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

H

Hyrule Warrior

Member
I'm trying to lay out some distance between locations in Japan right now, and I'm wondering... is there some way on google map, or via another service I'm not familiar with to list multiple locations, and it can show you how far all of them are in relation to each other. Which place would be idea to hit first on the way to going to x location for instance?

Edit: Nevermind, just did a google search, and found my answer. Google maps is really useful once you figure it out.

I'm not making a rigid schedule, but I am just marking locations I was interested in, and might try to go to.
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Care to post the answer as I think it would be useful for others?

In our final full day here - flying back home tomorrow. That means my wife will be in full-on 'Tetris packing' mode today. We have an extra bag for food but I'm tempted to borrow another from the in-laws to make the packing easier. we flew premium economy this time so are allowed to check two bags each. We could almost bring back an entire supermarket in food :)
 
P

PdotMichael

Banned
After heavy rain in Istanbul it was like fate that our flight was like the only one which wasn't delayed .

Wouldn't have know how to get us to Tokyo Already sitting in the last Narita Express train here.
 
S

srst

Member
Can I get some feedback on my schedule? Does May 7-9 look reasonable or should I skip Nikko and extend 1 more night in a city? Perhaps do a Himeji day trip?

yYQhmRf.jpg
Click to expand...
 
P

PdotMichael

Banned
What kind of stuff do they give cats to eat. Even random street cats have beautiful fur.

Now I understand the saying: A cat is fine too.

Not a furry by the way.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
srst said:
Can I get some feedback on my schedule? Does May 7-9 look reasonable or should I skip Nikko and extend 1 more night in a city? Perhaps do a Himeji day trip?
Click to expand...

Might as well do Himeji on a day trip, or just do a stopover on the way to Hiroshima.

You should have plenty of time to check out the most common tourist attractions on May 7-9th.

Hope you like spending time on trains for your Hiroshima->Sendai leg though ;P
 
C

catpurrcat

Member
srst said:
Can I get some feedback on my schedule? Does May 7-9 look reasonable or should I skip Nikko and extend 1 more night in a city? Perhaps do a Himeji day trip?
Click to expand...

Thats a really good schedule. I went in October so my recommendation is:
-Kyoto, 3 or maybe 4 days is certainly enough
-Take 2 full days for Osaka, it's awesome
-Himeji only took me half a day, including castle.
-Nara was so nice too, all the deer!
 
S

srst

Member
Thanks for the replies! I'll do a half day in Himeji on my way to Hiroshima.

Laevateinn said:
Good luck with Golden Week.
Click to expand...

I completely forgot about Golden Week when I booked my flight. I'm not looking forward to the crowds, especially when I'm doing lot of photography. :\
 
H

Hyrule Warrior

Member
hwalker84 said:
You'll be fine. First time I was a little overwhelmed. The second time it was like. Welcome home hwalker84...
Click to expand...

It's more the plane ride I'm nervous about, and being homesick. My kitty is gonna think I abandoned her, lol. Getting ready to head out the door shortly...gonna catch first flight in about 4 hours, before I connect in Chicago. Gonna stop and get breakfast with family before sending me off. I read that international flights, should get there 2-3 hours ahead of time, so thats what I'm doing...
 
F

Fowler

Member
Heading to Japan for my honeymoon at the end of January. Super excited. Both my wife and I have been many times before, but we're doing something a little different this time: Flying in to Sapporo, flying out of Fukuoka, and using a rail pass to hit tons of places in between: Hakodate, Tokyo, Karuizawa, Nagano, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima.

We had it all roughly plotted out... and then I saw the Amanemu resort. It's not on any shinkansen line, so it's a little out of the way, and breaks the flow of the trip (which, aside from the jaunt to Karuizawa/Nagano and back, follows the lines from Hokkaido down to Kyushu). But it's also REALLY NICE, and this seems like the one time we'd be able to really splurge and enjoy ourselves, so I'm a little torn...
 
