If you are visiting Tokyo with teenagers or pre-teens, a visit to a teamLab digital art museum is a must. After doing a little online research, I chose to book tickets for teamLab Borderless. teamLab also has another museum in Tokyo called Planets. Planets is known for an orchid exhibit and one where you walk barefoot through water. That sounded kind of gross to me, but the main reason I chose Borderless was because it is bigger and has more exhibits. Planets is set to expire in 2027 while Borderless is currently set as “permanent”, so that may also factor into your decision-making.

teamLab Borderless Know Before You Go

Make sure to buy your tickets online, well in advance. Tickets are not sold at the venue. Our tickets were for 1:30 entry on a Thursday afternoon. It felt crowded, but not overly so. Also, double-check the Borderless website for the exact address, as I read that Google Maps may lead you astray if you just type in “teamLab Borderless”. (We did rely heavily on Google Maps throughout our trip and it made transportation SO much easier. I am not even sure how we survived during our 2011 trip without it!)

You will need to place all of your personal belongings in a locker before you enter the exhibits, so bring along a 100 yen coin. (The coin will be returned to you when you return the key). If you want to go to the tea house located inside the museum, bring a credit card or money so that you can pay for it (of course, it is a good idea not to leave your wallet in the locker anyway). Also, be sure to bring your phone so you can take lots of pictures!

Getting Lost In teamLab Borderless

As the name “Borderlss” implies, this museum encourages wandering and exploration. There is no set path to follow, which makes it easy to get lost. If you are with small children, be sure to keep them close! The rooms are all dark and all the light displays are quite disorienting. I purposely did not watch any YouTube vlogs about Borderless beforehand so that I could feel a sense of discovery.

One tip I read was to wear light-colored clothing to maximize the lighting effects in photos.

Another tip is not to wear a skirt or dress since there are mirrored floors. k wore shorts under her shorts!

This is one of the few pictures of the four of us all together from the trip.

D got into the selfie action too.

En Tea House

If you have time, I would recommend stopping in at En Tea House, which is located inside teamLab Borderless. I had a Cold Brew Yuzu Green Tea, and it was a nice and refreshing break. As you drink, flowers appear to bloom in your teacup. Looking online, it seems like they have since added rice milk tea lattes, which also sound good. The room is dark, and there is eerie music to set the mood. I believe that everyone in your party needs to order something, but I thought it was well worth the experience.

Watching a baseball game in Japan is an activity I would recommend for tourists. Attending a baseball game provides a glimpse into another unique facet of Japanese culture.

Tokyo Dome

We took the metro to Tokyo Dome to watch the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants take on the Chiba Lotte Marines. It was easy to buy our tickets in advance through the Tokyo Giants website. There was an option to pick up the physical tickets, but I just showed the tickets on my phone for entry.

We stopped in the official Tokyo Giants store at the stadium to look at the merch. D had wanted to buy a t-shirt, but they only had expensive jerseys so we left the store empty-handed.

(D’s shopping bag was from our earlier Uniqlo haul.)

We enjoyed the temperature-controlled climate of the enclosed Tokyo Dome and it was nice not having to deal with the sun in our eyes. The Tokyo Dome also did not feel too large. Although we had some of the cheapest seats, it felt like we were a lot closer to the action than our usual nosebleed seats at Angels Stadium.

Tokyo Dome Food and Drinks

I wanted to buy dinner at the stadium, and the first place we saw was this place that sold bentos. I really liked how they had players pick their favorite foods for their namesake bento.

I had no idea who any of the players are, but the packaging was cool.

This was the bento I chose. It was okay, but there were a lot of mysterious items and it was relatively expensive.

This bento also ended up being just meh. I am not sure if it was our American palates, or whether Japanese people actually enjoy these foods. It did not help that the food was not hot, which is D’s biggest problem with bentos. I saw the moms in front of us eating onigiri from the convenience store, and I think that would have been a better option.

We also tried this mango soda. It was basically soda water with big chunks of frozen mango.

It was fascinating to watch the Japanese beer girls running up and down the stands with large kegs on their backs. I seriously did not understand how they had the stamina to do this. Even more amazing is that they did their jobs with smiling faces and cheerful attitudes.

Cheering at a Japanese Baseball Game is on a Whole Different Level

Japanese people really let it all out when cheering at baseball games. There were basically two extremely loud cheering sections: the away team section was way across from us, between second and third base, and the home section was closer to first base. I cannot imagine how loud it was in the middle of either of those sections, as it was already loud from where we were sitting. The Chiba Marines fans were so loud, it almost seemed like they were cheering for the home team. It is interesting that Japan has subways filled with commuters so silent you could hear a pin drop, but also has baseball fans that can yell non-stop for three hours straight.

The chants were quite involved and varied for each player and type of play. Here is D doing his best to participate.

