When are you going to be in Tokyo?
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Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once
- Thread starter hwalker84
- Start date
When are you going to be in Tokyo?
Came in to contribute but it looks like everyone said the right things.
All I say now is when you finally move to Japan, make sure you enjoy the Tokyo Shutoko Highlight like I did: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152964192175408&set=vb.153278158105662&type=2&theater
All I say now is when you finally move to Japan, make sure you enjoy the Tokyo Shutoko Highlight like I did: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152964192175408&set=vb.153278158105662&type=2&theater
On Juli 27th. I'm going to arrive at Kansai Airport on 26th, perhaps the plan is a bit too ambitious. A friend of mine is going to depart on 28th though, therefore I don't have much choice. The weekend after the 27th is also free, IIRC.
Luckily another friend of mine offers me a stay in Tokyo.
Found this article about the temples/sights in Japan that were used to film The Wolverine. So checking this out if I have a spare day:
Spoiler warning
http://www.seejapan.co.uk/JNTO_Consumer/media/press-releases/press-release-detail/13-07-22/Experience-Japan-like-Wolverine
Spoiler warning
http://www.seejapan.co.uk/JNTO_Consumer/media/press-releases/press-release-detail/13-07-22/Experience-Japan-like-Wolverine
Anti Green
Neo Member
If you want to go to Skytree, make sure you arrive early (it opens at 8) because you will be stuck in a line to buy a ticket for hours otherwise.
I highly recommend Rakuten Travel (http://travel.rakuten.com/ - this is their English site) for booking hotels. Also, I really recommend staying at "business hotels" - they're cheap and clean and very comfortable. Richmond Hotels and Dormy Inn are a couple of examples of chains.
Definitely try to stay near a major train station. In Tokyo, anywhere on the Yamanote Line (Shinjuku, Akihabara, Shibuya, Tokyo Stations, etc.). In Kyoto, definitely stay near Kyoto Station because it's very easy to go everywhere from there. In Osaka, Umeda is the area where the main Osaka Station is ("Shin-Osaka" Station is in a different place and is much smaller, despite being the station that the bullet train stops at). I don't know anything about Hiroshima. Keep in mind that trains stop running around midnight. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to get back. There's no overnight public transit.
Use Google Maps because it is by far the best way to get directions to all sorts of places. You can search in English and it will give you great information, especially transit info. Some train stations have 50+ exits but on Google Maps they are all labelled. You will probably get lost without it.
I highly recommend Rakuten Travel (http://travel.rakuten.com/ - this is their English site) for booking hotels. Also, I really recommend staying at "business hotels" - they're cheap and clean and very comfortable. Richmond Hotels and Dormy Inn are a couple of examples of chains.
Definitely try to stay near a major train station. In Tokyo, anywhere on the Yamanote Line (Shinjuku, Akihabara, Shibuya, Tokyo Stations, etc.). In Kyoto, definitely stay near Kyoto Station because it's very easy to go everywhere from there. In Osaka, Umeda is the area where the main Osaka Station is ("Shin-Osaka" Station is in a different place and is much smaller, despite being the station that the bullet train stops at). I don't know anything about Hiroshima. Keep in mind that trains stop running around midnight. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to get back. There's no overnight public transit.
Use Google Maps because it is by far the best way to get directions to all sorts of places. You can search in English and it will give you great information, especially transit info. Some train stations have 50+ exits but on Google Maps they are all labelled. You will probably get lost without it.
I'm an expert
Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Pretty sure we've given you plenty of ideas and options. If it's a matter of booking places, simply do some research on what areas you'd like to be close to and choose a good hotel. I've probably stayed in over a 100 hotels in Tokyo, but my personal recommendation for one is a Prince Hotel like Ikebukuro or Shinagawa as they're essentially attached to large shopping plazas (or literally a mall) and have everything conveniently available.
LeroyPantwether
Member
When you go to Hiroshima, make sure you take a boat to Miyajima/Itsukushima Shrine.
going to japan, and trying to find the cheapest/best method of transportation, and i'm having conflicts with regard what's the cheapest way to get around japan:
we will be in tokyo from 3 - 12, kyoto from 12 - 16, osaka from 16 - 19, 20th we go back to tokyo and leave.
now, if we get a jr pass activate it from 12th, it will last to 18th, and wouldn't cover the trip back to tokyo for flight.
i have another friend that was just when to japan, he has it is probably cheaper to get a 7 day jr pass and then pay for osaka back to japan.
the friends i'm going with said that they calculated it, and it's cheaper to get the train tickets individually on the day of the trips.
who is right? it's really confusing with all the train lines, different types of trains, and their prices, so i'm hoping for someone who's dealt with this before for some insight.
