Bali, Indonesia

Chengdu, China

Chicago, Illinois

Copenhagen, Denmark

The Hague, Netherlands

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Merida, Mexico

Munich, Germany

Nuremberg, Germany

Stuttgart, Germany

Tonga

Oita, Japan

Yufuin, Japan

People finding this page have likely have read many other comprehensive posts with lots of photos, but just in case, check out this one and this one (which has recent updates for the May 2025 Vacation Package refresh)!

Overall Value

100% worth it. Especially for unlimited front of line access to Fantasy Springs rides; we rode three of the four rides four times each and spent most of the day in that portion of the park. More on that later.

Price paid for Ambassador Hotel 1-night package with 5 meals included: $712.98 USD per person (we had 4 adults).

Yes, while you can technically save money by piecemealing everything yourself, there can be a lot of headache and stress that goes into getting reservations for those highly coveted Fantasy Springs rides. One friend in our party was pregnant, so we wanted a very chill experience with as little stress as possible. Families with young children may also find it priceless to minimize stress and distractions during the day. It’s also nice for groups of 4+ as you have all the reservations already and can avoid pointless arguments on what to do next on the day (hopefully).

Booking Experience

We booked around December 16, 2024 for a package on January 13-14, 2025. Since we were booking so late, we didn’t have much choice in what dates/hotels/packages were available. Every time we clicked to see what was available, it would change. For example, one moment it was only Mira Costa that was available, then an hour later only Ambassador Hotel was available. So if you go on the website and it’s all sold out, keep checking back!! We had to be somewhat flexible on the start date between Jan 13-15 as well. We never saw any 2-night packages available, only 1-night packages, but that was enough for us.

You also can’t see the actual price (it just shows a very unhelpful range like “75,000-530,000 yen”) until you pick out all your reservations for rides/etc and get to the very end before payment. I just wanted to know the price since we weren’t sure we wanted the package or not, so I had to keep putting in dummy reservations to get the final price. The website was VERY SLOW, so it was a pain to keep checking.

The website also doesn’t work at certain times of the day! We found that browsing the website at night from the US was most likely to work. It’s likely it works best during Japan’s business hours.

After two days of deliberations, we ended up with a one-night package at Ambassador Hotel with Disneyland as the first day and DisneySea as the second day. We stayed at Hilton Tokyo Bay the night before our package started.

Actually, I take back what I said about no stress. The person making the Vacation Package reservation has a lot of stress during the booking process because they either have to really know the park well or be able to do quick research on the fly to determine which rides are worth reserving, where they are located, which restaurants might be worth reserving (if you have meals in your package), and what time to reserve things at to give yourself time to get between things. It was stressful for an hour or two. But for everyone else, and on the actual days of the experience, it’s very low stress. Nobody has to be constantly refreshing the app the whole day; everyone is able to enjoy the park and be in the moment.

Review of Vacation Package Benefits

Logistics

We stayed at Hilton Tokyo Bay the night before the package began so we could get breakfast. Highly recommend this hotel as well, especially since you can use Amex Platinum Hilton credits and Amex Hilton resort credits to pay for it! After a very early breakfast, we called a taxi to move our bags to Ambassador Hotel, and then took the free shuttle from Ambassador Hotel to Disneyland for rope drop. We did our rides, watched the parade, and had our lunch reservation at Blue Bayou.

In the afternoon, we went back to the hotel to check in and rest a bit before taking the free shuttle back to Disneyland for our dinner reservation at Hokusai and watched the Electrical Parade.

The next morning, we had breakfast at Chef Mickey’s in our hotel and then took the free shuttle to DisneySea for Happy Entry. We powered through all day with a lunch at Fantasy Springs Hotel buffet, and dinner at Royal Banquet of Arendelle.

The free shuttles to the hotels run approximately every 15 min.

Attraction/Ride Rankings

1. Peter Pan’s Neverland Adventure (DisneySea Fantasy Springs) – this was my favorite ride! It’s like a Peter Pan ride with the Soarin’ feel and is a 3D ride. We rode it 4 times in different seating arrangements, and for this one, sitting in the front is definitely the best. The length is just right and this ride is worth waiting for even if you don’t have a pass.
2. Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast (Disneyland) – this was also my favorite ride, I’d say these are tied. You sit in a teacup and feel like you’re dancing around. It’s just incredible and beautiful. The length is just right.
3. The Happy Ride with Baymax (Disneyland) – I really enjoyed this because of how happy and fun it is, and there are hardcore fans who will do the dance on the sidelines. The music does change with each ride; there are 6 different songs they might use.
4. Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey (DisneySea Fantasy Springs) – I’ve been on this ride in Orlando but I think this one is slightly different (better). It’s a small water ride that is very cute and beautifully done. It’s a good length. Rode it 4 times!
5. Fairy Tinker Bell’s Busy Buggies (DisneySea Fantasy Springs) – Super cute ride! Relatively short, and mostly outdoors.
6. Toy Story Mania! (DisneySea) – interactive game ride similar to the Spiderman one in California Adventures. It’s fun, even though I suck at it. Be prepared for a sore arm after.
7. Pooh’s Hunny Hunt (Disneyland) – cute ride with a bit of an Alice in Wonderland eclectic vibe. Good length.
8. Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival (DisneySea Fantasy Springs) – We also went on this ride 4 times, and it is beautiful, but if you could only choose one ride in Fantasy Springs, I don’t recommend this one. First of all, it’s way too short. If I had waited over an hour for this ride, I’d have been disappointed. Also, Rapunzel didn’t come out of the tower three of the four times we rode it, which was also disappointing since we were expecting it.
9. Mermaid Lagoon (DisneySea) – really cute and worth a visit. Lots of fun things to explore, especially for kids. If you’re looking for the artist that does silhouette cuttings, they’re located in here.

