First trip to Tokyo - Welcoming all suggestions

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ntaus

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Hey all,

Long time reader, first time poster :-)

I'm about to book a trip to Tokyo, for my wife's 30th birthday and, being our first time in Tokyo, I am looking for suggestions for the trip including but not limited to the following:

- Decent but reasonably priced hotel in or around Tokyo - my current choice is the Sheraton in the Disney Resort area however I haven't booked anything as yet
- Places to visit whilst in the city - any suggestions welcome.
- A decent place to eat for my wife's Birthday
- Recommendations on a day trip via Bullet Train to somewhere else within Japan

We're traveling in early March next year and, due to having young children who will need babysitting for the duration, will only be in Tokyo for 5 days. Hopefully we will be able to cram in enough to make the trip worthwhile and prepare us for future trips.

Thanks in advance for any and all responses :-)

ntaus
 
ntaus said:
Hey all,

Long time reader, first time poster :-)

I'm about to book a trip to Tokyo, for my wife's 30th birthday and, being our first time in Tokyo, I am looking for suggestions for the trip including but not limited to the following:

- Decent but reasonably priced hotel in or around Tokyo - my current choice is the Sheraton in the Disney Resort area however I haven't booked anything as yet
- Places to visit whilst in the city - any suggestions welcome.
- A decent place to eat for my wife's Birthday
- Recommendations on a day trip via Bullet Train to somewhere else within Japan

We're traveling in early March next year and, due to having young children who will need babysitting for the duration, will only be in Tokyo for 5 days. Hopefully we will be able to cram in enough to make the trip worthwhile and prepare us for future trips.

Thanks in advance for any and all responses :-)

ntaus
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ntaus,

Welcome to AFF.

I'll be watching the responses as Tokyo is on my list and we have never been there either.
 
Thanks Straitman.

Indeed Tokyo has always been one of those places my wife and I have wanted to visit but all our long haul travel in recent years has been to Europe, meaning connecting flights through Hong Kong or the US.

My wife has dropped a few 'not-so-subtle' hints in the last while and I was saving up points for a Classic Award a few months ago however award availability dried up.

On the last 'hint' I checked again and more award availability has been released - in fact loading on the flights there and back seems very low in general for only 2 1/2 months out - so I'm borrowing some points to make things happen.

Hopefully this will be a destination you will be able cross off your list shortly also :-)

ntaus
 
ntaus said:
Thanks Straitman.

Indeed Tokyo has always been one of those places my wife and I have wanted to visit but all our long haul travel in recent years has been to Europe, meaning connecting flights through Hong Kong or the US.

My wife has dropped a few 'not-so-subtle' hints in the last while and I was saving up points for a Classic Award a few months ago however award availability dried up.

On the last 'hint' I checked again and more award availability has been released - in fact loading on the flights there and back seems very low in general for only 2 1/2 months out - so I'm borrowing some points to make things happen.

Hopefully this will be a destination you will be able cross off your list shortly also :-)

ntaus
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Also have a look at Any Seat Awards as sometimes they are surprisingly cheap and with those you earn Scs and points.
 
straitman said:
Also have a look at Any Seat Awards as sometimes they are surprisingly cheap and with those you earn Scs and points.
Click to expand...

Have done.

There are reasonably 'priced' ASAs on the dates I am looking for if booked as two one way tickets and I was considering these but I shouldn't have any issues requalifying WP this QFF year so didn't see too much of a benefit.

Will post to this thread what I end up booking once the points I'm borrowing get transferred.

ntaus
 
If there is classic awards available when you need then I would suggest also checking the any seat awards (ASA) for the same dates. Because ASAs earn points and SCs and can often be purchased for about the same as a classic award, if classic awards are available.

In terms of hotels perhaps you are not looking for something really cheap. But I stayed at a business hotel in May that was ok, the Daichi Hotel at Mizue - Mizue Daichi Hotel. Ended up paying 45000 yen for 7 nights. An interesting experience and it felt like being a local. That hotel is right next to a subway line and is kind of near Tokyo Disneyland. But it is quite a way out of the action.

I didn't do any bullet trains myself. However my best mate recommended taking the bullet train to Kyoto.

