168. A $111k Family Trip to Japan for $1,660: How It Started

About this episode

Devon and her husband Brandon discuss their spontaneous family trip to Japan, highlighting the challenges and experiences of traveling with kids.

Have you ever been tempted to completely change your vacation plans because of an irresistible points deal? That's exactly what happened when Japan Airlines did a random first class award dump last April. I couldn't resist jumping on the opportunity to book our family of four in first class to Tokyo - even though it meant splitting us across two different flights and completely scrapping our original Mexico plans. For the first time in this podcast's history, my husband Brandon joins me at the mic to recap our spring break trip to Japan with our two kids. In part one of this two-part series, Brandon and I walk through how this accidental trip came together, what it was like flying Japan Airlines first class as a family, our stay at the newly renovated Park Hyatt Tokyo, and the reality of traveling with kids in Japan - from the Pokémon Cafe to nearly missing the bullet train to Kyoto. This is an honest, unfiltered look at what goes right and what goes wrong even with advanced planning, as we cover the flight drama, the Tokyo highlights, and everything that happened before we made it to Kyoto. Get full show notes and transcript…

People in this episode

Host: Devon Gimbel MD

Guest: Brandon

Topics covered

• travel
• family trips
• Japan
• first class flights
• points deals
• traveling with kids

Keywords

• Japan Airlines
• first class
• family travel
• travel tips
• points deals
• Tokyo
• Kyoto
• Park Hyatt

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Japan Airlines

Places: Tokyo, Mexico, Kyoto, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Pokémon Cafe

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