T

TCRS

Banned
phew finally I can write in this thread.. because after years of wanting to and not being able to we are finally going to Japan!

We're flying in April so basically main season. Sadly only for one week (the alternative was 2 weeks at the end of July but at that time the weather is simply too hot). For now we have 6 days of Tokyo planned but I'm thinking maybe we can sneak in 1-2 days of Kyoto. But my girl doesn't want to rush things, doesn't want to run from one touristy place to another and I kind of agree. I want to relax and enjoy it. Which is why I also booked a fancy ass hotel in Shinjuku :D

other than that I haven't done much research but I do have three more months!
 
W

WoodWERD

Member
Haha, one of my old friends just posted a Facebook video showing him and his crew driving go-karts around downtown Tokyo, while wearing Mario character onesies. Amazing.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
TCRS said:
We're flying in April so basically main season. Sadly only for one week (the alternative was 2 weeks at the end of July but at that time the weather is simply too hot).
Click to expand...

You chose wisely ;P

If you want to check out temples and shrines then you should probably go on a day trip to Kamakura instead of all the way to Kyoto since you're just going for 1 week.
 
C

catpurrcat

Member
TCRS said:
phew finally I can write in this thread.. because after years of wanting to and not being able to we are finally going to Japan!

We're flying in April so basically main season. Sadly only for one week (the alternative was 2 weeks at the end of July but at that time the weather is simply too hot). For now we have 6 days of Tokyo planned but I'm thinking maybe we can sneak in 1-2 days of Kyoto. But my girl doesn't want to rush things, doesn't want to run from one touristy place to another and I kind of agree. I want to relax and enjoy it. Which is why I also booked a fancy ass hotel in Shinjuku :D

other than that I haven't done much research but I do have three more months!
Click to expand...

You absolutely must go to Kyoto (and Osaka, which is actually where the train goes first then its only 30 minutes more to kyoto). Do four days in Tokyo, and two or three days for Kyoto and Osaka combined at least.

There's no "rushing". The trains are so nice and so quiet that it's actually quite relaxing going in between cities.
 
H

Hyrule Warrior

Member
Just thought I'd check in here since I'm sitting. I'm on the shinkansen to Kyoto right now! xD this whole experience has been surreal so far. The jet lag made me get so little sleep on the first day here that it all felt like I was dreaming. Couldn't believe my eyes. On day two, and here I am going to my first multiday stop.

The plane ride has been the worst part. Those economy seats and the crampedness made my legs and back sore the whole time so I couldn't sleep. I was too tired to bother with the 3ds either most of the time.

I am feeling excited, having fun, and feelings terrified at the same time lol. I don't think it's really culture shock either. I love everything I'm seeing, this country is so beautiful. However even in the downtown of my home town, I get scared if I don't know where I am and there's a lot of people. Ah well. Looking forward to Kyoto though. Not sure what to do on my first evening there because it'll probably be after 3 or 4 pm by the time I check in.

Anyway, greetings from Japan guys ^_^
 
S

SiegfriedFM

Member
TCRS said:
phew finally I can write in this thread.. because after years of wanting to and not being able to we are finally going to Japan!

We're flying in April so basically main season. Sadly only for one week (the alternative was 2 weeks at the end of July but at that time the weather is simply too hot). For now we have 6 days of Tokyo planned but I'm thinking maybe we can sneak in 1-2 days of Kyoto. But my girl doesn't want to rush things, doesn't want to run from one touristy place to another and I kind of agree. I want to relax and enjoy it. Which is why I also booked a fancy ass hotel in Shinjuku :D

other than that I haven't done much research but I do have three more months!
Click to expand...

Kamakura has plenty of temples. You're missing out on some unique places, but that's for your next trip.

Recommendation, do one day each in:

Shibuya/Harajuku
Akihabara
Kamakura
Odaiba

You can explore Shinjuku on evenings, it's pretty dead during the day, at least Kabukicho is.

