My first solo trip to Japan - Fantasy Springs Opening Day Trip Report (complete 6/10/25)

[Disneyhanna]

6/3: Tokyo (The Okura Tokyo Room Service + Mitsukoshi Ginza Food)

Since I was hungry and tired, I decided to head to Mitsukoshi Ginza again for some treats before heading back to the hotel for room service dinner. I was very glad for this plan, I had considered booking the sushi restaurant at the hotel, but I had the foresight to realize I might be too tired at this point of the trip, which was absolutely the right move.

I got one of these strawberry tarts I had been eying the other night. 810¥ for the tart. I had to stop myself from buying out the whole floor!



I got a couple pastries as well! These were sooo cheap, maybe 400¥. These were both excellent, sort of a caramel bun and cinnamon roll bread.



And of course, I had to get a taiyaki, they smelled so darn good. I got the custard one, I think it was less than 300¥. The downside is there isn't a place to eat it there so I just ended eating it when I got back to my hotel. It was soggy by then, but still DELICIOUS! Maybe I was starving but it was so tasty, and a huge portion. It would have been incredible when fresh I'm sure.



I also went down another level in Mitsukoshi and there was a supermarket. I had to stop myself from buying more sushi there since I was going to order sushi from room service! I got this discounted fruit platter for 1944¥, they really do put a lot of things on sale at the end of the day like I had read about. Also, the check out ladies at the Japanese supermarkets were sooooo sweet and nice.



When I got back to the Okura, I had already received turn down service. Chocolate and water by the bed, and slippers of course!

Now, I didn't get around to ordering my room service for like an hour. Why? I was busy taking photos of my view

I KNEW I bought a tri pod for a good reason



Just stunning...next time I'm in Tokyo, I need to book a hotel where I can absolutely guarantee a view of Tokyo Tower from my room. Maybe even closer to the tower. I could have stared at it for hours.



Finally, satisfied I got some good pictures including some where I may have been standing in my bathroom, I ordered food around 8:20. They said it would be about 40 minutes. I ordered to make sure I maximized my $100 hotel credit, and my final bill was supposed to be 16700¥ or about $107 USD. I'd never spend that much normally, but it was "free" right ?

My food arrived after only half an hour, very prompt. I ordered spaghetti bolognese (4200¥) which came with a salad, and the nigiri sushi A platter (12,500¥) from the hotel restaurant Yamazato.



The sushi was beautiful. There were what I think were sea cucumber rolls, and then various fishes. I think some abalone again, and tamagoyaki.



I'll be honest...I was a bit sushi-d out at this point. It was too much for me to finish so I was glad I hadn't done the counter reservation. I think the quality was very good, not blow your mind away, but probably a million times better than anything on a conveyor belt (I never made it to a Sushiro on this trip). I hate to say it but a part of me missed good ol' salmon sushi The miso soup was nice as well.

The bolognese was surprisingly good, very meaty and the noodles were perfectly al dente. Definitely recommend for a pickier eater and it was a hearty portion. Overall I was impressed by the room service! There was also a big pot of the best green eat ever, the pot kept it hot and I had like 10 cups over the course of that evening.

The nice thing about being in the corner room was I could move my room service cart out of my room and it wasn't in the hallway, I had my own little nook.



I didn't get to beed until midnight, and had a modest 18k steps for the day (I thought I did more walking at the HP studio tour then that...lol)

I felt like a kid at Christmas, the view was so beautiful I didn't even want to sleep. I have no trouble sleeping with full sunlight so I left the blinds down! I never heard a peep at this hotel, I wasn't convinced anyone else was even staying on my floor!



Buckle up y'all, the next day is when I headed over to Disney!!!! I need to sort through my photos a bit. I deleted photos my entire flight home and only got through the Kyoto and Tokyo portions. I got Kyoto down to 400 photos, Tokyo to 500 photos, and Tokyo Disney has not yet been sorted through...sitting at over 1000 photos

 

[nono]

It was quite rainy that evening, luckily I didn't have to walk far to the stations. I headed to Ginza next, to check out the flagship Uniqlo.

View attachment 877922

It had like 12 stories! It was pretty busy and a lot of the floors had the same things, and the floors were small. The regular Uniqlo I went to at a mall earlier this trip had all the same stuff, so I recommend shopping at a less popular location and then just checking out the flagship if you're interested in seeing it. Not sure I'd bother going back but it was fun riding the escalators up and up. I rode a LOT of escalators in Japan!

