Tips/Suggestions for Japan Trip
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Hello, fellow SO members!
Come July, I shall be heading to Japan with a couple of good friends for a two-week vacation. It'll be my first time visiting that country (though one of my travelling companions had spent a year in Nagoya as an exchange student back in 1990), and I'm really looking forward to the trip due to my general affinity for all things Japanese.
We shall be arriving at Narita and spending the first 3 days in Tokyo (for which we have already made hotel reservations). After that, we will be using our JR Rail Passes to visit the following cities in the indicated order and for the specified number of days:
- Kyoto (3 days)
- Osaka (2 days)
- Hiroshima (2 days)
- Himeji (1 afternoon)
- Nagoya (1 day)
- Yokohama (1 day)
- Tokyo (1 day - in preparation for the flight back to the US)Here's the deal: we've made hotel reservations for the Tokyo and Osaka stays, but we're planning on "winging it" for the other cities and making reservations just the day before we get to the city.
Would forum members here who have travelled to Japan care to share any tips or secrets on how to make the trip go smoother? In particular, I'm looking for suggestions on:
1. Places of interest to visit at the cities indicated above (beyond the popular ones usually listed in the tourist brochures/websites).
2. General tips on how to use the railway system in Japan. This is actually my biggest worry as the train/subway networks there seem confusing and intimidating to the first-time visitor.
3. Tips on how to find reasonably-priced accommodation at cities other than Tokyo and Osaka. We were planning on perhaps staying at a ryoukan or two during the trip to "round off" the Japanese cultural experience.
Thanks in advance!
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While in Osaka, go see the Castle. (Forgot the name
). Go to the landmark tower and view the city below. Very windy up there so hold on to yourself. 
.In Kyoto, go see the temple and walk along the old ginza. You'll bump into some geisha if you're lucky. There is a beautiful shrine there, Kiyomizu dera, beautifully built (no nails i'm told). Comfortable shoes, a must.
As you know, Japanese summers are hot hot hot so dress accordingly. Too bad you aren't going in the colder months or I'd recommend the Hakone Hot springs experience.
You must visit the 100 yen shops and sample the cheap eats. Ramen, yakitori, okonomiyaki and kaiten sushi come to mind. Do you remember the green Fanta from your childhood? I have always loved it and they have this in Japan. The Japanese call it melon soda. Nyum.
Too bad you've only alloted 1 day in Yokohama. Lots to see and do there. I love Yokohama. Stop at Sakuragicho and walk along the waterfront. They have a 3 (or 4?) masted old sailing ship there. Big amusement park too. Landmark tower is another must too. Beautiful view from up top. Summer time in Japan means fireworks. Most major cities there hold really nice fireworks. Ask around? Summer time also means summer festivals kinda like pasar malam style but better. I miss miss miss.
While in Tokyo, try and visit Electric town? You'll be awed by the electronics.
Subway system is intimidating at first but you'll do fine. If my hubby can do it, so can you.
Ask for English subway map from any Information counter. While buying tickets, hit the English key usually on the top right of the screen. HTHs. -
dp
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jetta,
Thanks for those suggestions!
Yes, Osaka Castle is on our list of places to visit whilst in Osaka. Aside from that, there does not appear to be much to see and do in that city (unless I'm mistaken).
We've allotted 3 days and 4 nights in Kyoto, as, being the cultural epicenter of Japan, there's a lot to see and do there. One of the days there will be set aside for a day trip down to Nara. We also plan on making a "pilgrimage" to the headquarters of Kyoto Animation and at the very least have our pictures taken in front of their admin building. Then there's the Gion Matsuri that will be taking place during our time there, culminating with the famous float parade on July 17 (our last full day in that city).
Thanks for the suggestion on spending more time in Yokohama. Based on your comments, we've decided to spend an additional half day there, before heading back to Tokyo to prepare for the flight back stateside.
A few questions for you, if you don't mind:
1. Are there lockers at major train stations that we can rent to store our luggage so we don't have to lug them around when we're between cities and want to stop at an intermediate location to visit a place of interest?
2. How much cash (in Yen) should we have on hand? I understand that many places in Japan do not accept international credit cards, and in any event, we'd want to avoid the hefty fees that credit card companies levy when a charge in a foreign currency is converted to US dollars.
3. Do you know a good website to use to make reservations at traditional ryoukans?
Thanks again!
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MG
Yes there are lockers at major train stations.
Have as much liquid cash on hand as possible. It's true that many places don't take CCs but it's gotten better over the years. When I lived there from 96-99, big dept stores didn't accept CCs, so I was pleasantly surprised when I moved back there in 03 that many places started accepting that form of payment. However, many mom and pop stores still don't.
