A Kid-Centric Trip to Japan and TDR - Trip Report (Completed - copied to blog)

[MomoMama]

At Oriental Hotel they were not accepting credit card for the park tickets. I wonder if this is the difference between the Official hotel (Sheraton) and Partner Hotel(Oriental hotel). It was not a big problem, but I like not needing to bring extra cash.

The shuttle bus to the train station does sound funny. I guess many people don't want to take an extra step after walking all day at the parks... They also have the shuttle bus to the parks so you don't have to take the monorail, correct?

 

[wanderlust7]

At Oriental Hotel they were not accepting credit card for the park tickets. I wonder if this is the difference between the Official hotel (Sheraton) and Partner Hotel(Oriental hotel). It was not a big problem, but I like not needing to bring extra cash.

The shuttle bus to the train station does sound funny. I guess many people don't want to take an extra step after walking all day at the parks... They also have the shuttle bus to the parks so you don't have to take the monorail, correct?

I think the Hilton (official hotel) is cash only for park tickets. At least there's something on their website that says so, I don't know what the current policy is in practice. I was pleasantly surprised that the Sheraton takes credit card, otherwise I would have bought it at the gate.

Nope, no shuttle bus to the parks. I guess they don't want to take business away from the monorail.

 

[MomoMama]

Thanks for the info!
Something to think about for the next trip.

 

[wanderlust7]

Day 8, Part 2 - TDL continued

Oddly, we don’t seem to have many pictures from this afternoon. We went to Tom Sawyer Island, which has more things than DL or WDW. DD liked climbing up and down the red rock mountain play structure. Then to Adventureland, where we went to Swiss Family Treehouse, Enchanted Tiki House with Stitch (the Japanese pronunciation of Sti-i-chi is so cute), and Jungle Cruise. The line for Jungle Cruise was a little long (about 30 minutes), but the temple sequence was something new for us and very cool. It’s not at DL and I guess we didn’t go on the Jungle Cruise when we went to WDW last time. After our trip I read that there’s even more effects at night – I guess we need to go back again.

Sometime in between those things, DS and I used our Fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain…



…and DD and DH had dessert.



DH also got the curry popcorn that we smelled all day but the line was always long. Yum…my favorite. The other flavors we had during our visit were caramel, honey, and milk chocolate. The caramel and chocolate popcorn weren’t coated in caramel or chocolate like back home, just flavored and not super sweet. My favorite sweet flavor was honey because it smells exactly like honey, ah so fragrant.

We went to Hungry Bear for dinner and DH asked me to just get one large portion of the katsu (fried pork cutlet) curry to share. He said he wasn’t all that hungry and he’d have to finish the kids’ meals anyways. WELL – did he regret that decision, because it was DELICIOUS! It was so good the only photo I have is an unsightly half eaten one. We thought about ordering another portion, but then with eating part of the kids’ food it would have been too much. He never asked me to share anything else at TDR again.



We then went to wait for the nighttime parade and sat here:



Again, the view was good since everyone in front is sitting. By this point, I had bought a cute Easter “leisure sheet” (i.e. plastic mat). It comes in a pouch with the same theme and was 600 yen. It’s pretty small though, big enough for 2 adults -maybe- if you sit side by side with your feet off.













After the parade, we rushed to use our Fastpasses for Monsters, Inc. It was cute, but with all the hype, I think I was expecting something…more…. Maybe I need to go on it a few more times to appreciate. We then found a spot to see the projection show Once Upon a Time (sorry bad picture):



I think it’s a lot harder to find a sitting spot for this. Our spot wasn’t bad for an adult, but we did have to carry the kids. The show was awesome though – magical. Wish I’d won that darned lottery!

After the show, we had enough time for Star Tours (same as DL and WDW except in Japanese of course). DS really likes this ride and went on it 3 times during our trip. Plus we went on Grand Circuit Raceway (seemed pretty identical to Autopia in DL)…



…before heading out and a last shot of the Easter decorations near the entrance.

 

[wanderlust7]

Day 9 – DisneySea!

