Dream Honeymoon in Japan May/June 2022- Please leave feedback!

18 comments

1. Following this! I’m also interested staying at Ubuya in Fujikawaguchiko

2. It’s hard to say what not to miss in Kyoto, it was once Japan’s capital. To shed some light, I originally intended to stay just 3 nights and once there, I stayed an additional 3 just because of all the ancient architecture and history. I tell most first timers, Tokyo is what most westerners think in terms of advancement; Kyoto has more imagery when you think of Japanese history/cultural influence.

3. You are booking on points for May 2022? I hope you don’t target premium cabins on ANA or JAL because these seats get snapped one year in advance the day they are released. Good luck.

   If you are an AMEX platinum cardholder, the concierge is very YMMV in Japan.

4. Toranoman is kinda out of the way. There are some good subway connections now with the Hibya and Ginza lines, you might have to walk a bit to get to interesting places though. However, it sounds like you’ll be doing mostly private tours and stuff so I guess that isn’t as much of an issue. If you want a hotel with more activities near by the Peninsula has been one of my goto hotels, the other being the Conrad. The Conrad is kinda similar to Andaz though in terms of location, but it’s on the borderline of walking distance IMO while the Andaz is not. Other good picks are Palace Hotel and Imperial hotel with good views of the Imperial palace. Shangri-La is also pretty good and right next to Tokyo station.

   Magellans is pretty difficult to get reservation ATM, you’ll get to camp on the page and hit F5 when they are released. Also they are limiting entrance to the parks so you’ll need to keep that in mind and be flexible with when you can go.

   Forwarding bags is pretty easy. Call up the front desk and tell them you want to send your bags to Kyoto. They’ll bring you the forms you need and walk you through the process. You can also just go down to the front desk/concierge/bell stand and do it there. Expect to pay between ¥2000-¥3000 per bag depending on size.

   As for best way to get to Osaka from the airport it’s probably the train.

5. Hey op what’s total cost?

6. [https://en.tokyomk.com/airport-fares](https://en.tokyomk.com/airport-fares)

   This taxi company to get to the hotel from the airport. It’s not super expensive, and they’ll meet you at the customs exit. The cars are usually comfortable. If there is an option to select a car, get the Toyota Alphard – it’s worth it even if slightly more expensive.

7. Are you landing at Narita or Haneda? That changes the best way to get to your hotel.

   For cultural/historical sites in Tokyo, I’d recommend picking a few from the hits: Sensoji, Meiji Shrine, Imperial Palace, Ueno Park complex (a few museums + a zoo), and teamLab Borderless/Planets for modern art, and then a neighborhood or two near those sites (Asakusa for Sensoji, Shibuya/Harajuku for Meiji Shrine, Akihabara for Ueno Park, etc). For a taste of what Tokyo used to be, Shibamata is also nice.

   Echoing /u/kinnikinnick321, Kyoto has so many amazing sites that you’re going to feel like you’ve missed a lot. Kiyomizudera and the area around it, the Imperial Palace, Ryoanji, Ginkakuji, Kinkakuji, Pontocho, and the Nishiki Market are the things I’d recommend, and even then you’d have to pick like three to four tops. Honke Owariya is also a cool stop if you want to visit a 600ish year-old soba restaurant for lunch or dinner.

   Not sure if you’ve found TABLEALL yet but it’s a great way to look at Michelin and luxury restaurants.

8. Only two weeks? I’d recommend you stay in Kanto; lots of history and culture around with travel time that won’t eat into your trip.

   You might also be interested in the shibazakura festival in Kawaguchiko; you’d be at the tail end of it but who knows maybe some flowers will still be in bloom by then.

9. How to get to the hotel on day one ? Google map the itinerary, likely just have to take the train If you stop at the JR station, will need to walk a bit more than if you stop at the subway station, just do whatever is most simple.

   Ghibli and Ryogoku (sumo) are at opposite sides of Tokyo, so would try to pair things on the same side of the city.

   I’ve not been, but I often see Konansou for ryokan where people want to stay in Kawaguchiko.

   Considering you seems to be ok budget wise, you can take the Fuji excursion to Kawaguchiko, just reserve your seat in advance. If you want to save a bit of money, take the highway bus. Both take the same amount of time. From Kawaguchiko to Kyoto there is two main options, either take a bus to Mishima station, or use the train and backtrack toward Tokyo to take the shinkansen at Shin-Yokohama station.

   Luggage transfer is usually something like 20-30$ by item, you can ask your hotel to help you, they should be used to do it.

   Best way to get to the airport is to Google map it, depend from where you are, it could be JR Haruka or could be the Nankai train.

   I would personally not do Arashiyama and Fushimi on the same day, would make more sense to do Fushimi Inari with Higashiyama as it’s on the same side of the city and as Gion is pretty much Higashiyama, so do Arashiyama on a different day.

