Visiting Japan? Ask your questions here!

[ukiyo]

It's interoperable with suica..so there is no difference really.

[FinlandCookies]

I'm planning to visit Tokyo in mid March, for a business trip. but thinking of arriving a week earlier to travel. which is better during that time of month? Nagano has some nice snow monkeys.. Hokkaido I never been before, thinking maybe visiting Sapporo and some Ainu villages in Nibutani. is HOkkaido better for late winter or in summer? also any recommendations on cheap hotels (must come with own bath, non smoking, free internet). i'm thinking of the super hotel or toyoko inn chains.

[ukiyo]

Hokkaido is better in the summer, less cloudy days (and better temperatures).

[Sou-jiro]

Hi Guys this thread is great been reading through it and getting a lot of insights. Can I just ask is 80,000yen budget ok for two weeks?..(not including airfare ofcourse haha)

I only plan to be in Tokyo for 4-5 day then Travel to Kyoto/Nara and Osaka and who knows maybe even Hiroshima...If time allows Maybe Nikko as well...
Actually Im thinking of starting in Nikko after Tokyo...its closest so It makes sense right?

Is 80,000yen too small?..whats a realistic amount for a low budget?..please advise. Also what are the other cheaper options for travel between cities?...(PS I do realize the Shinkansen is more expansive but does save you time...but apart form that what other options do I have).

[Kimiwind1184]

Since you are planning to head to Kansai that will cost quite of extra money. Traveling by shinkansen definitely reduce the time and also it's more comfortable. There is cheaper options like Bus rides but that will take up to 9 hours to arrive to Osaka.

If you were to stay only in Tokyo and nearby cities like Yokohama, Saitama, Kawasaki ect.. it ''could'' be enough (I still doubt it). But traveling to Kansai and even chugoku will cost you hell amount of money. Expect to burn at least 150000 yen according to your travel plan.

[kaspric]

Attention, attention!

For everyone travelling to Japan in period from Sunday, April 1 to Saturday, June 30, 2012 there is limited offer of JR East Pass Special. For only 10,000Y you can travel in all JREast operating area (including of course Shinkansens) on any three days of the 10-day use period.

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/eastpass_sp/index.html



Great offer :-)

[ukiyo]

Good find!

[lamc60]

I'm traveling to Japan for the first time on the first week of May. While making my hotel reservations I found out it is Golden Week, which made everything more expensive.
I'll be staying in Shinjuku for the first four nights, then I will go to Kyoto for two days and back to Tokyo for one night to take my plane back home.
Any suggestions on what to do during this week?
I am very excited to finally go to Japan.

[.D.]

ps... Realistically speaking what would expenses be in order to travel to Japan? I mean I know that plane + hotel I'm looking around 2,000 for one week. Now if I include food and transportation would that be close to 1,000 ? so I'm I looking for $3,000 trip to Japan?

[ukiyo]

Originally Posted by lamc60

I'm traveling to Japan for the first time on the first week of May. While making my hotel reservations I found out it is Golden Week, which made everything more expensive.
I'll be staying in Shinjuku for the first four nights, then I will go to Kyoto for two days and back to Tokyo for one night to take my plane back home.
Any suggestions on what to do during this week?
I am very excited to finally go to Japan.

Golden Week is going to be tough, all the trains will be packed...the good restaurants will be full etc.. But as for what to do it depends what you like. There's many things, so tell us if you care more about history or modernity.

Originally Posted by .D.

ps... Realistically speaking what would expenses be in order to travel to Japan? I mean I know that plane + hotel I'm looking around 2,000 for one week. Now if I include food and transportation would that be close to 1,000 ? so I'm I looking for $3,000 trip to Japan?

If it's one week $2,000 (including hotel, plane ticket and food) is a more realistic figure if you stay in cheap hostels.

[bluemeansgo]

The nice thing about Golden week is that MOST people are travelling and they're leaving the cities.

However, that means that if you're also travelling to popular tourist sites, they'll be mobbed.

All that being said, there's plenty to see in Kyoto. Kiyomizudera is a must see. The shopping area around Gion is nice as well. For historical/temples/etc. take your pick. I, personally, go to Nijo-jo every time. I love that place. However, lots of people like kinkaku-ji (Golden Temple).

If it gets too crazy, head over to Osaka and walk along Shinsaibashi-suji. It's a covered shopping arcade and won't be as busy during Golden week. Osaka, in general, I found wasn't as busy during Golden Week. Also, Osaka is a food lover's heaven.

[.D.]

Okay lets say you go to Tokyo but you also want to visit all those places bluemeansgo said. What would be the fares for public transport to those places? A link would be a preciated. I can't google it because I forgot most of my japanese thank you.

[ukiyo]

Depends if you buy JR pass and when you are going. Look at kaspric's post.

[.D.]

okay then now is not bad if I consider a hostel, which is better for a single traveler. Thanks for the info ukiyo.

[hkskyline]

Food costs add up quickly. A decent ramen in a noodle bar (where you buy a ticket at the vending machine) would easily set you back 700-1000 yen. A set dinner / lunch at an average restaurant will be 1000-1500 yen. If you try specialities like Kobe beef, it'll be costly. The cheapest decent food I've had was the train station ramen bar, which was about 500 yen for an udon and you stand and eat at the bar.

[quashlo]

Eh, it's really not any more expensive than other developed countries... I have to agree with k.k.jetcar on this one.

Sure, if you don't come from one of these countries then it might seem expensive, but then that won't apply just to food.

[ukiyo]

Yeah food is not really an issue unless you go out to expensive places. Generally the food is cheaper than in North America, not sure about Europe but it's probably cheaper than there too. Especially if you only eat conbini food

[hkskyline]

Not really. I've been able to find far cheaper food far easier in New York and London than in Tokyo. Even Tokyo fast food was relatively pricier. Big cities in the West have quite a lot of informal eating holes and far more choice in cheap take-outs.

[ukiyo]

It depends if you're doing this with exchange rates. For the past 2 years the yen has been overvalued, but if you do it by PPP pretty much everything is cheaper. I don't know about take-outs but Tokyo has the most restaurants of any city in the world and a huge % of those restaurants are "informal eating holes"..or little "pop and mom" (or whatever the english expression is) shops and they're all cheap.

For example you can get 2 nigiri sushi, for 100 yen (94 US cents [PPP]) and the size is much larger than in the US. You can also get an entire yakiniku lunch for 800 yen (tons of rice, salad, beef, tofu etc [900 yen with wagyu])...I even posted about that in my Tokyo picture thread. You just have to know where to go. Generally restaurants in Japan have cheap lunch specials..but for dinner sometimes the prices will be double. So: Eat big during lunch, eat something small for dinner..if you want to save money.

[hkskyline]

I'm actually talking about the plentiful food trucks and kebab mom and pop stores in New York and London that serve very good and filling meals for USD 5 or less. Even Marks and Spencer's in London offered decent sandwiches for 2 GBP.