Couldn't agree more. My 2 cents: wait until you are in a less touristy area and then hit up the Uniqlo. They are well-marked in Google Maps. So, folks can search for "Uniqlo (name of ward or prefecture) locations" to see what's nearby. (Uniqlo Japan's clothes fit my teen son super-well, so he basically checks every store he can find anytime we go to Japan.)

 

[dunkindonut]

6/3: Tokyo (The Okura Tokyo Room Service + Mitsukoshi Ginza Food)

Since I was hungry and tired, I decided to head to Mitsukoshi Ginza again for some treats before heading back to the hotel for room service dinner. I was very glad for this plan, I had considered booking the sushi restaurant at the hotel, but I had the foresight to realize I might be too tired at this point of the trip, which was absolutely the right move.

I got one of these strawberry tarts I had been eying the other night. 810¥ for the tart. I had to stop myself from buying out the whole floor!

View attachment 877931

I got a couple pastries as well! These were sooo cheap, maybe 400¥. These were both excellent, sort of a caramel bun and cinnamon roll bread.

View attachment 877933

And of course, I had to get a taiyaki, they smelled so darn good. I got the custard one, I think it was less than 300¥. The downside is there isn't a place to eat it there so I just ended eating it when I got back to my hotel. It was soggy by then, but still DELICIOUS! Maybe I was starving but it was so tasty, and a huge portion. It would have been incredible when fresh I'm sure.

View attachment 877934

I also went down another level in Mitsukoshi and there was a supermarket. I had to stop myself from buying more sushi there since I was going to order sushi from room service! I got this discounted fruit platter for 1944¥, they really do put a lot of things on sale at the end of the day like I had read about. Also, the check out ladies at the Japanese supermarkets were sooooo sweet and nice.

View attachment 877937

When I got back to the Okura, I had already received turn down service. Chocolate and water by the bed, and slippers of course!

Now, I didn't get around to ordering my room service for like an hour. Why? I was busy taking photos of my view

I KNEW I bought a tri pod for a good reason

View attachment 877951

Just stunning...next time I'm in Tokyo, I need to book a hotel where I can absolutely guarantee a view of Tokyo Tower from my room. Maybe even closer to the tower. I could have stared at it for hours.

View attachment 877953

Finally, satisfied I got some good pictures including some where I may have been standing in my bathroom, I ordered food around 8:20. They said it would be about 40 minutes. I ordered to make sure I maximized my $100 hotel credit, and my final bill was supposed to be 16700¥ or about $107 USD. I'd never spend that much normally, but it was "free" right ?

My food arrived after only half an hour, very prompt. I ordered spaghetti bolognese (4200¥) which came with a salad, and the nigiri sushi A platter (12,500¥) from the hotel restaurant Yamazato.

View attachment 877942

The sushi was beautiful. There were what I think were sea cucumber rolls, and then various fishes. I think some abalone again, and tamagoyaki.

View attachment 877946

I'll be honest...I was a bit sushi-d out at this point. It was too much for me to finish so I was glad I hadn't done the counter reservation. I think the quality was very good, not blow your mind away, but probably a million times better than anything on a conveyor belt (I never made it to a Sushiro on this trip). I hate to say it but a part of me missed good ol' salmon sushi The miso soup was nice as well.

The bolognese was surprisingly good, very meaty and the noodles were perfectly al dente. Definitely recommend for a pickier eater and it was a hearty portion. Overall I was impressed by the room service! There was also a big pot of the best green eat ever, the pot kept it hot and I had like 10 cups over the course of that evening.

The nice thing about being in the corner room was I could move my room service cart out of my room and it wasn't in the hallway, I had my own little nook.

View attachment 877939

I didn't get to beed until midnight, and had a modest 18k steps for the day (I thought I did more walking at the HP studio tour then that...lol)

I felt like a kid at Christmas, the view was so beautiful I didn't even want to sleep. I have no trouble sleeping with full sunlight so I left the blinds down! I never heard a peep at this hotel, I wasn't convinced anyone else was even staying on my floor!

