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

@HornyHornersPinkyWinky I think the rail pass you want is the 7 day Setouchi Area Pass. It’s what we bought back in April. You will want to activate it for your day trip to Himeji and then use it to travel from Osaka to Hiroshima and Hiroshima to Fukuoka. Try to time it so that day 7 is the day that you travel to Fukuoka, as the pass won’t work on JR Kyushu trains but will work on JR trains in and around Hiroshima and Osaka. You’ll save money just on the journeys you’ve already planned but you’d also be able to throw in other day trips if you wanted. We loved Onomichi, Iwakuni and Okunishima from Hiroshima and Okayama and Kurashiki from Osaka. Osaka is a perfect day trip base because of its location, so don’t worry about being there too long.

I love Fukuoka and would just stop there. Korea is worth a trip on its own.

Just booked a 7 day rail pass and booked seats for each leg (later this month, Green Car FWIW). None had options to book oversize baggage - will we just need to pay a supplement, or could we be refused travel?

@BlackSwan Is your luggage actually oversized? The cut off is larger than you might think. The chances are that your suitcases won’t be classed as oversized and you can just put them above your head or at your feet. There’s a lot of leg room on the trains.

If it is genuinely oversized then I think you will have issues. Japan is not a society that is flexible about rules. You won’t be able to use the space for large bags without booking it.

If you’ve booked a 7 day national JR pass, then I’m assuming that you are taking a lot of Shinkansen. If you’re going to be taking oversized luggage on all or most of those trains then I wouldn’t risk that without booking oversized baggage seats. It sounds like a recipe for stress you don’t need. You’ll need to ship the bags if they are too big and you’re not able to reserve one of those seats.

We had one large suitcase that I was slightly worried about on the Shinkansen, but I think it was just within the 'oversized luggage' definition, and I think the definition is generally designed to allow large suitcases.

Some Shinkansen lines have general racks for big luggage so it's not an issue at all, but the Tokyo - Osaka leg didn't and people with oversized luggage were supposed to book a seat with specific space allocated, but none were available when I was looking (and cautiously thinking I should get such a space even if I didn't technically require it). In reality, there's such a lot of leg room you can, if necessary fit the suitcase right in front of you unless you're very tall or the suitcase is really exceptionally deep. There was also an announcement on the train about an unbooked space being available by the wash basins. I didn't see it as we decided just to leave our one in front of us, but I'm sure if you ask or make the issue obvious they will help. Some people just put very large suitcases on the (very sturdy) overhead racks, but I wouldn't want to have done that. It was fine for mid-sized suitcases.

Takoneko, crisis averted! You're right... having actually taken a tape-measure out, our largest bag is 158cm so technically not oversize at all.

We're doing 4 trips... calculating the individual tickets it did seem the 7 day pass worked out cheaper.

LuXun, thanks for that - that's helpful.

@BlackSwan That sounds about right, usually 4 long-distance Shinkansen (eg. Tokyo-Osaka, Osaka-Hiroshima, Hiroshima-Kyoto, Kyoto-Tokyo) is the point at which the 7 day national pass starts to pay off.

Glad to hear that your bags aren’t oversized. The overhead racks on Shinkansen are far bigger than the ones we’ve encountered elsewhere. We only had our luggage with us on a couple of trips, but our decently sized checked luggage fit overhead with no issue.

@Pusspot Weather has been very rainy the last two days but the sun is back today. To be honest as it’s so hot the rain was refreshing and cooling. Forecast is definitely getting drier.

@Takoneko Yes it’s the JAL flight, I’m almost looking forward to the lounge. The Timeshifter app says to stay awake for the first 5 hours of the flight so hopefully I’ll be asleep when they serve the meal.

@HornyHornersPinkyWinky Enjoy your trip, I’m here solo and absolutely loving it. I’ve got a mix of days with things planned and days where I can just drink coffee, read a book and soak in the atmosphere wherever I am. I don’t want to be so busy I don’t have time to enjoy just being here.

@LuXun and @MondayYogurt Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll check out Takashimsy today

Saturday was more of a chill day for me, went knife shopping to a little store run by a husband and wife that had been recommended to me. They didn’t speak any English but with the help of Google translate we were fine, Bought a beautiful 8inch cooks knife that was so reasonable compared to the big shops that I got one for my mum and brother as well. They packaged them beautifully and even gave me a handmade key ring for each of us.
Went to Izakaya Toyo for lunch and it was phenomenal. Met a lady from London and a man from Canada while we waited and had lunch with them, amazing food and great company,
Checked out Batista Map Coffee when I was back in the centre of Osaka and it lived up to my expectations,
In the evening I went on a food tour that I’d booked through Airbnb experiences. It was brilliant, the other people were lovely and the food was just outstanding.

