Might have realized a VP won't work for us...?

[AquaDame]

Now that I know they're dropping February in a few days I took a closer look at the VP. We are arriving in the afternoon of what would be day 1, but am I correct in seeing that your arrival day HAS to be one of the package days? I had hoped to check in and have dinner not in a park, enjoy the next full day at DS, and then head to DL on our departure day as we have a late flight out. Do you get to pick the days you go into the park, or are you stuck on this very specific timeline...? We cannot change our dates at all - I have two nights in Japan on our way home from an ABD, period.

I had hoped by 8 months later we wouldnt need a special pass to guarantee entry into FS but its not looking like that will be the case, so I had resigned myself to doing it this way.

 

[Kwami]

The days surrounding your hotel nights are the park days for all packages.

Based on your post, I think that you can still make this work. Well, with a park swap from what you wrote, anyway. You'll need to book two reservations. The first night is just a hotel reservation. The second night is a 2-day vacation package.

Day 1: Arrive at the hotel, check in, get some dinner, maybe visit Ikspiari or something.
Day 2: Start of the vacation package, Disneyland. Back to the hotel.
Day 3: Check out, visit DisneySea, then head to the airport.

The hotel will hold your luggage on the final day until you're ready to leave. If you book the same hotel and room type for both reservations, then you usually don't have to pack up and switch rooms.

EDIT: There's a package with dinner at MiraCosta on the first night that swaps the park days so that DisneySea is first and DL is on the second day. You get fewer fast passes, but you still get the Fantasy Springs passport.

 

[AquaDame]

The days surrounding your hotel nights are the park days for all packages.

Based on your post, I think that you can still make this work. Well, with a park swap from what you wrote, anyway. You'll need to book two reservations. The first night is just a hotel reservation. The second night is a 2-day vacation package.

Day 1: Arrive at the hotel, check in, get some dinner, maybe visit Ikspiari or something.
Day 2: Start of the vacation package, Disneyland. Back to the hotel.
Day 3: Check out, visit DisneySea, then head to the airport.

The hotel will hold your luggage on the final day until you're ready to leave. If you book the same hotel and room type for both reservations, then you usually don't have to pack up and switch rooms.

EDIT: There's a package with dinner at MiraCosta on the first night that swaps the park days so that DisneySea is first and DL is on the second day. You get fewer fast passes, but you still get the Fantasy Springs passport.

Oh good eye! You're right and they are swapped. While it would be nice to go on rides as often as we'd like - because who wouldn't - we've been before so it's honestly not a huge deal. As long as there is something new and he can binge Sinbad's Voyage my husband is happy. I've been watching hotel only though and it seems just as tough if not harder to get than a VP. We'd almost surely need to switch hotels and wake up super early to go get our package items (if that is even possible) so we can actually enter the park during the early 15 if we lack attraction passes. It's a Sunday, so I assume even in Feb it'll be bustling.

 

[soniam]

Oh good eye! You're right and they are swapped. While it would be nice to go on rides as often as we'd like - because who wouldn't - we've been before so it's honestly not a huge deal. As long as there is something new and he can binge Sinbad's Voyage my husband is happy. I've been watching hotel only though and it seems just as tough if not harder to get than a VP. We'd almost surely need to switch hotels and wake up super early to go get our package items (if that is even possible) so we can actually enter the park during the early 15 if we lack attraction passes. It's a Sunday, so I assume even in Feb it'll be bustling.

Hotel only for Miracosta in June was very tough to get. I did eventually get it and even the same room as my package for the first night. I had to just keep checking. I booked something else first to just have it.

 

[AquaDame]

Poking around the site again tonight in anticipation of tomorrow and...I no longer see dinner at miracosta as a package option.

The two day/one night plan now seems to be reversed however with TDL the first day and DS the second? This is so weird.

Hotel only for Miracosta in June was very tough to get. I did eventually get it and even the same room as my package for the first night. I had to just keep checking. I booked something else first to just have it.

