accomodation Archives - The Wifey's Corner

May 10, 2018May 9, 2018

2017 Japan Trip – AirBnb in Tokyo

When looked for AirBnb in Tokyo for the last three nights, I wanted it to be close to a train station that is within JR Yamanote Line. That would provide easy access to places we wanted to go. Other requirements I had were to have laundry facility so we would not come home with too many dirty laundry; also have a lift facility. This is because we planned to do all the shopping in Tokyo and to drag our luggage up/down the stairs in (most likely be) full capacity could be quite challenging.

And with that filters on, I searched on AirBnb for a many weeks before decided to settle in at Shin Okubo. I had considered some other areas like Shinjuku Gyoen, Asakusa, Akihabara, and Ikebukuro – all of which is within the JR Yamanote Line, except the first one. But at the end, we decided Shin Okubo for its close proximity to Shinjuku. The apartment has many positive reviews and it has everything we need as well. On top of those, the price was also really good, we ended up at AUD 270 for 3 nights. Communication with host was great, he promptly responded to our emails and questions. I think all of my communication with any AirBnb hosts had been really great, with all of them being prompt and helpful.

airbnb shin okubo — Street in front of the apartment

The Apartment

The AirBnb in Tokyo is located within 5-7 minutes walk from Shin Okubo station, there is one 7-11 store close by and many more near the station. Shin Okubo is sort of well known as Korea Town, where you can find many Korean restaurant and shops that sell Korean brands cosmetics and skin care. With that many restaurants in the main street, the area is very much alive until late at night. The great advantage of the apartment being slightly away from main street is we got peaceful sleeps while there. It was like our apartment in Osaka, where it is so close to Dotonbori, but far enough to not get disturbed by the noise 🙂

From our communication with the host, we unfortunately could not check in to the apartment earlier. But the host kindly advised us to use lockers at Shinjuku station which we ended up using. By the time we checked in to the apartment, it had been cleaned and everything is perfect. Of all three AirBnb we stayed at in our Japan trip, this was the smallest; but understandably so are the majority apartments in Tokyo, I believe. The size is perfect for two adults with two big suitcases. Had we have more suitcases, it would probably a bit challenging to walk around the room 😛

Our general experience at this apartment was good, everything worked well and no problems occurred while we were there. No issues with speed or battery of the pocket WiFi either, so was all good. For the price, we were totally satisfied with this place and happily recommend it to first time goers. However, next time we’d love to try somewhere else. It may not necessarily within the Yamanote line, but still close to a subway or train station. The transportation system in Japan is working so well that I don’t think it would be a major issue if we stay outside of the Yamanote line.

AirBnb Listing:

Here is the link to the AirBnb in Tokyo listing: www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/6565099

And if you are first time user of AirBnb, you can use this link to register to get AUD 50 off your first booking.

April 25, 2018April 24, 2018

Tokyo DisneyLand Hotel

As we exited Tokyo DisneySea, exhaustion started to catch up – after all it had been a long yet extremely fun day. We were glad that we decided to stay in a hotel close by than going to an AirBnb near Shinjuku. Even better, we were going to spend the night at Tokyo DisneyLand Hotel. We scored a room here before we got one at DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta, so we booked ahead just in case we would never get a room at MiraCosta. But as we later got a room at MiraCosta, I got greedy and would not cancel this one :p

Firstly, we took the monorail to Ikspiari for dinner. Felt a bit run-down, we decided to get some takeaway and eat at the hotel room. After walking around and had not decided on what to get, we went in the supermarket and bought some bento boxes and drinks.

Then we went back to the monorail for a ride to Tokyo Disneyland station, from where we walked about 5 minutes to the hotel. Unlike DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta, Tokyo DisneyLand Hotel is not inside the theme park. It is newer than the MiraCosta, with a lot more rooms and therefore is bigger. There is a pretty garden in front of the hotel, then as we walked inside and took the stairs up, there the huge marbled lobby with all its grandness. The massive chandelier, a doll house in display, seating, everything was just perfect. It gives a more modern feeling than Hotel MiraCosta, a different charm.

