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Japan experts please - I'm stuck!!

57 replies

ShoppingOnesSelfFit · 08/09/2018 22:28

Going to Japan for 2 weeks next Easter with DH and our 14 and 10yr olds.

Only plan so far is to do a few days in Tokyo (fly into Haneda) then a week or so touring - Osaka, Kyoto and and maybe Hiroshima. Then do a few days again in Tokyo before flying home.

The only thing booked is flights and I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of areas and hotels and have no clue where to stay or what to be near?

Want to experience the culture, blossoms and do DisneyJapan and Disney Sea in Tokyo.

Don't really want to do low end or budget appreciate it's quite pricey but willing to spend a bit more - 4star ish.

Any advice will be so appreciated. Thank you.

OP posts:
khaleesi71 · 09/09/2018 09:04

We went this summer with DS11 and had a blast. Stayed in Tokyo - the metro is fantastic, clean and safe and once you navigate how to purchase a ticket it's a breeze. We stayed in the Hilton as it was good value and near a metro station. Then went to Kyoto on the Shinkansen - amazingly easy to navigate. There are loads of hotels near the station but Gion is the place to be. There is an eve show in the geisha district which is great and 50 mins was enough for DS. A short train ride from there to the bamboo forests is a must although the rains and flooding began whilst we were there. We stayed in a boutique hotel as a treat but there are good options. One thing we did find is that you are often charged handsomely for an extra bed. Food is amazing in Japan and I am in love with their train stations and shopping. We then went to Hiroshima and stayed near the peace park - food is def not as good here and sometimes there is a feel that tourists are cash cows (more so than anywhere else). Then back to Osaka and universal which for us beats Disney hands down!! Better rides, better food and a great day out (although I'm still recovering from the flight of the dinosaur ride). We then went to shimoda to check out the surf culture and beach life - an experience but next time we'd go to the alps. Then back to Tokyo and we stayed at the Hilton Disney - best 'airport' hotel ever. You can get a coach transfer to and from the hotel and easy access to the park. Disney sea was a waste of time and money - dull rides if they're the adventurous type and food (as with all Disney) is ugh!! Main Disney is better and the parades are great (but not as good as universal). We loved it - hotels are expensive - we really hunted around for bargains and watch the extra bed charge - it is what it is but being aware avoids nasty surprises on the bill. Have fun - I'd go back in a heartbeat and wonder why more people don't go to Japan rather than the US. One other thing to be aware is that natural disasters do happen in Japan - we were there during the floods and landslides in the summer (we always felt safe). However do be aware of signs about earthquakes/tsunamis etc and where to go.

ShoppingOnesSelfFit · 09/09/2018 09:42

Wow - so much useful info - Tokyo bay seems much cheaper but how far is it to main Tokyo?

Also, Osaka seems cheaper to stay in - should I stay there and do day trip to Kyoto from them instead.

The hotel prices are eye watering!

OP posts:
serbska · 09/09/2018 09:47

@ShoppingOnesSelfFit I got a 2 bedroom AirBnB in Tokyo in shinjuku for the price of a tiny tiny hotel room. Maybe something to think about?

I went with the expectation everything was going to be really expensive and was presently surprised. It’s just like being it and about in London.

BlueJava · 09/09/2018 09:55

Go to the Philosopher's Walk in Kyoto - you will probably be there in cherry blossom season and it's wonderful!

My favourite Japanese work is hanafubuki 花吹雪 - it's a petal blossom snow storm.

MissSusanSays · 09/09/2018 09:57

I lived there for nearly two years. My recommendations are (in order of visiting):
Tokyo-
Tsukuji Fish Market
Menu Shrine
Asakusa Temple
Akiharbara Electronics District
Find out if there is some Sumo on
Editor-Tokyo museum is really good and next to the Sumo arena
Shibuya Crossing

To eat in Tokyo- monjayaki is the Tokyo specialist Okonomiyaki. The different regions have different versions.
Have sushi at Tsukuji (if you can afford it)
The rice balls from the 7/11 are as good as anything from YoSushi in the UK. Promise.

If you want hanami then any of the big park in Tokyo will do but will be busy- with Japanese people have enormous picnics and doing portable karaoke.

Go to a karaoke place and have nomihodai- all you can eat and drink for about £10 each.

Don’t bother with Tokyo Disney Sea. I would go to the Studio Ghibli Park just outside of Tokyo.

From Tokyo you can get to-

Kamakura- lots and lots of temples.
Nikko- famous hot spring area. If you can afford to stay in a traditional riyokan then it is amazing.
Yokohama has the Raumen Museum which is about 20 of the best raumen restaurants. Amazing. Not really a museum.

