Visiting Japan? Ask your questions here!

[ukiyo]

I noticed every now and then we get questions about travelling to Japan. So let's just use this thread and accumulate all the knowledge .

Here are some useful links from Fox-Tale

Originally Posted by Fox-Tale

I would like to share information on useful English websites about traveling in Japan.
Here are some of them. (I selected only reliable and famous ones)
Your sharing information is appreciated. Please post your recommended websites too

■Governmental/Municipal Websites
http://www.jnto.go.jp/ Japan National Tourism Organization
http://www.hkd.mlit.go.jp/zigyoka/z_...t/index_e.html Driving information/maps in Hokkaido

■Hotel Booking
http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/ Rakuten Travel (Japan's No.1 hotel booking website)
http://www.japanican.com/index.aspx JAPANiCAN
http://www.hostelworld.com/countries/japanhostels.html Hostels in Japan
http://www.toyoko-inn.com/eng/ Toyoko Inn official website(my personal No.1 budget hotel chain in Japan)

■Transportation
(Route/Fare Search)
http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/index.html Train Route/Fare Finder

(Highway bus)
http://www.bus.or.jp/kousoku_e/index.html Highway bus information

(Shinkansen, aka the bullet train)
http://www.japanrailpass.net/ Japan Rail Pass
http://jreast-shinkansen-reservation...menu/menu.aspx JR East Shinkansen Reservation(Note: you cannot reserve Tokaido and other Shinkansen lines. JR East line only)

(Airport Access)
http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/access/index.html Narita International Airport Access Information
http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/ Airport Limousine (Narita/Haneda)
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/nex/ Narita Express by JR East
http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/access/index.html Kansai International Airport Access Information
http://www.kate.co.jp/pc/index_e.html Airport Limousine (Kansai)

(Domestic Flight)
http://www.jal.co.jp/en/ JAL domestic flights search/reservation
https://www.ana.co.jp/asw/index.jsp?type=de ANA domestic flights search/reservation

■Guidebooks/Travel Information
http://www.roughguides.com/website/s...cts/Japan.aspx The Rough Guide to Japan (best guidebook for travellers to Japan!!)
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com...try_japan.html National Geographic (publishes beautiful guidebooks with lots of photos)
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan Lonely Planet (famous for backpacker's guidebooks)
http://wikitravel.org/en/Japan Japan travel guide by Wikitravel

■Maps
http://www.mapfan.com/en/en_m.cgi MapFan Web

■Local Tour Operators (in English and other foreign languages)
http://www.jgl.co.jp/inbound/ Japan Gray Line
http://www.jtb-sunrisetours.jp/JTB.S...ours/FrontEnd/ Sunrise Tour by JTB
http://hisexperience.jp/ HIS Experience Japan
http://www.hatobus.com/ Hatobus
http://gbs.gta-travel.com/jp gta by Travelport(Click "SIGHTSEEING" tab above)

■Restaurant Guide
http://www.gnavi.co.jp/en/ Gourmet Navigator(Japan's No.1 online restaurant search engine)

■Moile Phone Rental in Japan
http://www.softbank-rental.jp/en/ Softbank Rental (Domestic voice call:105 yen per min., text messaging available)
http://www.jalabc.com/rental/domestic_eng/index.html JAL ABC (Domestic voice call:80 yen per min., text messaging unavailable)

■Courier Services in Japan
http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/english/index.html Yamato Transport (Japan's No.1 courier company. It's common for Japanese people to send suitcases by using courier companies rather than carrying them all the way to the destination(hotels). Normally arrives the next day.)
http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/engl...s/airport.html Airport Courier Service (To send and receive suitcases and boxes from/to the airport. This service is useful if you have heavy luggage and have to travel by train)

■Japanese Learning Textbooks
http://www.3anet.co.jp/english/books/books_01.html Minna no Nihongo textbooks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembering_the_Kanji_I Remembering the Kanji by James Heisig

■Others
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/ Japan Visa Information

[kaspric]

OK, so let the story begin.

