Travelling to Japan?
( picture unrelated :) )
Hi there DC community.
We're quite limited in use of Japanese, but we can read and understand simple things.
Our plan is to hopefully travel to several places in Japan, such as Okinawa, Osaka, Tokyo, etc.
Needless to say, a trip like this is quite costly.
How can we plan this trip economically?
Transportation can vary from:
- Shinkansen (probably the best choice of transportation from places like Osaka to Tokyo right?)
- Subway (regular travelling in Tokyo?)
- Bus (just throwing it out there. Might be a bad choice right? seeing as we're unfamiliar)
We also have to think about living expenses.
Would be be more cost effective to find a 2-3 week rent? Or spend the days by living in cheaper hotels?
Also are there any ways to cut corners? Such as traveling by train during the night, to use as a "hotel" too.
Lastly it'd be great if you could also recommend interesting places to visit.
Thanks for the contributions!
Fr travelling around, definitely look into the Japan Rail Pass: http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en001.html
They come in 7-day, 14-day and 21-day durations, and for that entire time you don't need to buy any tickets for JR services - trains, buses, ferries... everything except for just one type of shinkansen. From the sounds of your travel plans, the Pass will save you some money and I can say from experience that it makes things much more convenient.
I would suggest avoiding buses as much as possible, simply because they're not as time-efficient as trains and, for the most part, you won't need to use them anyway. The train systems are pretty extensive in the major cities, and walking from point A to point B lets you take in a lot more of the city as well.
For accommodation, it's difficult to say without knowing your budget but there are certainly some decent cheap hotels in Japan. Make sure that at some point in your trip you stay at a ryokan - Japanese-style inn - for a more traditional experience.
Some worthwhile places to visit:
- Fushimi-Inari Shrine, Nijo Castle and Kinkokuji in Kyoto.
- The Metropolitan Government Building in Tokyo (great views on the free observation deck)
- The Ghibli Museum in Tokyo
- Odaiba, Tokyo Bay (take the yurikamome to get there for something different)
- Himeji Castle and Shoshazan in Himeji
- Nara Park in Nara (lots of nice temples, including the enormous Todaiji)
- The Peace Memorial in Hiroshima (very sombre, but worthwhile)
There are plenty more I could list but I'll keep it fairly brief.
I hope some of this is useful to you. If you have any other questions I would be more than happy to help! ^^
I think you should get a jrail pass, depending on how much you're planning to travel, what parts you plan to visit, especially if you plan to catch the shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo. http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en001.html check out this site to find the pass that suits you. Get one of those cards for areas that your rail pass doesn't go to, it's cheaper. Also the Japanese people are really nice and there's information booths at the station that have english japanese speaking people, so if you get lost, you can always ask them. I think the train services stop after 12, not so sure.
If I were you I'd try and experience the different type of accommodation offered in japan such as capsule hotel, ryokan, etc. If you really want cheap accommodation, you can stay at a manga kisaten or a hostel, which might be a bit more expensive.
Only been to Japan once, so hope this helped.
Ah one last thing, I hope you have a great time in Japan~!
Thanks for the replies.
I've heard about the JR Pass, and it sounds like it'll help out a lot.
Do you think I could cut down costs by doing some cooking?
We're possibly going to try to rent an apartment, so we can maybe do some cooking.
If I were you, I would try different types of japanese cuisine, as that would be one of the highlights. I would not recommend doing cooking because you can just do that back home but it's your choice.I don't think you can rent an apartment in Japan, as you need a guarantor and pay bond. I'm pretty sure at hostels, they have cooking facilities.
What about eating then?
I think I've seen several meals being about 10 dollars right?
Dinner costing more of course. I'm also expecting like bread or something simple for breakfast.
There are also supermarkets where you can get 100 yen drinks and convenience store type bentos right? How much do those cost?
Well there's one in Akihabara, forgot whats it called, it was like 500yen or something, quick fast food. There's coco's house I think its called, pretty cheap food too.
Oh if you expect something light for breakfast then, go for it.
100yen drinks, probably but I think most are around the 200. Bentos are a bit more expensive, prob around 400-600, not sure. I think you should check out some of dannychoos posts, I think he has an abundance of food posts there.
are you referring to Tenya?
You can get bento for like 500yen at am/pm.
can drinks are available at vending machines ~120yen,
10dollars is like 1kyen. McD, Mos all are within 7yen per set ;)
Go for a convenience store for breakfast - they're everywhere and you can get bread, fruit etc. Bread products typically cost from 100-150 yen each, drinks about the same so you can get breakfast for around 500 yen or less depending on your appetite.
Convenience store bento start at maybe 500 yen or so? I don't tend to eat bento because I'm vegetarian. You can also get ramen and other noodle dishes for under 1000 yen from small restaurants, and you can find them everywhere, plus there are Japanese-style fast food chains like Yoshinoya if you're stuck for somewhere to eat in urban areas and don't want to go for McDonald's. Food at tourist attractions will cost more but be careful about carrying bento around if you go when the weather is hot. It's best not to stick to convenience store stuff all the time, or you'll get sick of it even if it doesn't cost much. Most major cities will have their own regional dishes that are worth trying.
