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[Fritz]

Fritz, great photos. I am still figuring out where to stay in the mountains near Tokyo. I want things to do. Relaxing, nature-y stuff. Maybe I should just stay in the city again and day trip out to the mountains?

Check out Nikko. There is a national park with plenty of hikes, at least two onsen villages with Yumoto and Chuzenji and Nikko itself with the World Heritage Site.

Another Option would probably be Hakone, but I havent been.

The further from Tokyo and the deeper into the alps the more scenic and tranquil it will probably get but it will also be a lot more time consuming.

 

[distantmantra]

I prefer Nikko over Hakone, but both are beautiful.

 

[KaidoRacer7]

This thread helped so much in my travel. Thanks guys!

 

[KiraFA37]

Cool, hope you enjoy visiting my town when you come! If you need some travel tips for the area let me know and I'll see if I can help. Kagoshima is a nice little town. The ferry to Sakurajima is 24 hours a day and comes in 15 minute intervals so its super easy to get to. Just hope it does not go off when you are there (not that its dangerous, just the ash is really annoying but I live with it everyday so -shrug-)

Also be aware that Kumamoto castle and the city itself is still in pretty rough shape, more so in certain areas than others after their quake. Parts of the castle are definitely still shutdown but I think you can visit certain parts of it these days still. Traffic there might be a bit slow too due to damaged roads. Last time I went through it was one lane each way since one side was shut down.

If you have spare time though to run around Kagoshima prefecture I'd recommend looking into the Ibuski volcanic sand baths as a nice little few hours trip. Takes an hour to get there by train from Kagoshima central station, do some time in the onsen in Ibusuki then head back to Kagoshima easy peasy.

Sorry for the late reply but things got hectic at work and I forgot I posted here, I'll definitely check out some of the things you said and if you have any other suggestions or recommendations please do share as my planning is still flexible.

Spoiler

(read: too busy/lazy to plan but I'm starting up now)

Some trouble for Khaosan Hostels then
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...hot-water-foreign-female-guests-busted-maids/

I stayed with those guys a couple of years ago in Tokyo. Didn't knew what they did was illegal, hostel was awesome though 9/10 would recommend.


Also you guys have any recommendations for staying a single night near Narita airport? My flight lands at 18.45 when I arrive which doesn't give me enough time to collect my JR pass, additionally I'll be heading to Kagoshima the day after so heading to Tokyo just to sleep seems like a waste.

 

[aOlafsson]

I went to Japan for the first time earlier this year, and oh man if that thread title isn´t accurate... Came here for a recommendations and tips last time and they were incredibly helpful, thanks all.

I'm planning on going again in January for ten days or so, and was wondering whether anyone had any recommendations on favorite places to go or sights to see during the winter time in Japan. I probably won't be able to go to Hokkaido, and will definitely be spending at least a few days in Tokyo. Anything Japan TravelGAF think is worthy of visiting in the wintertime would be awesome.

Just to note, I went in April and visited Tokyo, Osaka, and Shuzenji. I'm fine with revisiting the same places as they were amazing, but figured I might want to check out some other stuff this time around.

Also hopefully I can get Ghibli museum tickets this time around. Those were the bane of me last time.

 

[Laevateinn]

So, Article 50 will be triggered at the end of March which is about when I plan on going. The yen will be fucked then right? Maybe I should delay a bit.

 

[Johnlenham]

Hey guys, so yeah posted earlier in the thread but just had a quick question about the rail passes and Tokyo accom.

So we are arriving November 18th in Tokyo and thinking of having one week there (want to fit in Disney and we have Ghibili tickets for the following weekend) and then go out of Tokyo to Hiroshima, Kyoto, Arashiyima, Fuji, Miyajima and other such places.

My wife is adamant we get a rail pass for two weeks but is that a waste? am I better off getting one for after we finish at gibili and using the oyster type card for Tokyos subways etc?

Also what about accommodation in tokyo? should we just book a place (air bnb?) for a week as a base or move after 3 days or so?

Any info would be sweet

 

[MikeHattsu]

My wife is adamant we get a rail pass for two weeks but is that a waste? am I better off getting one for after we finish at gibili and using the oyster type card for Tokyos subways etc?

Also what about accommodation in tokyo? should we just book a place (air bnb?) for a week as a base or move after 3 days or so?

Getting a JR Pass for Tokyo is a waste of money, yes.

Just book 1 place while in Tokyo. Then you don't have to waste time moving your luggage around.

 

[Piichan]

Will do!

My reply is late, but avoid the yatai in Tenjin and around Nakasu. Go to the ones in Nagahama. Less tourists, and all around better food and atmosphere.

 

[olympia]

So, Article 50 will be triggered at the end of March which is about when I plan on going. The yen will be fucked then right? Maybe I should delay a bit.

