PaleFolklore
Member
Awesome, thank you!
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Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once
- Thread starter hwalker84
- Start date
Awesome, thank you!
Here are some of my thoughts after spending a little over 2 weeks in Japan.
B-Mobile: Get the 1 GB data / 2 week visitor SIM for $40 and pick it up at the Narita post office upon arrival. Google maps and Tripadvisor are indispensable.
JR pass: Buy it. You can get around all of Tokyo using JR exclusively (Osaka and Kyoto not so much). The Shinkansen (i.e., bullet train) is luxurious and far better than flying. I bought a 14-day pass for $450 and probably used close to that amount in fares.
Suica / N'ex: Available for about $30 at Narita. It's a combination ticket that includes a Narita Express ticket (an hour train ride from the airport to Tokyo station) and something like $20 worth of Tokyo Metro credit. I bought it so that I could activate my JR pass a few days into my trip. I took the subway just once during my trip -- to get to the Tsukiji Market at 5 AM -- and used the remaining credit at vending machines.
Tokyo: I stayed at the Chiyoda Inn, which is a fantastic bargain at ~$70 / night. It's not on the main JR line (Yamanote) so it took an extra half-hour of train travel every day. Tokyo is enormous; you can easily spend a week here without getting bored. My favorite places are Akihabara, Shibuya, the Tsukiji Market, and the Skytree (go at night). Get sushi at Tsukiji in the morning.
Nikko & Kamakura: Both are day trips and take about 1-2 hours to reach by JR. If you only have time for one, I recommend Nikko. Kamakura has a lot of temples and a Daibatsu, but so do Kyoto & Nara.
Osaka: You MUST stay at The Namba Oriental Hotel. It's cheap, the room is huge (by Japanese standards), and the location is unbeatable. Try as much of the street food as you can in the Dotonbori, grab some okonomiyaki at Mizuno, and get some Kobe or Matsusaka beef while you are in town. The view from the Sky Building is fantastic. I spent 2 nights in Osaka and felt that was sufficient.
Kyoto: Loved the monkey park, Nijo castle, and walking along the river more than anything else here. There are plenty of temples and shrines to choose from; I would do at most 2 per day so as not to burn yourself out. Tried the burnt ramen at Gogyo (meh, but I don't really care for ramen to begin with) and loved the pork cutlet I got at the top of the Kyoto cube. The Kyoto Yodobashi is the most impressive electronics store I've ever been to (try the massage chairs!). If you are looking the ryokan experience, spend a night at Ohanabo.
Nara: A magical place. You must spend at least 1 day here. There's nothing like it anywhere else in the world.
The Japanese are without a doubt the nicest people in the world. I loved my time in Japan. Thank you all for the great advice.
B-Mobile: Get the 1 GB data / 2 week visitor SIM for $40 and pick it up at the Narita post office upon arrival. Google maps and Tripadvisor are indispensable.
JR pass: Buy it. You can get around all of Tokyo using JR exclusively (Osaka and Kyoto not so much). The Shinkansen (i.e., bullet train) is luxurious and far better than flying. I bought a 14-day pass for $450 and probably used close to that amount in fares.
Suica / N'ex: Available for about $30 at Narita. It's a combination ticket that includes a Narita Express ticket (an hour train ride from the airport to Tokyo station) and something like $20 worth of Tokyo Metro credit. I bought it so that I could activate my JR pass a few days into my trip. I took the subway just once during my trip -- to get to the Tsukiji Market at 5 AM -- and used the remaining credit at vending machines.
Tokyo: I stayed at the Chiyoda Inn, which is a fantastic bargain at ~$70 / night. It's not on the main JR line (Yamanote) so it took an extra half-hour of train travel every day. Tokyo is enormous; you can easily spend a week here without getting bored. My favorite places are Akihabara, Shibuya, the Tsukiji Market, and the Skytree (go at night). Get sushi at Tsukiji in the morning.
