Japan or South Korea

[Holidayqueen1]

Hi
we have just come back from an amazing 2 weeks in Japan which we absolutely loved. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima.
We are considering going back next October and going to some of the more rural/ coastal areas BUT also interested in South Korea and just wondered if anyone who had been there could give me some advice on which to choose!
we’re ideally looking for great food, things to see, some walks, a bit of city but immersing ourselves in the culture. We have a 15 year old who had a food wish list in Japan so food a key criteria!
highlights for us in Japan were Nara, Hiroshima, Miyajima and we loved the Ueno area of Tokyo. We liked Kyoto but it was super busy! We loved the shopping, the people, the trains, the cleanliness and obviously the food!!
Thanks for your advice

@SingaporeSlinky we stayed in Osaka and travelled to Kyoto and Nara from there. We found transport was fairly straightforward (but couldn't quite work out Osaka station, the shame!) so I am sure you'll be fine with staying in Kyoto and travelling around the region from there. It was worth it for us as it meant we could unpack properly and not move again for a few days, but it was just the two of us and adult DS so we weren't towing small people with us who might get bored sitting on a train.

We were away for 5 weeks and had 40L/10kg rucksacks so we travelled light and had laundry facilities in most places which was great. With hindsight I wish we had the same stuff in a bigger bag to allow for more souvenir space. I think we did much of our booking with Booking.com as you can filter for 'Washing Machine' as a room(?) facilty, so I can recommend them if you need to filter the laundry options. We also usually just book somewhere reasonably central and close to a tube station.

We enjoyed Osaka although Dotonburi blew DH's mind - it was far too busy for him but I loved the energy. One or two streets back it was much quieter so easily avoidable. By chance we went to a Buffaloes baseball game which was quite different from our experiences in US, although lots of food and beer were consumed there too! Osaka castle has been modernised inside so we didnt go in, but the footprint of the whole castle and grounds were impressive although busy. We had already been to Himeji Castle, which I recommend, as we had stopped in on our way from Tokyo to Hiroshima, we just left our bags in one of the many lockers in the station and walked to the castle.

Hiroshima is good, it is harrowing but I felt the messaging is "let's not do it again". There were lots of school groups around the park so it is presented in an acceptable was for teens I think. I wouldn't want to have missed it.

We just carried our luggage with us on the trains, as I say they are reasonably compact and fitted in the overhead shelf with no problem.

@Holidayqueen1 I hope i haven't derailed your thread with the info for SingaporeSlinky.

I think the costs for SK are siilar to Japan but its tricky to tell as most of Japan DH and I were alone but in SK we also had adult DS (who lives in Seoul) with us for some of the time too! I think he takes us to his favourite (and expensive) places!! We enjoy eating breakfast and lunch from the ubiquitous convenience stores, exploring all the mystery things to eat, if youre happy to this it should help with costings.

On our latest trip we left Seoul at the end of September and it was T-shirt to jumper weather, but Busan was pretty wet in mid September (we may have been unlucky). Their weather is fairly predictable and summer can be hot and humid. Our spring trip April to May was again t-shirt to jumper weather.

I think our favourite place was Seoraksan Nation Park, but have been mostly in Seoul with some trips to Jeju, Busan, and some other places. We've travelled on buses (opting for the mid range) and trains. On our first visit the trains were tricky to buy tickets online I think because we didnt have a Korean phone number or local bank or something, but on our second visit we travelled by train and booked in advance so i think the problem we had first time must have gone away somehow.... Buses were roomy and the service stations interesting. The train was also on time, clean and fast.

For both Japan and Korea (and elsewhere) I used Rome2Rio to find routes by public transport, highly recommended for the planning stages.

Do ask if you have more questions - love planning holidays!

Can I just ask a Q about Japan? I have wanted to go for ages, and am now planning our trip (me and DS25) in Oct. I don't know why I am so scared of it - I've travelled throughout the Far east (and elsewhere) and never felt so - out of my depth! Maybe it's the complete culture shock, the currency, the language, the sheer amount of stuff to do...

I have a few questions actually. I know they are a money based society, and am prepared to take and change currency - I also have a Currensea card (linked to my Debit account, no fees, good FX, used it all over Europe) and the usual Visa/Mastercard. Can i use these? I've been told about the Wise card, which can be used over there, but is the Currensea card the same?

What about this Suica/Palmo card? Is it just for travel on the Bullet train, or for the underground too? Buses? We are spending 5 days in Tokyo, so would be using the metro - I am thinking it's like the Oyster card?

I was looking at staying in Osaka and Kyoto as well - do you think it's better to base in one city and do daytrips to the other? Which is best to stay in?

Is 5 days in Tokyo enough? We are in Japan for 2 weeks but ofc lose one day in flying... should we do 7 dyas? And 6 in Osaka/Kyoto/Nara/Kobe? Not getting as far as Hiroshima unfortunately. Might be nice to get to a beach at some point?

Help!