D wore his SF Giants hat, which has a very similar look to the Tokyo Giants gear (same colors and font).

The boys in front of us had fun playing with these cool light sticks.

The stadium was pretty full for a Wednesday night.

We left the game early, before the 7th inning. I read later that the Giants lost, 3-4. I did not realize that they had won against the same team the day before 18-2!

If you are visiting Tokyo during baseball season, going to a game at Tokyo Dome is a worthwhile experience. Just remember my personal recommendation would be to skip the player bento boxes and find something else to eat.

We took the metro a couple of stops north to spend the afternoon in Ueno. At Okachmachi station, I wanted to sample the white truffle salt bread from Truffle Bakery. My first introduction to truffles was from watching the Smurfs cartoons in the 80’s. Does anyone else remember how the Smurfs went truffle hunting? k likes truffles, so I had her pose with the one piece which we all shared.

This article is a deep dive into how the Truffle Bakery is dedicated to all things truffle.

Ameyokocho

After doing some duty-free shopping at Uniqlo Okachimachi, we walked towards Ameyokocho. Vendors and small shops selling mostly food items line this busy shopping street.

We stopped at a store called Tea Garden and shared a matcha ice cream cone.

Ueno Park

Ueno Park is known as a prime-viewing area for cherry blossoms in Japan. As we were there in June, it was past cherry blossom season. It was not too crowded, and it felt like a peaceful escape in the middle of a bustling metropolis.

I wish we could have seen the Shinobazuno lotus pond in full bloom!

Lovely hydrangeas.

Ueno Park was one of the few places in Tokyo where we saw public trash cans. Too bad some of the trash ended up in the pond.

I had read mixed reviews about Ueno Zoo, so we ended up not visiting. While D and the kids took a break in the shade, I walked towards the Shinobazuno Boat Dock to see the swan paddle boats.

Aren’t they so charming? If we had more time, this would have been a fun activity.

Sanrio Gift Gate Ueno

This Ueno Sanrio store has the cutest storefront. I love how the characters have panda heads as a nod to the pandas at Ueno Zoo. However, the store itself is quite small and has a limited selection.

After we dropped off our luggage at the hotel, we took the metro to Tokyo Station. The station website refers to itself as Tokyo Station City. After getting lost in its enormous labyrinth, I can see why it deserves that name.

Tokyo Station Sushiro

The first order of business was to eat lunch. We arrived before the 11:00 a.m. opening time at Sushiro, so we did a little shopping at a drug store (sunscreen) and 3 Coins.

Going to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant is a must-do when visiting Japan. The kids had fun placing our orders on the tablet and waiting for the sushi to zoom to our table.

I thought these hot water dispensers at each table were so convenient. The tables also had a small jar of green tea powder so you could serve yourself hot tea. D could not get enough (it was surprisingly good).

After trying most of the basic nigiri, we decided to be a little adventurous. This was an interesting combination (the Japanese do love their mayonnaise).

We ordered a grand total of 22 plates, and the total bill was $24!

Tokyo Okashi Land

Not too far from Sushiro, we happened upon a cluster of stores called Okashi Land. Since were full from our sushi lunch, we did not have much room to try all the snacks. I also didn’t want to buy any food souvenirs since we would have to carry them around for the rest of the day. However, it was still fun to browse.

I did have to make a stop when we saw Tokyo Banana.

This is the Cream An Donut, which has red bean and banana custard filling. We all shared one, but k and I are the only ones in the family that appreciate red bean desserts. The flavors were more subtle than I expected. Here is a thoughtful and thorough review of the Tokyo Banana donut, along with the famous curry pan.

Tokyo Character Street

Another highlight of Tokyo Station is Tokyo Character Street. This is a collection of small shops that sell character merch. I made a list of the shops I wanted to see: Sumikko-gurashi, Rilakkuma, Miffy Style, Koupen-chan and Tomica.

Miffy is my current favorite. I think I was influenced by my mom having my sister and I eat off of Miffy plates for a good part of our childhood.

Now I am passing my love of Miffy down to k. It is so interesting to me that Miffy is not Japanese, as she totally has a Japanese vibe. One day I hope to visit the Miffy Museum in Miffy’s original home, the Netherlands.

One tip that a friend gave me that I will pass along: if you see something that you like in Japan, just buy it there. Do not tell yourself that you will see it again someplace else, because oftentimes it will be difficult to find again.

Neither k nor n are into anime, but I had n stand in front of this display just for kicks.

Traveler’s Factory At Tokyo Station

While researching potential Japanese souvenirs, I fell down the Youtube Traveler’s Factory rabbit hole. After watching so many Youtubers extol the Traveler’s Factory notebooks, I had to check them out. Finding the Traveler’s Factory store in Tokyo Station proved to be somewhat of a challenge.

The small store was fun to peruse, but I could not bring myself to make the somewhat expensive investment in a hobby I probably don’t have time for.