View attachment 877950

Buckle up y'all, the next day is when I headed over to Disney!!!! I need to sort through my photos a bit. I deleted photos my entire flight home and only got through the Kyoto and Tokyo portions. I got Kyoto down to 400 photos, Tokyo to 500 photos, and Tokyo Disney has not yet been sorted through...sitting at over 1000 photos

There's a park near Tokyo Tower that you can go to the roof top and look at it, such a beautiful skyline to see while in Tokyo.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Couldn't agree more. My 2 cents: wait until you are in a less touristy area and then hit up the Uniqlo. They are well-marked in Google Maps. So, folks can search for "Uniqlo (name of ward or prefecture) locations" to see what's nearby. (Uniqlo Japan's clothes fit my teen son super-well, so he basically checks every store he can find anytime we go to Japan.)

Totally! I just couldn't believe the prices in Japan. We are being ripped off at Uniqlo in the US

There's a park near Tokyo Tower that you can go to the roof top and look at it, such a beautiful skyline to see while in Tokyo.

I definitely need to do that! I didn't make the time to get close to the tower and that's a must do for me next time. I really wish I had seen more of Tokyo at night, the downside of the earlier mornings.

 

[Ngwira]

6/2: Tokyo (teamLab Borderless)

TeamLab Borderless is located in a shopping center in Azabudai Hills, it's a really nice area with lots of high end shopping. You could probably spend a good chunk of a day there if you're into that sort of thing.

View attachment 875975

You do have to buy your ticket in advance, they don't sell out immediately but I don't think you can wait buy a ticket the week of especially if it's a weekend. This was one of the more expensive things I did in Japan, at 4600¥ ($30 USD).

View attachment 875976

The entry is timed with a 30 minute window, I didn't have to wait to get in at all. There were so many people in the Azabudai Hills area, it's definitely a popular spot!

There are lockers to store your bags, I kept my wallet and phone and passport in my pocket. They had umbrella lockers too which was nice.

I headed in at 2:30 and it was so dark, my eyes had to adjust! I'll include just a few pictures here to not spoil too much!

View attachment 875977

There were a couple special rooms they limited access to, so on a busy day you may have to wait a bit. I never waited more than a couple minutes or not at all for those rooms. They limit your time inside as well, but it was plenty of time.

View attachment 875978

It wasn't too busy at all, this is definitely a good rainy (or hot) day activity.

View attachment 875979

My favorite was a room with these large spheres rolling around, the music was very futuristic and it was quite the experience.

View attachment 875980

I spent about 90 minutes there, and stopped by the restroom and bought a water partway through. Lots of people were sitting in that area just gathering themselves, it can be overwhelming. I wouldn't be surprised if some people were feeling ill, if you have motion sickness or vertigo I would definitely avoid Borderless. My mom would probably fall over and get sick after one minute, the moving art can be very disorienting if you're susceptible to that. There was one room in particular that I can imagine makes people very wobbly.

I found this rudimentary map online that I used to make sure I hit every room. Since there's no map or guide, it's really easy to totally miss some areas. Even with the "map" I had to retrace my steps many times to find everything.

View attachment 875981

There was a room where you could draw artwork of sea creatures and they made them float around the "ocean" which was neat. There was a line that was probably at least 15 minutes to do that so I skipped it.

Overall, I'm glad I did Borderless. I don't feel any need to do it again, but it was a cool experience. It was very cool inside so bring a layer if you get cold easily. I think two hours is a good amount of time, you could spend more or less easily.

Afterward, I wandered around the shopping center a bit and found another Arabica location!

View attachment 875982

I decided to buy some of their decaf beans. This was one of the only times I had a bit of trouble as the girl at the bean station didn't speak English, and I was confused when she was asking me some questions. It ended up being how dark to roast the beans (scale of 3 to 6 I think), which I didn't realize was an option! We laughed and figured it out though, no big deal.

View attachment 875983

The beans were a bit pricey but I also bought more than I realized I bought 500g for 3600¥. It only took 15 minutes to roast them, so I bought another Kyoto latte while I was waiting. It was just as delicious as the one in Kyoto, best latte ever!

View attachment 875984

Arabica. Yum. Can’t wait to try to the one at the Grove in Los Angeles next week.