Yeah, we'll likely just stay close by but not onsite the first night. Since we land at 4pm I'm not even sure being on property at all makes sense, even if its celebration or the toy story hotel. Might just go with whatever is walking distance to ikspiari for dinner and cheap.

 

[DCLMP]

We are also going in February. It doesn't work for us, but this is our first trip to Japan. We're doing 3 nights at the Sheraton Tokyo bay and then moving on to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and some other side trips. I want to see Tokyo Disney, but it's not the priority when we haven't been to Japan and there is so much to see in 16 days and don't want to blow the budget on Disney. Our hotel stays in Kyoto and Osaka are booked with points so that helps the budget.

We also land about 430pm at Narita and will stay at one of the hotels around there with a shuttle and deal with getting to Disney in the morning.
I hope it works out for you. What ABD is this Australia? I'm sure it's not Japan in February.

 

[AquaDame]

We are also going in February. It doesn't work for us, but this is our first trip to Japan. We're doing 3 nights at the Sheraton Tokyo bay and then moving on to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and some other side trips. I want to see Tokyo Disney, but it's not the priority when we haven't been to Japan and there is so much to see in 16 days and don't want to blow the budget on Disney. Our hotel stays in Kyoto and Osaka are booked with points so that helps the budget.

We also land about 430pm at Narita and will stay at one of the hotels around there with a shuttle and deal with getting to Disney in the morning.
I hope it works out for you. What ABD is this Australia? I'm sure it's not Japan in February.

I cannot agree with you more. The first time I went to Japan we had no intention of going to Disney but our jet lag was so bad we were wide awake at 4am. After failing to get back to sleep decided to get up and go for the long train ride with those hours rather than try to force ourselves back to sleep any longer. We got a one day pass to DSea only, but ended up being done with it with enough time to buy a starlight pass to DL and finished off the evening over there. This was back in 2005 in September... I think back then there were hardly any crowds to speak of. Getting into Fantasy Springs is doable without a VP. I stayed at the Hilton on my last trip and it was just as fun, but I admit that was before covid and so much changed. Even moreso now I'd absolutely prioritize Kyoto and Osaka. I'm sure you've heard the grumblings about over tourism in the main cities and what they've been doing to try to combat it. Better to go now to those places... Nara would be worth adding for sure if you have time and if anyone in your fam is a matcha or Genji fan I'd recommend stopping at Uji on the way there or back too. You can see the Byodoin that the one in Honolulu is modeled after. Disney is much more likely to stay mostly the same for tourists. I'm certain you're going to have a great trip!

I (almost) never say never, but there is just no reason for me to do the Japan ABD so it's pretty much a never. We've been to most of the stops they go to already, and they don't provide anything exclusive backstage at Disney either. We're going on the Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia trip and doing an overnight in Bangkok on the way home by necessity, but hey, another country on ye olde pinboard! Unlike Japanese I do not speak a word of any of those languages so it was easy to justify! It also seems to be very highly reviewed by folks who have done it, and has changed very little over the years unlike a lot of the other ABDs. I realized I had to stop putting it off once they started raising the price so much... it used to be one of the more affordable trips but went from 6,349pp in 2024 to 8,499pp and now in 2026 for our dates its up to 9,800pp. If I hadn't already set my heart on it for years prior I would have just walked away, but... thankfully we can afford to do this kind of trip now and again. We do what we can though... got an early booking discount, pay it off with giftcards I buy at a little discount (takes time, but it'll save $700). I could not justify it at 10K per person as we'd then be comparing to the cost of Antarctica which you REALLY can't do on your own, so this was really the last year it was feasible - I wonder where the ceiling is going to be in the end.

 

[AquaDame]

We've decided on going with a 2 night Toy Story hotel package tonight, speaking of, if I can book it. I just am not seeing any room only availability day by day, so I feel like I could really mess myself up by doing only a one night package and then having to move hotels (maybe even offsite) the next, which I just don't want to do. If I knew I could get RO the next night I would, but peace of mind is golden.

