It's official...ABD is going to Japan!

https://www.jtbusa.com/Services/GhibliMuseum.aspx

For those interested in the Ghibli Museum while in Tokyo, JTB-USA is changing their ticketing policy as of January 2019 - they will no longer sell individual museum tickets. They will now only sell them as part of a package or tour. This appears to be a change for JTB-USA only, as JTB in several other countries still offers individual tickets.
 
I am finally starting to turn my attention to planning the details of our July 14th ABD. I'm hoping someone will be able to chime in on a couple questions/issues I have.

1. In order to take advantage of First Class airline awards DH and DS are flying into Narita and DD and I are arriving at Haneda. The guys get in at about 3 pm and we get in at 7 pm. We all arrive two days early and plan to either take the train or use miles to get a cheap flight to Kyoto after staying a couple of nights in Tokyo. We haven't decided what we will do on those two days but my goal is to make travel to and from the airports and trains stations as easy as possible--especially after our long flights.

My original plan was to stay at my bucket list Tokyo hotel--the Park Hyatt--on points. But then I saw that you have to take a short shuttle after the train from Narita (an extra step like this worries me with the boys--DS is special needs and will probably be at the end of his good behavior expectations), and for DD and me, there isn't a convenient train. The hotel website recommends the shuttle bus from Haneda, which doesn't sound fun. From what I've read, you can wait quite a while for the bus.

After a little searching I found, the Tokyo Station hotel, which looks to be extremely train/airport friendly to both airports and the train station if we decide to do the bullet train to Osaka. It looks to be a nice "Grand Dame" style hotel that is often found around old train stations. I like that it's also a 20 minute train ride to Disney if we decide to do that on one of our days. I booked it with cash, but I may change it to use URs via the Chase travel website. So my first question is whether anyone is familiar with both hotels, and whether you think I will be disappointed not staying at the Park Hyatt, despite the transportation convenience issue for that hotel.

2.
Getting from Tokyo to Osaka. I'd originally planned for us to do the bullet train to get to Osaka, but after reading about cost/hassle with luggage, I'm revisiting the idea of a short flight using miles, which will be significantly cheaper. Our ABD is doing the Shinkansen Train from Osaka to Hiroshima, is this enough to get the full experience? I'd read about the luggage transfer services from the airports and we could do that if we decide to take the train, especially if we stay at the Tokyo Station hotel.

3. What to do in Tokyo. Our plan is to use the two days mostly to get acclimated and be ready to start the very busy ABD, but I'd love a couple ideas of things to do that don't overlap with the tour. I'd originally planned on the Fish Market, but they've recently closed the Tuna auctions to the public. If we stay at the Station Hotel a quick day trip to DisneySea is tempting (20 minutes on the train). DS would love that. But if anyone has any great food tours that could also work. We all love Sushi, so I'm going to try to do Sukiyabashi Jiro by calling the concierge 6 months out, but I'm not overly optimistic.

4. Anyone else thinking about doing the Tokyo Disney post days on their own rather than the ABD add-on? Our 6 month window is getting close, and I'm debating. I like the perks of the ABD add-on, but the cost differential is pretty severe. As our family is also flying out of different airports, the transportation issue is a factor as ABD will do the transfers. Debating...

I'd appreciate any thoughts/opinions. It's fun to finally be thinking about all this.
 
I am finally starting to turn my attention to planning the details of our July 14th ABD. I'm hoping someone will be able to chime in on a couple questions/issues I have.

1. In order to take advantage of First Class airline awards DH and DS are flying into Narita and DD and I are arriving at Haneda. The guys get in at about 3 pm and we get in at 7 pm. We all arrive two days early and plan to either take the train or use miles to get a cheap flight to Kyoto after staying a couple of nights in Tokyo. We haven't decided what we will do on those two days but my goal is to make travel to and from the airports and trains stations as easy as possible--especially after our long flights.

My original plan was to stay at my bucket list Tokyo hotel--the Park Hyatt--on points. But then I saw that you have to take a short shuttle after the train from Narita (an extra step like this worries me with the boys--DS is special needs and will probably be at the end of his good behavior expectations), and for DD and me, there isn't a convenient train. The hotel website recommends the shuttle bus from Haneda, which doesn't sound fun. From what I've read, you can wait quite a while for the bus.

