Taking a break from diving Philippines in late Feb to go winter birding in Hokkaido. Right now I have the option of one more day in Kushiro (five nights total then I think) or spending the extra two nights in Tokyo with one full day in Toyko. The flight back to MNL would be at 9:30 ish from Haneda. Yes, I know it will be cold.
We would be arriving on a Thursday and leaving on Saturday morning. I have been to Toyko a couple of times, mostly on the way somewhere else.

What would be your suggestions for our day in Tokyo? I'm looking for among other things easy access to and from Haneda. Mostly I like wandering around. I was thinking about Shinjuku but discovered it was farther from Haneda than I had thought. NB. I'm 79 female and I do tire easily. OTOH, I have navigated Tokyo trains and train travel through Japan fairly easily.

Hi,

From Shinjuku there are also frequent Airport Limousine buses ( c 50 seaters) .About 1 hour to Haneda airport and they run frequently
Shinjuku gyoen is a beautiful garden but is very large.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Govt buildings have 2 good observation decks ( free) and it is beside a nice small city park. About 10-15 mins walk from Shinjuku station
There is also Ueno park with a few museums and shrines
Where are you planning on staying ?( for a 9:30 am flight it might be worth staying at one of the airport ( T3 hotels ) or close to a monorail stop ( a taxi would be about 20-30mins from Shinagawa or Tokyo station)
Regards

TBS

Perhaps Asakusa if you go early to avoid crowds and then over to Ueno for the Park or Market to the excellent snack shop Niki no Kashi for snacks to bring home. Or you could go to Sky Tree and there's a branch of the snack shop there, too. If you like kitchen goods then Kappabashi district in Asakusa is fun to window shop. If the weather doesn't look good then possibly check out Azabudai Hills for the architecture & a bit of the posh vibes. You might want to check out the TeamLabs exhibit there (advance reservations highly advised). I'd finally go over to Mont Thabor bakery in Azabu Juban for the milk bread.

There's other wander-able neighborhoods though there's a bit of a running joke these days that you need to spend 1,000 yen in Tokyo to find a seat when you get tired. I totally felt that in Shibuya my last trip where a usual trick of finding a department store's upper floor rest area yielded absolutely no seating.

Personally, I might actually spend the extra night in Kushiro if I could get in more winter sushi or if I had enough time, stay at Yoroushi again where they have Blakiston fish owls https://yoroushi.jp/en/ (I'm not a birder though a friend is) I got the sense that other birders were staying there to get a lifer (we did see one).

Thanks. Can you tell me more about Yoroushi. I looked at it on the web and it looks really interesting.

Since, after a few repeat visits, there still isn’t a part of Tokyo that truly draws you I don’t see any point in recommending it. I see Tokyo as a fractured city with each of the segments embodying a distinct personality and an echo of the whole. I say this as someone extremely susceptible to its many sirens’ songs.

My suggestion is that you stay near one of the two main Kawasaki City stations (the Keikyu one is more convenient for Haneda) so you have plenty to do in the evenings and go spend your full day in Kamakura which is 30 minutes away. If you want a more metropolitan experience, then go to Minatomirai Station (20-25 mins away) and enjoy the Yokohama waterfront instead (with the option of a short local bus journey to Sankeien)

Yuyado Daichi in Yoroushi Onsen is ryokan in a remote area with not much else to do which is part of the appeal for me. I stayed in an "New building" river facing room which is newer than the main building (there's also an annex). The new building used to have its own smaller less used outdoor baths but looks like they may have been converted to maisonette guest rooms with private baths? All the communal baths were nice and I believe they're source fed. The outdoor baths by the river are probably the most known after the larger mixed gender bath which isn't common these days, especially in Hokkaido. They offer free optional cover-ups to women to use in the mixed bath. I remember the food being quite good. I imagine a winter visit would be gorgeous.

Recent video I found on YT. Turn on captions for English option.
If you're looking for a river side facing room as a solo, give this direct booking link a try for the New Building. I see a few nights in Feb still available which aren't appearing in the English booking page https://reserve.489ban.net/client/yo.../detail/960911 . Bookings for 2 or more people have more availability with more room options.

Thanks. I'm concerned about driving in February even though I live in Cleveland drive in snow all the time. I think we will see what the weather is and maybe we can get a room at the ryokan on short notice.

>> The flight back to MNL would be at 9:30 ish from Haneda

I think you mean AM, as in the 9:35 AM flight on ANA, HND-MNL Can't connect same-day from Kushiro to that flight. You do need one night in Tokyo to make the connection, as in the thread title, but sounds like you are planning two nights.

This is not my trip, but my plan would be different: one night in an airport hotel (Royal Park for me).

It's February and I would not be inspired to go into Tokyo and 'wander', especially if I tired easily. I would need a must-do (sumo, baseball, sakura, ..., in the spring) but IDK what that would be in February. I definitely would take the limo bus to Shinjuku for two nights if I had a good reason, though I would not be particularly happy about making it back to the airport for a morning international departure.

Spending the last day in Kushiro would give another day for a do-over, relaxing, wandering, finding an onsen. Might be the only good-weather day of the trip. Get to KUH and my winter coat, cap, etc. go into a foldup duffel and I don't open it again until I get home. Two minutes after checkout and I would be at T3. Would be my only trip to Kushiro and would want to take full advantage.

My second choice would be two nights at an airport hotel. Would be free of luggage for the daytrip into Tokyo (or Yokohama. Kamakura, even Hakone for an onsen soak). Wake up at the airport without dealing with any weather getting there.

MNL-TYO in economy is $175 to $250 roundtrip in May, assuming you can fit a seat with 28" to 30" seat pitch. At around 4.5 hours each way that could be a long weekend trip.

I second this, adjusting for weather. If the weather is nice and warmish (which is possible) Kamakura and Enoshima (both with plum blossoms blooming at temples) would be lovely. Wandering from Motomachi along the waterfront (with a detour to/through Chinatown) and then on to the skyline (Minatomirai), with dinner at a pub in Noge 野毛 (a pub and restaurant area behind Sakuragicho Station) and then hotel at Yokohama Station, and Keikyu to Haneda the next day would be easy. Sankeien park is lovely as well, and would have plum blossoms and daffodils blooming in February.

If the weather isn't great, then museums or something. If you like ramen, the Ramen Museum in Shin-Yokohama (a 20 min subway or train ride) could be fun. And Yokohama has lots of museums. Pick a few.

Hi, my P2 has a 24 hours layover in Tokyo this weekend:

CX Arriving HND 1345 Saturday
hotel in Shimbashi
CX Departing HND 1600 Sunday

Not sure about immigration queues at HND so booked the last slot at a standing sushi bar near hotel for 20:15
https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13256255/
If there's time try/rent gear at ASICS MaRUNouchi and do the 5km Koukyo (5km 25min)...carb loading should be the night before and not after the run...oh well...

Sunday booked the JAL sky museum/hangar tour for 0945-1140
https://www.jal.com/ja/kengaku/en/info/
I should have booked the 1045-1255 tour as P2 could then store their bags in HND, do the tour, retrieve bags and check in for the CX flight...
Stuck with the 0945-1140, if P2 were to store bags in Shimbashi hotel and retrieve it after the tour, they get back to Haneda just before 13H. Or they store the bag in Haneda anyway and find something to do there between the tour ending and CX check in opening. Neither is ideal whoops.

Looking for tips to improve my not so good planning...

Thank you!

Excellent choice. Perhaps the system has changed, but please be aware that previously you had to place your entire order at once here, and couldn't add extra pieces after the fact.