Nikko & Kamakura: Both are day trips and take about 1-2 hours to reach by JR. If you only have time for one, I recommend Nikko. Kamakura has a lot of temples and a Daibatsu, but so do Kyoto & Nara.
Osaka: You MUST stay at The Namba Oriental Hotel. It's cheap, the room is huge (by Japanese standards), and the location is unbeatable. Try as much of the street food as you can in the Dotonbori, grab some okonomiyaki at Mizuno, and get some Kobe or Matsusaka beef while you are in town. The view from the Sky Building is fantastic. I spent 2 nights in Osaka and felt that was sufficient.
Kyoto: Loved the monkey park, Nijo castle, and walking along the river more than anything else here. There are plenty of temples and shrines to choose from; I would do at most 2 per day so as not to burn yourself out. Tried the burnt ramen at Gogyo (meh, but I don't really care for ramen to begin with) and loved the pork cutlet I got at the top of the Kyoto cube. The Kyoto Yodobashi is the most impressive electronics store I've ever been to (try the massage chairs!). If you are looking the ryokan experience, spend a night at Ohanabo.
Nara: A magical place. You must spend at least 1 day here. There's nothing like it anywhere else in the world.
The Japanese are without a doubt the nicest people in the world. I loved my time in Japan. Thank you all for the great advice.
Zoe
Member
Is anybody going to go through Narita this month?
A friend of mine will have to stop there for a layover to Hong Kong, and I'm wondering what the odds are he would be able to pick up a VitaTV from one of the FaSoLa shops for the retail price (only have a 10,000 yen note to give him).
A friend of mine will have to stop there for a layover to Hong Kong, and I'm wondering what the odds are he would be able to pick up a VitaTV from one of the FaSoLa shops for the retail price (only have a 10,000 yen note to give him).
Such a beautiful place. Words cannot describe how great it truly is. If I lived/worked close to that park I'd go there every day.
Summary of places I visited
Nagasaki
Fukuoka
Hiroshima
Miyajima
Himeji
Kobe
Osaka
Nara
Kyoto
Hakone
Tokyo
A few things.
You can get by without Japanese but it'll be so much more fun if you speak some. I had Japanese in High School and while i was never fluent the thing that it did help me out with is fantastic pronunciation and being able to hear more than I can speak. Next time I go I want to be able to have a broken conversation with someone. As it stands I know enough to get around but no conversation.
Rail Pass is a must
Bring the most comfortable pair(s) of shoes ever
Eat, eat, and eat again!
Hostels/Guest Houses are my favorites. You meet some great people and the staff is much more laid back and willing to hang out.
Stay at a Ryokan at least once. (I stayed at Washintei Hougetsu)
A lot of the temples you visit give you information pamphlets. If you're like me and want to save them make sure to bring an envelope or two so they don't get destroyed in your luggage.
If you're into fashion but are a big guy like me it's going to be almost impossible finding clothes in Japan. I was about to find this Bape jacket I loved in my size. I also wanted a hoodie but none of them had my size. American size 13 in shoes is impossible to find.
Nagasaki
Fukuoka
Hiroshima
Miyajima
Himeji
Kobe
Osaka
Nara
Kyoto
Hakone
Tokyo
A few things.
You can get by without Japanese but it'll be so much more fun if you speak some. I had Japanese in High School and while i was never fluent the thing that it did help me out with is fantastic pronunciation and being able to hear more than I can speak. Next time I go I want to be able to have a broken conversation with someone. As it stands I know enough to get around but no conversation.
Rail Pass is a must
Bring the most comfortable pair(s) of shoes ever
Eat, eat, and eat again!
Hostels/Guest Houses are my favorites. You meet some great people and the staff is much more laid back and willing to hang out.
Stay at a Ryokan at least once. (I stayed at Washintei Hougetsu)
A lot of the temples you visit give you information pamphlets. If you're like me and want to save them make sure to bring an envelope or two so they don't get destroyed in your luggage.