Part 1 – Logistics and the Crystal Compass

Today was DH’s birthday and our first day at DisneySea – the most gorgeous Disney park!





My original plan had us checking into the Hotel MiraCosta today, but when the Sheraton’s price dropped and became 1/3 of the price of the MiraCosta, I couldn’t justify it to myself and shortened our stay. DH is the type of person who will go out of his way to save a buck, so I knew he’d approve. The side effect of that change was I lost all the table service priority reservations I had. One of the first things I did was to try to recreate the reservations by checking at the restaurants, but the times didn’t work out. Ristorante di Canaletto offered me 4 PM and Oceano was 9 PM. It was around 10-11 AM when I checked, plus it was a Monday, which tends to be a little busy still (better than Saturday or Sunday of course). I had reservations for 2 days later when we would stay at the MiraCosta, so it was okay, it just wouldn’t be on DH’s birthday.

Then I went to try the lottery for Big Band Beat – no luck again. In fact, I would have no luck with the lottery the entire time. I thought I would at least win once over 4 days, but nope! Well, Tuesday at TDL was quiet enough that there was no lottery, so it was 3 tries, but still!

While I was doing this, DH took the kids to McDuck’s Department Store:



That morning, we bought the Crystal Compass for DD. That was her splurge of the trip at 3000 yen (DS’s was the R2D2 popcorn bucket at 2100 yen). You use it to “collect” 7 crystals at the stations scattered across Disney Sea. Here’s the Mysterious Island station. It lights up and there are sounds when the compass is put in the slot. One of the crystals on the compass then permanently lights up to show that you’ve collected it.



We asked for and got English directions, which helped, but there were still things we were a little confused about. You can find other CM’s with the compass and activate the sounds and a color comes up when the compasses point at each other, but I’m not totally sure what the purpose is…. The compass has Mickey’s voice saying various things, but the only one I understood was “yatta!” (“I did it!”). After all 7 crystals, there is supposed to be some special sounds and lights – we heard Mickey say a bunch of stuff in Japanese and I think some of the lights flashed…. It’s also supposed to activate lights and sound at the Wing of Wishes Ship (the big golden ship by the entrance), but we were never sure if we activated it, someone else activated it, or it just comes on every so often. Lastly, it’s supposed to flash to the beat of the music during Fantasmic, but I totally forgot about it!! We were on the balcony of Oceano, so I’m not sure if that would have been close enough anyways. Well, even though we were a little confused about all the functions, DD had fun with it. She just asked me yesterday to go back to the Disney park and collect crystals.

We also got these misters for the kids that morning because it was hot (1600 yen each). I’ve never seen them at the US parks. The CM showed us how to use them – pump 10 times (the handle on the bottom) and the water mists out continuously out of the characters’ mouths when you press the button. They were light, easy to carry around, and the kids still used them after the parks. It’s too bad for DD that these were the only choices since she's not into them. They did have a Minnie water bottle type with the fan, but those are pretty bulky, so I was glad when she just wanted the similar type to her brother.

 

[MomoMama]

You went to the attractions and restaurants that we did not get to! So your experiences are different from ours, but there is one thing in common...we did not win the lottery!

I like that mister. We would not have needed it while we were there and I did not notice them at the stores, but I would love to have one for the summer outings. Wish they would come in a variety of characters though!

 

[wanderlust7]

Day 9, Part 2: Fortress Exploration (mostly just photos!)

We went to Fortress Exploration first, so I could leave DH and the kids there while I went to get Fastpasses for Journey to the Center of the Earth. I was able to get 4 PM return time at 11:45 AM.

Photos as we walked over:







The kids had fun exploring the ship and playing with the water cannons.





Here’s the entrance to The Leonardo Challenge (think it's a scavenger hunt style game), which is in Japanese only – I asked a CM.



Now I’ll just bombard you with photos because it’s just so gorgeous!

 

[wanderlust7]

Day 9, Part 3 – Mysterious Island, Mermaid Lagoon, and Arabian Coast

For lunch, we went to Vulcania and it was delish – my top 3 food experiences at TDR.