If by some miracle I actually see FS available I'll try, but I've resigned myself to not since we check in 2/1. Not only is it very hard to do regardless, but there is bound to be overlap with folks who already booked 1/31-the first day or two of Feb rather than 0% of packages booked. It's ~$550 cheaper than DLH which we've already stayed at, is new to us, and a shorter monorail ride to the DS gates that morning. The Ambassador doesn't interest me in the slightest for some reason and never has, even if it wasn't basically the same price as DLH, and Celebration doesn't do packages. I'm the rare person who didn't actually like staying at Miracosta so that's out, though I did enjoy taking in that lobby - it's very pretty. The Harbor View room we had was back too far to really enjoy the show, IMO, and once it was done we couldn't muser the cares to go back into the park to finish the evening.

Now, hopefully, the system and my CC both behave and I can actually do this thing in 5 hours.

 

[AquaDame]

Narrator: they did.

We were even able to get an FS room (I went with the cheapest I saw to keep it simple - Bay Area Superior, also assumed they also wouldn't be as popular due to the non-view which might increase my chances), so I guess we'll be paying more after all! It ended up being another $200 to get the as-many-rides-as-you-want package over the regular 2 night, and my husband asked why the heck we wouldn't just do it then. So... booked.

Now to sleep, and hope the next time we go it can be far more chill booking like it has been on our previous trips.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Narrator: they did.

We were even able to get an FS room (I went with the cheapest I saw to keep it simple - Bay Area Superior, also assumed they also wouldn't be as popular due to the non-view which might increase my chances), so I guess we'll be paying more after all! It ended up being another $200 to get the as-many-rides-as-you-want package over the regular 2 night, and my husband asked why the heck we wouldn't just do it then. So... booked.

Now to sleep, and hope the next time we go it can be far more chill booking like it has been on our previous trips.

We may cross paths at the FSH -- ds and I check-out on Feb. 1st! We will be heading from there to Osaka for 4 nights (with day trips to Kyoto, Kobe and Hiroshima planned).

 

[DCLMP]

I cannot agree with you more. The first time I went to Japan we had no intention of going to Disney but our jet lag was so bad we were wide awake at 4am. After failing to get back to sleep decided to get up and go for the long train ride with those hours rather than try to force ourselves back to sleep any longer. We got a one day pass to DSea only, but ended up being done with it with enough time to buy a starlight pass to DL and finished off the evening over there. This was back in 2005 in September... I think back then there were hardly any crowds to speak of. Getting into Fantasy Springs is doable without a VP. I stayed at the Hilton on my last trip and it was just as fun, but I admit that was before covid and so much changed. Even moreso now I'd absolutely prioritize Kyoto and Osaka. I'm sure you've heard the grumblings about over tourism in the main cities and what they've been doing to try to combat it. Better to go now to those places... Nara would be worth adding for sure if you have time and if anyone in your fam is a matcha or Genji fan I'd recommend stopping at Uji on the way there or back too. You can see the Byodoin that the one in Honolulu is modeled after. Disney is much more likely to stay mostly the same for tourists. I'm certain you're going to have a great trip!

I (almost) never say never, but there is just no reason for me to do the Japan ABD so it's pretty much a never. We've been to most of the stops they go to already, and they don't provide anything exclusive backstage at Disney either. We're going on the Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia trip and doing an overnight in Bangkok on the way home by necessity, but hey, another country on ye olde pinboard! Unlike Japanese I do not speak a word of any of those languages so it was easy to justify! It also seems to be very highly reviewed by folks who have done it, and has changed very little over the years unlike a lot of the other ABDs. I realized I had to stop putting it off once they started raising the price so much... it used to be one of the more affordable trips but went from 6,349pp in 2024 to 8,499pp and now in 2026 for our dates its up to 9,800pp. If I hadn't already set my heart on it for years prior I would have just walked away, but... thankfully we can afford to do this kind of trip now and again. We do what we can though... got an early booking discount, pay it off with giftcards I buy at a little discount (takes time, but it'll save $700). I could not justify it at 10K per person as we'd then be comparing to the cost of Antarctica which you REALLY can't do on your own, so this was really the last year it was feasible - I wonder where the ceiling is going to be in the end.