After a little searching I found, the Tokyo Station hotel, which looks to be extremely train/airport friendly to both airports and the train station if we decide to do the bullet train to Osaka. It looks to be a nice "Grand Dame" style hotel that is often found around old train stations. I like that it's also a 20 minute train ride to Disney if we decide to do that on one of our days. I booked it with cash, but I may change it to use URs via the Chase travel website. So my first question is whether anyone is familiar with both hotels, and whether you think I will be disappointed not staying at the Park Hyatt, despite the transportation convenience issue for that hotel.

2.
Getting from Tokyo to Osaka. I'd originally planned for us to do the bullet train to get to Osaka, but after reading about cost/hassle with luggage, I'm revisiting the idea of a short flight using miles, which will be significantly cheaper. Our ABD is doing the Shinkansen Train from Osaka to Hiroshima, is this enough to get the full experience? I'd read about the luggage transfer services from the airports and we could do that if we decide to take the train, especially if we stay at the Tokyo Station hotel.

3. What to do in Tokyo. Our plan is to use the two days mostly to get acclimated and be ready to start the very busy ABD, but I'd love a couple ideas of things to do that don't overlap with the tour. I'd originally planned on the Fish Market, but they've recently closed the Tuna auctions to the public. If we stay at the Station Hotel a quick day trip to DisneySea is tempting (20 minutes on the train). DS would love that. But if anyone has any great food tours that could also work. We all love Sushi, so I'm going to try to do Sukiyabashi Jiro by calling the concierge 6 months out, but I'm not overly optimistic.

4. Anyone else thinking about doing the Tokyo Disney post days on their own rather than the ABD add-on? Our 6 month window is getting close, and I'm debating. I like the perks of the ABD add-on, but the cost differential is pretty severe. As our family is also flying out of different airports, the transportation issue is a factor as ABD will do the transfers. Debating...

I'd appreciate any thoughts/opinions. It's fun to finally be thinking about all this.
Sorry, can't help you with any of this, as I'm flying into Osaka, and am definitely doing the ABD add-on for Tokyo Disney, as the cost differential for me was negligible, especially given the convenience. But it's fun to see you planning! I really need to do a bit of that, myself! :)

Sayhello
 
Sorry, can't help you with any of this, as I'm flying into Osaka, and am definitely doing the ABD add-on for Tokyo Disney, as the cost differential for me was negligible, especially given the convenience. But it's fun to see you planning! I really need to do a bit of that, myself! :)

Sayhello
I feel like I’ve been slacking, lol. Hopefully someone has been more on board than me :)
 


I am finally starting to turn my attention to planning the details of our July 14th ABD. I'm hoping someone will be able to chime in on a couple questions/issues I have.

1. In order to take advantage of First Class airline awards DH and DS are flying into Narita and DD and I are arriving at Haneda. The guys get in at about 3 pm and we get in at 7 pm. We all arrive two days early and plan to either take the train or use miles to get a cheap flight to Kyoto after staying a couple of nights in Tokyo. We haven't decided what we will do on those two days but my goal is to make travel to and from the airports and trains stations as easy as possible--especially after our long flights.

My original plan was to stay at my bucket list Tokyo hotel--the Park Hyatt--on points. But then I saw that you have to take a short shuttle after the train from Narita (an extra step like this worries me with the boys--DS is special needs and will probably be at the end of his good behavior expectations), and for DD and me, there isn't a convenient train. The hotel website recommends the shuttle bus from Haneda, which doesn't sound fun. From what I've read, you can wait quite a while for the bus.

After a little searching I found, the Tokyo Station hotel, which looks to be extremely train/airport friendly to both airports and the train station if we decide to do the bullet train to Osaka. It looks to be a nice "Grand Dame" style hotel that is often found around old train stations. I like that it's also a 20 minute train ride to Disney if we decide to do that on one of our days. I booked it with cash, but I may change it to use URs via the Chase travel website. So my first question is whether anyone is familiar with both hotels, and whether you think I will be disappointed not staying at the Park Hyatt, despite the transportation convenience issue for that hotel.

2.
Getting from Tokyo to Osaka. I'd originally planned for us to do the bullet train to get to Osaka, but after reading about cost/hassle with luggage, I'm revisiting the idea of a short flight using miles, which will be significantly cheaper. Our ABD is doing the Shinkansen Train from Osaka to Hiroshima, is this enough to get the full experience? I'd read about the luggage transfer services from the airports and we could do that if we decide to take the train, especially if we stay at the Tokyo Station hotel.