DH and I both had the set, which was 1700 yen and comes with noodle or fried rice, small portion of entrée, choice of soup/salad/dessert/or dim sum, and a drink. I thought it was a good deal for the variety, amount, and quality of food. Here’s the choice for one of us:



The Goofy bun is really cute:



Kids’ meal, I love the variety (920 yen):



It’s located in Mysterious Island, along with Journey to the Center of the Earth.





After lunch, we headed to Mermaid Lagoon. Triton’s Kingdom is the big indoor building there. Prince Eric was at the entrance for photos with a crowd around him. Only DD is into characters and only princesses, so we didn’t join the crowd. I went to get Fastpasses for Mermaid Lagoon Theater and the kids played in Ariel’s Playground, but weren’t interested for long.



It was pretty crowded in the afternoon; we would come back in the evening for the kiddie rides with no wait



We then went in search of Ariel, who has her own meet and greet area. I thought it would be inside, but turns out it was outside the building. The posted wait time was 30 minutes, but it ended up being more like 45. This was the only time we encountered that the actual wait time was longer than the posted time. At one point I showed a CM our Mermaid Lagoon Theater Fastpass and asked her if we’ll be late. She said it’ll be okay and we did just make it in time. The show FP has a narrow return window so I was worried!

The Mermaid Lagoon show is in a round theater with animatronics and projection screens all around the sides above the seats. Triton is very big! Ariel is on a fly system (I think that’s what it’s called?) above and “swims” around and does flips. There’s a lot of singing, so the language barrier wasn’t really an issue. DD really enjoyed the show. Halfway through, I looked over at her and she gave me a big thumbs up.

After the show, we went to Sebastian Calypso Kitchen. We only got drinks, but for some reason we still got a picture of the food display.





We went to get a FP for The Magic Lamp Theater, and then it was time to use our FP for Journey to the Center of the Earth. DD is too short for it, so DS and I went, and then DH went by himself. Too bad DS didn’t like it or he could have gone twice. I think he psyched himself out, hung on too tight and pulled a muscle. He was crying when we got off. He said he liked it before it got fast though. Funny thing is – he loves Radiator Springs Racers, which is essentially the same track!

Then it was time to use our FP for The Magic Lamp Theater, so we headed back to the Arabian Coast. There’s a translation device for this show, but we didn’t bother getting it. I figured it would be hard to read the translation AND tell the kids what was going on during the show. There’s quite a bit of talking though, so the language barrier mattered, but there’s enough physical humor to still enjoy the show. We then went on Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage – it’s such a cute ride with great music, and best of all – never a line.





We also went on Jasmine’s Flying Carpets, which is a kiddie ride with a long wait, but DD liked it. There are 2 games in Abu’s Bazaar and the line is always long! Don’t be fooled by the gap the CM allows for traffic to pass through. If your back is to the carousel, the one on the right seems to have a shorter line – I’m not sure why, maybe it’s harder? But since it was shorter, that’s the one we tried. You have to roll a ball and have it land in one of the containers. DS made it in, but it bounced back out. DD didn’t even get close. It was 4 balls (tries) for 500 yen. The prize was cute Mickey and Friends plush toys with big heads. The consolation prize was a pin, so not a bad deal. The kids got to pick and they picked these:



I was impressed even the pin back is Mickey shaped.



Dinner was at Casbah Food Court. I forgot to ask for not spicy, so the kids only ate the naan and rice. Well, even if I had gotten not spicy I'm not sure they would have eaten it. It was good, but I would have enjoyed it more with some naan or rice. I meant to get the kids something else later, but then they got full on popcorn – bad mommy!



Yup – there’s that second souvenir cup. The Donald’s butt dessert was very good.



After dinner, we went on the carousel with little wait and back to Mermaid Lagoon for the kiddie rides, with no wait.









