Visiting Japan--The tail of two vacations in one PART--ONE

Japan—The tale of two vacations in one Part 1

Japan wasn't on my short list of places I want it to visit. Don't get me wrong, I knew it would be a cool place to visit one day, but I thought it was out of reach because of the costs, the culture and the language barriers would make it difficult. Boy how wrong I was! Japan was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

If you haven't guessed, I'm a Star Wars fanatic. Been one since I saw it on the big screen at four years old in 1977. Since I went to my first Star Wars convention (Star Wars Celebration) in 2017, I've been hooked. Wherever in the world the Star Wars convention is going to be held, I plan to be there. So, when it was announced that celebration was going to be held in Tokyo, Japan, I didn't hesitate. I began planning my trip right away.

Whenever I plan my vacations, it's my goal to absorb as much of the culture, see as much of the area and stay for as long as I can. It was no different with Japan. Therefore, I planned a 20-day Japanese adventure.

For this trip, I had my dear friends as travel mates. My friend from college, Cheri, and her husband, Sean, a fellow Star Wars fanatic, met me in London for a week for Star Wars celebration during my Europe trip. We had a blast! It seemed natural that we would all go to Japan together.

What made the trip even more exciting is their daughter, Mikayla, and her fiancée, now husband, Josh, were going. One of the many remarkable things about Makayla is she studied in Japan and speaks fluent Japanese.

We had about 10 months before celebration and that was when the serious planning began. I went to my favorite travel agent, Lynne Padilla (lpadilla@dvtravelgroup.com), to get our amazing vacation under way. Cheri and I wanted to spend 10 days in Tokyo to lead up to celebration. After that, we’d spend the final 10 days in the rest of the Golden Triangle (Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka). Therefore, we knew we were going to want a special package.

Though Lynne had been to Japan, she wanted us to have the best experience possible. Therefore, she referred us to Eri Hayakawa (eri@travelcenter4u.com). Eri is a native of Japan and visits family there every year. The perfect person to help us plan our vacation!

Cheri and I met with Eri a couple of times before the concrete planning began. We expressed some specific experiences we wanted, places we wanted to see, and we asked Eri for her suggestions. From there, Eri had put together a package for all five of us to check out.

Although the entire package was well planned and hit every point we asked for, it was a bit more expensive than some of us wanted to pay. Therefore, we decided to plan the first ten days into Tokyo ourselves and Cheri and I would go with Eri's plan for the last 10 days.

Preplan

The five of us live in two different states, so we set up zoom meetings to coordinate activities, payments responsibilities and any other issues. We set up a list of tasks and we volunteered to get them completed. For example, we wanted to see a Sumo wrestling match, but April is off season for Sumo. Therefore, I took the job to find a Sumo wrestling show, reserve the show for all five of us and put the deposit down for the show. Each of us had our jobs.

Hotels Tokyo

While in Tokyo, we stayed in two hotels, the Royal Park and Chiba Sun Route.

Royal Park Hotel

I enjoyed this hotel. We had a 45-minute bus ride from Narita airport directly to the hotel. Furthermore, the hotel is in a prime location in the Nihonbashi suburb of Tokyo. Not only is the hotel close to convenience stores including 7- 11 and a variety of restaurants, the hotel is near a laundromat and grocery store with the best fresh strawberries ever! On the basement floor of the hotel is a variety of shops and restaurants and the Shiodome and Shimbashi stations. It was so easy for us to get around this city and we always know knew how to get back to our hotel.

Booking.com ranks the Royal Park Hotel as a four-star hotel. The rooms are spacious and comfortable. Like many spaces in Japan, the rooms and the hotel areas were neat and clean. The hotel has a great breakfast buffet. It's a mix of western and traditional Japanese breakfast items. This includes an omelet bar with a chef who cooks eggs to order.

For about $150 per day, the Royal Park Hotel is a great place to stay while in Tokyo. The staff were very attentive and helpful, spoke English and are quick to get guests the information needed. We stayed for seven days, and I would recommend anyone stay at the Royal Park hotel in Tokyo.

The Royal Park Hotel Lobby

My Room

Hotel Sunroute Chiba

Chiba is a suburb of Tokyo, is near Makuhari Messe, the Convention Center where the Star Wars the celebration was being held. It made better sense to stay in Chiba for the three days of the convention.

Sunroute Chiba is located in a great spot for anyone traveling to the area. The hotel is situated in a mall and close to convenience stores. This way you have access to whatever you need without having to travel very far. There are several great restaurants in the area and it's a walkable suburb. In addition, the hotel is directly connected to JR Chiba train station.

Booking.com rates Sunroute three stars. I had a single room which was quite a change from the spacious Royal Park hotel room period if I had to do it again, I would get a double room. However, for the three days and all the amenities that come with the room, it was all worth it. Some prices are as low as $40 a day which is more than worth what you receive!

The breakfast buffet had an excellent selection and there was a good mix of western and Japanese options. The staff are very attentive, and the hotel itself was very modern. Many of my fellow Star Wars nerds stayed there as well. I met a new friend from Australia in the elevator and they found me on the convention floor to take photos!

Money

Japan is very much a cash-based society. Credit cards are necessary for hotels, car rentals, and other big-ticket items, but cash is king everywhere else. I brought cash with me before I got to Japan. You can go through your bank or a currency exchange at the airport which can get pricy. However, 7-11 convenience stores have ATMs with small fees. I used 7-11 whenever I needed cash. Remember to use local currency, use debit not credit and most important, use the local conversion rate not US currency conversions. These tips will save a considerable amount of money as fees quickly add up.

