Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once

Hey guys. I had a few questions about traveling overseas and this seems like just about the best place to ask them. So here goes. I'm planning on traveling to Japan for about two weeks with a friend. We already booked our flight and have around $3000 to work with. The other thing is, we might have a friend to stay with but I don't know how long that would last. What is the bare minimum amount of money two people would need to survive in Tokyo? Oh yeah, that's another thing... Probably not planning on straying too far from the Tokyo area (that's fer next time!) The timeframe for the trip will be early May, if that matters.

Thanks all. :)
 
jaxapollo said:
Hey guys. I had a few questions about traveling overseas and this seems like just about the best place to ask them. So here goes. I'm planning on traveling to Japan for about two weeks with a friend. We already booked our flight and have around $3000 to work with. The other thing is, we might have a friend to stay with but I don't know how long that would last. What is the bare minimum amount of money two people would need to survive in Tokyo? Oh yeah, that's another thing... Probably not planning on straying too far from the Tokyo area (that's fer next time!) The timeframe for the trip will be early May, if that matters.

Thanks all. :)
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Bare minimum? $35-40 for food/drinks + some shared hostel dorm per person each day.
 
Raguel said:
Awesome, you're going again hwalker?? Lucky. What is your itinerary this time? And valkyr junkie, I'll def check japanican.
Edit: japanican does have some good places! Thanks.
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Woo! I used to work for that site. Jalan.com is good too, and rakuten travel. Those are most popular sites that Japanese people use (counting japanican as JTB)
 
For airport express train, can I use my IC card and just tap it like normal train or I have to buy particular ticket in the airport?
 
So i'm preparing for a trip to Japan at the end of May with a few friends. At the moment we're mostly looking at booking the accommodation first. We gave our travel agent a general itinerary and they recommended us a bunch of places to stay based on our suggestions. I'm just looking for advice because generally i find the travel agents tend to just recommend expensive places and it's kinda hard to judge the quality. I've been browsing some of the sites linked on here and whilst they are useful it's very hard to narrow down places to stay.

At the moment this is where we will be staying, prices are in Australian dollars:
4 nights’ accommodation - Citadines Shinjuku $ 791.00

1 nights’ accommodation Motoyu Kansuiro $ 771.00

4 nights’ accommodation Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Sanjo $ 664.00

2 nights’ accommodation Hotel Granvia Osaka $ 483.00

1 nights’ accommodation Mitsui Garden Hotel Hiroshima $ 154.00

2 nights’ accommodation Hotel Granvia Osaka $ 530.00

Our plan is to go:
Fly into Tokyo. (3 nights)
Mt Fuji (1 night)
Takayama (2 nights)
Kyoto (3 nights)
Miyajima Island (1 night) ferry from hiroshima
Osaka (2 nights)
then Tokyo by Nara (1 night) then fly out the next day.

So yeah hoping to get some recommendations for accommodations in these areas, in particular hoping to stay in a traditional ryokan which seems to be difficult to choose. I realise that's a pretty broad thing to ask for but if anyone has any recommended places to stay that would be awesome.
 
AdventureRacing said:
So i'm preparing for a trip to Japan at the end of May with a few friends. At the moment we're mostly looking at booking the accommodation first. We gave our travel agent a general itinerary and they recommended us a bunch of places to stay based on our suggestions. I'm just looking for advice because generally i find the travel agents tend to just recommend expensive places and it's kinda hard to judge the quality. I've been browsing some of the sites linked on here and whilst they are useful it's very hard to narrow down places to stay.
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Well... How many people are you? :P

What are you planning to do in the Mt. Fuji area? You're planning to stay in Takayama, but I see no hotel for it in your list?
 
MikeHattsu said:
Well... How many people are you? :P

What are you planning to do in the Mt. Fuji area? You're planning to stay in Takayama, but I see no hotel for it in your list?
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It'll be 3 of us, there was a 4th thinking of coming but they had to pull out. Honestly not sure about what we'll do in the mount Fuji area, still trying to work things out. The 2 lists probably don't match up perfectly, as one was our general plan and the other is what the travel agent worked out. I wasn't involved too much in the early planning and i'm just trying to get my head around it to organise things.

