Japan Planning Thread Part 2

[Takoneko]

This is a thread for anyone planning a trip to Japan. All budgets and styles of trip are welcome.

I got so much out of the first thread and would love to be able to continue the conversation with everyone who has been so helpful.

I fly tomorrow morning!

First Thread

@Takonekothanks so much, I’ve had a look and found Takano! Adding it to our list as it looks great.

@MondayYogurtgreat idea, we are hoping for universal and Disney sea so fast track is a good idea

I’m counting down the days until my trip next week. Please can I have some packing tips, as I’m a bit overwhelmed by it all. The forecast is mixed, with rain predicted for the first few days. We are each taking a medium sized suitcase, with the intention of having space for a few souvenirs. My clothes are all suitable, so I don’t need to buy anything before we go, but I’ve got far too much of it! Thanks all.

@Pusspotdo you use packing cubes? I find them so good for organising outfits but also they surprisingly fit loads in and then stack neatly in your case. They seem to really help me. When I go with my son who is 9, I do large ziplocks with underwear, socks, T-shirts etc in and then that sort of condenses the little bits. And I always roll every item of clothing. I sometimes try and put an outfit or two in my hand luggage to save space and wear the heaviest jumpers/coat/ clunkiest shoes. I do all electric chargers etc in one packing cube and a packing cube of liquids and toiletries. Not sure if that helps but I feel like putting it all in compartments really helps with the overwhelm

@ohim40 thank you! I do use big ziplock bags (prefer these to cubes) and I have organised a spare set of clothes for my cabin bag. It’s just the volume of stuff I guess! I know I have too many outfits, and I need to cut it down. We have laundry facilities in all our hotels, so washing is an option. I’m also tall, so buying clothes there might not be easy.

I pack less and just do a wash mid-way. There are laundry facilities all over the place. Take a bag of washing power with you.
That said, if you’re going anywhere high up (like Koyasan) you’ll need layers.
I think Oct/Nov is the best time of year to visit. The seasonal food is lovely.

I also just try to pack pretty lightly. I find that what really helps is to keep to a fairly neutral, complementary colour palette for everything I pack. You want to be able to mix and match stuff easily. Make sure you have shoes that won’t let the rain in and a rain jacket.

I’d never really been one to do laundry on holiday before, but we did it this year and it was a game changer. I’ve specifically booked a hotel room with a washing machine for the mid point of our next trip so that I can pack less and leave more space for the things I like to bring home.

@MondayYogurt @Takoneko thank you.
My pile of clothes is all beige and black, but there is a lot of it. I was fairly happy with my outfit choices, but then looked at the weather forecasts and decided to add lots of ‘just in case’ items (pun intended!)

Up early at Heathrow as I fly out to Tokyo this morning. I’ve been using the Timeshifter app to hopefully avoid or minimise jet lag.
This thread has been fantastic in helping me plan my trip.
Thank you @Takoneko for starting the thread.

@MyCatsSlave Have a wonderful time! Please tell us how it goes.

@MyCatsSlave have a wonderful time!

Well I can thoroughly recommend JAL. Flight was great, on the 787 the 2-4-2 configuration in economy gives so much space. Recline is good and because of the legroom doesn’t impact the person behind.
I was lucky enough to get the row of 2 to myself so I could get up and down hourly for a walk to the toilets or to get more water.
The food was the best I’ve had on a plane, far better than BA business, plenty of snacks available and the service was faultless.

Flying into Haneda was great and got fantastic views of Mt Fuji on the way in. After an easy transfer to T1, it was only a short flight to Osaka.

Arrived in Osaka and easily found the limousine bus to Namba station then jumped in a taxi to the hotel. Couldn’t check in until 3 so dropped my bags off and went to explore.