Check in process here was also swift and again they offered us another 3-day monorail pass. We then were escorted to our room and it was the park grand view room. Our room was in level 5 which is good because our view of the park would not be blocked by the monorail. We could see the castle from our room window, albeit in a bit of distance away. But we enjoyed the fireworks from our room while we had our takeaway dinner 🙂

The room layout was similar to our room at MiraCosta, where the toilet is separate to bathroom. But there is also an extra mirrored dressing table in the room, opposite the bathroom sink. The bright yellow pastel colour paint through out the room gives a cheerful vibe. We got a king size bed in here as opposed to twins bed at MiraCosta. Their pyjamas were also in the similar yellow pastel colour; whereas light brown at MiraCosta hotel. There is a small table with two chairs by the window.

Again, we had another really good sleep at DisneyLand Hotel. They have coined laundry facility here, which we used the next morning. There is also a very nice gift shop within the hotel, a convenience store, and few restaurants. This time, we had breakfast at one of them and was an excellent choice. Do make a reservation for the restaurant ahead to ensure you can get in at the time you wanted. We had just made the reservation at check in and was told the only available slot was at 9.45 am. It worked out well for us as we could sleep in a little bit and get the laundry done first.

Sherwood Garden Restaurant

We had breakfast in this buffet restaurant located on ground floor of Tokyo DisneyLand Hotel. There are wide range of food options available: traditional Japanese meal and Western food. We tried various Japanese meal here and they were all yummy. The pastries were light, flaky and buttery as well; particularly love their fresh juices!

The pictures above portray only a few sections of the buffet tables. There are a lot more options available on the buffet table that I failed to take picture of due to the crowd. To summarize, the Sherwood Garden Restaurant did not disappoint us for breakfast buffet – in terms of options and taste.

Tokyo DisneyLand Hotel also has some charming character rooms, which I heard the Peter Pan rooms are awesome. We did not get one of these as the only ones left were the quadruple rooms and we did not need it. Actually we got a glimpse of Mount Prometheus as well from our window, which was a sweet reminder of how awesome the past day been!

View from our room window in the morning

The gift shop here was huge and I would have been wanting to purchase everything if not remembering our budget 🙂 There is also a boutique where girls can get a fabulous Disney princess dress and we actually spotted few little girls dotted on the costumes throughout the hotel.

Check out process was swift again where they processed the final payment and that’s it. I was a little sad leaving Tokyo Disney Resort, indeed the happiest place on earth – knowing that our holiday was almost over. We would definitely love to come back again if budget permits, but absolutely will go back to Tokyo DisneySea!! Both hotels are equally memorable to us and excellent, but perhaps Hotel MiraCosta won just a few more points for being located inside Tokyo DisneySea. And that is such a unique experience in my opinion.

To add the excitement, there are so many hidden Mickeys in the whole hotel. We found a few, please let me know if you found any more in the most obvious places that we missed 🙂

Did you spot the mickey-shaped balloon? This picture is behind the reception desk

More hidden mickeys pattern on the marbled floor

On the various balcony/exterior patterns

At the Tokyo DisneyLand monorail station

Tokyo DisneyLand Hotel

29 – 1 Maihama, Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture 279-8505, Japan

Phone: +81 47-305-3333

Tokyo DisneyHotel Website

April 10, 2018April 16, 2018

Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta

As mentioned in previous post, we left booking for a room here until about three months before our trip. The reason being, we did not plan to stay at any of the Tokyo Disney hotels at all. The plan was to stay at an AirBnb throughout our time in Tokyo and made a day trip to Tokyo DisneySea. That all changed when I researched for DisneySea strategy. While reading on a good strategy to plan for our day there, I bumped into some blogs about the hotels. And there went our initial plan, we decided to splurge and stay just one night at either DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta or DisneyLand Hotel. And as it turned out, we ended up staying one night at each hotel (✿´‿`) But, it was going to be a once in a lifetime splurge (we said at that time, pretty sure we will make up excuses in the future).

