Chic, Affordable Tokyo Cafes

Spring skiing often means a wild temperature shift from morning to afternoon. If you want the option of removing outer layers or switching to a lighter ski jacket midday, attach the lift ticket to your clothing with a split-ring key ring. You'll be able to move your ticket as the weather warms up.

When buying bottled water, look at the bottle cap to see if the seal is still intact. While visiting the Acropolis on a very hot day this summer, I caught a young boy refilling empty water bottles from a tap and recapping them. He was then selling the bottles to thirsty tourists.

When I'm on a cruise with my wife's family and we're in a foreign city for the day, I get off the boat as soon as we dock and hail a taxi. I ask the driver to call his dispatcher and find me a van with an English-speaking driver. Then I negotiate an hourly rate and a pickup time at the dock. The family tours together for a few hours, and then each couple either gets dropped off where they want to spend extra time or returns to the boat (this is great for my elderly in-laws). We get a tailor-made city tour for a much cheaper rate than if we had booked through the cruise line.

Just before I go through airport security, to save time and to avoid leaving something important behind, I collect all loose items--change, money clip, belt buckle, pens--in a large Ziploc bag. I send the bag through the X-ray machine with the rest of my luggage. After picking it up at the other end, I put the things back in place and either toss the bag or keep it for the return trip.

If you're looking for authentic street food--whether you're in New York or Bangkok--don't buy from the pitifully lonely vendor who has no customers. Head to the cart with the longest line of hungry people in front of it. Locals know which vendors serve the best (and safest) food. Even if you have to wait, your stomach will thank you.

I used a well-known travel site to price tickets for a trip to Las Vegas. The flight I wanted was available, but I decided to wait to see if prices would come down. That flight stopped being listed after a week, and the next best flight kept getting more expensive. About five weeks later, I checked prices from a different PC. Whaddya know? The original flight was available, for $50 less than that next-best flight. That same evening I checked again from my PC. The flight I wanted was not available,so I deleted the cookies for the site and tried again. Voilà! The flight I wanted at the price I wanted. Moral of the story: Clean up your cookies—it could save you money!

If you get lost on a ship, remember that most share a common layout. The lido-deck buffet restaurant, for example, will almost always be in the back to accommodate comfortable outdoor seating in the least windy part of the ship, while the lounge/theater will be in the front because wind is not a factor (there are no windows).

For fire-safety reasons, cabins don't have their own irons. Don't wait until the last minute to tackle your evening wardrobe. You can find shared irons down the hall in the laundry room, but lines often form before mealtimes. Opt for off-hours (like mornings).

Booking condos last minute can yield incredible bargains, and there's a way to maximize savings while minimizing the risk that you won't find a room at all. ("Last minute" generally means a month or less before your stay; seven-day deals usually start on a Saturday.) Buy your plane ticket and book a refundable hotel room you can use in case you can't find that bargain condo. Then, a month or so before your trip, start looking at last-minute sites—lastminutetravel.com, site59.com, etc. If you find a deal, simply get a refund on the hotel room and pay the cancellation fee, if there happens to be one. Using this technique, I found a great beachfront, one-bedroom condo on Maui—and I saved about $300.

Carry a twist tie in your wallet. Among other ingenious uses, a twist tie can temporarily replace a lost screw on a pair of glasses. Just peel the paper or plastic off the tie so you have bare wire, insert it where the screw once was, and twist to tighten. Unlike Scotch tape or a safety pin, a twist tie is small enough to remain hidden and strong enough to hold until you're able to replace the screw.

With two of our last three car rentals, the local branch wanted documentation beyond the standard insurance card issued by our insurance company. In San Juan, we were delayed a half hour while the agent made phone calls to verify that our liability insurance was good in Puerto Rico. In Miami, if we hadn't provided proof that our insurance covered rental cars, we would've been charged a daily collision insurance fee. Fortunately, we knew ahead of time and took a copy of the pertinent section of our policy. Our credit card included car rental insurance, but proof of that coverage was also required.

Treat yourself to a golf-ball foot massage. During a long flight, or afterward in your hotel room, take off your shoes, put a golf ball on the floor, and roll it under your foot. It's a great stress reliever. Practice a bit before you try it on a plane, so that your ball doesn't go rolling down the cabin, tripping up unsuspecting passengers.

