Post by phillyrunner on Sept 8, 2014 8:10:40 GMT -5
I know there are a couple threads already about Japan, but I figured I would start my own with a few questions I had.
We just returned home from Spain yesterday, and right before we went, we booked a really cheap airfare deal flying in and out of Tokyo (arrive Sat Nov 15th, leave Sunday Nov 23rd). That gives us basically 9 days/8 nights. I have nothing booked yet otherwise, and have done minimal research so far.
We think we want to travel to Tokyo and Kyoto mainly, and take day trips from those 2 places. Any recommended itineraries? I prefer to be back in Tokyo by Saturday night the 22nd before our flight, because I always worry about something happening and missing our flight if we waited until Sunday to head back. I'm thinking: Sat-Tues Tokyo, Tues-Sat Kyoto, Sat-Sun Tokyo. Do you think it is worth it to go anywhere else for a night or 2? If so, where?
Rail pass: I don't want to buy more than a 7 day rail pass (there's only 7 or 14 day options) because I don't think the 14 day will be worth it for us. If you purchased a rail pass, where did you go with it to/from Tokyo and Kyoto? I'm just trying to decide when would be the best time to activate and start using the rail pass since it must be used for 7 consecutive stays.
What part of Tokyo did you stay in, and why? I know we should have no problem getting around using public transportation, but is there a particular area you would recommend?
I think that is all the questions I have for now in the beginning stages. I know that I will have more soon! Thanks!
What are you interested in? History? Nature? Pop culture?
When do you arrive and depart? Right now your itinerary is basically 2 full days in Tokyo and 3 full days in Kyoto. That's really not a lot of time in either place, so I wouldn't add anywhere else (another stop would also add more travel time as overhead). You can easily spend that much time just on highlights in those two cities.
We bought our JR passes from www.jrpass.com/ If you're only making two long trips (Tokyo-Kyoto, and Kyoto-Tokyo), you won't save a lot compared to buying your tickets outright: A Tokyo-Kyoto bullet train ticket costs ¥13,700, so two would be ¥27,400 The Narita Express (assuming you're flying into Narita) is ¥2,820 A 7-day JR Pass costs $275 You can find train prices and times here: www.hyperdia.com/en/
Since it covers the Narita Express, you'd want the 7 days to include either the trip to or from the airport, along with the travel to/from Kyoto. Beyond that, you'll be using the city buses most of the time within Kyoto, so you'll only be using JR if you make a daytrip to Nara or you might use it to get to Fushimi Inari-taisha. In general, you're more likely to use it in Tokyo, but this can get confusing since it only works on the JR lines, not the subway or any of the private rail lines. Since we were traveling onward from Kyoto, we saved our JR passes until we were leaving Tokyo and just bought Suica prepaid cards to get around there. A single trip within the city is just a few dollars, so even traveling quite a bit, it doesn't add up to much.
We stayed in Akihabara, because my SO is a big anime fan and planned to spend a decent amount of time there. It's pretty easy to get around the city on the rail lines, so I would definitely stay close to a station with a few connecting JR lines. And count the stops in between destinations. The express lines are sooo much faster than the locals. Shinjuku isn't a bad choice, because it has great connections and there's a decent amount of things to see/do/eat in the area. (FYI - It looks daunting, but most of Tokyo's highlights are in or near the light-green circular Yamanote line.)
You didn't ask about Kyoto, but I will offer my advice anyway. Nearly all of the highlights are on the edges of the city (mostly on the east edge). A lot of people recommended that we stay close to the station, but there were very few affordable options available when we booked. We ended up splitting our stay between two places, and while the second was farther from the station, it was actually much more convenient. I would strongly recommend staying close (just a few minutes' walk) from a stop on one of the major bus lines (the 100 or most of the 20x lines are pretty good).
Post by phillyrunner on Sept 8, 2014 11:00:06 GMT -5
GilliC, thank you. That is very helpful in getting me started. We are mostly interested in history and nature more so than pop culture. We arrive at 4:40 pm on Saturday, and leave at 6:30pm on Sunday. I actually was thinking of staying in the Shinjuku area in Tokyo.
