how bad is the jet lag

[HMANSION LOVER]

Planning a trip to Disneyland JAPAN Original plan was to travel with someone who has traveled Japan extensively on business. Thought hey, our friend knows Japan very well traveling with him would make things much easier. He is determined to do Disney when we first get there. His reasoning is we are all going to be suffering from jet lag and, since we all plan to stay at a disney resort, we will be able to come and go from the parks to crash at the hotel as needed throughout the day because of the LAG. My wife and I think we would like to do everything else we want to do in Japan as we adjust to the lag so when we get to Disney at the end of the trip we can do Disney the way we always do, up early in the A.M. do a bunch of stuff in the park - take a mid day break at the resort and then back ti the parks for more fun. Any input would be truly appreciated.

 

[confectioneer]

I visited from California, and planned my Disney days as the first ones since those were the weekdays.

So I just plowed through the jet lag. Sure, I was waking up at 4AM.

And sure, the parks didn't open until 10AM so I had a LOT of time to kill, that couldn't be spent touring.

But it worked out. The energy I got from just being in the parks kept me going!

 

[ducky_love]

It was very easy to adjust to getting there. Coming back to Florida has been miserable. Be prepared for many sleepless nights getting home.

 

[Bravemouse]

When i flew to Japan i didn't think it was going to be too bad. Soon as 8 o'clock hit at night i was having trouble keeping my eyes open
What i did was force myself to stay awake during the day and soon as i got to bed i just crashed!
Whenever i went to bed i would feel wide awake! I always made sure my electronics were switched off (Except for my alarm) and i would force myself to go to sleep! Even if i just stayed awake and thought about what i was going to do tomorrow.
In the mornings i found myself getting up early (5 or six in the morning) i took that time to get ready (If your Wife is anything like me and likes to take time in the morning to get ready, get her to start her day getting ready then!) By the time i had gotten ready, ate breakfast and was ready to head out it was 9 oclock! (Park doesn't open until 10:00 or 10:30)
Pretty much to sum it all up force yourself to stay awake and go to sleep even when you don't feel like it. I know that seems hard but trust me! When a few days pass you will get the hang of it and start to feel better

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I'm naturally a night owl and can easily sleep past noon. In Japan I was wide awake and ready to go everyday between 4-5am. I didn't experience much in the way of jet lag, just general fatigue on the first evening from a long day of travel and the aforementioned shift in waking hours. Jet lag after the return trip home, on the other hand.... Yikes. We slept for 23 hours straight.

 

[scrump]

I travel periodically to Japan and always find the adjustment TO Japan time fairly easy.

The jet lag BACK is always tough for me (I am on the east coast).

One thing that helps some of my friends is to take sleeping pills on the plane and to get a head start adjusting to where you are headed (whether coming or going). Some of my friends even get prescription sleeping pills, as they travel internationally frequently and have to constantly adjust to different time zones.

 

[amyren]

I think it helped that we arrived in Tokyo late at night. We went straight to our hotel and went to bed. We did wake up consistently at about 4-5am for the first few days. After that we were fine!

 

[shelemm]

I've been twice recently, and I had zero problem with jet lag going over there. But you have to sleep on the plane. From Washington, DC, it's a 14-hour or so flight. You wind up getting in about the same time of day as you leave, so if you sleep I think it's an easy adjustment. Try to get at least six hours of sleep on the plane.

 

[ChrisFL]

Apparently I'm in the minority here, I've been to Tokyo/other parts of Asia, Hong Kong/Manila and the Jet Lag for me is HORRIBLE on the way over...but I'm fine on the way back (to Florida).

I don't just have sleeping problems, but nausea, headaches, feeling like I'm on the airplane for several days after, etc.

I've tried changing my sleep cycles, taking supplements, etc. but always have trouble

 

[TmlndSpdwy03]

I was there for two weeks. When I went, I slept about 3 hrs during the 25.5 total travel time it took to get there and went to sleep around 9pm JST that first night, woke up the next day and seemed to be fine - I was just waking naturally by like 5am the whole trip but I was going to sleep by like 9 most nights because I was tired. I just got home Sunday night. Couldn't sleep so I took Benadryl to make myself fall asleep and got about 5 hrs. Went to work the next morning and was fine but the next night I slept about 4 hrs. Unfortunately now I am sick so I slept most of yesterday, took Benadryl to make myself sleep last night. Maybe if I wasn't as sick as I am, it wouldn't be as bad but I found coming back (I live in FL) to be awful .

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

I was there for two weeks. When I went, I slept about 3 hrs during the 25.5 total travel time it took to get there and went to sleep around 9pm JST that first night, woke up the next day and seemed to be fine - I was just waking naturally by like 5am the whole trip but I was going to sleep by like 9 most nights because I was tired. I just got home Sunday night. Couldn't sleep so I took Benadryl to make myself fall asleep and got about 5 hrs. Went to work the next morning and was fine but the next night I slept about 4 hrs. Unfortunately now I am sick so I slept most of yesterday, took Benadryl to make myself sleep last night. Maybe if I wasn't as sick as I am, it wouldn't be as bad but I found coming back (I live in FL) to be awful .

TmindSpdwy03 Thank you for your help with my question. But more important than that, get well soon.

 

[swooshbear]

I just got back from Tokyo a few days ago and my first night in Japan, I woke up at 4am but slowly adjusted to waking up at a normal hour (I was there for 10 days). I would recommend going to TDL during the first part of your trip because getting to the parks early, particularly TDL for rope drop is important so you can do Pooh and Monsters Inc first thing in the morning. If you do plan on staying on property, it's a short train ride to your hotel.

An observation, my assumption of TDL guests was they are as polite and orderly as they are in Tokyo. This is completely wrong! Despite CMs holding signs that said "Please Walk", I have never seen so many people (kids and adults) running in the parks, even worse than the US parks and I was at Cars Land when it first opened.

 

[Tissa]

I worry about this because I have only been to WDW where I just had to adjust 1 hour ahead which is no issue. I also usually drive everywhere and have only been on an airplane 5 times total in my 45 years and those were just 3 hour flights.

We are going in May and the best price was on Turkish Airlines so I leave Houston at 8pm on a Thursday and arrive in Istanbul at 345pm the next day and then do not leave for Tokyo until 2:15 the next day. Arriving 4 days later in Tokyo at 7:45am Sunday. I can not get into the hotel room until later that day so we will be hitting the park.

I hope we sleep at some point.

 

[Ebiten]

I hope we sleep at some point.

If you are not averse to it, I suggest taking sleeping pills with you for the plane. Sleeping masks and a headset playing music always make me fall asleep on a plane.

 

[1nfrequent]

I'm just back from a trip to Tokyo and even if you do sleep on the plane, if your flight gets in early in the morning, the jet lag can be insane. Also, you need to bear in mind that your room probably won't be ready until 3pm so you won't be able to crash until after then.

I left Disney until the last 3 days of my trip and I felt I got more out of it - the parks were running 9.30am to 10pm so there was plenty of time to do things. Mornings are by far the best time to go - there are crowds but you're more likely to get the fast passes to do rides later. Bear in mind that TSM will be out of fast passes within an hour of the park opening (I have never seen anything like it in my life).

If you're on a flight that gets in late morning/early afternoon, then take the above with a pinch of salt but I figure the above may be of use.

1F