3 teens in Tokyo! - we survived!! - Trip Report!!! Now with Photos!!!

[PrincessInOz]

The curfew is everyday, as the nearby residents complain about noise. So if ever you fly into sydney try and avoid an early morning arrival.

I don't know why some of my pics disappeared -

We try and avoid flying back via Sydney every time. I'd rather pay a little extra to fly direct in and out of Melbourne.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Ditto flying to & from Brisbane-always try to avoid Sydney. Great TR - thanks for sharing. Love the pics and fun to see your pics of places we went - & places we didn't. Really pleased you all enjoyed it despite the odd meal debates - typical!! & those poor navigators almost getting stranded! Especially pleased you got to see some cherry blossom

 

[Mushu mama]

Wonderful TR, and has been so helpful in my own planning... (13 sleeps to go)

Loved seeing all your photos and all the adventures you had.

 

[wiigirl]

Great TR!

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

Hi Battymum

Just started reading your TR as I have taken the plunge and impulsively booked a trip for our family of five to Tokyo next September. I'm sure your TR will answer many questions for me, however can I ask how many rooms you booked at the Sheraton? When I look at the various hotel websites none seem to cater for families and I'm hoping that we won't have to book two rooms.

Thanks

 

[nutshell]

What are the ages for your family of five? You'll probably need one room with three beds and a second room with two beds. We stayed at the Hilton. I think it's comparable to Sheraton, but had better prices. Good luck!!!

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

Great TR It has given me lots of ideas and inspiration. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

[battymum]

Hi there Aussie Disney nut

We booked one room at the Sheraton it had two singles and two doubles . I believe the policy was that you could book this room for five as long as the fifth person was under 17. (They don't really expect two adults to share , hence why there is often two beds in a room )

We thought the room was great, although I did have to check daily for the best prices - they don't seem to cater for advance planners in Japan. In the end, it's probably mentioned in my TR, I booked the room and then saw the price had dropped - except for one day in the middle, where it spiked - so in order to keep my original price for that day and secure cheaper prices for the days either side, I had to make several bookings - it all worked out fine in the end, although I was concerned they might make me change rooms in the middle of our stay.

The two double beds were the size of a normal queen, and were very comfortable, while the two singles were rollaways and pretty hard.

If you join the Starwood programme - I think you get a free upgrade - we were put on the eighth floor with a great view and a recently refurbished room .

We loved Tokyo Disney - I hope you do too!!

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

Thanks for the info I'm currently tossing up between the Sheraton and the Hilton for the 4 nights we'll be at TDL. I'm even thinking of two adjoining rooms for added sanity!

 

[battymum]

From memory - we chose the Sheraton because it would fit five - I don't think the rooms at the Hilton do.

yeah, sharing with so many can be a PITA -it was very difficult keeping the room tidy - if you can afford the luxury of two rooms - do it. What ages are your kids? That said, you spend so little time in your room on these trips I would have a hard time justifying the extra cost. The room at the Sheraton had a separate toilet to the bathroom - so that made life easier -

although I didn't mind sharing with our kids - it was nice bonding - but DH flatly said - never again !

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

We are going Sept 2015 and my eldest DD will be almost 15, my wonderful middle DD will be 12 and my exhausting but adorable DS will be 10! We are planning 10 nights in Japan and are fortunate to have friends living in Tokyo at the moment so we will stay with them for 3 or 4 nights, have 4 nights at TDL and hopefully visit Kyoto for 2 or 3 nights. Plans still up in the air, but my next step is to book the hotel at TDL. I can secure hotel rooms for just under A$200 per room a night, so for 4 nights it is not too expensive. We will also have to factor in rail passes and Disney passes though! Lots of internet investigations to do!

Thanks again for your advice

 

[loladelorean]

Thanks for your great trip report! I'm less than 3 months from our Japanese adventure (from Scotland) and hungry for trip reports on here, particularly from people who have done longer trips and explored around Japan. Your photos are amazing, particularly Kyoto. I'm so so pleased to learn about takkyubin too, we will definitely do this!

