My honeymoon trip report (1st TR!): LAX>NRT>ICN>NRT>HNL>OGG>HNL>LAX
Oct 17, 2013, 12:42 am
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My honeymoon trip report (1st TR!): LAX>NRT>ICN>NRT>HNL>OGG>HNL>LAX
Introduction - I have been lurking on FT for a while thought it was time to add some real content. I’m rather proud of this trip as it was my first utilizing the knowledge I found on FT and many of the other travel blogs out on the net. It’s about two years old but better late than never. What began as a simple award travel search for my honeymoon turned into a two-month obsession.
My wife and I both have been accruing AA miles for the last decade traveling for work and leisure and figured this was a reason good as any to finally use them (I also began to worry about devaluation). We were initially planning a simple trip to Korea and back, but a few pages of FT threads and airline points blogs and I was hooked on maximizing their value. I wanted to create an EPIC honeymoon for my wife. I probably called the AA awards desk 20 times trying to get flight availability, most of this around 1-2 AM PST. The more I researched the more I figured out ways to find partner award availability online for JAL, CX, and HA. At the time I did not fully understand (nor want to pay for) the “advanced” travel tools like EF and did most of the searching manually and piecing the itinerary together via large excel sheets.
Airlines - JL (J) and (Y) and HA (Y) using AAdvantage miles, and Go Mokulele
Hotels - Park Hyatt Seoul, Hyatt Regency Tokyo, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa, Hyatt Place Waikiki
Trip report contents:
1. Introduction
2. JL LAX>NRT Flight Review (J)
3. JL LAX>NRT Food (J)
4. NRT JL Sakura Lounge and NRT>ICN Short Haul (J)
5. Seoul – Park Hyatt – Park Suite Review
6. Tokyo – Hyatt Regency – Club Floor and Regency Lounge
7. Tokyo – Park Hyatt Tokyo – Park Suite
8. Tokyo – Maru Restaurant
9. Hawaii – Maui/Oahu – Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Hyatt Place Waikiki
My wife and I both have been accruing AA miles for the last decade traveling for work and leisure and figured this was a reason good as any to finally use them (I also began to worry about devaluation). We were initially planning a simple trip to Korea and back, but a few pages of FT threads and airline points blogs and I was hooked on maximizing their value. I wanted to create an EPIC honeymoon for my wife. I probably called the AA awards desk 20 times trying to get flight availability, most of this around 1-2 AM PST. The more I researched the more I figured out ways to find partner award availability online for JAL, CX, and HA. At the time I did not fully understand (nor want to pay for) the “advanced” travel tools like EF and did most of the searching manually and piecing the itinerary together via large excel sheets.
Airlines - JL (J) and (Y) and HA (Y) using AAdvantage miles, and Go Mokulele
Hotels - Park Hyatt Seoul, Hyatt Regency Tokyo, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa, Hyatt Place Waikiki
Trip report contents:
1. Introduction
2. JL LAX>NRT Flight Review (J)
3. JL LAX>NRT Food (J)
4. NRT JL Sakura Lounge and NRT>ICN Short Haul (J)
5. Seoul – Park Hyatt – Park Suite Review
6. Tokyo – Hyatt Regency – Club Floor and Regency Lounge
7. Tokyo – Park Hyatt Tokyo – Park Suite
8. Tokyo – Maru Restaurant
9. Hawaii – Maui/Oahu – Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Hyatt Place Waikiki
Last edited by lagunas2k; Oct 17, 2013 at 1:59 am
Oct 17, 2013, 12:42 am
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Part 2. JL LAX>NRT Flight Review (J)
We started the journey at LAX TBIT. The One World lounge was actually quite decent. It was much better than I was expecting. A decent variety of food and beverage options, decent décor, and wasn’t over crowded.
We boarded the flight and got settled into our bulkhead J seats. I debated with myself quite a bit on which seats I wanted. The bulkhead seats weren’t as nice to “look at” as they didn’t have the same built in’s as the seat backs in J have, but the extra leg room was very nice and made it much more comfortable to get in and out of the seat. I did not regret this seating choice.
After we took off we got to chatting with the head purser and in conversation stated that we were on our honeymoon. To this day, I have not received better service in a J class cabin than that flight on JAL to NRT. I flew SQ J last year on the A380 to NRT and it was fantastic but still did not trump the truly “personal” level of attentiveness we received that flight (SQ was a bit robotic as some on here have also noted). About 15 minutes after our conversation with the purser our cabin attendant comes out with a “gift” from the crew. Two glasses of champagne, strawberries, and a box of truffles from the F cabin. Could it be? One taste and I knew: It was Dom 2002. Sadly we didn’t get refills, but what a way to kick off our honeymoon. This was my wife’s first time in Int’l J, so she was truly soaking it all in.