Hello everyone :-). I'm going to Japan and have questions. First of all please forgive me my laziness, maybe some answers I could get using google, but google is not a person, so the reason to write here.
Some facts about my travel:
- I'm coming 8 August, arrival to Narita, homecoming 22 August. And for now it's the only stick plan I have. I've just started doing it.
- I'm completely alone. I'm coming on my own, without friends or anyone else I can talk to in Polish ;-), I also don't have friends in Japan (the last sentence could not be true, 'cause there lives my brother's friend in Japan (married to Japanese woman), but I haven't contact with him yet).
- I'm an architect, so I'm especially interested in urbanity, architecture (it would be great to see Tadao Ando's capel in Kobe for example) and infrastructure (traveling by Shinkansen is not only a way of travelling)
- I WANNA MEET JAPANESE PEOPLE. I don't want to come, see beautiful places, make photos, come back. The most important for me is to feel Japan's heart ;-).
- I speak Japanese a little. I hope to increase my Japanese skills before my travel :-)
- I wanna have an option for every day. For example: I wanna go to Osaka - oh, there are no free seats in the train - ok, so I go to Nagano.

So - here are questions I have today, the most important for beginning:

Transportation - could you tell me if JR Pass is the only thing I need for traveling not only around the country, but in local areas, cities? Here is the list, but the names don't tell me much. Does JRP allow to use local public transport (as a metro, city bus lines)? Will JRP let me use public transport right from Narita Airport?

Accommodation - of course I prefer cheaper than more expensive way of sleeping ;-), but I'm not totally limited with money. The point is that I want to meet people, so I thought about different way of traveling, such as Hospitality or CouchSurfing. Is anyone of you or your friends opened for such way of meeting people? Asking here 'cause the Skyscrapercity is the first-choice family :-).
This is important question, 'cause the plan of my travel depends on the way of living in Japan.
The second question is capsule hotels - we don't have smth like that in Europe and I would like to take one night in it. How much does it cost?

Prices - what are average prices in Japan (maybe it's easy to find it, but I would like maybe it's changed after earthquake?). For example:
- beer / beer in a restaurant
- dinner in restaurant / bar's like Mcdonalds / is there any cheaper way of eating?
- local buses, metro (only if JRPass doesn't allow to use this transport system)
- taxi
- museum tickets

Language
English - is it common in japanese society?
Kanji - I've never learn this signs, know only a few (like the 円 one). Is it possible to survive without this knowledge? Which kanji should I learn, which are the most useful for foreigner? Maybe you know smth like list of most useful kanji?

Ok - it's all for now. Thx for your patience and all answers :-)

[ukiyo]

You can travel to most places in Tokyo with JR but not everywhere. Tokyo has subways which are not JR but you don't need to use the subway since there's many trains above the ground. I think the JR pass will be good, especially if you will use the Shinkansen.

I can't help you with those kind of accomidation but the capsule hotels are around 3,000 yen.

Prices: the problem is the yen is at record strengths right now against the Euro and the Dollar so everything will be expensive for you. Normally 1 Euro is like 160 yen..but right now it only buys 114 yen...so you can see how your purchasing power has declined alot generally food is not expensive in Japan. The absolute cheapest way of eat is just go to convenience store and get the cheap food there but if you travel to Japan you should at least try yakiniku/shabushabu/sukiyaki at least once since they don't that in the west..and of course the Ramen, Sushi conveyor belts etc. For museum tickets it depends which museum... For beer you should go to an Izakaya this is a japanese style bar which is also serves food..though I'm not sure how it will be to go alone.

English is not common...as for Kanji...you won't need to worry especially for transportation. In most cities the signs will have Japanese and English..especially in Tokyo/Osaka/Kobe etc. Only if you go to rural areas or something they won't have any english. I think japanese nature is really pretty. You should make a day trip to Mount Takao or something if you are in Tokyo for awhile.

