A (2019) HalloXmas trip to Asia - Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo! - COMPLETED 5/1!!!

[tundra1]

I am loving your report so far. Asia, specifically Thailand, is on my bucket list, but after seeing your beautiful photos, I know we will have to plan on visiting at least one or two of these parks. I like the vibe you portrayed for HKDL, although each park seems to have a personality of its own.

I have been very busy at work, so I fell a bit behind, but I have really enjoyed catching up! Thanks again for putting forth all the work to share your adventure with us!

 

[cindianne320]

Oh my goodness- so glad that you didn't miss your flight!

Can't wait to hear more about Tokyo!

 

[KathyM2]

You can book this about 1 month in advance and you have to preorder the dishes (so they know how many to make).

Wow!! This looked like such a fun experience. I would have a hard time deciding on food so far in advance though!!

I pretty much got one of everything! (And the waitresses know how to present it so you can really see it all!

OMG the food is so adorable!!! I think it would definitely be worth the price of admission for that food!!

Wow! I honestly don’t know what would have happened if I had missed this flight.

Yikes!! That must have been super stressful...I'm so glad you made it!!

 

[GDubDIS]

The STRESS of sleeping through a flight...I will say I had a similar experience after my first weekend in Vegas

So excited to hear about your time in Tokyo!! Japan is my top destination for my next "big" trip (AKA 2 weeks) whenever we can do that again. I just have to convince the boyfriend to spend a day at DisneySea!

 

[missangelalexis]

Omg thank goodness you didnt miss your flight! So stressful! But I'm glad you made it in the nick of time!

Your hotel looks nice!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi Leslie,

I've been reading your trip report and finally got to this point. I am really enjoying it and find the resorts to be very interesting. My main take away so far is that some of the successful rides and shows from Shanghai and Hong Kong should be brought to the US parks. They look awesome. I also liked how Shanghai Disney had made their park relatable to their culture. I also loved the gardens they had.

 

[Lesley Wake]

To begin I have to commend you for being able to sleep in public places because I do not have the ability unless I'm beyond tired. Also, especially at airports, even when I'm there with ample time to do whatever, I'm so afraid to fall asleep and then miss my flight so yours was a cautionary tale here, but thank god you still made it lol

I've been meaning to look more into what was going on in Hong Kong because it was being brought up a lot, but thank you for giving us a run-down. I didn't even realize it had been going on THIS LONG. Shows how in touch I am with the world.

Your little food plate actually looks really good. I'm sorry you were so stressed cause of almost missing the flight, I totally get the feeling though. But you got there safe and sound.

Sheratons always are so much nicer than people give them credit for. Definitely the right choice financially and for how nice it was. So excited to finally hear about your first day in Tokyo!!!!

Oh I normally wouldn't be able to sleep, but it was a very quiet and secluded corner of the VIP lounge!

It is crazy in Hong Kong! Just so many issues and I just feel for the protesters over there.

Glad the fires in your neighborhood are under control... Hopefully you have a mild winter without any mudslides... Seems like if it's not one thing it's another... Mother Nature really needs to get her meds adjusted...

Dang, you were cutting it close catching your plane!!!!

I can't wait to read all about Tokyo Disney!!!!

Yeah, we are good with weather...for now! Who knows in 2020!

It was so stressful with the flight! But it all worked out in the end!

As soon as I read the words, "I nodded off," I was certain your next update would be about missing your flight!!!!! I'm SO glad you made it though, and didn't have to find out what happens when you miss a flight like this!!

Those are great prices for such a close hotel! I have gotten some pretty good prices on Priceline for trips we've taken, but wouldn't have even thought about it for international travel. That's a great tip!

So am I that I made it!

And yeah, it was great prices! I've used priceline/hotels.com in France as well as Japan, so definitely recommend checking those out!

Oh goodness! Glad you didn't miss the flight!

I know!

I am loving your report so far. Asia, specifically Thailand, is on my bucket list, but after seeing your beautiful photos, I know we will have to plan on visiting at least one or two of these parks. I like the vibe you portrayed for HKDL, although each park seems to have a personality of its own.

I have been very busy at work, so I fell a bit behind, but I have really enjoyed catching up! Thanks again for putting forth all the work to share your adventure with us!

Yeah they definitely have their own personality! It was great to see them all!

Oh my goodness- so glad that you didn't miss your flight!

Can't wait to hear more about Tokyo!

I'm happy too! It would have really freaked me out!

Wow!! This looked like such a fun experience. I would have a hard time deciding on food so far in advance though!!



