Santiago GuesthouseAny recs for budget accommodation in Kyoto?
It may not be worth it since you already have a Suica card, but consider the NEX/Suica combo if you won't be activating a JR pass on day one, and are flying into Narita of course.
Yeah, i'll do that and then once the 2000 yen runs out on the new Suica i'll switch back to my old one that has a bunch of money on it.
There's also the NEX deal without the Suica for ¥1,500 here, but it'll only cover your trip from Narita airport and it doesn't go on sale till 1/10/2014.
I'm visiting a friend in Tokyo for three weeks...leaving in one week (next Sunday) and arriving there on a Monday. I'm pretty confused about the best way to get to him by train though.
He lives in Saitama, specifically near the Asakadai station. Can anyone help me figure out the easiest/quickest/cheapest way to get to him? Or at least 2 of those 3.
Based on what I have looked up so far the fastest way may be the Keisei Sky Liner from Narita to Nippori, transfer to the Yamanote line from Nippori to Ikebukuro, and then take the Tobu Tojo line from Ikebukuro to Asakadai. Google estimates that would take around 1 hour and 40 minutes. Does anyone know if that is accurate? Or if there is a quicker way? Or if there is a way from Narita to Asakadai with less transfers?
Thanks in advance for any help.
This is a useful site to figure out train routes: http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/norikae/
Looking up Narita to Asakadai, the simplest (and cheapest at 1600 yen) route I could find is this:
The final destination is Kita Asaka Station, which is right next to Asakadai Station (they serve different train lines). It would only be a few minute's walk between the two stations.
Got back from Japan on Saturday. Already missing it and just like last year, my sleep schedule is all messed up right now. Really memorable trip this time though, as I'm now an engaged man!
Too much time in Tokyo I think.And... subbed. I'm gonna need this thread a lot.
Hello travelers! I'm going to Japan in March. At least three weeks if not the whole month. I just started looking into this trip yesterday because I have vacation days to take, so I figured that it's time I finally go.
As I said I don't have anything specific planned yet, I still have to book plane tickets and stuff. My initial plan is to stay in Tokyo for 10-15 days, then go to the Kansai area and visit Kyoto/Osaka/Nara for a few days to a week. If I go the whole month I don't know what to do in the last week, maybe go to Okinawa if I have the time and means. What do you guys think?
Too much time in Tokyo I think.
Too much time in Tokyo I think.
I'm a bit surprised so many people tell me that I can spend less time in Tokyo, with apparently so much to do in that area. I'll take that into account, thanks guys.
Well... I spent 7 days in Tokyo and only got to do 60% of the stuff I wanted to so I guess YMMV.
Congratulations!!
I'm a bit surprised so many people tell me that I can spend less time in Tokyo, with apparently so much to do in that area. I'll take that into account, thanks guys.
Guys;
http://kotaku.com/the-worlds-first-kit-kat-store-is-opening-in-tokyo-1501753395
I cant even.. so happy.
Guys;
http://kotaku.com/the-worlds-first-kit-kat-store-is-opening-in-tokyo-1501753395
I cant even.. so happy.
Silly question about JR Pass
I'm gonna buy the 7 days one and gonna use it for the last 7 days.
Should I trade it asap when I arrive on the 1st day or trade it on the 6th day?
Should I trade it asap when I arrive on the 1st day or trade it on the 6th day?
Are you going to be using it for Shinkansen?
Best to do it asap I think. You can only trade for the pass at specific stations:
http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en009.html
The validity period of a JAPAN RAIL PASS is the consecutive 7, 14, or 21 days beginning on the date the PASS is first used.
So It's not a problem then if I trade it on 1st day.
[At the time of getting the PASS], you have to specify the date that you want to start using the PASS. It can be any date within one month from the date the PASS is received.
Yeah, Kyoto-Tokyo-Kyoto
Just read this
So It's not a problem then if I trade it on 1st day.
Thank you!
When I used it, I used it at the station that I reserved my shinkansen ride at. Then they put the dates on it. Not sure if you can have them put future dates on it at the station. I'd hate for you to accidentally activate it early. It was great for me when I went to Kyoto and hiroshima. I was really happy when I realized it worked on the JR rails as well.
No. It's not a problem as long as the starting date you want is within a month from when you want to get the pass:
In your case everything is fine.
Hey guys,
I'm planning a trip to Japan and could use some help, suggestions, and input. Our plan is to go there in April, for about 10 days (April 4 until 14).
This is our itinerary so far:
Arrive at Tokyo - Kyoto - Nara - Depart from Osaka
04 Travel from Haneda Airport to Tokyo
05 Tokyo
06 Tokyo
07 Tokyo
08 Travel from Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen
09 Kyoto
10 Kyoto
11 Kyoto
12 Travel from Kyoto to Nara
13 Nara
14 Travel from Nara to Kansai Airport
- I'm looking for hotel/guesthouse suggestions in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara. My budget is around 60/70 dollars a night. Is this enough for a decent place to stay?
- Do you think we should get the JR Railpass? I think not, because we won't make that much use of the trains? We will have to use the trains to get around Tokyo and I do want to ride the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto though. What do you think?
- How much (approximately) does one spend on meals in Tokyo / Kyoto? We're not planning on shopping much for clothes, etc. Maybe a couple of souvenirs.
So I'm moving to Kobe in a few months. Any recommendations for things to do around Kansai?
- Do you think we should get the JR Railpass? I think not, because we won't make that much use of the trains? We will have to use the trains to get around Tokyo and I do want to ride the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto though. What do you think?
I'm planning a trip to Japan and could use some help, suggestions, and input. Our plan is to go there in April, for about 10 days (April 4 until 14).