Do you think it is worth it to go anywhere else for a night or 2? If so, where? Probably not with so few days, but maybe a night in Hakone would work for you.
If you purchased a rail pass, where did you go with it to/from Tokyo and Kyoto? There are trains you can use it on within Tokyo, which we did a couple times. We also used it to get to Nara from Kyoto.
What part of Tokyo did you stay in, and why? I know we should have no problem getting around using public transportation, but is there a particular area you would recommend? We stayed in Shinjuku. It was close to one of the bigger train stations and seemed like a fun area. We liked it a lot!
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. Mark Twain
Post by phillyrunner on Sept 8, 2014 13:33:41 GMT -5
Thanks so much mdgirl. Your trip report was very helpful. My husband and I are both huge baseball fans and now I'm disappointed we won't be there during baseball season!
I think I decided the following, although I haven't booked the hotels yet: Sat-Wed Tokyo (Hyatt Regency in Shinjuku) Wed-Sat Kyoto (Westin in Northern Higashiyama) Sat-Sun Tokyo (near Tokyo station for easier airport access)
And possibly day trips to Mt. Fuji and Nikko from Tokyo, and a possible day trip to Nara from Kyoto. We may decide to only do one of them from Tokyo.
Just curious, has anyone been to Disney in Tokyo? I'm a disney fan, but not sure if it's worth checking out or not during our trip there.
We loved the Hilton in Shinjuku (Tokyo) because it's centrally located, yet rests along a beautiful park. I love Hyatt's as well, but haven't been to the one in Tokyo. It's in the same neighborhood as the Hilton so I'm sure it's great.
Look at the Mount Fuji / Bullet Train tours on www.viator.com ... we booked through them and had an incredible experience.
Thanks so much mdgirl. Your trip report was very helpful. My husband and I are both huge baseball fans and now I'm disappointed we won't be there during baseball season!
I think I decided the following, although I haven't booked the hotels yet: Sat-Wed Tokyo (Hyatt Regency in Shinjuku) Wed-Sat Kyoto (Westin in Northern Higashiyama) Sat-Sun Tokyo (near Tokyo station for easier airport access)
And possibly day trips to Mt. Fuji and Nikko from Tokyo, and a possible day trip to Nara from Kyoto. We may decide to only do one of them from Tokyo.
Just curious, has anyone been to Disney in Tokyo? I'm a disney fan, but not sure if it's worth checking out or not during our trip there.
I'm in tokyo right now and just went to Disneyland and Disney Sea. It's 15-20 min from tokyo station. Disneyland tokyo = the magic kingdom with Japanese language shows and food. If you like the MK, you'll like this too. But if you want to see something new then skip it. Disney Sea feels the same size (land wise) as magic kingdom but fewer rides because it has a lot of water areas and a big "volcano" in the middle. Most things are, of course, related to water in some way. The park has random sections like "America," "lost delta" (with an Incan pyramid), "mermaid lagoon" (for smaller kids but still pretty), "Mediterranean" (Italy), etc. There are boats that go around the whole park. Gondola rides, railroad, etc too. I thought it was more unique and I liked that it felt more relaxed. With the MK I feel like I need to plan out the entire day or miss a lot of the park. The rides are still very Disney-like - so a lot of sitting in a moving car/boat/sub and watching a story told by singing robot people. Plus thrill rides like the tower of terror and shows (all in Japanese). People watching at the parks is top notch. They are really into dressing up in full Disney attire. Grounds of friends will dress identically in head to toe Disney apparel. It's hilarious.
Some more information that I was randomly thinking about this afternoon: Japan is still surprisingly cash-centric, considering its high-tech reputation. Not only that, but a lot of ATMs can't accept foreign debit cards. A great piece of advice I remember seeing around here was that the 7-11 ATMs do accept foreign cards, so we started keeping an eye out for the closest 7-11 wherever we were staying. Unfortunately they only dispensed ¥10,000 notes (roughly $100).
Post by phillyrunner on Sept 9, 2014 15:31:09 GMT -5
GilliC, thanks. My husband and I actually saw that when we were doing some trip planning last night. I think we are going to get a bunch of cash prior to leaving the states to be safe.
origami I think I have to check out disney now! Hopefully we can fit it in, even if for just a morning/afternoon to people watch!