OMG the food is so adorable!!! I think it would definitely be worth the price of admission for that food!!



Yikes!! That must have been super stressful...I'm so glad you made it!!

That's why I just said - one of everything, lol!

The STRESS of sleeping through a flight...I will say I had a similar experience after my first weekend in Vegas

So excited to hear about your time in Tokyo!! Japan is my top destination for my next "big" trip (AKA 2 weeks) whenever we can do that again. I just have to convince the boyfriend to spend a day at DisneySea!

Yeah, you'll definitely need to convince him!

Omg thank goodness you didnt miss your flight! So stressful! But I'm glad you made it in the nick of time!

Your hotel looks nice!

It was a nice hotel! Pretty luxurious, especially considering the price!

Hi Leslie,

I've been reading your trip report and finally got to this point. I am really enjoying it and find the resorts to be very interesting. My main take away so far is that some of the successful rides and shows from Shanghai and Hong Kong should be brought to the US parks. They look awesome. I also liked how Shanghai Disney had made their park relatable to their culture. I also loved the gardens they had.

Oh I would love for them to bring some things over to the US! I do like that each park can have it's unique features, but I'd also love to get to ride these things without having to travel to the other side of the world!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 8 – Trying out some culture
Sunday, October 27, 2019

I had been in Asia for a week and was tired! One thing I really regret is not adding actual rest days into the trip. I know it seems like when you go so far away you need to make the most of every day, but the problem is it is exhausting! If I had added actual rest days it could have probably helped my overall attitude in the coming days (spoiler alert) and would have let me have more productive days! Hong Kong would have probably been a great option as their pool looked perfect for relaxation!

Anyways, today was a Sunday and if I learned anything planning for Tokyo Disney was to avoid the parks on a weekend due to crowds. So I decided to make today a day to do something more cultural.

My morning view. I noticed the hotel next door (Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay) had a cool Christmas display getting built.

I stopped down in the Galleria Café, the bakery/quick service place in the building lobby. I knew they had cool pastries so planned on getting one for breakfast.

I ended up getting the 3-bread loaf, which included milk bread, chocolate bread, and pumpkin bread. Though I got so distracted with everything and wanting to get moving, I ended up not eating it until later that day! (It’s rude to eat while walking in Japan.) But it was cute and delicious!

The construction for Fantasy Springs was across the street so I always admired the work whenever I came and went! There is a shuttle which takes you to and from the monorail station, but it is literally across the street (you can see the platform on the left side of the photo), so I would only bother with the shuttle when it happened to be right there. Otherwise it was faster to walk (and pretty easy as you literally walked down a driveway and across the street).

The monorail actually costs money in Tokyo (due to some craziness with Japanese laws, which is also the reason they don’t have a proper railroad with multiple stops in the park). Though it is also well-kept and recently was updated, so you get what you pay for!

They have such cute designs, which you can get if you buy a day pass, so even though I didn’t necessarily need a day pass (it would have mostly been cheaper to get 1-use passes) I always tried to get one!

The monorail itself is so cute!

I took it to the Resort Gateway Station (where I proceeded to get totally lost within Ikspiari). I don’t remember if I tried to get a physical Suica card, but I did end up with a digital version, which is sooo helpful! It let me easily reload it and I could use my phone as entrance/exit from public transit (in Tokyo and Kyoto), and even ended up being the best option to pay for things within Tokyo Disney!

At this time of day (mid-day, Sunday) the trains were pretty empty, so it was relatively low stress. Though I did pay attention to the station stops as I didn’t want to get off at the wrong one (I used Google Maps pretty diligently this trip which would help to know which station and exits to take).

I think I ended up taking the train to Ryogoku Station, which did involve making one transfer. It probably was a good thing that my first Tokyo train journey was low-crowds as I did end up doing it during rush hour and that was crazy!

I hadn’t actually eaten anything yet, so I used Google Maps to find a Ramen place nearby (if you are in Japan, there will always be ramen)! I think it had one of the vending machine automatic menu/payment which I got confused at first (you put the money in and then make selection), but ended up working out fine in the end! A pretty basic bowl of tonkatsu (pork) ramen!

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[Lesley Wake]

And onto the Edo-Tokyo Museum!

The escalator was pretty crazy big!

This museum is pretty huge! Like a big warehouse but up high in the air!

I do wish I had planned this visit a bit better. I know my friends Rachelle and Jarrod got a private tour which helped them know more about it. I don’t really know much about Japanese history, which was a shame, as it was a well-done museum, but between not knowing much about it and being overly tired, meant I couldn’t really enjoy it!