This is when I'm going, so any insight about this will be appreciated.

 

[MikeHattsu]

This is when I'm going, so any insight about this will be appreciated.

It's about Brexit and if you're from the UK the GBP will probably tank against the JPY

 

[Zatoth]

Hey guys, so yeah posted earlier in the thread but just had a quick question about the rail passes and Tokyo accom.

So we are arriving November 18th in Tokyo and thinking of having one week there (want to fit in Disney and we have Ghibili tickets for the following weekend) and then go out of Tokyo to Hiroshima, Kyoto, Arashiyima, Fuji, Miyajima and other such places.

My wife is adamant we get a rail pass for two weeks but is that a waste? am I better off getting one for after we finish at gibili and using the oyster type card for Tokyos subways etc?

Also what about accommodation in tokyo? should we just book a place (air bnb?) for a week as a base or move after 3 days or so?

Any info would be sweet

As Mike already said, JR Pass for Tokyo is a waste of money.

Depends on how much time you want to spend around Kyoto/Hiroshima. If 7 days is enough, you can use the 1-week JR Pass to go there and then back to Tokyo.

I would try to keep the number of accommodation at one place to a minimum. Moving your luggage around is just a waste of time if you plan to stay in the same city anyway.

And you are going in ~3 weeks and have not booked anything yet? That would drive me crazy.

 

[Worthintendo]

so this happened today



Now the wait begins again

 

[Zatoth]

Now the wait begins again

Don't forget to grab your Ghibli Tickets as soon as they are available.

 

[Worthintendo]

Don't forget to grab your Ghibli Tickets as soon as they are available.

I went last year when I was in Japan, I'm not sure if I'm going to bother going again. It was OK, I enjoyed it but I don't know if it would be worth going to a second time.

 

[MikeHattsu]

so this happened today

Now the wait begins again

How much time ya gonna spend in each place?

 

[Johnlenham]

Getting a JR Pass for Tokyo is a waste of money, yes.

Just book 1 place while in Tokyo. Then you don't have to waste time moving your luggage around.

As Mike already said, JR Pass for Tokyo is a waste of money.

Depends on how much time you want to spend around Kyoto/Hiroshima. If 7 days is enough, you can use the 1-week JR Pass to go there and then back to Tokyo.

I would try to keep the number of accommodation at one place to a minimum. Moving your luggage around is just a waste of time if you plan to stay in the same city anyway.

And you are going in ~3 weeks and have not booked anything yet? That would drive me crazy.

Ah ok, well we are thinking 2 weeks in Japan then flying on to Taiwan, depends on how much we spend really.

Yeah we fly to Manila on sunday and dont even have a place to stay there yet... currently trying to move all our stuff out of our london flat, its quite intense.

We arnt talking like 20KGs of suitcases though but backpacks as we will be away for 2 months in total, so hopping on a train from one side of tokyo to another isnt a stress but if its fairly pointless (as we would have to move/recheck in etc) then fair enough.

If anyone has any recs for Air bnbs/hostels that would be cool, feel free to PM as well!

 

[Worthintendo]

How much time ya gonna spend in each place?

Current plan is
Tokyo: September 29th to October 10th
Nagoya: October 10th to October 17th
Osaka: October 17th to October 25th

Plan to make the most of a 2 week railpass once I'm out of Tokyo and travel from Nagoya to Kyoto a few times and Osaka to Horishima. Maybe even head down to Nagasaki and spend the night there and then travel back to Osaka.

 

[MikeHattsu]

No interest in going to Kanazawa, Takayama or Shirakawa? More interesting than Nagoya IMO ;P

 

[Worthintendo]

No interest in going to Kanazawa, Takayama or Shirakawa? More interesting than Nagoya IMO ;P

I had a good time in Nagoya, loved my hotel and the people I met there who I plan on meeting up with again. Plus its a good location I figure to travel in and out of should I need.

 

[MikeHattsu]

I had a good time in Nagoya, loved my hotel and the people I met there who I plan on meeting up with again. Plus its a good location I figure to travel in and out of should I need.

Aha

 

[Worthintendo]

I just need to figure out what to do with myself for the 10 or so days in Tokyo, don't really want to repeat what I did last time too much and I hit up alot of the touristy things (Zoos and Aquariums and Disney Land).

 

[Laevateinn]

This is when I'm going, so any insight about this will be appreciated.

It's about Brexit and if you're from the UK the GBP will probably tank against the JPY

Not just the UK really. JPY is seen as a safe-haven currency because Japan has a magic economy where nothing interesting happens. When the world is having problems, people invest there because their money will remain stable which strengthens the yen a bit. Right now it's about 104JPY per USD. I could see it going into the 90s if something really big happens. Although when the vote happened, it only went down a few yen. That might just be because investors realized it would be a while before something actually happened.

