TR: Tokyo, Disney and DisneySea

[chris31997]

Finally booked our trip We are going to Tokyo in Nov for a week.

I'm not excited or anything

The crew that is flying with me DH, DD, and DS. We will be staying at the Hilton, a good neighbor hotel. We are planning on 1 day at Disney and 1 day at DisneySea. Than exploring on our own Tokyo Bay area and maybe more depending on how adventurous we get on the subway/trains.

Please be gentle this is my first TR( and PR )

Hopefully, this will give more info to more people

 

[DreamSweetsLove]

Cool! Have a great time! The weather should be much more comfortable in November!

 

[tinibee]

The trains and transportation here can be a learning curve but isn't too bad.

I bought Getting Around Tokyo Pocket Atlas and Transportation Guide (http://www.tuttlepublishing.com/book/?GCOI=48053100144350). This book has been helpful for me to better understand the transportation systems. And its the first English documentation I've found for buses in Japan!

Have a great trip!

 

[chris31997]

A friend pointed me in the direction of bus service from the airport to the hotel. Found the website. Check out the Access TokyoDisney website

http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/en/access/bus/narita/index.html

As we are flying into Narita, we will have alittle wait because we arrive just as one leave We of course could not time it any better. Oh well. Maybe we will take the train instead of wait Maybe we will get lunch(bentos) and wait for the bus. You can get some really yummy things out of the vending machines and from vendors. We shall see.

Anyone got favs that they want to share for dining at the airport close to the baggage claim???

I am trying to limit the baggage to 1 maybe 2 bags and carry-ons.

I need to make my list of places to hit and the addresses.

Confession time of sorts
As we live in Okinawa, we have the cell phones for here. DH is stationed here. I guess you might say we are transplants and exploring mainland Japan. We are looking forward to it.


On a side note. I got my birthday gifts last week. 2 Disney purses. But they say Walt Disney World and Disneyland. I ask DH if I could get new ones that say TokyoDisney He said only if they said Hong Kong Disney also Really. Like Tokyo Disney is going to have stuff from Hong Kong. Not fair.

 

[jessily]

We just returned from Tokyo (my brother in law is also stationed in Okinawa). It was a great trip! The arrivals area didn't have much in the way of restaurants, but there were plenty of little stands with snacks/smoothies/etc. Both terminals had lots of restaurants near check-in before going through security. I believe there's a shuttle that can take you between different areas of the airport.

I found almost nothing in the way Disney merchandise that actually said Tokyo on it. No t-shirts, magnets, etc. People there are crazy for the merchandise, but it's mostly stuffed animals and snacks that they take home for friends and coworkers from what I saw.

Hope you have a great trip! We absolutely loved the parks. It was great people watching and took some of the things that I found interesting about Japan to a whole new level

 

[PrincessInOz]

As we live in Okinawa, we have the cell phones for here. DH is stationed here. I guess you might say we are transplants and exploring mainland Japan. We are looking forward to it.


On a side note. I got my birthday gifts last week. 2 Disney purses. But they say Walt Disney World and Disneyland. I ask DH if I could get new ones that say TokyoDisney He said only if they said Hong Kong Disney also Really. Like Tokyo Disney is going to have stuff from Hong Kong. Not fair.

Happy Birthday!

I hope you will post your travel adventures of Japan; not just of TDL. It will be cool to see what you go see.


And seriously? No merch at TDL that says "Tokyo Disneyland"?

There were lots of merchandise at Hong Kong that said Hong Kong Disneyland...pins, t-shirts, magnets etc.

WOW! That's really different.

 

[chris31997]

We just returned from Tokyo (my brother in law is also stationed in Okinawa). It was a great trip! The arrivals area didn't have much in the way of restaurants, but there were plenty of little stands with snacks/smoothies/etc. Both terminals had lots of restaurants near check-in before going through security. I believe there's a shuttle that can take you between different areas of the airport.

I found almost nothing in the way Disney merchandise that actually said Tokyo on it. No t-shirts, magnets, etc. People there are crazy for the merchandise, but it's mostly stuffed animals and snacks that they take home for friends and coworkers from what I saw.

Hope you have a great trip! We absolutely loved the parks. It was great people watching and took some of the things that I found interesting about Japan to a whole new level

It is a good thing we have had fun learning snack/smoothie/food stands. Thankfully, the kids have gotten used to eating foods that don't look normal

Happy Birthday!