This is our itinerary so far:
Arrive at Tokyo - Kyoto - Nara - Depart from Osaka
04 Travel from Haneda Airport to Tokyo
05 Tokyo
06 Tokyo
07 Tokyo
08 Travel from Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen
09 Kyoto
10 Kyoto
11 Kyoto
12 Travel from Kyoto to Nara
13 Nara
14 Travel from Nara to Kansai Airport
- I'm looking for hotel/guesthouse suggestions in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara. My budget is around 60/70 dollars a night. Is this enough for a decent place to stay?
- Do you think we should get the JR Railpass? I think not, because we won't make that much use of the trains? We will have to use the trains to get around Tokyo and I do want to ride the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto though. What do you think?
- How much (approximately) does one spend on meals in Tokyo / Kyoto? We're not planning on shopping much for clothes, etc. Maybe a couple of souvenirs.
Go to the Mitsui or Sanda outlets. Go to Tokushima for Awa Odori. Go to Awaji/Sumoto for the beach sports tournaments. Go to Himeji for shitty Mexican by the castle. Go to the Tottori beach party. Go to Wakayama Adventure World. Go to Osaka for a Hanshin game. Go to Osaka for everything.
Thanks Sounds like there's lots of good stuff to do, especially in summer. Is there much in the way of festivals? I wanna go to Kyoto for Daimonji but I'm not really sure what else there is.
Tokyo - http://www.khaosan-tokyo.com/en/kabuki/ Tell Tsubasa Harold says hello. Point to the terrible towel in the background if she doesn't immediately rememberHey guys,
I'm planning a trip to Japan and could use some help, suggestions, and input. Our plan is to go there in April, for about 10 days (April 4 until 14).
This is our itinerary so far:
Arrive at Tokyo - Kyoto - Nara - Depart from Osaka
04 Travel from Haneda Airport to Tokyo
05 Tokyo
06 Tokyo
07 Tokyo
08 Travel from Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen
09 Kyoto
10 Kyoto
11 Kyoto
12 Travel from Kyoto to Nara
13 Nara
14 Travel from Nara to Kansai Airport
- I'm looking for hotel/guesthouse suggestions in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara. My budget is around 60/70 dollars a night. Is this enough for a decent place to stay?
- Do you think we should get the JR Railpass? I think not, because we won't make that much use of the trains? We will have to use the trains to get around Tokyo and I do want to ride the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto though. What do you think?
- How much (approximately) does one spend on meals in Tokyo / Kyoto? We're not planning on shopping much for clothes, etc. Maybe a couple of souvenirs.
JR railpass covers all the JR lines, so yeah if you are going to be using it a lot in Tokyo it might be work getting. Best compare prices with that vs. a shinkansen ticket from Tokyo - Kyoto (I think they are arouunnd $80-$120?).
You'll only need $5-10 per meal for food, unless you wanna go some place fancy. A lot of combini food is surprisingly good - and hot - so you can save money by eating from there.
So... You're only going 1 way on the Shinkansen. That means that the cost of a 7 day JR Pass outside of the Shinkansen trip is ~ 15000 JPY for each. That's ~2100 JPY each day for train trips. You must then take the train 9-12 times (that's for Tokyo, not sure about Kyoto) each day for it to be worth it. Remember that it doesn't cover the subway in Tokyo either, just the trains. Probably not worth it.
If you're going in April, you better book from now. I'm trying to change my reservation and have no luck. Everything is fully booked
And speaking of JR, it's not worth it for 1 trip. Just pay for a shinkansen and get a pasmo.
I'm thinking going to Tokyo first then Kyoto, but have no luck finding another hostel in April in Kyoto (I really wanna stay in hostel for new experiences)
Tokyo - http://www.khaosan-tokyo.com/en/kabuki/ Tell Tsubasa Harold says hello. Point to the terrible towel in the background if she doesn't immediately remember
Kyoto - http://sansansantiago.com/
Nara - http://yuzanguesthouse.com/ENGLISH/about-yuzanguesthouse-english.html
- Do you think we should get the JR Railpass? I think not, because we won't make that much use of the trains? We will have to use the trains to get around Tokyo and I do want to ride the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto though. What do you think?
I did a trip of similar length in the reverse direction.
NEX from Narita is about $30.
You can get a day-pass in Tokyo for about $10/day.
Tokyo-Kyoto Shinkansen is around $130.
Kyoto-Nara roundtrip is about $15.
Haruka to KIX is about $30.
Add in travel in Kyoto, and you are probably at $250-300 total, cheaper than the 2-week JR pass.
Thanks, I think we'll just get a single ticket then for Tokyo to Kyoto. Seems to be cheaper. And for the subway we can get the Suica card I believe.
I see you arrive at Haneda. You could get the Suica & Monorail discount ticket:
http://www.jreast.co.jp/E/suica-monorail/index.html
You can buy the package from 11:00 - 18:30, so if you arrive outside of those hours, you're out of luck.
Remember that the Suica/Pasmo will work on both the trains and the subway in Tokyo so you only need to get one or the other.
How much would you say we'd need for subway/train fares for about 4/5 days travel in Tokyo? If we store 10.000 yen on the cards we can get the remaining amount back at the end of our trip, right? By handing in the cards?
Depends on how much you're going to be zipping around and how carefully you've planned your sightseeing. Think we used less than 9K each for 7 days here.
If you get a Suica/Pasmo card it should work for most transportation within Kyoto and Nara too, except buses.
And, yes, you can get the remaining amount back minus a 210 yen handling fee. The card is valid for 10 years after the last time you used it though, so if you ever plan to go back within 10 years you could just keep it.
Awesome! They all look good! I hope they have some available rooms. Thanks!
Both Suica and Pasmo work in Tokyo and Kyoto?