Other attractions we went to, but I personally wouldn’t go out of the way for them. They’re good to do if you don’t see a line.

• Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage (DisneySea)
• Haunted Mansion (Disneyland)
• Peter Pan’s Flight (Disneyland)
• Mickey’s House in Toontown (Disneyland) – tour through Mickey’s house/studio and take pictures with him at the end

Didn’t go on this trip but have been other times and highly recommend:

• Soarin’ (DisneySea)
• Indiana Jones Adventure (Disneyland)
• Thunder Mountain (Disneyland)
• Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland)

Meal Reviews

We loved our meals at Disneyland’s Blue Bayou Restaurant and Restaurant Hokusai the most. You choose from a set menu for the vacation package, which gives you a few options. Blue Bayou’s was a 3-course meal and it was a bit slow, causing us to be late to our reservation for Mickey’s House. We learned our lesson and told Hokusai to bring out all courses at once so we wouldn’t be late for the Electrical Parade. As an example for value and quality, we could choose a chirashi bowl worth 2600 JPY and a parfait worth 680 JPY at Hokusai. They were absolutely delicious!

At DisneySea, we had lunch at the buffet at Fantasy Springs Hotel. The hotel/dining facilities are stunning, the buffet itself is gorgeous, and the food was pretty good as well. We were definitely all stuffed by the end. For dinner, we went to the Royal Banquet at Arandelle, which turned out to just be a casual cafeteria, so our reservation time was not important. We weren’t hungry at our actual reservation time, so when we showed up and realized it was just cafeteria-style, we asked if we could just come back later and they said it was fine. We came back nearly 2 hours later. The food was not impressive, mainly just pot pies that taste like Salisbury steak frozen dinners, and none of us finished our food. I wouldn’t really recommend this one.

The breakfast we had at Chef Mickey’s was decent. It was enough not to be hungry, but also not terribly impressive. It had an old school diner vibe.

TIP: If you don’t have a vacation package that includes meals, I highly recommend to always order food via the app to skip the line. The lines were really long at basically all the food facilities.

Other Tips

• We rented a wheelchair from the park which you can keep overnight in your hotel room. It only cost 300 yen per day (like $2 USD). While someone didn’t actually sit in it all the time (it was for our pregnant friend in case she got tired), we found it immensely useful for carrying all our bags/shopping! It was easy to push, buttery smooth, and great as a seat for the parades too.
• FantasySprings is absolutely gorgeous. It’s clear no expense was spared for this portion of the park. Try to get there early in the day so you can take lots of pictures with relatively few crowds!
• The fireworks are often cancelled due to winds, but we were able to see it on this trip. However, it wasn’t really that impressive compared to the US and Paris fireworks. You could also tell since not many people were trying to camp out for good viewing locations.

Bottom Line

Get the package if you value sanity, hate waiting in lines, and want a stress-free experience.

Skip it if you really want to save money and don’t mind lines and/or constantly refreshing the app all day to try to get standby passes.

If interested, please subscribe to whichever social media channel you prefer!

Asian Luxe Travel Twitter
Asian Luxe Travel Facebook
Asian Luxe Travel Threads

For example, we already posted deals from Tokyo to Europe starting from $2120 round trip in business class on China Eastern / China Southern.

Australia or New Zealand to Tokyo round trip on Fiji Airways business class starting from $1765 USD / $2639 AUD.

Anyways, hope people are interested and follow along! Living in Asia, I find that there isn’t a good consolidated source for travel deals, especially flights and premium travel deals, so I’m intent on bringing that to life.

United States

• Bangor, Maine
• Portland, Maine
• Maine Coast
• Omaha, Nebraska

Korea

• Seoul (Google Maps in additional to a PDF from 2019)
• Busan (Google Maps in addition to the existing Wanderlog list)

Taiwan

• Alishan
• Chiayi

Where and When?

Tomorrowland Winter is held in the beautiful ski resort town of Alpe d’Huez in the southeast of France, in late March. The festival organizers have signed a new contract with the town until 2030, so it will held there for the foreseeable future. You can predict future dates by looking at the 2nd or 3rd Saturday of the month, so the 2025 edition should be March 15-22, 2025, and the 2025 edition should be either March 14-21, or March 21-28, 2026. The exact dates are subject to the official announcement.

While the festival spans the whole week, Tuesday through Friday nights are considered the main festival days when the Main Stage is open and more major DJs are playing. We have opted for the full week the last 2 years to spend more time enjoying the atmosphere as well as to not feel like having to pack all the experiences into only 4 days.

Tickets

Tickets have usually gone on sale in September the year prior to the festival. Ticket prices have gone up compared to previous years: for the 2024 edition the 4 day GA pass was €510 and the 7 day GA pass was €675 (official site). This speaks to the popularity of the festival, and makes more sense compared to the previous pricing which was essentially the cost of the ski pass for those days. You can also buy 1 day tickets Saturday to Monday nights when the Main Stage is not open for €110 a night, and 1 day tickets Tuesday to Friday nights when the Main Stage is open for €175. You must pre-register at the official website to be able to buy tickets. If you don’t feel like going to the main festival, you could also just buy ski passes only and listen to the music from the outside the daytime stages.

