Links to any Tokyo to Tokyo trip reports?

[czardas]

Hi, I have booked a Tokyo cruise in 2024 and would love to read about others experiences. I remember reading a very good report pre Covid but can’t go back that far now, to search. Can anyone help sharing a link, if you have written a thread for a Tokyo cruise? Thanks. 

[JBL919]

We booked Singapore to Tokyo for 2024 also. Looks like an incredible trip! Yes, any thoughts on this welcomed! 

[RachelG]

We are on Tokyo to Tokyo in March 2023, and I will be reporting live then.

[czardas]

29 minutes ago, RachelG said:

We are on Tokyo to Tokyo in March 2023, and I will be reporting live then.

Thank you, that is the same month we go but the following year. I’ll be interested to hear your report on tours and climate etc. Looking forward to this trip, as I haven’t been to Japan before. 

[Gilly]

We are also on a Tokyo-Tokyo round trip next March (maybe the same one as you @RachelG?)   We plan to build some independent travel around it using a Japan Railpass, which we have done several times previously and highly recommend.  The last time we were in the country was pre-pandemic Regent cruise from Tokyo to Vancouver in 2019, which I blogged about at the time here.  I write my blog for myself and my family so keep it going - though of course, there's more to write about when we are travelling!  A "cruise" tab on the menu soon sorts out the relevant posts though 😉

[RachelG]

1 hour ago, Gilly said:

We are also on a Tokyo-Tokyo round trip next March (maybe the same one as you @RachelG?)   We plan to build some independent travel around it using a Japan Railpass, which we have done several times previously and highly recommend.  The last time we were in the country was pre-pandemic Regent cruise from Tokyo to Vancouver in 2019, which I blogged about at the time here.  I write my blog for myself and my family so keep it going - though of course, there's more to write about when we are travelling!  A "cruise" tab on the menu soon sorts out the relevant posts though 😉

It is the one at the end of March—March 25 or 26ish.  That would be great if you are onboard as well.  Would love to meet in person.

[Gilly]

@RachelG I agree...though I think it might be the one before? 🤔  We leave Tokyo around the 13th March?  We're just booking hotels and sorting out the details.   

[RetiredandTravel]

11 hours ago, czardas said:

Hi, I have booked a Tokyo cruise in 2024 and would love to read about others experiences. I remember reading a very good report pre Covid but can’t go back that far now, to search. Can anyone help sharing a link, if you have written a thread for a Tokyo cruise? Thanks. 

 

 

We were on a Regent 2019 Tokyo-Tokyo Mariner cruise.  What information are you looking for specifically?  more than happy to help

[mj_holiday]

I am on a trip around Japan Embarking April 1, 2024 and would be interested in info.  So some specific questions would be:

Did you stay in a hotel pre-cruise and what hotel, interesting restaurants

What was your favorite excursion of the excursions you took in Japan.

Were there any destination related activities on board

Thank you in advance

[RachelG]

4 hours ago, Gilly said:

@RachelG I agree...though I think it might be the one before? 🤔  We leave Tokyo around the 13th March?  We're just booking hotels and sorting out the details.   

You must be on the one before.  We leave on March 24 from the US I think.

[Gilly]

@RachelG shame - we didn't plan that one too well, did we?!  Hopefully next time!!

 

[RetiredandTravel]

2 hours ago, mj_holiday said:

I am on a trip around Japan Embarking April 1, 2024 and would be interested in info.  So some specific questions would be:

Did you stay in a hotel pre-cruise and what hotel, interesting restaurants

What was your favorite excursion of the excursions you took in Japan.

Were there any destination related activities on board

Thank you in advance

 

Hi

 

Yes we had a 3 night Regent pre-cruise package that was free.  We stayed at the Tokyo Hilton which was fine but very crowded (we had to take an elevator up to go down) at peak times.  Regent outsourced the excursions, nice group of young people but horribly unorganized excursions were fine.   You would have to run the numbers but my observation is the Regent pre-post cruise packages are very expensive.  You may be able to stay in better hotels with private tours for less money, Tokyo is very manageable you could just tour on your own.  Honestly there aren't a great deal of tourist sights in Tokyo, we (Allies) fire bombed Tokyo in WW2 and there wasn't much left.  Here is a list of tourist sites the first 4 are the best, Olympics were being built when we were there and the tower is a tourist trap (they say you can see Mt Fuji on a good day we didn't).

 

https://www.gotokyo.org/en/see-and-do/attractions/index.html

 

The Japanese people are an absolute delight very polite, friendly  & sophisticated.  The restaurant scene is Tokyo is extraordinary.  We don't care for sushi or raw fish so our choices are slanted, all are pre-Covid of course.

 

https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/tokyo-region/tokyo/restaurants

 

We had dinner in a 1* French, 2* Spanish & 3* French our favorite was probably the 1* French.

