Travel Thread

Yeah, it’s pretty full-on!

I’ve been to Tokyo previously, but never to Osaka and Kyoto. The sheer volume of people is pretty eye-opening, though a couple of previous trips to Hong Kong (which was equally mind-blowing initially) softened the impact somewhat.

One thing which amused me no end in Tokyo last time (given how orderly the Japanese generally are getting on/off trains). We were unfortunate enough to be caught on a Yamanote Loop train during peak hour. At one particular station the carriage had filled to (what I thought was) critical mass. I figured they couldn’t possibly fit anyone else on and would be best just closing the doors. But no…
The dozen or so passengers remaining on the platform suddenly turned their backs to the carriage doors, formed what I would call a “backwards rugby scrum” and forced their way into the carriage. Insane stuff!!! It was orderly chaos…

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We went on Wed/Thurs & it was packed. Weekends are worse, but there will still be stacks of people there, so it won’t really matter. Definitely organise your passes online & pay that little extra for the fast pass option.

Has only opened in recent years. Have never been there, but I have heard that it is good. Have taken my boy to Tokyo’s Legoland several times, but it is tiny & indoors. Nagoya’s new theme park style Legoland is worth checking out for your child’s enjoyment.

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Yeah, they seriously crush as many people as they can on the trains. The Yamanote Line trains arrive every 3 minutes, so I’ve never understood it. Just catch the next one. Lol.

Thx fck I drive everyday. :laughing: Did the trains for 5-6 years, but eventually bit the bullet & bought a car.

The Express Pass at USJ, added about $50+ to each ticket, and wouldn’t do much for younger kids rides. It was worth it for us though.

It was quite frankly the best family day out, my son must’ve thanked me 20-30 times. It DID help that he randomly got picked out to be part of the wand shop’s selection process in that he got to interact with some wizard guy and all manner of ‘magical’ things happened in the shop, before a wand ‘chose’ him. (Of course we then had to Puchase the wand) But his wheels were just spinning.

The rest of our trip has basically been eating, getting in trains and going to Lego stores.

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I took my son to USJ when he was 4 or 5, mainly we hung out in the little kids section for rides, but just walking around can provide younger kids with excitement. He loved the Minion parade at the time, the characters walking around, and the sites around Harry Potter.

USJ and Disneyland are different with combatting long lines. At USJ, save heaps by going in the single person line. You may not be seated next to your partner, but you can have a go in 5-10 minutes as opposed to 1-2 hours.

Disneyland has the time reservation thing. You sprint to your ride, get the ticket and it tells you what time you’ll be admitted to the ride, maybe in a couple of hours. Run and get more (there’s a limit iirc, then do walk around stuff till your time comes.

If I chose one for a young kid, Disney has more characters a little kid would know, but USJ is more fun for adults? It’s hard to pick.

Osaka’s aquarium is excellent. Actually my son’s first grade class went there yesterday for an excursion!

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Apparently they dropped all their prices recently cos not enough people were going. I’ve never been though.

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Fun fact: the guitarist, Jughead, from punk band Screeching Weasel was a wand shop wizard guy for a while when he lived here. I have other friends who’ve worked in the Harry Potter section in the past too!

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Bingo!

We went to USJ with our 8 year old in April this year and he loved it. Went on all the rides (The Flying Dinosaur tested him a bit) however I imagine with a 5 year old you will be a little restricted. The Harry Potter area is amazing and I am sure he/she will love that. If you get a wand (which I am sure you will), get one of the ones that you can use in the areas to cast the spells as it is great fun I am sure he/she will love that (my 8 year old did).

Pretty much all the tips as already mentioned. From memory Wednesday and Thursday are the quietest days by rule. Jump on a couple of websites to check out any additional tips. Make sure you get there a little bit early as we found it was a bit quieter early on. You might want to do the Harry Potter area first too before the big crowd numbers arrive (and you can always go back).

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Not sure if this is just a Japan thing, but if your traveling and have a rubbish global roaming plan (I think mine is $10pd for 200mb) get yourself a “Pocket WiFi” which is a little WiFi hotspot that you take everywhere with you.

Mostly hotels had them for free, or you could rent at the airport and return on departure.

Also, a big one for us traveling with kids was having Netflix on mobile device. Ordinarily I wouldn’t condone Thisbe sort of thing, but it’s helped break up the trip for them, and helped when the local tv or inflight entertainment isn’t in English. You can download a fair bit to your device as well.

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Excellent advice on both counts.

Pocket WiFi is the way to go.

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We went to Disney Tokyo a few years ago. Best advice we got was pre purchase tickets, get there early to get in near the front of the queue. Then grab a fast pass for a ride near the front of the park, then head straight for the back of the park. Managed to get on 3 rides in a row at the back with little lining up, while everyone was racing to get on the rides at the front.
Still had some long lines for the rest of the day but mixing them up with fast passes and single lines meant it worked out well. But crowds were huge and hearing winnie the pooh speaking Japanese was bizarre.

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At the airport:

@wimmera1

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The half-price model is a bit shonky.

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Have a great time @Deckham :slightly_smiling_face:

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Booooo. Paid full price for mine.
Also airport, before Port Douglas.

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There isn’t that much water in the whole Wimmera.

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Emirates Melbourne lounge >>>>> Qantas International lounge.

Windows with a view for a start.
Better food.
Better seating.

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As did my wife (at Tulla) found it a very difficult read.

Too many crime novels these days have the same basic premise. Yeah…I know it’s horrible, but not every book…

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