And the flight was worth every point and penny. The food was some of the best I’ve had in the sky; all of the seats had direct aisle access; and the service was attentive and friendly without being overbearing. In fact, when the flight attendants figured out it was our honeymoon, they made us a postcard to commemorate it.
Booking hotels in Japan
We started off our trip in Kyoto. I had been there a few years prior, but my husband hadn’t, and the city has been high on his must-visit list. From the rich history to the food and traditions, it really doesn’t get more quintessentially Japan than its cultural capital.
For a three-night visit, we opted to stay at the Park Hyatt Kyoto. My expectations were admittedly very high going in, and the hotel easily exceeded them. The service was impeccable, even for Japan’s standards, and my husband and I couldn’t get over the design. It’s elevated and luxurious, but in a very understated way. It’s also in an ideal location, right off the Sannenzaka Path, but it doesn’t feel like there are swarms of tourists around the corner all the time.
Of course, this all comes at a steep price: Rates typically go for over $1,000 per night in cash. Since it’s a Category 8 hotel in the World of Hyatt program, standard rates are 40,000 points per night (with Hyatt, nightly points prices vary with the hotel category and time of booking). We transferred 120,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt at a 1:1 transfer ratio to cover our stay.
After that, we took a train to the Japanese capital. Tokyo is one of my absolute favorite cities in the world. While the food, shopping, and sightseeing are world-class, it’s the warmth and hospitality of the people that have always made it stand out in my mind. My husband felt the same way, so there was no question whether or not we were going back.
I was really excited to stay at the Conrad Tokyo again, but the hotel felt like it lost its sparkle after my first time there in 2019. During my initial stay there, I had—no joke—10 people escort me to my room at check-in, presumably because of my Hilton Honors Diamond status. The staff went out of their way to make sure I felt comfortable and attended to throughout the duration of my stay. The food was top-notch, including the large breakfast spread, and the rooms felt modern and elegant. In fact, the hotel was part of the reason I fell in love with Tokyo to begin with.
But five years and one pandemic later, the hotel felt different. The service was largely impersonal, the hotel itself was very crowded, and the quality of the breakfast buffet had suffered. The design I once loved felt dated, and you could start to see the wear and tear on the carpets and furniture in the room. Still, we ended up using cash for our stay here since the rates were reasonable. Otherwise, we could have paid 95,000 Hilton points per night, for a total of three nights, by transferring 285,000 American Express points to the Hilton Honors program.