Virtually empty gift shop:



We saw the fireworks as we were heading out. I had zero expectations because I kept reading that the fireworks were “nothing special”. But I thought they were good with cute touches like a star, happy face, and even a Mickey shape. Some pictures as we headed out:

 

[wanderlust7]

Day 10 – Second day at Tokyo Disneyland

Part 1 – Hotel change and Toontown

Today we were moving to the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel for one night. At one point, I had booked 2 nights at the Hotel MiraCosta, but then thought it would be cool to experience TDH for one night plus save 10,400 yen (TDH was 39,000 yen, weeknight value season). I would come to regret this decision – TDH was very nice, it was just too much moving around, but more on that later. First we checked out and dropped off our luggage with the Sheraton bellhop for complimentary transfer to TDH. I didn’t find any information online if they will do this, so I was happy to find that they do. We then took the monorail to TDH. It was a Tuesday and the monorail was pretty empty. Well, that and it was about 10:30 AM. We’re not early people, remember?



I did pre check-in with the front desk at TDH and was told that if I wanted the room at 3 PM, I would need to be back at 3, but if after 4:30 PM is okay, then I could come back any time after that. We were going to TDL, so we wouldn’t be back before 4:30 anyways. A note about the check in process at the Tokyo Disney hotels, many (most?) things seem to be on paper and not computerized, so the process takes a while. It definitely took longer than any of the other places we stayed at in Japan. After this was done, we took the backpacks to the bellhop to store. DH had a laptop in his backpack and the CM told him that he should store it in the electronics locker. DH didn’t want to take this extra step and he felt comfortable leaving it with the bellhop (Japan is the only country we’ve been to that this would be the case). So the bellhop had him sign the back of the baggage slip, acknowledging that they are not responsible for any damages, etc. Finally, we were on our way back to TDL. Here’s a picture coming out of Disneyland Hotel, TDL is just past the monorail station. The distance is probably similar to across the esplanade between the 2 parks in California.



Pretty quiet World Bazaar:



DH took some pictures of the cute store displays:





I left DH and the kids in Toontown while I went to get Fastpasses for Pooh’s Honey Hunt. I probably got it at about noon for a return time of around 7 PM. It was drizzling a bit, but the kids and I had rain coats, so it was okay (DH didn’t but he’s impervious to rain ). We went on Gadget’s Go Coaster twice with no wait – probably due to the rain. This is one of the few coasters DD is tall enough to go on, so she liked it a lot. The kids explored the different houses. Then we went to line up for Mickey’s House. Mickey is there for meet and greets, so the line was a little long (about 30 minutes), but there are some cute things once you get into the house (carrots that get pulled into the ground, cute animatronic chickens).



We thought about having lunch there, but didn’t see any space in the seating area since everyone was there hiding from the rain. We got a picture of the food display though.

 

[Jade-Elise]

Loving the report! We are NOT morning people either, which is something that I am panicking about! But it seems you are getting to do some awesome stuff without worrying about being there 1 hour before opening time!!!

 

[MomoMama]

I did not know that they give away consolation prize at the games! I am still not sure if I tried, given the long line, but those cute pins do make me think.
And you got to ride on the limited edition Duffy train! Wish I could have taken DD on that one. Too little time, too much to do!

 

[wanderlust7]

Day 10, Part 2 – Tomorrowland

We decided to go to Pan Galactic Pizza Port in Tomorrowland for lunch. On the way, I stopped by the lottery, but it was a slow enough day that they didn’t have it. Darn, I was really hoping for the reserved area of Once Upon a Time. I guess on days without lottery, it’s just first come first serve? I didn’t want to put in the time investment, so we didn’t check it out. While I was at it, I got FPs for Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters.



DD needed to go to the bathroom, but I knew that the restrooms there only had 2 stalls and there was already a line out the door. We went in search of another bathroom and ended up on a long walk to World Bazaar before we found another one. It actually doesn’t look that far on the map, but I guess it’s misleading since everything at TDL is more spread out. The food was okay, it had gotten a little cold by the time we got back….





Of course we had to have the famous alien mochi, and I just had to have the souvenir tub. There is one filling flavor of each – chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. It was okay…I’ve had better mochi by far, but it was definitely the cutest!



