Tokyo (TDL and TDS) Pre-Trip Planning and Trip Report

[RandomlyrachelG]

Hello all!

I'm fairly new to the boards--and also relatively new to a love for Disney. I went to Walt Disney World with my family in January 2014 and fell in love. My husband and I moved to South China later that year, and, of course, since it was only a 3 hour metro ride away, went to Hong Kong Disneyland for our 4th anniversary. We both currently work in education-- I teach kids and he teaches adults. I'm a travel and quirky fashion blogger who's always loved writing, but until finding the Disboards, has never met people who love the Disney parks as much as I do.

We loved living in China, but last year, moved to a different Southeast Asian country. I'm sure we'll go back to China someday, and I'm sure we'll eventually make it to Shanghai Disneyland, but I'll give them a while to get the kinks worked out before trying that. I wanted to celebrate my 25th birthday big this year, and we decided to go for a trip to Japan when we found some very reasonable Air Asia flights.

Since this is our first trip to Japan, and it's relatively short, we've decided to just stay in Tokyo. We're celebrating both of our birthdays (25 and 32) during the week, and we didn't want to be constantly riding trains and trying to see absolutely everything. So this'll be a more laid-back trip than I might normally plan.

Tentative Schedule for our July trip:

Day 1 - Departing from home and arriving in Japan, late evening, finding our Airbnb.
Day 2 - Exploring the city area, probably hitting up Shibuya, Harajuku, and Ueno Park areas.
Day 3 - Spending the day in the vicinity of Yokohama and celebrating the husband's birthday.
Day 4 - Moving from our first Airbnb to the other one closer to Disney, visiting Ikspiari
Day 5 - DisneySea
Day 6 - Disneyland
Day 7 - Disney Park-hopping based on what we still want to do. My birthday!
Day 8 - Visiting Odaiba and spending the day there, and then heading home on our evening/all-night flight.

I speak/read/write Mandarin (which means I can have an educated guess at the meanings of written kanji, though the characters are not always used the same, the general meanings tend to be related) and am brushing up on my college Japanese which is woefully rusty in preparation for the trip. We're 'budget' travelers, hence the Airbnbs instead of hotel rooms--we've used Airbnb in Hong Kong and Malaysia and the USA and have always loved it--I'm excited to find out how we'll do finding our apartments in Japan!

Stil 3.5 months out from the trip so this may be a little premature, but what can I say, I'm really looking forward to it!

 

[momtotaryn]

Just wanted to say, I am looking forward to your trip report! We were in Japan for 8 days in late March, and we visited many of the same places that you have on your itinerary! Your trip sounds awesome! I hope we can go back to Japan one day soon!

 

[aussie shaz]

Looking forward to reading about your trip. We've just returned.
Just a heads-up about AirBnB in Japan. Apparently it isn't really legal, and there have been people who have had their bookings cancelled at last minute. It's generally the ones in apartment blocks because the neighbors don't like having foreigners in and out all the time. So just make sure you choose somewhere with lots of good reviews.
Also with O'Daiba, we did find that it was quite run down. Not a really nice feeling place. Not dangerous or anything, just not the nicest place. The kids went to Joypolis, which they enjoyed but didn't get on many rides because it was so busy. We wandered around a couple of the other places as well. I wouldn't make a second trip and would find it difficult to recommend.
Gee, I sound like a real downer, don't I! We loved Japan, and especially Tokyo. There is just so much to see. (And of course we loved the Disney parks too)

 

[OzDisMum]

My family and I are hoping to visit Japan for the first time in September or October of this year (if we can get the time away), and your trip sounds great. We've been to Disneyland and can't wait to get another dose of Disney Magic! Can't wait to read your trip report. Have fun!

 

[RandomlyrachelG]

Just 10 days left till we leave for Japan! I've been listening to Japanese language youtube videos to prepare and we're excited that the trip is so close! If we're feeling ambitious and energetic on Day 4 we might try to squeeze in a quick daytrip to Odawara Castle and Hakone--if we feel we need a break, we'll just have an off day. My husband is a little less energetic than I am.

 

[wanderlust7]

I speak/read/write Mandarin (which means I can have an educated guess at the meanings of written kanji, though the characters are not always used the same, the general meanings tend to be related)

I speak and read Mandarin too. I did find reading kanji helpful for double checking station names, reading signs, and menus. Here are a few that I found helpful to know but weren't obvious:
無料: free (no charge)
有料: not free (fee)
豚肉: pork (I kept thinking this was some sort of fish since 海豚 is dolphin in Chinese)

Have a great trip!

 

[RandomlyrachelG]

@wanderlust7 Thanks for those characters! Good ones to know! I have definitely been looking up all the different 'meat' characters in Japanese because I am the type who wants to be sure of what they are ordering/eating!

 

[Jade-Elise]

Oh how exciting for you Disney for your birthday! They have special things for birthdays do they not?
Interesting hearing AirBnB being not legal. It makes sense why a lot of places we are looking at have strict rules on 'Do not mention AirBnB, Do not answer door, Do not talk to neighbours, Do not enter during these times' etc. And why there are a lot of reviews stating cancellations at last minute. We are only AirBnB because no hotels in Tokyo allow for 4 people! We'd have to get 2 room which would cost 3x the amount of an AirBnB. I will carefully choose now.

Can't wait to hear about your trip! So exciting for you both!!

 

[wanderlust7]

We are only AirBnB because no hotels in Tokyo allow for 4 people! We'd have to get 2 room which would cost 3x the amount of an AirBnB. I will carefully choose now.

I saw from your other post that your 4 people is 2 adults and 2 kids? We stayed at Gate Hotel Asakusa and they allow kids under 12 to stay for free in existing bedding. I thought the service, location, and room was great. Price was great too - got a deal on Travelocity with a coupon, so the room ended up about $130 USD/night. Only con was the subway station nearby is older, so only 1 elevator to ground level and it was further away. It's fairly convenient to Odaiba, one transfer on the subway, or take a water bus. We took the very cool looking Himiko ferry (Google it ), but I found it a little stuffy inside.

There should be other hotels too, but it can be tricky finding them. Here's a website with some other possibilities:
http://mylittlenomads.com/tokyo-family-hotels

 

[Jade-Elise]

Oh thank you for the information wanderlust7! I will have a look into that!! <3

 

[Dormouse.]

Wow, I can't believe I just saw this.

So cool that you speak Mandarin! I'm currently teaching myself Japanese, but I'd love to learn Mandarin and/or Cantonese at some point.