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2 Weeks in Japan?

such and such said:
Finding a hotel in Kyoto for April is not as easy as I thought it would be :facepalm:
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it will be very very difficult - do not leave it until April, whatever you do. I've been there at that time and see people queuing for hours to try and get something and eventually staying outside the city.


eta... sorry - realised I'm just repeating what I said back in post #9!
 
gaijingirl said:
it will be very very difficult - do not leave it until April, whatever you do. I've been there at that time and see people queuing for hours to try and get something and eventually staying outside the city.


eta... sorry - realised I'm just repeating what I said back in post #9!
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Don't worry, I had a proper look a few days ago and finally booked somewhere just 5 minutes ago. It's a bit more that I was hoping to pay but it's close to the subway line so hopefully it will convenient for me :)
 
Will be looking at this thread with renewed interest now as have just booked up a 2 week trip for mid May :eek::)
 
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Ugh, just cost it up..... about £3.5k....

Think this will have to go in the pipedreams pile :(
 
mwgdrwg said:
That seems a lot, what was the itinerary?
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Oh my mums done it as she and my dad have decided they want to take me on a holiday for their 25th wedding anniversary and we hadn't had a family holiday for years.

So I said I'd been looking at japan and worked it out for backpacking and doing it on the cheap, I reckon just over a grand. But of course my mum won't do that and has worked the itineray out to the bare minimum she'll put up with.

Hence the ridiculous cost….. Ill just backpack it on my own, I think we'll go to vietnam instead as its much cheaper.
 
What did she put on the itinerary? How long was it? Flights? etc. Was that the cost for three of you?

I suppose if it is for three flights and you will only go direct at high season then you will be looking at £800 - £1100 each.
 
ATOMIC SUPLEX said:
What did she put on the itinerary? How long was it? Flights? etc. Was that the cost for three of you?

I suppose if it is for three flights and you will only go direct at high season then you will be looking at £800 - £1100 each.
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Yeah it was in that ball park.

She sent me the itineries..... Ill have a look again and see if I can find them
 
That sucks sim. I hope it works out for you. On another note, I have about ten weeks to go :D I think I've put aside way more spending money than I need to, but I'm a paranoid person who likes to over rather than under budget.
 
It's a bit of a bummer that there is no cheap flights anymore. Something to do with the fuel tax I think. I have had returns for around £300 in the past.
When the exchange rate was favorable (probably about 10 years ago now) staying in apartments in the centre of Tokyo was so cheap. I'd get a two bedroom in Shinjuku and just spread out.
 
Just got home to a completely out-of-the-blue cheque for £2,500 from my grandmother :eek: :eek: :eek:

Now trying to work out if I could do the Trans-Siberian plus Japan for around that. I think I'd have to top it up with some wage-saving :hmm:

Good luck such, can't wait to hear what it's like :cool: :D And sim, hope you make it too :cool:
 
So this could be back on...... my mum has decided she wants to come, and has been looking at itineries.

3 nights x Tokyo (incl visit to Nikko)
1or 2 night X Hakone and mount Fuji
1 night x Takayama for sake production, rural town and cherry blossom fair 0r Tsumago and stay in a ryokan (traditional house)
2 nights x Hiroshima
3 nights x Kyoto

^is what we're looking at, I think it covers all the major bases.
 
sim667 said:
1 night x Takayama for sake production, rural town and cherry blossom fair 0r Tsumago and stay in a ryokan (traditional house)
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Ooh, a couple I know are returning to Takayama in April, having pitstopped there in between Tokyo and Kyoto for their honeymoon. They've been raving about it and are really looking forward to going back, so I'm very keen to add that to the list :cool:

Think they were there one or two nights originally, this time they'll be there for 6, and using it as a base to go a-wandering :cool:
 
Transport - recommend a Suica card; this gets you around in the Tokyo area

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suica_card

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/suica.html

As for booking hotels, my wife does that side but you could try here

http://www.booking.com/country/jp.en...FSXMtAoddV4AIw

Buying things in shops is easy - at the checkout/till they often show you the price total on a calculator. You put the money in a little tray and your change is given back in the tray.

If you accidentally leave your change or card behind, someone will come running out to give it back to you!

Buying drinks depends on what pub and where. Western style bars will either charge at the bar or you pay the waitress. Sometimes you will get a few free nibbles. Don't tip as it's generally not the done thing. But someone may buy you a drink; you're not obliged to buy one back - but you can if you want. More traditional bars - you tend to eat and drink there & pay the bill upon leaving. You don't have to eat, of course but you will get the inevitable free nibbles upon sitting down.