However, I was excited to see the Traveler’s Factory stamping station. Japan is a nation of stamp-lovers (again, my people!), so keep your eyes open and you will see stamps to commemorate your travels at various places (train stations, museums, etc.)

I think D and the kids were kind of like, “Really, we came all this way for a stamp?” They just don’t understand the satisfaction.

Tokyo Station Post Office

Another somewhat random stop I wanted to make was the Tokyo post office that is located just outside of Tokyo Station. As I mentioned, we were a little lost when trying to find the Traveler’s Factory Store. Well, we were even more lost while trying to exit Tokyo Station to get to street level. Google maps and asking strangers did not work. Finally, D suggested trying this one staircase, and we made it out! By this time, D and the kids were not in the mood for more walking to a post office, so they rested at Marunouchi Square while I went on a solo quest.

Aren’t these post office mascots so cute? The post office had some cute stationery and cards, which was my main reason for visiting. I think the US post office needs a mascot!

I bought these two frame-worthy postcards.

When I met up with the family, I saw this BEAMS store which looks so impressive from the outside. I thought it would be interesting to take a look, but everything was expensive and not really our style.

Final Thoughts

If you stay in Tokyo, you will probably find yourself near Tokyo Station at some point. It is a major transportation hub and the place where many travelers catch the Shinkansen to visit other places in Japan. Since it is located underground, it would be a cool place (literally) to visit in the summer or when it is raining. There are so many restaurants and shops that it is impossible to see it all. Make a list of the places you want to experience beforehand to make the most of your visit. (If we go again, I want to check out Ramen Street). There are maps everywhere and try not to get lost like us.

After much research, I booked Hotel Monterey Hanzomon for our nights in Tokyo. We stayed there for two nights, left our luggage there while we went to Hakone for one night, and then returned for another two nights. Hotel Monterey Hanzomon ended up being a good choice for our family.

The hotel is located directly across the street from Hanzomon metro station. This is definitely a plus and made it easy to take public transportation. While we did end up having to take a lot of transfers, I liked that Hanzomon was a less-busy station. The neighborhood, which is just west of the Imperial Palace felt quiet and safe.

The men working in the hotel lobby spoke English and were all polite and helpful. We wanted to drop off our luggage in the morning before check-in, and it was not a problem.

We knew the rooms would be small, so the size was not a surprise. The rooms for four adults have four twin beds squeezed together. This actually worked out for us since the kids were able to have their own bed. We did not spend that much time in the room, so it did not feel too cramped.

Hotel Monterey Hanzomon Amenities

Hotel Monterey Hanzomon provided 8 free water bottles that were refreshed with housekeeping. k is very picky about her water, so this was an unexpected perk! There was also a small coffee machine so D could make his morning cup.

The bathroom was also small, but nice. Fancy toilet and plenty of amenities! I never got used to the continuously warm toilet seat.

In the evening, there was also a small stand in the lobby that offered free facial masks and skincare kits.

Hotel Monterey Hanzomon Final Thoughts

I am not sure how full the hotel was, but I never heard any noise from other guests during our entire stay. If you are looking for a quiet hotel that is close to a metro station and not too far from Shibuya and Shinjuku, consider Hotel Monterey Hanzomon.

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This was our third attempt to go to DisneySea, so I was determined to make the most of our one day in the park. (The first attempt occurred when we went to Japan in 2011. It was a month after the major earthquake/tsunami, so both Disney parks were closed. The second attempt was in 2020. We had reservations, and then Covid hit.) This time around, I watched countless Youtube videos and read numerous blogs in order to maximize our day at DisneySea. Hopefully reading about our experience will help others!

Lining Up For DisneySea

One benefit for Americans visiting the Disney Parks on the first day of a Japan trip is that it will probably be easier to wake up earlier due to jet lag. I usually have to drag n out of bed on vacation, but he naturally woke up early too. We were on the monorail by 6:45 a.m. and we were not alone. (I believe the monorail starts operating at 6:30 a.m.)

We arrived at DisneySea just after 7 a.m., and there were already significant lines.

However, most were sitting on small mats while waiting (my people!). I had read about this, so I knew to bring our own mat. I really like this mat from Amazon that is just big enough for all four of us. We used it last year in Europe as well. It folds up into a small little drawstring bag that is easy to carry around. Honestly, the ground was so clean, it would not have been a big deal to sit down without a mat. Tip: Line up in the line farthest to the left when you are facing the park entrance. Note that everyone in these lines already have their tickets. You must purchase your tickets online before arriving at the park.

Before we left the Hilton, we stopped in at the Lawson’s in the lobby to pick up our breakfast.

Four salmon onigiri, blueberry yogurt drink, melonpan bread with salty butter, milk baguette, tuna and egg salad sandos and a bottle of cold green tea. It was kind of fun to have a breakfast picnic! It is a good idea to eat breakfast before you enter the park since you will want to hit the ground running.