I spent my week at a conference with a few days of self discovery. So I didn't end up doing anything that unusual, besides scaring some poor school kids in Tokyo tower.
 
flychrisfly said:
Hi, for somewhere nice to eat check out my post here: <<Link Removed>>
Not that close to Disneyland though but it might be interesting to get out of the Disney resort area and into "real" Tokyo to see what it's like, which I recommend :)

FYI, Google maps provides public transport directions and options to get around, in addition to walking and driving directions.
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Thanks flychrisfly.

We will definitely be venturing out of the Disney area - only really going to do the Disney thing for one day. I just figured that anything in that area has to be of a decent quality and the Disney resorts tend to do transport well, so getting elsewhere in Tokyo or indeed a day trip somewhere else shouldn't be too bug an issue.

Thanks for the restaurant suggestion also. Will definitely check the place out and possibly head there for the first meal after getting off the 6am flight :-)

ntaus
 
medhead said:
If there is classic awards available when you need then I would suggest also checking the any seat awards (ASA) for the same dates. Because ASAs earn points and SCs and can often be purchased for about the same as a classic award, if classic awards are available.
Click to expand...

At the present time booking as a return flight the difference is:

To Tokyo:

Classic: 36,000 pp
ASA: 51.439 pp

From Tokyo:

Classic: 36,000 pp
ASA: 49,774 pp

Total:

Classic: 144,000 (2 people)
ASA: 202,426 (2 people)

So the difference is not really recoverable (even with WP status bonus) by the points earned.

In comparison, booking as two 1-way flights gives the following:

To Tokyo:

Classic: 36,000 pp
ASA: 51.439 pp

From Tokyo:

Classic: 36,000 pp
ASA: 39,044 pp ('Super Kangaroo' fare)

Total:

Classic: 144,000 (2 people)
ASA: 180,966 (2 people)

For the extra 6k points I may book ASA for the return journey, but for 180,000 in total I could also upgrade the return journey to Y+ if I book everything as a Classic Award

medhead said:
In terms of hotels perhaps you are not looking for something really cheap. But I stayed at a business hotel in May that was ok, the Daichi Hotel at Mizue - Mizue Daichi Hotel. Ended up paying 45000 yen for 7 nights. An interesting experience and it felt like being a local. That hotel is right next to a subway line and is kind of near Tokyo Disneyland. But it is quite a way out of the action.

I didn't do any bullet trains myself. However my best mate recommended taking the bullet train to Kyoto.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions, medhead. I will definitely be checking up every suggestion made in this thread as far as hotels are concerned, particularly in relation to location, as I want to plan as much as possible to make this a real experience for my wife.

Someone else (IRL) has mentioned Kyoto so I believe that is the favourite as a destination for our day trip.

ntaus
 
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1. Depending on what you want to travel for, I would suggest not staying in international hotel chains or resorts. Stay in ryokan, capsule hotels, love hotels or boutique hotels. They are all exciting experiences you won't have the chance to enjoy elsewhere so you could make the most of them while you are there.

2. I would recommend visiting the fish markets early one morning. (My mouth is watering while I think of them). I would also recommend to Ghibli Museum in Mitaka.

3. I would take her to chinatown in Yokohama - you can wander the streets and find something to your liking.

4. If you want to take a bullet train, I'd say it would be nice to go to Osaka for the food and the friendliness and it's where most visitors might like to go. Personally though, I'd take the bullet train up north and go exploring. :)
 
ntaus said:
At the present time booking as a return flight the difference is:

For the extra 6k points I may book ASA for the return journey, but for 180,000 in total I could also upgrade the return journey to Y+ if I book everything as a Classic Award

Thanks for the suggestions, medhead. I will definitely be checking up every suggestion made in this thread as far as hotels are concerned, particularly in relation to location, as I want to plan as much as possible to make this a real experience for my wife.

ntaus
Click to expand...

You really need to compare the cash payment cost as well. For the return ASA you can reduce the points to the same as a classic award and pay $680 odd dollars. I'm not sure about the cash payment amount for the classic award as I don't have enough points to check.

If you are travelling in economy I would also recommend considering starclass on jetstar. But that would be best done paying cash and looking at the sale fares currently available is probably too complex. Perhaps starclass is a bad suggestion.

