Dec 2024 Japan Trip (no Disney)

[nono]

So, this trip doesn't include TDL or TDS, so it's just a summary of what we did in case it helps someone else round out their trip to the Tokyo region.

Flew ANA overnight out of JFK. Cannot recommend or not recommend. You gotta be in the mood to leave at 1 am and arrive at 5 am. We were for this trip so it worked well. One thing to note with this flight is you land in T2 which is mostly ANA domestic. So, if you are connecting in-country to a smaller city, this could be the flight to take to cut down on transfer headaches. We were only transferring to T3, so, not much of an advantage for us.

We shipped our luggage from T2, then took the bus to T3. My son said that his sister (our daughter) said she was picking up a welcome suica for us (we had a couple other suicas). I got in line in T3 also for the Welcome Suica, and after the lady in front of me was done, I woke up everyone in the area by yelling my daughter's name when I realized that lady was my daughter, as we had synced up to literally be 1 person apart trying to accomplish the same task! Our daughter is a Japan resident and college student...we were three sand dune bumpkins from southern coastal NJ who hadn't slept much Wed night, went to school or work all day Thursday, and then slept poorly on the plane. She was still glad to see us!

Picked up our Ninja Wireless, and were waiting on shower rooms. Our time came, and eventually Air Bic opened (best price on Ito En products at the airport, as far as I can tell). After that, there were no chores to do, so we shoved our carry ons in a coin locker and decided to take the free shuttle from Haneda Garden to Ariake Garden shopping center.

The food court and outdoor area was good, even above average, and a couple of us picked up a random shirt and my husband got a new coat, so that was cool. When we were done, we went to Shinagawa station to buy Shinkansen tickets for later in the trip and then commuted back over to the airport.

Stayed at Villa Fontaine that night...honestly would have been OK anywhere, but it was nice to have an onsen bath, the easy proximity to Haneda Garden made dinner a breeze. We at the the Seafood Izikaya...good times there. Food was above average, the staff was lovely (and funny) and the dining room was quite comfy.

Hotel room was great! Beds firm, but not insane, and I love an insane firm bed. (Yes, I'm American, I know it's surprising!) Price of our room included an onsen visit. That went fine, and that was about Day 1.

Hope this is helpful for someone still planning their trip.

 

[nono]

First part of the trip is Yokohama. We did a day trip a year or so ago, and my husband really wanted to hang here a little and do a day trip or two. Things were loose for the first few days to account for everyone's jet lag.

One highlight included taking the bus from Haneda to Yokohama station -- it was a beautiful day, Mt Fuji was in sight and the route gives riders a nice view of the harbor and Minatomirai area. Another highlight was poking around Chinatown on a weekday morning starting around 10:30. Found the atmosphere to be fun, not too crowded and a shout out to the little store called Koki that had just super versions of all things street food. And a small standing area in an alley along with 2 trash cans!

Our son needed to beef up his wardrobe, but is always too busy to shop at home. So, we headed to an outlet area at the edge of Yokohama area called Mitsui Outlet Park Yokohama Bayside. Very set up at the stores in the outlet section to give tax free "discount". He got a lot of clothes, we all got something, actually. It had a really nice food court where we enjoyed ourselves tremendously. They had a separate building of Uniqlo/GU called Uniqlo Park and there was minor rock climbing and slides along the outside of the building. Younger adults were using it to commute in and out of the couple levels of the building. I think we were the only foreigners there when we went, and the deals we got were substantial, even before the exchange rate.

We did a couple evenings walking around the holiday Illuminations. We seem to really like that based upon the sheer number of photos we took

I'll cover where we ate and the more major highlights and post photos in another post. Just wanted to mention these as they weren't supposed to be "things" we'd even remember, yet we all keep talking about them as highlights so I thought I'd share them.

 

[nono]

Hold for better photos...editor is not cooperating

 

[jujubiee4]

Can you please tell me how the weather is in December? Im look for a family trip to go in September
October November or December and weather will dictate it. Is it cold?