There's also the "stand up" bars which are traditional and you might find stools at the bar. It's either spit & sawdust or jukebox videos etc - you chose your drink from a machine inside, put the coins in - it issues you a ticket and you give that to the barman and he serves the drink.

You can be as adventorous as you like with food. On the most recent trip, I had raw chicken. I must admit, I was apprehensive about the idea of uncooked poultry but the chefs for this type of dish have a license to prepare it. It wasn't as scary as I thought. And that was more a regional dish in Kyushu where we visited, it's not really commonplace.
 
krtek a houby said:
Transport - recommend a Suica card; this gets you around in the Tokyo area
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I have a suica. My pre suica life in Tokyo could be a bit fiddly, especially as a lot of pricing maps were only in Kanji.
Go to any JR station and ask for a english JR map, all station platforms have the name displayed in Kanji, hiragana and english (romanji).
However even if you are paying in cash for a ticket, you can top up the extra you owe if you bough a ticket that was too cheap.
krtek a houby said:
Buying things in shops is easy - at the checkout/till they often show you the price total on a calculator. You put the money in a little tray and your change is given back in the tray.
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The 5% tax thing used to be a bit annoying but I think everywhere has to display the full after tax price by law now.
Almost everywhere takes cards now, but it is odd to pay at bars, supermarkets and small local shops, or for small items with a credit card. Also your bank will charge you and give you a crappy rate.

krtek a houby said:
Buying drinks depends on what pub and where. Western style bars will either charge at the bar or you pay the waitress. Sometimes you will get a few free nibbles. Don't tip as it's generally not the done thing. But someone may buy you a drink; you're not obliged to buy one back - but you can if you want. More traditional bars - you tend to eat and drink there & pay the bill upon leaving. You don't have to eat, of course but you will get the inevitable free nibbles upon sitting down.
krtek a houby said:
Almost everywhere in Tokyo has a 'table charge' now. You will have to buy some small dish that is usually specific to the bar / izakaya whether you want it or not. The 'free' nibbles are what you are paying something like a fiver for for the luxury of a seat.
Most izakaya are eating and drinking places, might seem a bit odd to english people at first, but I think I prefer it now. It makes much more sense, and the prices are usually pretty good really.

krtek a houby said:
There's also the "stand up" bars which are traditional and you might find stools at the bar. It's either spit & sawdust or jukebox videos etc - you chose your drink from a machine inside, put the coins in - it issues you a ticket and you give that to the barman and he serves the drink.
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There are some great and crazy standup bars in Koenji, super friendly. Small stand up bars tend not to have a table charge.
Ooh and try some street drinking places. Grab some yakitori and nihonshu (sake to you and I).
Check out piss alley in shinjuku.
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It's very straightforward to get around without a Suica card though. I had no problems at all, and I'm just a country boy. Just look for your stop on the big board and it tells you very clearly how much to pay. It's also quite cheap to get around, most of my journeys were 210 yen, which worked out at about £1.50 a journey.
 
mwgdrwg said:
It's very straightforward to get around without a Suica card though. I had no problems at all, and I'm just a country boy. Just look for your stop on the big board and it tells you very clearly how much to pay. It's also quite cheap to get around, most of my journeys were 210 yen, which worked out at about £1.50 a journey.
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Yes it's not hard really, but like I said, the stations that are further out don't have anything other than kanji map price boards, so it might be difficult to work out where you are or where you are going to. Also if you are changing lines, it's so much easier as you can use suica with any of the other trainlines.

It's not like it's super difficult, but suica certainly makes things easier in the same way that oyster does.

Oh, and all the ticket machines can be switched to speak in english, so that's another convenience for the foreign traveler. Don't expect anyone working in the ticket office to understand english though. Make sure you know how to ask for an english train map in Japanese just to make sure.
 
such and such said:
Should I bother buying a map before I leave?
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You'll get lost anyway. I did a couple of times and it made part of the adventure :)





(Even though I used a fold out map which came with the guide book I bought beforehand. I did find it very useful at times though)
 
mwgdrwg said:
You'll get lost anyway. I did a couple of times and it made part of the adventure :)





(Even though I used a fold out map which came with the guide book I bought beforehand. I did find it very useful at times though)
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I have a terrible sense of direction even in Melbourne :D
 
sim667 said:
We went through a travel agent, and they've done it all for us.
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If you don't mind me asking, which travel agent did you go with?

(I'm hoping to take the family with me next time, instead of a solo trip, so travel agents is something I'm looking at)
 
mwgdrwg said:
If you don't mind me asking, which travel agent did you go with?

(I'm hoping to take the family with me next time, instead of a solo trip, so travel agents is something I'm looking at)
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Audley travel, they've kind of done us a tour, but you instead of being coaches etc they book transport for you and you find your own way round.
 
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