Tour of Tokyo & Hong Kong Disneylands?

[jcruise86]

Did any of you go on that tour of Tokyo & Hong Kong Disneyland that was promoted on MousePlanet almost a year ago? If so, how was it?
(There was an optional trip to Kyoto that also sounded interesting.)
Do you know of any travel companies that might offer such a trip in the future?

[jcruise86]

Or do any of you know of any fantastic travel agents who send people to Asia, who might be willing to work with me if I got 40 to 100 of my closest friends to join in?

Or (more likely) if I fail to make any friends, can you recommend any great travel agents that have helped you with Tokyo Disneyland reservations?

[Iceman]

I've set up all my trips on my own. In this day and age, IMO, travel agents are antiquated and unnecessary!

[Tink's Hairdresser]

While I agree that a travel agent isn't necessarily needed, it's helpful to have some guidelines at least.

I can only speak from experience -- my trip a year and a half ago was self-booked. Why exactly do you want a tour? Is it to ease all the logistics, or to get more background info on the places?

If you book the basic outline yourself, then you can add some mini-tours over there -- the main company in Japan is Sunrise Tours (www.jtbgmt.com/sunrisetour/). They do the tours in English, and you can call and speak English to book the tours.

Then there is another tour in Kyoto, called "Walk in Kyoto, Talk in English" that's well-regarded.

Kyoto is a good idea, as it is more the "real Japan" than Tokyo. The best thing to do there is actually rent a bike and get around to the sites that way. BTW, hotels in Kyoto sometimes get booked up pretty early.

Here are some general guidelines:

Air: expedia.com or call Japan Airlines or All Nippon Airways directly.

Hotel: hotels.com is good because you can book in English. As I recall, they had a pretty strict cancellation policy though. If you want, I can list 3 or 4 hotels in each city that I stayed at, or that generally get good reviews.

Disney site: www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/index_e.html

If you navigate to "Official Hotels", you can look at the Hilton and Sheraton. The Hilton seems a little easier to book online.

Then there are 2 Disney hotels, Miracosta and Ambassador.

Money: Yen are basically pennies, so 5000 yen is $50. Japan is largely a cash society, so the best thing for day-to-day expenses is an ATM card. (Note: many US ATM cards won't work in most Japanese machines -- your safest bet is either Citibank, or use the machines inside Post Offices.) Carry your bills flat in a money belt. When you pay for something, they usually will point out the price on a calculator, then give you your change in a tray.

Medicines: bring your own. It's very difficult to find exact matches in the stores there. (In a real pinch, you may be able to get your hotel front desk to help out.)

General Japan info: www.japan-guide.com
Navigate to Forum / Travel / Show all ___ questions in Travel

Some more notes: if you want a Rail Pass per se, you must buy it in the US before you go. Look for offices of "JTB". (site: jtbusa.com)

The alternative is individual tickets, which are practical around Tokyo. For Tokyo-Kyoto and back, you probably want the Pass.

Japan is a little daunting at first, as it is definitely more "foreign" than say France. Then again, the people are a lot nicer ):

[jcruise86]

Tink's Hairdresser,
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! ! !
:) :p :) :p :)
Iceman might be correct about my not needing a travel agent, but, if so, it will partly be because of all the helpful information you were kind enough to provide!

I had a good agentless trip to Tokyo (free NW WorldPerks miles, back when it was easier to redeem the promised miles) about ten years ago. And I stayed in a "businessman's hotel" ("business person's" today?) for abut $60 per night. I think it was called something like the "Hotel Urashima." The room was about 50% larger than the small twin bed and the shower was also the bathroom. Too complicated to explain here! Since I don't get claustrophobia I thought this hotel was fun.

The most interesting non-Disney thing I did in Tokyo was get up at dawn to visit an enormous fish market/auction. Many travel writers insisted it would be worth going to and they were right. There seemed to be a greater variety of fish than an aquarium (all dead--but so neatly laid out:fez: ), and the place was so perfectly clean that there was absolutely no unpleasant fishy smell. Unfortunately--knowing that clean fish markets don't stink has made that one in downtown Seattle seem really nasty to me, and for the last ten years whenever I've smelled fish at Ralph's I've been, well. . .

[jcruise86]

. . . Japan is a little daunting at first, as it is definitely more "foreign" than say France. Then again, the people are a lot nicer ):
P.S. My wife and I had a Twilight Zone trip to Paris 3-4 years ago. EVERYONE we encountered was really friendly. :eek:
Maybe it was a post-911 sympathy thing and they didn't want French fries re-named, but I've been enthusiastically defending the French ever since.

Sorry to briefly take this thread out of Asia, but the honor of those who helped us during the Revolutionary War (and, who now host such a wonderful HM) was at stake!

[Tink's Hairdresser]

One other thing to mention: on the Disney site, you can go to Park Schedule / Temporary and Permanent Closure of Attractions/Shows

and see when rides are going down. You want to make sure the Pooh's Hunny Hunt ride in Disneyland, and Journey to the Center of the Earth, in DisneySea -- in particular -- are open when you're going.

And likewise, "Walk in Kyoto, Talk in English" is only open certain days (it's a one-man operation), and closes in the coldest Winter months.

[jcruise86]

One other thing to mention: on the Disney site, you can go to Park Schedule / Temporary and Permanent Closure of Attractions/Shows

and see when rides are going down. You want to make sure the Pooh's Hunny Hunt ride in Disneyland, and Journey to the Center of the Earth, in DisneySea -- in particular -- are open when you're going.

And likewise, "Walk in Kyoto, Talk in English" is only open certain days (it's a one-man operation), and closes in the coldest Winter months.
Thanks again! I'm adding that to my Tokyo file.