Anyway, being three months away from our trip, mostly all the rooms have been booked. And only then I realised majority people actually booked their room six months before, as soon as the booking window become available. The only rooms available when I first looked at it was the suites, which costs range from ¥250,000 to ¥500,000 per night! As much as we liked to, we just could not justify spending that on accommodation just for one night 🙁 So, yeah that was devastating – but as some people suggested, just be persistent and check out the availability page every day as many times as possible. And one day, finally a room became available; even better a Porto Paradiso Side Superior Room with Partial View. Woohooo…

Earlier when we checked in at Tokyo Disney Resort Welcome Centre, Maihama Station, we were also given 3-day monorail passes. DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta is on the third stop of the Mickey-themed monorail ride. We got to the hotel at almost 8 pm that night and were rushing to the lobby; hoping that we could see some fireworks or show from our room or the lobby at least. Our first impression was how grand the hotel is, even from the outside to the lobby! Every details inside the hotels was stunning; especially the ceiling of the rotunda which features paintings of each ports of Tokyo DisneySea.

Check in process took a little longer, I guess because they need to print our customised room key cards. I love how everyone here (staffs and guests) all wore a big smile on their faces 🙂 I am sure it’s true what they say about DisneyLand (or in this case, Sea) is the happiest place on earth, hey? After getting our key cards, we were told to wait a bit in the lobby for the staff to fetch our luggage and walked us to our room. While waiting, I could hear the sounds of fireworks but could not see clearly pass the glass windows. I could only see a giant Christmas tree with a huge crowd all over the place.

miracosta lobby — View of the lobby from upper level

Anyway, eventually we were escorted to our room 4147 and it was amazing with sea themed! I think it shows some signs of ageing but still in great condition. Of course the first thing I did once entering the room, was rushed to the window to see our view. The view was partially blocked, but we could see Mount Prometheus so clearly. And Hotel MiraCosta being the only Disney hotel that is located within the theme park, I could see all those happy faces of the park goers from my window.

The perk of staying at one of the Disney resorts is getting the 15 minutes earlier admission to theme park. You might think 15 minutes does not sound like a long time at all – but it could mean whether you get the Toy Story Mania ride or not. I did not know how true that statement would be until we went to DisneySea the next day! We did not get to try any of the restaurants in this hotel; but our stay was awesome. We had a really good sleep here and we left the windows slightly open through the night so we could hear the Disney songs played from the theme park. Another unverified tip when staying here is to get your park entrance ticket directly from the hotel as well. You may purchase the ticket online after booking your room or do so at check in. I have read that they might offer you a special ticket that can be used to access both DisneySea and DisneyLand; or a free half day ticket. This is unverified because we already purchased our ticket before we decided to stay here, so do let me know if that is true 🙂

Check out process was quick and smooth. We told them we would be transferring to Tokyo DisneyLand Hotel that day and they arranged for our luggage transfer. Oh by the way, they also gave me an “early” birthday card! Inside was the birthday card with a birthday sticker. I did not expect this at all and was overwhelmed with such a lovely gesture 😊

My early birthday card from Hotel MiraCosta

Yes it is pricey, but if you could spare some budget for it, I think you should try staying here to complete your Tokyo Disney experience. It was exciting wake up to DisneySea view so close and seeing the staffs preparing for the day. Then you get to enter the park via a special entrance 15 minutes ahead of the other people (there was actually a pretty long line for the express entrance as well, but it moved very quickly).

Stay tuned for how we spent our day at DisneySea and review on Tokyo DisneyLand Hotel \ (•◡•) /

Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta

Tokyo DisneySea

1-13 Maihama, Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture 279-8519, Japan

www.disneyhotels.jp

March 22, 2018March 21, 2018

Hagi Takayama Kanko Hotel

Hagi Takayama Kanko Hotel was actually the first ryokan we booked mainly because they have few family onsen aka reserve-able onsen. Besides the good reviews on TripAdvisor, they also have shuttle services to/from Takayama station. That’s why we thought this would be a great ryokan style accommodation experience. For the first night at Takayama, we originally planned for a hotel stay, but as it turned out we ended up at Ryokan Tanabe, which was superb!

Anyway, back to Hagi Takayama Kanko Hotel – it is much bigger in size compared to Ryokan Tanabe. There are five reserve-able private onsen, one of them is outdoor; and three gender separated public ones (both also have outdoors). That itself was already a big attractive point to us; then they also have manga corner with massage chairs, table tennis room, and even ladies spa. Another big drawing point is its location, being in highland provides a great view of the city at night time which was lovely.