Hopefully that's all that happens. I don't want to go back when it is 94 JPY to the dollar again like my first trip.

It's too bad Abenomics is such a failure. There was a brief period where it was in the 120s -- which happened to be during my last trip -- and it was glorious.

I think we can all agree that the UK is the worst.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

It's official! I'm finally going back to Japan!

I'm staying in Tokyo for 4 nights (Keio Plaza Hotel) and gonna check out Disneyland and probably do some day tours. Then I'm doing this 12 day tour through Japan!

EDIT: I'm going March 27th - April 13th!

 

[Fritz]

I just need to figure out what to do with myself for the 10 or so days in Tokyo, don't really want to repeat what I did last time too much and I hit up alot of the touristy things (Zoos and Aquariums and Disney Land).

I'ld spend days in different neighborhoods. Shimokitazawa, Daikanyama, Yanaka, Sendagaya etc. I'ld also focus more on museums and architecture. The rest i'ld ask at my accommodation for local tips.

 

[distantmantra]

I'ld spend days in different neighborhoods. Shimokitazawa, Daikanyama, Yanaka, Sendagaya etc. I'ld also focus more on museums and architecture. The rest i'ld ask at my accommodation for local tips.

Shimo and Yanaka are some of my favorite neighborhoods in Tokyo. My wife and I stayed in Yanaka in 2006 and 2010 and loved it. Visited it again in 2014 (opted for an AirBNB in Sangenjaya) and found it completely overrun with tourists, but still utterly charming.

 

[Laevateinn]

Shimo and Yanaka are some of my favorite neighborhoods in Tokyo. My wife and I stayed in Yanaka in 2006 and 2010 and loved it. Visited it again in 2014 (opted for an AirBNB in Sangenjaya) and found it completely overrun with tourists, but still utterly charming.

Yanaka is great but the mosquitos in the cemetery are monstrous.

 

[KillGore]

So I was following ticket prices from LAX to TYO (second week of May) and the prices skyrocketed today. Tickets were around $550 and today they all went above $750. From your experience, will the tickets go down again?

 

[Laevateinn]

So I was following ticket prices from LAX to TYO (second week of May) and the prices skyrocketed today. Tickets were around $550 and today they all went above $750. From your experience, will the tickets go down again?

Try using private browsing and a VPN.

 

[Fritz]

Shimo and Yanaka are some of my favorite neighborhoods in Tokyo. My wife and I stayed in Yanaka in 2006 and 2010 and loved it. Visited it again in 2014 (opted for an AirBNB in Sangenjaya) and found it completely overrun with tourists, but still utterly charming.

I believe it was you who recommended Shimokita to me before. Loved it!!! The barkeeper at my hostel compared it to my neighborhood in Berlin. Same same but different I'ld say.

Explored Yanaka on my first trip in 2014 and returned this year for two nights. I even met up with fellow gaffer GunslingerVit and had a couple of drinks. Since he speaks Japanese it was great because we immediately got into a conversation with some locals. Really laid back and cool.

 

[Johnlenham]

are any of the places mentioned above good for newbie tourists?
We were told to check out Shinjuku or shibuya? but obviously open to anyother recommendations.

Id rather be in a kind of localish hipster esq area than a hyper touristy one if that makes sense?

 

[Laevateinn]

are any of the places mentioned above good for newbie tourists?
We were told to check out Shinjuku or shibuya? but obviously open to anyother recommendations.

Id rather be in a kind of localish hipster esq area than a hyper touristy one if that makes sense?

Check out Jimbocho.

In terms of the stuff mentioned above, Shimokitazawa looks like what you'd want. I haven't been there yet though.

 

[Fritz]

are any of the places mentioned above good for newbie tourists?
We were told to check out Shinjuku or shibuya? but obviously open to anyother recommendations.

Id rather be in a kind of localish hipster esq area than a hyper touristy one if that makes sense?

Definetely Shimokitazawa. It's a small neighbourhood, easy to navigate with plenty of great shops, especially second hand and lots of restaurants and bars.

I haven't been to Daikanyama, but it's supposedly similar just more upscale.

Shinjuku and Shibuja are kinda the hot spots but just massive and few things really that special when it comes to shopping. Department stores and global brands mainly. They are more like hubs I think. From Shibuja I only ever ventured to Cat Street and Omotesando with all their side alleys.

 

[Johnlenham]

Check out Jimbocho.

In terms of the stuff mentioned above, Shimokitazawa looks like what you'd want. I haven't been there yet though.

Definetely Shimokitazawa. It's a small neighbourhood, easy to navigate with plenty of great shops, especially second hand and lots of restaurants and bars.

I haven't been to Daikanyama, but it's supposedly similar just more upscale.

Shinjuku and Shibuja are kinda the hot spots but just massive and few things really that special when it comes to shopping. Department stores and global brands mainly. They are more like hubs I think. From Shibuja I only ever ventured to Cat Street and Omotesando with all their side alleys.