or another alternative is to get a 14 day jr rail pass? i'm told that part of the jr line can be used in tokyo, so if take advantage of that during the our time in tokyo, it would be worth it?
we'll be staying in Roppongi, and will be within walking distance to tokyo tower or something.
we will be in tokyo from 3 - 12, kyoto from 12 - 16, osaka from 16 - 19, 20th we go back to tokyo and leave.
now, if we get a jr pass activate it from 12th, it will last to 18th, and wouldn't cover the trip back to tokyo for flight.
i have another friend that was just when to japan, he has it is probably cheaper to get a 7 day jr pass and then pay for osaka back to japan.
the friends i'm going with said that they calculated it, and it's cheaper to get the train tickets individually on the day of the trips.
who is right? it's really confusing with all the train lines, different types of trains, and their prices, so i'm hoping for someone who's dealt with this before for some insight.
or another alternative is to get a 14 day jr rail pass? i'm told that part of the jr line can be used in tokyo, so if take advantage of that during the our time in tokyo, it would be worth it?
we'll be staying in Roppongi, and will be within walking distance to tokyo tower or something.
The most expensive legs of your journey are the Tokyo-Kyoto shinkansen ride on the 12th and the Osaka-Kyoto regular train ride followed by the Kyoto-Tokyo shinkansen ride on the 20th. You can use the rail pass when you're in Tokyo, mostly to take the JR Yamanote line, but if you activate the 7 day pass on the 12th only for the shinkansen ride to Kyoto it's a waste because if you're staying in Kyoto central, none of the internal bus and train services there can be used with the rail pass. The rail pass can be used for the Kyoto-Osaka ride though, which is a measly 540 yen, compared to about 200 yen for a 2 stop ride on the Yamanote line in Tokyo.
My advice: If you REALLY want a rail pass, get a 7 day pass and activate it to cover most of the time in Tokyo and the shinkansen ride to Kyoto. You won't be traveling via JR in Kyoto and Osaka anyway. A 14 day pass won't cover both shinkansen rides unless you activate it specifically to do so, and if that's the case, paying for the individual shinkansen rides might be cheaper.
So how to determine if you REALLY want a rail pass?
Use this site to calculate the fares of each individual trip you want to be traveling daily for that time period that I'm advising, and see if the total cost adds up to more than the rail pass cost. That also means you'll need to have your full itinerary all planned and ready so you can get a good cost estimate. Also you'll need to consider that rail pass only works for JR lines, so you'll need to see which lines the site is recommending.
I tend to use the hyperdia site in conjunction with google maps, so that I can see how far the distance is from stations that are in close proximity but belonging to a different rail company that isn't JR. Also you'll need google maps so that you'll know exactly are the stations that you're looking up in hyperdia are.
edit: Ok I was bored and I took the liberty of doing some homework for you.
Note that Roppongi station doesn't even sit on a JR line.
Adult ordinary 7d rail pass costs: 28 300 yen
Shinkansen ride from Tokyo or Shinagawa station costs just under: 14 000 yen
So unless you're covering 2 shinkansen rides with your 7 day rail pass it's not going to be worth it.
If you really want a rail pass you could restructure your trip so that the day you land in Tokyo is the day you take the shinkansen all the way down to Kyoto. Within 7 days see Kyoto and Osaka (they're only 45 mins away from each other, you could literally stay in either city and visit the other). On the last day of validity of your pass take the shinkansen back up to Tokyo. That would be the best way to make use of a 7 day rail pass. But of course if you're not constrained by budget then by all means pay for each ride individually.
thanks maomaoIYP
so for my 18 days stay, how much money should I bring?
i don't think we're planning on eating at expensive places, we might cook our food sometimes since we have a kitchen, and will probably have convenience store bento boxes sometimes
I don't want to bring too little because japan doesn't use credit cards, and when they do, they visa (network) credit cards are more commonly accepted than mastercards (seriously, how can they not use credit cards)
I don't want to bring too much and have to reconvert my money back and take a second loss on conversion on my money
so for my 18 days stay, how much money should I bring?
i don't think we're planning on eating at expensive places, we might cook our food sometimes since we have a kitchen, and will probably have convenience store bento boxes sometimes
I don't want to bring too little because japan doesn't use credit cards, and when they do, they visa (network) credit cards are more commonly accepted than mastercards (seriously, how can they not use credit cards)
I don't want to bring too much and have to reconvert my money back and take a second loss on conversion on my money
Zoe
Member
What kind of debit card do you have? If it's not Mastercard then I would just bring enough for the first day and then make withdrawals from 7-11 ATM's as needed at the max limit to minimize fees.