I hope you will post your travel adventures of Japan; not just of TDL. It will be cool to see what you go see.


And seriously? No merch at TDL that says "Tokyo Disneyland"?

There were lots of merchandise at Hong Kong that said Hong Kong Disneyland...pins, t-shirts, magnets etc.

WOW! That's really different.

Thank you for the bday wishes. We had heard that to get merchandise with TDL on it would be next to impossible. DD found a t-shirt at a thrift store in Hawaii with TDL, of course we were not looking for it and now we have to keep it

Now my issue, Edo Tokyo Museum or Tokyo National Museum?????

As a homeschooling mama, I manage to work something educational into all of our trips Can't even go home without doing it Anyway, TDL can be some what educational some how...... I am sure I can figure out some way to turn it into a field trip But I do want to work in some real educational field trip into the trip.

I am sure we will and can find castle/shrines/temples somewhere around Tokyo. We have been to several of them here. I can even say we have been to 3 World Heritage Sites. Which we all thought were cool and neat in some way

I also want to go to the Tokyo Tower(is that what it is called???) It is near where MIL and Aunt stayed and would be neat if not alittle to go to the top and see if we can see Mt Fuji

Looking at going to TDL and Sea on Wednesday and Thursday. That leaves Monday afternoon and Friday morning to entertain ourselves with.

I want to go to the Washi Paper store that others have posted about. I am also planning a 20th vow renewal on DCL and would like to make invites out of the paper. Of course I have a few years to go for that


I do have to call the lovely people who can meet us at the airport hold the car and than pick us back up at the airport, so we don't have to park at long term parking.

Can't wait to go

 

[DreamSweetsLove]

I'm really surprised you could not for anything that said Tokyo Disneyland on it. Almost all the merchandise says the name of the resort on it somewhere. Do you mean merchandise that just has the name splashed across in huge letters? Usually the labeling is discreet and the design of the souvenir is the stronger focus I think but there is a lot of merch referencing the parks specifically and goods sold in the park which are really fun. Like the mini popcorn bucket keychains designed after the buckets sold at the parks or the file and stationary sets featuring park snacks like churros, choco balls, etc. Every season the is merchandise for the seasonal events which also had the resort park name and date.

 

[DreamSweetsLove]

It is a good thing we have had fun learning snack/smoothie/food stands. Thankfully, the kids have gotten used to eating foods that don't look normal





Thank you for the bday wishes. We had heard that to get merchandise with TDL on it would be next to impossible. DD found a t-shirt at a thrift store in Hawaii with TDL, of course we were not looking for it and now we have to keep it

Now my issue, Edo Tokyo Museum or Tokyo National Museum?????

As a homeschooling mama, I manage to work something educational into all of our trips Can't even go home without doing it Anyway, TDL can be some what educational some how...... I am sure I can figure out some way to turn it into a field trip But I do want to work in some real educational field trip into the trip.

I am sure we will and can find castle/shrines/temples somewhere around Tokyo. We have been to several of them here. I can even say we have been to 3 World Heritage Sites. Which we all thought were cool and neat in some way

I also want to go to the Tokyo Tower(is that what it is called???) It is near where MIL and Aunt stayed and would be neat if not alittle to go to the top and see if we can see Mt Fuji

Looking at going to TDL and Sea on Wednesday and Thursday. That leaves Monday afternoon and Friday morning to entertain ourselves with.

I want to go to the Washi Paper store that others have posted about. I am also planning a 20th vow renewal on DCL and would like to make invites out of the paper. Of course I have a few years to go for that


I do have to call the lovely people who can meet us at the airport hold the car and than pick us back up at the airport, so we don't have to park at long term parking.

Can't wait to go

I would skip Tokyo Tower and go see the Sky Tree instead. If you really want to see Tokyo Tower an open top bus tour would be fine. It's not very impressive inside.

 

[chris31997]

I would skip Tokyo Tower and go see the Sky Tree instead. If you really want to see Tokyo Tower an open top bus tour would be fine. It's not very impressive inside.

Sky Tree??? I have not heard about that. What is that?

I want to get a couple of the popcorn buckets. I saw some friend's, Donald with his head stuck in it and Stich driving his car They were cute and funny. Not only that, really interested in trying the different flavors of popcorn.

Nice to hear that you can get different type of merchandise and some with holiday themes. Going when we are, we will get to see the Christmas stuff

 

[battymum]

I would skip Tokyo Tower and go see the Sky Tree instead. If you really want to see Tokyo Tower an open top bus tour would be fine. It's not very impressive inside.