The alien tub fits in the R2D2 popcorn bucket. Should we call him A2D2?



We went to Grand Circuit Raceway again. DS really likes it and the line is shorter than for Autopia in Disneyland.



Then we stood in line for StarJets. It’s a kiddie ride, but the kids wanted to go even though it was a 30 minute wait. It’s very similar to the Astro Orbitor at Disneyland (California), but this one is elevated and requires an elevator ride up. While we were waiting, we saw the parade go by and the princesses in their clear raincoats.



We also saw the scrump mochi:



We went to use our FPs for Buzz. The ride is pretty much the same as Disneyland California, just newer. On the way out, we took some pictures for our alien fan friend back home.









Earlier, we had tried to get into the One Man’s Dream II show as the line was going into the theater, but it got full before we made it in. So we tried again at the next show time (about 5:30) and lined up about 30 minutes before the show start time. They start letting the line in about 15 minutes before and we made it in this time. The show features a lot of characters and dancing, not much plot as far as I can tell and the language barrier wasn’t an issue. DD enjoyed it since it had the princesses dancing with their respective princes. The Peter Pan segment had a giant inflatable crocodile walking around that was hilarious.

 

[wanderlust7]

Day 10, Part 3 –Fantasyland

After the show, we went to the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. It was a little past 6 PM, but the line wasn’t bad.













The fried seafood assortment was 1210 yen. It was good, though portion size was a little small.



Rotisserie chicken was 1380 yen, the chicken was moist and juicy.



Desserts were around 400 yen.





Kids’ meal (920 yen):



After dinner, we went to use our FPs for Pooh’s Hunny Hunt.





We got in the FP line and then…waited…and waited…. The standby line was at 30 minutes, so this did not seem right. Then we heard announcements being made but only in Japanese. Finally we make it into the loading area and I ask a CM, who tells me “system error”.

SIGH.

We were given priority admission tickets:



On the way out, we went to the gift shop. I bought some Pooh and Friends Easter chopsticks that were really cute and well made. A little pricey at 1600 yen, but I use them a lot. We also got DD cute fuzzy Pooh ears hair clips. She looks so cute in them! But unfortunately – she hates them and pulls them right off. Yeah, bad impulse buy at 750 yen. The next day, I did a double take when I saw a young man wearing them. Well, I guess Pooh is male and he looked very kawaii (cute).



We hung around Fantasyland and kept checking if Pooh had reopened. We were going to DisneySea the next day and I REALLY didn’t want to trek ALL the way to the very back of TDL tomorrow morning….

We went on a very empty Small World (it may have been during the parade). I always find it a little eerie going on indoor rides with hardly any people…. Maybe it’s just me.







We also went on Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, it was basically walk on. Then Peter Pan’s Flight with a 15 minute wait. The last time we went on this was a couple years ago at WDW and I had forgotten a bit the magically feeling of flying over the lights of London. Pooh still hadn’t reopened, so we decided to leave. After all, there was a very expensive hotel room waiting for us!



After we exited, we went to redeem the Easter Egg Hunt prizes. It’s in a gift stall to the left, so kind of an extra little trek instead of just going straight into Tokyo Disneyland Hotel.

 

[wanderlust7]

Day 10, Part 4 – Tokyo Disneyland Hotel (photos galore!)

Some night pictures as we walked to TDH:







I booked the cheapest room, which is the Standard Superior Room on floors 1-3. But we were upgraded to the 9th floor with an alcove. Yay! I checked in and DH went to get his backpack. The kids’ backpacks would be delivered to the room, but they won’t deliver DH’s since it has the laptop in it. When I checked in, the CM mentioned that they had received our luggage from the Sheraton and that it was already in the room. However, when we got to the room – no luggage. I called the front desk, they asked for the number of the Sheraton luggage receipt, sorted it out, and our luggage was delivered…probably all within 15 minutes.