I've been going to Japan for the last 12 years, and the JRPass is a great deal for Shinkansen travel. I use it to go from Tokyo to Osaka and for day trips from Osaka to Kyoto. Plane tickets are a bit cheaper in October and cheaper again if you leave and return on Tue/Wed/Thurather than a weekend. Try http://www.jcha.or.jp/english/ for cheap hotels. I use the Nihombashi Saibo when in Tokyo because it's about $80 per night, and the Ningyocho subway station is only a few blocks away. Travel around Tokyo is easiest by subway. Same in Osaka. For sightseeing in Kyoto however, get an all day unlimited bus pass for 500yen and make use of the maps to see all the castles and shrines, especially the Sanjuusangen-dou temple, Kiyomizu-deran Temple and Kinkaku-Ji. Do alot of research on what you're going to do but stay a little flexible in case you get sidetracked.
Lastly: even if it means going at a later date, save enough money so that you're not always worrying about instead of enjoying your time in Japan.
if you travel in groups, hostel and dorms would be cheap option as well.
i use hostelworld.com
i'm heading tokyo-osaka this mid april to catch CureFes2(Yokohama). Btw, does Suica works outside tokyo?
btw, if you are on superduper budget, try these:
http://www.e-otomari.jp/~english/
http://www.e-conomyhotels.jp/list.html
most of em located in MinamiSenju, a laidback suburban town. Theres am/pm conbini, 7E and mcD nearby the station ;)
im still searching for osaka budget accomodations tho
Yeah, you can use Suica in any place that supports the network of rail cards Suica belongs to (Toica and Icoca in Kansai etc.). Just be careful about more rural locations, as often the ticket barriers are too old to accept the cards so you need a ticket instead.
I live in Japan, and I've just been traveling around a little with friends so hopefully I should be able to contribute some useful advice.
For mid-distance transport (say, Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka etc.) the cheapest way by far is by bus. Shinkansen is very fast, but it costs a fortune and regular train would also be expensive and probably something of a hassle going so far. I traveled from Tokyo to Nagoya, and then later from Kyoto to Tokyo by night bus and while it wasn't a pleasant experience it was a great money-saver. The cheapest buses are around 3000-4000 yen one-way, and for places like Kyoto take around 7 hours. The seats aren't really suitable for sleeping in and the bus stops at services every 2-3 hours so don't expect to get much sleep if you choose this method but it worked out well for my friends and I. If you're going further, you're best going by Shinkansen, or in the case of Hokkaido, Okinawa etc. then by plane. I believe travel agencies often have rail passes for JR that can be bought before going to Japan which is useful if you plan on traveling a lot.
For traveling within cities there are buses and subway systems. You can often get a day pass with is good value if you're doing two or more locations in the same day. Passes usually cost around 500-600 yen, and since buses to tourist locations usually have a fixed charge of at least 200 yen one-way, and subways within cities range from about 140 yen to 300 yen one-way depending on distance it's worth getting a pass if you can.
Definitely go to Kyoto - there are loads of places to see around Kyoto itself and you can get to nearby cities like Nara (also a fantastic place to visit) and Osaka. I'd recommend it over staying in Osaka because there's not a whole lot to do in Osaka in my opinion (the highlight of my visit was the Umeda Sky Building at night) and it's easy to reach from Kyoto for a day trip.
I stayed in a hostel called K's House while I was in Kyoto. It was very cheap and not bad for a youth hostel, the staff spoke English, and it was about 5 minutes from Kyoto Station. It was full of foreign students while we were there, so it's quite a popular place for budget accommodation. If you can afford a hotel or ryokan you might prefer that, though.
Most of the shrines tend to be free to visit, but places like castles or Buddhist temples will cost you money (averaging 500 yen entry). More modern attractions might cost even more (I paid 2000 yen to get into Nagoya Public Aquarium, although it was definitely worth it).
Good luck with the trip!
Cool info bro.
im still fixing my itenary for Osaka-Kyoto-Nara-Nagoya. Do you think a 5day in this region enough?
so far i listed denden town, osaka castle, umeda, shinsaibashi,shinsekai,kokura, kitakyushu.... ??
i guess i need to opt for JR-pass for shinkansen as i need to reduce my travel time trmendously for place visitings
If you're going to stay in Nagoya, there's a great little hostel called Kyoya that I stayed in. It's quite cheap, and the rooms are really nice. It's Japanese style, and it's like staying in a proper ryokan but without the food or price.
For the amount of time it really depends on how much you want to see. I spent a week in that area and I could easily have found more to do if I'd been there a few more days. There's a massive amount of things to see in Kyoto, and it's all quite spread out so it can take a long time to get between places. Nagoya, Nara and Osaka can be done in one day each unless there are lots of specific things you want to see in one city (you have enough things listed for Osaka that it would probably take two days). I spent two days exploring Kyoto and there were quite a lot of things I didn't have enough time to see. I visited Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, Kiyomizu-dera, Fushimi-Inari and Nijo Castle, which covers most of the major tourist attractions (I didn't have time for Gion, though).
If you need to save time then definitely look for rail passes and offers. One-way between Kyoto and Tokyo by Shinkansen is about 13,000 yen or so otherwise.
aww, i need to replan everything ;__;
and here i am, on a possible 2nd visit, couldnt even make it to Hakone.