40th Anniversary Priority Pass Pointers

Be sure to take advantage of the free 40th Anniversary Priority Passes while at DisneySea. To do this, make sure you download the Tokyo Disney app, sign in and add your tickets before arriving at the park. (We bought out park tickets through Klook.com). Link everyone’s ticket in your party into one group to make it easier to make reservations later on. After you pass the turnstiles and scan your ticket, go to the app and try to book your first priority pass.

I chose to book priority passes for Indiana Jones, which were available for around 10:30 a.m. Simultaneously, I had n try for an entry request for a show called Big Band Beat on his own phone. Meanwhile, I put D in charge of navigating us towards our first ride, Soaring: Fantastic Flight.

Tip: There are no paper maps available in the park. I found it helpful to print out a map at home beforehand. It was nice to have a lay of the land without being on our phones, which we needed for so many other tasks.

We chose not to purchase any Premier Access passes, but that is another option that you may access once you are in the parks. Also, the park does not really have wifi, so make sure you are able to use your phone without it. Also bring a portable charger so your phone will not run out of battery. We visited DisneySea two days before Fantasy Springs opened, so I am sure the new attractions add another layer of complexity.

DisneySea Rides

We made a beeline for Soaring: Fantastic Flight, and a lot of others had the same idea. Even though we have been on Soaring in California and Florida, it is one of my favorite rides. The line was about an hour long even with our speed-walking. (I guess others must have had the 15-minute Happy Entry advantage from staying at a Disney hotel).

The pre-show spiel was very cool and unique to DisneySea.

We then headed over to a roller coaster called Raging Spirits. My tip for this one is to take advantage of the Single Rider line. Just ask one of the ride attendants at the beginning where to go for Single Rider and they will tell you where to go. If you don’t mind sitting next to someone you don’t know, this will save you a significant amount of time. I felt comfortable with this option now that our kids are in high school!

Raging Spirits is not too fast, but it does go upside down. It is comparable to Thunder Mountain, (except for the inversion). It was interesting that the people in the roller coaster car I was in barely made a peep (i.e. no one was screaming their heads off).

When we were done with Raging Spirits, it was time for our Indiana Jones Priority Pass. Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull was similar to the one in California, but I found the ride to be smoother and not as jerky in Tokyo.

For our next Priority Pass, we opted for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which was not available until around 1:45 p.m. We ate lunch (more on that later) and then waited for Journey to the Center of the Earth. This ended up being our favorite ride of the day.

The line for this ride had so many twists and turns that it felt endless at times. This ride was interesting because it is unique to DisneySea. It definitely gets the blood pumping.

Next it was time for our 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Priority Pass. I’m not sure how much time the pass actually saved us, but it was nice to basically walk on after waiting so long for Journey.

k was not a fan of this ride and it was the first time that I heard her mention having claustrophobia. I used to love the submarine ride at Disneyland, so it felt nostalgic to me. However, I would not bother waiting in a long line for this one.

Since we had a reservation for Big Band Beat and I wanted to watch Believe Sea of Dreams, we could not fit in any more Priority Passes for the day. However, after watching Believe Sea of Dreams, we were able to do a few more rides, including Aquatopia and Nemo & Friends SeaRider.

Beware that Aquatopia might make you dizzy, but it is pretty tame. I read that for summer, there are now two lines: one where you stay dry and one where you get soaked. Make sure you are standing in line for the version you want to experience. D liked the Nemo ride. It is like a larger Star Tours with Nemo theming. Finally, we rode the DisneySea Electric Railway back to the front of the park at the end of the night.

DisneySea Food

Between lining up for rides, we were lining up for food.

First snack: Matcha White Chocolate Popcorn. Tokyo Disney takes their popcorn seriously.

These Mickey-shaped popcorn tongs were my only souvenir purchase in the parks. While the character popcorn buckets are cute, I thought they would take up too much room in my luggage. I really liked the matcha white chocolate flavored popcorn. The flavor was subtle, and not too sweet.

The other popcorn flavor we tried was curry, on recommendation from k’s friend.

As you can see from the line, it is a popular flavor.

While I was standing in line, a worker came by and filled out an order form that I could present once I reached the window. Got to love Japanese efficiency!

Tip: I used the Suica card on my iphone to pay for ALL my food purchases at DisneySea. It was so easy to just hold my phone near the reader to pay. I was surprised to see how many Japanese were using cash to pay for their purchases.

If you enjoy Japanese curry, you will like the curry popcorn. The flavor was pronounced, but the popcorn still tasted nice and light.

We ate lunch at Vulcania Restaurant.