That is all good advice. I changed my trip around a lot. 1 night in Narita. We are doing 3 nights at the Hyatt house in Shibuya, 4 nights at the Hyatt House in Kyoto on points and then 3 nights at the Holiday Inn and Suites in Osaka with a day trip to Hiroshima. I'm going to try to fit Nara in.

Then were coming back to Tokyo and spending 5 nights at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo bay with points. Everyone says don't stay at the Hyatt Regency for Disney, but they have a shuttle or there are Taxi's. We only plan on spending a couple days at Disney. Just to see it and maybe do it some rides they don't have in the states. I don't feel it's priority. We plan on doing a couple of day trips from the Hyatt maybe Nikko and Kamakura. I'm not sure yet. Flying home from Narita.

The Hyatt regency is only 9k points a night. Cash price is 450. The Sheraton 300 a night. I'm kind of surprised at the hotel prices in Tokyo. I thought February was one of inexpensive months, but maybe not. We had originally planned on November and the hotel prices were quite a bit less.
Someday I would like to do a cruise all the way around Japan to see some of the smaller cities. I feel like doing that by train would be exhausting.
Will be there 16 nights and using a mixture of Cash and points I'm at around 1850 for hotels total price for 16 nights. I'm feeling pretty good about that. More money for other things. The Hyatt house in Shibuya and the Holiday inn Suites in Osaka have washer and dryers in the room which is great. Plan on packing light.

 

[AquaDame]

There's some serious Rosy Retrospection Bias happening in this thread. I went to WDW once in the 90's. Spent 2.5 hours in line at Space Mountain. Decades later, I still have PTSD from it.

I'm not sure what the NYT article is trying to get at. I don't think most people put WDW and Europe in the same bucket of travel. If someone wants to travel to Europe, they'll figure out where in Europe they want to go. If someone want to go on a vacation in the US that may include theme parks, they may decide between WDW and Uni. Some may include a few beach days in that vacation. I think WDW's biggest competitor continues to be the plethora of things to do, including Uni, around Central FL.

I don't think people are going: "Oh, we're going to spend 4 days at Disney, I guess we're not going to Italy."

I would say it's more the opposite: "Hey, instead of our usual week at WDW, I just realized that we can go to Italy for the same price or less." Not only was such a decision mentioned in the NYT article, people on this board have said the same thing. IOW, they've had a European trip in the back of their head and are realizing that for what they would now have to spend in Florida, they could actually take that trip to Italy. Perhaps the numbers were always close but a few annoyances about WDW have tipped them over to the other choice.


Sure, no one is saying that "Europe vs. WDW" is the decision that most people are making. But I certainly believe the people in that article and on this board who say those were indeed the options they considered.

We may cross paths at the FSH -- ds and I check-out on Feb. 1st! We will be heading from there to Osaka for 4 nights (with day trips to Kyoto, Kobe and Hiroshima planned).

Oh that would be lovely, but may be impossible unless you're sticking around until late. We're not landing until 4pm and then will need to get through customs and to the hotel. I know we're wasting quite a bit coming in so late, but it is what it is with the other packages doing DS first then DL it doesn't work for us otherwise. We'll probably still buy a DL pass for our checkout day also since it doesn't include a park ticket on the checkout day. I'm trying to decide if a private transfer would salvage any park time, but I'm just not sure. Figure an hour in customs, an hour to drive, and hour to check in... it's suddenly 7pm and that's only if things go exceptionally well. If we could just ride Enchanted Tale and walk around I'd be happy though.

That is all good advice. I changed my trip around a lot. 1 night in Narita. We are doing 3 nights at the Hyatt house in Shibuya, 4 nights at the Hyatt House in Kyoto on points and then 3 nights at the Holiday Inn and Suites in Osaka with a day trip to Hiroshima. I'm going to try to fit Nara in.