If you're into fashion but are a big guy like me it's going to be almost impossible finding clothes in Japan. I was about to find this Bape jacket I loved in my size. I also wanted a hoodie but none of them had my size. American size 13 in shoes is impossible to find.
MikeHattsu
Member
Wow. That's a lot of places. You stayed for 3 weeks?
Yes.
Valkyr Junkie
Member
That's what happens when you have a JR pass.
MikeHattsu
Member
Haha. I guess so.
Oh, and thank you for sharing those pictures hwalker84. Good stuff.
Thanks. Unfortunately in my jet lagged stupor I deleted the entire Tokyo autoshow and one of the videos I took from the Mazda museum and the backups. I make myself feel better by saying well if there's pictures to lose the autoshow is certainly one of them.
MikeHattsu
Member
Ah. I forgot to even get a picture of the big Gundam statue when I went to Odaiba. Facepalm. Haha.
From the day of photo's I lost (likely I uploaded these to facebook)
Damn Facebook compression
MikeHattsu
Member
Cool. I only saw those 2 pics at night on your SkyDrive. I forgot all about the Gundam statue when I found the Capcom and Monster Hunter stores inside Aquacity. I'll hopefully remember to get some pics of my own next year when I go back.
Yeah I went back to Odaiba area Friday. I went to the autoshow Wednesday took a ton of pics. Then went to Harajuku and Shibuya to do some shopping. Took 1 or 2 pics in that area. Accidentally deleted them
My rule from here on out is to not mess with pictures until you're at least 3 full nights back.So excited for my trip. This is what the itinerary in terms of locations looks like:
December 11th: Arrive in Tokyo. Stay one night with 2 friends
December 12-17th afternoon: Okinawa with them and 3 other friends joining
December 17th (night)-18th: Osaka
December 19th: Kyoto
December 20th: Either Hiroshima or Mt Koya
December 21-25st: Tokyo (might squeeze in a trip to Yokohama and I might entice a trip to Nara)
JR Passes have been bought. We're doing AirBNB in every location (we got a fantastic beach house in Okinawa).
Super excited. Going to have to look into the SIM packages or pocket wifi. Someone's post above was really helpful.
December 11th: Arrive in Tokyo. Stay one night with 2 friends
December 12-17th afternoon: Okinawa with them and 3 other friends joining
December 17th (night)-18th: Osaka
December 19th: Kyoto
December 20th: Either Hiroshima or Mt Koya
December 21-25st: Tokyo (might squeeze in a trip to Yokohama and I might entice a trip to Nara)
JR Passes have been bought. We're doing AirBNB in every location (we got a fantastic beach house in Okinawa).
Super excited. Going to have to look into the SIM packages or pocket wifi. Someone's post above was really helpful.
I'm going to japan for 3 weeks, and I'm staying in tokyo for the first week then I'm going to takayama, kanazawa, kyoto, hiroshima.
I'm I better off buying a 21 day JR Pass or 14 day pass that I'd activate after the first week? Is it better to use the JR Pass to travel within tokyo, or something else?
I'm I better off buying a 21 day JR Pass or 14 day pass that I'd activate after the first week? Is it better to use the JR Pass to travel within tokyo, or something else?
MikeHattsu
Member
If you're just going to travel within Tokyo the first week then it might be cheaper to get a Suica/Pasmo card for that. If you're arriving at Narita airport then check out the Suica & Nex package:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_suica_nex.html
With the JR Pass it costs 1800 average for each of the 7 days extra if you buy the normal 21 day pass instead of the 14 day pass. So that's the price of about 7-9 train rides each day in Tokyo. You need to figure out if that's more or less than what you're going to travel. Remember that the JR Pass only works on JR trains as well, so if you want to use the subway instead for going somewhere then it will cost extra if you only have the JR Pass.
Ah ok cool, thanks man!
GloomyHitsuji
Member
Got a question, how do you guys travel between many different cities with all your luggage and bags?
Do you drag them around with you all the time? Maybe leave them at the hotel, or rent a paid locker or something?
Also, any advice on how many piece of luggage I should bring?
