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We recently posted our entire two-week itinerary, but now I wanted to break each day down into more detail – so buckle up – I have so much information about Japan coming your way over the next few months. We learned so much on our first trip, and I can’t wait to share it with you all.
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Japan: Prep, Travel, Arrival- Day One
Day one was a full travel day. Mark and I left Tampa, FL, at 7 am on March 20 and landed at 3 pm on March 21 at Haneda Airport in Tokyo after 19+ hours of travel. We bought flights and booked hotels seven months before our departure. We flew Delta Comfort Plus, which is a slight upgrade from Economy. It offers larger seats, more legroom, earlier boarding, dedicated overhead space, and complimentary drinks during the flight.
Overall, we were really happy with our Delta experience on the flights to Japan but were disappointed on the way home due to an aircraft change we were never notified of. We had booked two seats by ourselves, and unfortunately, the plane changed from 2/4/2 to 3/3/3 across, and we were crammed in with a stranger for the long flight home. I just utilized the free drinks to ease my frustration, lol.
Arriving at Haneda Airport
When we arrived at Haneda International Airport, like all International flights, we were led straight to customs and immigration. We did our research beforehand, and the Delta website also sends you to the Japan Web website to fill out your immigration paperwork digitally. Japan Web then gives you a QR code to scan upon arrival. We got through customs and immigration very quickly with our QR code – you scan it twice and have facial scans and photos taken after presenting your passport, and then you are on your way!
Next, we retrieved our luggage and then collected our pocket Wi-Fi. In Japan, there are two easy options for using our iPhones—eSims and Pocket Wi-Fi. We chose to rent a Pocket Wi-Fi, which we reserved online before leaving the US and picked up at the airport upon arrival.
What is a pocket Wi-Fi?
What is a pocket Wi-Fi? Pocket Wi-Fi is a small portable wireless modem that connects any Wi-Fi-enabled device (smartphones, laptops, and tablets) to the Internet through a mobile telephone network. It’s smaller than a phone and literally fits in your pocket. We read many reviews and booked ours with Ninja Wifi, and it was conveniently located right outside the arrivals at Haneda Airport in Terminal 3 on the second floor. The pocket wifi was terrific and they even set it up for us before we left! We always had a great connection, and boy, oh boy, did we need it for Google Maps and Google Translate!
After we were connected with the world again, we purchased our Pasmo IC Cards, conveniently located next to Ninja Wifi.
What is a Pasmo Passport IC Card?
The Pasmo card is the size of a credit card, and it’s an IC card that you preload money on and can be used for travel and shopping all across the country. We used ours for trains, buses, vending machines, and at some convenience stores. It was by far the best thing we bought the entire trip. The Welcome Pasmo is for tourists and can be used for up to 28 days; it was worth its weight in gold (less than $9USD each) and made the overwhelming transportation system so much easier. More on this later!
Japan Airport Limousine Bus
Finally, we were ready to leave the airport, so we bought Airport Limousine Bus tickets from a ticket machine right next to the Pasmo office. My research for our first hotel taught me that the airport limousine bus stopped directly outside the lobby of our Tokyo hotel. We opted for the bus over trying to figure out the train system after 19 hours of travel and 5 pieces of luggage, and we will do it this way again in the future. It took away so much stress upon arrival!
All of my Japan Travel research was done in Facebook planning groups like “Japan Travel Planning,” “Japan Travel Advice,” and “Tokyo Disneyland Holiday Planning,” as well as Instagram Reels and YouTube. I want to thank my new favorite YouTube channel, Cakes with Faces, for all the information, suggestions, and peace of mind while planning our trip. Check her out! Also, this YouTube video about understanding the Japanese transportation system EXPLAINED helped us so much!
I also live by reading reviews, so I got on Google, Booking.com, and Trip Advisor and read thousands of reviews and blogs. We stayed at four different hotels along the way—I booked them all (besides Disney) with Booking.com and had free cancellation until one week before the trip in case anything changed.
I’ll be sharing each of the hotels we stayed in more thoroughly as we write about the trip, but here are the four hotels we chose for quick reference –
Disneyland Hotel Tokyo Disney – I booked this one directly with Disneyland Tokyo Mobile App
Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku
We arrived at Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku around 6:30 PM and were dropped off outside our hotel. Checking into Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku was super easy. There are several computer stations with an English option, and you enter your name and information, scan your passports, and the machine issues your room number and room keys. They do have staff nearby if you have questions, but the process is really easy. We headed up to the 14th floor to room 1443 and were so excited to have a view of the city! I will feature this hotel with lots of photos and details soon!
We dropped off our bags, freshened up, and decided to celebrate our arrival at the Hotel Bar – Kukon. It was a beautiful, softly lit, calm, and tranquil room with views of the city, just what we needed to take the edge off. We were the only two in the bar for a while, but by the time we left, the place was packed. We decided to stick close to the hotel for dinner, so we walked directly across the street to Food Hall Blast!
Food Hall Blast!
Food Hall Blast! is an “American-made” food concept mimicking a food court. It’s a casual food hall where you can enjoy a variety of alcohol and high-quality gourmet food. They offered a variety of food, including vegan and vegetarian options, which can be almost impossible to find in some areas of Japan. Plus, comfort foods with a Japanese spin, like Italian and Mexican dishes.
This is from their website – I love seeing how the Japanese see America lol!
“BLAST is a slang English word that means “super fun!”
“FOOD HALL BLAST!” has three ” C ” themes as its theme.
C RAFT (Craft)
C ASUAL (Casual)
C OOL (Cool)
You can enjoy handmade dishes with a sense of craftsmanship at reasonable prices in a casual and cool atmosphere. It can be enjoyed by a variety of customers regardless of nationality.”
After such a long journey, we enjoyed this laid-back atmosphere and appreciated having a little bit of home during our first night. We loved the vegan Ramen and Gyoza; it was the perfect way to cap off our first transition night. We wanted to adjust to the 13-hour time difference as quickly as possible. So we made ourselves get to bed so we could hit the ground running for our first full day in Tokyo!
Check out Day Two, and don’t forget to sign up for our emails!
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Sounds like a great start to your adventure.
Definitely a trip of a lifetime🥰