 

[mlaw]

I was already planning on checking out the food at Mitsukoshi because the description reminds of Harrods but your pics have convinced me this stays in my plans

 

[soniam]

I was already planning on checking out the food at Mitsukoshi because the description reminds of Harrods but your pics have convinced me this stays in my plans

Wish we had looked. Looks great! I will be hitting Harris’s, maybe even tomorrow.

EDIT: Harrod’s

 

[Nakkira]

. I deleted photos my entire flight home and only got through the Kyoto and Tokyo portions. I got Kyoto down to 400 photos, Tokyo to 500 photos, and Tokyo Disney has not yet been sorted through...sitting at over 1000 photos

That sounds about right.
When traveling I usually do a nightly photo purge at my hotel while winding down (if I have the energy left) and still have tons to sort through and delete on the way home.

 

[Angelamarya17]

I love this thread so much. You provide so many details and also hats off to you for doing this long and far of a trip solo. I am looking forward to the Disney days of the trip. Me and my husband went to Japan the first time in 2017 and planned to return in 2020, which obviously got cancelled, so we finally have our trip rebooked for this November and I am so excited to go back!

 

[Disneyhanna]

That sounds about right.
When traveling I usually do a nightly photo purge at my hotel while winding down (if I have the energy left) and still have tons to sort through and delete on the way home.

I need to start doing that. I have started doing the thing where I search today's date and delete photos every day to try and clear out my photos over the course of a year. It's overwhelming but I have over 130GB of photos/videos on my phone and need to cut that down

I love this thread so much. You provide so many details and also hats off to you for doing this long and far of a trip solo. I am looking forward to the Disney days of the trip. Me and my husband went to Japan the first time in 2017 and planned to return in 2020, which obviously got cancelled, so we finally have our trip rebooked for this November and I am so excited to go back!

Aww thank you!!! I'm glad that people are enjoying! So exciting to be going back finally! I am jealous of your November time frame, from when I was doing my research that seems like an ideal time to go. Beautiful fall colors, cooler temps, not too busy...you must report back!

 

[Disneyhanna]

6/4: Tokyo (Gashapon)

Disney Day, Disney Day! You gotta suffer through 1-2 more of my posts from regular Tokyo things then we will finally be on to the Disney portion!

I didn't make any plans for this day, I ended up making the decision to buy an evening ticket for Disneyland ahead of time, as I didn't think one full day in DL would be enough. This was sort of a result of my booking the Harbor View room at MiraCosta, as it meant I needed to watch Believe! from my room, which meant sacrificing the evening of my DL day. I wanted to see the electrical parade so adding the evening ticket would make that possible.

So, that meant I had a half day to spare before heading to Tokyo Disney! I had guaranteed 4PM checkout at the Okura, so I enjoyed a pretty leisurely morning, not getting up until 9. Once last shot of my amazing view!



I might try and book a hotel next trip that has a guaranteed Tower view. Breakfast came with my room rate, so I headed to their restaurant called Orchid for a buffet breakfast.



This was a really lovely hotel breakfast! It was pretty pricey otherwise (6000¥), so a good perk of the Amex FHR program. They had SO many pastries, I only grabbed two but could have picked a dozen different ones. I was happy to see a soft boiled egg again! I think they had both soft and hard scrambled eggs, lol. There was tons of fruit, lots of Japanese and western options, definitely a solid buffet.

I decided I wanted to hunt for some gashapon machines, I hadn't really been looking out for them on the trip and sort of regretted that. I found a spot in Harajuku that looked like it had a bunch, so I headed there. I found a faster way to the Hibaya line from the hotel, as well as a way to avoid climbing up the giant hill, so had I stayed a few nights at the Okura I'm sure I would have been a pro at getting around that area.

I was sure getting tired of all the stairs in the train stations, I will say



Also, this is a total creeper shot, but I wanted to point out that wearing shorts in Japan is nowhere as dramatic as some people make it out to be. I personally would avoid spaghetti strap or strapless tops, and short-shorts, but a majority of the tourists in early June were dressing like the below, it was over 80F after all. Of course most of the Japanese people in Tokyo are going to be dressed more conservatively, in addition to that being a cultural thing, most of the people out and about were going to and from work. If I were commuting to and from work I'd be in long pants/skirt and a top with sleeves as well! I noticed wayyyy more tanks and shorts in Disney compared to the rest of Tokyo, as I obviously wasn't mixing in with people going to/from work.