I don't really travel much, and I'd see it's always a good idea to travel light, especially if the plan is to visit many different cities, but I simply don't think one piece of luggage (plus backpack) would be enough (I would shop in Japan for sure, souvenirs as well), what's the strategy on that?
Note: planning a 3 week trip, on a limited budget
Do you drag them around with you all the time? Maybe leave them at the hotel, or rent a paid locker or something?
Also, any advice on how many piece of luggage I should bring?
I don't really travel much, and I'd see it's always a good idea to travel light, especially if the plan is to visit many different cities, but I simply don't think one piece of luggage (plus backpack) would be enough (I would shop in Japan for sure, souvenirs as well), what's the strategy on that?
Note: planning a 3 week trip, on a limited budget
Valkyr Junkie
Member
What's the reason you need so much luggage? I've always been able to manage international trips with carry-on luggage only, and I'm a large guy. Last year I even managed to get my wife down to that much luggage on a 17-day trip to Europe during Christmas. Packing cubes can help, but clothing should be kept to as little as you can manage with. Outside of "underwear," how many multiples of each item of clothing do you need? They do have running water and washing machines in Japan if you need it.
Lots of luggage is a huge pain in nations that rely on public transport, but there's plenty of room on the shinkansen if you need it. There are even services that can ship your luggage ahead of you, but the fees for that will add up and force you to a really structured itinerary. I like being spontaneous and free when I travel, so everything I carry with me I either need to be able to haul it with me without too much inconvenience, or stow it in a storage locker.
Another trick the carry-on only rule helps me with is that I also bring a collapsible bag (or buy a backpack or something as a souvenir) and use it for souvenirs and the like. That way I can move my fragile stuff out of my main piece of luggage, check it at the airline, and then I still meet the carry-on requirements of the overhead bin + personal item (usually a messenger/should bag) under the seat in front of me.
Lots of luggage is a huge pain in nations that rely on public transport, but there's plenty of room on the shinkansen if you need it. There are even services that can ship your luggage ahead of you, but the fees for that will add up and force you to a really structured itinerary. I like being spontaneous and free when I travel, so everything I carry with me I either need to be able to haul it with me without too much inconvenience, or stow it in a storage locker.
Another trick the carry-on only rule helps me with is that I also bring a collapsible bag (or buy a backpack or something as a souvenir) and use it for souvenirs and the like. That way I can move my fragile stuff out of my main piece of luggage, check it at the airline, and then I still meet the carry-on requirements of the overhead bin + personal item (usually a messenger/should bag) under the seat in front of me.
I'm a chronic overpacker and I had no issue with packing for 3 weeks. I used a backpack that was almost exactly like this one
I'd bring two pairs of pants (I walked so much I wore a hole in one of my favorite jeans). 1-pair of your most comfortable shoes (2 pairs if you have big feet. It's impossible to find anything in American size 13 or larger. I walked so much I damn near wore out my first pair). 5-7 T-shirts and the same amount of underwear.
Guys, this is an important question: when I was in Tokyo back in October there were a couple different bars/restaurants we went to where we had this drink called a Suntory double-whisky... something. I think it was basically whisky, club soda and lemon, but I can't be sure. Anyways, the drink was incredible and I'm trying to replicate this back home, does anyone know which one I'm talking about?
That was what I found when I tried Google'ing it, but I couldn't be sure if it was something that simple. There was definitely fresh lemon involved.
I'm not really a big whiskey guy, but these went down real easy.
Here's a few more
http://www.timeswhiskyclub.com/Blog/?tag=/yamazaki-12
Yamazaki is amazing and I don't drink anymore (Gout).
Oooooh, not entirely sure. I will have to test all of these to see if I find a match
Thanks for the links.
Japans nice but so expensive if you plan on going bring a lot of doe.. like a lot. Some clubs there have bottle service running at $5000
matt360
Member
Probably just your average highball, no? They are insanely popular in Japan right now.