Lineup and Crowd

You can see the day by day lineup for the 2024 edition here.

There are a smattering of bigger name DJs earlier in the week, but not too many. Later in the week when the Main Stage opens is when the big names go back to back. The DJ focus is very European, similar to a Tomorrowland Summer lineup but scaled down. Honestly I thought the lineup was a bit weak some days, though I did have fun and discover interesting new artists each day I went. The Brasa stage lineup is unlisted but is always worth swinging by, as they usually have big name DJs playing unannounced sets. I felt that the festival got more crowded later in the week with the Main Stage, sometimes leading to ruder interactions, but overall still not super crowded compared to some other large festivals.

Where to stay?

Again, you should stay in Alpe d’Huez as otherwise it is a pain with shuttles to get back and forth, or you have to drive. This time we opted for a Silver level package which ended being €1267 a person for the week, a €592 premium per person over the 7 day passes. We stayed at the Résidence Prestige Odalys L’Éclose which was an improvement compared to the accommodations we had the previous years, Bronze and Wood packages. The room was reasonably spacious and well maintained, and had a full kitchen and dishwasher. For 6 people, we got 2 bedrooms plus a living room with a sofa couch. 1 bedroom had a full bath, then there was a split toilet and shower. The hotel had an indoor pool as well as a fitness center, but did not come with free breakfast. It seems policies on breakfast and having included kitchens or not vary by hotel, so you need to check the details when booking the packages.

Accommodation packages go quickly, so it’s best to be ready when the sale starts. If you want the best chance of buying a good package, you can also buy the Tomorrowland NFTs, which give you access to a presale. You can buy all 3 NFTs currently for around €1200 (depending on the price of crypto at the moment), but I think it’s well worth it for the guaranteed access it gives you for the Summer edition.

Most hotels in Huez itself get blocked off by Tomorrowland, so there’s slim pickings if you decide to go separately via normal hotel booking sites or vacation booking sites. It seems like if you book early enough, there are chalets you can book which potentially could be a better deal than through Tomorrowland, for example through the Alpe d’Huez official tourist site.

Add ons!

We again went for meals and experiences at the festival. The add on sale happens around 3 weeks before the festival, and add-ons, especially meal experiences, go fast. You don’t actually need to have a ticket to buy add ons, so if you really want to do them, have multiple people in your group attempt to buy. Lunches were around €30-40 a person, and overall fairly high quality, which we found reasonable compared to the expensive prices for normal food at the restaurants. One trick is that you can use a lunch as a cheap way to get a “table” for a DJ set. The lunch areas usually have access to view the stage and if you get a 2pm slot you can just stay there until the daytime stages close. Also, it’s totally possible to book some meal experiences last minute or adjust the time and number of people for the experience by asking in person. We really enjoyed the cocktail experience as well as the Brasa grill dinner and the Crystal Garden lunch.

I went with Intersport to book my skis this year, and fortunately there was a 50% off sale a few weeks before the festival. The cost of a Black Package (second highest package) for the week, plus helmet, plus the ability to change from ski to snowboard or vice versa once during the week was €128.50. The cost through Tomorrowland was about €100 for the week, but the downside is that you can’t cancel or change your rental, nor can you select your experience level.

How to get there?

We did not book a transportation package this year, and just booked transportation separately. From Grenoble to Alpe d’Huez we booked bus tickets with Transaltitude, the official bus operator. We had no problems with buying tickets to Alpe d’Huez, but when we were looking for tickets to return on the final Saturday, only 6:50am or afternoon tickets were available. From previous experience, as long as you have a ticket you can waitlist for earlier or later buses if they haven’t filled up.

I flew into Geneva as I’ve never been, and there was a direct train or bus from Geneva straight to Grenoble where I could take the bus. I know last year my friends drove from Geneva as well.

Miscellaneous

Bring a snow equipment lock as there have been reports of theft (or just some drunk attendee taking the wrong gear). I had my skis stolen in 2022 and had to pay €200 as a penalty.

The air in the mountains is super dry and bad for your skin / respiratory system. We ended up boiling water constantly to get some humidity into our room. You can also wear a mask while you sleep to keep some humidity. Or you could get a portable humidifier.

Amazon is available in France and you can use your normal Amazon US login. You can get next day or 2 day delivery straight to your accommodations.

Conclusions

I’ve learned several tips and tricks from my 3 years of going to Tomorrowland Winter, hopefully these help people have a more enjoyable experience at the festival. I highly encourage anyone interested in EDM and snow sports to check it out!

There’s a lot of information and tips out there already [1] [2] [3] [4] but hopefully I can add a bit more detail and practical tips that aren’t just normal trekking tips, as that’s pretty well covered. Many of these tips will also apply to other trekking regions in Nepal as well, such as the Annapurna Circuit.

Insurance

Insurance is a decently covered topic. While regular travel insurance (often provided on good credit cards) will cover regular travel mishaps such as delayed and cancelled flights, it doesn’t cut it for high altitude hiking as rescues and helicopter evacuations won’t be covered. The biggest risks for EBC are either severe altitude sickness requiring evacuation, or some trekking injury requiring evacuation and treatment, or a natural disaster such as the 2015 earthquake.