The actual museum is about the history of Tokyo itself, which includes life-size replicas of historical buildings, and scale models of towns and buildings. Which would have been really cool to explore more (as models of buildings are my jam)! So unfortunately rather than detailed explanations of places, I am just going to do a photo dump!

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[Lesley Wake]

Within the big buildings they had mannequins showing traditional activities.

More models

Crazy showing the processionals!

I liked looking at the exterior of the entertainment venue a lot!

It looks like I didn’t take photos of the stuff I really was fascinated with, basically the 20th century, including the Japanese take on WW2 and development as a global leader. There also were some traditional buildings you could walk into (after taking off your shoes of course).

Anyways, the Edo Tokyo Museum is something I do highly recommend doing if you visit Tokyo. I guess just do some research first and seriously consider getting a private/personalized tour, so you can really appreciate it all!

Coming up - Disney shopping! ​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I've always wondered why the TDR monorails actually required payment unlike the other parks. Interesting. They have no right being as stinkin' cute as they are. I want twenty in my house lmao

The way I would DIE for some proper Japanese ramen. Ugggghhhh *heart eyes emoji*

The Edo Tokyo Museum does look really interesting. A private personalized tour definitely sounds like the way to go though. Although I did take a class on Japanese culture (more-so a part of Japanese culture), I seriously doubt it's the aspect of the culture they would show in a nice classy museum like that (I wouldn't ask unless you're really prepared to know).

Looking forward to the shopping spree! I'll hold onto Oswald while I read.

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

Love the Mickey Mouse-shaped straps for standing passengers... And the tile pattern on the seat!!!! And the Mickey shaped windows!!!! They have the coolest monorail ever!!!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I would most definitely pay for riding this!! I've seen those adorable handles before and thought they were amazing! Am I remembering correctly that they sometimes change them out seasonally??

Good. Lord. I have a headache just glancing at this, let alone trying to use it to get anywhere! God Bless Google Maps!

 

[KathyM2]

Wow, the more I see of Japan the more I want to go...sigh. Dreaming about travelling again.

The monorail (and tickets) look so adorable. That museum looked amazing too. I'm sorry you were so tired. Definitely a rest day or two on the trip would have been good!! It's hard to build in that time though. Next time lol

 

[WDW2012]

I will probably never make it to one of the Asian Disney parks (unless I win the lottery of course and then I'll hit every single one in a world tour ;-) ) but I have thoroughly enjoyed following along with your trip report so far. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us. I bet it feels like a lifetime ago with everything being shut down not too long after you left. Wow!

 

[Lesley Wake]

I've always wondered why the TDR monorails actually required payment unlike the other parks. Interesting. They have no right being as stinkin' cute as they are. I want twenty in my house lmao

The way I would DIE for some proper Japanese ramen. Ugggghhhh *heart eyes emoji*

The Edo Tokyo Museum does look really interesting. A private personalized tour definitely sounds like the way to go though. Although I did take a class on Japanese culture (more-so a part of Japanese culture), I seriously doubt it's the aspect of the culture they would show in a nice classy museum like that (I wouldn't ask unless you're really prepared to know).

Looking forward to the shopping spree! I'll hold onto Oswald while I read.

Haha, yeah the monorails are adorable! I mean it's only about $1 or so to ride, so not crazy. But I guess the Japanese law is you can't have a method of transportation with multiple stops without paying for it. So the railroad in TDL is a loop around Frontierland. And in TDS the electric railway is a 1-way trip. The little boat shuttles are also single journey, so everyone has to get off at the next stop.

Oh and if you like ramen, you'll get to see a lot of it on this TR! Lol!

I'm definitely laughing about your Japanese culture class, as knowing you, I can only imagine what it was about!

Love the Mickey Mouse-shaped straps for standing passengers... And the tile pattern on the seat!!!! And the Mickey shaped windows!!!! They have the coolest monorail ever!!!

Yeah, it was super cute! And they change it up, so earlier this year they had a Duffy themed monorail with each car being a different friend of duffy!

I would most definitely pay for riding this!! I've seen those adorable handles before and thought they were amazing! Am I remembering correctly that they sometimes change them out seasonally??


Good. Lord. I have a headache just glancing at this, let alone trying to use it to get anywhere! God Bless Google Maps!

They do change them! So I got to see the Christmas version too!

And yes, google maps for the win!

Wow, the more I see of Japan the more I want to go...sigh. Dreaming about travelling again.

The monorail (and tickets) look so adorable. That museum looked amazing too. I'm sorry you were so tired. Definitely a rest day or two on the trip would have been good!! It's hard to build in that time though. Next time lol

I know - I want to travel too! It's always so hard to trade off rest vs seeing more things!

