Travel day 2 - we made it to Japan

Travel day 2 - we made it to Japan

We are spending these first 2 days at Tokyo Disneyland. After all, since Hong Kong and Shanghai Disneylands are included in our itenarary we might as well stop here too so we can say we’ve been to all of the Disneylands. It will also give us a chance to get over our jet lag before our packed adventure starts. Yes, I do feel guilty for coming to Japan and doing nothing cultural!

We’re staying at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel which is right in front of the park. There is no easy way to get there from the Narita airport though. There isn’t a direct train and Uber was going to be around $250! We decided to take the bus. 

The Airport Limousine bus has several counters just outside of baggage claim. They counter looks like a Budget rental car counter so they are very easy to find. We got there at about 2:50pm, but the 3:10 bus was already sold out (at least that’s the what we think she said, she was difficult to understand) so we had to wait for the 3:40 bus. Waiting for almost an hour after what turned into a 15 hour flight due to delays, is not fun.

The bus was completely full. So full that Coral got the last regular seat and I had to sit in a jump seat that folded out into the aisle! The ride is only about 30 minutes but once on property it stops at every hotel and both lands, so it did take close to an hour before we got to our hotel. 

Check in was easy enough. I was able to understand most of what the desk clerk told me, but when I asked her something specific about the early entry tickets she gave us she didn’t know what I was saying. Once we got checked in the desk clerk didn’t give us the keys. She said we had to wait for the bellman...even though we didn’t need help with our bags. I know they are trying to be fancy, but after a long flight you just want to go to your room. 

While we waited we bought our park tickets. I tried to purchase them online before the trip but US credit cards weren’t accepted. The park ticket counter is the last counter to the right of check in. The clerk there had the best English so far. She had a menu for tickets for us to choose from. We decided to get after 5pm tickets for tonight and she showed me that for Coral (junior prices) it was less expensive to by a 3 day pass.

Communication so far has been a little difficult, but not unmanageable. I don’t remember struggling the last time I was here in 2002, but I was with my coworker who was Japanese so I guess I relied on her more than I remember.