Transportation

[sandie]

Can I have some suggestions on getting from the airport to the resort. We arrive at 6.45pm on a week night and then we have customs etc. Speaking of cstoms how long does it take in Tokyo?

Sandie

[ajp]

for what it's worth, when we were looking at flying into Tokyo, I was looking into the limosine bus. It seemed to be reasonable value and a decent timetable.

[sandie]

It looks like the last one leaves at 6.20 which is too early.

Sandie

[ajp]

I thought I remember seeing some times after 8.

[sandie]

I thought I remember seeing some times after 8.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to remember where you saw it!!!!

Sandie

[KeithS]

There were no buses after 17:40 to the resort area when we went in April.

I just checked the bus timetable here...
http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/timeta ... tdr_h.html
...and I notice that the latest service now is at 17:05 (ouch!)

But there are buses to Shin-Urayasu which is just 5 minutes away from Tokyo Disney Resort. We took this option, getting the bus to the Oriental Hotel in Shin-Urayasu and then a taxi from there to the resort area.
The last bus to Shin-Urayasu is at 20:35
See timetable here:
http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/timeta ... asu_h.html

All the taxi drivers in the Shin Urayasu area know the Tokyo Disneyland Hotels - so you won't have any problems.

The other alternative is to get the train from the airport, but this may be a little intimidating on your first try as you will have to change. If you do catch the train, the easiest way would be to catch the express all the way to Tokyo Central, then get another train from Central back out to Maihama (you catch the JR Keiyo line). You only have to change the one time then (you can do it a bit shorter, but it means a number of train changes on the subway system - a pain with baggage and buying tickets etc...)

Of course - you could also get a taxi all the way from the airport - but it will be expensive!

As for customs Sandie - when we arrived, we were one of the last planes in (hence no buses) - it would appear most flights into Tokyo from Europe arrive in the morning, and the US flights around lunchtime, so in the evening there are very few flights and very little queuing. We pretty much walked straight out. At immigration, they take your fingerprints and picture like in the US, but they were very efficient. They also have similar customs bag checks to Australia, but they waved Della and I straight through - it looked like they were packing up for the night

[ajp]

The last bus to Shin-Urayasu is at 20:35

This would have been the one I remembered seeing. From memory it would have been OK to get us to the Palm & Fountain where we're staying.

I don't know about anyone else, but planning and booking for this trip seems infinitely harder than a trip to the US. Have you found that Sandie?

[sandie]

Yes it is harder!!!!!! The lack of useable internet info and the inability to book a lot of online stuff unless you are in Japan is a killer!!!!! I forwarded your post on booking the Dl Hotel to a travel agent who forwarded it to Disney Austraia with the comment that if they made it easier they may get more business!!!! It has taken that travel agent 6 months to track down a wholesaler for the Disney hotels!!!!!

This whole process though has convinced me to go do a bit more study - I am thinking of some travel courses - maybe we are not that far away from the DUD Travel Agency after all!!!!

Sandie

[KeithS]

I don't know about anyone else, but planning and booking for this trip seems infinitely harder than a trip to the US. Have you found that Sandie?

I know that it definitely seemed that way to us too Anthony, but I think that had more to do with the "unknown factor" rather than any basis of reality. The transfers from the airport are the main concern - most people getting off the plane are heading to the City on the train - not to Disney.

I remember sitting on the flight heading to Tokyo thinking - How are we going to get to the resort? What if no one understands us? What if customs are slow and we miss the last bus? What if the hotel doesn't have a record of our booking? (Even though I had confirmed booking just the week before!)

All these sorts of things were going through my head - but in the end, everything was smooth as silk - the people everywhere were friendly on our arrival.

I got off the plane and through customs and walked up to the bus ticket counter. There was a giant list of hotels for the Tokyo area - all listed in English by precinct. I found Shin-Urayasu and saw the Oriental Hotel listed there with a departure time of 20:35 - just like the timetable said it would. I asked the very happy girl for two tickets and was directed out the door onto the sidewalk to a particular bus stop number. We had about a 20 minute wait. There is a digital readout alternating between Japanese and English which tells you what the next bus is, but there are also plenty of assistants and they will tag your bags etc. The buses also have digital readouts near the passenger door which tells you their destination. Our bus came, the assistants motioned to us, we got on board and we were away (of course, you have the obligatory trip around the airport to terminal 2!) When we reached the Oriental, the bus driver got our luggage out and there was a taxi waiting at the hotel (most hotels seemed to have a couple a taxis) - we just piled in an told the driver we wanted Hilton Tokyo Bay - I had prepared a screen dump of the Japanese Hilton Tokyo Bay website, but I had lost it in my travels, but I didn't need it anyway, he just drove us straight there.

Next time we go - there will not be any sort of worry like the first time - even if we miss the Shin-Urayasu bus, we'd just get the train to Tokyo then one back out to Maihama.

If you have to do that - here is what you do...

1. Go to the train station at Narita airport and buy tickets from the vending machine to Tokyo Central (press the English button first!)
2. On arrival at Tokyo Central, you will use your ticket to leave the airport express platform area - your ticket will be eaten - don't worry.
3. You will then follow the signs to the JR Keiyo line (everything is in English and colour coded - you won't get lost!)
4. You will come up to another set of platform gates and there will be a row of ticket machines beside them for the JR Keiyo line.
5. There will be a subway map above the machines (be familiar with where Maihama is on the subway map before you get to Tokyo)
6. Find Maihama on the map - the large number printed on the station is the cost in yen for your ticket (210 when we were there)
7. Use the vending machine - select the English button.
8. You can buy tickets individually by pressing the 210 yen on the screen and dropping in the cash (you don't have to type in the station, it is all based on cost). The tickets are very small.
9. Now go through the barriers and check the electronic signs - from Tokyo Central the trains on the JR Keiyo line all head toward Maihama, but you don't want to catch the RAPID service - that is the express and bypasses Maihama. You must get the LOCAL service which is all stops.
10. About 5-6 stops later, you are in Maihama! Ta-dah

It is just a short walk to the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, or go to the Maihama Welcome Centre were they can process your check in (although I think they close before you get there).

[ajp]

Suppose you're right Keith. It's like anything, once you've done it, you're alot wiser.

The system over there whilst very detailed does appear to be rather simple once you're there. We have no choice but to understand the rail system coming into Osaka. We have to catch the train from the airport into Osaka for our first night's stay and then the next day on the Bullet Train up to Tokyo.

am thinking of some travel courses

I tried that last year by correspondence with OTEN. Got 99.5% for my first assignment, and then because other things got in the way and I lost a little enthusiasm, I dropped out. But it is a good idea and worth pursuing. (The idea of a dedicated Disney travel agent seems to be common amongst many of us here it seems. )

[sandie]

I am going to start with OTEN too - the idea of travelling to Bankstown Tafe twice a week is not appealling.

Sandie

[Mel]

OTEN is quite good if you have the motivation. I re-did my HSC through them and did alright.

I remember feeling EXACTLY like Sandie and Anthony when I was planning our Tokyo trip, but exactly like Keith says, once I was there and actually doing it, I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of it all. The main problem I found in the planning is the lack of personal experiences. For the US parks you can find a thousand people who have done exactly what you want to do. For Tokyo, they're nowhere to be found. Well, except for here