We tried the Fried Rice w/Spicy Tofu & Minced Pork in Thickened Sauce, Fried Chicken w/Leek Sauce, and Chilled Noodles w/Shrimp & Scallop. The tofu dish was pretty good and n especially liked the fried chicken. However, the main reason we went to Vulcania is because I thought they had ramen. When they told me they did not have ramen, and only the chilled noodles, I went ahead and ordered it.

Unfortunately, I would not recommend this dish. I guess they decided to switch from ramen to cold noodles for the summer season. The noodles themselves were fine, but there was a strange mayonnaise sauce on the shrimp and the cold scallops were not it. As you can see, we did eat most of it, but that is only because Lims do not waste food.

We had better luck with the snacks, including a Potato Churro from the Refreshment Station.

The churro was like a giant french fry, and it had a demi glace filling that n thought tasted like pizza.

I tried to have D and n buy a Gyoza Sausage Bun from Nautilus Galley, but the line was way too long.

At Yucatan Basecamp Grill, we tried the Mickey-shaped chicken nuggets, Green Alien Mochi, and Apple Tea Soda.

The nuggets tasted like regular chicken nuggets, but aren’t they so cute? I didn’t take a picture of the apple tea soda, which everyone enjoyed. As the name would imply, it tastes like apple cider mixed with iced tea. It is a fountain drink, and it is available at only certain restaurants in the park. If you see it on the menu, give it a try!

The alien mochi was cold and refreshing. I liked the strawberry, k liked the chocolate and D liked the custard (I think n liked all of them equally). We ordered two sets so that we could each try half of each flavor.

At the Lost River Cookhouse, we tried the Spicy Smoked Chicken Leg. This was very tasty and juicy. I thought it was better than the smoked turkey leg that Disney is known for. Although it is smaller than the turkey leg, it is a lot less expensive. (Actually, we found all of the food prices to be quite reasonable, especially with the favorable exchange rate). Also, there is a surprising amount of meat. BTW, it is not that spicy, but they do sell small harissa sauce packets if you want the heat.

On a whim, I decided to also try the Sparkling Mango Tapioca Tea since I was standing in line for the chicken anyway. This was so refreshing! I only wish it came in a bigger size. (All the drinks at Tokyo Disney seemed quite small compared to American standards).

From Sultan’s Oasis, we tried the Long Naan (Meat Sauce). The naan had a nice chew, but the meat sauce was minimal. This would make a good snack if you just need something to tide you over.

For cool treats, we tried the Tiramisu Ice Cream Sandwich and the Sea Salt Ice Cream Monaka. These are available from a cart inside the Mermaid Lagoon, as well as other places throughout the park.

To me, the tiramisu ice cream sandwich did not taste very tiramisu-ish. The coffee flavor was pretty faint. However, D, the tiramisu aficionado of the family, thought it was satisfying

The Sea Salt Ice Cream Monaka has a cute sea-shell shaped cone stuffed with sea salt ice cream and a little dollop of raspberry jam.

I really enjoyed this one. The sea salt flavor was unique and the raspberry provided a nice contrast.

We ate dinner picnic-style, while reserving our viewing spot for Believe Sea of Dreams. This is the Seafood Pizza (Egg & Salmon Trout) from Zambini Brothers’ Ristorante. As you can see, this was an interesting combination of ingredients. While it is definitely not for everyone, I liked it. And how do they make that Mickey-shaped hard-boiled egg??

For tamer palates, there is the Long Pizza (Tomato & Basil). There is pesto, but my nut-allergic kids were able to eat it.

The Mickey-shaped churro–a classic Actually, it kind of reminded me of Duffy due to the color.

To cap off our food-filled day, we had the Mike’s Melon Bread from Mamma Biscotti’s Bakery. Usually, Asian melon bread throws people off because it does not taste like melon (it is only shaped like a melon). However, this version has a melon custard filling inside that tastes like cantaloupe. If you like cantaloupe, you have to give it a try!

Perhaps my favorite sweet of the entire day was this Coffee Tapioca Latte, also from Mamma Biscotti’s. Note that it was not listed on the menu board on the wall (only on the menu that was on the counter). I almost ordered a plain iced latte, and that would have been a tragic mistake. The coffee jelly and tapioca balls were nice and bouncy and the drink had just the right amount of sweetness.

Looking back, that was a lot of food! Our family does a lot of sharing, so we usually just order one of each thing to maximize the number of foods we can try. Although mobile order is available, I did not use it as it seemed like too much hassle. The only really long lines for food were for Vulcania and the curry popcorn. Oh, and I guess for the gyoza bun that we never got to try-next time!

DisneySea Shows

As I mentioned earlier, I had n enter the lottery for Big Band Beat: A Special Treat as soon as we entered the park in the morning. You are only allowed to enter the lottery for one showtime, so I had him pick the one in late afternoon. This ended up working out because by that time, we wanted to rest our feet. Also, winning the lottery means that you have an assigned seat, so you don’t have to worry about arriving early.