There's a lot of maths here to be done, so I'm just going to tell you how I decided on the cash I needed.
All my accommodation was pre-paid and I had a rail pass, so that was a huge sum already deducted from the amount of cash I needed.
My food expenses were set at 2500 yen a day. I was eating extremely cheaply. 2 rice balls plus a drink from a convenience shop for breakfast (500 yen), beef bowls / curry rice / ramen / bento box for lunch and dinner (1000 yen each). Ramen is the most expensive thing from this selection, typically going above 1000 yen. Beef bowls and curry rice is the cheapest, I could get a crapload of food for about 800 yen.
Entry fees for each temple / tourist place in Kyoto typically ranges anywhere from 500 to 1000 yen. Decide on which ones you want to go. You might want to go to museums in Osaka and Tokyo as well, so you have to factor those as well.
Transport fees (outside of those covered by my JR pass): you can buy a day bus pass in Kyoto for about 400 yen (iirc). You'll need train money to go around Tokyo.
Shopping money: you need to roughly gauge how much money you'll need to buy whatever stuff you want.
i have no clue, it's just a regular (canadian) debit card, i never use ATMs before because of the high withdraw fees, and if I do use it in japan, it's just going to go through some terrible conversion rate (i dunno how that works)
I'm also reading up on cellphones, and reading
http://gogonihon.com/study-japan-wiki/Japan_mobile_/_Japanese_cell_phones
and http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Japancellphones.html
the only thing you can get is a 14 day visitor sim and that's data only?
the fuck, how am i suppose to make calls to friends in japan, or family back home or emergency calls?
there's no prepaid sims at all, i was planning on bringing my phone and swapping sims
Zoe
Member
Look on the back of your card. Do you have any of these logos on there?
http://www.sevenbank.co.jp/intlcard/index2.html
The conversion is just current market rate unlike cash exchange places. Any extra fees depend on your bank. Mine only charges 1%.
If you do go with the cash exchange places, you'll get better rates with travelers checks than actual cash.
okay, so apparently all mastercards/maestro/cirrus cards dont work in japan, but the following 2 country works: canada and netherlands
http://www.mastercard.com/jp/personal/jp/cardholderservices/atmlocations/notification.html
so since i have a canadian maestro debit card, i'm assuming my card will work in their 7-11 atm machines even though the atm labels specify the visa network only
super confused
http://www.mastercard.com/jp/personal/jp/cardholderservices/atmlocations/notification.html
so since i have a canadian maestro debit card, i'm assuming my card will work in their 7-11 atm machines even though the atm labels specify the visa network only
super confused
Yes, we had no problems back in March. Just say 'takubin?' And give the address of your next hotel. They filled in the forms for us and handled pickup and delivery. You can use it at the big train stations as well (in case you're for example renting a house as we did in Kyoto)
Loved the service and ended up using it more than planned in the end. Best advice i could give to travelers going to Japan. Every time i saw tourists bringing giant suitcases on the train i was glad i used it.
I have a dutch mastercard and even had issues at regular ATM. Most only accept Japanese cards. Only places they work are at 7-11 (not the other chains as Lawson and Family Mart) and post offices.
better than nothing at all, the mastercard situation sounds like a disaster to me
RapidCancel
Member
My suggestion is to do it at the airport when you arrive. It's going to depend what rate you can get and if it'll get you more money than doing it at the airport. The airport there will actually give you a decent rate as opposed to a store (assuming your in the states, I don't know how other countries are).
If I were to convert money today...
Narita Airport = $1 for ¥95.08 (cash)
Travelex = $1 for ¥88
If I'm converting $3,000, that's a ¥21,240 ($217.37) difference from the two places, same day. Even if you only convert $1,000, you still lost $72.46. The difference in how much you get screwed here is pretty large.
I'm in the UK but if you're saying that I can get a good rate at Narita Airport then I can covert to dollar here and then get it exchanged there. Strange to hear this as I'm usually told that airports dish out lousy rates.
digita1alchemy
Member
Yes, do it at the airport when you arrive, there are several places to do currency exchanges in the airport and you'll save a significant amount of money by doing so.
RapidCancel
Member
No need to convert to USD first, just bring Euros (?) and convert that there.
Where are you exchanging in the city that gives you better rates? The only issue with traveler's checks is that your bank might charge you for them, so the fee for them might outweigh what you can get in cash. Best to check all your options.
Zoe
Member
We went to some place on the second floor of a building at the Shibuya crosswalk. I don't remember the specifics, but it might have been above a bank.
bf says to look for 外貨両替, they're everywhere.