There are a number of providers out there and it can be hard to choose. Look for the following:

1. Make sure the coverage includes emergency medical evacuation.
2. Make sure the policy does not exclude the altitude you will be going to. For most of the major treks in Nepal like the Annapurna Circuit or EBC, you need coverage up to 6000m. If you are doing a trekking peak such as Island Peak or Mera Peak, you need cover up to 6500m.
3. Make sure the coverage includes the activity you are doing, most likely Trekking or Hiking. Mountaineering with fixed ropes, etc. is sometimes classified as a separate activity.

Here are some of the major providers I found for residents of different countries. Costs seem to be around $150-250 USD for a 2-3 week trip:

• True Traveller (For UK)
• Europ Assistance (For EU) 
• World Nomads (For US, Canada, UK, Worldwide excluding EU) 
• Travel Guard (For US)
• Insure and Go (For United Kingdom) 
• Campbell Irvine (for United Kingdom)
• Travel Insurance Consultants (For South Africa) 
• 1Cover Travel Insurance (For Australia and New Zealand)  
• Covermore AU (For Australia)
• Global Rescue (Worldwide)
• Allianz (Worldwide) 

World Nomads

World Nomads is mentioned a lot when searching around. The best price for World Nomads seems to be for US residents, and Adventure Sports seems to be covered by default.

For non-US residents, either you have to specifically add in trekking, or the base policy price jumps up a lot. The base price as a resident in Asia was fairly high at >$700 USD, and for the UK I had to specify trekking with a surcharge of £229.28 and a policy excess of £500 if Helicopter Rescue is necessary. EU residents are not supported either. World Nomads doesn’t seem to offer annual policies.

You can use our referral link for World Nomads to support our site!

Global Rescue

Another provider you frequently hear about is Global Rescue. They aren’t a travel insurance company (though travel + medical insurance can be added), rather a membership program that covers emergency medical rescue. The best thing about the program is that they likely to be the ones coordinating your rescue or even leading rescue teams, rather than just a 3rd party insurance company. There’s no exclusions for activities at any altitude, and very little BS with the program. If you want more peace of mind, this is the way to go.

The annual plan came out to be $754, which I went for over the short term membership that would only cover this trip costing $574. Apparently FoundersCard has a 15% discount, though I missed that and used a different 5% discount (these can be found easily searching on the internet).

Fortunately, I made it through the trek without any issues, so I’ll have Global Rescue for the rest of the year just in case.

Internet

While it’s nice to do a digital detox on such a beautiful trek, sometimes you want to keep in touch with your loved ones, upload some social media posts, or relieve some boredom by browsing the web! Plus, being able to contact the outside world in case of emergency is always good. I found a good overview on the options during the trek, but these are my notes.

Mobile Service

eSIMs are getting popular nowadays for their ease of installation and reasonable pricing. However, eSIMs for Nepal remain quite pricey. For example Airalo is coming in at $9.50 USD for 1 GB valid for 7 days! I was also recommended Nomad but that is still $24/$28 USD for 10 GB/15 GB. Plus with eSIMs you may get a data only plan that doesn’t support texts or calls, which might come in handy on your trek.

For traditional local SIM options, the two most used cell service providers are Ncell and Nepal Telecom (NTC). I had heard that Ncell was building a bunch of towers, all the way to Base Camp, but then read reports elsewhere that Nepal Telecom generally provided better speeds and coverage. SIM cards are available right at Kathmandu International Airport from both Ncell and Nepal Telecom. You can buy. The packages seem to change often, I remember the pricing I saw in April 2024 was 900 NPR at Nepal Telecom for a 20GB package valid for 28 days, and 1000 NPR at NCell for a 25 GB package valid for 15 days, plus 50 NPR if you didn’t bring a passport photograph. However, you can also just get a free SIM from Nepal Telecom after filling out the form, or pay 110 NPR for a SIM from NCell and fill it up later online through their app with a credit card for cheaper pricing (the 20 GB package is 500 NPR at Nepal Telecom and there are a number of attractive packages with Ncell). The difference is only a few dollars though, and if you want to get online right away you can just pay a bit more. The real trick if you need more reliable data is to get SIMs from both companies, which is what many guides do.

WiFi

At lower altitudes like Lukla, WiFi may be free at the teahouses or cafes / eateries. There were a few spots with free WiFi in Namche Bazaar though our teahouse charged for WiFi (as I was getting data, I didn’t pay). After this, WiFi was generally paid, though I saw a different possibilities:

Teahouse paid WiFi

The teahouse would provide unlimited WiFi for your stay for a fixed charge, by giving you the password to their network. This ranged between 500 to 700 NPR. The hack is to have one person pay then share the password with the group.