In about 10 minute intervals after that we had 4 different pairs of FA’s come by and warmly congratulate us on our marriage. It was quite interesting, as after about the 2nd pair, we were starting to get random stares from the rest of the J passengers. Were we K-pop stars? Some random Asian celebrities they had no idea existed? No idea what they thought, but that’s what their looks stated as they glared. It was pretty amusing.
We started the journey at LAX TBIT. The One World lounge was actually quite decent. It was much better than I was expecting. A decent variety of food and beverage options, decent décor, and wasn’t over crowded.
We boarded the flight and got settled into our bulkhead J seats. I debated with myself quite a bit on which seats I wanted. The bulkhead seats weren’t as nice to “look at” as they didn’t have the same built in’s as the seat backs in J have, but the extra leg room was very nice and made it much more comfortable to get in and out of the seat. I did not regret this seating choice.
After we took off we got to chatting with the head purser and in conversation stated that we were on our honeymoon. To this day, I have not received better service in a J class cabin than that flight on JAL to NRT. I flew SQ J last year on the A380 to NRT and it was fantastic but still did not trump the truly “personal” level of attentiveness we received that flight (SQ was a bit robotic as some on here have also noted). About 15 minutes after our conversation with the purser our cabin attendant comes out with a “gift” from the crew. Two glasses of champagne, strawberries, and a box of truffles from the F cabin. Could it be? One taste and I knew: It was Dom 2002. Sadly we didn’t get refills, but what a way to kick off our honeymoon. This was my wife’s first time in Int’l J, so she was truly soaking it all in.
In about 10 minute intervals after that we had 4 different pairs of FA’s come by and warmly congratulate us on our marriage. It was quite interesting, as after about the 2nd pair, we were starting to get random stares from the rest of the J passengers. Were we K-pop stars? Some random Asian celebrities they had no idea existed? No idea what they thought, but that’s what their looks stated as they glared. It was pretty amusing.
Last edited by lagunas2k; Oct 17, 2013 at 1:21 am
Oct 17, 2013, 12:43 am
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Part 3. JL LAX>NRT Food (J)
I truly believe I ate every 2-3 hours on that flight. I was excited to be on the trip and with tons of unwatched movies on AVOD, I was not going to sleep. Every hour or so the FA would check on us to see if I was interested in trying something else, as the list was quite extensive I indulged!
The inflight bar was also a nice place to stretch the legs and have a drink
Upon arriving in NRT we were presented with a wonderful handwritten note from the Captain and crew with a small gift bag of mini bottles of whisky and chopstick holders. It was truly a memorable touch that felt very real and personal, something that has yet to be replicated for me, even on SQ J.
I truly believe I ate every 2-3 hours on that flight. I was excited to be on the trip and with tons of unwatched movies on AVOD, I was not going to sleep. Every hour or so the FA would check on us to see if I was interested in trying something else, as the list was quite extensive I indulged!
The inflight bar was also a nice place to stretch the legs and have a drink
Upon arriving in NRT we were presented with a wonderful handwritten note from the Captain and crew with a small gift bag of mini bottles of whisky and chopstick holders. It was truly a memorable touch that felt very real and personal, something that has yet to be replicated for me, even on SQ J.
Last edited by lagunas2k; Oct 17, 2013 at 1:10 am
Oct 17, 2013, 12:43 am
#4
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Part 4. NRT JL Sakura Lounge and NRT>ICN Short Haul (J)
We had a three-hour layover in NRT before our flight to ICN so we utilized the JAL Sakura lounge. I’ve never used the Sakura lounge, as this was my first time flying JAL. It was much nicer than the Admiral’s club at NRT (which is still quite decent btw). Sadly no free massage times were available. I haven’t flown too many int’l flights with long layovers so I’ve never utilized showers at the airport before, but since we were at the lounge, and just got off a 12-hour flight, why not. The showers at the Sakura lounge were incredibly clean and spa-like. Luckily they had two showers available.
Plane watching from the lounge was quite nice. Before we knew it, our flight was ready to board.