Then were coming back to Tokyo and spending 5 nights at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo bay with points. Everyone says don't stay at the Hyatt Regency for Disney, but they have a shuttle or there are Taxi's. We only plan on spending a couple days at Disney. Just to see it and maybe do it some rides they don't have in the states. I don't feel it's priority. We plan on doing a couple of day trips from the Hyatt maybe Nikko and Kamakura. I'm not sure yet. Flying home from Narita.

The Hyatt regency is only 9k points a night. Cash price is 450. The Sheraton 300 a night. I'm kind of surprised at the hotel prices in Tokyo. I thought February was one of inexpensive months, but maybe not. We had originally planned on November and the hotel prices were quite a bit less.
Someday I would like to do a cruise all the way around Japan to see some of the smaller cities. I feel like doing that by train would be exhausting.
Will be there 16 nights and using a mixture of Cash and points I'm at around 1850 for hotels total price for 16 nights. I'm feeling pretty good about that. More money for other things. The Hyatt house in Shibuya and the Holiday inn Suites in Osaka have washer and dryers in the room which is great. Plan on packing light.

Are you getting into Narita quite late..? We've yet to stay out there as I'm always eager to get into Tokyo proper but its only a 10 hour flight for us and we land in the afternoon and need to stay awake anyway.

If only a couple of those days are for Disney then I wouldn't stay onsite either.... it just doesn't make sense. Especially if you're blessed with being low key about it. You can always go back if it wins your heart over, especially if you're already entertaining the idea of a cruise some other time. Its the way we've hit the other international parks and its prefect really. There is so much overlap like you said, a day or two is enough to get the vibe, enjoy the differences in food and merch and hit the truly unique rides.

Hotel prices really are generally cheap in Tokyo, and Japan in general, but the Hyatt is an American chain so maybe that's it? They know they are going to get USD folk and charge accordingly. I *think* that lines up with the price dropping in November too since we just don't think to go obver there that time of year, even though it can be gorgeous with the changing leaves that time of year depending on where you are. I really want to go over in November sometime and see the autumn colors. The hotels we stay at tend to be $100 or less a night as we just grab generic business hotels. The rooms are small, the bathrooms basic, but its enough for us usually. The exception is when we go to DL or want to stay at an onsen. Then it can be more... sometimes $300-400 a night if there are all inclusive kaiseki. Those are some of my most precious memories and experiences though... well worth it to me. I think that price you have is excellent - you're clearly going to be able to stretch out and relax for your efforts! I hope you like the trains more than you think... grabbing eki-ben from the stands at the train stations to eat on the shinkansen is another favorite thing, but we REALLY align with their taste pallate! I still almost tear up when I remember the unidon bowl I had last trip whereas plenty of folk consider the taste akin to sea snot!

 

[gelatoni fan]

That is all good advice. I changed my trip around a lot. 1 night in Narita. We are doing 3 nights at the Hyatt house in Shibuya, 4 nights at the Hyatt House in Kyoto on points and then 3 nights at the Holiday Inn and Suites in Osaka with a day trip to Hiroshima. I'm going to try to fit Nara in.

Then were coming back to Tokyo and spending 5 nights at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo bay with points. Everyone says don't stay at the Hyatt Regency for Disney, but they have a shuttle or there are Taxi's. We only plan on spending a couple days at Disney. Just to see it and maybe do it some rides they don't have in the states. I don't feel it's priority. We plan on doing a couple of day trips from the Hyatt maybe Nikko and Kamakura. I'm not sure yet. Flying home from Narita.

The Hyatt regency is only 9k points a night. Cash price is 450. The Sheraton 300 a night. I'm kind of surprised at the hotel prices in Tokyo. I thought February was one of inexpensive months, but maybe not. We had originally planned on November and the hotel prices were quite a bit less.
Someday I would like to do a cruise all the way around Japan to see some of the smaller cities. I feel like doing that by train would be exhausting.
Will be there 16 nights and using a mixture of Cash and points I'm at around 1850 for hotels total price for 16 nights. I'm feeling pretty good about that. More money for other things. The Hyatt house in Shibuya and the Holiday inn Suites in Osaka have washer and dryers in the room which is great. Plan on packing light.