Osaka-

Osaka Aquarium is ridiculous. Go

Kyoto-
Arashiyama is the area with the best temples.
Go to a miko (geisha) Show
Manga museum
Sanjusangendo is my favourite temple

From Kyoto-

Go to Nara, feed the deer and have katsu. Nara is famous for its pork katsu

Also, eat as many gyoza as possible because nowhere over here does gyoza even close to the ones in Japan. I could weep at the ones they serve in Wagamama.

7toGo · 09/09/2018 09:58

Don’t spend so much time in Tokyo when there is so much more to see. It’s not really that interesting a city. More time in Kyoto, definitely do Hiroshima (it’s unforgettable), and then go down to Miyajima. Or go and stay in an onsen with a view of Mount Fuji.

MissSusanSays · 09/09/2018 09:58

Sorry, most of my Japanese words have been autocorrected!

It is the Meji Shrine. One of my favourite places in Tokyo.

MissSusanSays · 09/09/2018 09:59

7toGo

You could not be more wrong. Way to dismiss a whole city!

WrongKindOfFace · 09/09/2018 10:00

I liked Disney sea as it’s a bit different, but the queues were horrendous.

I also really liked Osaka. Obviously nowhere near as much to do as Tokyo, but I really liked the feel of it.

If budget is an issue check and see if you actually need a rail pass. If you’re doing at least two long trips it probably works out cheaper, but they’re not valid on all train lines. You could cut costs by getting a seven day pass and not activating it until you leave Tokyo - pay separately if you use the train to get from the airport to the hotel. You can get a child’s suica/pasmo card (like an Oyster card) by taking their passport to the train station. Adult ones can be bought from a machine. You can also get a pass that’s valid on both metro networks and lasts for up to 72 hours from activation. www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/travel/index.html

One tip given to me by someone who lived there was if you’re not sure what fare you need to pay (as the signs may be in Japanese) then pay the lowest and pay the extra when you arrive - they have machines and people on hand to allow you to do this.

MissSusanSays · 09/09/2018 10:06

Also, if you stay in Tokyo then avoid the big areas as they are expensive. Try staying in a quieter district that still has a stop on the Yamanote line (the circular one that loops around central Tokyo). Ginza, Shibuya, Hamamatsucho and Shinjuku will be expensive. Many of the stops on the Chuo line will be less expensive to stay at.

Stay at Harajuku if you want somewhere lively and pretty (er). But Shinbashi and Shinigawa are also handy for all the railway lines too.

glitterbiscuits · 09/09/2018 10:10

There's a recent thread on Japan in the Longhaul section of Travel.

greyfriarskitty · 09/09/2018 10:29

We went to Japan for three weeks in Feb/March this year with our eleven year old DD. I had a thread beforehand which gave us loads of useful advice, so will try and dig that out in a bit.

We got our whole trip organised by Inside Japan, who were amazing, and I could not recommend them too highly, it really helped having not just the bookings made but also hints and tips (like taking small gifts for guides and small hotels). They also organised a couple of half-day guides for us, which really did give us more of an insight. Also, Tokyo is completely overwhelming for the first couple of days, so having someone to help you understand the metro is brilliant! They also pre-booked us into attractions like the Ghibli Museum (which has to be done 3 months in advance) and Universal Studios.

I could write an entire essay here, but do DM me if you want to ask me any questions. I am happy to dig out the hotels we stayed in as well if you want.

We did a slightly longer version of your trip: Tokyo, a couple of days in the countryside round Mt Fujii, Kyoto, Osaka, then back to Tokyo. Probably one of our highlights was staying at two traditional ryokan inns with the onsen baths and eating dinner there, so that is definitely worth doing.

The only thing I would change about your itinerary is to spend a bit more time in Tokyo first then come back for a shorter time at the end - it's a good place to get your bearings as more people speak English there and there is so much to see.

I second the recommendation about the Japan Rail Pass. We had this and it was wonderful - all you need to do is book your seats when you are there.

Agree totally about getting the portable wifi hotspot - it was worth every penny we spent on it, if only for Google Maps. We wouldn't have got anywhere otherwise. Also the luggage forwarding service is brilliant.

We didn't do Disney, but did do Universal in Osaka, which was amazing. You need to get there a good hour before opening time, and then book yourself guaranteed time slots for some of the rides/experiences, then the queues are not too bad. There are English language apps which give you the waiting times, so you can gauge the queues in advance.

Also, allow some time for shopping. Our two favourite shops were Daiso, which is a 100 yen (c.80p) shop but which sells food, tourist souvenirs, household goods, moulds to make bear shaped rice for bento boxes, stationery and much much more, and then Tokyu Hands which is the same sort of thing but more expensive, so if you need a back-up phone battery in the shape of a cat, that's the place. (It turned out that I very much did need one). We bought an entire new suitcase to bring our haul back; I thought we'd bought too much, and then came back and regretted not buying much more.