3. What to do in Tokyo. Our plan is to use the two days mostly to get acclimated and be ready to start the very busy ABD, but I'd love a couple ideas of things to do that don't overlap with the tour. I'd originally planned on the Fish Market, but they've recently closed the Tuna auctions to the public. If we stay at the Station Hotel a quick day trip to DisneySea is tempting (20 minutes on the train). DS would love that. But if anyone has any great food tours that could also work. We all love Sushi, so I'm going to try to do Sukiyabashi Jiro by calling the concierge 6 months out, but I'm not overly optimistic.

4. Anyone else thinking about doing the Tokyo Disney post days on their own rather than the ABD add-on? Our 6 month window is getting close, and I'm debating. I like the perks of the ABD add-on, but the cost differential is pretty severe. As our family is also flying out of different airports, the transportation issue is a factor as ABD will do the transfers. Debating...

I'd appreciate any thoughts/opinions. It's fun to finally be thinking about all this.

HaHa! I totally get doing some convoluted things to secure first class flights. I've got a few convoluted things going on for this trip too.

Getting from Tokyo to Osaka: We booked flights from HND - ITM on ANA using 5,000 United miles each.
 
HaHa! I totally get doing some convoluted things to secure first class flights. I've got a few convoluted things going on for this trip too.

Getting from Tokyo to Osaka: We booked flights from HND - ITM on ANA using 5,000 United miles each.

The mile cost for flights is so much cheaper than the train that's what's giving me problems, LOL. We'd totally planned to do the train until I started looking into award flights. I know you guys are staying at the Park Hyatt, too, the 30k is hard to pass up, but I just think the least hassle the better is probably the way to go.
 
I can’t help much. We’re flying into Tokyo and then catching a flight to ITM. We’ll stay two pre nights in Kyoto. I decided to let the kids decompress in Kyoto prior to the ABD. I need to research touring options in Kyoto to see what’s worth doing that doesn’t overlap ABD. I don’t know about the Shinkansen train differences, but I think the train to Hiroshima will be a great experience. I’d probably fly to Osaka if you feel it’s more convenient.

As far as TDR, we’re staying 5 additional nights. So, for us there’s no real way to do the ABD post night option. Even if there was, it’s crazy expensive for a family of 5. Over $10,000 for 2 nights I think it was. We’ll be booking on our own. Our booking window opens up in 2 wks. We’ll do our best to get a family room in Miracosta or the DL hotel. I’m not looking forward to the chaotic booking process. Also annoying TDR doesn’t offer packages over 3 days. So we’ll have to get a couple of packages.

Beyond looking up the booking date for TDR, I haven’t done much research either. Time to start!

Merry Christmas everyone!
 


My original plan was to stay at my bucket list Tokyo hotel--the Park Hyatt--on points. But then I saw that you have to take a short shuttle after the train from Narita (an extra step like this worries me with the boys--DS is special needs and will probably be at the end of his good behavior expectations), and for DD and me, there isn't a convenient train. The hotel website recommends the shuttle bus from Haneda, which doesn't sound fun. From what I've read, you can wait quite a while for the bus.

Have you considered taxis? I’ve read they can be expensive in Tokyo but may be something to consider for this trip to easily get to the Park Hyatt from the two different airports.
 
I'd originally planned on the Fish Market, but they've recently closed the Tuna auctions to the public.

I wouldn't rule out the Fish Market simply because the auction is no longer open to the public. We did the auction, a tour of the fish market, and sushi making lessons (making as much as you could eat). Honestly, we could have done without the auction portion. There is so much to see (and eat) in the market and the sushi making class was alot of fun. In the market you can sample everything from fish, meats, produce and baked goods. There are demonstrations on how to butcher a whole tuna, etc. If you do go to the market, I'd recommend a guide. We wouldn't have found half the stuff we did if we were simply wandering ourselves. It was one of our favorite things in Tokyo. I think in another post (the other option thread I think), I listed a bunch of stuff we did in Tokyo as additional ideas.
 
I need to research touring options in Kyoto to see what’s worth doing that doesn’t overlap ABD.

I don’t know if your kids are interested in anime or manga - here is a link to the Kyoto International Manga Museum.

https://www.kyotomm.jp/en/

The museum offers on the weekends Portrait Corner where an anime artist will draw your kids into an anime drawing as they watch. First come first served starting about an hour after the museum opens. Would be a very unique souvenir of the trip for them if it is something they like.

https://www.kyotomm.jp/en/event/per-eve_portraitcorner/
 
I don’t know if your kids are interested in anime or manga - here is a link to the Kyoto International Manga Museum.

https://www.kyotomm.jp/en/

The museum offers on the weekends Portrait Corner where an anime artist will draw your kids into an anime drawing as they watch. First come first served starting about an hour after the museum opens. Would be a very unique souvenir of the trip for them if it is something they like.

https://www.kyotomm.jp/en/event/per-eve_portraitcorner/
Ooo! Thanks! That looks cool. I'm going to have to check if we have any OYO time in Kyoto!

