Why Japan?
In the fall of 2013, my husband and I decided to take our then four year old on a big trip before he started kindergarten in the fall of 2014. We decided on Japan as our destination based on 3 simple factors: we both love traveling to Asia (and our son had never been); we were planning on traveling in the spring of 2014, so it was possible we would be in Japan during prime cherry blossoms season; our miles and points made it possible to have an amazing vacation at very little expense to us.
Preparing for a Round-The-World trip
Flights
Early on, my husband hatched the idea of taking a Round-The-World (R-T-W) trip. A R-T-W ticket allows travelers to travel around the world at a relatively low price. Airlines actually offer this product with set itineraries that you can customize based on your interests. My husband wanted to create our own RTW ticket, however, so he looked at a number of options based on available flights and our miles and priced out the following itinerary:
Outgoing: Dulles –> Munich –> Seoul –> Osaka
Returning: Tokyo –> Newark –> National Airport
We were incredibly fortunate to have sufficient miles to travel in business class (360,000 total) and for only $242.10 out of pocket! Without miles, the airline tickets would have cost $19,299.60 in economy or $45,298.60 in business class. In other words, there is no way we could have afforded this trip without some serious examining of the award structure and creative use of airline miles. Luckily, we are aggressive planners when it comes to maximizing our credit card miles and points balances, so we had sufficient Chase Ultimate Rewards points to transfer the necessary miles to our United account at a 1:1 ratio.
The nature of our itinerary required us to book through the reservations hotline, because we wanted to fit in a 24-hour stop over in Munich and also wanted an open jaw (where we fly into one destination and return from another), flying into Osaka, but departing Japan via Tokyo. In 2016, United changed the rules regarding award flights and no longer allows stopovers in different award zones. If we were booking our flight today, we would not be able to have an overnight in Europe, but presumably, would be able to schedule one in Seoul.
Accommodations:
Having secured our flights, we next had to decide how many days we wanted to spend in various locations. We knew that we had only one night in Munich, but there were approximately eight days we needed to divide up in Japan. We decided to spend one night in Osaka, which we read is more of a business district than a true tourist destination, two nights in Kyoto, and the balance of our nights in Tokyo.
As a Starwood Preferred Guest gold member, I always check Starwood hotels first, as we earn extra points on our spend, which we use to offset the cost of future stays. For our one night in Munich, I decided to book near the airport so that we would have plenty of time to have breakfast and then head over to the airport. I called the main Starwood reservations hotline and was informed that for 8,500 Starpoints or 149.68 EURO ($175.44 USD), I could have a king bed, high floor room at the Sheraton Munich Airport. Although the hotel no longer appears to be operating as a Sheraton, this review of the Sheraton Munich Hotel is an accurate and thorough description of the property at the time of our stay in March 2014.
For our one night in Osaka, I called the Osaka Westin, where I booked a double room for 16,200 Yen. Unfortunately, I failed to specify (or they did not ask?) that there would be two adults staying in the room and when checking in, we were informed there would be a slight charge for the additional adult (no extra charge for the under-5 year old). At that point, I was so tired from traveling and ready to drop my bags that I did not bother to investigate this charge any further and just paid the ~$30 USD so that we could complete the check in process and get settled into our room.
From Osaka, we were planning on spending two nights in Kyoto, so I called the Westin Miyako Kyoto and was told that a standard room was 12,000 SPG points per night, but we could upgrade to a Japanese style room for an additional 4,000 SPG points per night. I happily booked the upgraded room at 16,000 SPG points per night – this option was not available via the spg.com website, so if the option you are interested in online is not there, definitely call. As of the writing on this post, one night in a Japanese style room costs 22,572 Yen ($205.55 USD).
Finally, I looked into options in Tokyo, where we would be spending four nights, but was unable to locate any options for more than single accommodations. My husband ended up transferring Chase ultimate rewards points into his Hyatt account and booking us a suite at the Hyatt Regency in Tokyo to finish up our trip.
Getting Around:
We had every intention of relying on the amazing train and subway system in Japan to get around, and we had no plans for getting around in Munich, originally, other than taking a cab into the main shopping/dining area from our hotel. Just three days prior to departure, I started looking further into getting around in Munich and realized that it was ~61 USD each way to take a cab from the hotel to downtown area. A quick peek at the Avis website later, I secured a car rental for $75 USD for the 24 hours we were planning on spending in Munich, plus an additional $11 for a booster seat for my son. I was initially very concerned, reading the reviews online, that the car company would try to charge us for every dent or scratch, including prior existing ones. For protection, I booked the rental car on our Chase Sapphire Preferred card, which offers primary collision coverage and also took 1,001 photos of the car upon arrival. Luckily, the check out and check in process was seamless, and we had no problems (including the rental booster), so I was thrilled that we had the flexibility of having our own vehicle, while saving some money in the process.
Language & Currency:
I had never been to Munich before, but my husband reassured me we would not have any trouble communicating during our 24 hour layover. This proved correct – everyone from the rental car company, the hotel concierge, the restaurant host/esses ALL spoke English.
We clearly failed to prepare for the language barrier in Japan, however, as we experienced numerous “Lost in Translation” moments during our time in Japan. We encountered extreme difficulty in getting around Japan – from our cab driver at the Osaka airport who did not understand what we meant by “Westin Hotel” to having to rely on kind strangers to help us purchase tickets at the rail – we definitely did not adequately prepare. I would not recommend traveling blind with children, like we did, as having a child with you when you have no idea what you’re doing or where you are going in a foreign country is troubling, to say the least. If you do not have friends/family to help you get around in Japan, I strongly encourage you to engage a local tour guide. Tours by Locals is highly recommended by friends who have used this in other parts of Asia, but I have no first-hand experience.
Regarding currency, I never worry about obtaining local currency in advance of a foreign trip (although that may change after our Zimbabwe experience!) and had no problems getting cash out of the ATM at the airport or anywhere else around town. Our Chase Sapphire Preferred card also offers no foreign transaction fee, as does our Starwood Preferred Guest American Card. I charge everything that I can on those cards when we travel, reserving my cash for only places where credit card is not accepted or cash just makes sense.
Continue to Part II – Packing and Getting to Japan