I will probably never make it to one of the Asian Disney parks (unless I win the lottery of course and then I'll hit every single one in a world tour ;-) ) but I have thoroughly enjoyed following along with your trip report so far. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us. I bet it feels like a lifetime ago with everything being shut down not too long after you left. Wow!

Oh I know, it is crazy everything that has happened since then! It was actually funny how when I took a cruise (about 1.5 weeks before they shut down) they had to take extra look at my passport since I had stamps from China and Japan, so they had to verify I couldn't be contagious... um, yeah I was there 4 months earlier.. I think I'm good, lol!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 2 - Shopping and Dinner

*A heads up – this post will be a huge merchandise photo dump! Not necessarily of things I bought, but things I found interesting and different! I was trying to edit it down and realized if I found these interesting, maybe others would too…

After the museum I had initially hoped to do some other things in that area. This is where the Sumo Museum is, though I don’t think it was open at that time as it was off-season, but it would have been cool to walk around the area. Also the Yasuda Garden, Japanese Sword Museum, Tokoami-cho Park, and Earthquake museum. Unfortunately, I was just so wiped after the previous week! So I decided I needed to conserve energy and head back to the Tokyo Disney Resort.

First stop when I got back, was a visit to Bon Voyage! This is their version of World of Disney, so I needed to make some purchases!

The inside. It was pretty packed in there!

Trying on some more headwear! I didn’t end up coming away with any of these, though wish I had gotten the Winnie Pooh headband!

Some pass cases. I ended up getting a couple of these for friends and family!

I considered some of the sunglasses, but while they were cute, I didn’t think I would ever wear them, so decided not to bother. While the sunglasses are in bags, there are examples in the case to try on.

Miscellaneous housewear – towels, nail clippers & toothbrushes, q-tips and holders, toilet bowl brush holders!

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[Lesley Wake]

Gotta love the variety of underwear!

Keychains, keychains, keychains. There was a full wall of keychains!

I really wanted to bring home this soap dispenser, but I didn’t end up having room for it! It makes mickey heads out of the foam!

Some of the remaining Halloween merch. Unfortunately most of it was already gone by the time I arrived so there were only a couple shelves.

I did buy this cookie tin, with some treats, but the tin was so cute I had to have it!

Some stationary tools, including a collection based on the Tokyo Disney foods!

Calendars. I got one of the desktop versions, which has been on my desk at my office and I haven't seen in 6 months!

Kids toys. Pretty cute options! Especially how the little doll has park accessories, like a parade mat and popcorn bucket! I wanted to get the pretend food for my friends kids, but it took up a lot of space and I wasn’t so sure if they are into play food anymore!

Nanoblocks and toy cars. I would have totally gotten the full park versions but they were expensive! (I'm thinking over $100 each)

And their big pin collection… yeah not a lot! Pin trading isn’t a thing in Tokyo (I think it was at a point but got too crazy, so the parks banned it)

So yeah, lots of options! The thing about Tokyo Disney is their merchandise is totally different than the other parks. Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Paris have some unique, but also some shared options. It’s honestly a bit overwhelming though! I think this time I didn’t get too much stuff. I should have a photo later on to show what I got!​

 

[Lesley Wake]

But that’s not the only store I stopped at! I also entered Ikspiari, the Tokyo Disney shopping mall. Lots of restaurants and stores, including some American chains.

But also they have the Disney Store, which has totally different merch than Bon Voyage!

The nuimo’s are sooo cute!

Some other merch options from their fall lines. Chip and Dale are my favs, so I of course got the painter/shop guys keychains!

They had these couture shoes, so gorgeous! Pretty expensive too, so of course I didn’t even consider them! These were about $300 each. If I was to get any it would have been the 7 Dwarves cottage boots

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[Lesley Wake]

Most of the Halloween merch was gone, but they had these pumpkin keychains, which I had wanted! One was mickey/Minnie and one was chip/dale/Donald

A lion king area, I know I got something for my friend Zach here!

More headwear. I had really considered getting this hat, but in the end decided against it!

Some special celebration keychains, other plush keychains, hanger clips

Tsum Tsums, very cute Winnie pooh honey pots

Pens galore, phone ring clips

They already had Christmas cards out! I know I got a few for friends

Again, I don’t have a photo right here but hopefully I’ll find one of all my loot!

After this I headed back to the hotel, where I did some unpacking/repacking of things for the next few days. And crashed for a little nap since I was so tired!​