Tell me about Tokyo

[CoasterRyder]

I've been to the parks in Orlando several times before and loved it.
My wife has family in Australia and we have arranged to meet half way (ish) next summer. After considering lots of different destinations, my brother in law has suggested we visit Tokyo.

Whilst there we are wanting to visit the Disney parks and Universal aswell as obviously seeing some of the cultural sites that there are to visit.

I know lots about Disney/Universal in Orlando but nothing about Tokyo. We will be doing DIY, rather than a package and
I'm hoping that people with more experience will be able to help me out with some questions that I have and offer any other experiences/recommendations.

1) Who have you flown with? We have to travel during peak summer holidays due to work. What costs have people paid for flights at this time.
2)What will the weather be like? (From what I've read so far, it looks like it is going to be humid and wet.)
3)Best area to stay - to access the parks but within a budget. (Probably not going to be able to afford to stay at the Disney hotels.)
4) Other things to see? (Travelling with wife, son aged 13 and son aged 9 - eldest son loves cars/karting and youngest Pokemon - I've read about the Pokemon store - so I'm sure we will be paying a visit there!)
5) How much do things cost compared to UK?

I think that is all the questions I have for now, though I'm sure there will be lots more!

Thank you for reading my post. Any help will be greatly received!

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Wow, where do you begin, I know I took me 9 months to prepare for a trip to Japan, to understand what I was doing, where I was going cause its not like anywhere else! I binge watched You Tube videos from everything on what to see to how to navigate a train station that has over 200 exits and is the worlds busiest station.

I flew with British Airways, as they fly direct and I hate connecting flights. It was 900 each.

We stayed in Shinjuku, but Disney was not the reason why we went, but we really enjoyed visiting the parks, but its a city on a vast scale and this year when we go we are staying in Shiodome.

As for other things to see, its vast, it really is vast, so much so that when we retuned last year, I cancelled our Contemporary Resort stay to go back, as we both felt there was so much unfinished business.

A for the costs, well its like everything, you pay for what you get. I like nice hotels, so our hotel this year is £2400 for 13 nights, but you can get cheaper, much cheaper.

There are quite a few who have gone, Geoffa has a great trip report, mine is okay, but more Japan related than Disney, but I used another from Soarin Fan, as that's where I saw the hotel we are staying in.

That's a start for 10 as they say!

Kev

[CoasterRyder]

Thanks for the reply.

Looks like I've got a lot of research to do!

[Hannikins]

1) Who have you flown with? We have to travel during peak summer holidays due to work. What costs have people paid for flights at this time.

we flew with Etihad but Emirates also did flights. We paid around £700 each for ours in november 2016

2)What will the weather be like? (From what I've read so far, it looks like it is going to be humid and wet.)

we had mixed weather, I can't comment on summer weather though

3)Best area to stay - to access the parks but within a budget. (Probably not going to be able to afford to stay at the Disney hotels.)

We stayed at the Hilton (watch out for 40% off sales) they are closer than being onsite in Florida and a fraction of the cost of a Disney hotel. The Sheraton is also a good option

4) Other things to see? (Travelling with wife, son aged 13 and son aged 9 - eldest son loves cars/karting and youngest Pokemon - I've read about the Pokemon store - so I'm sure we will be paying a visit there!)

pokemon centre is a must then. There's lots to see in Tokyo, I suggest splitting it into areas to maximise your time. Some ideas on my trippie here: https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho...d.php?t=990693

5) How much do things cost compared to UK?
Beer was expensive, we didn't feel that eating out was much different though. I guess it depends on where you go. There's not the usual "tourist traps" you get in european cities though so easy to eat well for very little.

[sky13]

In terms of places to stay - I stayed at the Sheraton near Disneyland a couple of years back and it was great.
- On the monorail loop for Disneyland so very easy to get to the theme parks and also the nearby train station using the monorail (can walk, or there is a shuttle bus if you're tired/lazy that runs very frequently).
- They had a floor of newly refurbished rooms then which were very nice.
- It's something like a Disneyland partner hotel. This means they are one of the hotels that offer check in next to the train station for Disneyland (can check in, get room keys, buy park tickets, and leave luggage there that will magically appear in your room later), and have a Disney store in the lobby.

I thought the prices were decent, particularly for the size of the rooms which are huge for Tokyo!

I thought eating out costs were comparable to the UK for the most part, didn't get too much sticker shock at the food prices inside Disneyland. But certain things can be very expensive e.g. fruit at some places, and things in high end department stores...

[Guest]

Summer is very humid in Japan last two trips we went in June my daughter hated the humidity its rainy season so umbrella is a must.Hotels are cheaper because its rainy season .We didnt mind the weather its not raining constantly work around it Hydrangeas are stunning huge very pretty .

[hornetgirl]

1) Who have you flown with? We have to travel during peak summer holidays due to work. What costs have people paid for flights at this time.
We went with BA in May. A combination of Amex and Avios meant we were able to fly first class out, club back for £500 each, direct flights from Heathrow. If you don't already belong to a loyalty scheme it's definitely worth looking into. It's a long flight so comfort was important for us

2)What will the weather be like? (From what I've read so far, it looks like it is going to be humid and wet.)
It was already hot and starting to get humid in May. A friend has just come back from Tokyo last week and was like a wet rag a lot of the time lol

3)Best area to stay - to access the parks but within a budget. (Probably not going to be able to afford to stay at the Disney hotels.)
We stayed in a Disney hotel but anything on the monorail loop would be just as convenient for the parks. Time of stay may affect prices too. Our hotel in Shinjuku during Golden Week cost more per night than our Disney hotel which was outside of golden week

4) Other things to see? (Travelling with wife, son aged 13 and son aged 9 - eldest son loves cars/karting and youngest Pokemon - I've read about the Pokemon store - so I'm sure we will be paying a visit there!)
Not sure that anything we did would particularly appeal to boys of those ages, other than taking a trip on the Shinkansen

5) How much do things cost compared to UK?
We didn't think anything was very expensive. The places we ate at were all reasonable. Disney tickets are much cheaper than in the US

My trip report is called Tokyo Travels if you fancy having a read.
Happy planning!

[Guest]

Just to mention - Universal is in Osaka not Tokyo. It still has the Jaws ride!

Re Tokyo Disneyland / Disneysea read our trippie:

http://DIBB.in/8969983

[CoasterRyder]

Thank you all for your replies. I really do appreciate the time taken to provide your experiences.

Since I first posted, I've been doing a lot of research about it and I'm getting quite excited about our upcoming trip!

Looks like we will be staying in a few different locations as I hadn't realised Universal was so far away!
Thanks for the info about trip reports. I'll have a look at those too.👍

[andylad]

We have just booked our first trip for june next year. So ill be looking for lots of info as well.