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   For recommended places if you are into history, Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, Edo-Tokyo Museum. If you know more about specific events in Japanese history, you might be interested in places like Sakuradamon (if you don’t understand the reference, don’t even bother). In Kyoto places like Nijo-jo is quite relevant when it’s question of history. A place like Kodai-ji can be cool, considering it was funded by Tokugawa Ieyasu for Kodai-in, the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

   On the culture side, I would try to check for festival, otherwise, for Nara you cannot miss Todai-ji.

10. To me it looks like you’re spending a lot of money while not really experiencing that much of what Japan has to offer by staying in Tokyo so long. Another thing is that you’re missing out of cherry blossom season but honeymoons happen after a wedding.

    My quick recommendation is to look up onsen ryokans around the countryside, one place I can think of is called Obanazawa bit that’s in Yamagata. Granted, onsens are everywhere, and I’d try to search for one in Yamanashi or Shizuoka where you could take a relaxing bath with your beloved while viewing Mt. Fuji.

    I’ve been to 34 prefectures, so as a wedding gift, should you choose to accept, shoot me a DM and I’ll give you some sightseeing suggestions if you want to upgrade your Japan experience.

11. I can highly suggest the hoshinoya hotel in Kyoto, it is truly a special experience to stay there. When I visited, we had to extend our stay, as we were not ready to move on to the next place after just a couple of nights.

12. While I have not been, I’ve contemplated it a lot and I’m not quite sure the andaz is worth it despite how everyone hypes it up on awardtravel and other subs/websites. I don’t believe MR transfers to Hyatt so it’s a cash booking?

    By all accounts the location around Andaz is fairly boring, and only moderately convenient to the train station. If the highlight of the trip itself is Andaz, then go for it. If not, there are a variety of Hyatt and Starriot luxury properties all over tokyo, and for a cash booking, there are a ton more luxury properties all around what you are probably paying for andaz

13. Hey,

    as I saw “Whisky” the first thing that came to my mind, if you are in Kyoto anyway, check if you can make the time to visit Yamazaki Distillery instead. Its just around 40 minutes by train. I recommend going first thing in the morning if you want to be able to try the expensive stuff. Also you need to book in advance online (once they open up again that is, fingers crossed).

    If you are into Whisky, that will be a nice addition.

    Cheers

14. Take a limo bus from Haneda directly to your hotel. Total cost should be around $25. They’ll take your bags and store them under the bus. No need to haul them into a train. For some reason limo busses aren’t as widely used by English speaking visitors. Kansai airport also has limo busses. So if your near to one of their stops in Kyoto you could take a bus from there. Way cheaper than taxi and more comfortable than the trains.

    Also not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but if you wanna spend an entire day at Disney sea you’ll want to start looking into getting tickets asap. The limit for attendance only recently rose from 5k to 10k. If I remember correctly that would mean the parks are running at around 20% capacity. Which makes getting tickets difficult. Not sure what the online market looks like for Disney tickets post covid, but it was already annoying to get online before covid, so it might not even be an option ATM. It may come down to you heading into a Lawson’s and using their kiosk to hopefully get tickets.

    I’d recommend having a fall back plan just in case you guys are unable to obtain Disney tickets.

    Also personally I much prefer Osaka over Tokyo. Might be worth skipping a day in Kyoto and visiting Osaka. Also USJ has a relatively new Super Mario area if you’re into that.

15. We stayed at the Andaz the first time and I’d 100% stay there again esp if it was my honeymoon. Free breakfast is still a pretty good perk, also learned the hard way eventually that it can be hard to find breakfast places open early in Tokyo, so take note early risers. Comments about the Andaz being in a boring location are valid, but I didn’t see much inconvenience in transferring also I don’t need excitement where I sleep.. We’ve stayed in that area multiple times per my husband’s business trips and always thought it was more than fine. It’s not like transfering in the metro in NYC – trains are so frequent and efficient.

    One note about this day about 6/4 is fushimi inari is best to go early in the AM to avoid crowds. I also would personally plan to spend more time in Arashiyama. It’s a beautiful area with a lot going on in the daytime.

    Might serve you best to have time to just.. explore? Instead having so many classes. There are so many hidden gems all over japan, it’s a thrill to get lost. Walk into a building, take the elevator up and see what kind of cafe you find. Different strokes for different folks, I know, but just my 2 cents.

16. I go to japan yearly. I think 3 days in Tokyo are sufficient. Please trust me and go to Hiroshima and stay on Miajima. If you can make it to Koya Son, it is worth it. The more time you can spend in Kyoto, the better. If you can stay at the Prince hotel in Tokyo, it isn’t too expensive, but it is is centrally located and a nice place. Get the JR pass. It is good for the JR local lines and subways. Nara is nice, but over rated. Mia Jima feels like old Japan. If you want a curated list of Kyoto, let me know. I lived there for two years. 🙂 Have fun. It is my favourite place on earth.

17. I too am hoping to be able to go to Japan on my honeymoon in mid June or later! Praying that they will let in Americans by then without quarantine.

18. If there is award space and you don’t mind moving, you could spend 2 nights at Park Hyatt Kyoto and 2 nights at Hyatt Regency.

    Wa Yamamura in Nara for an excellent Kaiseki meal.