Is there a hop on hop of bus in tokyo? Would you recommend it?

 

[DreamSweetsLove]

Is there a hop on hop of bus in Tokyo? Would you recommend it?

It's ok, it can be pretty at night definitely! It really depends on time you have or how you like to explore the city. My son gets a big kick out of it, so maybe good for children too.

 

[DreamSweetsLove]

Sky Tree??? I have not heard about that. What is that?

I want to get a couple of the popcorn buckets. I saw some friend's, Donald with his head stuck in it and Stich driving his car They were cute and funny. Not only that, really interested in trying the different flavors of popcorn.

Nice to hear that you can get different type of merchandise and some with holiday themes. Going when we are, we will get to see the Christmas stuff

The Sky Tree is a broadcasting tower that has replaced Tokyo Tower, it's the worlds tallest freestanding broadcasting tower. It's close to Asakusa too so you can visit both in the same day! I've been meaning to write out my trip report from the summer and one of the places we went to was the Sky Tree, maybe I can get started on that today.

This is from the Sky Tree's website:
http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/en/index.html

The height of the TOKYO SKYTREE was originally specified at approximately 610m in the original project. However, it was planned from the beginning to be the world's tallest free-standing broadcasting tower. After careful discussion and research on high-rise buildings that are being built around the world, it was finally decided on 634m, to become the tallest free-standing broadcasting tower in the world.

Thus, the 634m-high TOKYO SKYTREE was recognized by the Guinness World Records Company on November 17, 2011 as the tallest tower in the world.


The decision on the figure "634" for the height was based on the concept of choosing a figure that would be easy for everyone to remember with the world's tallest tower that has also become a symbol of the area.

The sound of the number "634" when read in old Japanese numbers is "mu-sa-shi", which reminds Japanese people of Musashi Province of the past, that used to cover a large area, including Tokyo, Saitama and part of Kanagawa Prefecture.

Historically speaking, the area where the TOKYO SKYTREE stands belonged to Musashi Province. From the Observation Decks, the landscape of the old Musashi Province spreads out before you and reminds visitors of the locality and history of the area lying east of Tokyo, i.e. east of old Edo.

We believe that the use of a familiar figure for the height of the TOKYO SKYTREE will make it easier for everyone to remember.

 

[jessily]

I'm really surprised you could not for anything that said Tokyo Disneyland on it. Almost all the merchandise says the name of the resort on it somewhere. Do you mean merchandise that just has the name splashed across in huge letters? Usually the labeling is discreet and the design of the souvenir is the stronger focus I think but there is a lot of merch referencing the parks specifically and goods sold in the park which are really fun. Like the mini popcorn bucket keychains designed after the buckets sold at the parks or the file and stationary sets featuring park snacks like churros, choco balls, etc. Every season the is merchandise for the seasonal events which also had the resort park name and date.

You're correct, there was definitely some unique/fun merchandise (especially lots of Halloween items). We were hoping to find a tshirt or magnet that simply had the park logo on it or said Tokyo Disneyland, but didn't have much luck there. A lot of the merchandise was character based, which is great, just not what we were looking for on this trip since luggage space was extremely limited. We ended up getting a small tumbler glass that has a pretty pattern and says Tokyo Disneyland on it. We didn't have a lot of time in the parks, so we didn't make it into all the stores, just tried to visit the main (Main St Emporium type) shops. I'm sure there is even more unique merchandise if you explore further. I forget the name of them, but I especially liked the mini lego type kits... we saw them all over Tokyo, and I loved that they had Disney themed ones at the parks.

 

[chris31997]

The Sky Tree is a broadcasting tower that has replaced Tokyo Tower, it's the worlds tallest freestanding broadcasting tower. It's close to Asakusa too so you can visit both in the same day! I've been meaning to write out my trip report from the summer and one of the places we went to was the Sky Tree, maybe I can get started on that today.

This is from the Sky Tree's website:
http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/en/index.html

Thanks for the link. I will have to show it to DH and see what he thinks. Not sure if my tummy can handle both. Can you really go up to the very top?

 

[chris31997]

18 days to go

So, Tokyo Sky Tree for some great pics, fingers crossed. Tokyo National Museum, DH choice. He thought we might enjoy it more Ride the trains. I need to right down the stations that we will need and the lines that they are on. Have you seen that spaghetti of a map Good thing the map or some of them are in English(Romanji). Ito-ya for washi paper to make some invites for a vow renewal in like 4 yrs. Not planning a little early for that am I Monday/Tuesday will be busy in Tokyo. Than FUN and in TDL/Sea.

