Tokyo Disney - What Stopping You?

[AntonyJ]

Originally Posted by scouse_minx

Would love to do Tokyo Disney one day and there are so many things my BF would love too as he loves Nintendo and Pokèmon but trying to organise it is so alien I wouldn’t know where to start.

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Pick the time of year you want to go would be my first step - I like May (after the series of back to back public holidays in Japan called Golden Week) as it is a sweet spot for nice weather normally / but not too hot.

Think what you want to do, make a list or where and what.

From the few lines you have typed I think your plans sound very much like our May 2023 plans - couple of Disney days, time in Tokyo, get bullet train to Osaka for Universal time!

Booking hotels - if you wanted the Western chains are all over the places you want to go (Hilton, Sheraton etc.) so take your pick.

Ask lots of questions on here on things you are not sure on.

[AntonyJ]

Originally Posted by princess allie

My reasons for not visiting are: unfamiliarity with everything, transport, car hire, where to actually visit other than Disney, how to plan a trip like this. Also the having to hire a portable hotspot thing, seems very odd. Food is another consideration. Places to stay ie not ending up in some dodgy areas.

I would like to see some of the temples, but I’m not a city break kind of person, so think wandering around looking at architecture a lot would bore me. A trip just to visit Disney and a few temples would be too expensive if we didn’t do anything else. Maybe if I researched more that would help, us I have to say I’m not an overly adventurous person, so maybe it’s not for me, although DS14 would love to go.

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You make very good points - this is not an Orlando / US type Disney trip at all!

Other than Disney? Well there is their Universal in Osaka but like you said, long way to go for just those things, but you might find other things to do in Japan.

I too am not really a temple fan, well it was not high up on my list of things to do, but we went for a day trip to Kyoto to see them as my partner wanted to, and I enjoyed the day and seeing the few we went to.

The portable hotspot thing is just because no UK phone companies have roaming agreements in Japan, like we do in Europe and the US. You can use your current phone / SIM in Japan but you would pay the full / horrible cost of using your phone abroad. Think it is mostly because the phone companies in Japan are not owned / part owned by the big companies we have over here. No Three there, no T-Mobile etc.

Japan is one if the safest places to visit with crime etc - and the likelihood of staying in an area that is dodgy is very very low - you would stick to the main tourists areas probably.

Hope you find out there are perhaps more things you fancy doing there.

[IBEX23]

Originally Posted by AntonyJ

Pick the time of year you want to go would be my first step - I like May (after the series of back to back public holidays in Japan called Golden Week) as it is a sweet spot for nice weather normally / but not too hot.

Think what you want to do, make a list or where and what.

From the few lines you have typed I think your plans sound very much like our May 2023 plans - couple of Disney days, time in Tokyo, get bullet train to Osaka for Universal time!

Booking hotels - if you wanted the Western chains are all over the places you want to go (Hilton, Sheraton etc.) so take your pick.

Ask lots of questions on here on things you are not sure on.

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Thank you for the detailed reply. You make it sound very easy

I think time of year wise, we’d always wanted to go in cherry blossom season (us and the rest of the world eh?) so I think that’s April? But I know there’s a few holidays to avoid.

Visit wise would love to do Tokyo Disney, Universal and yes also a few days in Tokyo itself as there is a Pokémon Cafe in Nihonbashi then the Nintendo store at Shibuya.

I’m not sure how long to do visit wise or where to stay. There’s so many areas or districts, I’ve no idea what is the right place to be in.

Also worry about understanding directions and managing the train etc. I guess it’s because it’s unknown for me but I’m sure after one visit, I’d be planning another

[AntonyJ]

Originally Posted by scouse_minx

Thank you for the detailed reply. You make it sound very easy

I think time of year wise, we’d always wanted to go in cherry blossom season (us and the rest of the world eh?) so I think that’s April? But I know there’s a few holidays to avoid.

Visit wise would love to do Tokyo Disney, Universal and yes also a few days in Tokyo itself as there is a Pokémon Cafe in Nihonbashi then the Nintendo store at Shibuya.

I’m not sure how long to do visit wise or where to stay. There’s so many areas or districts, I’ve no idea what is the right place to be in.

Also worry about understanding directions and managing the train etc. I guess it’s because it’s unknown for me but I’m sure after one visit, I’d be planning another

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You may not be aware but the cherry blossom season, runs over about 2 months - it starts in the south of the country and "rolls" northward over the weeks, below is a link to the supposed calendar for it next year:

japanstartshere/cherry-b...-season-japan/

As you can see it is late March for the Tokyo area next year, they hope, but one nice thing is that the season misses Golden Week as the dates for that next year are end of April to start of May.

I would love to see the cherry blossom (I have seen a YT video of the huge Tokyo Starbucks Roastary on the banks of a small river, and each side of the river has cherry blossom in bloom, looked stunning) but the dates do not work for me that time of year, plus what happens if it is early or late - darn Mother Nature not working to my timescales!

We have stayed once in Shibuya and it was perfect for us - so it is our non-Disney base for our next trip, as we now know it a bit. We know what is there, and other areas we want to go to are about 30 mins walk away - Shinjuku for example is a nice 20-30 min walk away. So we had a hotel there in 2019 but trying another one in Shibuya this time.

Trains? Google maps is amazing, it tells you the stations , platforms and told it never even recommends the places to stand on the platform - to get into the quieter carriages. looking forward to trying that next time

[Princess Ariel]

Originally Posted by Fluffypenguin

It’s so difficult isn’t it. It feels like such a barrier to so many trips.

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Yeah there are a few places I wouldn’t consider going with DS, he is really sensitive too so we have to be so careful with cc and I find that’s the main issue with many places, they have lots of gf options but no understanding of the risk of cc.

[AntonyJ]

Thought it might be useful to people who do not know what else to do in Tokyo, apart from Disney - well these places are on our list for things to see when we finally get there - here is a taster of the list:

teamLab Boarderless - interactive digital art museum - alas it closes the end of this month but I had to be dragged there by partner, but it was amazing. Things projected onto walls and floors, that can sense you touching them and react. In one part I stroked a walking tiger on the wall, made up of hundred of butterflies, these flew away at the points I stroked it. YT this place. I mention it even though it closes, as it is moving to a new site in Tokyo - TBC - as the area it is in now is about to have some massive redevelopment.
borderless.teamlab.art/

teamLab Planets - about 30 mins away from its sister site and not been to this one, but looks amazing
planets.teamlab.art/tokyo/

Disney Store - Shibuya - well you must! google/maps/place/...naWZ 0X3Nob3A

The new Disney Flagship Store Shinjuku:


Cross Space Shinjuku (3D billboard)
google/maps/place/... ZlbnRfdmVudWU

Gundam Factory Yokohama: google/maps/place/...2F0dHJhY3Rpb24

UNIQLO PARK (Yokohama Bayside) google/maps/place/...aGluZ19zdG9yZQ

Yokohama Intl Passenger Terminal - the long wooden promenade looks very interesting: google/maps/place/...eV90ZXJtaW5hbA

[Fluffypenguin]

Originally Posted by Princess Ariel

Yeah there are a few places I wouldn’t consider going with DS, he is really sensitive too so we have to be so careful with cc and I find that’s the main issue with many places, they have lots of gf options but no understanding of the risk of cc.

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Yes they seem to not understand the repercussions. I vomit for hours if I have a tiny bit of gluten and I get a splitting migraine, there’s no way I’d want that when I’m abroad.