Headboard detail:





The obligatory shot of the toiletries:



Shower room:



View out the window the next morning:



Hallway detail:



Lobby from 9th floor:



Doll house with a lot of detail:





101 Dalmatians:



Snow White’s dress:



Mickey toys and Alice in Wonderland wall paper:



Ariel taking a bath:







Some shots outside:

 

[wanderlust7]

I did not know that they give away consolation prize at the games! I am still not sure if I tried, given the long line, but those cute pins do make me think.
And you got to ride on the limited edition Duffy train! Wish I could have taken DD on that one. Too little time, too much to do!

I looked back at the time stamps on our photos and actually the wait for the game was 10 minutes. I guess the line just looked intimidating since we could see everyone in it.

 

[wanderlust7]

Loving the report! We are NOT morning people either, which is something that I am panicking about! But it seems you are getting to do some awesome stuff without worrying about being there 1 hour before opening time!!!

Thanks!

I think it's only necessary to line up one hour before opening if it's a busy time. I like this crowd calendar because it gives predicted Fastpass return times and when they'll run out. It's in Japanese, but not too bad figuring it out using Google Translate.

http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/disney/

The Sunday we were there, Disneyland was a crowd level 36, Monday was 33, Tuesday-Wednesday was 24. Pooh and Monsters Inc. were predicted to run out at noon. I think that was pretty accurate since we weren't able to get both on the same day having arrived after 10 AM (you can get another FP once you're at the return time of your current one or 2 hours after you got the current one). We didn't do Toy Story Mania since we have it in California. For that, you may have to line up before opening, or try going right before closing.

We are so not morning people. DS and I did early entry at California Adventure once (DH and DD didn't go since they are even less morning people if that's possible). 3 coffees and an Excedrin (for my headache) later, I finally felt like myself.

 

[Jade-Elise]

Thanks!

I think it's only necessary to line up one hour before opening if it's a busy time. I like this crowd calendar because it gives predicted Fastpass return times and when they'll run out. It's in Japanese, but not too bad figuring it out using Google Translate.

http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/disney/

The Sunday we were there, Disneyland was a crowd level 36, Monday was 33, Tuesday-Wednesday was 24. Pooh and Monsters Inc. were predicted to run out at noon. I think that was pretty accurate since we weren't able to get both on the same day having arrived after 10 AM (you can get another FP once you're at the return time of your current one or 2 hours after you got the current one). We didn't do Toy Story Mania since we have it in California. For that, you may have to line up before opening, or try going right before closing.

We are so not morning people. DS and I did early entry at California Adventure once (DH and DD didn't go since they are even less morning people if that's possible). 3 coffees and an Excedrin (for my headache) later, I finally felt like myself.

Google Translate!!
Measure of congestion
~ 19999 people rattle
Quite empty - 24999 people
Vacant - 29999 people
~ 39999 people Well congestion (usually and are accustomed)
~ 49999 people a little congestion (spicy if not familiar)
~ 59999 people crowded (quite painful if not familiar)
(ARE THESE PEOPLE!?!? Literally 20 thousand people is quite empty!!?@?!)

Seems to be a 37 - 27 for DL and 31 - 27 for DS over the 4 days. Shouldn't be too bad then? Hard to understand but I think I get the idea. Thanks

 

[wanderlust7]

Google Translate!!
Measure of congestion
~ 19999 people rattle
Quite empty - 24999 people
Vacant - 29999 people
~ 39999 people Well congestion (usually and are accustomed)
~ 49999 people a little congestion (spicy if not familiar)
~ 59999 people crowded (quite painful if not familiar)
(ARE THESE PEOPLE!?!? Literally 20 thousand people is quite empty!!?@?!)

Seems to be a 37 - 27 for DL and 31 - 27 for DS over the 4 days. Shouldn't be too bad then? Hard to understand but I think I get the idea. Thanks

My favorite one is "violently congestion". Yes, it's the number of people. I read somewhere that max capacity is 85,000 people.

 

[wanderlust7]

Day 11 – From Land to Sea

Part 1 – The quest for Pooh and I forgot to do what??