What else can I find to do?

Actually, I want this to be a fun and relaxing trip. Whatever we miss this time, we can catch another time The joys of living in the same time zone as Tokyo. Don't forget no jet lag Now if the exchange rate would go up just a little bit more

 

[chris31997]

We went!!! We saw!!! And We Did!!!!

Well, not all of it

We flew into Narita, and found our luggage and the 1st floor where we needed to be to get the shuttle. Only the very nice lady at the info desk had no clue what we were talking about

We usually chalk it up to lost in translation. There is a shuttle. It is called Airport Limousine aka Bus. It is the Orange counter that you buy your tickets at. It made my life easier. See, I get air sick And after the flight/meds, I was in no condition to help DH figure out how to use the trains to get from the airport to TDL. Which by the way is one more floor down, 1Fd or something like that.

Not that the trains would have been difficult, or were once we used them. But it had been a few years(Washington DC) and this is a different country)

Quick stop to pick up some water and some yummy bread. I highly recommend the bread. I don't know what these guys do to it. But it is so gooooood. We wait for the bus.

After an hour on the bus and trip on the Expressway, we pull off. We got to see some of the skyline of Tokyo and it just proved to me that I was a small town gal We started to make our stops. Stop at the Ikspiari/Bon Voyage, one of the Disney Hotels and lastly and our hotel.....Hilton!!!!

Here is where, life and the Corps have taught me to be flexible. We got to the hotel and checked in about 5pm. We were pretty tired. Me not knowing about how far things were and how long it was going to take..... I thought we would be up for going to go shopping at Ito-ya and at on the town. Not really. Skipped the first thing, oh well.

 

[chris31997]

Tuesday morning, we get have some breakfast and we begin our adventure.

The first thing to know is that you will need to buy a pass for the Disney Train.

Thankfully, I knew this because I had read this somewhere on the DISboards.

You have an option to buy per trip and per day. We bought for our entire stay. Who knew how many times we were riding the train. Most days it was just 2 times but a couple times there were multiple trips. Gotta get those last minute shopping done.

Off to the Maihama Station, to find Uneo Station. We had already stacked the deck in our favor by asking the wonderful people at the hotel which way to go to get to the Museum. We just needed to figure out how to get tickets

For those of you who have never done this, there is a window where you can ask them how much it is to get to the station you want. For us it was going to be 210Yen per person. There is also and English button on the machine. At least one of the maps will be in English/Romanji. You will also be able to track your movement on the trains, because the station will be announced in Japanese but also on English.

Because we did not do the easy thing and stay on the JR line We got off and took the subway to Uneo and had to get tickets again. We did not realize that at first. When changing Lines, you will need to buy tickets at the station you change Lines at.

Made it to Uneo Station. There are 9 exits!!!! How can one place have that many???? It took us a few minutes to figure that one out. Thankfully, there were more maps. When we got above ground we could understand and see why we needed to go out the way we did. We would have never crossed the road.

Now to find the Park with the "Learning so this is alittle bit of School". Found it!!!

The Tokyo National Museum was great!! I got to take pictures, and only had to pay for me and DH, 1200 Yen. We only saw one building and skipped the special exhibits. But there were, I believe, 2-3 other buildings that we could have gone into and explored without paying for the special exhibits.

Semper Gumbi

We want to go see the Natural History and Science Museum. Okay, who am I to question when the Family wants to do another museum and learn some more. Off to another. That was neat. They had a pendulum clock. I could see DS sticking his hand in there and messing it up

Oh, no DD saw a sign for a chocolate exhibit. We go check it out. It is a special exhibit so now I have to pay for all of us The very nice lady taking our Yen said that the exhibit was all in Japanese. She warned us. We decided not to go. If it had been translated a little bit than we would have gone.

In the Park, there is a Zoo and many other Museums. By the time we had walked out of the Park the kiddos were tired and hungry.

No Skytree: Skipped the second thing

 

[chris31997]

Sorry, things have been alittle crazy with Birthday Ball and getting ready for Christmas. I do have one more gift to get, wrap and ship it off. The good thing about living so far from family, is that you have to get Christmas presents, wrap and ship done early so that you can enjoy the holidays with no stress over last minute shopping

We had a moment of brilliance and got our tickets at the hotel the night before we wanted to go to TDL. Because we got just 2 day tickets, we had to tell them which day we wanted to go to which park.