Airlink

Airlink is a newish ISP started in 2016 with the goal of providing internet to remote regions of Nepal. Typically a teahouse runs their own repeater with a unique SSID, and you buy a voucher either from the teahouse or an outside shop. After connecting to the teahouse specific network, you enter in the voucher code and your session starts. You seem to be able to use the same device on different Airlink networks, but not different devices as it will tell you there are too many sessions for the same code. Thus I was able to use Airlink at one village for lunch then keep using it at night and the next day at a different vllage. I found Airlink services reasonably fast depending on how many users were on at the same time (averaging around 500 KBPs – 1 MBPs), good enough for browsing the web and uploading Instagram reels). You buy vouchers – current prices as of April 2024 were 700 NPR for 24 hours, with a limit of 10 GB. I found out afterwards that supposedly there are also 48 hour cards for 1200 NPR (unknown data limit, possibly 20 GB), but those might need to be bought in shops instead of teahouses. Apparently this used to be unlimited, but must have changed recently. I didn’t see these discounted anywhere.

Everest Link

Everest Link runs their own WiFi hotspots in each major village. You can buy vouchers for 2000 NPR for 10GB, or 3000 NPR for 20GB, both valid for 30 days in shops in Kathmandu, Lukla, and Namche Bazaar. I remember vaguely seeing some Everest Link hotspots available on my trek, but the individual teahouses would be selling Airlink cards. Apparently they are less reliable than Airlink and frequently go down.

Conclusions / Which to choose?

If you have some models of Android phone (Samsung S series, Pixel, possibly others), you can actually reshare WiFi connections with others! This makes it so you really only have to have 1 person buy WiFi, and you can just reshare the network with other people in a group. Unfortunately iPhones don’t have this feature. For a group of 7, we used about 15 GB of data over 4 days of resharing the hotspot.

If you are a small group and don’t mind that Everest Link is somewhat unreliable, then getting an Everest Link voucher might be more cost effective. However, if you prefer a more reliable network, picking up 48 hour Airlink Vouchers (past Namche Bazaar) might be more effective.

Charging

Keeping your devices charged is important so you can record those important moments! However, as electricity is more unreliable in remote regions, the prices to charge correspondingly increase as well. Up until Namche Bazaar, charging was generally free, with power ports generally located within each room.

As we got higher, the prices to charge kept going up, from 300 NPR an hour to charge, to 350-500 NPR a device, and 600-1000 NPR to charge a power bank. The most ridiculous one I heard was 4000 NPR to enable the charging ports in our rooms for our stay, presumably because there were electric blankets attached. I would bring multiple portable batteries if possible and keep those fully charged earlier in the trek for later. I had one of these with a built in solar charger, and even after a few hours of direct sunlight, it barely charged, so not recommended.

Instead, I would also get a larger portable solar panel that you can hang off your backpack if keeping charged for minimal cost is your goal. Make sure it’s waterproof! Or you could be unethical and get a device that converts lightbulb sockets into charging ports (not actually recommended).

Gear

I will gloss over gear as many other sites have covered this very well. I was very happy with my Osprey daypack which I kept very light with only essentials, and had the rest in a duffel bag which was carried by a porter. Water – a 2L hydration pack plus a separate small bottle was completely sufficient for all days. My hydration pack tube would freeze on the colder days, so either get an insulated tube or use the water bottle for those days. I did NOT rent a sleeping bag to save on space – even though it did get cold some nights, either I just wore all my clothes or asked for extra blankets from the teahouses which worked perfectly fine. This is totally up to you. Temperature wise I felt great most days as I had multiple layers I could adjust easily and varying thickness pants with thermal layers. I had a good number of snacks, cards, and extra medical supplies when we all started to get hit by an illness later in the trip.

Other tips

Make sure to schedule extra days before and after your trek to account for delays at Lukla Airport. Flights often get delayed or cancelled as they will only operate during good weather. Make sure your guide is on top of your flight status – Nepal is a place where connections and/or persistence is the key to getting what you want. Our guide was local with many connections and despite some delays and bad weather, was able to get us on flights on the days we wanted, while we heard many stories of other people being stuck for multiple days.

Guides

There are many professional guiding companies for EBC. I can’t say too much on this topic, as we had our friend as a guide, who is originally from Nepal and is from a long family line of mountaineers! It really helped to have him work his local magic while trekking. If anyone wants a referral, feel free to reach out!

Kathmandu

We spend 1 day in Kathmandu beforehand and 2 days after checking out the stupas and other city sights, as well as generally recovering. I spent 1 night at the Fairfield Kathmandu which was quite nice and central to the city, though the gym was minimal (at least it had a combo pullup / pulldown machine) and there wasn’t actually a pool. It was well priced at $63 USD a night. I also saw a Hyatt Place and a Holiday Inn Express for similar rates. The Marriott and Hyatt Regency are a bit more, at around $160 USD a night. When flying out, I found out the airport is configured strangely – immigration is before security, and all lounges are between the two – there is no lounge after security. There’s also no duty-free shop at all, only a duty-paid shop where I bought a bottle of Khukuri Rum. Kathmandu definitely a developing city, but also vibrant, cheap, and fairly safe with good services and food. I found that Nepalese locals are one of the most kind people in the world

Hope these tips help for any future trip to the Himalayas! Otherwise, have fun, enjoy the views, and stay healthy!

I am not totally clear on the ordering process, but I believe you use the OpenPoint app (Android, iOS) to order. This requires an address and phone number in Taiwan.

Update from E: You aren’t able to use the OpenPoint app to order limited edition promos like these, but you can use the barcodes above to ask any cashier at 7-11 to order the items you’re interested in for delivery to that store. In some cases, a store may even have what you already want in stock to take home right away.