We use Pounds Sterling here and I suppose it shouldn't be a problem to exchange in a place like an airport but I did hear stories of places where they only accepted dollars and euros.
So I gather from the posts here that I would be far better rates if I convert when I reach Japan compared to going to various foreign exchanges here in the UK and searching for the best rate? Meh, I got a free saturday so I'll go round and see what the rates are like out of curiousity. Hopefully my CC still works in restaurants and supermarkets in case of an emergency.
Thanks for the advice guys. Just need to order that special WiFi pocket internet adaptor and figure out what plugs I need to charge my phone and tablet.
Valkyr Junkie
Member
You counting airfare in that? Even still, that's overkill.
I don't think so, actually. The only places I've seen that accepted any credit cards were electronics stores in Akihabara. Definitely didn't see any logos for them at restaurants.
My Mastercard still worked fine in post office ATMs which you can find fairly easily in big cities (there's one right by the Kyoto station, for example). Might want to look up where they are ahead of time.
RapidCancel
Member
That just means foreign exchange I believe, it's not a specific store or anything.
They'll take pounds sterling, the exchange rate chart for the airport is here.
Nexus Zero
Member
I'm planning on going for three weeks at the end of March next year. I've got two questions:
Is three weeks too much? I've always wanted to go to Japan so I'd really like to do it, you know? However I've been to North Korea and have wondered what SK/Seoul is like since then. If three weeks was too much I could do a bit there.
What's the best way to learn some Japanese between now and then? I did a bit at uni but I remember very very little.
Is three weeks too much? I've always wanted to go to Japan so I'd really like to do it, you know? However I've been to North Korea and have wondered what SK/Seoul is like since then. If three weeks was too much I could do a bit there.
What's the best way to learn some Japanese between now and then? I did a bit at uni but I remember very very little.
Damn, looks like I gotta carry more cash than planned. My CC doesn't charge me for foreign transactions. It also doesn't charge me for foreign withdrawals from ATMs but it will shaft me with interest the second that money comes out of the machine. I was planning to use it just for buying items in supermarket and restaurants (and then pay off CC bill when I get home) but I suppose things will get problematic if I depend on the CC more than hard cash (I don't like carrying cash).
Thanks man. Will keep an eye on this and then check the rates on my local foreign exchange.
Silentium
Member
Airline magazine I read the other day on a flight mentioned 'Tokyo by Tokyo by Dan Ushikubo' as similar to this.
Book: http://www.tokyoartbeat.com/shop/product/22.en
App version: https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/tokyo-by-tokyo-a-guidebook/id401447016?mt=8
Zoe
Member
I know, just throwing out the kanji people need to look for.
I'm doing three weeks and it doesn't feel like enough with the little bit of planning i've done so far.
should I ask the hotel destination of the luggage with an email if they support takubin or will the receptionist of the hotel sending the luggage call also the next hotel for me?
excuse my doubts
InfiniteBento
Member
Any pointers on when to travel to Japan?
I've been wanting to go since I was 8 years old but find that it can be really expensive.
What's the cheapest way to travel there?
I figure since I'm coming from Florida it will be hell to get out there. :/
Reading everyone's posts has me wanting to go within the next year.
I've been wanting to go since I was 8 years old but find that it can be really expensive.
What's the cheapest way to travel there?
I figure since I'm coming from Florida it will be hell to get out there. :/
Reading everyone's posts has me wanting to go within the next year.
Valkyr Junkie
Member
A lot of your questions can be found if you search the tons of other Japan travel threads (search for "Japan" in thread titles in the OT; one has all of the others listed in an early response).
I went there for 3 weeks starting in early April which is probably going to be the best time due to awesome weather and the cherry blossoms blooming, which means there's a lot of other fun stuff going on like festivals. www.japan-guide.com has pages devoted to blooming forecasts as well as historical bloomings, so you can make last minute adjustments depending on how far out you plan the trip and itinerary.
From Orlando (assuming you're in the area) you can take a United flight to DC and fly ANA directly to Narita/Tokyo.
Just spent the last hour on Japan-guide.com. Still trying to digest everything. LOL.
Valkyr Junkie
Member
Yeah, it's a fantastic site, which always surprises me when it doesn't seem like a lot of other people know about it or recommend it.
www.wikitravel.org is another great site too, but obviously it's a lot broader and more popular.
With delta I'm getting $3551.60 round trip for 2.
Use Kayak and set price alerts. That what I did then I got the travel agency I used for Africa to get the tickets.
Zoe
Member
That's pretty expensive... where are you coming from? Our flights have always come below $3000.
Silentium
Member
Just note that the wikitravel community has moved over to wikivoyage.org following some internet drama