Sayhello
 
Here are a couple of other Kyoto things we are looking at for our pre-AbD time there -

Nishiki Market - this is not too far from the hotel, seems like a fun way to experience a bit of locals Kyoto.

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3931.html

Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts - Kyoto seems to be known for many different types of fine Japanese craftwork, this museum seems like a good place to see both craft displays and demonstrations. Our tour includes a Maiko demo on Day 2 but we don’t really seem to cover other Kyoto crafts.

https://kmtc.jp/en/
 
Here is something we do plan to do before the AbD starts, it is southwest of Kyoto - Himeji Castle. It is about an hour on the train, direct from Kyoto central station to Himeji and then either a shuttle or a 15-min walk from the train station to the castle. Himeji Castle, also known as the White Heron Castle, dates back to 1333 and was one of the first places added as a UNESCO World Heritage site in Japan. It is considered the best example of Japanese castle architecture and is still almost all original, and is the largest castle in Japan. There are several buildings in the castle complex and five of them are Japanese National Treasures. It is the most visited castle in Japan.

It is absolutely gorgeous and we can’t wait to see it in person. We are too close to not make the trip down to see it.

While most of the signage is in Japanese, in November they just added an English language tour once or twice a day at set times.

Official Himeji Castle site -

http://www.himejicastle.jp/en/

city of Himeji info page about the castle-

http://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/guide/castle_en/_40099.html
 
I don’t know if your kids are interested in anime or manga - here is a link to the Kyoto International Manga Museum.

https://www.kyotomm.jp/en/

The museum offers on the weekends Portrait Corner where an anime artist will draw your kids into an anime drawing as they watch. First come first served starting about an hour after the museum opens. Would be a very unique souvenir of the trip for them if it is something they like.

https://www.kyotomm.jp/en/event/per-eve_portraitcorner/
Boy, you can tell my brain is still in End of Year mode. I totally spaced that I fly into Osaka, but we're staying in Kyoto. :) It's an old brain, what can I say? This actually works out perfectly for either my pre-day in Kyoto or the first day of the trip (which is really just another pre-day anyways). Those days are Saturday & Sunday, so the portrait artists will be available. I'm definitely going to look into this! :) Thanks!
Sayhello
 
2. Getting from Tokyo to Osaka. I'd originally planned for us to do the bullet train to get to Osaka, but after reading about cost/hassle with luggage, I'm revisiting the idea of a short flight using miles, which will be significantly cheaper. Our ABD is doing the Shinkansen Train from Osaka to Hiroshima, is this enough to get the full experience? I'd read about the luggage transfer services from the airports and we could do that if we decide to take the train, especially if we stay at the Tokyo Station hotel.

3. What to do in Tokyo. Our plan is to use the two days mostly to get acclimated and be ready to start the very busy ABD, but I'd love a couple ideas of things to do that don't overlap with the tour. I'd originally planned on the Fish Market, but they've recently closed the Tuna auctions to the public. If we stay at the Station Hotel a quick day trip to DisneySea is tempting (20 minutes on the train). DS would love that. But if anyone has any great food tours that could also work. We all love Sushi, so I'm going to try to do Sukiyabashi Jiro by calling the concierge 6 months out, but I'm not overly optimistic.

The shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka was fun but you're moving so fast you don't really take in the sights like you would think. I wouldn't have been sad if it was cut from the itinerary looking back now.

I *loved* DisneySea. I only had a few days in Japan and spent one full day there. Best day ever.
 
The shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka was fun but you're moving so fast you don't really take in the sights like you would think. I wouldn't have been sad if it was cut from the itinerary looking back now.

I *loved* DisneySea. I only had a few days in Japan and spent one full day there. Best day ever.
Good to know! Thanks for chiming in. I think I’m leaning toward the flights and staying at Tokyo Station for the convenience. We will only have 2 1/2 days at Tokyo Disney, which is making me think I may want to use that other full day for the parks.
 
Good to know! Thanks for chiming in. I think I’m leaning toward the flights and staying at Tokyo Station for the convenience. We will only have 2 1/2 days at Tokyo Disney, which is making me think I may want to use that other full day for the parks.

We stayed near a station in Shinagawa. I was freaked out about getting to Disney but it wasn’t bad.
 

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