Osaka so far is very big and very busy but when I walked up to the castle you could pay a few hundred yen to enter the gardens where it was so peaceful I chilled out on a bench with a book for a while,

Got the metro back to the hotel to check in and shower and it was really easy to navigate using Google maps,

It’s 28 degrees so bought a great uv umbrella as it’s really needed. Just fancied something light for dinner so searched on tableog for something good nearby and went to IKR51 for gyoza and a salmon, scallop and roe rice bowl. It was outstanding and less than £10 for the two dishes. The gyoza were so good I tried to order more but they had sold out. Queued outside but when they come out and ask how many you want a table for, solo diners get to go straight in to sit at the counter. Accidentally left my bag with my new umbrella and a uv/rain jacket from Uniqlo outside but it was still there when I had finished,

I’ve been using the Timeshifter app and it recommended coffee until 1pm and as much daylight/bright light as possible so I walked and only nipped into combinis for water and the toilet, I’d definitely recommend Timeshifter as I stayed up until 9 last night, listened to an audio book in the dark until I fell asleep about 9:30 and then slept until 6am. Feel great this morning,

Just realised this has turned into an essay! Sorry. If I’ve not bored the pants off you all I’ll post more as the trip goes on.

@MyCatsSlave It sounds like you’re having a good start to the trip. I’m also a huge fan of the JAL 787 layout and their economy class in general. We travel as a couple, so 2-4-2 is a big bonus and the service and food is always great. Please keep us updated!

@MyCatsSlave Thank you for posting, and glad it’s all going well so far. The flight sounds great! We are flying with Cathay Pacific via HK, but the second leg is operated by JAL, so I’m excited about that! We are also in a row of 2 which is a nice bonus.

Thanks for recommending the UV umbrella, as I wasn’t sure to pack mine. The online forecast for Tokyo looks rainy but hopefully it will improve.
We’re going to Osaka at the end of our trip, staying near Namba. I will add tablelog to my apps. That food sounds perfect!

@Takoneko I added Suica to my wallet yesterday evening , and couldn’t add any money to it. I tried again about 10pm, and it was fine. A few online comments suggested money can’t be loaded outside of Japanese business hours, or between 2-4 am. Was that your experience in Japan?

@Pusspot I didn’t have any problems loading it in Japan. I encountered the same issue as you once when trying to load it from the uk because if forgotten about the overnight shutdown. It’s a fairly narrow window where you can’t do it. The 2-4am sounds correct to me. It’s definitely not limited to 9-5 business hours. Last trains often run until midnight so you can definitely do it until then and the system would be chaos if it didn’t work early in the morning. I’m sure I’ve added money to my suica before 7am in Japan.

@Takoneko thank you, that’s reassuring!
We only put a small amount of yen on yesterday, but it was so easy to add (once able) that we can quickly top it up in Japan.
We are planning on taking a taxi from Haneda to Ginza. We arrive about 20:30 and we will be really tired by then. We don’t normally do this, but it should give us an earlier night, so we might feel fresher in the morning.

My first full day was fantastic. I’d arranged to meet a guide for the day and had asked to be shown the quieter parts of Osaka and Kyoto.

We started at Ishikiri shrine and shopping street. The shrine was beautiful and the shopping street was like stepping back into the past. The street was full of little stores with really friendly owners.

We then went for an early lunch at a Tepanyaki Wagyu restaurant. In the afternoon we went to Sanjūsangendō Temple with 1001 statues of buddhist deities. After that we went to Imamiya Shrine where we had tea and Aburi Mochi, at a shop that’s over 1000 years old that is run by the 25th generation of the same family, that was roasted over charcoal and served in a sweet miso sauce. I thought I didn’t like mochi, but I really liked this.

Travelled about a lot on metro, trains and buses but it was nice to have a break from the walking.

@Pusspot I'm planning on a taxi from Ginza to Haneda when I leave just for ease and not carrying luggage as my flight isn’t until just after midnight.

@MyCatsSlave that sounds like a fabulous first day. You packed a lot in! The mochi shop is also on my list - was it Ichimonjiya Wasuke?

Can I ask for a weather report please? The online forecast is rainy, but I’m hoping that’s not the case.

