcorn bucket because I found it at a cart that had a flavor I didn't want and I was holding out. Lol

This webpage is great for viewing the designs and flavours: https://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/en/tdl/food/popcorn.html

Our daughter only likes the plain, salted popcorn, so I have to know where those locations are (and where to buy the Frozen popcorn bucket).

 

[Nakkira]

This webpage is great for viewing the designs and flavours: https://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/en/tdl/food/popcorn.html

Our daughter only likes the plain, salted popcorn, so I have to know where those locations are (and where to buy the Frozen popcorn bucket).

Yeah I found that webpage after I got home. It might not have done me any good though, in the park since I didn't seem to have any signal.

 

[mmmears]

Great trip report - I really enjoyed following along and I learned so much. I was sad to hear about the motion sickness issues with the rides, because I'm really prone to it. I had a feeling when I read about them but this kind of confirms that I may have some real issues in the parks.

Yeah I had seen some inflammatory headlines about tourists being BANNED from the area and I was surprised at first but it’s deceptive. Main street still open, surrounding alleys where there are restaurants are probably still fine, seems like they have signs indicating what’s off-limits so it should be easy to navigate.

I saw those, too, and was concerned because the hotel I booked is right in Gion, but then after reading more it seems like enough will be open.

Thanks for the input. I find simulation rides hard (I have never and will never attempt Mission: Space) so will probably skip Peter Pan or ride at the very end of the day.

I'll be curious to hear how things go for you. I don't do any simulation rides and haven't been on a coaster (other than 7 Dwarves) in decades. I think I'll have some issues on the rides I'd like to ride the most.

 

[Nakkira]

Great trip report - I really enjoyed following along and I learned so much. I was sad to hear about the motion sickness issues with the rides, because I'm really prone to it. I had a feeling when I read about them but this kind of confirms that I may have some real issues in the parks.

Thank you for following along. Glad you enjoyed.
Yeah, motion sickness can be a real pain. Thankfully I'm not super sensitive but some things will get me. Hubby's vertigo however, is more easily triggered and more unpredictably than mine. Taking the meclizine before going on rides did seem to help him. The only reason he got as bad is he did after Beauty and the Beast then Haunted Mansion is that he hadn't taken any that day.
But if motion simulators bother you Peter Pan very much likely will.

 

[Nakkira]

Just rereading a couple parts of this and I realized just how many typos I have throughout the whole thing. Hopefully after the holidays I can go back and do the editing work