Here are some things that you must try:
Mini stop (mini mart), try their soft ice cream. It's divine! Just ask for banilla/choko-laht softo ai-su-ku-reem. About 120 yen.
Mr Donut. My fave there is the angel cream for about 100yen.
For ramen, apart from the usual sho-yu or miso, try the funky ones like kim-chee ramen or milk ramen. Nyum!
Another nice place to eat at is Saizeriya. They serve Italian food, Japanese style. Try the garlic foccacia.
Boarding the trains there is nothing like the free for all in Singapore. People get and stay in orderly lines. While in Osaka, you'll find some cars are reserved for women only during peak hours. You'll know from the markings on the platform, just which trains are.
While in Yokohama, you might like to visit the Curry Museum. It's an interesting place. At the shopping centre within Yokohama station, follow the lovely aroma of freshly baked mini croissants. You must try! The Japanese are confectionery masters. Food court food is to die for! There is a Sogo just within Yokohama station, if you're lucky enough to be there around lunch time, go see the offerings. You can ask for samples which they will gladly provide.
Take the JR line to Sakuragi-cho station. There is an information desk just outside the station in a semi circle one storey annex. Ask for an English tourist map there. A good place to eat nearby is Garlic Joe's. There is also a nice shop that sells yummy muffins. The name of the store is Mrs Elizabeth's Muffins.
There is no tipping at restaurants so no worries there. Also, before you eat, you should wipe your hands with the wet nap provided.
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suggestion, bring me along.
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for kyoto, the attractions are most accessible by buses. best is to buy the city buspass (JPY500 if i'm not wrong) for unlimited ride in a day. one of my favorite walks in kyoto is the philosophy walk...if you are there in spring/autumn...the walk will be most amazing with cherry blossoms/red autumn leaves lining the entire walk.
if you've got the time...nara and kobe are good for daytrips from kyoto. i personally like kobe (maybe 'cos i'm a geographer at heart)...there are museums there where you can find out more about what happened during the 1995 earthquake that destroyed many parts of kobe and what it took for kobe to recover from the after effects
most of yokohama attractions can be covered in a day. the panaromic view from the landmark tower is not to be missed IMO. there's also a ramen museum if you are into ramen =P~ (slurp). the yamashita park is a nice walk
for osaka...i like the kaiyukan (aquarium). you can view amazing sea creatures there. and at the osaka bay where the aquarium is located...you can enjoy the most beautiful sunset from there. dotombori is where you wanna be for food...
tokyo...i'd spend more time in tokyo if i were you and if it's your first trip to japan. i've been to tokyo >10times and it never bores as there's always something new to discover. for the road less travelled, you can explore some of the suburban places like kochijoji (inokashira park, many small quaint eateries, cheap local shopping)...or go up mt takao (or take the chair lift up/down) where you can catch a glimpse of mt fuji on a clear day...or visit nikko (day trip). i also love kappabashi (kitchen town) where you can see/buy those amazingly real looking plastic food displays.
the metro/JR systems look complicated but you'll easily get the hang of it after the first few attempts. all you need is a good rail map...that you can pick up at the airport tourist info counter or subway station. for shinkasen schedule...there's a booklet of the trains/timings that is published on a monthly basis....you can pick it up from the shinkasen ticket station and it'd help in your trip planning.
One very useful online tool that I swear by is the HYPERDIA digital time-table. If you were to type in your starting point and destination, select your travel date/time/type of seat/train type...it will be able to generate a list of all the possible rail courses that you can take and it will also list down all the connections if any http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi
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for ryokans..you might wanna check out:
http://japaneseguesthouses.com/prefecture.htm
i usually use rakuten for budget hotels:
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lostintranslation,
Thanks for the suggestions, especially the one about the Hyperdia website!
We purchased the exchange orders for the 14-day JR rail passes on Saturday, so it looks like we're committed now.
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
lostintranslation,
Thanks for the suggestions, especially the one about the Hyperdia website!
We purchased the exchange orders for the 14-day JR rail passes on Saturday, so it looks like we're committed now.
don't mention it.
ya..the hyperdia website is really a godsend. since you are using the JR pass...when doing your searches via hyperdia...remember to tick "Except Nozomi".
with regards to carrying JPY...i suppose it all depends on your spending habits. if you are gonna do a lot of shopping i.e. electronic gadgets, clothings, toys/manga etc...then you'd have to bring much more.
but if you are just spending on normal food/transport...i'd think JPY5000-7000/day (excluding accommodation) should be more than enough. for me, if without shopping...i can make do with approx JPY3,000ish/day.
it also depends on where you eat at. if you feed yourself at tachigui noodle shops (noodle shop where you stand and eat) or konbinis (convenience shop i.e. bento meals, rice balls etc.)...then your daily food budget will be much lower. a bowl of noodle at tachigui should be between JPY300-500. riceballs at konbinis are approx JPY80-120 (you'll probably need at least 2 of these to fill up your stomach) and bento meals are between JPY400-600. if you buy your bento meals at food halls at departmental stalls, it'd cost you JPY600-800 (discounts after 5-6pm). fast foods are also reasonable affordable. for around JPY500-700, you should be able to get a decent meal of burger, fries and a drink. if you go to fancy restaurants...of course it'd be a different story. i've eaten at places that'd cost easily >JPY10,000
so how much to carry will depend largely on your choices of food.