We called the hotel a day earlier about the shuttle pick up and was told they would come around 3 pm. The shuttle van came on time on the day and the ride took around 8 minutes from Takayama station to the hotel. As we approached the hotel, there were several reception staffs stood outside, bowed and welcome us! It felt a bit too much, but perhaps that’s just how it is there? Check in process was swift and smooth, the reception staff offered us available slots for private onsen and the shuttle back to station for the next day. Then a lady ushered us to our room, and showing us where the public onsen and restaurants are. It is basically made up of two buildings, the restaurant for dinner along with public onsen and four private ones are in the back building. The breakfast hall and the other public onsen are on the front building where the reception and main lobby are.

takayama kanko hotel view — View from parking area – isn’t that beautiful?

We got room number 1202. It is even bigger than one we had in Ryokan Tanabe, consists of two sections with a sliding door that can be closed off. Highlight of our room would be the view, it faces the backyard that gives a pretty view at night times. The bathroom also has a bathtub with a window facing to that same view – but we did not even use this bath tub at all having learnt about onsen. The overall feeling of the room was a little old but everything worked just fine, so it was not a big deal.

We went to try the private onsen at our reserved time, loved the view from the window facing the streets of Takayama. Then, the kaiseki dinner followed – I felt we had way more food here than at Tanabe Ryokan and whilst they were all delicious, I just could not finish everything. The highlight of our dinner was of course that Hida beef, fish and tempura. The dessert jelly was also lovely to finish off the meal with just enough sweetness.

The kaiseki dinner at Takayama Kanko Hotel

After the kaiseki dinner, we walked around to peek at the top floor onsen which was really nice. We also had relaxing time at the massage chairs. Eventually we went to the public onsen, oh my God the outdoor onsen was so beautiful. The water temperature was just perfect, the onsen was made from rocks, super relaxing bath! We even made the effort to wake up early and come back again the next morning before breakfast.

By the time we went back to our room, the futon mattress have already been laid out. It felt a little warm in room after a while, so we left the window slightly opened at night. It worked really well and we definitely had great sleep!

They serve breakfast in a different hall to where we had dinner last night. We had the Japanese set breakfast again, but there were also buffet selections should you want extra something. Oh, and we finally tried natto aka fermented soy beans! It doesn’t taste much if you can get past that sticky texture and strong smell 🙂 There are also selections of cereals, bread, coffee, and juices as well.

The Japanese breakfast set with Grilled Fish and Beef Croquette from buffet table

We had booked the 08.00 shuttle bus back to Takayama Station and it left exactly on time. Check out process again was swift with friendly face. Overall, we had a very pleasant stay here especially the onsen experience. Food wise, I’d probably prefer the ones we had at Ryokan Tanabe. In saying that. there really was nothing wrong or not delicious about the food we had here by all means. And for the onsen, Takayama Kanko Hotel is definitely the winner. Plus due to its size and location, it gives a feeling of ryokan as you see on many Japanese dramas: with massage chairs, table tennis and fire works.

Sayonara, Takayama – we most definitely had great time here and will be back again!

Takayama Kanko Hotel

506-0852 Gifu Takayama Hachiman-cho 280 Japan

Telephone: +81 577-32-4100

Email: admin@takayama-kh.co.jp

www.takayama-kh.com

March 16, 2018March 15, 2018

Ryokan Tanabe, Takayama

Most people we talked to before came to Japan have similar tips regarding accommodation in the country, which is to try one or two nights at a ryokan. Yes, staying at a ryokan can be more expensive than hotel or AirBnb, but it will be worth the experience. So, we knew all along we would spend at least one night at a ryokan in this trip. And when we finalised our itinerary, we decided to try two ryokan during our stay in Takayama. The first ryokan we tried was Ryokan Tanabe.