Photography is not allowed during the show, but as you can see, the Broadway Music Theatre is a nice venue. The show was in English, perhaps because it is located in the American Waterfront? The music featured various selections from the Big Band Era. The highlight was Mickey rocking it on the drums. The tap dancers also impressed. n fell asleep, which he tends to do whenever we watch shows at amusement parks.

The show I was really looking forward to was Believe! Sea of Dreams. Currently, it looks like the show starts at 8:15 p.m. When we went I think it was closer to 7:45. People start staking out their seats early though, we’re talking like 3 p.m.! We ended up setting out our trusty mat around 5:00 p.m. We had the kids sit on the mat while D and I went to go grab our dinner, which we ate picnic-style. When I was in the planning stage, I wondered whether it was worth it to pay for Premier Access for Believe! Sea of Dreams. After watching the show from non-reserved seats, I think paying for reserved seats is unnecessary.

We found a spot at about the 38 minute mark on a clock if you are facing the Mediterranean Harbor from the entrance. The best reserved seats are at the 30 minute mark, front and center of the Harbor. Does that make sense? There are plenty for workers standing around that will tell you which sections are free and which sections are for sitting or for standing. We chose to be at the back of a sitting section because there was a little step that we could sit on to make us a little higher than the others who were sitting. It would also be ideal to be in the front of a standing section (you don’t have to stand until the show starts).

The light projections occur all around the waterfront, including on the buildings behind it.

These pictures do not do the show justice. The music and effects were spectacular, and it was worth the wait. If you like Fantasmic, I think you will like Believe! Even n stayed awake!

Mysterious Island looks so pretty at night.

People-Watching At Tokyo Disney Is Top-Notch

I was amazed at how many young Japanese people go all out in dressing up for their day at Disney. This is just one example of a couple that was right in front of us in line.

Many park-goers bring lots of stuffies (especially Duffy) and there are specific places throughout the park where you can prop them up on a stand for photo ops.

There was a couple on our shuttle with a woman dressed head to toe as Jessie from Toy Story that got off at the Toy Story Hotel. Many groups of girls also dress alike and everyone has some sort of head gear and/or plush keychain hanging off their bag. The mirror in the ladies’ restroom was packed full of women fixing their makeup and hair. Observing how everyone dresses up and expresses themselves provides unique insight into the Japanese psyche. It was also surprising to us that it seemed like the majority of park-goers were locals rather than tourists.

Take Time To Notice The Disney Details

It was the attention to detail that really makes DisneySea special.

For instance, k noticed that the popcorn box showed that there were two days until the opening of Fantasy Springs. This attention to detail is what really floored me at DisneySea. So they had different popcorn boxes printed up for each day to countdown Fantasy Springs? I wonder how many days the popcorn box countdown lasted?!

All of the theming was so amazing. Mermaid Lagoon really transported you Under the Sea. Tip: Head here to escape the heat.

Look at this whale-shaped gift shop!

I marveled at the women’s restroom stall having this special seat for a small child. I would think that the age window where it would be appropriate to put a child in this seat would be quite small. But if you happened to have a child that age, I am sure it would be appreciated! I know I definitely appreciated how immaculate all of the restrooms were.

Even the maintenance workers took time to create Disney magic.

Lovely landscaping. Look at that faux exposed brick.

Are we in Europe?

What kind of insect is this??

Wish we had time to ride the gondola.

Mediterranean Harbor

Back to America

Their Tower of Terror is stunning.

Guests at the MiraCosta hotel waved goodbye to the guests as they were leaving the park. Some hotel guests waved their cellphone flashlights in their darkened windows. This guest had their large Duffy waving to everyone, which was a little disconcerting.

DisneySea Final Thoughts

DisneySea lived up to my high expectations. The atmosphere is unlike any other theme park we have visited. I was kind of sad that we just missed the opening of Fantasy Springs, but our day was so full even without a whole other land to explore. We also weren’t able to ride Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage because it was closed for refurbishment. I guess this gives us an excuse to return. I would also like to visit Tokyo Disneyland one day to experience Beauty and the Beast and Winnie the Pooh. If you only have time to visit on park at Tokyo Disney Resort, I would say DisneySea wins. If you have a choice, try to visit on a weekday that is not a Japanese school holiday. Arrive well before the gates open, have a general game plan, wear comfortable walking shoes and have fun taking it all in!

After checking into our hotel, it was time to eat dinner. We hopped on the shuttle that stops right in front of the Hilton and rode a very short distance to the Tokyo Disney Resort Monorail.

Riding the Tokyo Disney Resort Monorail to Ikspiari

The Tokyo Disney Resort Monorail is very easy to navigate. As you can see, there are only four stops. Our hotel was at Bayside Station. To get to Ikspiari, we rode the monorail two stops to Resort Gateway Station. Unlike the Disney theme parks back home, the monorail is not free. I had wanted to buy physical monorail tickets because they come in cute, limited edition designs. However, when we went to the machine, our Suica card (loaded on our iphone) and credit cards would not work. It turns out, you can only use cash/coins (yen) in the machines. We ended up just scanning our Suica cards on our phones to pass through the monorail gates and the fare automatically deducted from our Suica account balance.