Hotel prices in Tokyo have gotten expensive post-pandemic, especially Western chains. Even the price in yen of Japanese chains has increased too so that basically any savings from the exchange rate from USD are wiped out when compared to 2018/2019.

In this case, February is just too far out so whatever price now will likely be quite a bit higher than the price if you checked in a couple months. I paid just over 13K JPY per night for the Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay last February and just over 18K per night at the beginning of March this year. Next February will likely be in the 20K range with the crazy hotel inflation these days but shouldn't be 450 USD.

The Hyatt Regency is actually not as inconvenient as before for Tokyo Disney because they increased the frequency of shuttles in the morning from once every 30 min to once every 20 min and Tokyo Disney now opens at 9 instead of 8 which makes it easier to arrive before the crowd. But shuttles still take like 30 min to get you to the park and it's still inconvenient for actually getting anywhere else. Nikko would be like 3 hours away and even Kamakura would be like 2 hours away.

 

[AquaDame]

We paid $58 for our hotel in Obihiro (Comfort Hotel) and $62 for the one next to KIX ( OMO Kansai Airport). I know they aren't Tokyo, but they aren't staying just in Tokyo... Hotel Gracery Asakusa was indeed more... $150 but the location was great and I'd been there before and wanted to stay there again. It looks like its $100/night if we were staying there this coming Feb vs. what I paid last Feb.

 

[DCLMP]

Are you getting into Narita quite late..? We've yet to stay out there as I'm always eager to get into Tokyo proper but its only a 10 hour flight for us and we land in the afternoon and need to stay awake anyway.

If only a couple of those days are for Disney then I wouldn't stay onsite either.... it just doesn't make sense. Especially if you're blessed with being low key about it. You can always go back if it wins your heart over, especially if you're already entertaining the idea of a cruise some other time. Its the way we've hit the other international parks and its prefect really. There is so much overlap like you said, a day or two is enough to get the vibe, enjoy the differences in food and merch and hit the truly unique rides.

Hotel prices really are generally cheap in Tokyo, and Japan in general, but the Hyatt is an American chain so maybe that's it? They know they are going to get USD folk and charge accordingly. I *think* that lines up with the price dropping in November too since we just don't think to go obver there that time of year, even though it can be gorgeous with the changing leaves that time of year depending on where you are. I really want to go over in November sometime and see the autumn colors. The hotels we stay at tend to be $100 or less a night as we just grab generic business hotels. The rooms are small, the bathrooms basic, but its enough for us usually. The exception is when we go to DL or want to stay at an onsen. Then it can be more... sometimes $300-400 a night if there are all inclusive kaiseki. Those are some of my most precious memories and experiences though... well worth it to me. I think that price you have is excellent - you're clearly going to be able to stretch out and relax for your efforts! I hope you like the trains more than you think... grabbing eki-ben from the stands at the train stations to eat on the shinkansen is another favorite thing, but we REALLY align with their taste pallate! I still almost tear up when I remember the unidon bowl I had last trip whereas plenty of folk consider the taste akin to sea snot!

Were getting in around 5pm, but the hotel were staying at in Tokyo is 350 a night. It seems like a waste to spend that getting to the hotel around 8 and being jet lagged. I do the same thing flying to WDW we always stay at a cheap hotel around the airport the first night.
It's very different than flying to Europe where you leave at night and arrive before noon. I've never taken a long haul flight that left at 1130am. I'm not sure I'll sleep at all. I'm thinking I'll be ready to crash as soon as we get to hotel. At least it will be nighttime and I won't have to force myself to stay up all day.
I will keep checking prices as it gets closer. I'm high maintenance when it comes to hotels. I need a gym, laundry, bar, restaurant...so yeah I'm going with the American brand. I'm also taking my 19 year old son so two beds and a bigger room is a must.