 

[nono]

Can you please tell me how the weather is in December? Im look for a family trip to go in September
October November or December and weather will dictate it. Is it cold?

So, I've only been in Oct., Nov.and Dec...and the only year it was cold was at night in Dec. In 2019 in the Tokyo area. I was glad for a warm winter coat with had and gloves while waiting for the Electric Light Parade that year, for instance.

I live at the "Jersey Shore" so I'm used to damp, chilly air though, so factor that in, esp. if you are from a dry area. These months are less rainy, but even so, I always pack a raincoat, and I've always gotten to use it.

 

[nono]

Added to this post at the bottom....

OK, so as I mentioned, we don't plan a lot at the beginning of any trip because with 3 of us adjusting to being 14 hours in the future, to meet the 4th of us who is on her resident time zone...it goes differently each time! Sooo, here's what we did that I think is worth mentioning.

I will say this -- check the opening hours of things you've planned. Hours and closed days do change, so, do some last minute double checking. In Yokohama, we did a couple minor museums (that's our thing -- go to smaller places that aren't a huge time/money commitment). Two that I would say are worth a visit are the Yokohama Customs Museum and the Japanese Overseas Migration Museum. I think both were free. The Customs Museum link I posted is to a quick article from Tokyo Cheapo, while the other link is to the actual site which has audio guides for the entire museum.

For food we had a lot of sit down meals at the beginning...spent a lot of time near Yokohama Station -- Mer de Napoli, Aloha Table, Mitsuri-bina at Yodobashi for All You Can Eat sushi... Oh and we did a celebration night at the Hilton's dinner buffet. Oh yeah...we had dinner in Yamashita Park at the Wharf House. That was a difficult night. It's the only place where none of us could really function in Japanese! We had fun though and the fish curry and fried calamari were delicious. Yokohama beers on tap there for those who are interested.

I'm forgetting some of Yokohama. Will come back and edit when I remember.

OK, I remembered! We also took the Sea Bass Water Shuttle at one point in the afternoon from Yamashita Park to Yokohama Station -- that was nice. Cheaper to take the subway, but it was a nice day and the trip was very relaxing. I think that was the day that we chased down the Disney Holiday Trees at a few locations in Minatomirai and just kept going to the end of the park. Oh and for some reason, Google maps refers to this as the Sea Bus.

And we only ended up doing 1 real day trip out which was to Enoshima Island. We had flurries that morning, so we decided, "HEY, let's go to the beach." It worked out. We did the Caves, spent a lot of time on the tide pools (coastal folks needing to commune with the sea). We found a brewery that is in a non-tourist area of the island called AMATERASU. If you ever happen to go there and they have the Blue Surf beer, get it. The proprietor also makes tacos and our kids ate a bunch of them! Only like 4 barstools inside, but about 4 tables outside to sit and relax. We also did the Illumination at night. It was stunning.

 

[nono]

Finally remembered stuff and added it to post 6 at the bottom.

 

[nono]

I like Yokohama, but I really have kind of a hate/hate relationship with Yokohama Station. It's not a bad station. It's easy to navigate. But I just dislike the location and how everything is or is not connected to it.
The Sheraton side of the station is just bleh. However, the Don Quijote there is a manageable size, and not many tourists, so the Tax Free counter up on the 4th floor was no line! <----Might be the overall highlight of the trip.

We stayed at the Hilton next to the K Arena. There were events when we were there, but the property has it down on how to navigate its customers through the masses. And masses of Japanese young people really aren't anything like we experience in USA. I've seen reviews of the Hilton saying "I wouldn't stay during an event at the K Arena." Well, I have and it was fine. There are better locations if you like being in the action near the waterfront, but I liked that property and its decor (art deco).

 

[nono]

On and after a few trips to Japan, I finally figured out a coin system to work for me: a 2 coin storage system for yen. One on the back of my wallet for the small denominations and a separate purse for 50/100/500. Maybe it'll work for someone else too.

 

[nono]

Next stop: Osaka. A first for all of us...