Is it the JAL flight? If so, you get lounge access when you take their very late night flights because they don’t serve a meal at the start of the flight. Our first time taking that flight we didn’t realise that and ended up eating right before going to check in, only to find we could have waited 20 minutes and eaten at their buffet, which is fabulous.

The Tokyo monorail is really well set up for luggage and goes directly to Haneda T3 from Hamamatsucho. You could also take a taxi to Hamamatsucho station and then monorail from there to Haneda. The monorail was quiet when we took it for that flight. I love a monorail, so I accept I may be a bit weird for preferring that over a taxi all the way.

Hi, I was on the last thread briefly a few months ago as I had just booked my flights - just wanted to come back for a bit of advice now as my solo trip to Japan is only 17 days away - eek!

There's been so much brilliant info on this thread, thanks to everyone.

I'm going for 22 nights, and I've booked some hotels for the first 11 nights in Tokyo and Osaka, but I'm a bit worried about my general lack of planning.

Basically my draft itinerary is:

Tokyo - 6 nights (Villa Fontaine Haneda first night as I arrive in late evening, then 5 nights Asakusa)
Osaka - 5 nights
Hiroshima - 4 nights
Fukuoka - 4 nights
Back to Tokyo for last few nights (maybe take an internal flight to save time)

For Tokyo, as I have a few days there I am hoping to see:
Sensoji temple
Water bus from Asakusa
Walk to Skytree (also mall underneath)
Tokyo Metropolitan building in Shinjuku
Shinjuku Gyoen Park
Yanaka Ginza
Ikebukero
Shibuya

I might not get to do everything but like I said I don't want to overload myself with plans. I'm more of a see how I feel on the day person, but not sure if that will be a problem when I get there.

I was thinking of getting a Tokyo metro pass for the first few days - would that be better value than just topping up a suica card as I go?

Also, while back in Tokyo for the second time before my flight home, I was going to stay in a different area - any ideas welcome?

I have a few day trips that I'm thinking of for each city but nothing booked and will see how I go:

Tokyo
Kamakura
Kanazawa

Osaka
Himeji castle
Nara

Hiroshima
Miyajima Island

Fukuoka
Ferry to Busan from Fukuoka
Beppu for Onsen

I know it doesn't sound like I have much planned, bust mostly I just want to wander round the cities and see little side streets, see some temples and parks, try the food, take in the atmosphere. I don't want to be too rushed off my feet.

I was also thinking of booking the Sanyo- San'in Area JR Pass, to use once I leave Osaka - but maybe 7 days won't give me much time to travel around as I'm staying in Hiroshima and Fukuoka for 4 nights each so it might not be worth it?

Finally, I have a question about travelling on bank holiday weekends. I realised that as I have booked for 5 nights in Osaka, I'm supposed to be checking out on Sunday 2nd November and heading to Hiroshima, but I'm worried about travelling that particular weekend as the Monday 3rd November is Culture Day in Japan.
Do you think the trains will be mental on that day - should I change around my travel plans and go earlier, also I'm wondering if 5 nights would be too much in Osaka anyway?

Sorry for the big long essay, and all the questions.

Kamakura and Nara were good day trips for us, but Kanazawa would be a long and expensive day trip from Tokyo. Maybe Nikko is more doable?

One little thing I didn't mention before that we enjoyed was the food hall in the basement of the Takashimaya Department store (both the Osaka and Kyoto ones). Very interesting just to look around, but also good for picking up some snacks or sushi/bento type boxes.

Hi, thanks so much.

I think I meant to say Kanagawa and got mixed up sorry - maybe to Hakone or somewhere.

If you’re in a dept store like Takashiyama, check for a rooftop garden. They’re often delightful places to stop for a rest.

@HornyHornersPinkyWinky How long are you in Busan for, are you overnighting there?

Hey, I think the ferry takes a few hours, so I’m not sure if it’s worth staying overnight in Busan. It might be too much to try and fit into a few days in Fukuoka.