We did Seoul and Tokyo last summer, around 10 days in each. We have been before and travelled around the country so that trip we just stayed in the cities as there is so much to do. Korea is much less busy/crowded and cheaper than Japan. The food was amazing in both but I feel Korean food is a bit heavier, thicker sauces whilst in Japan there was more variety. Highly recommend the fish and meat markets in Seoul - no tourists and the quality just as brilliant as in Japan for at least half the price.

I have a few questions actually. I know they are a money based society, and am prepared to take and change currency - I also have a Currensea card (linked to my Debit account, no fees, good FX, used it all over Europe) and the usual Visa/Mastercard. Can i use these? I've been told about the Wise card, which can be used over there, but is the Currensea card the same?

Don't worry too much about brands of card. If it says Visa or MasterCard, it will work. And the UK banks charge quite a bit less these days for foreign currency transactions than they used to, precisely because of the competition from the fintechs. Also note that with all of the fintech cards you are limited on how much cash you can take out of an ATM. And not all ATMs service non-Japanese cards, but enough do that it's not a problem.

If you are in Kyoto and going to visit the Sagano bamboo forest, make sure you go to the Arashiyama Spa Footbath, which has to be the most Japanese thing ever. You buy a ticket at the railway station office for about £2 and that includes a little towel that you can take home.

An overnight side trip to Nikko is a nice excursion from Tokyo. There is a working steam engine that runs up and down one of the valleys once a day.

I think 5 days in Tokyo is fine, although you could easily spend 7 and not see everything.

There are beaches in day trip reach of Tokyo and Osaka, so that should be possible in your two weeks. They aren’t tropical, Okinawa style beaches but would still be nice on a warmer October day.

On the Suica/Passmo/Icoca question- those cards are for the local lines, metro and buses, not the Shinkansen. If you’re an iPhone user you can add one to your apple wallet before departing and top up directly to your phone. There have been card shortages this year, so that’s what I’d do if you can. That isn’t an option with androids from outside Japan/East Asia. They are a bit like an Oyster card but can be used all around the country (imagine an Oyster card that you could use for local travel in Manchester, Liverpool or Glasgow as well as London)

Shinkansen tickets can be bought online or at stations.

I think whether you just stay in one of Osaka/Kyoto or stay in one as a base depends on your preference and style of travel. We are using one as a base but I can also see why people would do a few days in each one.

My other big tip would be to fly into KIX and out of Haneda/Narita rather than in and out of Tokyo. It means you only have to do the intercity trip once, which saves time, and according to everything I’ve read online departures at KIX are slow and inefficient, but arrivals are generally fine so it’s better to have that as your point of arrival and Haneda or Narita as your point of departure rather than the other way around.

On the Suica/Passmo/Icoca question- those cards are for the local lines, metro and buses, not the Shinkansen. If you’re an iPhone user you can add one to your apple wallet before departing and top up directly to your phone. There have been card shortages this year, so that’s what I’d do if you can. That isn’t an option with androids from outside Japan/East Asia. They are a bit like an Oyster card but can be used all around the country (imagine an Oyster card that you could use for local travel in Manchester, Liverpool or Glasgow as well as London) - thanks for this - I don't have an Apple phone (neithr does DS) so not sure how to proceed. I have been told that I can get a physical card from the airport counter, but then I've been told that the physical cards have been discontinued...
@samarrange thanks - i have added the foot spa to my list of things to do!

I've just booked out flights! (Looking forward to 14 hours... ) at £2300 for 2. I was a bit surprised at the cost, 8 months to go. I suppose it will only go up. And it is with BA, incl baggage x 2 each.

@ciderhouserules They are selling tourist versions of the passmo and suica cards, however there have been shortages and I’ve seen people reporting arriving and finding them out of stock.

It’s only the Tokyo cards that have been discontinued though.

What is your point of arrival? If you’re arriving in Osaka you should have no problem getting an Icoca card, which have not been affected in the same way and work in all the same places as a passmo or suica. We have three non-iPhone users in our group and are confident they’ll be able to pick up an Icoca card at the airport station.

You can fly way cheaper than this for Japan; I paid £443 to Osaka in 2017 for Nov/Dec 2017 and my friend who recently went in Oct. '23 paid only £450 each. It's good to trial this app for cheap flights -

Jack's Flight Club | Cheap Flights, Flight Tips & Alerts (jacksflightclub.com)

Food is a lot cheaper in Japan where they have traditional restaurants around £5-8 a meal. There's also vending machine restaurants that do "double meals" - one rice meal and a noodle meal for about £7. They're the best as your friend gets a free meal, or bento boxes (so many to choose from wherever you go esp. at train stations) for about £5-10. Buying food in supermarkets can be expensive inc. fruit so I found it cheaper to eat out.

Japan Rail Pass should be bought in advance. I didn't get one till I arrived and I think it was a bit dearer. It's very much a cash-based society which was a bit of a surprise so I had to withdraw cash out regularly which incurred fees sadly. Onsens (thermal springs) are utterly amazing. You have to visit them and they're very cheap too at around £7.

I went to about 6 prefectures in my 4 week holiday inc. Hokkaido. Very snowy and beautiful. Lots of fresh shellfish to eat there. I stayed in AirBnB and all were really good with a mix of old style wooden houses to modern ones. Some had hosts who spoke good English who were helpful to discuss Japan life/culture/society and some took me out for a meal. So friendly, courteous people. They were about £30pn. My friend who came back recently said it was similar prices.