I hope you still check this thread and might be able to answer a few questions for me: Did you book takkyubin when you were actually at the sheraton? (we're also staying there). Did you have to book the Sheraton through its own website to benefit from the starwood perks? I booked through Booking.com, and have just joined the Starwood programme. Finally, did you book your seats on all those trains from home or did you do it all as you went along in Japan?
Thanks! Lisa

 

[battymum]

Thanks for your great trip report! I'm less than 3 months from our Japanese adventure (from Scotland) and hungry for trip reports on here, particularly from people who have done longer trips and explored around Japan. Your photos are amazing, particularly Kyoto. I'm so so pleased to learn about takkyubin too, we will definitely do this!

I hope you still check this thread and might be able to answer a few questions for me: Did you book takkyubin when you were actually at the sheraton? (we're also staying there). Did you have to book the Sheraton through its own website to benefit from the starwood perks? I booked through Booking.com, and have just joined the Starwood programme. Finally, did you book your seats on all those trains from home or did you do it all as you went along in Japan?
Thanks! Lisa

Well hello out there!

I don't actually login to the Dis much these days - but it was a nice surprise to get an email notification of your post. I actually just read through the entire TR and relived our trip. There is a PTR in there somewhere - is the link in my sig??

As for the takkyubbin - I had read about it a lot on tripadvisor and was led to believe it's commonplace - maybe it is for locals - you do see the cat logo in a lot of 7/11 type shops - maybe it was the language barrier but I did have trouble communicating about this at the Sheraton.

However once I found someone that could speak a little English - they took me to the luggage counter (bell services in dis speak) and between them filled in the appropriate paperwork. Make sure to have the address written in Japanese for them - (it may actually help to have a note asking about the service written in Japanese if you can find someone to do this for you)

As I said it was a total leap of faith - but it worked for us.

As for the booking - was there anyway to put your star woods number on the booking - I expect that all rooms are allocated prior to your arrival so it might pay to email the Sheraton directly . - I may have an email address but it will be on my work computer .


With the trains - I had planned our itinerary so when we picked up our travel passes at the JR office - we booked our seats then -

Happy to help if you have any further questions.

 

[loladelorean]

Well hello out there!

I don't actually login to the Dis much these days - but it was a nice surprise to get an email notification of your post. I actually just read through the entire TR and relived our trip. There is a PTR in there somewhere - is the link in my sig??

As for the takkyubbin - I had read about it a lot on tripadvisor and was led to believe it's commonplace - maybe it is for locals - you do see the cat logo in a lot of 7/11 type shops - maybe it was the language barrier but I did have trouble communicating about this at the Sheraton.

However once I found someone that could speak a little English - they took me to the luggage counter (bell services in dis speak) and between them filled in the appropriate paperwork. Make sure to have the address written in Japanese for them - (it may actually help to have a note asking about the service written in Japanese if you can find someone to do this for you)

As I said it was a total leap of faith - but it worked for us.

As for the booking - was there anyway to put your star woods number on the booking - I expect that all rooms are allocated prior to your arrival so it might pay to email the Sheraton directly . - I may have an email address but it will be on my work computer .


With the trains - I had planned our itinerary so when we picked up our travel passes at the JR office - we booked our seats then -

Happy to help if you have any further questions.

Thanks for responding so quickly! Good to know it is possible to arrange Takkyubbin at the Sheraton. Disney is actually most likely at the end of our trip, so I'm hoping I can organise Takkyubbin from Tokyo to Kyoto then from Kyoto to the Sheraton ... i'll keep investigating! I hope google translate helps with writing the addresses in Japanese as I don't know anyone who speaks Japanese
Great suggestion re Starwood, I will try contacting the hotel - can't hurt!

Thanks again, i've only gone into full planning mode this weekend so my head is buzzing with questions and itineraries!