Also souvenir t-shirts and so on, and other character stuff like Sanrio are really good quality, so we bought quite a bit of that sort of thing. We became rather obsessed with a character called Gudetama, which is an egg with depression issues, who's really popular there and bought loads of that too.

Also, no one has mentioned hotel breakfasts which were a big part of the fun for us. There are always a few Western items on the menu (eggs, sausage, a kind of bacon), but along with them comes rice, miso, savoury dishes, salad, seafood fritters, and much else besides. I gradually realised that most of the greens you will get offered during the day come at breakfast. In the big hotels they serve almost everything - our one in Osaka had a buffet of mini-desserts and I ended up negotiating with DD that she could have macaroons and creme brûlée for breakfast as long as she had a bowl of salad first.

The other thing I would add is that it is amazingly clean, and not so expensive, especially for food, but most of all that everyone there really wants you to have a good time; there's none of the sneeriness about tourists that you can get here. People were so helpful and random strangers on the metro would make sure we were on the right train!

greyfriarskitty · 09/09/2018 10:31

earslaps I too have been trying to recreate the okonomyaki! Don't know where you are, but I can get not just the sauces but also packs of okonomyaki mix in our local oriental supermarket, and we're in the sticks...

MissSusanSays · 09/09/2018 10:42

@greyfriarskitty

JapanCentre online sells all the stuff for okonomiyaki. They even sell a kit.

Morethanthisprovincallife · 09/09/2018 10:46

Any spiders or dangerous snakes in Japan? Bugs etc...

brainstormer123 · 09/09/2018 10:54

Ive just got back from a 16 day holiday from Japan. We arrived in Tokyo, spent a few days there then took the bullet train to different areas (Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima) and stayed in Airbnb's, was fab. Pleaseee visit the Golden Gai in Tokyo for an authentic food experience, it's just a tiny alleyway full of little eatery's. So fab. We went to Harajuko (wrong spelling) fashion district, abit underwhelming but still nice to visit. Long story short bullet trains are your way to go for travelling around. PITA lugging cases to and fro but so worth it!!

brainstormer123 · 09/09/2018 10:56

Ps I wouldn't spend longer than 2 days in Hiroshima, not much to do apart from the Peace Memorial which was beautiful and the museum of the bombing which was very harrowing but amazing (wrong word but you get the jist) Smile

AnythingConsidered · 09/09/2018 11:08

Shopping we too are doing a family holiday (3 of us) at Easter to Japan.

My DD (13) has been obsessed with the Japanese culture, language, anime and manga since 8 & has been teaching herself Japanese for 2 years. Well felt it had become more than a phase so decided to do it.

We used Inside Japan to build our tour for us. We told them the sort of things we want to do and then they made recommendations. Hopefully the screenshot gives you an idea of how the itinerary has been set.

Not saying its perfect & we haven't been yet, so can't say it's good!, but they have been brilliant and might give you an idea to adapt to what you want.

We travel alot but took no holidays this year to be able to afford Japan!

Japan experts please - I'm stuck!!
AnythingConsidered · 09/09/2018 11:14

@GreyFriar mind if I DM you regarding your trip? We have booked with Inside Japan too but are stuck on what to do with the day guides - would love to hear what you did!

greyfriarskitty · 09/09/2018 11:49

@Anythingconsidered that's why we went too - DD is obsessed with manga and all things Japanese. As am I now - it was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime but am now trying to work out when we can get back. Have DM'd you.

Oh and one more obscure but really lovely thing we did was go to the outdoor museum in Osaka, which is lots of traditional Japanese farmhouses preserved in a park.

WrongKindOfFace · 09/09/2018 13:07

Oh, lovely 100 yen shops. I wish they’d slip into the gap left by poundworld.

Sallycinnamum · 09/09/2018 13:12

Japan is amazing. DH and I went there before our first DC was born. We still talk about it now.

April is the best time to go for the cherry blossom.

Planning to take the DC there when they're teens. You will have an incredible time.

hellypad · 09/09/2018 13:20

We've just got back from 2 weeks with our daughters, 11 & 13. We did Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima. Booked it all ourselves, went to Disney and Universal, it was amazing. Really easy to sort out, much cheaper there than we were expecting. Feel free to message me for advise. The girls loved the Kawaii Monster Cafe, Harijuka, Miyajima was a definite highlight for all of us.

serbska · 09/09/2018 13:42

Ignor 7toGo - Tokyo is amazing, and you wouldn’t say ‘don’t go to London’ to someone visiting the U.K. for the first time!

7toGo · 09/09/2018 13:56

@serbska and @MissSusanSays - I lived in Japan for the best part of a decade Smile I travelled around it extensively!

I didn't say "Don't go to Tokyo," I said "Don't spend so much time there when there is so much more to see. "

Spend SOME time there. Don't spend SO MUCH time there.

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