The flight to ICN was much shorter. The Short haul J/F cabin wasn't as nice, but it was still quite comfortable. The sushi meal was also decent.
We had a three-hour layover in NRT before our flight to ICN so we utilized the JAL Sakura lounge. I’ve never used the Sakura lounge, as this was my first time flying JAL. It was much nicer than the Admiral’s club at NRT (which is still quite decent btw). Sadly no free massage times were available. I haven’t flown too many int’l flights with long layovers so I’ve never utilized showers at the airport before, but since we were at the lounge, and just got off a 12-hour flight, why not. The showers at the Sakura lounge were incredibly clean and spa-like. Luckily they had two showers available.
Plane watching from the lounge was quite nice. Before we knew it, our flight was ready to board.
The flight to ICN was much shorter. The Short haul J/F cabin wasn't as nice, but it was still quite comfortable. The sushi meal was also decent.
Last edited by lagunas2k; Oct 17, 2013 at 1:20 am
Oct 17, 2013, 12:44 am
#5
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Part 5. Seoul – Park Hyatt – Park Suite Review
Upon arrival to ICN we took a limo bus to the COEX area where the bus dropped us off in front of the Park Hyatt Seoul. Part of my research led me to the Hyatt Diamond challenge thread. I had already been Hilton Gold so prior to my trip I signed up for the Diamond challenge, which gave me temporary Diamond status and the 4 diamond suite upgrades. As we arrived at the Hyatt we were promptly greeted and escorted to the lobby. I used the first of my diamond suite upgrades at this property. After a quick check in process we were escorted to our Park Suite with our luggage arriving minutes thereafter.
Everything was impeccable. The PH Seoul remains one of my ATF hotels. It has more modern flair than other PH’s like the PH Tokyo, but still retains the warmth with their usage of wood and warmer tones.
The diamond amenity was just awesome being that I had recently become addicted to Sumo oranges (Halla-bong in Korea or Dekopon in Japan) back in the states.
The shower is fantastic. Thus far it is my favorite hotel shower I have had the pleasure of using.
Our stay at the PH Seoul went off without a hitch. Breakfast at the Cornerstone restaurant was also very delicious. The location is extremely convenient as the subway stop is steps in front of the hotel. The suite truly felt like a home away from home. After wandering the streets of Seoul it was quite relaxing to come back to the PH Suite’s oasis.
Upon arrival to ICN we took a limo bus to the COEX area where the bus dropped us off in front of the Park Hyatt Seoul. Part of my research led me to the Hyatt Diamond challenge thread. I had already been Hilton Gold so prior to my trip I signed up for the Diamond challenge, which gave me temporary Diamond status and the 4 diamond suite upgrades. As we arrived at the Hyatt we were promptly greeted and escorted to the lobby. I used the first of my diamond suite upgrades at this property. After a quick check in process we were escorted to our Park Suite with our luggage arriving minutes thereafter.
Everything was impeccable. The PH Seoul remains one of my ATF hotels. It has more modern flair than other PH’s like the PH Tokyo, but still retains the warmth with their usage of wood and warmer tones.
The diamond amenity was just awesome being that I had recently become addicted to Sumo oranges (Halla-bong in Korea or Dekopon in Japan) back in the states.
The shower is fantastic. Thus far it is my favorite hotel shower I have had the pleasure of using.
Our stay at the PH Seoul went off without a hitch. Breakfast at the Cornerstone restaurant was also very delicious. The location is extremely convenient as the subway stop is steps in front of the hotel. The suite truly felt like a home away from home. After wandering the streets of Seoul it was quite relaxing to come back to the PH Suite’s oasis.
Last edited by lagunas2k; Oct 17, 2013 at 1:24 am
Oct 17, 2013, 12:44 am
#6
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Part 6. Tokyo – Hyatt Regency – Club Floor and Regency Lounge
Before we knew it we were on to our next destination. Back to Tokyo! Since our original flight was LAX to ICN via NRT, in order to minimize out of pocket expenses and maximize our mileage we booked a one-way award ticket from ICN to NRT (Asia 1 to Asia 1 for 10k miles).
Sadly the rest of our trip was in Y so I didn’t bother taking pictures. After landing at NRT we took the Narita Express to Shinjuku station where we cabbed it over to the Hyatt Regency Tokyo.
The hotel overall is a little bit dated (for normal rooms), but being Diamond we got an upgrade to the club floor rooms which were quite nice.
