“That’s on my bucket list” is a phrase that is said more than realized. Things are added to the list, life happens, and, before you know it, a bucket list becomes the “Unrealized List Of Things I Never Got Around To Doing.” However, thanks to Hilton Grand Vacations, my family has been tackling our travel bucket list and turning dreams into memories.

When my wife and I decided to give our kiddo a high school graduation gift, we said, “Pick a spot on the planet and we’ll go visit.” He gave it some thought and decided Japan was our next destination.

 

Conveniently, visiting Japan was on my wife’s, brother-in-law’s and sister-in-law’s bucket lists. I sensed some synergistic possibilities — we had a small clan of five ready to visit Japan. We had to decide where to go, what to see and how long to stay, plus a long list of bookings, including reservations, plane tickets and, of course, accommodations.

That’s when Hilton Grand Vacations swooped in and shouted, “Hey, y’all should swing by The Bay Forest Odawara, a Hilton Club.”

Planning Our Odawara Escape

The Bay Forest Odawaya is a delightful property at Hilton Odawara Resort & Spa. I checked out the availability of three cottages for our group around cherry blossom season. While this location has many rooms, The Bay Forest Odawara only had 10 cottages, so it seemed like snagging just one was a long shot. 

However, we were in luck. Three cabins were available during spring break in the United States.

Our family was hyped and full of ideas. Our year of planning went by quickly. As a spreadsheet wizard, I organized everyone’s want-to-do’s in one tab, helpful hints about customs in another and a color-coded itinerary in a third. I’ll let you guess when our recent high school graduate looked at it. (On day seven of the trip, he finally goes, “Oh, I see now.”)

 

Getting To The Bay Forest Odawara

The flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo is beefy, so I recommend packing compression socks. But we were ready once we touched down in Japan and pulled up Google Translate.

Odawara is at the midpoint between Mount Fuji and Tokyo. Factor in 90 minutes and a few trains to get back and forth from Odawara to Tokyo if you plan to sightsee. Apple Maps was our guide to train schedules and routes. Without that, we might have wound up in some remote part of Japan without knowing how to get to the airport. (Not that that would’ve been an issue with our bucket-list crew. I have a feeling they were ready to move to Japan.) 

Tokyo also operates as a train hub to other parts of the country. Going by train versus car really submerges you in the culture. Plus, driving takes longer than the high-speed trains known as Shinkansen.  

 

Our Review Of The Bay Forest Odawara

Once you wrap your brain around the logistics, you can enjoy The Bay Forest Odawara. The cottages are two-story, 1-Bedroom Suites, and it feels like you’re staying at your own apartment, tucked away from the main thoroughfare. Many Japanese families were staying at the property for a weekend excursion.

The entire Hilton resort is quiet and well-kept. Hilton Odawara Resort offers an excellent balance of greenery and creature comforts, including an onsen, multiple pools, various gyms, an incredibly well-stocked market, an Owners Lounge and activities like golf, table tennis and bowling.

The staff was also incredibly accommodating. We had an issue with our luggage when we arrived at 1 a.m. The Team Members went above and beyond to help us sort it out, by firing up a van and tracking down our luggage from the train station in the rain.

Perks Of Hilton Grand Vacations Membership

While most of our stay was spent in Odawara — with daily travel back and forth between Tokyo — we also trekked over to Osaka to stay at Hilton Osaka, a five-star hotel in the heart of the city.

 

We stayed in the Penthouse high above the city, a nice place to hang our hats after a day’s adventure at Universal Studios Japan or shrine hiking in Kyoto.

Thank you, Hilton Honors Points.

If I wasn’t a Hilton Grand Vacations Member, our stay in Osaka combined with our cottages in Odawara would’ve significantly added to our trip budget. Vacation membership offered access to Hilton’s portfolio and made our vacation less stressful. Instead of worrying about the cost of accommodations, we could focus on how much our feet hurt after walking around Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Odawara in 10 days. We definitely got our steps in.

This bucket list trip was checked off and exchanged for long-lasting memories and pictures that will always be with us. Our high school graduate had a blast, the siblings-in-law already want to go back and my wife is ready to move to Japan. I guess my next call is to Odawara to see if we can buy a cottage. I wonder how many Points that would be…

Read “Hilton Grand Vacations In New York City Helped A Long-Overdue Dream Come True” for another bucket-list trip, courtesy of vacation membership.