BTW you should look at my threads in my signature, I have Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe there and you can get ideas of where to go

[quashlo]

Originally Posted by kaspric

Does JRP allow to use local public transport (as a metro, city bus lines)?

NihonKitty answered the metro question. As for buses, you will never need to take them unless you are visiting Kyōto or some of the smaller cities.

Originally Posted by kaspric

Will JRP let me use public transport right from Narita Airport?

The Narita Express is operated by JR, so you will be able to use your JR pass on it to get to central Tōkyō. However, depending on your hotel or place of lodging, you may need to make an additional transfer and take another train that may or may not be operated by JR. Some popular districts like Roppongi, Asakusa, Odaiba, Oshiage (Sky Tree), etc. are not served by JR but by other operators, so you will need to pay a separate fare for those trips. But if you are using Shinkansen, you should just get a JR pass, as it will save you money.

Originally Posted by kaspric

- dinner in restaurant / bar's like Mcdonalds / is there any cheaper way of eating?

I don't know what you consider cheap, but I think you can find lots of good sit-down type meals for around ¥1,000, if not less. I suppose McDonald's or some of the other fast food like MOS Burger, CoCo Ichibanya, might be interesting as they will likely be offering things that you don't find in your local fast-food chains.

Also, this may not be for everyone, but I like going to convenience stores and just getting some onigiri, bentō, or some other small snacks. Pretty filling and not expensive at all.

I also like going to the basement levels of department stores... If you arrive near closing time, they will give you some good discounts, and there's lots of variety (all of it really good) to choose from. You can spend a good hour or so just walking around and seeing all the food.

[kaspric]

Thanks for all answers. Of course if anyone can add another info, I will be grateful :-).

@NihonKitty: JR Pass is of course the best choice. I've just wondered about buying JR Pass for one or 2 weeks. There is difference about 17000 yen, it's pretty much, and I've just checked the one day metro pass in Tokyo is 600yen - it's not expensive. Well, it'll depend on my plans, but if I stay one week in Tokyo, option of JR pass for one week seems good for me.
Capsule hotel - thanks, it's not expensive, good thing :-)
Strengh yen - it was 160 yen per 1 Euro 2 years ago... so I must accept it.
As I said - I will check everything carrefully, also your threads, just give me more time :-)

@qashlo: thanks for info, 1000 yen for a meal isn't very expensive for me (not much more expensive than in Poland). Department stores in closing time seems to be good option :-)

Next question - according to this information, are there real problems with seat reservation for one person in Obon season ?

[Asakaze]

A two week JR Pass isn't really a good idea if you're only travelling around Tokyo for half of your time in Japan. As quashlo said, many places aren't served by JR but by the metro/toei/private lines.

There are some cheap Hotels in Osaka around Shin-Imamiya station, which cost about 2000 yen per night for a single room with 8 to 10 sqm and no toilet/shower. Don't know about Tokyo, but there might be a chance to find these kind of accomodations in Edogawa or Asakusa. But as you want to meet people, couchsurfing is your best bet. Don't have any experiences with that though.

As for Obon, the trains can be horribly crowded during that time. Japanguide has further information about that. If you plan on staying at a traditional Ryokan, it will be more expensive than normal. But there are some Ryokans which offer their services on hostelworld.com and provide at least basic english service. My experiences tell me that these places are not really frequented by japanese travellers, but don't nail me down to that.

[ukiyo]

Well he said he will be using Shinkansen so it's a good idea...but if not then there's also other passes for Tokyo if I remember correctly. I'm not sure if they are only daily or not but I know they cover almost every operator.

[slim_shady0052]

well, i'm looking for a place where can take Tokyo's skyline
can some body tell me one ?

[ukiyo]

Are you willing to pay or for free?

1. Bunkyo Civic Centre (free) (Kasuga station)

2. Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings (free)

3. Dentsu Building (free) (Shinbashi)

4. Maranouchi Building (free) Tokyo Station

5. Roppongi Hills Tower (2000 yen)

6. The New York Bar and Grill (Park Hyatt hotel at the Tokyo Gas Building)

I am sure there's many more. I hope someone else can add some more because I am curious too!