I'm not sure how you plan to get around but I found the "subway" to be relatively painless. There are 3 different companies that operate the trains so make sure you understand the ticketing system. There is a day ticket that allows travel on all trains, which might be good if you are doing a full day of exploring with multiple changes.

Otherwise there are swipe cards, Suica or Pasmo, that deduct the fare from preloaded value. The cards don't work on the JR lines. This have a 500 yen refundable deposit but don't refund any remaining credit when returned.

In terms of some things to do, in particular towers. I went up Tokyo tower, which was a bit expensive, especially as it was slightly hazy and Fuji was not visible. Slowly getting to my point there are other towers, that might be better if you want to see Fuji and there is any suggestion if cloud or haze. First there is Funabori Tower Hall, the conference venue. I think the tower is free, I just wandered up from the conference and wasn't asked for a ticket. It gives a decent view of toyko.

There is also a free government tower with observation deck near Shinjuku. Probably a better option as Funabori is a bit out of the way.

If you are looking for a special experience for your wife perhaps the business hotel isn't the best idea. Interesting and fun for the novelty. But might be no good for a couple for a week.
 
A day trip to Kyoto from Tokyo would mean spending something like 5 hours on the train! Seems a bit much just for a day trip.
 
medhead said:
You really need to compare the cash payment cost as well. For the return ASA you can reduce the points to the same as a classic award and pay $680 odd dollars. I'm not sure about the cash payment amount for the classic award as I don't have enough points to check.

If you are travelling in economy I would also recommend considering starclass on jetstar. But that would be best done paying cash and looking at the sale fares currently available is probably too complex. Perhaps starclass is a bad suggestion.
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ntaus,

As medhead mentions you also need to factor in the 'taxes etc' for a classic reward and then compare that to a points plus $ spend on an ASA to get a real comparison.

If there is a sale on then *class is often a good consideration.
 
A day trip to Mt Fuji is also possible from Tokyo. And is march cherry blossom time. Or is that more into April?

wingspan said:
Suica and Pasmo can be used on JR lines :)
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Oops, I must have it around the wrong way, having trouble remembering the details. Must have been the day ticket that got rejected by JR.

straitman said:
If there is a sale on then *class is often a good consideration.
Click to expand...

The current starclass sale is only really for cairns to Tokyo during march. I would probably do it that way. But it gets complicated.

There is also cairns or gold coast to Osaka.
 
In 5 days, you could probably find time to get to Kyoto by Shinkansen for a night or two. eg Tokyo 3 nights, Kyoto 2 nights...you could do Kyoto in 1 night but it will be a bit of a rush (if you do go to Kyoto, I would suggest a Japan rail pass). Tokyo is a modern bustling skyscrapper city whereas Kyoto is what Tokyo used to look like prior to all the development (So I'm told). I'm no expert on Tokyo but these are the places I visited 18 months ago when I went to Tokyo for the first time.

1) Shinjuku area esp at night to see all the night life and restaurants
2) Tsujki Fish market at 5-530 am to see the Tuna auctions and all the fish etc, and to have the freshest sushi for breakfast at the market
3) Ginza to see all the expensive shops
4) Sony buliding in Ginza to see all the new, yet to be released, electronic gadgets
5) Harajuku to see the young kids dressed to express their freedom, individuality etc
6) Imperial Palace
7) Asakusa to see temples but if you are going to Kyoto, there are plenty of temples there!

I'm sure others would add more!!

Some pics are here:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....s-and-trip-photos/a-taste-of-japan-17828.html

Full album: http://atasteofjapan.shutterfly.com/
 
The Tokyo Bay area, where Disney+hotels are located, is a bit out of the way, and a 30-60 min train ride with long walks to get anywhere else in tokyo. I'd stay somewhere else and train it to Disney instead. Anywhere near to a train station is good. My parents loved the Westin near the Ebisu Station (Thanks heaps DRRON for the advice), thought the ANA intercontinental was ok and I've stayed in the Hyatt at Shinjuku. All had decent access to transport and would be better bases than the Disney area hotels.

Day trips to Mt Fuji are possible, and there's enough to do in the city that you wouldn't be bored if you had 5 weeks there.

Jon
 
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