TDL, TDS and Beyond Trip Planning Advice

[clappyclaps]

Hey all,

Now I'm back from China, I'm looking into the feasibility of going to Japan around this time next year. The idea is that as well as doing TDL and TDS, I'll also spend time in Tokyo itself before travelling on to Kyoto and Osaka and spending some time in each. This would be my first ever trip to Japan, which is why I want to fit in Kyoto and Osaka as well.

At this moment in time, I'm just trying to get a rough idea of cost to explore the trip further.

The intention is to spend 2 full days in each Disney park, plus 2-3 days in Tokyo itself followed by 3 days in Kyoto and 4 days in Osaka (1 day for Universal).

Has anyone done a trip similar to what I'm planning and if so any advice?

I think initially what I'm looking for is any hotel recommendations in Kyoto and Osaka. I'm also debating whether to stay near to Disney (the onsite but non-Disney hotels if possible) for the entire trip at Tokyo and commute or split and stay in the city for a few nights. From what I've heard the commute is doable but I'm unsure, so any hotel recommendations for central Tokyo if I decide to split would be appreciated.

This would at least help me price up the trip as a whole. Thanks in advance!

 

[Agent 86]

If you're spending four days at the parks and only 2-3 days exploring Tokyo, I would just stay in Tokyo Bay. We've always enjoyed our stays at the Hilton there, although it has been prohibitively expensive for our most recent trips.

The commute from Tokyo Bay to "Tokyo" is fine, although the time spent commuting will obviously depend upon what you are hoping to see in Tokyo.

To minimise hotel changes, you may want to consider whether you could do day trips to Kyoto from Osaka or Tokyo on the bullet train. It may depend upon what you want to see and do in Kyoto.

 

[Kwami]

I would recommend against commuting from Disney to anywhere but Disney.

The train ride back to Tokyo Station isn't so bad, but then there's a long walk to get to any other train platforms (about 10 minutes). And then you still have to get to wherever you're going from there. I'd plan about an hour each way if you want to go from a hotel at TDR to, say, Shinjuku or Shibuya or something like that. Maybe that's OK for just a couple of days, though.

If you're going all the way to Kyoto, then plan 3 hours each way and keep in mind that the monorail at TDR does stop running at 11:30pm. Also, if you're going to use a Japan Rail Pass, then you'll need more than 3 hours each way because the Nozomi trains won't be covered without additional fees. Better to get a hotel in Osaka, Kyoto, or Kobe and only make the lengthy train journey once. You can rather easily get to any of those three cities from the others.