GloomyHitsuji
Member
Oh, not so much about the luggage I'm bringing to Japan, more on what I'm carrying back on my return flight. I'm just a bit worried because I don't know what to expect. Say I buy some gadgets/manga/souvenirs/games/CDs or clothes, etc. I would quickly run out of room and can't bring all those stuff back (not saying I would buy everything I listed)
I just didn't want to potentially miss out on the chance to buy an incredible looking limited edition One Piece figure because I have no more room for it (could really be anything, this was just a random example).
FreeMufasa
Junior Member
Yo! Are you still in Japan walker?
MikeHattsu
Member
When I went I had a backpack and 1 medium sized piece of luggage. You should check with the airline how much you're allowed to bring without paying anything extra of course. I was lucky and were allowed 2 pieces of luggage, so I bought another suitcase in Japan to bring some extra souvenirs back home in.
Some useful info here, make sure to take a notice of the rules and the max size of normal coin lockers:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2274.html
And you could of course go to a post office and mail items to yourself, unless it's something really fragile.
distantmantra
Member
Wife and I are headed back in April for our 3rd trip to Japan. We go every four years.
Spending three nights in Osaka. Rented an apartment in Namba right around the corner from DenDen Town apparently. I've stopped at Shin Osaka station before, but never been into the actual city, so really looking forward to it. Probably take a day trip out to Minoh to see the falls and visit the brewery.
Nine nights in Tokyo, renting a top floor apartment in Setagaya. Really close to Shimokitazawa and Sangenjaya. Probably head out to Hakone this trip, since we haven't been there before.
We're not going there on this trip, but everyone should splurge and spend a night at a really nice ryokan on Miyajima. Absolutely incredible. Was easily the highlight of our honeymoon back in 2006.
Spending three nights in Osaka. Rented an apartment in Namba right around the corner from DenDen Town apparently. I've stopped at Shin Osaka station before, but never been into the actual city, so really looking forward to it. Probably take a day trip out to Minoh to see the falls and visit the brewery.
Nine nights in Tokyo, renting a top floor apartment in Setagaya. Really close to Shimokitazawa and Sangenjaya. Probably head out to Hakone this trip, since we haven't been there before.
We're not going there on this trip, but everyone should splurge and spend a night at a really nice ryokan on Miyajima. Absolutely incredible. Was easily the highlight of our honeymoon back in 2006.
Valkyr Junkie
Member
Fortunately most international airlines are cool and allow at least one bag to be checked for free, so you'll have some buffer even if you don't want to pay to check a bag. Fees aren't too high to check additional bags in the grand scheme of things however.
While sending stuff home via FedEx is pretty damn expensive, it's relatively cheap to send stuff back via the post office, so consider that as well. When I went, I mailed back some stuff I had accumulated along the first week or so (mostly souvenirs) and then my last few days of the 3 weeks was spent in Tokyo, so I bought whatever I wanted as well as backpack (Japanese outdoor brand, so that's a souvenir in and of itself). Then I checked my original luggage and used the backpack as my carry-on item.
Just leave some space in your original set of luggage to fit anything you may pickup along the early part of your trip. Luggage that has expandable areas or packing a separate bag that collapses into almost nothing inside a larger bag is a good idea as well.
Nope got home the night of Nov 30th.
I met this (possibly crazy) old Japanese man in Kyoto who spoke excellent English. I asked him to write my name & its meaning in Kanji but have no idea if what he wrote is even remotely accurate. So my first & middle names (Nicholas Paul) came out as "the sun rising over that pole." Can Japanese GAF shed some light on this?
So I'm heading to Japan on the 24th March till the 11th April, with my girlfriend and another couple.
This is everyone's first time so would love some feedback on this itinerary.
First 5 nights will be in Tokyo
6 nights in Osaka/Kyoto
Then our friends will be heading back to Tokyo for another day then leaving.
We have another 4 days left, so we were thinking of the last 2 back in Tokyo.
Not sure what we should do with the other 2 days...