 

 

Lugdunum Bouchon - 1* French-  We loved this restaurant.  Its a smaller Brasserie with great food, good service, nice wine list (burgundies)  fun ambiance and reasonable for Tokyo.  Highly recommend

 

http://lyondelyon.com/blog/

 

Zurriola - 2* Spanish  Exceptional food and service great wine list.  Maybe the best tuna app ever, and I've has plenty.  Its in the wealthiest area in Tokyo.  Recommend my wife felt the decor was a little to stark, very formal.

 

https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/tokyo-region/tokyo/restaurant/zurriola

 

Joel Robuchon - 3 * French - Exceptional food with probably top 10 service ever experienced.  The maitre d had someone catch us a cab and walked us to the cab on the street and opened the door. The very high end of dining perfectly executed. All that being said I grapple with the price these 3* Michelin restaurants charge, the cheapest bottle of Red I could find was $350.  The total bill was $1100, we are of the mind set that we prefer the 1* places these days great food not as formal much cheaper.  Some of these 3* Michelin places in Paris are charging 500-550 euros each come on.

 

https://www.joel-robuchon.com/_dev/en/restaurants-tokyo-joelrobuchon.php

 

I have a fun Italian near Meiji for lunch but have to look it up.

 

Our trip had only one day in Osaka and we went to Kyoto which was by far the most interesting.  Looks like you have two days  so you can go to Osaka & Kyoto, Osaka is also cool I hear.

 

I have to run will come back with more info on Kyoto and other stuff.  Its an exceptional vacation hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

 

[MarcyLondon]

17 hours ago, czardas said:

Hi, I have booked a Tokyo cruise in 2024 and would love to read about others experiences. I remember reading a very good report pre Covid but can’t go back that far now, to search. Can anyone help sharing a link, if you have written a thread for a Tokyo cruise? Thanks. 

We are ‘supposed’ to be doing this cruise or similar Oct 2023 it will be our 4th attempt at travelling to Japan 

[RetiredandTravel]

This doesn't apply to the April 1, 2024 but anyone travelling in this time frame should be cognizant of golden week.  It the biggest Japanese Holiday everyone travels and venues are very crowded and flights hard to get.

 

https://publicholidays.jp/golden-week/

 

 

[RetiredandTravel]

Part 2

 

Excursions

 

We only took the included excursions. The cruise was full and almost every excursion bus we were on was full or close.  The guides were top notch.  All but one were 40+ women (often retired, one retired teacher for example) that took the job very seriously.  They were punctual, knowledgeable, funny and very well prepared.  One guide was an American man who married a Javanese women, he was also great. 

 

The two ports you may want to consider a private tour are Kyoto & Hiroshima.  Both are very crowded making it difficult hear the guide.  Kyoto is crowded because of Japan's most popular sites and Hiroshima because almost the entire cruise ship & other cruise ships descend on the museum at the same time.  Two must sees the Hiroshima Museum and the Golden Pavillion (Kyoto) were jammed.  If you get a private guide in Hiroshima start before the excursions start.

 

Kyoto is IMO the premier stop on the cruise.  We saw the Golden Pavillion & Nijo Castle which were both fantastic, unfortunately there was much more to see but time didn't allow.  If we had to do it again I think we would splurge for a private day tour for Kyoto, the crowds just make a group tour difficult.

 

Again we read Osaka has some very interesting sites but we were only in Osaka one day so went to Kyoto.

 

The April 1, 2024 has some different ports than we did, we went to Korea also.

 

I'd also recommend Kochi castle & Kagoshima volcano & gardens.

 

NOT recommended Shimizu tour Mt Fuji views & tea ceremony.  We did not see Mt Fuji on this tour.  You are supposed to see it from a beach but a Japanese man on the beach said you can only see it 25% of the time.  My wife wanted to go to the tea ceremony we found it very touristy in a touristy area museum there was small but ok.  Get closer to Fuji if you want to see it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[czardas]

13 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Part 2

 

Excursions

 

We only took the included excursions. The cruise was full and almost every excursion bus we were on was full or close.  The guides were top notch.  All but one were 40+ women (often retired, one retired teacher for example) that took the job very seriously.  They were punctual, knowledgeable, funny and very well prepared.  One guide was an American man who married a Javanese women, he was also great. 

 

The two ports you may want to consider a private tour are Kyoto & Hiroshima.  Both are very crowded making it difficult hear the guide.  Kyoto is crowded because of Japan's most popular sites and Hiroshima because almost the entire cruise ship & other cruise ships descend on the museum at the same time.  Two must sees the Hiroshima Museum and the Golden Pavillion (Kyoto) were jammed.  If you get a private guide in Hiroshima start before the excursions start.

 

Kyoto is IMO the premier stop on the cruise.  We saw the Golden Pavillion & Nijo Castle which were both fantastic, unfortunately there was much more to see but time didn't allow.  If we had to do it again I think we would splurge for a private day tour for Kyoto, the crowds just make a group tour difficult.

 

Again we read Osaka has some very interesting sites but we were only in Osaka one day so went to Kyoto.

 

The April 1, 2024 has some different ports than we did, we went to Korea also.

 

I'd also recommend Kochi castle & Kagoshima volcano & gardens.