I went as a solo traveller so my budget was at £3K for a month.

@Nachtvlinder Thanks for this - i am a member of Jacks flight club but couldn't find anything of interest. I am very cautious when booking flights - i like certain airlines, won't fly others, the flights themselves 'hide' a lot of extras... I could have booked Emirates/Etihad via UAE , for eg, at about £7-800 but also with a 7hour (or more) layover, and probably without luggage or seats allocation. I'd rather get there - and the flight I booked were at great times for me. Who did your friend fly with - for only £450?

The JR pass - this is just for the Shikansen bullet train, right? The Suica (or similar) is for the metro? (And vending machines etc). You are recommending that I buy the bullet train tickets beforehand? I have been told about Klook, for booking travel - what website did you use? @Takoneko I am flying into Tokyo, Haneda.

Also - i have also been told that Airbnb is illegal in Japan 😮so is it ok to just use the website as usual? Am assuming the hosts are getting round it in some way - but don't want to get out there and find no reservation! I use Airbnb all the time, so am happy to book if it's legit.

Thanks for all your help :)

@ciderhouserules At Haneda there should be places selling the Pasmo passport or the welcome suica. They are aimed at tourist and work just like a normal pasmo or suica for shorter tourist trips (I think up to 28 days but not 100% sure).

The JR pass covers bullet trains (but not the fastest ones, you have to pay a fee on top for those). They have gone up hugely in price recently and for your trip it will be cheaper just to buy individual tickets and use the fastest trains than to pay for a JR pass. The JR pass will almost certainly not be value for money for a Tokyo-Kansai-Tokyo sort of trip.

I am also surprised to see talk of flights at such low prices. I couldn’t find anything anywhere near that sort of price (or even as low as what you paid) for my spring trip. Even somewhat dodgy Chinese airlines with 16 hour layovers flying at inconvenient times were £800+ when I was looking .

If you wanted direct or a straightforward connection (we have a straightforward connection of less than 2 hours in Helsinki outbound and direct on the way back) then flights were really expensive.

Thanks @Takoneko , I read (in a travel agent's brochure!) that you need to buy the JR pass before you enter the country, but the travel is so confusing! I want a Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto, then Osaka-Tokyo so I'm not sure what would work better - get the tickets there, or buy a JR pass beforehand.

I'm pretty sure that the Suica works on Metro, buses and normal trains?

Re the flights - I booked for October, BA -incl seats and luggage options. October is mid season, whereas I think Spring would be High-Season, so more expensive def.
You're going in Spring this year? Have a wonderful time!

@ciderhouserules You won’t need a JR pass. The fastest Tokyo to Kyoto Shinkansen is around £70 and Osaka to Tokyo is about £80. That’s £150 on big journeys.

The JR pass is ¥50,000 for 7 days plus an extra ¥5000 per journey if you want to use the fastest trains on those two journeys. That’s well over £300. You won’t rack up the other £170 worth of local JR journeys in 7 day period that would be needed to justify the cost of a JR pass. Just buy the Shinkansen tickets individually. You can buy them there or online closer the time if you’d rather have them booked before you go.

We are going at the end of next month. We loved Japan last time and are so excited to be going back. It’s been a very long time so lots of new things to see and do.

Another vote here for signing up to Jacks Flight club. it costs £35 for the year and I’ve used it a lot to save £’s on long distance travel. Incidentally, Seoul and Taipei flights were £380-390 return this week for travel March-June with China Southern and included a seat reservation and checked bag. I think I recall there were offers on Japan at the start of the month? Obviously it’s Sod’s Law that the destination you want won’t come up for ages tho!

Did anyone need an Esim or pocket Wifi ? I have heard of a lot of travelers buying these, but I think they might be American/Canadian. I'm not sure if Uk travellers need these? I'm on O2 and I assume I will be using the Hotel Wifi for internet (Whatsapp etc) but I'm not that Tech savvy.

If you’re happy to just use the hotel WiFi and don’t care about being able to use your phone out and about then you don’t need an eSIM. If you do want to use your phone during the day then an eSIM will usually be far far cheaper than the roaming charges for using your UK sim. It looks like O2 will charge you £6 per day to use your phone in Japan. If you’re there for 14 days and use it every day then that is £72. You can get an eSIM for a much better price than that.

@ciderhouserules
We use Ubigi esims when abroad. It's super easy as it's not a physical sim and you can top up if you've not bought a big enough data plan. It worked perfectly in Japan
If you decide to use them get someone to give you a code. They will get a discount and you will too.

We should have bought ours one by one and passed the discounts on to each other but we didn't work that out until afterwards.

My other top tip is to use Wanderlog to plan your trip. It was brilliant for Japan.

Thanks - i Like the idea of a non-physical sim (as I think the phone would need to be unlocked otherwise- which it isn't obvs) so I'll look at Ubigi.
Is the SIM only for contacting each other, in Japan? Or is it also for things like Google maps/translate etc?