The Regency club here is actually quite nice, with views of Mt. Fuji (if it’s clear) and a very nice selection of canapés in the evening. The concierge was also helpful in finding places to eat within walking distance.
Before we knew it we were on to our next destination. Back to Tokyo! Since our original flight was LAX to ICN via NRT, in order to minimize out of pocket expenses and maximize our mileage we booked a one-way award ticket from ICN to NRT (Asia 1 to Asia 1 for 10k miles).
Sadly the rest of our trip was in Y so I didn’t bother taking pictures. After landing at NRT we took the Narita Express to Shinjuku station where we cabbed it over to the Hyatt Regency Tokyo.
The hotel overall is a little bit dated (for normal rooms), but being Diamond we got an upgrade to the club floor rooms which were quite nice.
The Regency club here is actually quite nice, with views of Mt. Fuji (if it’s clear) and a very nice selection of canapés in the evening. The concierge was also helpful in finding places to eat within walking distance.
Last edited by lagunas2k; Oct 17, 2013 at 1:28 am
Oct 17, 2013, 12:45 am
#7
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Part 7. Tokyo – Park Hyatt Tokyo – Park Suite
After a few days at the Hyatt Regency we moved over to the infamous Park Hyatt Tokyo where I utilized the 2nd diamond suite upgrade. The PHT was kind enough to send over a car to help us move over from the HRT. While it is about a $5 cab fare, it was still a very nice gesture to send over their 745li. It was quite posh.
Upon arrival we were greeted by name and promptly escorted directly to the room for in suite check in. We entered the suite to be greeted by a chilled bottle of Louis Roederer Brut (not quite Dom, but still quite nice), the diamond amenity, and a small bouquet of flowers for my wife. All were very nice personal touches. I’m sure it was a combination of being “diamond” and “on our honeymoon” but YMMV of course.
The room is much nicer in person than they appear in photos. The minimalist décor and understated elegance really shines. This is no Grand Hyatt. The Grand Hyatt Tokyo seemed opulent and fancy, but the PHT exudes class. The suite was also incredibly large.
The service at the PHT is impeccable. IMPECCABLE. Yes it deserved to be repeated. I swear the staff were ninja-like. We never ONCE saw staff or housekeeping in the hallways etc. I believe there are side doors and hallways adjacent to the main hallway, which allows access to the rooms. We had gone for a very short swim, maybe 45 minutes and came back to the room to find it had already been cleaned with no staff in sight again.
There was one gentleman that was spraying each of the plant leaves in the atrium down with water and meticulously wiping down any dust from the leaves. This level of attention to detail was prevalent throughout the hotel.
Breakfast at the restaurant was quite nice, but I absolutely recommend in room breakfast. We had the breakfast delivered one of the mornings just as the sun was rising, and had wonderful views of Mt. Fuji. The croissant was undeniably one of the best I’ve ever eaten. Of all places, in Tokyo!
We spent our last night in Tokyo at the famous NY Bar listening to some jazz and sipping on Dom 2002.
Our last day in Tokyo was spent enjoying afternoon tea just before heading to the airport. The view of the park was nice from the atrium lounge.
Goodbye PHT!
After a few days at the Hyatt Regency we moved over to the infamous Park Hyatt Tokyo where I utilized the 2nd diamond suite upgrade. The PHT was kind enough to send over a car to help us move over from the HRT. While it is about a $5 cab fare, it was still a very nice gesture to send over their 745li. It was quite posh.
Upon arrival we were greeted by name and promptly escorted directly to the room for in suite check in. We entered the suite to be greeted by a chilled bottle of Louis Roederer Brut (not quite Dom, but still quite nice), the diamond amenity, and a small bouquet of flowers for my wife. All were very nice personal touches. I’m sure it was a combination of being “diamond” and “on our honeymoon” but YMMV of course.
The room is much nicer in person than they appear in photos. The minimalist décor and understated elegance really shines. This is no Grand Hyatt. The Grand Hyatt Tokyo seemed opulent and fancy, but the PHT exudes class. The suite was also incredibly large.
The service at the PHT is impeccable. IMPECCABLE. Yes it deserved to be repeated. I swear the staff were ninja-like. We never ONCE saw staff or housekeeping in the hallways etc. I believe there are side doors and hallways adjacent to the main hallway, which allows access to the rooms. We had gone for a very short swim, maybe 45 minutes and came back to the room to find it had already been cleaned with no staff in sight again.