Also, look up small concerts in clubs and such. That was some of the most fun we had. Oh, and obviously, do karaoke.
 
P

PdotMichael

Banned
It's crazy how fast a week can go away in Tokio and I still feel like I haven't seen anything from Tokio. And based on my smartphone I was walking at least 30km every day, can't believe that.

Owlowiscious said:
Yes. That shit is way harder than you think.
Also they could be clapping just because it's Umi from love live
Click to expand...

I'm neither s LL fan nor s figurine guy. There was a little girl looking at me and the LL figurine that I first wanted to give it to her just to get rid of the figurine.

But I didn't want to look like a creep or something.
 
R

Raysoul

Member
Hi JapanGaf. Me and my girlfriend are planning to go to Osaka this April for 10 days (We already booked a flight). I have tried to search for this, but can someone suggest a good (and cheap) traveler sim? Not sure if 1GB of data is enough for us as we really are heavy Internet users.
 
L

Laevateinn

Member
Raysoul said:
Hi JapanGaf. Me and my girlfriend are planning to go to Osaka this April for 10 days (We already booked a flight). I have tried to search for this, but can someone suggest a good (and cheap) traveler sim? Not sure if 1GB of data is enough for us as we really are heavy Internet users.
Click to expand...

I haven't used one yet so I don't know which is best but you might want to also look into a pocket wifi. MikeHattsu will be here in 10 minutes to tell you more :)
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
Raysoul said:
This is perfect, thanks! Now wondering what would be the easiest way to obtain it. The shops listed are not on the airport, not also sure how near are they. I haven't used an Airport postal service, so I don't know how it works.
Click to expand...

There's info on the b-mobile site:
http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/delivery_airport.html

Just make a note of the post office opening hours and at what time you arrive. If you're arriving at KIX: http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/service/safe/index.html#_02

And then just go there when you arrive and tell them you're there to pick up a package and show them your passport. Bringing a printout of the order or shipping receipt can be useful too so they know which company who sent it.


kubus said:
http://i.imgur.com/N3MJs5u.jpg
Click to expand...

Oh you!
 
O

OniBarubary

Banned
Just got my rail pass and set everything up at work for me not being here. Starting to actualize that I'll be in Japan in 9 days. Starting to get psyched.

Our hotel is right in the red light district, shit's gonna be interesting.
 
P

Priz

Member
MikeHattsu said:
Just go to Dear Stage in Akiba.
Click to expand...
I was with Ally & Sally during that Onsen-based event and they were telling me they changed the rules to get onto the second and third floors of Dear Stage where it's now a procedure you have to go through and it's pretty much impossible for foreigners to now get up there because of all the hoops you have to jump through.

BTW, if anyone needs a really cheap fare for an upcoming trip, maybe you can use this - http://www.secretflying.com/posts/error-fare-japan-hong-kong-many-us-cities-270-usd-roundtrip/

Owlowiscious said:
So how do I find some cheap amateur idol concerts?

I'm failing T google and can only find Alice Project / PARM stuff.
Click to expand...
https://www.eventernote.com/events/

http://www.idolscheduler.jp/

You also have sites like this - http://twvt.me/cosbo15 where people post their event and those on twitter can RSVP yes/maybe/no.

http://twipla.jp/events/215475 is a similar site most people I know use. If I had the time/money on my trip I would have gone down to this event to see Sasaki Sayaka perform...
http://twipla.jp/events/search - you can search on something or jump to pages to be in the date range you'll be there and find what events are going on.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
Priz said:
I was with Ally & Sally during that Onsen-based event and they were telling me they changed the rules to get onto the second and third floors of Dear Stage where it's now a procedure you have to go through and it's pretty much impossible for foreigners to now get up there because of all the hoops you have to jump through.
Click to expand...

Hm... You could still watch the live though, since it's on the first floor?
 
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