Anyways, it was so funny when I got to Takeshita Street because I had not realized that's where I was going. Harajuku was a place I wanted to go but didn't make time for and here I was!



It was fairly crowded mid-day, not wall to wall or anything, but definitely popular. I ended up loving this street and wished I had more time, there were so many fun snacks I would have liked to try.

I was a woman on a mission though, with limited time, so I headed to the capsule store.



This had two floors of machines, it was huge! I stopped a few other places after and it was a lot of repeats, so once you hit one of the big places you've probably seen almost everything.

I converted many 1000¥ notes to 100¥ coins, since I had way more cash than I needed.



For whatever reason I really gravitated towards Mofusand lol.



I got a couple other things, a Mofusand pin, Winnie the Pooh kitchen pots, another Mofusand magnet. I got a few repeats when only doing two which was annoying! I don't think I ever got three in a row at least

These shops were pretty warm, I was very grateful for my handheld fan.

I ended up stopping in Daiso, it was smaller than the one I went to in Kyoto, but had a couple other things such as the padded Disney parade mats, so I got a few of course!

I checked find my and my bags were at the Disneyland Hotel already, yay!

Since I wanted to make sure I had enough time to check in and get settled before evening park hours at 5PM, I had to head back to the Okura. I really liked the Ginza/Hibaya lines and would recommend staying on a hotel along those lines.

The Okura had some beautiful displays in their hallways, such as all these matcha whisks (which I know nothing about other than I bought one).



Checkout at the front desk was quick, I owed like $7 from my room service. It felt sort of funny paying that small amount at such a classy hotel

I was very thankful I just had my carry on bag, as I had to walk those couple blocks to get back to the station. At least it was downhill that direction, and I knew where I was going!

Saw these beautiful dark colored hydrangea on my way to the station.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Couple more gashapon I did:

 

[Disneyhanna]

6/4: Tokyo Disney (Disneyland Hotel Pt 1)

It was finally time to head to Tokyo Disney!!! I was sooo excited.

I was really glad I put Disney at the end of the trip and I would recommend it for several reasons. The parks don't open until 9AM so if you are coming from a time zone (aka the US) where you will probably be waking up very early at the start of your trip, that would be tough. I woke up before 5AM for several days and I would have had nothing to do at Disney for several hours! You will buy a lot of stuff and that would be annoying lugging it around Japan. And it's something to look forward to! I loved seeing Tokyo and Kyoto but of course I got a tiny bit homesick (especially being solo) and I was way too busy at Disney to feel the least bit sad. Also, the food is pretty bad. So it's a good transition right before you go home The parks also feel nothing like Japan, other than people speaking Japanese, so again, good to ease your way back to a more familiar culture (aka Disney ).

The Okura was located pretty conveniently to Tokyo Disney, so I had to take just two relatively quick train rides. I think Google Maps said about 40 minutes which isn't bad at all. I would never stay in the Tokyo Bay Area for the non-Disney part of a trip though, as a 40-60 minute ride to everything would get old very fast.

I made it to Maihama Station around 3PM, it was a bigger station than I expected! Hello Ikspiari!



I got a bit turned around trying to figure out how to get on the Disney Resort Line but I found the Resort Getaway station eventually, and took it to the Disneyland Hotel. (You could walk, but it was uphill a bit and warm!) The multi-day train passes are a good deal so I got the four-day pass. It was Fantasy Springs themed! It was 1500¥ for four days, and since one ride is 300¥, totally worth getting the pass.



I took a picture of the resort line route and referred to it often! The loop is pretty small so it comes very often, I feel like I waited less than I wait for the Magic Kingdom monorails.



Omg the monorail was so cute! I was so happy to be there!



My first view of the Disneyland Hotel! Words cannot describe! Maybe it was the newness of it all, but I thought it was the most beautiful Disney hotel I'd ever seen.



Walking up to the DLH was just unbelievable! It was huge, but honestly so quiet. I suppose everyone was in the parks. No screaming kids anywhere either



If I had a longer stay I would have explored the outer grounds more, I'm sure I missed so many details.





Even Disneyland station itself was so beautiful. And it's literally right there across from the hotel, with the entrance to the park just on the other side. I was so glad I decided to splurge and upgrade from Toy Story to the DLH!



