Tokyo trip at Christmas (a report)

nono

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 30, 2005
Hey all, Loves Timone is expecting a trip report. I'm not really good at doing them anymore, but I'll give it a go here, if you'll accept summary form. :)
We are a family of 4, parents in mid-50s, kids in early teens. We got a killer airfare deal that involved a crazy run from PHL thru ORD thru LAX to HND. Yeah. Thank goodness we saved thousands. It was a little crazy, and I likely wouldn't do it again. We normally fly out of EWR, but this thing dropped in our laps Memorial Weekend for a travel date of Dec. 17, and we jumped on it. It became everyone's birthday and Christmas gift.

So, we landed in Haneda on Dec. 19 at 5:30 a.m. We did all our chores (wifi pick up, visit the fun areas of the airport, ship luggage ahead) and visited the Cafe Expasa on the 5th floor with a view to the runways. The 8:40 bus was either sold out or not running, so we took a cab. For the record, at 9 a.m. on a Thursday morning, it was ¥5100 from Haneda International Terminal to the Odaiba Hilton.

We enjoyed our 3 day stay in Odaiba. Our room slept the 4 of us, overlooked the Rainbow Bridge and the FujiTV building. Over the 3 days, we enjoyed shopping in Decks and AquaCity (we don't have malls near us), but found Diver City and the Venus Fort not for us. Totally loved MegaWeb and the History Garage and Team Lab Borderless. Went for a couple of runs through the area, and wished every park wasn't closed for reconstruction (dern!). One night we went into Tokyo to enjoy a couple of the Christmas light "Illuminations." Liked the ease of the Seagull err Yurikamome Line.

We transferred via cab to the Ambassador Hotel for 5 nights. It was ¥4500 for the cab ride, around 8 a.m. We did 6 days of park tickets, because it was Christmas/approaching New Years, and we aren't park open to close type people. We made rope drop everyday, but after lunch we were usually back for a nap. We went back to the park every night, but sometimes early, sometimes near closing, and a couple times zipped into the city proper to do something in between. The express train from Maihama is just great! My favorite part of TDL/DL? No one walks into a boat ride by putting their stinking feet on the seats of the boats! Yea! I have reached civilization finally. Seriously, I was delighted every time I got on a ride. It was really crowded as we expected, and wait times for the E ticket rides grew to 3-4 hours a couple times that week, which is why we got in and out by lunch. I really enjoyed both parks tremendously, both day and night.

Our last 4 nights were at the Hilton Tokyo Bay, which is a fine place. Very international feel, not necessarily Japanese feel. We stayed there because it was easy to get a room for 4 and I had points to burn. We found the commute to all our Tokyo spots fine and would do the same again. However, we are former NYC residents, so navigating trains and buses is pretty routine for us, and we liked retiring to the quiet of the TDL area at the end of the night (with our teens that's like 9 - 10 pm...) During these 4 days, we went to Shibuya for blue ramen, visited Temple University Japan for photos, went to Tokyo Tower at night for its Christmas Illumination, visited Ginza and did the "walk down the next block" and had a wonderful Saturday afternoon just a block away from the crowd. Also another day did Mitsukoshi's flagship store and food basement for a "picnic" back at the hotel, ran along the seawall, and other Tokyo stuff around/in Tokyo station which I can't recall in detail now. We also saw Star Wars with Japanese subtitles at the Cinema Ikspiari. I think that's it.

My older child is seriously considering Temple University Japan, so this may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. :tilt:
 
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Oh, we also went to Akihabara one morning and raided Don Quijote there. Note: Kit Kats cost the same or less at the store in the international terminal in NRT. The store in NRT (after security) also had many Pocky flavors. We were thrilled to pick up giant Pocky, Matcha flavored. You would have thought we just found a $100 bill with no owner the way we reacted. :genie:
 
Also ate at Ikspiari quite a few times including: Bar Rica Cerveza, Tsukiji Tamasushi, Monsoon Cafe, Ippudo for ramen. While we spent a lot of time there eating, we didn't really buy anything from the stores. We didn't get to the Disney Store or Bon Voyage either. We brought home more Tokyo Olympic merch than we did Disney merch, and the Disney stuff we found easily in the parks.
 


lovestimone here...