There was one gentleman that was spraying each of the plant leaves in the atrium down with water and meticulously wiping down any dust from the leaves. This level of attention to detail was prevalent throughout the hotel.
Breakfast at the restaurant was quite nice, but I absolutely recommend in room breakfast. We had the breakfast delivered one of the mornings just as the sun was rising, and had wonderful views of Mt. Fuji. The croissant was undeniably one of the best I’ve ever eaten. Of all places, in Tokyo!
We spent our last night in Tokyo at the famous NY Bar listening to some jazz and sipping on Dom 2002.
Our last day in Tokyo was spent enjoying afternoon tea just before heading to the airport. The view of the park was nice from the atrium lounge.
Goodbye PHT!
Last edited by lagunas2k; Oct 17, 2013 at 1:48 am
Oct 17, 2013, 12:45 am
#8
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Part 8. Tokyo – Maru Restaurant
Food in Tokyo - The concierge was extremely helpful in finding us interesting places for us to eat. Ryugin the 3 star Michelin restaurant I wanted to try was of course booked, but after trying to get us a reservation, apologetically offered a few interesting options. We went with a “modern kaiseki” restaurant called Maru in Aoyama. I highly recommend it. We had a wonderful dining experience there and the prices were quite reasonable. Here are a few highlights of the dinner
I could go on and on about the sushi in Tokyo, but long story short, sushi in Japan is just awesome. Sushi at the Tsukiji fish market isn’t just awesome, but it’s awesome and reasonably priced! If you haven’t gone, you must.
Food in Tokyo - The concierge was extremely helpful in finding us interesting places for us to eat. Ryugin the 3 star Michelin restaurant I wanted to try was of course booked, but after trying to get us a reservation, apologetically offered a few interesting options. We went with a “modern kaiseki” restaurant called Maru in Aoyama. I highly recommend it. We had a wonderful dining experience there and the prices were quite reasonable. Here are a few highlights of the dinner
I could go on and on about the sushi in Tokyo, but long story short, sushi in Japan is just awesome. Sushi at the Tsukiji fish market isn’t just awesome, but it’s awesome and reasonably priced! If you haven’t gone, you must.
Last edited by lagunas2k; Oct 17, 2013 at 1:40 am
Oct 17, 2013, 12:46 am
#9
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Part 9. Hawaii – Maui/Oahu – Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Hyatt Place Waikiki
Our time in Japan eventually came to an end and it was time to head to our next destination: Maui! Since our “main” ticket was NRT>LAX by way of HNL (North American Gateway city free stop over), we purchased a cheap round trip Go Mokulele flight from HNL to OGG. After arriving in HNL we had a short one-hour layover to our flight to OGG. The one very annoying thing about the airport is that the smaller interisland flights are in a terminal quite detached from the main terminal. With our luggage in tow I was directed to simply walk over (there was a shuttle we found out later), but it was a decent hike over there.
We arrived in Maui and headed over to the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa where I used yet again, another diamond suite upgrade to get a suite. The suite was decent, not incredibly large, definitely more of a junior suite, but nice nonetheless.
We were greeted by another bucket of champagne and treats congratulating us on our wedding! The lounge was also very nice, and had a decent breakfast spread every morning.
One side “flight” splurge was the island helicopter tour. I was really on the fence about this one. Helicopters are statistically unsafe and the cost wasn’t cheap by any means, but we were here on our honeymoon… It turned out to be a wonderful experience and pictures just don’t do it any justice.
Alas after a few more days of R&R, it was almost time to head home, but not without a short stay on Oahu before heading back to the mainland. But first, who was the “celebrity” on our flight back from Maui?? The one, the only, “I can’t believe it’s not butter” Fabio!
Oahu is a special place for us as we got engaged there, so it just wouldn’t have been right if we didn’t spend any time there. I decided against staying at the Hyatt Regency based on the many reviews I read, and decided on the newly renovated Hyatt Place a block away. It was half the cost, very clean, and had a decent partial view of the ocean from the upper floor room I received. Unfortunately there was no option for diamond suite upgrades here. 3 out of 4 isn’t so bad though. It was definitely a good value and alternative to the higher end resort properties.
I end this trip report with a picture of one of my favorite spots on Oahu: Hanauma Bay.
I hope you enjoyed the read as much as I enjoyed writing and remembering the trip. It was a trip of a lifetime for my wife and I. Definitely not as “exotic” as many of you on FT, but it was a wonderful experience which got us hooked on card churning and the start of mileage running.
