For context I'm a US citizen who flew out of LAX into HND (Terminal 2). The trip was for 2 adults, first timers. We each brought a backpack and a large suitcase. Almost half of our trip was paid with reward points from our credit card.
We landed in Japan roughly around 5AM. We picked up our SUICA at the airport and loaded the max on to each of our cards since we would be staying for a little over 2 weeks- we knew it would be used.
Because of our very early landing time we bought our hotel room a day prior to us landing so we could check in prior to 3PM. This did require us to be in contact with the hotel ahead of time so they did not cancel our reservation when we "no showed" the day of.
Scheduled a shuttle to take us from the airport to our hotel ($18). We stayed at one of the secondary Disney properties, Tokyo Bay Maihama Hotel First Resort ($1115, 4 nights). On booking, this was the cheapest of the hotels available and I definitely recommend it strictly for the convenience of it. Room was great too but really just a place to sleep. They were very helpful getting us adjusted to how Japan works.
Honestly, if you're going to Japan for the first time and plan on doing Disney anyway, I recommend doing it first. I think it really helped us ease into getting used to somewhere entirely different: The bathrooms, the washrooms, laundry, manners, public transit (buses/monorails are like mini lessons), handling money, ordering, portions- I could go on.
Disney(~$420, 3 days): Disneyland is relatively similar to California's. I was fine spending a day there, my husband wanted to spend a second day. We did spend money on the premier access to ride beauty and the beast twice because it is BEAUTIFUL. Do not bother spending it on parades. We saw the electrical parade and the Halloween parade with zero issues finding a spot 5 minutes before they started. Disney Sea is all about Duffy. So in my opinion it doesn't feel very Disney really, its just like another amusement park. We did 2 days here, which felt worth it to me to explore everything, but again, my husband wished we took a day away from here and spent it at Disneyland. Its VERY pretty, a lot of good food, but rides are lacking or are insanely long waits. We used the premier access for Peter Pan's Neverland Adventure which was very fun and genuinely felt worth it. We also used to for Rapunzel's Lantern Festival- a WASTE. it is so laughably short. We were warned about it, but it felt like "well we're here", NO. Just dont waste the time/money.
Highly recommend: Sea Salt Ice Cream Monaka (I think I ate 4)
Things I wish we knew: Bring water, stay hydrated! "Main Street" closes with the rest of the park. Its not like CA or FL where it stays open an hour later so you can shop after. Get your souvenirs before closing time. Most of the shops in the park are going to have the same stuff. Also check the disney store in "IKSPIARI" which is their Downtown Disney / Disney Springs. You get there using the monorail system as well.
We used Yamato to transfer our 2 suitcases from Chiba to Akasaka. Our hotel had a desk that specifically helped with this. It cost roughly $50. There was a slight delay because of Trump visiting….so it got to our next hotel a day later.
We stayed in Akasaka for a total of 8 nights at Best Western Hotel Fino Tokyo Akasaka ($1737). The location was perfect. We were walking distance from multiple station entrances, surrounded by amazing restaurants and cafes. Anything we needed was no more than 5 minutes away. Hotel itself was good, obviously on the smaller size, but I feel like the space just wasn't used as wisely as it could have been. But the most important thing I searched for was location, laundry, wifi, and luggage holding- all of which this hotel had.
Quick summary of Tokyo itinerary: Harry Potter Cafe (didn't know Akasaka was hosting the Cursed Child and it was all deck in HP), Kirby Cafe (Highly recommend!), Tokyo Skytree (great shopping, Ghibli Store), Shibuya (scramble/Hachiko/nintendo store), Harajuku (Harry Potter Store, Fender, Kiddy Land), Akihabara(honestly I could have passed, more anime than gaming i felt like), Husband built his own gameboy in Akihabara ($380), Senso-Ji (so packed), Meiji Shrine (**#1 recommendation**). 3 rest days were mixed in where nothing in particular was planned. We may have done laundry or slept in or used it to souvenir shop.
Highly recommend: Champagne & Gyoza Bar (order the cheesy gyoza)
What I wish we knew: Temples/Shrines close at sundown and it was getting dark around 4PM. Most businesses close at 8PM! Dont think because its a hip area on a weekend its going to be open late! We missed most of Harajuku because I assumed that.
We ended up taking a taxi to Tokyo station to get on a bullet train with out luggage to kyoto and then taxi straight to our hotel. **If you do not reserve a spot for your oversized luggage on the bullet train you can be charged 1000 yen per luggage** but to be perfectly honest my husband and I managed to find spots for ours just fine- But don't count on it (but also 1000 yen isn't the worst thing).
We stayed at Hotel Gracery Kyoto Sanjo for a total of 4 nights ($672). This hotel was fantastic in every single way. I highly recommend it. Location was wonderful, staff amazing, room was spacious- everything I wanted and more. I really wish we spent more time in Kyoto. This was not enough at all. I would easily add on another day or 2.