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Hey..... I remember Hyperdia! It's a great site!
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This is our current itinerary for the trip. I'm looking for feedback on how realistic it is in terms of the amount of time we've allotted for each city. Please also feel free to suggest other sites and/or places of interest within said cities that might be worth visiting:
(Updated 05/31/09)
Sunday (5 July):
- Arrive NRT at 4:30 p.m.
- Get to hotel in Shinjuku in 2 hours.
- Get dinner, walk around the Shinjuku area.
- If time permits, visit Tokyo Metropolitan Govt. Building's observation deck (free admission, North Observatory closes at 11 p.m., the South Observatory at 5:30 p.m.).
--> Sunday night in Tokyo.
Monday (6 July):
- In Tokyo (full day).
- Visit Tokyo Metropolitan Govt. Building's observation deck (if we didn’t do so the previous day).
- Visit Akihabara.
- Visit Ueno.
--> Monday night in Tokyo.
Tuesday (7 July):
- In Tokyo (full day).
- Visit Tsukiji Fish Market in the morning, have breakfast there.
- Visit Imperial Palace.
- Visit Shibuya.
--> Tuesday night in Tokyo.
Wednesday (8 July):
- In Tokyo (full day).
- Other places to visit perhaps?
- Harajuku?
- Meiji Shrine?
- Asakusa?--> Wednesday night in Tokyo.
Thursday (9 July):
- In Tokyo (morning).
- Leave Tokyo in the afternoon for Nagoya.
- Spend rest of day in Nagoya
--> Thursday night in Nagoya.
Friday (10 July):
- In Nagoya (morning).
- Leave Nagoya for Osaka in the afternoon.
--> Friday night in Osaka.
Saturday (11 July):
- In Osaka (full day).
- General sightseeing. List of possible sites to visit:
- Umeda Sky Building (admission 700 Yen).
- Osaka Castle (admission 600 Yen) and Peace Osaka (250 Yen).
- Osaka Aquarium (admission 2000 Yen!!!!).
- Minami (Namba) district.--> Saturday night in Osaka.
Sunday (12 July):
- In Osaka (morning).
- Leave Osaka in the afternoon for Hiroshima.
--> Sunday night in Hiroshima.
Monday (13 July):
- In Hiroshima (full day).
- Visit Miyajima in the morning.
- Visit A-bomb museum, Peace Memorial Park, etc. in the afternoon.
--> Monday night in Hiroshima.
Tuesday (14 July):
- Leave Hiroshima in the morning for Himeji.
- Tour Himeji Castle in the afternoon.
- Leave Himeji for Kyoto in the evening.
--> Tuesday night in Kyoto.
Wednesday (15 July):
- In Kyoto (full day).
- Visit Nara in the morning (JR Nara Line).
- Stop at Kyoto Animation on the way back from Nara (JR Nara Line – Kohata Station).
- Visit Fushimi Inari Shrine (JR Nara Line – Inari Station).
--> Wednesday night in Kyoto.
Thursday (16 July):
- In Kyoto (full day).
- Visit Kiyomizudera Temple (Eastern Kyoto, by bus 100 or 206, alight at Kiyomizu-michi or Gojo-zaka).
- Visit Nijojo (Nijo Castle) – (Central Kyoto).
- Visit Kikankuji Temple (Northern Kyoto).
- Evening: attend Yoiyama event.
--> Thursday night in Kyoto.
Friday (17 July):
- In Kyoto (full day).
- Visit Nishiki Market in the morning (Central Kyoto).
- Attend Gion Matsuri.
--> Friday night in Kyoto.
Saturday (18 July):
- In Kyoto.
- Leave Kyoto in the morning for Yokohama.
- Arrive Yokohama around noon
.--> Saturday night in Yokohama.
Sunday (19 July):
- In Yokohama.
- Leave Yokohama for Tokyo in the afternoon.
--> Sunday night in Tokyo.
Monday (20 July):
- In Tokyo.
- Leave for Narita in the late morning for flight back to the US.
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MG
Kamakura is beautiful so try to include this city in your tour?
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Originally posted by jetta:
MG
Kamakura is beautiful so try to include this city in your tour?
