Thank you for reading!

I will end my procrastination streak and conclude the TR — even if that means coming to terms with vacation being over.

We had a great time on our trip but there were a few things I would do differently if we could. First, I would have avoided the Hyatt Regency in Tokyo. The price and how nice it was both were not worth going out of the way for. The APA was too small, but also worked for what we used it for. The Hyatt House in Kyoto was sensational for what we wanted, a big clean room next to a metro stop, and I highly recommend it.

As discussed above, I probably failed to leave up to the title in regards to the different approach. That being said, I think Tokyo is about exploring so I encourage everyone else to do the same. One disappointing thing was that it does seem most half decent places require reservations. While it can be constraining to book in advance, if you are interested in having good meals it does seem like you should get reservations before leaving on your trip.

Reflecting back on Air Canada, I think the product really impressed me, but when it comes time to book my annual soccer trip to Europe I think I will steer clear. What I enjoyed on the flight to Asia was the pace of the meal service, and it seems like that becomes the main detriment of taking them on a red eye to Europe. I continue to be impressed by United PE as a reasonably priced option to return home on. We both were able to work the next day with minimal jet lag and didn’t find the flight to be too bad.

I don’t have a ton of trips on my horizon for 2024 as we are saving for a honeymoon/wedding, but should be back in December-ish for my annual soccer trip. Cheers all!