Kyoto itinerary: Ghibli Park, Nintendo Museum, 1 unspecified day, traditional tea ceremony + samurai museum, Okazaki shrine
Ghibli Park ($51): WORTH IT. But get the premium ticket. I got the basic ticket and chanced to buy the additional 3 houses the day of and Howl's sell's out immediately. I think its important to prioritize what you want out of your experience because your window is relatively limited and the lines are LONG. I really just wanted to SEE things. I wasn't interested in buying or eating. So I did get to do that. But the photo op with no face is long. The line to eat at the Flying Oven is quite long, and the line for the bakery is very long. There's literally no way to do EVERYTHING in one day. Also, I think its important to just be present. I large part of this park does not allow you to take photos. and initially I was sad about that, but it made me really cherish the moment more and just sit with the world I was being immersed in. Also you get to freely touch and open most things. I literally felt like I was breaking into kiki's house opening all her drawers and bags- seeing all her trinkets and writings. My warehouse time was 12PM and I thought that was perfect.
Nintendo Museum ($43): Completely worth it if you're a nintendo fan. Again, a large portion is no pictures, but I enjoyed every second of this exhibit. Also the interactive floor was so much fun. You can absolutely do everything in the museum in one day. The only thing I wish we knew was if you want to do a workshop make sure you schedule when you get there. We tried scheduling later and found out we missed our window to do so. ALSO- omg make trading a thing! I kept trying to trade blind boxes and people seemed so confused by the concept? We all had things the other wanted but it didn't seem like a common thing they do here I guess.
Tea Ceremony/Samurai Museum ($128): This was a combo pack and I had such a wonderful time. It was so informative. It also included a kimono rental from 10AM-6PM. I was very hesitant to be THAT person walking around, but I felt really beautiful and I wanted to for just a bit. While both were highly informative I did feel the samurai walk through was a bit rushed- it is with a guide. I just wanted a little more time to sit with the info and artifacts.
Okazaki shrine: Rabbit shrine for fertility. Very small shrine. We saw a lot of couples there. Its cute with all the rabbit statues. Its not very busy and was honestly nice to be at one that wasn't swarmed. On our way there we passed a ton of other temples/shrines- so if you wanted you could make like a day of it visiting different ones.
Highly Recommend: Kura Sushi (it just feels like a must)
One thing I had on my food itinerary we did not get to because the line was longer than I expected and we couldn't wait was Happy Pancake- so if someone could tell me it was bad so I feel better that would be great.
Going back home we got another suitcase for souvenirs. Then we did the same by do the taxi, bullet train, taxi system we did before. It just worked out easier than using Yamato and being without our luggage for a couple of days at a time- when we were only in Kyoto for 4 nights. Just made more sense.
Addition stuff:
YES we got sick!! So wear your mask from the second you leave your house to get on the plane because I'm pretty sure that's where I got it. Then my husband got sick. Then I got better. Then he gave it back to me- and it was just one huge vicious cycle.
Temple purchases/goshuin: its always going to be cash only. its typically 500 yen. No there will not be an ATM nearby. Have cash on you if you're going to a temple or shrine. Also, no i never had an issue between mixing Shinto and Buddhist goshuin in the same book.
Souvenirs: I honestly only went to the Mega Don Quijote in Shibuya to get myself some things (kitkats, eyemasks, nail clippers, ect.), but for actual souvenirs I had much better luck at places like LOFT and Hands. Every LOFT I went to was entirely different and I found some unique items for coworkers and friends. I only went to 1 Hands in Shibuya but I found some nice things for my in laws. Otherwise Kyoto is where you should buy or going into independently owned stores that sell wares from Japanese creators. There was a very small shop near my hotel with hand made figurines- and i promise you there is no shortage of those kinds of stores.
Shoes: Break in shoes before hand! My husband also said he saw a post recommending buy 2 of the same pairs of shoes and rotating them day by day. He followed that advice and he said it was a life saver for keeping dry feet because of the humidity. I personally wore 1 pairs of hokas my entire trip and never had any pain.
Stamps: I did collect several stamps. Biggest advice here is look for the area's tourist information center. They will usually have a stamp and they will also typically tell you what all stamps are in the area and where to get them. If you're just looking for trains they are in the JR lines and will usually be on a GREEN table. It doesn't always stick out and I walked past them plenty of times, but no, you dont have to swipe your suica to get to where the stamp is. Finally, please- if you use your own ink for the stamp, match what they have already been using! Dont mix a new color!!! I was pissed to find several stamps all muddy with mixed colors.
Language: Google translate is your friend. We got by with- "ohayo gozaimasu", "konichiwa", "konbanwa", "Arigatou gozaimasu", "Sumimasen", and "hai". Also an occasional "kawai" and oishi"
Konbini debate: I, personally, was not a fan of family mart or lawsons. I tried what they were known for- and it was only ok. 711 ended up being my jam.
Honorable mention: I fell in love with Tully's honey milk latte on day one and I literally had one every single day after that.
This was a huge dump of thoughts but let me know if you have questions or want links to anything!
by kitkatkrossing