See our Instagram reel for a review of my experience flying STARLUX business class Taipei to Narita. Anyways, if you are interested in this merchandise, get a hurry on before the flash sale expires!

Going into the new program, it was announced your historical JAL activity would be converted to Life Status points. Now it seems like the transition is complete. It appears anyone who was a JAL Global Club member by qualifying in 2023 was topped up to 1500 Life Status points. For example, see my Life Status points. I *believe* this should also apply to non-Japanese residents as well, unless JAL has made an exception for that case. Thus, everyone in this category should be able to keep JAL Global Club and oneworld sapphire indefinitely without any renewal requirement.

It’s not actually too late to join JAL Global Club if you qualified based on 2023 flight activity, as according to the FAQ you have until March 31, 2025 to register.

Q. I qualified for JMB Sapphire based on 2023 flight activity. What is the deadline for enrolling in JAL Global Club under the current JAL Global Club membership qualification requirements?

A. The deadline for applying for JAL Global Club enrollment under the FLY ON Program’s membership qualification requirements is March 31, 2025.

If you wish to become a JAL Global Club member, please submit your application for JGC enrollment during your JMB Sapphire or JMB Diamond membership period.

Please note that members will not be able to join JAL Global Club by qualifying for an eligible FLY ON status based on flight activity in 2024 or onwards.

I’m glad I was able to make it into the program last year to keep easy JAL status, and am looking forward to seeing if I can slowly advance to higher levels!

• Hong Kong (Wanderlog, Google Maps)
• Japan
  • Furano & Biei, Hokkaido
  • Hakuba
  • Ishigaki
  • Nagasaki
  • Nagoya
  • Sapporo, Hokkaido
• Taiwan
  • Nantou
  • Tainan
  • Taoyuan
  • Penghu
  • Pingxi
  • Yilan

If you don’t want to go to a physical store, often many items are available online; I’ve included online shopping links where applicable. If on Amazon Japan, you can sign up for a free trial of Prime and get them delivered to you in Japan for free, or shipped internationally! Some items are also available to buy on Amazon US for inflated prices, or in Asian grocery stores.

This is just a small list of the wide variety of souvenir foods Japan has! Japan even has a website dedicated to omiyage (Japanese for souvenirs) along with rankings: https://omiyadata.com/jp/. Let us know in the comments what your favorite food souvenirs are!

Snacks

Pastry Snaffle’s Cheesecake

Pastry Snaffle’s is a line of cheesecakes from Hakodate, with stores also in Sapporo, New Chitose Airport serving Sapporo, and Tokyo. They can also be found on Amazon Japan, but with inflated shipping costs.

Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory

Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory is a brand of wafers with flavored cheese fillings, such as Salt & Camembert, and Honey & Gorgonzola. I really love these snacks and frequently buy them for friends. You can find them in department stores, airport duty free stores, as well as Amazon Japan / Amazon US.

Press Butter Sand

Press Butter Sand is a line of cookies with rich fillings that look like a pressed sandwich. You can find retail locations around Japan, and can also buy on Amazon Japan.

Cha-no-Ka Okoicha (strong green tea) flavored langue de chat

Cha-no-Ka is one of the most famous souvenirs from Kyoto, sold by Malebranche Kyoto Kitayama. It is an okoicha (strong green tea) flavored langue de chat cookie. They have an online shop, or you can visit one of their branches in Kyoto. They also sell a number of other desserts in store, such as a limited edition Mont Blanc which you can read about here.

Malebranche Kyoto Kitayama Main Store
40 Kamigamo Iwagakakiuchicho, Kita Ward, Kyoto, 603-8053

LeTAO Cheesecake

LeTAO is a bakery in Otaru, Hokkaido, famous for their cheesecake. You can find LeTAO in stores all over Japan, Amazon Japan, or you can visit their store up in Otaru and walk along the cute streets there.

LeTAO Main Store
7-16 Sakaimachi, Otaru, Hokkaido 047-0027

KitKats

KitKats are a classic Japanese food souvenir. They’ve become hugely popular in Japan, with many interesting flavors like matcha and sakura. KitKat sounds like “surely win” in Japanese, which helped make it popular.

You can find these all over Japan – I like to buy from Don Quijote, a chain of megastores in Japan. You can also buy on on Amazon Japan. There are even dedicated KitKat stores to visit where you can make your own KitKats.

KitKat Chocolatory
〒171-0022 Tokyo, Toshima City, Minamiikebukuro, 1 Chome−28−1 Seibu Ikeburero Main Store B1

KitKat Chocolatory Miyashita Park
6 Chome-20-10 Jingumae, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0001

Shiroi Koibito (White Lovers) Cookies

Shiroi Koibito is a very famous line of langue de chat cookies with white chocolate from Ishiya in Hokkaido. You can even visit their factory and theme park up in Sapporo! I buy these all the time as gifts for friends. They are available almost anywhere in Japan, as well as Amazon Japan / Amazon US.

Shiroi Koibito Park
2 Chome-11-36 Miyanosawa 2 Jo, Nishi Ward, Sapporo, Hokkaido 063-0052

Kinokuniya Chili Oil Shrimp Crackers

Kinokuniya is a high end grocery store in Japan. We love these chili oil shrimp crackers from them. You can buy them at Kinokuniya stores all around Japan, or at Rakuten with additional shipping charges.