GilliC, thanks. My husband and I actually saw that when we were doing some trip planning last night. I think we are going to get a bunch of cash prior to leaving the states to be safe.
origami I think I have to check out disney now! Hopefully we can fit it in, even if for just a morning/afternoon to people watch!
I'm jealous of your upcoming trip. Japan is one of my most favorite places to visit. I'd suggest keeping an eye out for foliage reports. You may be able to catch fall colors in Kyoto. It'll draw massive crowds, but the vibrant colors are spectacular, particularly against the temple/shrine/garden backdrops.
If you're a Disney fan, then Disney Sea is worth visiting. The thought and detail out into the place is something else. I believe that Disney Sea sometimes offers evening tickets (starlight pass and after six pass) for a decent discount.
Nikki is lovely, but it may not shine quite as much if winter has set in. I'd probably skip it and spend an extra day traveling to Hemeiji (south of Kyoto), but I'm weird and need to feel like I'm getting use out of my rail pass.
GilliC, thanks. My husband and I actually saw that when we were doing some trip planning last night. I think we are going to get a bunch of cash prior to leaving the states to be safe.
origami I think I have to check out disney now! Hopefully we can fit it in, even if for just a morning/afternoon to people watch!
I'm jealous of your upcoming trip. Japan is one of my most favorite places to visit. I'd suggest keeping an eye out for foliage reports. You may be able to catch fall colors in Kyoto. It'll draw massive crowds, but the vibrant colors are spectacular, particularly against the temple/shrine/garden backdrops.
If you're a Disney fan, then Disney Sea is worth visiting. The thought and detail out into the place is something else. I believe that Disney Sea sometimes offers evening tickets (starlight pass and after six pass) for a decent discount.
Nikki is lovely, but it may not shine quite as much if winter has set in. I'd probably skip it and spend an extra day traveling to Hemeiji (south of Kyoto), but I'm weird and need to feel like I'm getting use out of my rail pass.
Himeji was under serious reconstruction in April. Completely covered with scaffolding. I don't think it's slated to be done for a while. I was there a few years ago so I convinced my BF to save it for a future trip when the work is done.
I'm jealous of your upcoming trip. Japan is one of my most favorite places to visit. I'd suggest keeping an eye out for foliage reports. You may be able to catch fall colors in Kyoto. It'll draw massive crowds, but the vibrant colors are spectacular, particularly against the temple/shrine/garden backdrops.
If you're a Disney fan, then Disney Sea is worth visiting. The thought and detail out into the place is something else. I believe that Disney Sea sometimes offers evening tickets (starlight pass and after six pass) for a decent discount.
Nikki is lovely, but it may not shine quite as much if winter has set in. I'd probably skip it and spend an extra day traveling to Hemeiji (south of Kyoto), but I'm weird and need to feel like I'm getting use out of my rail pass.
Himeji was under serious reconstruction in April. Completely covered with scaffolding. I don't think it's slated to be done for a while. I was there a few years ago so I convinced my BF to save it for a future trip when the work is done.
Good call. I didn't know. It was impressive when I saw it a few years ago, but I'm sure much of the effect is lost when covered by scaffolding.
Post by phillyrunner on Oct 9, 2014 14:47:22 GMT -5
Another question. I think it might be best to stop at Mt. Fuji for part of the day on our way to Kyoto from Tokyo since it looks like it is on the way. Do you know if there is a place to store luggage at one of the stations there?
Post by phillyrunner on Oct 9, 2014 14:48:55 GMT -5
And we are definitely going to Disney Sea. I think we might go there at night for a couple hours just to check it out…not really go on any rides, just to walk around. It looks like after 6pm it is discounted!
Post by phillyrunner on Nov 26, 2014 11:36:08 GMT -5
Just wanted to say thank you all so much for your Japan advice. I just returned home from our trip, and we had the most incredible time! I loved the country and I would say it ranks up there (currently tied with South Africa) for top 2 places I've visited so far. I couldn't get over the beauty especially with the fall foliage! Now I really want to see more of Asia!