Has anyone been to Japan?
Has anyone been to Japan?
I'm planning to travel round Japan with a friend for two weeks next year, probably in September. Has anyone done this before? It would be great to hear your experiances and recomendations. Also I have no idea what my budget should be, I've started saving but have a feeling its going to take me a while!!
At the moment we're thinking about Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima.
Thanks
Answers:
Yes I've been to Tokyo and Kyoto (we flew back from Osaka but I didn't really get to see it). My recommendations are:
Tokyo:
Metropolitan Government Building - for views of Mount Fuji
Fish market
Ginza
Sushi restaurants (including plastic models in windows)
Akihabara (electronic shops in general - whole floors of electric toilet seats)
Roppongi
Meiji shinto shrine
Metro stations / Tokyo station (overwhelming but worth view people in rush hour)
Takashimaya / Mitsukoshi dept stores
Tokyo tower - good views of city
Royal palace gardens
Yoshinoya rice & beef fast food joint (delicious)
Day trip to Fuji / Lake Ashi / Hakone (for sulphur springs)
Bullet train trip
Kyoto:
Stay in a Japanese inn (ryokan)
Golden Pavilian (was under wraps when we were there, which was a bit of a shame)
Kaiseki meal (traditional Japanese feast)
Nijo castle
Imperial Palace
Nara (for the deer and the buddha in the Todajii temple)
Johnny Hillwalker tour of Kyoto
Kiyomizu temple
Ryoanji temple (with the famous rock garden)
Geisha area (forgotten the name but you will see them walking around during the day)
Blimey that was a lot of things that we fitted into a 2-week holiday! Looking at your post in my opinion you'd be biting off more than you can chew to do Hiroshima and Osaka as well as Tokyo and Kyoto. What I've listed above are pretty much the must sees for both places.
I booked through Jaltour and they arranged our hotels, flights and transfers. We booked onto local tours with English speaking guides some days, worth it for understanding more about the temples, as there isn't a lot of info in English there.
If you have any other questions then ask away.
chops
Answers:
I haven't been yet, but we're going with http://www.insidejapantours.com/index.php - they are Japan specialist and have been very helpful in planning our trip. We're doing a tailored one for our honeymoon but it looks like they'd do the kind of trip you're after as well. They can book the trains and internal flights as well which is useful. They don't do international flights though.
Answers:
japan
hey
I went out last June for just under a month so I can give you some recommendations re flights.
This is maybe a personal thing, but I would definitely recommend you try and get an open-jaw flight. Having to get a bullet train (expensive) or an overnight bus (cheaper - maybe £40 for a student - but long - 8 hours or so) back to Tokyo just to go home again is a real hassle.
I found a good flight on expedia.co.uk last summer:
Direct Heathrow to Tokyo, returning direct from Osaka to Heathrow. It was with JAL - a Japanese airline which, to give you an idea, in my experience is better than BA.
It cost just over £500. I think you could find similar options for cheaper if they were indirect flights with other airlines. Anyway, point is it's worth looking for open-jaw.
I have never been in Japan as a tourist but I know that you can get deals on bullet-trains by buying some kind of tourist ticket. I think it gives you unlimited journeys for however long you are there, but there are a few more details than that. I have to say I'm not actually sure if it would definitely work out cheaper if you are only doing two centres. Last time I looked there were details about it on STA Travel's website. Having said this, if you do get a deal on bullet trains, maybe you won't care so much about the flight being open-jaw!
Ooh one more thing - if you are planning to go out in summer, be aware that it can be ridiculously hot and humid out there! Osaka in particular seems to get very humid. Take some good deodorant.
Answers:
I :throb: Japan and I'm actually searching for flights to Japan for my 4th time right now! Best ones I've found so far are with Emirates through Expedia, but usually KLM are cheapest and being in Glasgow there is no direct flight anyway so I don't mind indirect flights.
I would recommend flying to Osaka kix rather than Tokyo Narita, a much nicer airport and better transport to and from it than Narita. Japan Rail Passes are the cheapest way to travel if you want to visit a lot of places and you can pick it up right off the flight and use it straight away (found this easier to do in Osaka) but you need to apply for it before you go. I think last time it cost less than £300 for 3 weeks travel which gets you on the shinkansen and most overground rail links (definitely in Tokyo, can't remember about other places) and some buses/boats.
I'd definitely recommend Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. You won't need long in Hiroshima, but I'd give the others as long as possible and use them as bases for day trips to other places if you can.