Sapporo Okaki Yaki-toukibi roasted corn snack

Hokkaido is well known for its produce, like corn! This is a tasty roasted corn snack from Hokkaido. They can be found in grocery stores in Hokkaido, as well as major airports. You can also buy on Amazon Japan.

Calbee Hokkaido

Other produce Hokkaido is known for are potatoes! Calbee is a major Japanese snack manufacturer, and they make a line of snacks with Hokkaido ingredients. There are potato chips, potato fries, bean snacks, etc! You can find these all around Japan, especially up in Hokkaido and New Chitose Airport. You can also buy on Amazon Japan.

Fleurs d’été

Fleurs d’été is a cake shop from the exclusive restaurant été by Natsuko Shoji. Both are very difficult to reserve, but you can reserve the cake from Omakase.

BLANCA Basque Cheesecake

BLANCA is a line of desserts from the Michelin starred Spanish restaurant acá in Tokyo. You can order online on Omakase.

Ingredients / Seasonings

Kyo Ra-yu Furikake

This brand of furikake (rice seasoning) is loved for its spicy and umami flavor. It is sold by Ochanoko Saisai, a store found in Kyoto. Look out for it if you are in Kyoto, or you can buy it online on Amazon Japan / Amazon US.

Ochanoko Saisai Sannenzaka Main Store
3 Chome-316-4 Kiyomizu, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-086

Ochanoko Saisai Nishiki Market Branch
497 Nakauoyacho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8125

Ochanoko Saisai Arashiyama Branch
19-6 Sagatenryuji Tsukurimichicho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, 616-8384

Gomayan Sesame Products

Gomayan is a line of sesame products from Wadaman, based in Osaka. They have various products, from sesame pastes, sauces, furikake, and snacks. They have an online shop and you can also purchase from Amazon Japan.

Wadaman
9-5 Sugaharacho, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0046

Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

Dried shiitakes are prized for their concentrated flavor. You can find dried shiitakes all over Japan in any grocery store, and you will also find shiitakes from different regions of Japan. Most of the shiitake mushrooms sold abroad are grown in China. You can also find Japanese shiitake on Amazon Japan.

Salted Salmon

My friend ordered this brand of salted salmon from Uoya, a seafood company from Niigata. You can buy online from Uoya or Rakuten.

Yotsuba Hokkaido Milk Powder

This is a buttermilk powder made from Hokkaido milk from Yotsuba. Hokkaido milk is known for being especially rich and fatty. You can buy from specialized baking stores like TOMIZ, the official Yotsuba shop (with a free shipping minimum), and Amazon Japan.

Hokkaido Butter

As mentioned above, Hokkaido is known for its delicious rich milk and milk products, including butter. Snow brand is the most commonly found brand, found in almost every grocery store in Japan, but you can look for other brands too, like Yotsuba. Amazon Japan.

Aged Soy Sauce

Soy sauce can be aged to create a even deeper flavor. There are a number of brands of aged soy sauce sold in Japan. Japanese Taste has a good article, and you can also buy directly from them. Here are some standouts:

Yamaroku soy sauce is from Shodoshima, an island in Japan known for their soy sauce. Tsuru Bishio is a soy sauce from them aged 4 years in barrels. You can buy on Amazon Japan.

Teraoka Organic Shoyu Japanese Barrel Aged Soy Sauce

Teraoka is a soy sauce brewery, making organic naturally fermented soy sauce. This soy sauce has a mellow taste and aroma. You can buy on Amazon Japan.

Haku Mizunara Whisky Barrel Aged Shoyu Soy Sauce

If you can’t get to Japan, Haku is made in Kyoto and sold abroad. This soy sauce is aged in whisky barrels for a deeper flavor. You can buy on Amazon US.

Noodles / Curry

MUJI Curry / Latte Mix / Instant Ramen

MUJI is a chain that sells their own branded low-cost but high quality items. This extends to a range of packaged food products like curry, latte mixes, and instant ramen. You can find MUJI stores all over Japan, and you can order as well on Amazon Japan.

Godaime Hanayama Udon

Godaime Hanayama Udon is a well known udon noodle restaurant, with the main location in Ginza, and branches in Nihonbashi, Ikaho, and Haneda Airport. You can buy every part of the meal separately or as a set, from the noodles, to the soup and sauces. Amazon Japan

Godaime Hanayama Udon Ginza
3 Chome-14-13 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061

Nagoya Miso Nikomi Udon

Nagoya is known for Miso Nikomi Udon, which is udon stewed with miso paste. If you are stopping by Nagoya, there are various stores where you can try this delicious udon, including Yamamotoya, the most famous of the noodle shops. You can also buy on Amazon Japan.

Hokkaido Soup Curry

Hokkaido is known for soup curry, essentially a spicy curry flavored soup with various ingredients like vegetables and meat in it, traditionally served with rice. You can find this all over Hokkaido as well as restaurants scattered around Japan and almost any grocery store. We don’t have a particular favorite brand, try different kinds. There are many varieties on Amazon Japan.

Tomita Tsukemen

Ramen Tomita is a famous ramen store in Matsudo, Chiba known for their tsukemen (dipping ramen). You can visit the restaurant itself, or they also sell their noodles as packs you can buy on Amazon Japan!