 

NOT recommended Shimizu tour Mt Fuji views & tea ceremony.  We did not see Mt Fuji on this tour.  You are supposed to see it from a beach but a Japanese man on the beach said you can only see it 25% of the time.  My wife wanted to go to the tea ceremony we found it very touristy in a touristy area museum there was small but ok.  Get closer to Fuji if you want to see it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you, this is exactly the type of information I am after. When you say “private tour” are you referring to the Regent private car tour or a privately arranged tour?

Ive wondered how the private car tours work with a regent. 
We will be traveling in March 24. 

[RetiredandTravel]

We have never taken a private tour from a Regent cruise.  Many here have and can help you.  If you go to the Regent website and click on your cruise and then the itinerary it describes the excursions & private cars.   Regent offers private tours but I would guess you can get independent tours much cheaper.  My understanding is if a Regent tour is late the ship waits if you are out independently it doesn't.  I think other forums like Oceania discuss independent tours in roll calls.

 

You should be there for peak cherry blossoms we were a little late.

 

good luck

 

[UUNetBill]

My take on Tokyo-Tokyo:

 

Booked.  Cancelled.

Booked.  Cancelled.

Booked.  Cancelled.

Booked Hong Kong to Tokyo.  Cancelled.

 

🙂

 

We even tried to get there on our own this year, couldn't put it together.  Tokyo is becoming our White Whale of cruises...

[MarcyLondon]

Can anyone recommend any private tour guides in Kyoto?

[1982CruzStart]

A few years ago we used Michi Travel Japan Corporation. Michitravel.com

They did a great job customizing a private tour for a small group of us off a cruise ship. 

[RetiredandTravel]

We also had a great experience with ANA airline and they have an exceptionally reasonable frequent flyer program (you can transfer from AMEX).  We got 2 free tickets business class over  (ORD) and  first class (awesome) back (LAX) for 240,000 miles total (yes 2 tickets).  There are some nuances so if you are interested let me know.

 

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/ana-mileage-club-guide/

 

 

[czardas]

On 6/17/2022 at 11:22 PM, UUNetBill said:

My take on Tokyo-Tokyo:

 

Booked.  Cancelled.

Booked.  Cancelled.

Booked.  Cancelled.

Booked Hong Kong to Tokyo.  Cancelled.

 

🙂

 

We even tried to get there on our own this year, couldn't put it together.  Tokyo is becoming our White Whale of cruises...

I think the travel Gods are trying to tell you something. 

[MarcyLondon]

On 6/13/2022 at 8:24 PM, RetiredandTravel said:

Part 2

 

Excursions

 

We only took the included excursions. The cruise was full and almost every excursion bus we were on was full or close.  The guides were top notch.  All but one were 40+ women (often retired, one retired teacher for example) that took the job very seriously.  They were punctual, knowledgeable, funny and very well prepared.  One guide was an American man who married a Javanese women, he was also great. 

 

The two ports you may want to consider a private tour are Kyoto & Hiroshima.  Both are very crowded making it difficult hear the guide.  Kyoto is crowded because of Japan's most popular sites and Hiroshima because almost the entire cruise ship & other cruise ships descend on the museum at the same time.  Two must sees the Hiroshima Museum and the Golden Pavillion (Kyoto) were jammed.  If you get a private guide in Hiroshima start before the excursions start.

 

Kyoto is IMO the premier stop on the cruise.  We saw the Golden Pavillion & Nijo Castle which were both fantastic, unfortunately there was much more to see but time didn't allow.  If we had to do it again I think we would splurge for a private day tour for Kyoto, the crowds just make a group tour difficult.

 

Again we read Osaka has some very interesting sites but we were only in Osaka one day so went to Kyoto.

 

The April 1, 2024 has some different ports than we did, we went to Korea also.

 

I'd also recommend Kochi castle & Kagoshima volcano & gardens.

 

NOT recommended Shimizu tour Mt Fuji views & tea ceremony.  We did not see Mt Fuji on this tour.  You are supposed to see it from a beach but a Japanese man on the beach said you can only see it 25% of the time.  My wife wanted to go to the tea ceremony we found it very touristy in a touristy area museum there was small but ok.  Get closer to Fuji if you want to see it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you know of any good private tour guided in Kyoto as I want to see many more sites than Regent offers

marcia 

[RetiredandTravel]

I do not these guys get a good review on tripadvisor.

 

 

On 6/17/2022 at 11:58 AM, 1982CruzStart said:

A few years ago we used Michi Travel Japan Corporation. Michitravel.com

They did a great job customizing a private tour for a small group of us off a cruise ship. 

 

I do not these guys mentioned above get a good review on TripAdvisor.

 

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1066443-d4436965-Reviews-Michi_Travel_Japan-Chiyoda_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html

 

Here are other TripAdvisor reviews 

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g298564-Activities-c42-t235-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html

 

If you go to the Oceania forum and ask about Kyoto private tours you may get more info

 

I think its a good idea getting a private tour.  Good Luck.

 

 

[Ceilknits]

We are scheduled Tokyo (originally Hong Kong) to Bangkok, Oct 2023..Anyone else?

 

Barbara