We want to visit the places on the second list so i'm trying to get a general idea of some accommodations that are available. It's a lot to get your head around as there is so many options.
 
AdventureRacing said:
So i'm preparing for a trip to Japan at the end of May with a few friends. At the moment we're mostly looking at booking the accommodation first. We gave our travel agent a general itinerary and they recommended us a bunch of places to stay based on our suggestions. I'm just looking for advice because generally i find the travel agents tend to just recommend expensive places and it's kinda hard to judge the quality. I've been browsing some of the sites linked on here and whilst they are useful it's very hard to narrow down places to stay.

At the moment this is where we will be staying, prices are in Australian dollars:
4 nights’ accommodation - Citadines Shinjuku $ 791.00

1 nights’ accommodation Motoyu Kansuiro $ 771.00

4 nights’ accommodation Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Sanjo $ 664.00

2 nights’ accommodation Hotel Granvia Osaka $ 483.00

1 nights’ accommodation Mitsui Garden Hotel Hiroshima $ 154.00

2 nights’ accommodation Hotel Granvia Osaka $ 530.00

Our plan is to go:
Fly into Tokyo. (3 nights)
Mt Fuji (1 night)
Takayama (2 nights)
Kyoto (3 nights)
Miyajima Island (1 night) ferry from hiroshima
Osaka (2 nights)
then Tokyo by Nara (1 night) then fly out the next day.

So yeah hoping to get some recommendations for accommodations in these areas, in particular hoping to stay in a traditional ryokan which seems to be difficult to choose. I realise that's a pretty broad thing to ask for but if anyone has any recommended places to stay that would be awesome.
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Are those prices per person? Or total? They seem really expensive for 3 people. And at what kind of accommodations are you willing to stay?
 
AdventureRacing said:
Our plan is to go:
Fly into Tokyo. (3 nights)
Mt Fuji (1 night)
Takayama (2 nights)
Kyoto (3 nights)
Miyajima Island (1 night) ferry from hiroshima
Osaka (2 nights)
then Tokyo by Nara (1 night) then fly out the next day.
Click to expand...

Should you consider to say on Miyajima for the night instead of Hiroshima I can recommend these places:
http://www.gambo-ad.com/english/hotel/index.php?ar=1&id=12
http://www.gambo-ad.com/english/hotel/index.php?ar=1&id=16

Stayed in both places and liked them. I did prefer the first one a bit more.
 
So our updated Itinerary looks like this:
3 nights’ accommodation - Citadines Shinjuku $ 595.00

1 nights’ accommodation Hakone Yumoto Hotel $ 380.00

2 nights’ accommodation Best Western Hotel Takayama $ 393.00

3 nights’ accommodation Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Sanjo $ 502.00

1 nights’ accommodation Ryokan Jukeiso Miyajima Island $ 502.00

2 nights’ accommodation Hotel Granvia Osaka $ 242.00

1 nights’ accommodation Hotel Villa Fontaine Shiodome $ 235.00

Those prices are per person so they are fairly expensive (australian dollars). Still sticking with the previous plan as above on where we want to visit. So yeah if anyone can recommend any places to stay that would be awesome. Wouldn't mind finding a couple of cheaper places but willing to check out some more expensive ones as well. I feel like we're probably spending a bit too much on accommodation but if i can't find anything else i'll stick with it.

Raguel said:
Are those prices per person? Or total? They seem really expensive for 3 people. And at what kind of accommodations are you willing to stay?
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The prices are per person and they are quite expensive. Honestly i'd normally be willing to stay pretty much anywhere when i travel (and i mean anywhere) but my friends want to stay in some nicer places in Japan which i'm ok with.

traube said:
Should you consider to say on Miyajima for the night instead of Hiroshima I can recommend these places:
http://www.gambo-ad.com/english/hotel/index.php?ar=1&id=12
http://www.gambo-ad.com/english/hotel/index.php?ar=1&id=16

Stayed in both places and liked them. I did prefer the first one a bit more.
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Yeah we were planning on staying on Miyajima instead of Hiroshima, both those places look really nice. I might actually
 
Do the SCEI/SCEJ buildings near Shinagawa station have merchandise stores (tshirts, etc)? I picked up a shirt at Tokaigi this weekend but I lost the "guess which size Japanese shirt would fit me" game again...I figure there's gotta be a store in Tokyo selling these things...
 