And yes...there are trash cans at Tokyo Disney... I can't say I really struggled to find a trash can on this trip. I'm not really sure what people are talking about when they mention lack of trash cans being a big deal or what trash they are accumulating lol!

 

[Flossbolna]

We have done TDR twice at the start at the trip and would always do it again that way!

Your argument about it being less Japanese works the other way around as well, especially for first timers: easing into the culture with less of a shock.

For us coming from Europe jet lag is also the other way. Getting up is difficult, so it’s great to have a reason to get out of bed early.

And finally: we are always way too excited for TDR that we don’t want to wait through the whole trip!

Ultimately I think you can find good arguments for both ways and it really depends on personal preference.

 

[Angelamarya17]

It sounds like you used a service to transfer your bags from your hotel in Tokyo to your hotel at DLH, is that true?… we also will be going from Shinjuku to TDR, and not having to take my own checked luggage around with me that day would be awesome.

 

[wanderlust7]

We went to the same capsule store. Among many, many others lol. The kids always seem to find something different among the many repeats.

I got the apple one of the Mofusand in a box. It goes in my collection of small cat souvenirs lol.

 

[Disneyhanna]

We have done TDR twice at the start at the trip and would always do it again that way!

Your argument about it being less Japanese works the other way around as well, especially for first timers: easing into the culture with less of a shock.

For us coming from Europe jet lag is also the other way. Getting up is difficult, so it’s great to have a reason to get out of bed early.

And finally: we are always way too excited for TDR that we don’t want to wait through the whole trip!

Ultimately I think you can find good arguments for both ways and it really depends on personal preference.

I think jet lag coming from Europe must be so much harder, I LOVED the time difference going from US to Japan as I usually struggle to wake up early! I bet it is a similar argument for doing Disney parks before or after a cruise! (I have not done one yet, but I know some people love doing parks before and some prefer doing them after.) Maybe the most optimal approach is to do Disney at the beginning AND the end, a win-win

It sounds like you used a service to transfer your bags from your hotel in Tokyo to your hotel at DLH, is that true?… we also will be going from Shinjuku to TDR, and not having to take my own checked luggage around with me that day would be awesome.

Yes, Hyatt House used Yamato as did all the other transfers I did (I think three?) that trip. 100% worth it. Most larger hotels will do it for you but you can usually google it and find it in Tripadvisor reviews if they do luggage transfers. I would have sent my carry on too and just done a backpack overnight bag if I hadn't planned to do some shopping in Ginza the night before transferring to Disney. If you can avoid having a roller bag while using the trains, all the better...I got tired of carrying even just my carry on up/down steps! If you send it in the morning, your luggage will almost certainly be at the next hotel by check in the next day.

We went to the same capsule store. Among many, many others lol. The kids always seem to find something different among the many repeats.

I got the apple one of the Mofusand in a box. It goes in my collection of small cat souvenirs lol.

That is so funny! I didn't know what so many of them were, but the Mofusand ones seemed to repeat a lot between stores I just went and found my haul minus the dupes:

 

[Dobermanns]

Thank you so much for such a detailed report of your trip! I am just beginning to plan our trip for end of March/beginning of April (hoping to catch the cherry blossoms), and your early part of Kyoto gave me much to look forward to! I enjoy the tranquility so the bamboo forest and old temples are more my vibe than the busy metro shopping scenes. Good to see your report of the Michelin starred restaurant (we will be looking forward to that ).
Looking forward to read about your Disney days! DLH and FS-GC (MiraCosta as back up) are what I am hoping to book. Still learning about vacation packages.

 

[elaine amj]

Loved your ultra-detailed report! My son is going to Japan with his buddies in a couple of weeks and doing many of the things you did so it was great to follow along

Really curious to see the Disney part of your trip. DS is bringing an entire giant duffle in his carry on just for souvenirs lol and wants to buy me stuff from Disney so I have to see if there’s anything I want

 

[elaine amj]

Loved your ultra-detailed report! My son is going to Japan with his buddies in a couple of weeks and doing many of the things you did so it was great to follow along

Really curious to see the Disney part of your trip. DS is bringing an entire giant duffle in his carry on just for souvenirs lol and wants to buy me stuff from Disney so I have to see if there’s anything I want