Tokyo Trip Questions

[MichaelD]

Hi all,

 

We've more-or-less at the last minute picked up some amazingly cheap fares to Tokyo (April 1st - 16th or so - no, not an April Fool's Joke), and thus find ourselves somewhat frantically planning a Japan coaster trip.

 

Having gone through as much Japan trip goodness on TPR as I can without exploding (and having read the incredibly valuable Japan trip planning guide here - thanks for this guys, it's saved me literally dozens of hours of research), I have a couple of queries which I haven't been able to find guidance about yet.

 

First I should state up-front that this isn't meant to be a full-on 8am to 10pm coaster-fest for 2 weeks, more a selective taste of parks in Tokyo + some immersion in Japanese culture. 2 days coastering + 1 day sightseeing seems reasonable enough to aim for to keep all the family happy.

 

Tokyo Disneyland/Disneysea will be an important part of our trip - probably a week of it - but I'm wondering about crowd behaviours and different days of the week.

 

- are Saturdays/Sundays bad days to be doing Disney things (or for that matter any other Tokyo park things)?

- does anyone know if you can extend the 4 day Park Hopper tickets when in the park?

- I get the impression that perservering and going on rainy days is worth the effort - is this a fair comment?

- Shinjuku seems to be an excellent place to stay both for access to non-Disney parks and Tokyo in general - does this seem reasonable?

- Staying on-resort at Disney seems well worth the effort in terms of ease of transportation to Disney - a fair call?

 

Thanks to all for your input.

[robbalvey]

- are Saturdays/Sundays bad days to be doing Disney things (or for that matter any other Tokyo park things)?

I don't think it matters THAT much, but like any other parks, I'd say avoid the weekends if you can.

 

- does anyone know if you can extend the 4 day Park Hopper tickets when in the park?

I've never tried, and I'm not sure it's offered, but you can ask.

 

- I get the impression that perservering and going on rainy days is worth the effort - is this a fair comment?

It's hit or miss. Remember that it rains 300 days out of the year in Japan so they are used to it. We've been there an rainy days where the place is EMPTY (like in our last TR) and we've been there where the rain hasn't kept people away.

 

- Shinjuku seems to be an excellent place to stay both for access to non-Disney parks and Tokyo in general - does this seem reasonable?

Yes, very much so. Shinigawa is also a great place as it has direct links to the Shinkansen.

 

- Staying on-resort at Disney seems well worth the effort in terms of ease of transportation to Disney - a fair call?

Yes, absoultely.

[SharkTums]

^Just to clear up one thing Robb said, Shinjuku does NOT have Bullet Train access, only Shinagawa out of the two.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

I'd say a great way to extend your 4-day Hopper pass is to buy Starlight passes (assuming they're still sold) for the extra days. Stick around the Resort, have lunch/dinner in one of the many eateries, shop around Ikspari, and then go have fun in the parks from 4-5pm through closing.

 

On my last Japan trip, we picked up a Starlight pass for the night we arrived (Sunday night), and a Friday night later that week, and spent Mon-Thurs on a 4-day hopper. It felt just the same as any 6-night stay stay in WDW I've ever taken.

[MichaelD]

Thank you all for your replies - they have assisted greatly in our planning.

[MichaelD]

Guys,

 

I have one further question if I may - I'm having a little difficulty comprehending what is actually meant by accomodation descriptions. Most Tokyo hotel rooms seem to have either one single bed, one double bed, or two single beds.

 

What's a family of 2 adults and 1 child to do?

 

Do they have rollaways or sofa beds for the child(ren) or is it a case of having to get two rooms?

[SharkTums]

We either let KT sleep with us, or bring a SMALL blow up bed for her to use on the floor.

 

The hotel rooms in Tokyo are very small, and have small beds. There also is not much room on the floor for a full size blow up mattress.

 

Disney has rooms that will sleep a family comfortably, or else, just be prepared to either be cramped a bit or pay A LOT more for a 'suite' type room.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

I remember the Palm & Fountain Terrace Hotel having different configurations of beds if you wanted 3-4 in a room instead of 2. Basically a little hideaway bed under one of the beds would get pulled out & take up floor space, but it ensured everyone had their own bed more or less.

[MichaelD]

Wow! 3 minutes for a reply - that's amazing. Thank you again for this info - it has very much made things "click" into place for us, particularly for the non-Disney portion of our holiday.

[MichaelD]

Thank you for your assistance so far - we've got our hotels nailed down and I'm now working through the theme parks we're going to visit. I've got my head around the train system, and am now fine tuning the park stuff...hence my query;

 

Yokohama Cosmoworld - as far as I can figure out, this is a purely pay-per-ride park with no unlimited pass available - is this correct, or am I missing something?

[gisco]

^ from what I remember it is a pay per ride. There was no unlimited pass.

[MichaelD]

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your replies, and thank you for the Japan Trip Guide. You have helped us IMMEASURABLY in preparing for this trip. We are here in Tokyo now, on the 4th day of our trip and having the most incredibly wonderful time. 3 parks visited so far, train system comprehended, basic Japanese phrase vocabulary building.

 

I'm going to attempt an almost real time Trip Report (+ add some quirky photos once I get the link between my laptop and phone working again) focussing on the process we've been through both before and during this trip, as this trip has been a fantastic learning experience for us and maybe we can help some others enjoy this wonderful city, too.

[SharkTums]

^Sounds great!

 

Glad you're having a great time, Japan is a wonderful amazing country!