AdventureRacing said:
So our updated Itinerary looks like this:
3 nights’ accommodation - Citadines Shinjuku $ 595.00

1 nights’ accommodation Hakone Yumoto Hotel $ 380.00

2 nights’ accommodation Best Western Hotel Takayama $ 393.00

3 nights’ accommodation Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Sanjo $ 502.00

1 nights’ accommodation Ryokan Jukeiso Miyajima Island $ 502.00

2 nights’ accommodation Hotel Granvia Osaka $ 242.00

1 nights’ accommodation Hotel Villa Fontaine Shiodome $ 235.00

Those prices are per person so they are fairly expensive (australian dollars). Still sticking with the previous plan as above on where we want to visit. So yeah if anyone can recommend any places to stay that would be awesome. Wouldn't mind finding a couple of cheaper places but willing to check out some more expensive ones as well. I feel like we're probably spending a bit too much on accommodation but if i can't find anything else i'll stick with it.



The prices are per person and they are quite expensive. Honestly i'd normally be willing to stay pretty much anywhere when i travel (and i mean anywhere) but my friends want to stay in some nicer places in Japan which i'm ok with.



Yeah we were planning on staying on Miyajima instead of Hiroshima, both those places look really nice. I might actually
Click to expand...

Those prices sounds way too expensive per person esp since you're gonna hardly be at your hotel. At least i hope you won't be at the hotel other than to sleep. You're spending close to 3k just for hotels. I mean if you have the funds then by all means go for it. But some great sites to look for hotels are jalan.net, japanican, aboda, airbnb (you can rent an entire house with your budget and that may be a better deal), and trip advisor. They have great quality hotels/places to stay for less. Or ask someone you know in japan for help. Our friend helped us book a nice qaint small barebones ryokan that was $300 usd total for 6 days. We don't need a upscale fancy place since we will be exploring all day and are putting our money towards food and shopping.
 
i have a trip booked for my easter holidays, week in tokyo then a couple days in kyoto. i'm incredibly excited, really can't wait. however also a bit nervous, i'm going on my own and i've never been outside the uk on my own before. it's also a long way away and a language/culture that's very different. does anyone have any tips to stay out of trouble, things to watch out for etc.
 
Empty said:
i have a trip booked for my easter holidays, week in tokyo then a couple days in kyoto. i'm incredibly excited, really can't wait. however also a bit nervous, i'm going on my own and i've never been outside the uk on my own before. it's also a long way away and a language/culture that's very different. does anyone have any tips to stay out of trouble, things to watch out for etc.
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How not to do stuff:
http://www.tofugu.com/2012/05/14/how-to-be-a-baka-gaijin-on-trains/
http://www.tofugu.com/2012/05/21/how-to-be-a-baka-gaijin-in-the-house/
http://www.tofugu.com/2012/05/28/how-to-be-a-baka-gaijin-while-eating/
http://www.tofugu.com/2012/06/04/how-to-be-a-baka-gaijin-at-public-baths/
http://www.tofugu.com/2012/07/30/how-to-be-a-baka-gaijin-at-a-tea-ceremony/

Go to your bank or trade currency at the airport you leave from since Japan is a mostly cash based place, and bring a credit card and withdraw cash at specific ATMs:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2208.html

Most trains stations got station info in English, so in most cases there's not a lot to worry about. Do go pick up a free map/guidebook at a tourist information booth in Tokyo and Kyoto though, makes it easier:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/category/index.html?cat=tic

I picked up a phrasebook at Narita when I arrived too. Got this one. Not had to use it yet though, but it's good to have in case I need it sometime :P
 
jengo said:
Do the SCEI/SCEJ buildings near Shinagawa station have merchandise stores (tshirts, etc)? I picked up a shirt at Tokaigi this weekend but I lost the "guess which size Japanese shirt would fit me" game again...I figure there's gotta be a store in Tokyo selling these things...
Click to expand...