 

[DCLMP]

Hotel prices in Tokyo have gotten expensive post-pandemic, especially Western chains. Even the price in yen of Japanese chains has increased too so that basically any savings from the exchange rate from USD are wiped out when compared to 2018/2019.

In this case, February is just too far out so whatever price now will likely be quite a bit higher than the price if you checked in a couple months. I paid just over 13K JPY per night for the Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay last February and just over 18K per night at the beginning of March this year. Next February will likely be in the 20K range with the crazy hotel inflation these days but shouldn't be 450 USD.

The Hyatt Regency is actually not as inconvenient as before for Tokyo Disney because they increased the frequency of shuttles in the morning from once every 30 min to once every 20 min and Tokyo Disney now opens at 9 instead of 8 which makes it easier to arrive before the crowd. But shuttles still take like 30 min to get you to the park and it's still inconvenient for actually getting anywhere else. Nikko would be like 3 hours away and even Kamakura would be like 2 hours away.

I was able to use points at the Hyatt regency Tokyo by and Hyatt house in Kyoto. The Holiday Inn and suites was really reasonable 500 for three nights in a suite with a kitchen, washer and dryer. The Hyatt House in Shibuya is the budget breaker at 350 a night, but hopefully it drops in price.
Nikko is bit far, but Kamakurá isn't bad for a day trip if you take a taxi to the train station near the Hyatt. It's 20 minutes to Tokyo station then one hour from there. The trains are comfortable and there's WIFI.
Exchange rates never matter that's a myth.

 

[gelatoni fan]

I was able to use points at the Hyatt regency Tokyo by and Hyatt house in Kyoto. The Holiday Inn and suites was really reasonable 500 for three nights in a suite with a kitchen, washer and dryer. The Hyatt House in Shibuya is the budget breaker at 350 a night, but hopefully it drops in price.
Nikko is bit far, but Kamakurá isn't bad for a day trip if you take a taxi to the train station near the Hyatt. It's 20 minutes to Tokyo station then one hour from there. The trains are comfortable and there's WIFI.
Exchange rates never matter that's a myth.

The Hyatt House Shibuya will likely remain expensive through May 2025 when the Hyatt Regency renovation completes. But even then, I think it'll remain around 300 USD a night for most nights. The Hyatt Place Kyoto cash prices generally come down a small amount closer to the travel date but that wouldn't matter if you're using points.

 

[Kwami]

Hotel prices in Tokyo have gotten expensive post-pandemic, especially Western chains. Even the price in yen of Japanese chains has increased too so that basically any savings from the exchange rate from USD are wiped out when compared to 2018/2019.

Yeah, I noticed this when I booked hotels for my upcoming trip. Hotels this year are a lot more expensive than they were in 2017 when I was last in Japan. It's not just in Tokyo, though. Even in smaller cities like Aomori, the hotels cost more than they used to. That goes for Japanese chains, too!

Though, I'm sure that there are still some good deals to be found, especially if you go with tiny rooms in business hotels.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Yeah, I noticed this when I booked hotels for my upcoming trip. Hotels this year are a lot more expensive than they were in 2017 when I was last in Japan. It's not just in Tokyo, though. Even in smaller cities like Aomori, the hotels cost more than they used to. That goes for Japanese chains, too!

Though, I'm sure that there are still some good deals to be found, especially if you go with tiny rooms in business hotels.

For Osaka and Nagoya, I actually found that the JPY prices for similar nights only increased about 10-15% so they're actually a bit cheaper now if paying in USD. I only had a few stays outside of the cities pre-pandemic so I don't have good comaprisons for those but my feeling is that Tokyo has the biggest price increases with Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton price increases being particularly aggregious.

 

[DCLMP]

Not sure why prices being higher is surprising. Prices have gone up everywhere.
Also not surprising that the Hyatt House is going to be popular and expensive. A washer and dryer in the room is going to attract a lot of people that just want to travel Japan with a carryon.