Japan Trip Update/Report

[Haley R]

Hi everyone!

We are in Japan right now and I’m using this thread to share our thoughts and experiences with everyone!


Link to YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC007X6kCgzr0NdSErd0Q5Tg?view_as=subscriber

Daily posts:
Day 1 - Travel Day
Day 2 - Harajuku/Shibuya
Day 3 - Meiji Jingu/Asakusa/Akihabara
Day 4 - Pokémon Cafe/Tokyo Dome Baseball
Day 5 - Ghibli Museum/Odaiba
Day 6 - Hakone
Day 7 - Fushimi Inari/Gion
Day 8 - Arashiyama
Day 9 - Nara
Day 10 - Fushimi Inari/Kyoto Railway Museum/Dotonbori
Day 11 - Ōsaka Aquarium
Day 12 - Miyajima/Hiroshima
Day 13 - Travel day/Ikspiari
Day 14 - Rest day/Ikspiari/Disneyland Hotel
Day 15 - DisneySea
Day 16 - Disneyland
Day 17 - DisneySea
Day 18 - Disneyland
Day 19 - Travel day/going home

Tips and Final Thoughts
https://www.disboards.com/threads/japan-trip-update-report.3751378/post-60734973

Hotel Reviews
Hyatt Regency Los Angeles International Airport-Link
Airbnb in Shibuya-Link
Yumoto Station Hotel Mirahakone-Link
Hotel Gentle Fox Kyoto-Link
Hilton Tokyo Bay-Link

Money Report
Link

 

[LovesTimone]

WOW... Your almost on your way...

Have a wonderful time, looking forward to hearing all about your trip...

Safe Travels.. and some pixie dust for good measure...

 

[AngelDisney]

Yay! You’re almost there!!


Have a safe flight and a magical vacation!!!

 

[SaintsManiac]

I'm going to follow you on Instagram!

 

[Haley R]

Yay! You’re almost there!!


Have a safe flight and a magical vacation!!!

Thanks!!!

 

[Haley R]

I'm going to follow you on Instagram!

Awesome. Thank you!

 

[nono]

Looking forward to hearing all of it! Have restful flights!

 

[Haley R]

Looking forward to hearing all of it! Have restful flights!

Thanks! We just landed in Las Vegas and have 20 minutes before taking off to LAX. We stay the night there and head to Japan tomorrow morning!

 

[Colleen27]

Have a fabulous trip!

 

[Haley R]

Have a fabulous trip!

Thanks! Just landed at LAX! We are really tired so might crash pretty soon after getting to the hotel

 

[DisneySwede]

Have a great trip!

 

[LovesTimone]

On your way today... So exciting... have a restful flight... so you are ready to go go go when you get to Tokyo!

 

[aleh021]

Thanks! Just landed at LAX! We are really tired so might crash pretty soon after getting to the hotel

Glad you landed safely

I hope your flight to Japan will be great & can't wait to hear all about it!
I am deff following you on instagram now

 

[Haley R]

Thanks everyone! I’m super tired today so I’m not worried at all about getting sleep on the plane. I’m so excited to get in my comfy seat and relax! I’m still new to Instagram but I think I’ve mainly got the story thing figured out

 

[Flossbolna]

Have a fabulous trip! I will be looking forward to your updates!

 

[JKalai]

Followed!!

 

[Haley R]

Well that was a super long day. I still feel like I’m moving on a plane but I’m lying in bed. It’s such a weird feeling. Here are my notes from today (it ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be):

Trip Report-Day 1 (May 27/28)
Separate check in line and security line for business class

Star alliance lounge had breakfast options and a make your own ramen station. The breakfast was really good but the ramen wasn’t great. The broth was very watered down. We got there around 9 am. There were only about 5 other people. By 10:30 the lounge was pretty full and some people were having trouble finding a spot to sit. The outside patio was closed for cleaning at first but opened later. It was really nice out there.

Business class seats: absolutely amazing, service was spectacular and it was so nice to be able to lay down. First meal I chose international cuisine. I was given some small starters, two kinds of bread (with olive oil, salt, cracked pepper), an appetizer (that I didn’t like), my main course (I chose wagyu beef ribeye), and a hazelnut dessert. The bread was really yummy but the ribeye was amazing! It came with three small potatoes. The hazelnut dessert was okay (I’m not a huge hazelnut person). I attempted to sleep but it only lasted about 30 minutes. I watched The Upside and part of the new Grinch movie. I also played solitaire and Tetris on the tv with my remote. There was a menu of things you could order at any time so I ordered a small thing of vanilla ice cream which hit the spot. I later ordered ramen because syth ordered some and it looked delicious. It was the best thing I ate!