The Disney theming on the monorail is so on point!

What We Ate At Ikspiari

There are many restaurants to choose from in Ikspiari. We actually passed a really large group waiting to be seated at TGI Fridays, of all places (I believe they were Japanese). I did some research about the restaurants beforehand and I chose Tonkatsu Wako for our first dinner. I remembered eating at this restaurant (different location) during our last trip to Japan. How fitting that D and I ate at Wako for our very last meal in 2011 and now we were eating there with the kids for our very first meal. It is also interesting (as noted in my blog post), that the cost of a meal back then was around $15. With the current weak state of the yen, the same meal actually cost less than ten dollars thirteen years later!

When we were looking for the restaurant, I was flustered because I was not certain we were at Wako. I was expecting there to be some signage in English. However, D just walked right in before I had a chance to look it up on my phone. The waitress quickly seated us and brought out the tea. I tried asking the waitress if we were in Wako, but she just gave me a quizzical look. Even when I was looking at the menu, I was still confused. I had k look it up on Google translate, and she confirmed we were at the correct restaurant. I bet my kids will still remember this part of the story for years to come.

The tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) was as good as I remembered!

For dessert we walked to Nana’s Green Tea.

We shared this scrumptious Matcha Shiratama Mochi Parfait. This was just the first of many matcha treats that we had during our trip.

Shopping at Bon Voyage

Ikspiari has several stores, but we were tired and I wanted to get to bed early. If I had more time, I would have like to stop in at 3 Coins Plus and Daiso. There is also a Disney Store. We did however, walk over to Bon Voyage, which is a larger Disney Store at Maihama Station (right next to the Resort Gateway monorail station).

The Bon Voyage store was quite large and had a wide variety of merchandise. I bought a present for my Disney-loving friend, but that is all.

This might be a good place to do some souvenir shopping if you do not want to have to carry your purchases all day in the parks. Also, the shops in the parks were a lot more crowded.

It was drizzling a little when we left the store and walked back to the monorail station. This was the only rain we experienced during our trip. Since June is considered “rainy season” in Japan, I was expecting there to be a lot more. I guess we lucked out.

Ikspiari Final Thoughts

While Ikspiari can be compared to Downtown Disney, it is not officially connected to the Disney theme parks. In fact, you will not find much Disney theming at all. I probably would not carve out time in my itinerary just to visit Ikspiari, and it does not make sense to go here in the middle of the day while visiting one of the Disney parks. However, Ikspiari was the perfect place for us to find a nice dinner and walk around the night we first arrived to the Tokyo Disney Resort area.

Don’t Bother Pre-Registering Through The Visit Japan Website

Once we landed at Narita International, we went through the Customs line. It was long, but went fairly quickly. I had filled out our trip info on the Visit Japan website a couple of weeks prior. However, it was kind of a hassle trying to access the QR code since I was trying to also figure out my Airalo SIM card. Therefore, we had to fill out the paper cards while standing in line, which was kind of a pain. My tip is to just fill out the physical Customs card that the airline attendants hand out during the flight because you have a lot of time to complete it on the plane. I thought the online form would save time, but when I tried to show the QR code (which I eventually accessed) to the person at the counter, he was not interested and only wanted to see the paper form. Also, there was not a shorter line for those who registered online, so I do not see the point of doing this (at least for now).

Best Transportation Option From Narita Airport to Hilton Tokyo Bay

After retrieving our luggage, we headed to the bus counter with yellow signage to purchase tickets for the Airport Limousine. We tried to purchase tickets at the machine, but it rejected our credit card. After standing in a short line at the counter, we told the person that we wanted to go to Tokyo Disney Resort with Hilton Tokyo Bay as our stop. Thankfully, our credit card worked at the counter. The tickets were 2300 yen (<$15 each). The employee then directed us to go to stop 10, just outside the doors. I appreciated the clear signage and that there were markings on the ground to show where to stand while waiting. Japan is nothing if not efficient.

The name Airport Limousine may be misleading, because it is actually just a nice shuttle bus. They stored all of our luggage underneath the bus and we were on our way. Using the Airport Limousine is so convenient and easy if you are headed to the Tokyo Disney Resort Area. (It can also take you to various stops in Tokyo as well). I think it might be overwhelming if you have to navigate the subway system for the first time straight out of the airport while lugging all of your luggage. It is also much cheaper than private transportation. However, the key is to make sure that the Airport Limousine will be operating at the time you need it. For instance, it only runs until about 6 p.m. from Narita to Tokyo Disney. So check the online schedule beforehand to see if it will work for you.