@MyCatsSlave That sounds like a great day. You need some days like that to break things up and, like you say, just enjoy being in Japan. Hope the rest of your trip goes well!

@MyCatsSlave It sounds like a wonderful trip, with plenty of variety. Thanks for the weather update, and I’m relieved to hear it’s getting drier.

We are flying tomorrow - never flown this distance before so I’m a bit apprehensive. I’ll have a look at the time shifter app.

@HornyHornersPinkyWinky I was just trying to remember the JR Kyushu Beetle crossing time so had a Google to remind myself but it looks like the ferry had difficulties with shipping water in 2024 and the service is now suspended. Please have a check yourself as you might need to rethink your plans.

We're flying in to Tokyo in December and have a couple of days before DS arrives for the weekend. DH would like to travel out of Tokyo (by public transport) to enjoy some onsen before we meet DS back in Tokyo. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where we could go - the places I am hoping for (from AI suggestions) seem to be booked now as we have left it late to book 🙄? A bonus would be a Fuji view in town or a private onsen etc.

I am slightly put off by Hakone as it seems firmly on the tourist trail - is that fair?

Hi Everyone, Such a lovely thread with great advice. I have now booked an apartment near Yoyogi park in Tokyo for the 5 of us and reserved an appartment in Den Den town in Osaka - this is free cancellation if i find somewhere better but it was making me nervous not having anything sorted. I've now realised we pretty much all need new luggage so wondering what you all reccomend? Working out if we all have our own or we try to manage with 2 larger cases and backpacks. We haven't really done a lot of travelling around without a car since before the children so trying to keep it simple!!!
😁

@Japlan I have successfully used an Osprey Fairview 40 for a few years now. But! It is quite small as I am not a great one for taking lots of shoes/clothes and we usually book accommodation with a washing machine every 5 days or so. We tend to 'do' travelling holidays though so are often walking through streets, negotiating stairs and boarding trains/buses/ferries and we get impatient with pull along cases....

I have now also got the Sojourn 60L but i prefer the Fairview if I think I can travel light enough.

I noticed that they have brought out a Fairview 50 since I bought my 40L.

@Japlan I really like DenDen town. I’d say it’s one of the grittier parts Osaka but still feels safe to me. You can walk from there to the big tourist districts of Dotonbori and Shinsekai (in different directions). It’s also not far from the Abeno Harukas 300, which has a great observation deck at the top and a lovely cafe and outdoor area up at something like the 17th or 18th floor.

I’d advise taking smaller cases/backpacks. How old are the kids? Old enough to wheel or carry a small case of their own for a little bit? The families that we saw on the Shinkansen whose kids had their own small cases seemed a lot less frazzled than the ones where the adults were wrangling very large cases for the whole family. I don’t have kids myself though, so what do I really know?

Thanks, yeah I’ve decided to leave Korea for another trip. It’s too much to cram into a short time.

I also want time to check out Fukuoka, as if I end up loving Japan (which I probably will), I’d love to save up and go back sometime to study at a language school.

There’s a really good one in Fukuoka I heard about so want to see if the city is somewhere I could live for a while.

Thanks, yeah I’ve decided to skip Korea - hopefully another time.

Enjoy your trip, I’m here solo and absolutely loving it. I’ve got a mix of days with things planned and days where I can just drink coffee, read a book and soak in the atmosphere wherever I am. I don’t want to be so busy I don’t have time to enjoy just being here.

Thanks, that sounds brilliant - I’m glad you’re having a great time.

Thanks - That's made me feel good about Den Den town. You're right on the kids too they are old enough to manage their own bags. Just working out which will be less of a trip hazard and annoyance for me and other people around us!!🤔😁

@Japlan In terms of getting in people’s way smaller cases are better, even if it means you have more of them. Even metro trains in Tokyo and Osaka have reasonably sized overhead racks where you can stow small to medium sized suitcases and keep them out of the way. It’s also considered polite to wheel 4 wheel roller cases by your side rather than trailing behind as it takes up less space and makes you less likely to obstruct the way for others so I’d recommend cases with 4 wheels.

We’re at the airport waiting to board - very excited!
We had a surprising call from Cathay Pacific this morning, saying our connecting flight from Hong Kong to Haneda was overbooked, and could we change our flight to a later, direct one. That was an easy yes, especially as the HK leg was a JAL flight, and they have transferred us into a JAL flight.
We are arriving three hours earlier, so we’re getting the limousine bus when we arrive.

@Pusspot That’s a pleasant surprise. I love JAL, so would see that as a definite bonus. I hope you have a fabulous time! Please come and tell us all about it.

@Takoneko thank you - so far it’s very nice. It’s a 3-3-3 configuration but it seems spacious in economy.