The custom process and getting through the Narita airport was super quick and easy. At the airport we exchanged our JR passes, reserved seats for the Shinkansen, and loaded Pasmo cards. We then headed to Shinjuku station. The trains were a struggle for us. We got so lost and were frustrated. It’ll be a learning experience for sure. Luckily we’re staying at an Airbnb and she offered to help us with some things tomorrow. We tried exchanging our hakone passes at Shinjuku station and the guy gave us terrible directions so we ended up leaving.

Our Airbnb host is amazing!!! She has literally thought of everything in this property and everything is so nice and clean. I’ll post more about it as time goes on but I’m very impressed so far.

Tomorrow we’re going to shibuya and harajuku. It should be more of a low key day where we walk around, shop, and eat snacks. It’s supposed to rain so we’ll see how that goes.

ETA: no idea why one of the pictures is upside down

 

[LovesTimone]

Well that was a super long day. I still feel like I’m moving on a plane but I’m lying in bed. It’s such a weird feeling. Here are my notes from today (it ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be):

Trip Report-Day 1 (May 27/28)
Separate check in line and security line for business class

Star alliance lounge had breakfast options and a make your own ramen station. The breakfast was really good but the ramen wasn’t great. The broth was very watered down. We got there around 9 am. There were only about 5 other people. By 10:30 the lounge was pretty full and some people were having trouble finding a spot to sit. The outside patio was closed for cleaning at first but opened later. It was really nice out there.

Business class seats: absolutely amazing, service was spectacular and it was so nice to be able to lay down. First meal I chose international cuisine. I was given some small starters, two kinds of bread (with olive oil, salt, cracked pepper), an appetizer (that I didn’t like), my main course (I chose wagyu beef ribeye), and a hazelnut dessert. The bread was really yummy but the ribeye was amazing! It came with three small potatoes. The hazelnut dessert was okay (I’m not a huge hazelnut person). I attempted to sleep but it only lasted about 30 minutes. I watched The Upside and part of the new Grinch movie. I also played solitaire and Tetris on the tv with my remote. There was a menu of things you could order at any time so I ordered a small thing of vanilla ice cream which hit the spot. I later ordered ramen because syth ordered some and it looked delicious. It was the best thing I ate!

The custom process and getting through the Narita airport was super quick and easy. At the airport we exchanged our JR passes, reserved seats for the Shinkansen, and loaded Pasmo cards. We then headed to Shinjuku station. The trains were a struggle for us. We got so lost and were frustrated. It’ll be a learning experience for sure. Luckily we’re staying at an Airbnb and she offered to help us with some things tomorrow. We tried exchanging our hakone passes at Shinjuku station and the guy gave us terrible directions so we ended up leaving.

Our Airbnb host is amazing!!! She has literally thought of everything in this property and everything is so nice and clean. I’ll post more about it as time goes on but I’m very impressed so far.

Tomorrow we’re going to shibuya and harajuku. It should be more of a low key day where we walk around, shop, and eat snacks. It’s supposed to rain so we’ll see how that goes.

Glad to hear your flight was great, and that the food was good as well.... I worry about not being able to sleep on the plane over, did you take anything to help you sleep? also glad to hear that customs and immigration was not a nightmare..

Sorry about the trains, this is the one thing that worries me the most... I am sure with some rest and sleep you guys will be ready to go, and will have it figure it out in no time...

Glad your host is amazing... can't wait to hear all about it...

So happy you made it safely... Have fun... sending lots of pixie dust for the trains....

 

[nono]

Great recap! Glad you made it safely. Will be interested to hear if the trains are still confusing once you've had a good night's sleep.

P.S. I get "land sick" after any motion for 8+ hours: sailing, driving to FL, the Autotrain to FL and airplanes...you have my sympathies. I find a Manhattan or a little whiskey in my usually makes me OK again.

 

[DisneySwede]

Do you have internet on your phone? We used google maps to tell us which train to take and it made everything much easier, it was our lifesaver travelling on the subway