LAX>ORD>PVG>HKG>PVG>ORD>LAX here we come!
Our time in Japan eventually came to an end and it was time to head to our next destination: Maui! Since our “main” ticket was NRT>LAX by way of HNL (North American Gateway city free stop over), we purchased a cheap round trip Go Mokulele flight from HNL to OGG. After arriving in HNL we had a short one-hour layover to our flight to OGG. The one very annoying thing about the airport is that the smaller interisland flights are in a terminal quite detached from the main terminal. With our luggage in tow I was directed to simply walk over (there was a shuttle we found out later), but it was a decent hike over there.
We arrived in Maui and headed over to the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa where I used yet again, another diamond suite upgrade to get a suite. The suite was decent, not incredibly large, definitely more of a junior suite, but nice nonetheless.
We were greeted by another bucket of champagne and treats congratulating us on our wedding! The lounge was also very nice, and had a decent breakfast spread every morning.
One side “flight” splurge was the island helicopter tour. I was really on the fence about this one. Helicopters are statistically unsafe and the cost wasn’t cheap by any means, but we were here on our honeymoon… It turned out to be a wonderful experience and pictures just don’t do it any justice.
Alas after a few more days of R&R, it was almost time to head home, but not without a short stay on Oahu before heading back to the mainland. But first, who was the “celebrity” on our flight back from Maui?? The one, the only, “I can’t believe it’s not butter” Fabio!
Oahu is a special place for us as we got engaged there, so it just wouldn’t have been right if we didn’t spend any time there. I decided against staying at the Hyatt Regency based on the many reviews I read, and decided on the newly renovated Hyatt Place a block away. It was half the cost, very clean, and had a decent partial view of the ocean from the upper floor room I received. Unfortunately there was no option for diamond suite upgrades here. 3 out of 4 isn’t so bad though. It was definitely a good value and alternative to the higher end resort properties.
I end this trip report with a picture of one of my favorite spots on Oahu: Hanauma Bay.
I hope you enjoyed the read as much as I enjoyed writing and remembering the trip. It was a trip of a lifetime for my wife and I. Definitely not as “exotic” as many of you on FT, but it was a wonderful experience which got us hooked on card churning and the start of mileage running.
LAX>ORD>PVG>HKG>PVG>ORD>LAX here we come!
Last edited by lagunas2k; Oct 17, 2013 at 1:44 am
Oct 17, 2013, 5:02 am
#10
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Thank you for taking the time to write and post pics of your honeymoon, albeit 2 years ago, still it was lovely to read, and the hotel rooms certainly looked amazing. ^
Oct 17, 2013, 10:44 am
#11
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Thanks! I'll be amassing an incredible (to me) amount of miles over the next two years, so I can't wait to figure out how to use them! The other trip reports on here give me so much inspiration.
Oct 17, 2013, 1:05 pm
#12
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 1,782
Everyone talks about the PH Tokyo and I've seen a few people mention that the location is not ideal. Could you comment on that?
Also, how long was the trip and how did you break up the days?
Thanks for taking the time to do the TR. Your pics were terrific.
Also, how long was the trip and how did you break up the days?
Thanks for taking the time to do the TR. Your pics were terrific.
Oct 17, 2013, 2:18 pm
#13
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It really depends on what you plan to do. If you are going to be out and about exploring the city any how I don't think it really matters. The PHT is only a 5 min cab from Shinjuku station. We did not find it to be a detriment at all. It is in a financial district so there just isn't a lot to see or do directly around the hotel. One day we walked to the Meiji Shrine and it was probably about 15 minutes. Given the level of service at the Park Hyatt, I would go back in a heart beat. Any minor inconvenience based on it's location is outweighed by the service you receive. Everything about our stay there was perfect.
The entire trip was 2 weeks long. Split evenly between the 3 destinations. We only spent one night in Oahu though.
Oct 17, 2013, 2:38 pm
#15
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It is raw sea urchin, otherwise known as Uni (pronounced oo-nee) in Japanese. Incredibly smooth, velvety, with an ever so slight hint of brininess. It has a very subtle flavor and texture. It is known to many as the foie gras of the sea. If you are a sushi fan or just want to try something knew, it is one of my favorite things to eat of all time. That particular uni was from the Tsukiji fish market and was possibly the absolute best uni I have ever eaten in my life. It also didn't hurt that each of those pieces had more uni than 5 or 6 "normal" sushi pieces of uni you would receive at most restaurants.