Planning 2019 trip

Make sure you know how to get tickets to the Studio Ghibli Museum. You can't buy tickets at the museum and can be a bit difficult to buy. We went through the museum website & used the company they suggested but I had 2-3 back-up plans in case we hadn't been able to get tickets that way.
It is an AMAZING museum. I already want to go back. And definitely take the time to eat at the restaurant. The food is adorable and tastes great.
 
We're planning to go in 2019, very end of Sept/first 2 weeks of Oct, during the Rugby World Cup. Have only got tickets to one pool match so far which is way down south but planning a few days in Tokyo, both TDR and DisneySea and probably Kyoto.
 
TDR Explorer is a great resource, I also got a few Japan travel guides that were cheap or free on Amazon Prime for my kindle. I did use a few DIS resources and Disney Tourist Blog.

We just got back this past Tuesday from 11 days -- Tokyo, Tokyo Bay, Osaka, and Kyoto. Definitely try to do some other things if you have the time and resources.

A few of our family (including my 11 and 14 year olds) favs besides Disney were Nara Park in the Kyoto area and the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku. Let me know if you have questions!
 
TDR Explorer is a great resource, I also got a few Japan travel guides that were cheap or free on Amazon Prime for my kindle. I did use a few DIS resources and Disney Tourist Blog.

We just got back this past Tuesday from 11 days -- Tokyo, Tokyo Bay, Osaka, and Kyoto. Definitely try to do some other things if you have the time and resources.

A few of our family (including my 11 and 14 year olds) favs besides Disney were Nara Park in the Kyoto area and the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku. Let me know if you have questions!
You guys really liked the robot restaurant? I just don’t know if I’ll like it.
 


We are in the beginning stages of planning also. I wanted 2019 but my hubs is leaning towards 2020 because we are headed to wdw end of August for a week. Disneyland Cali for 2 weeks in Oct. I do know when we go to Japan we are going to fly from Philadelphia to LAX stay 3 days at Grand Cali and then go to Japan but will need to see if we will is our DVC points for Japan
 
Jumping in because I've just started the planning for a Japan trip too. My daughter just got home from an eight-week exchange program and immediately asked (before we even left the airport!) when we could go as a family... So we're planning for May 2020, right after the school year ends.

I picked up Lonely Planet's Japan guide via Kindle Unlimited and I'm starting to think three weeks isn't nearly enough time for this trip! I'm only planning a few days for TDR/DS, kind of as a "while we're here" on a larger tour of the country, because there is so much we want to do while we're there (including a visit with DD's host family in Shimane prefecture, *way* off the beaten path), so I'm trying to get a sense of the must-dos and how much time to allow. Japan Guide and TDRexplorer have been really helpful so far, along with some (often badly translated via Google) local tourism sites for some of the areas we plan to visit.
 


We are going this summer finally. We had to put off the trip for 2 years due to health issues. We have our airfare booked,happy with the $900/person so bought it this past week. Unfortunately due to DD's dance team dates we are going in July rather than May/June but we get 25 days in Japan and 4.5 days in Hong Kong so hopefully can see a lot. :thumbsup2

I am still trying to figure out which towns/cities to visit besides Tokyo/Disney. Any suggestions or recommendations would be great.:flower3:
 
We are going this summer finally. We had to put off the trip for 2 years due to health issues. We have our airfare booked,happy with the $900/person so bought it this past week. Unfortunately due to DD's dance team dates we are going in July rather than May/June but we get 25 days in Japan and 4.5 days in Hong Kong so hopefully can see a lot. :thumbsup2

I am still trying to figure out which towns/cities to visit besides Tokyo/Disney. Any suggestions or recommendations would be great.:flower3:
We are going in June and these are the cities we are going to visit: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, miyojima, hakone, nara, and I feel like there are a couple more. Yokohama was one too.
 
We got back from Japan a couple months ago. We went as part of a family group of 12 which was a bit much. My husband already wants to go back! It will be so much easier with just the two of us.
 
We are going this summer finally. We had to put off the trip for 2 years due to health issues. We have our airfare booked,happy with the $900/person so bought it this past week. Unfortunately due to DD's dance team dates we are going in July rather than May/June but we get 25 days in Japan and 4.5 days in Hong Kong so hopefully can see a lot. :thumbsup2

I am still trying to figure out which towns/cities to visit besides Tokyo/Disney. Any suggestions or recommendations would be great.:flower3:

Kyoto is the other "can't miss" city. Hiroshima was also great from our experience (try okonomiyaki). Yokohama is a relatively short train from Tokyo, the Ramen Museum there was a personal favorite. I liked Osaka as well, but haven't spent as much time there.
 
hi,i'm japanese.
i have a lot of tdr experience.
so,if you have some question you can ask me!
But i'm not good at English,so please ask me with easy sentence!lol
 
We're going to Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Tokyo, and ending with a few days at Disney. SO much to see in Japan! I mostly used the FB group Japan Travel Planning. TONS of great info! I also looked through Lonely Planet Guide at the very start of my research. I loved the DK Eyewitness guide for their great photos and special tips. I got a fun/colorful book for my daughter Cool Japan Guide by Abby Denson. I did look at TDR Explorer on FB but he covers all the Disneys so it's kind of a pain to sort through for Tokyo only info and I didn't find him responsive at all to questions.

Oh and I watched a bunch of YouTube videos about everything from shopping to eating to transportation!
 
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I'm planning for 2019 too - in January! I'll be at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel - Alice in Wonderland room for a few days, and will probably have about 8 more days to explore non-Disney Japan :) Can't wait!

We got Beauty and the Beast room for April. So excited!!
 
I recommend tokyocheapo.com as well as japancheapo.com to find some good deals and suggestions. For a good close to Tokyo side trip I would suggest Nikko for some amazing shrines and onsens. There is a great train/bus ticket deal that you start at the Tokyo skytree area and can get around the Nikko area. I stayed at a great foreigner friendly hotel that had a lovely private onsen. It made for that true Nikko experience :) I also recommend checking for Goodwill guides. It's a great cheap way to meet locals and get a tour.
 
We are planning to explore the Chubu region of Japan (Nagoya, Takayama, Kanazawa et al) in December and of course a side trip to Tokyo Disney ^^
 
The only thing I have to add is that the value Disney Hotel is a 20 min bus ride away from the parks.
 
Also look up who "Duffy the Disney bear" is because you will see him everywhere.

Its fun to compare US norms on various characters vs. Japan. Like who would be wearing a Minnie Mouse hat in the US vs Japan.
 
Also look up who "Duffy the Disney bear" is because you will see him everywhere.

Its fun to compare US norms on various characters vs. Japan. Like who would be wearing a Minnie Mouse hat in the US vs Japan.
Our trip isn’t until June but I didn’t know who Duffy was. I looked him up but I have to say that gellatoni is so much cuter!
 

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