Thanks for any help guys I've read through the thread so much but would love some opinions on our plans.
Cheers.
This is everyone's first time so would love some feedback on this itinerary.
First 5 nights will be in Tokyo
6 nights in Osaka/Kyoto
Then our friends will be heading back to Tokyo for another day then leaving.
We have another 4 days left, so we were thinking of the last 2 back in Tokyo.
Not sure what we should do with the other 2 days...
Thanks for any help guys I've read through the thread so much but would love some opinions on our plans.
Cheers.
super-famicom
Member
He just picked kanji that had the closest equivalent sounds to your name. Nicholas = Ni Ko Ra Su phonetically, so I'm guessing the kanji would for Ni would be 日 (sun) and Ko would be 興 or 向 (both of which can be used in words that mean 'rise'). Not sure what the Ra or Su would be. It may be possible he just did "Nick" instead of Nicholas. And it sounds like he wrote Paul in katakana, ポール, since pole would be written the same way.
Technically, foreigner names would usually be written in katakana (the form used for foreign loanwords and foreign names) and never in kanji. You could write any non Japanese name in kanji because you can choose any kanji that have the equivalent sounds (and there would be no correct or accurate kanji), but if a Japanese person saw that name in kanji, they probably wouldn't know it was someone's name. But funnily enough, a lot of Japanese parents nowadays name their children using non-traditional combinations or rarely used readings of kanji and create names that a lot of people wouldn't be able to read without furigana (hiragana used to clarify readings of kanji).
Your name in katakana would be ニコラスポール. Could you post a picture of the kanji that guy wrote? Kinda interested in seeing it.
Valkyr Junkie
Member
Are you already factoring in day trips to nearby towns in your Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto time? If so, you can consider adding a day or two in the Hiroshima area if it interests you, and the additional train ride fees isn't a concern. The closer you get to the trip date the better you'll be able to research events going on in your itinerary areas and plan accordingly.
Hiroshima is definitely going to be a day trip. But besides that don't have many others planned.
Valkyr Junkie
Member
No day trips planned to places like Nara, Hakone, or Nikko either?
distantmantra
Member
Visit Miyajima while you're down in Hiroshima. Nikko and Nara are both beautiful, as well.
Miyamima is one of the most beautiful places in Japan.
Hiroshima Bomb-A museum is incredible.
matt360
Member
Hiroshima resident here! And I agree, Miyajima is incredible. I've probably been 30 or 40 times over the last 8 years, but I still get excited every time I go. Coming to Hiroshima but forgoing Miyajima would be a huge waste. In fact, I would even recommend Miyajima over the A-bomb museum.
OccamsBlender
Member
That's an INTENSE itinerary! But god you're going to some FANTASTIC places, I'm jealous. And I live in Japan!
Hiroshima or Koya...damn, Hiroshima is a pretty heft distance from Kansai. At least, it seems like that compared to Koya.
I've never been to Okinawa, I hope to hear how that leg of the trip has gone!
I can't recommend Nara enough, especially since I live there.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/nara/ikaruga.html
But Nara is vast...Travelling within Nara can take a lot of time!
Yoshino and Asuka will easily eat a whole day but it is WORTH it!
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/nara/yoshino.html
I guess I will plug my home town too:
It's about an hour away from Tokyo.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/shizuoka/atami_ito.html
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/shizuoka/izu_kogen.html
TravelGAF my home needs your tourism! Great scuba diving if you're licensed, tasty sea foods, the best green tea in all of Japan, please go.
FireAndBlood
Member
Hey guys. Going to Japan in two weeks. You guys have any recommendations on cool candies to bring back? I heard Kit Kats, but I don't know what else or even what flavors are good.
matt360
Member
Basically all of them are good. I've seen strawberry a lot recently. Also, these babies right here:
Black Thunder. They are 32 yen a pop. They are sort of like chocolate covered Oreos, and they are magnificent. You can get them at any convenient store or supermarket.
Will let you know the next time i go there
I live in Tokyo so heads up if you come here