Despite its reputation, Japan can definitely be done on a budget imo, with a bit of planning you can sleep and eat cheaply, and your rail pass will get you discounts in some places. But personally I'd save as much as I possibly could:D
I'm planning to travel round Japan with a friend for two weeks next year, probably in September. Has anyone done this before? It would be great to hear your experiances and recomendations. Also I have no idea what my budget should be, I've started saving but have a feeling its going to take me a while!!
At the moment we're thinking about Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima.
Thanks
Answers:
Yes I've been to Tokyo and Kyoto (we flew back from Osaka but I didn't really get to see it). My recommendations are:
Tokyo:
Metropolitan Government Building - for views of Mount Fuji
Fish market
Ginza
Sushi restaurants (including plastic models in windows)
Akihabara (electronic shops in general - whole floors of electric toilet seats)
Roppongi
Meiji shinto shrine
Metro stations / Tokyo station (overwhelming but worth view people in rush hour)
Takashimaya / Mitsukoshi dept stores
Tokyo tower - good views of city
Royal palace gardens
Yoshinoya rice & beef fast food joint (delicious)
Day trip to Fuji / Lake Ashi / Hakone (for sulphur springs)
Bullet train trip
Kyoto:
Stay in a Japanese inn (ryokan)
Golden Pavilian (was under wraps when we were there, which was a bit of a shame)
Kaiseki meal (traditional Japanese feast)
Nijo castle
Imperial Palace
Nara (for the deer and the buddha in the Todajii temple)
Johnny Hillwalker tour of Kyoto
Kiyomizu temple
Ryoanji temple (with the famous rock garden)
Geisha area (forgotten the name but you will see them walking around during the day)
Blimey that was a lot of things that we fitted into a 2-week holiday! Looking at your post in my opinion you'd be biting off more than you can chew to do Hiroshima and Osaka as well as Tokyo and Kyoto. What I've listed above are pretty much the must sees for both places.
I booked through Jaltour and they arranged our hotels, flights and transfers. We booked onto local tours with English speaking guides some days, worth it for understanding more about the temples, as there isn't a lot of info in English there.
If you have any other questions then ask away.
chops
Answers:
I haven't been yet, but we're going with http://www.insidejapantours.com/index.php - they are Japan specialist and have been very helpful in planning our trip. We're doing a tailored one for our honeymoon but it looks like they'd do the kind of trip you're after as well. They can book the trains and internal flights as well which is useful. They don't do international flights though.
Answers:
japan
hey
I went out last June for just under a month so I can give you some recommendations re flights.
This is maybe a personal thing, but I would definitely recommend you try and get an open-jaw flight. Having to get a bullet train (expensive) or an overnight bus (cheaper - maybe £40 for a student - but long - 8 hours or so) back to Tokyo just to go home again is a real hassle.
I found a good flight on expedia.co.uk last summer:
Direct Heathrow to Tokyo, returning direct from Osaka to Heathrow. It was with JAL - a Japanese airline which, to give you an idea, in my experience is better than BA.
It cost just over £500. I think you could find similar options for cheaper if they were indirect flights with other airlines. Anyway, point is it's worth looking for open-jaw.
I have never been in Japan as a tourist but I know that you can get deals on bullet-trains by buying some kind of tourist ticket. I think it gives you unlimited journeys for however long you are there, but there are a few more details than that. I have to say I'm not actually sure if it would definitely work out cheaper if you are only doing two centres. Last time I looked there were details about it on STA Travel's website. Having said this, if you do get a deal on bullet trains, maybe you won't care so much about the flight being open-jaw!
Ooh one more thing - if you are planning to go out in summer, be aware that it can be ridiculously hot and humid out there! Osaka in particular seems to get very humid. Take some good deodorant.
Answers:
I :throb: Japan and I'm actually searching for flights to Japan for my 4th time right now! Best ones I've found so far are with Emirates through Expedia, but usually KLM are cheapest and being in Glasgow there is no direct flight anyway so I don't mind indirect flights.
I would recommend flying to Osaka kix rather than Tokyo Narita, a much nicer airport and better transport to and from it than Narita. Japan Rail Passes are the cheapest way to travel if you want to visit a lot of places and you can pick it up right off the flight and use it straight away (found this easier to do in Osaka) but you need to apply for it before you go. I think last time it cost less than £300 for 3 weeks travel which gets you on the shinkansen and most overground rail links (definitely in Tokyo, can't remember about other places) and some buses/boats.
I'd definitely recommend Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. You won't need long in Hiroshima, but I'd give the others as long as possible and use them as bases for day trips to other places if you can.
Despite its reputation, Japan can definitely be done on a budget imo, with a bit of planning you can sleep and eat cheaply, and your rail pass will get you discounts in some places. But personally I'd save as much as I possibly could:D