A+, great report and you added pictures... what a sweet family....

Thanks for sharing your experience's with us...

Now let me start asking questions... LOL :rotfl2: :thumbsup2:hug:
 
Ask away! Will put up more photos of the Disney part and general Tokyo part too, probably today. Also more photos perhaps in the other entries. That's the plan anyways.
 


TDL/TDS....a shot behind Barnacle Bills, vistas from Fortress Explorations, Teddy Roosevelt Lounge fireplace, a TDS Christmas Tree, inside Vulcania, Snow White and Dancing Trees, Christmas Stories parade, Nightmare Before Christmas overlay, stairway at the Ambassador Hotel.

smBehindBarnacleBills.jpgsmFotressExplorationsVista2.jpgsmFotressExplorationsVista1.jpgsmTeddyLoungeFireplace.jpgsmAmericanTreeTDS.jpgsmVulcania.jpgsmXmasStoriesParade.jpgsmXmasStoriesDancingTrees.jpgsmNightmareOverlayHauntedMansion.jpgsmAmbassadorStairs.jpg
 
Yes, Suica for all 4, and it was easy. The only thing I can think of that was unclear due to 14 hour time change was which machine to use. Some are ticket machines (meaning a single train ticket) and some are pass machines (can issue your Suica/Pasmo). I just stood back for a second and took a look at the whole bank of machines and it became clear. Also, the info people at Haneda were right there in case there was a question. The machines, once I had a day or so adjustment, were obvious enough in their distinction that it was easy to know which ones were which.

I live on the East Coast and lived in NYC and worked part time in DC -- I always had subway cards loaded up with some cash, so the idea of paying by a single ticket per ride would have probably killed my brain. However, if someone has a JR pass and is just using an occasional subway ride, I see where a single would be perfect!
 
Random Tokyo sightings - Caretta Illumination, Tokyo Tower and Illumination, Ginza 6, Kipposhi Blue Ramen, Olympic Countdown clock outside Tokyo Station, Star Wars Tree.
smCarettaIllumination.jpgsmTokyoTowerIllumination.jpgsmHiltonTokyoBayTrainDisplay.jpgsmTokyoTowerWindowPanes.jpgsmGinza6.jpgsmKipposhiBlueRamen.jpgsmOlympicCountdownClock.jpgsmStarWarsTree.jpg
 
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That's about it for pictures. The things we really enjoyed: pretty much everything! Food, pastries, beer/wine/sake/whiskey, non-alcoholic drinks, each location we visited, the Christmas Illuminations....things at/near Tokyo Station including the gardens, Star Wars Christmas installation, the art...

For Tokyo Disney, we had so many good snacks, drinks etc. Near Indiana Jones was a Yucatan Roll/something that we all shared 1 day and I returned to get again. Just from a cart. A big sausage shoved into a well-baked baguette. That's it. It was delicious! My husband had the chicken leg closer to Raging Spirits. That was really noteworthy too. Oh and the warm wine. Sounds iffy. It's not. Like mead, but better.

Funniest moment? Probably me getting into the Flounder Flying Fish Coaster and figuring out that my 31" inseam legs don't quite bend like the used to, and having to stand up and slide on in just so to fit on the coaster. Also, the guy at the sushi place in Ikspiari saying, "See you tomorrow" every time we left.

Most stunning moment? Going to the Ladies Room at the Monsoon Cafe in Odaiba and having an "Oh regular toilet" moment followed by a stunning view of the Rainbow Bridge. :rotfl2:

Worst moment? Honestly, there were no terrible moments to recall. I was thinking flying out of Narita would be the worst. I really liked Narita airport. More roomy somehow than Haneda, and now that we know how to navigate trains and buses, I would fly to either airport based upon best schedule/price.

Hope this disjointed report helps someone else in their planning for Tokyo Disney and beyond.
 
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Lovestimone here again...

Thank you so much for sharing your trip... A+ and extra credit for all the wonderful pictures... :thumbsup2 :hug:
 

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