After I fell into a stream in Cambodia, my digital camera wouldn't work. Someone suggested leaving the camera in a bag of rice overnight to draw out any condensation. By the next morning, it was dry and working perfectly.

Ziploc now makes extra-large bags with handles. They're nearly two feet by two feet, and although Ziploc advertises them as being good for storage, they're also useful for traveling. Bring one on long shopping excursions and then use it as an extra carry-on for souvenirs on the way home.

When you go to a convention or trade show, don't assume that the official prices at recommended hotels are the best you can do. Go to the hotel Web site. I recently got an AARP rate at a major hotel that was 30 percent below the special price offered through the tradeshow sponsors. AAA discounts often work, too.

Avoid spills in your Dopp kit. Cut up plastic grocery bags into little squares and place them under the tops of toiletries to prevent leaks. Discard the squares upon arrival, but bring extras for the trip back.

Pack a power strip and extension cord for your next cruise. Many cruise-ship cabins have only one out- let, but you'll definitely need more if you want to power up your laptop, iPod, cell phone, electric razor, hairdryer, or any other gadgets you bring on board.

My husband and I always travel around Europe by train. When we arrive in any city, we first stop at a ticket window and get all the information we'll need for the next leg of our journey. This gives us plenty of time to find an English-speaking ticket agent who'll print out departure times and platform numbers for us. Before leaving the station, we can note the location of the platform we'll be looking for that morning. One wrong move when you're rushing for a train and you could end up in the wrong city!

Create your own postcards by writing on the back of photographs that you've taken and developed while still on your trip.

Restrooms abroad rarely have hooks on stall doors. Our solution: Pack a small S hook in your shoulder bag and make use of a hole in the wall, a pipe, etc., to hang purses, jackets, or anything else you want to keep off the floor. S hooks can be found in most hardware stores, near the screws and bolts.

There's nothing worse than trying to fall asleep under a mosquito net and then realizing that the bugs are finding a way inside. So next time you're heading someplace tropical--where you know you'll be sleeping under mosquito netting--remember to toss a roll of Scotch tape into your suitcase. It's perfect for quick repairs.

Flight attendants often work vampire hours and have to sleep during the day. How do we keep the sunlight from leaking into our hotel rooms? We clip a skirt hanger (or two) to the middle of the drapes to seal them together.

Ever since my children were small, I've carried recent, wallet-size pictures of them when we all go on vacation, in case we get separated. Now that they are teenagers and traveling with friends' families, too, I send pictures for the other family to bring along with them. I also write my telephone numbers on the back of the pictures so they know where to reach me in an emergency.

I started saving the heavy-duty plastic wrappers that sheets and curtains come in. Most have zippers or snaps, great to hold everything from toiletries to shoes to wet swimsuits. And I bet airport security must love them because they're see-through.

Before you buy expensive bottled water from your hotel room minibar, head to the fitness center. You'll be able to fill up an empty bottle at the gym's water cooler or fountain for free, and you don't need to break a sweat.

When not taking pictures, keep your memory card away from your camera. It's a simple method to ensure that any photographs you've shot will be safe even if your camera is stolen. My husband and I learned this lesson the hard way when we lost 250 shots of Kauai.

Having spent a number of years working for Norwegian Cruise Line, I learned that a dinner roll helps to settle the stomach when seas become rough. The less liquid sloshing around unimpeded, the better. And if you forget your motion-sickness pills or wristbands, fear not, as the purser always has medicine available for seasick passengers.

Before booking your next ski trip or reserving a table for dinner, find out what your credit card company has to offer. American Express sometimes has discounts on lift tickets; MasterCard has offered buy-one-get-one-free at local restaurants; and Discover Card has access to deals to Universal Studios. Check out americanexpress.com/offerzone, mastercard.com (be sure to click on Promotions), and discovercard.com.

In Europe, my husband and I like to use public transportation. As a result, we frequently find ourselves studying itineraries displayed on train station walls, trying to read schedules posted at bus stops, or staring at kiosk-size town maps. On our last trip, my husband snapped digital photographs of those things. We were able to take the map or itinerary with us and could refer to it as needed by using the zoom feature.

Anyone tired of the same boring postcards that are found at every roadside tourist trap should try shopping for vintage postcards at an antiques shop. They're a great addition to any photo album, as they often show what the local attractions looked like prior to development.