Awesome, cheers guys!

 

[distantmantra]

Koenji, Sangenjaya and Nakameguro are also cool areas.

 

[Johnlenham]

Koenji, Sangenjaya and Nakameguro are also cool areas.

Cheers!

Just working our way through and christ its pricey in Japan (shock a major city is expensive)
Is £500 or so for 8 days for two people reasonable?

Literally the last time I will have constant internet to book something lol

 

[Laevateinn]

Cheers!

Just working our way through and christ its pricey in Japan (shock a major city is expensive)
Is £500 or so for 8 days for two people reasonable?

Literally the last time I will have constant internet to book something lol

Is that just for the hotel? I don't know how that translates to real money but we pay 6500 yen a night for the place we stay at.

 

[Johnlenham]

Is that just for the hotel? I don't know how that translates to real money but we pay 6500 yen a night for the place we stay at.

This is Air BNB for two people. One place we are looking at in Shimo is 56803 yen for 8 Nights as an example.

Ghibli tickets are 7 days from when we arrive and figured we would leave tokyo with our rail pass the next day? Or is it better to check out and go to the museum then move on from there with the rail pass?

 

[Laevateinn]

That doesn't seem like a bad price. Just wanted to make sure you were planning on bringing more money for everything else.

We stay at a ryokan so they had a place we could leave our things after checking out for a few hours. If you're at an airbnb that might not be an option so it depends on whether you want to be dragging you things around I guess.

 

[MikeHattsu]

This is Air BNB for two people. One place we are looking at in Shimo is 56803 yen for 8 Nights as an example.

Eh, could probably find something cheaper on there. Getting close to business hotel prices there.

 

[Johnlenham]

Eh, could probably find something cheaper on there. Getting close to business hotel prices there.

Jhez really?

Maybe leaving it so late is biting me in the ass

 

[MikeHattsu]

Jhez really?

Maybe leaving it so late is biting me in the ass

Got a place for 5 people in a central location in Tokyo for 10 nights for ~$900 here 2 months ago.

 

[Laevateinn]

Booked our flights. April 1st to April 17th.

Anyone have recommendations for places to stay in Kyoto? How many days should I do? 3?

A lot of the places seem to be booked already.

 

[Laevateinn]

Nevermind guys, I booked at Ohara no Sato Onsen.

 

[Triteon]

are any of the places mentioned above good for newbie tourists?
We were told to check out Shinjuku or shibuya? but obviously open to anyother recommendations.

Id rather be in a kind of localish hipster esq area than a hyper touristy one if that makes sense?

I spent 18 days in Tokyo earlier in the year and I was based out of Shimokita.

It was a really great area to be based out of, as the local area had great food and possibly the best coffee I had in the whole of Japan. It also had a few small clubs and we were able to catch a few gigs. Its got a lot of hipsterish styled stores (cool used clothes, record shops, bike places that kind of thing).

It was only a few stops to both Shibuya and Shinjuku.

I liked it so much that I might base myself there again next time I go to Tokyo, which is something I usually don't do when travelling.

 

[Worthintendo]

Out of interest, has anyone checked out Oshima Island just outside of Tokyo? Thinking about checking it out next year just for something different.

 

[Jocchan]

What's a good ryokan with an onsen in the Kyoto area, preferably near Gion or Higashiyama, that is also not overly expensive?

EDIT: What the hell? Everything seems to be booked already for May???

 

[MikeHattsu]

What's a good ryokan with an onsen in the Kyoto area, preferably near Gion or Higashiyama, that is also not overly expensive?

EDIT: What the hell? Everything seems to be booked already for May???

You might be too early. A lot of places only opens up for bookings 5-6 months in advance.

 

[Jocchan]

You might be too early. A lot of places only opens up for bookings 5-6 months in advance.

I figured that, but I admit I freaked out a little, haha. Thanks for the reassuring answer.

Going back to the original question, with my trip being a honeymoon I thought about asking a travel agency for additional safety (you don't want anything to go terribly wrong during those days).
Since I asked for a very freestyle vacation, without organized tours, they only bothered to organize for booking flights, hotels (room only) and JR Pass for two, no additional services/warranties included, and came up with an estimate a lot more expensive than I was anticipating.

At this point, I'm wondering if a travel agency is of any use at all, when I could be booking everything myself.

Also, the ryokan they suggested for one of our nights in Kyoto doesn't have an onsen, so it would be lovely to get some suggestions about great places to stay in

 

[MikeHattsu]

Also, the ryokan they suggested for one of our nights in Kyoto doesn't have an onsen, so it would be lovely to get some suggestions about great places to stay in

If you want to stay at a place with a legit onsen while in Kyoto then you need to stay at a place in Arashiyama in western Kyoto.