Can Kamakura be enjoyed within the space of an afternoon (including transit time to/from Shinjuku)? Are there any specific places of interest within Kamakura you would recommend visiting? -
i think your itinerary is pretty do-able but of course a bit rush...
it's a pity you don't have much time in tokyo...i noticed that you've left out many attractions such as asakusa (sensoji temple), shinjuku, shibuya, harajuku, odaiba, meiji shrine...
kamakura in 1/2 day is possible but better to do it in the earlier part of the day 'cos some of the places i.e. great buddha, hasedera temple etc will close around 5-5.30pm. you can consider doing a morning day trip to kamakura...and then reserve the later half of the day for places like akihabara, other shopping districts 'cos the shops are usually open till later (~8+pm)
the main attractions in kamakura will be the big buddha (but if you've already seen the one in lantau island, you might not be so wowed by it)..and temples, temples and temples. just pick a few of the more interesting temples to visit...you need not cover all 'cos after awhile...they all look the same.
for travel in japan...i find the online guide @ www.japan-guide.com very useful
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Hi i know you have your trip planned out, heard that SQ is having a 4 night deal stop over at Narita promotion for $1400 all in including air,tax,hotel. Maybe its worth stretching the dollars.
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Originally posted by Arapahoe:
Hi i know you have your trip planned out, heard that SQ is having a 4 night deal stop over at Narita promotion for $1400 all in including air,tax,hotel. Maybe its worth stretching the dollars.
Unfortunately, SQ doesn't fly to MSP, so the price of a ticket to get from MSP to a city served by SQ has to be added to that $1400. -
Just remembered: When you buy train tickets, there is an English key, usually on the top right corner of the touch screen.
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Originally posted by jetta:
Just remembered: When you buy train tickets, there is an English key, usually on the top right corner of the touch screen.
I think the Tokyo subway ticket machines have that feature, but not the ones in the other cities, right?
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
I think the Tokyo subway ticket machines have that feature, but not the ones in the other cities, right?
most probably should've too...in any case, you are using JR pass so not an issue for you =)can you read chinese characters? if yes, should be quite easy for you to get around...
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
most probably should've too...in any case, you are using JR pass so not an issue for you =)can you read chinese characters? if yes, should be quite easy for you to get around...
Me? Read Chinese characters? Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! You're talking about someone who had failed every single one of his Mandarin classes in secondary school back in Singapore!
Actually, I'm pretty familiar with hiragana and katakana, so I should theoretically be able to read most of the signage at train and bus stations over there. If not, I'm sure some helpful Japanese soul will be more than willing to help out a trio of lost gaijin wandering around aimlessly in the train station...
The JR Pass will be useful for travelling between major cities connected by the JR network, but from what I can see, most of downtown Tokyo and Kyoto are served by other non-JR railway lines on which the pass is not valid. We'll probably end up getting day passes for getting around on those local lines.
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
I think the Tokyo subway ticket machines have that feature, but not the ones in the other cities, right?
osaka ticket machines oso have english feature.
they even have personnel at the ticket machines helping lost souls.
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
I think the Tokyo subway ticket machines have that feature, but not the ones in the other cities, right?
Most stations have that feature.
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
The JR Pass will be useful for travelling between major cities connected by the JR network, but from what I can see, most of downtown Tokyo and Kyoto are served by other non-JR railway lines on which the pass is not valid. We'll probably end up getting day passes for getting around on those local lines.
actually no need. just stick to the JR trains where your JR pass will still be valid. don't waste money on the day metro passes which are quite expensive unless you make many trips (7-8 trips on average to make it worthwhile) in a single day.especially within tokyo...the JR rail connections are pretty good..one line - yamanote circle line - should get you to most of the attractions...if not, within close proximities where you just need to walk a little.
for some places not accessible by JR lines and you'd really prefer to cut walking distances/time by taking the private lines/tokyo metro, just buy single trip tickets. so the proposed strategy (if you are traveling on budget) will be to use the JR as the main mode of transport...and the non-JR lines for connections if need be.
for kyoto, as i've mentioned, you are better off taking buses. i've travelled extensively with JR passes without the need to pay to travel on other subway lines i.e. tokyo metro, other private lines.
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/info/map_a4ol.pdf - refer to this for all the JR lines within tokyo/greater tokyo. you should find that you can get around the whole of tokyo with just these lines...and using your JR pass.
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/routemaps/pdf/RouteMap_majorrailsub.pdf - refer to this for all JR and non-JR lines. JR lines are in black/white.
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LiT,
As always, thank you for your excellent suggestions!
We've just made the hotel reservations for our 4-night stay in Kyoto. Most of the hotels and ryokans are pretty solidly booked up for that week because of the Gion Matsuri, so we were lucky to be able to secure the rooms. The hotel is a mere two-minute walk from the JR Kyoto Station.