Pre cruise Tokyo Hilton Hotel question

[PaulMCO]

We enjoyed the Indian restaurant in the basement, it was a good treat after a week of Japanese food.  The best was the Sushi place near the fish market.  Quickie market was perfect for lunch.  Sandwiches or even the sushi /rolls were good.  Coffee place was ok at the end of the basement.

 

Hint:  Go shopping in one of the two big department stores at the Train station.  They all have excellent food markets and food courts.  Just interesting to watch or eat. 

 

Too many people on the tours.  Guides were so-so.  Remember that this was the first year of full tourism and many guides quit and did not return.  They all do a standard Tokyo tour.  Asakusa, Ginza, Emperor Palace, Tokyo Tower, Meiji Jingu shrine...  If you do a private tour, you could at least tailor it to your desires..  there are food tours, evening night tours, antique areas, plus areas outside of Tokyo. 

 

Generally Regent saves the Meiji Shrine and Tokyo Tower for the last morning as they are both on the way to the port.

 

[DeepFreeze63]

On 8/10/2024 at 7:44 PM, Avidtravler said:

Hi PaulMCO,

In your comments about private tours in Tokyo you mention some better restaurants in the Hilton Basement and in the nearby area. Could you, or anyone that has stayed at the Hilton, recommend specific restaurants you enjoyed. We would appreciate your input.

We were at the Hilton in March. The Concierge desk has a handout list (with description and directions) of about a dozen nearby restaurants. We ate a very small Italian restaurant on the list about 2 blocks away - delicious pasta!

[Tsunami74]

19 hours ago, Gcto said:

Restaurants in the hotel are quite pricy and if you don't have reservations you might be out of luck or getting a rushed service. The Indian restaurant in the basement is quite good, but then...you are in Japan and should try local cuisine. 

 

True, but when we are in a "foreign" city for a few days we like to try an ethnic restaurant to see how it is compared to what we expect in America.  It's fun to see.

For example, after a few days in Singapore this spring we went to an "Italian" restaurant.  Oddly, the prevalent taste in spaghetti bolognese is rosemary! Different.

[Avidtravler]

Hi again PaulMCO,

I researched one of your day" tours by locals" to the gardens ,fish market, and Asakusa. It looks like a lot of fun. I have a few questions. Did you include lunch in the tour, and if so how long should I book the tour guide for. Also by any chance do you recall the tour guides name because when I go to the website they show me 64 faces and biographies. How to pick one? 

WE will be on the pre-cruise Tokyo this October before boarding the Explorer, and would appreciate any and all advice.

Anyone else that has gone this route please join the conversation.

[tango223]

We flew in a few days prior and did our own thing using private guides through Viator and Japan Wonder Travel which was recommended to us from the hotel concierge.  We were happy that we did this as the Regent provided 3 day pre-cruise was very underwhelming. We thought it was because it was Mar 2023 when Japan just restarted it's tourism again after COVID.  I would suggest a private tour rather than go on Regent's tour...except for the day you are getting onto the ship. The Hilton concierge was also great in confirming that we can stay in the same room for all 5 nights (our own booking through Hilton website and Regent's booking).

 

As far as restaurants, we did eat in the Indian restaurant underneath the hotel and it was very good. Our friends wanted to eat in the hotel's Japanese or Chinese restaurant but if you don't book these ahead of time, you may not get in (we were there at peak Cherry Blossum time). For other foods, there is an office complex across the street from the hotel where there are many restaurants eg. Italian, German, coffee shops etc in the building/underground including a very good Ramen place called Afuri. It was a recommendation from the concierge.  No reservations as it was a counter/casual place.

 

[PaulMCO]

On 8/13/2024 at 1:53 AM, Avidtravler said:

Hi again PaulMCO,

I researched one of your day" tours by locals" to the gardens ,fish market, and Asakusa. It looks like a lot of fun. I have a few questions. Did you include lunch in the tour, and if so how long should I book the tour guide for. Also by any chance do you recall the tour guides name because when I go to the website they show me 64 faces and biographies. How to pick one? 

WE will be on the pre-cruise Tokyo this October before boarding the Explorer, and would appreciate any and all advice.

Anyone else that has gone this route please join the conversation.

Lunch was not included.  We went to the restaurant with guide and paid for ours plus his.

 

Our guides were... Patrick L and Eiichi M.

Check the reviews of the guides on Tours by Locals.

Length -- depends on your stamina.  Many do the tours using public transport.  A few at considerably more $$ will use a car with driver (that was the reason we chose Eiichi-san).  Also consider the first few days after you arrive you will be jet lagged.

[cruiseaholic78]

On 8/7/2024 at 11:56 AM, forgap said:

We also booked Team Lab Borderless (https://www.teamlab.art/e/tokyo/) which is a digital art exhibition that was simply fantastic.  Hope you enjoy your cruise!

I was going to post this tip but just saw your recommendation, we loved it so different to all the temples.

I do have one tip though, in our few days in Tokyo it was sold out then our last free morning I checked again and found eight places, while discussing the logistics it was down to three so clicked on it!

Happy planning

[forgap]

2 hours ago, cruiseaholic78 said:

in our few days in Tokyo it was sold out

Yes, you have to be a keyboard warrior!  I booked the morning tickets became available,  it was really fantastic.  It is a bit difficult to find, though.  Look for small signs in English pointing to “ digital art”.  

[GMIAC]

What time do the pre-cruise participants get to the pier on embarkation day?

[cruiseaholic78]

4 hours ago, forgap said:

Yes, you have to be a keyboard warrior!  I booked the morning tickets became available,  it was really fantastic.  It is a bit difficult to find, though.  Look for small signs in English pointing to “ digital art”.  

We couldn't find it got directed to the police station, hilarious trying to pronounce Team Labs into their phone no luck with that, then one knew what we meant and acted out two bridges found them. Still looking then saw a small crowd and found it. 

[forgap]

I had very limited Japanese so asked two security people “sumimasen, team Lab doko deska?  Domo arigato gozismasu. 

[Lady Meer]

2 hours ago, GMIAC said:

What time do the pre-cruise participants get to the pier on embarkation day?

In March we arrived at 2 pm.

[labonnevie]

20 hours ago, Lady Meer said:

In March we arrived at 2 pm.

Also the case, if memory serves, in April, 2023. 

[Lady Meer]

Forgot to add that our bags were in our room when we boarded!

[GMIAC]

14 minutes ago, Lady Meer said:

Forgot to add that our bags were in our room when we boarded!

Were bags collected before you left for that morning's tour?

[Lady Meer]

11 minutes ago, GMIAC said:

Were bags collected before you left for that morning's tour?

We left the bags inside our room when we checked out for the tour and they were collected and sent direct to the ship.

[GMIAC]

3 minutes ago, Lady Meer said:

We left the bags inside our room when we checked out for the tour and they were collected and sent direct to the ship.

That's nice and convenient! Thanks.