Ramen Tomita
〒271-0092 Chiba, Matsudo, 1339 Takahashi Building

Nissin Chicken Ramen

Nissin Chicken Ramen is the original instant ramen invented by Momofuku Ando, and is still sold today. It has a simple but delicious umami flavor. I would take packs back from Japan everytime I visited. It is commonly found in grocery stores, and you can buy easily on Amazon Japan. I’ve also seen them in grocery stores in the US, and Amazon US.

Nissin RAOH Instant Ramen

Nissin RAOH Instant Ramen is Nissin’s premium line of instant ramen, coming in various flavors such as tonkotsu, soy sauce, tantanmen. It’s my choice when I want an elevated eating experience. You can find this in most grocery stores, as well as Amazon Japan / Amazon US.

Nakiryu Instant Ramen

Naikiryu is a Michelin starred ramen restaurant in Tokyo, known for their tantanmen. They’ve developed their own instant ramen in collaboration with the convenience store 7-11! You can find these instant ramen packs in 7-11s across Japan, or you can buy on Amazon Japan / Amazon US.

Nakiryu
〒170-0005 Tokyo, Toshima City, Minamiotsuka, 2 Chome−34−4 SKY Minami Otsuka Building

Afuri Ramen

AFURI is a famous ramen restaurant chain across Japan, known for their yuzu ramen. They sell an instant ramen that can be found at 7-11, as well as fresh ramen packs you can assemble yourself! The ramen packs can be found at AFURI stores and Amazon Japan.

Menya Ittou Instant Ramen

Menya Ittou is a famous ramen restaurant known for its tsukemen, but they also make great normal ramen as well. They’ve produced a line of instant ramen with a chicken based soup. You can find these at Lawson convenience stores.

Menya Ittō
1 Chome-4-17 Higashishinkoiwa, Katsushika City, Tokyo 124-0023

Iida Shoten Instant Ramen

Iidan Shoten is a ramen restaurant known by ramen connoisseurs located in Kanagawa just north of the onsen town of Atami. It is difficult to get reservations to the restaurant. Instead, you can buy this instant version at 7-11, or on Amazon Japan.

Ramen Iida-Shōten
〒259-0303 Kanagawa, Ashigarashimo District, Yugawara, Doi, 2 Chome-12-14

Mouko Tanmen Nakamoto

Mouko Tanmen Nakamoto is ramen chain with branches around Tokyo. They make super spicy ramen with a miso based broth. You can find the instant ramen at 7-Eleven, or on Amazon Japan.

Ippudo Ramen

Ippudo is a world famous ramen chain with branches in multiple countries. They are famous for their tonkotsu (pork broth ramen). They have a line of instant ramen as well as fresh ramen packs, which you can find in many convenience stores and grocery stores, as well as Amazon Japan / Amazon US.

Ichiran Ramen

Ichiran is a world famous Japanese ramen chain. They sell instant ramen as well as fresh ramen, which you can find in many convenience stores and grocery stores, as well as Amazon Japan / Amazon US.

T’s Tantan

T’s Tantan is a well known vegan ramen chain in Tokyo. They make a meat free tan-tan men which you can buy at convenience stores, grocery stores, as well as Amazon Japan.

Drinks

Orion WATTA Passionfruit beer

Orion is a brewery based in Okinawa, and WATTA is their line of Chuhai drinks with original Okinawa ingredients. We’re a big fan of their Passionfruit beer, but they have other flavors like Pineapple and Shikuwasa. You should be able to find these occasionally all over Japan, especially in Okinawa, or you can buy on Amazon Japan.

ANA Aromatic Kabosu Juice

This is ANA’s signature drink, made from the kabosu citrus. It is served on all ANA flights, and I find it delicious and refreshing! It is available to purchase on A-style, ANA’s online shop, or at ANA goods stores located in airports.

JAL Sky Time Peach & Grape Mix

Similar to ANA, JAL has their own signature drink called SKYTIME. It is a peach and grape juice mix. You can find it on JAL’s online shop or at JAL goods stores located airports.

Tsubaki Sozen

Tsubaki Sozen is a tea store with original tea products based in Fukui but with branches around Japan, including Tokyo. They have various products, such as fruit flavored teas, accessories, and others. My cousin always asks me to bring some back when I visit. They have an online store in Japanese, or you can visit a physical location.

Daigo no Shizuku Sake

Daigo no Shizuku is an unrefined sake (doburoku) using traditional methods from brewery Terada Honke. It is available in stores around Japan as well as their online shop, and Amazon Japan.

Masamune-kun no Zeppin Umeshu (Plum Wine)

Masume-kun no Zeppin Umeshu is a plum wine from Kawashiri Brewery in Hida Takayama. My friend requested me to buy this last time and it was excellent, with a rich and smooth flavor. It is available from their Japanese online shop, in shops around Hida Takayama, and possibly elsewhere.

Japanese Whisky

Japanese whisky has been getting very popular, such that some of the well known brands like Suntory have increased in price dramatically and are difficult to find. I sometimes still get lucky at Narita duty free! However, there are plenty of other brands that are very high quality and still affordable and easy to buy. Timeout has a good article with more.

Mars Iwai Tradition

Mars is a distillery up in Nagano, and the weather there means the whisky matures at a different, giving it a sweet, deeper profile. Many of the premium lines from Mars are hard to find now, but Iwai Tradition is still easily available for around 3000 yen. You can find it in liquor stores as well as Amazon Japan.

White Oak Single Malt Akashi