Luggage service

Japan has luggage services that is quite efficient. For a small fee you can get your luggage transported from the airport to your hotel and from hotel to hotel. Go to the hotel concierge and ask them about what time your luggage needs to be dropped off for pick up. For example, the hotel may require you have the necessary paperwork filled out and your luggage at the front desk by 9:00 AM to have it delivered to your next hotel 2 days before you get to that hotel.

The luggage service was amazing! I try to travel light; However, going to Star Wars celebration, I had a full jedi costume robes and all. I had my carry on, a large personal bag and a large, check-in bag the size of a trunk. Although I had a precarious sized toy lightsaber, the luggage service had no problem transporting my belongings. I highly recommend that you use the luggage service if you are travelling between hotels throughout Japan. It will make your vacation go a lot smoother.

Internet

Internet service in Japan can get a little tricky, so I recommend you get an E-card. I owned my phone and didn't want to pay the $10 a day for my carrier’s overseas charges, so I got a portable Wi-Fi router at the airport. The router worked well. My travel mate even used it when her E-card ran out. However, I had issues with security when I was trying to go home (they didn't know my lightsaber was a toy) and I forgot to bring the router back. I had to go through the rigamarole of emailing the store, sending it back to Japan, and being charged the late fee. So, it wound up costing me much more than the $10 a day through my carrier’s overseas service. Get the router if you're traveling with several people and if the if they're in the vicinity of the person holding the router. Otherwise, get an E-card if your phone allows you to have it. Otherwise look at your carrier's plan.

Clothing

For the most part, Japanese people dress conservatively. Though you will see some folks wearing flamboyant clothing, most Japanese wear business suits or business casual even when they're going out for fun. However, if you wear the typical American travel wear, i.e., shorts, graphic T-shirts and tennis shoes, you won't get stared down or treated differently. If you want to blend in, try neat, casual layered clothing. Keep in mind about the season and wear breathable layered outfits.

it is very important to wear comfortable shoes. Keep in mind that many temples and some restaurants require you remove your shoes before entering the building. Furthermore, you'll be doing a lot of walking. Don't do like I did. I had used a pair of shoes I wore in Europe. They're great walking shoes and were easy to step in and out of. Problem was I walked all over Europe in them for a month. I wore the soles in the shoes down and I didn't think to check before I left to replace them. It was a bit uncomfortable, but I made it work. I couldn't buy new shoes because there weren't any shoes I could find that would fit me because of the small stature of many Japanese people. Keep this in mind when you're buying clothing items. Always check sizes before buying clothing.

Accessibility

The Japanese typically live longer than populaces of other countries. Because of the elderly population, the Japanese are very conscientious of accessibility. I was pleasantly surprised to see how accessible the subways, roads and historic sites were and how easy it was for folks in wheelchairs to get around. Though most of the subways have stairs and escalators, there were always elevators in the vicinity. There were times my body wasn't working for me as well as I would have liked, and I was able to find an elevator or escalator every time I needed one. Historic sites were well equipped as well. Osaka castle is several stories high, and it was totally wheelchair accessible.

Oh, and the yellow strips with the bumps on the subway walkways, these are for the blind. Always check to verify accessibility before you go to a specific site, but I'm impressed at how the Japanese care about their elderly and disabled. I hope more countries will follow Japan’s lead!

Food

Japan is full of culture and history. I will discuss this, where I travelled and what I saw in Part 2 of this blog post. However, I wanted to end by telling you about Japanese food. Absolutely amazing! Many people think Japan is all about sushi. While the sushi in Japan was obviously the best I ever had, there is so much more to eat in Japan.

I've had fish and shrimp taken right out of a tank and cooked to order. Like dumplings? Try some that are as long as your hand. Noodles and broth? Forget about it. The best ever. My absolute favorite was the wagyu. Wagyu beef is cared for so well it's as good for you as salmon. I didn't know beef could melt in your mouth until I had Japanese wagyu.

Fruits and veggies are so fresh in Japan. If you can go during strawberry season, you're in for a real treat. I've had the best strawberries in Japan outside my own home-grown strawberries. There is a wide variety of food in Japan it's some of the most flavorful and freshest food you'll ever have.

One very interesting fact about Japanese food. The photo advertisements of food is exactly what you get. It doesn’t matter if it’s a photo of a cookie in a convenience store window or a photo of a Big Mac at McDonald’s, you get the food that was promised in the advertisements. In addition, Japanese merchants spent thousands to have plastic replicas of what each dish looks like so customers know what they are getting to eat before they order. Another great aspect of eating in Japan

Prices

In the 80s things were very expensive in Japan and somehow the country has this stigma of still being super expensive. Not really. The first night we got into Japan, we went to an Udon noodle restaurant. The chef made the noodles right in the restaurant. We had Udon, drinks and appetizers. We were stuffed! When it was time for the bill, it came out to be about 10 U.S. dollars per person. Yes, there are expensive things in Japan, but you can find restaurants, tourist sites and souvenirs to be very reasonable.

I hope this gives you an idea of what to expect when visiting Japan. There is so much to this fabulous country, I couldn't express it all in one blog post. In Part 2 of my visit to Japan, I will highlight my visit to the golden triangle Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka and back to Tokyo. Learn what I did in my 20-day Japan vacation so you can use that information to better plan your dream trip to the wonderful place known as Japan.

My friend from Australia I met in the elevator of the hotel