TDL first

DisneySea second

In hindsight, we should have done it the either way around. We went to DisneySea the day before a Japanese holiday and it was crowded. Or more crowded than TDL was. Don't know if the holiday was a factor in Sea being crowded or if that is standard.

Next time we go, we will not do Sea right before a holiday


After a day, we have or routine down for the trains. DD has the train tickets in her Micky purse and hands them out. DH goes first followed by the kids and than me. All the crazy Yankees go through the same ticket counter, so Mom can make sure her little loveable, crazy Monsters are all there. DD collects the tickets for the ride hands them back out when we leave the station and collects them again, and repeat as many times as needed.


Sitting on the Disney train, the kids were getting excited.

DS, is this our stop?
DS, is this our stop?
DS, is this our stop?

Okay, maybe not many times. I think from the Hilton, it was 2 stops. But I could be wrong. There are a total of 4 stops on the Disney train.

After spending a year in Okinawa, we have come to go with the flow. We appreciate the fact that we are not in the US and that things here are done catering to the main customer, the Japanese customer. I also appreciate the fact that I am a person from the South/Tropical climate. Winter and I do not get along

As we walked into TDL and walked down Main Street, DD and I felt like we had come home.

It brought a tear to my eye to see the Christmas decorations. I told DD that it was a good thing we came when we did. Cause than when we got home, I would not break the rule and decorate before Thanksgiving. I was in heavan listening to the Christmas music. We grabbed a map, not thinking Can't read it. Send DD back for one in English. Thank goodness for cell phones. People are lined up for an hour for the parade........

We decide to hit the rides. Space mountain here we come. DD and DH were alittle disappointed. Not the stomach dropping ride that it is at WDW. We should have known something was up, when we heard no one screaming?!?!?!? We make our way around the park and see and do.

Got a Snowman Mickey popcorn bucket. Tried lots of popcorn. Popcorn really. Yes, popcorn....curry, caramel, apple cinnamon, sea salt, strawberry, chocolate, honey. About $30 worth Not all at TDL some of it was at Sea. We got a Duffy with a Santa hat at Sea.

We rode Pooh and many other rides.

We also did the pressed "pennies". IT is a copper slug. It is great because now I can mount those with the ones from WDW. We figured there were about 45 machines costing about 100Yen, DH said I could not bring back $50 worth of pressed pennies That is okay, I did not want to carry that many anyway. So, we were alittle picky about the ones we got. We brought back $40 between the 2 parks.


On our last trip my family and I got into finding hidden Micky. So much so, any 3 circles is a hidden Mickey to DS We did so one of the CMs working the train station the "hidden fist" Mickey. Two people are required. One person uses both fist and makes the Ears and the other person is the Face with one fist. The CM got a kick out of it.

This trip we spent time looking for hidden Mickey. We found some, official ones and some unofficial ones But it made us appreciate the themeing of the parks more and more.



Somethings that really floored me.

One, the Japanese Ladies love to be stylish with their short skirts/shorts and 4/5in heels. Found out later how they stayed warm(heat pockets that stick on wish I had known that )

Two, Even though there are lines and crowds...most people were very nice and the lines moved extremely well.

Three, this meant so much to me. While waiting for the Night time Illuminations Parade, the kids were huddled over and cuddled together cold.... this very nice lady behind us put her blanket on the kids.

Four, the whole experience to them is important...the rides, the shows, the parades, the food, you name it.

Five, think outside the box when it comes to your souvenirs.... I knew that but I had to remind myself of that. I was looking for t-shirt but that was not going to work. Got the kids Duffy purses(DisneySea), and unknowingly got them something that said Tokyo Disney. do the pressed pennies because some will say TDL or something else about TDL

Six, look for those Characters you know but don't see at WDW.

I'll post pics, when I can remember how to do it

 

[disneyobsessed808]

Got a Snowman Mickey popcorn bucket. Tried lots of popcorn. Popcorn really. Yes, popcorn....curry, caramel, apple cinnamon, sea salt, strawberry, chocolate, honey. About $30 worth Not all at TDL some of it was at Sea. We got a Duffy with a Santa hat at Sea.

Me too! I am pretty sure I ended up buying 6 refills of popcorn! The Shoyu (Soy Sauce) butter is my favorite, with strawberry being a close second.