Today we were moving to the Hotel MiraCosta! But first, we needed to trek back into TDL to ride Pooh. We dropped off the luggage and backpacks at the bellhop for delivery to the MiraCosta, except for DH’s backpack we would need to pick up since it has the laptop. We took some last pictures in the lobby and outside (see Day 10, Part 4), then headed out. It was about 11 AM by this point (what with getting ready and packing up, etc.) and we ran smack dab into the parade. We had to go around the long way through Tomorrowland. I was feeling a little grouchy and kicking myself for waiting for the FP time and not going on Pooh when the standby waits had been 30 minutes. I was also questioning is it really worth it? But we were half way there, so we trekked on. DD was lagging and DH carried her. I had a 1 PM reservation at Ristorante Di Canaletto in DisneySea that I was a little worried about making. Finally, we get there and Pooh was –

AWESOME!!!

The dream sequence is so fun and a little psychedelic. When we got out, the kids asked if we can go again. The standby wait was 30 minutes, but I was worried about making the lunch reservation. Now I was kicking myself for not going on earlier so we could go more times!

I should mention that the priority admission tickets we got say they need to be used on the same day, but we didn’t have any problems using it the next day. I don’t know if this was because the CM knew that it had broken down late the night before. We headed out and DH carried DD most of the way in the interest of time. We picked up the backpack at DLH and took the monorail to DisneySea Station then followed the signs to the MiraCosta. There is a walkway:















Then arrived in the lobby:



DH dropped off his backpack with the bellhop and I went to do pre check-in. Half way through the process, I suddenly remember –

I FORGOT TO CHECK OUT OF DLH!!

I tell the CM, but she seems unconcerned. She tells me DLH knows I’m coming there since I had them transfer luggage. Then I ask her, but I haven’t signed my bill yet…? She pauses. Then says maybe I can sign it there and calls DLH to check, but no such luck. I need to go back. I ask her if I can go later, she says yes but please go today.

SIGH. No one to blame but myself. Getting old….

I still had a little time before the lunch reservation, so I stopped by the bellhop desk to get tickets for the airport limo. I wasn’t sure if I needed reservations (maybe not), but I did it just in case. The CM showed me the bus schedule to Haneda airport and told me that the recommendation is to take a bus 2 hours before my flight time. I was surprised and asked him only 2 hours? He said yes, asked my flight time, and then pointed to the bus time that was 2 hours before. I thought, okay, I guess airports in Japan are just more efficient like everything else in Japan, and went with it. I paid for the tickets, but I think I could have paid when we got off too. In hindsight, I don’t think 2 hours before was the right recommendation, but it did turn out fine. We got to the gate about 15 minutes before boarding. There’s no room for contingencies though, so I would definitely pick an earlier bus next time.

 

[wanderlust7]

Day 11, Part 2 – Ristorante Di Canaletto

We made it to Ristorante Di Canaletto just in time for our 1 PM reservation. We were seated indoors. I had hoped to sit outside with a view of the canal, but the waiting room was pretty full and I didn’t see any empty tables outside, so I didn’t try asking. For some reason, we were told only the course menu was available (unless I totally misunderstood?). But we were okay with that. It was 2800 yen per adult:



We both picked the antipasto misto because I think the minestrone is a bad deal (soup is cheap ). It was delicious and really quality ingredients. In the glass are some savory mousse and a little piece of what I think is foie gras. I’m not usually big on savory mousse or foie, but it was yummy!



Tagliatelle with pancetta-porcini cream sauce – yum!



Spaghetti pescatore – yum again, but I think I liked the tagliatelle slightly more.



Tiramisu:



Panna cotta with fresh fruit, the gelatin had some sort of alcohol in it – delish.



Here’s the kids’ meal (1490 yen). The kids didn’t like the chilled minestrone, so DH and I had them. Doubly glad that we didn’t get it as our appetizer. I’m not really a fan of chilled soup, so it was just meh for me.



Everything was really delicious and it was my favorite meal at TDR and possibly the entire trip. Drinks were included with free refills. DH had Coke first and then asked for coffee later and it didn’t seem to be a problem. After the trek to Pooh and the fiasco of forgetting to check out, an awesome lunch really perked up my spirits!