Yamashiroya in Ueno. You're welcome.
 
Plane tickets purchased! Gonna be in Japan April 12-19. Gonna take the weeaboo vacation my 16 year old self would have killed for. I was curious though, is spending multiple days in a capsule hotel a viable solution (seems like you might cramp up after awhile) and is there any way to secure your shopping goods without paying extra or storing them off site?
 
Chris_Mishima said:
Plane tickets purchased! Gonna be in Japan April 12-19. Gonna take the weeaboo vacation my 16 year old self would have killed for. I was curious though, is spending multiple days in a capsule hotel a viable solution (seems like you might cramp up after awhile) and is there any way to secure your shopping goods without paying extra or storing them off site?
Click to expand...

I would not recommend it.

Hostels or even Hotels should be cheaper, if the costs are the reason why you want to stay there longer.

Capsules are a nice experience, but I wouldn't like to spend to much time there. The ones I stayed at did not offer much room for your luggage.

Usually they had a big storage room where you could leave your goods, should the locker not be enough.
 
I signed up because why not? The prospect of flying to Japan by going east out of the US seems terrifyingly long but a free trip is a free trip.
 
any good Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki places in Tokyo or Osaka?
also, weird request but any place with good Hambaagu? Tokyo preferably.
 
MikeHattsu said:
Ya still planning on going with us?
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I definitely plan on going in October. Not only that, but I've been watching prices and for whatever reason the flights I was looking at just dropped from about $1300 to about $950, no idea why but I'm tempted to buy real soon.

edit - Hah, the flights I was looking at was for Air Canada. I just looked up some Air Canada news and saw this article. They're squeezing more seats in economy on their 777s and 787s. Not sure how I feel about that being 6'4".

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/101273/air-canada-defends-ten-across-economy
 
I'm heading to Japan around late March for 3 weeks, but as I understand from the JR pass website, it doesn't cover Kyushu? can someone confirm this please? depending on if I need to get an extra pass for Kyushu I might atler my plan a little.

also, when I was traveling in Kansai before, I was staying in Osaka and going out to all the different places like Kyoto, Nara and Kobe then back to Osaka the same day. would that work for Kyushu?
 
Robot Carnival said:
I'm heading to Japan around late March for 3 weeks, but as I understand from the JR pass website, it doesn't cover Kyushu? can someone confirm this please? depending on if I need to get an extra pass for Kyushu I might atler my plan a little.

also, when I was traveling in Kansai before, I was staying in Osaka and going out to all the different places like Kyoto, Nara and Kobe then back to Osaka the same day. would that work for Kyushu?
Click to expand...

The JR Pass do cover Kyushu travel. The only thing you can't take is Mizuho trains on shinkansen lines, but you can use the Sakura and Tsubame shinkansen trains instead.

Whst city are you gonna stay in and which ones are you thinking about visiting?
 
MikeHattsu said:
The JR Pass do cover Kyushu travel. The only thing you can't take is Mizuho trains on shinkansen lines, but you can use the Sakura and Tsubame shinkansen trains instead.

Whst city are you gonna stay in and which ones are you thinking about visiting?
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ah, that's good on the JR pass then.

I'm planning on a little over a week in Kyushu, staying in either Fukuoka or Kumamoto as base and going to all the other places in Kyushu. then the rest of the three weeks heading over to Tokyo and Kansai (mostly Kyoto with a little Osaka and maybe Himeji if the castle is done with the remodeling). might try to get in some onsen ryokan time in the end before I leave.
 
Robot Carnival said:
I'm planning on a little over a week in Kyushu, staying in either Fukuoka or Kumamoto as base and going to all the other places in Kyushu
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Well, if you're going to places like Beppu, Nagasaki and Dazaifu then Fukuoka is closer, if not by a whole lot and they should be doable on day trips, depending on what you're planning to do while there of course.

Kagoshima, Ibusuki, Yakushima and Miyazaki is closer to Kumamoto, but Yakushima and Miyazaki is most likely not possible to do on day trips anyway :P
 
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