[quashlo]

Well, if you can only go to one, go to the Roppongi Hills observatory. Well worth the money.

Another free one is in the St. Luke's (Seiroka) Tower around the Tsukiji area... I got some pretty good photos there when I visited, with the backdrop of Mt. Fuji and the water.

[kaspric]

@NihonHitty, @Asakaze: well, it'll depend on my final plan.
Thanks for the link with info about Obon - maybe it will be hard to travel, but in the other side it'll be cool to see it by my own eyes. I wonder where... but I'll ask for it in due course.

[slim_shady0052]

thanks everyone, that's useful, but by the the way. that's skydeck? or just go around and go to top floor and say nothing? too bad but if the building's guard capture me, what can i say to them

[ukiyo]

Kaspric keep in mind Tokyo is cutting energy by 15% so many lights are off and air conditioners are not as cool, so it might be better if you spend more time in west Japan this time.

[kaspric]

I thought it's all Japan issue... is it only in Tokyo? What about Osaka, Yokohama?

PS check "Beautiful videos ..." thread :-)

[ukiyo]

Other areas are doing it (like Osaka) but it's mostly voluntary, in Tokyo it's alot more extreme. Train frequency are cut, lights are off (in Shibuya, Shinjuku etc) etc.

[asdfg]

I'm looking for a hotel in Tokyo with a view. Ideally the hotel would be located on the upper floors of a tower and offer good views around Tokyo. I'm not totally limited on budget but don't want to pay for a luxury hotel (e.g. Shangri-La)... looking around mid-price if possible.

[ukiyo]

I can't answer your question (since I never stayed in Hotel) but I can tell you that even the luxury hotels right now have very big discounts trying to lure in tourists. So I think it won't be that hard to get a good hotel this year.

[kaspric]

How much time approximately does it take to communicate beetwen cities by shinkansen? For example Tokyo-Nagano, Tokyo-Osaka, Tokyo-Nagoya?
I wonder if it would be good to spent a night in Tokyo (I have quite a nice host in there), early morning go by shinkansen f.e. to Nagano and come back in the eveninig.

[flymordecai]

I'm looking to do an architectural internship in Tokyo around September or October. It will be around 1-3 months long so I will have to find a place to stay in the city. The firm is in Aoyama very near one of the imperial palaces (maybe THE Imperial Palace?) which means that any housing there will be prohibitively expensive. What are my choices for nearby areas with affordable housing? Also, I've heard of host families; are they common?

[ukiyo]

Originally Posted by kaspric

How much time approximately does it take to communicate beetwen cities by shinkansen? For example Tokyo-Nagano, Tokyo-Osaka, Tokyo-Nagoya?
I wonder if it would be good to spent a night in Tokyo (I have quite a nice host in there), early morning go by shinkansen f.e. to Nagano and come back in the eveninig.

Tokyo-Nagano: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Tokyo-Osaka: 2 hours, 35 minutes
Tokyo-Nagoya: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Originally Posted by flymordecai

I'm looking to do an architectural internship in Tokyo around September or October. It will be around 1-3 months long so I will have to find a place to stay in the city. The firm is in Aoyama very near one of the imperial palaces (maybe THE Imperial Palace?) which means that any housing there will be prohibitively expensive. What are my choices for nearby areas with affordable housing? Also, I've heard of host families; are they common?

Try
http://www.sakura-house.com/

http://classifieds.metropolis.co.jp/...ce/Guesthouse/

It's probably cheaper to live somewhere else and just commute into Aoyama.

In the internship do you get paid? If so you will be paid in yen so please do not use an exchange rate to figure out how much the cost is since the yen is strong now. Use the PPP exchange rate to give you an accurate picture. For example if the room says 33,000 yen a month that's $297. The Yen-Dollar in PPP you need to divide by 111...I'm not sure by euro.