Also, I chose not to buy the tickets online beforehand because I was not sure if our plane would be on time, or how long it would take to get through Customs. I did not want to feel stressed if we could not make a reserved bus time, so it was easier to just go to the counter and buy tickets for the next bus.

Hilton Tokyo Bay

Hilton Tokyo Bay Beds

We were surprised at how spacious our Deluxe Ocean View room was. I liked that the bed set-up had a twin, a king and another twin. This allowed our kids to each have their own bed. One warning is that the mattresses were very firm. I personally prefer a firmer mattress, but even I thought these mattresses were too hard!

I liked the sleek headboard that allowed us all to easily charge our devices. (Japan uses the same electrical outlets as the U.S.)

The ocean view was quite impressive. It almost felt like we were on a cruise.

Tokyo Hilton Bay Amenities

There was an impressive array of slippers to choose from.

Here is D modelling the pajamas provided by the hotel. I tried it on, but it felt too heavy for me to feel comfortable.

The bathroom had plenty of toothbrushes/toothpaste, combs, razors, etc. n tried a bidet for the first time, so that was exciting. There is a water bottle refill station located on each floor. We also found the Lawson’s convenience store in the lobby very convenient for breakfast (more on that later).

Hilton Tokyo Bay Final Thoughts

While it would have been nice to stay in a Disney Hotel that offers “Happy Entry” (15 minutes before official opening), I was happy with our stay at the Hilton. The staff was friendly, and the room was spacious, clean and quiet. It offered easy access to DisneySea and was simple to access from Narita. Final Verdict: Definitely Recommend!

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We are back from our family trip to Tokyo, and I have a lot to share. The last time D and I went to Japan was in 2011. At that time, we had our 2 and 4 year old kids stay home with my parents. It was exciting to be able to experience Tokyo this time around with our 15 and 17 year old teenagers!

The first time we went to Japan we flew Singapore Airlines. This time we chose Zipair, which is the budget-friendly subsidiary of JAL. When I first heard about Zipair, I was skeptical about the minimal amenities (no free water?) However, when I saw the dramatically lower prices, I had to do further investigation to see if the cost-savings might be worth it.

Zipair Baggage Limits

We opted for the Zipair Value Package, which I would recommend. The Value Package allows prior seat selection, carry-on baggage of 7 kg, check-in baggage of 30 kg, and an inflight meal. Because I was nervous about the baggage weight limitations, I bought this handheld luggage scale from Amazon. It turns out I really had nothing to worry about, as all of our luggage was way under the limit. However, I am glad that we had the scale for peace of mind. As a bonus, n and D have since used the hand scale to weigh their backpacks before they go backpacking with Boy Scouts. I believe this was the first time an airline weighed our carry-ons. At LAX, they weighed each carry-on separately, and at Narita, they weighed all of our carry-ons together.

Zipair Food

We chose our meals when we booked our tickets. All four of us chose the Hayashi Beef with Tumeric Rice on the way there. For our return flight, the kids and I had Gyudon (beef bowl) and D had Butter Chicken Curry. I also paid 250 yen per meal to have our meals delivered towards the end of the flight instead of the beginning. I figured that we could bring our own food for the first half of the flight and that we would be hungry by the end.

The meals come with a small bottle of water.

This is the Hayashi Beef, which admittedly does not look too appetizing. However, it was actually quite tasty and appreciated.

Even though we all brought disposable water bottles that we filled right before boarding, we needed to order more drinks to avoid dehydration. The on-board ordering process was quite easy through your phone/credit card, and the prices were reasonable. However, be sure to not wait too long to order, as I noticed that many items were sold out.

I thought this baby food offering was interesting. If this is not something your baby would eat, you are probably better off bringing your own food!

Zipair: Is it Worth the Cost-Savings?

For our kids, the biggest down-side of Zipair was the lack of in-flight entertainment. There are no screens on the seats, so no endless movie-watching. (However, the seats themselves were fine and comparable to other airlines). Zipair advertises free Wi-Fi, but we found it very spotty. Zipair has a limited selection of movies (around 10?) that you can watch through their website on your own device. Of course, you can always download movies beforehand if you have the room.

The biggest downside for me was knowing that Zipair does not offer any refunds or rescheduling. I guess this is what traveler’s insurance is for? (We haven’t bought traveler’s insurance before, so I’m not familiar with how it works).

In the end, the lack of flexibility was worth the hundreds, if not thousands in cost-savings (which is easy for us to say when we made both flights). The service on Zipair was prompt and efficient. Both of our flights were on-time (we actually arrived early in Tokyo). Flying with a lesser-known airline can feel risky. However, after talking to D’s brother about his Zipair experience, we were willing to try it out. We also saw a couple of other families we knew on our flight to Narita, which was oddly comforting. If you are on the fence about trying Zipair, I would recommend it!