Scaredy Cat Travels

Tokyo – Haneda Airport, Odaiba

Land in Tokyo early afternoon, transfer to hotel – better known as the first hurdle 

Transportation: Monorail (insert Simpsons song here); trains, feet 

Hotel: The Conrad in the Shiodome area 

Plans: If all goes well, and that’s a big if, we’ll get to the hotel and be able to make our evening reservation at TeamLab Planets. The jetlagged, just off the plane, no sleep look should be perfect for our Instagram photos. If we can muster enough energy there are other things to do in the Odaiba area as well but the best part I think will be the views of the bay and the Rainbow Bridge at night.

If all else fails, we’ll return to The Conrad for a drink in their lovely bar on the 28th floor.

The other major plan for this day is becoming acquainted with the train and subway system. Since I don’t live in a city that uses mass transit, it always takes me a bit to remember how it all works.

Scaredy Cat rating: Two paws – this may be generous. It may really be a one. While I am anxious about successfully getting through the country’s entry process, exchanging money, figuring out transportation to our hotel and guiding the kids in the most foreign place I have ever visited for the first time, most of my anxiety translates more as excitement. I am confident we will figure it out eventually, and we don’t have a major deadline to meet so it should be fine. Right? Right?!? 

The $$$: We’re going to try for the Monorail/Train combo to hotel which should be cheap. If we fail and have to take a taxi, it should be expensive. The hotel for all three nights is $333 because of the deal outlined below, and I used my remaining hoarded AMEX points to cover the rest. TeamLab should have cost around $17 per person but because of my Klook mishap, it could cost as much as $25 depending on if we use the extra attraction pass.

Hotel #2 Extended

Finding a hotel in Tokyo was overwhelming. There are so many districts/cities (not sure the proper term), each with its own pros and cons, so I had to educate myself on Tokyo before I could even start considering hotels. At first, I thought we would want to stay in the Shinbuya or Shinjuku areas because this where much of the classic kawaii Tokyo culture is centered. Both kids are interested in manga, anime and hotels with giant Godzillas on the roof. But, in the end, because they were overwhelmed when we went to New York, I decided these areas might be too much for them to handle 24/7 because of the crowds. So I switched focus to Ginza, which also has lots of shops and restaurants but is more business-oriented and is conveniently located in between popular areas on the Yamanote train line which runs in a circle around Tokyo. 

I almost booked The Gate Hotel in Ginza. The décor is modern but not stark; it has a luxury lounge area for certain room levels but also a nice elevated bar with indoor and outdoor seating overlooking the district. The hotel rooms have terrible carpet but amazing views. 

BUT I didn’t. Just when I thought I had finally made my decision, I saw a special through American Express Platinum for The Conrad in the nearby Shiodome area. The Conrad is a very high-end hotel that I wouldn’t normally even have looked into but the Stay Two Nights Get One Free special made it less expensive than The Gate. I could also book it through my AMEX Platinum Preferred Hotel Program and get the perks associated with it like free breakfast for two; a $125 food & beverage credit during our stay; late check-out and a possible room upgrade (although this never happens for me). I am Hilton Gold too but I don’t think that will help. Maybe we’ll get free water and wifi. But the best part is it meant that I could pay for most of the stay with my remaining American Express points (the rest of them already spent on airfare).  

As nice as The Conrad looks, it is not what I was picturing for our stay in Tokyo so this is again a case of staying (in a great place, really not complaining) somewhere more based on value than what I’ve dreamt about for the past three+ years. I pictured something quirkier for our Tokyo leg. But in my search I seemed to find either expensive, business-oriented hotels or cheap hotels with tiny, dull rooms. There wasn’t much in between.

The Conrad will be wonderful (although it is a risk to start the kids out in the nicest place we’ll stay except for our one night in Gangnam at the end of the trip). It just doesn’t look as centrally-located as I hoped (like fall out of the front door and into a train station). Like many Tokyo hotels, The Conrad sits on top of a building so the lobby and restaurants are on the 28^th floor and rooms are above that. Because of this elevation and its location on the bay, there are amazing views from all around the hotel. The Corner Suite we have booked is large with the bedroom divided from the sitting area but, most important of all, it has a giant bathtub.