We chose Ryokan Tanabe for its location, high ratings on TripAdvisor, the kaiseki dinner, and the private onsen. Its location is close to Takayama station as well as the Old Town shopping streets, proved to be a great advantage. And as we experienced the stay, meals, and overall hospitality, we really have to agree with everyone that gave them a 5 stars on TA. The private onsen, we thought we’d be using ended up a waste. We ended up going to the shared onsen and had really great time there. Before went to Japan, I would flinch at the idea of public onsen, even gender separated ones. However, I learned that it was not awkward or uncomfortable in any ways at all. And at the end of two nights in Takayama, we both got addicted to onsen, especially the outdoor ones where eater temperature was right!

As we arrived at Ryokan Tanabe before their official check in time, we were told the room was not ready yet and that we could wait in the sitting area or left the luggage to explore the city and came back later. We, of course, chose the latter option! Check out here for our time exploring Takayama Old Town 🙂

When came back around 4 pm, we proceed with the check in process and the lady asked me to pick which color of yutaka I’d like then walked us to our room. On the way, she showed us where the public toilet, onsen, and the opening hours of them. We got room number 10 and it was a huge room with view to small private garden! The bathroom has a massive wooden bathtub, which sadly we used only once. We agree to get a room without bathtub next time and just enjoy the shared onsen. She also asked us what time we would like to have our dinner and breakfast the next morning. Then we were left to enjoy the hot matcha with some traditional cakes.

We eventually ventured out to have a peek at the public onsen. Turned out there was no one in the ladies onsen, so I happily enjoyed the whole place for myself. But soon enough another lady came in and we just enjoyed the hot spring bath in quiet and surprisingly it did not bother me. Anyway, the general rule for enjoying onsen is rinse yourself in the shower area first (use soap/shampoo if you feel you need them), then you can dip yourself in the hot bath making sure your hair is tied up and not soaking in the bath. And lastly, rinse again before drying your body and move inside the powder room. I love how they provide all sorts of skin care and hair care products, hair dryer, comb, even shaver. I actually prefer their indoor onsen than outdoor ones mainly due to the water temperature on the outdoor onsen was not hot enough in that weather.

Earlier, we had asked the dinner to be served at 7 pm and about 15 minutes before then, the lady came back to tidy up the room to prepare for dinner. It was a kaiseki dinner which is multiple intricate dishes served in smaller portions. We knew it would be several dishes but didn’t know it would be that many. Super filling dinner, but everything was so tasty and delicious! And the highlight was that piece of Hida beef, so tender and soft – totally changed my idea of Hida beef from experience earlier. Oh and they also served a small glass of wine, it was sweet and so good – but we forgot to ask them what sort of wine was that.

ryokan tanabe kaiseki dinner — The kaiseki dinner ლ(´ڡ`ლ)

After everything was laid out on the table, the lady left us to enjoy our dinner. She came back around 90 minutes later to clear the table, gave it a good wipe then move it to the side. Then the ladies would take out the futon from the closet and lay them in the middle of the room, put some fresh cover on them and said their good night and left. Some of the older ladies here could not really speak English but they were so friendly and warm and try their best to explain things. Yes, we resorted to using body languages a lot but, hey whatever works! 🙂

ryokan tanabe beddings — The fluffy and soft bedding – the pillows were filled with beans and they took a while to get used to, but everything else was very comfortable.

We wake up around 6 in the morning and went to public onsen again before breakfast. A couple of staff came to the room to put away the bedding back to closet. They took away the teapots from yesterday then prepared the table again for breakfast. We had the traditional Japanese breakfast and again, very delicious and truly nice meal.

ryokan tanabe breakfast — The traditional breakfast, love the fish and toasted miso, delish! (っ˘ڡ˘ς)

It is check out day today and we decided to use the luggage lockers next to the train station. We would be heading to Shirakawa-go today and try out another ryokan tonight. Oh, also at check out, the reception lady gave us pairs of chopsticks as souvenir – how nice 🙂

We definitely had a great stay here and would love to come back again. Needless to say, the hospitality was outstanding and the meal was all super delicious. The ryokan is fairly small in size, but you have everything you would need in here. We can’t recommend Ryokan Tanabe enough and please book the full board package when staying here 🙂

Ryokan Tanabe

58 Aioimachi, Takayama, Gifu Prefecture 506-0014, Japan

Phone: (+81) 577-32-0529