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

The evening flight is usually the airbus. They are 3-3-3 but newer. We always take the Boeing flight in the morning. The planes are older and the flight time is less good for jet lag but I love the 2-4-2 layout.

Their food and service is generally top notch regardless of the plane though. I’ve not had better in economy on any other airline.

The vibe in Fukuoka is definitely more laid back. Lots of little yatai stalls by the canals. The Starbs at Ohori Park is really nice in the sunshine. Lots to see in Kyushu in general, plenty of Korean influence in food and culture if you look for it, and option of Hello Kitty Shinkansen if you want to get back to Osaka from Fukuoka. I expect you’ll want to return.

@Japlan most successful luggage combo we have found is medium spinner hard case/backpack with trolley sleeve/lightweight folding bag for purchases.

Sounds brilliant, thanks.

@Pusspot
I hope everything went well with the flights and you arrived ok. I’m flying with Cathay Pacific aswell, they were much cheaper than the others.

@HornyHornersPinkyWinky I think they probably still have an hour or two left. It’s a long flight.

What time of year are you going? I couldn’t find any of the bargain Cathay flights when we were looking for Easter. We think we might go next Christmas too and would happily take a Cathay flight if it saved a ton of money.

Arrived In Tokyo and had a fabulous flight. Everything @Takonekosays about JAL is true!
We were very lucky to be offered a direct flight @HornyHornersPinkyWinky at the last minute, because the connecting flight from Hong Kong was overbooked. The JAL flight attendants were charming, and one of them even came over at baggage reclaim to thank us for travelling and to wish us a good trip. I did flex my limited Duo Lingo on board so that may have helped!
Travel from Haneda to Ginza didn’t go as planned, the limousine bus wasn’t running to our location so we got the Keikyo line and got confused. Tiredness is a killer for clear thinking. We are here now, have unpacked and heading to a konbini for food. An early night is much needed. I will read the other posts later on - hope everyone in Japan is having a good time!

Hi, I’m flying 21st October to 13th November - so maybe more out of season and a bit cheaper.

I looked back at my bank statements and it cost me €1080 for the return flights when i booked them back in April.

That’s flying mid week both ways, and going Dublin - Amsterdam - Hong Kong on the way over and Hong Kong - Paris - Dublin coming back. There are some long layovers, but I don’t mind.

I think one of my flights from HK is operated by JAL, which is exciting.

Sorry, just to be clear I’m flying in and out of Tokyo Haneda airport.

@HornyHornersPinkyWinky I think perhaps it’s a combination of the long layovers and the dates. I only look at flights with one stop as I’m tied to the school holidays and so long layovers would really eat into my trip. I can only go for two weeks at Christmas or Easter if I fly on weekends. I think the combination of peak travel times and relatively short windows for travel mean I’m just going to have to suck up the expense.

Morning! Up with the lark but we slept well. Going to make good use of the early start today, heading north to Senso Ji and then going with the flow somewhat. I think a relaxed first day will be better for us. Disney Sea tomorrow and we’re excited about that (we are late 50s btw!)
We booked our Cathay Flights with World Airfares- they were the cheapest by far. I think it was about £800 return via Hong Kong. We didn’t have any issues with them, and all our subsequent contact was done via Cathay. The codeshare with FinnAir, JAL etc can be an advantage too (as we found out) .

Hi OP just another question on this - I’m trying to book this pass online but it’s asking me to put in a date.

Is this the date I’m supposed to activate it from or can I just put in today’s date? I thought I had 3 months to use it from the purchase date.

The thing is I’m still not sure if the exact date I want to start using it. Sorry for the stupid question.

You put in the date of activation. I’d wait until you know what the dates will be. When you buy the pass you need to give an activation date. Some third party websites sell exchange orders, which are basically a voucher that you exchange for a pass but I’d recommend buying from the JR West website once you know what dates you’ll be using it. Once you know when your first night in Fukuoka will be, count back from there. You will want that to be day 7 of your pass as it will cover the expensive journey to Fukuoka but won’t work on any other trains in Kyushu.

Heads up on tourist tax changes:

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2025/10/07/japan-approves-countrys-highest-ever-hotel-tax-in-kyoto-heres-how-much-you-will-have-to-pa

Japan approves country’s highest-ever hotel tax in Kyoto.

@MondayYogurt Thanks for sharing. I think it’s worth adding that the calculations for tourist taxes in Kyoto and Osaka (perhaps elsewhere in Japan too) are based on per person per night cost, not per room cost, so not quite as bad as it might sound at first.

Hopefully the increased tax will help to support infrastructure and also encourage tourists to look beyond Kyoto. There’s so many beautiful parts of Japan that get almost no overseas tourists. Only one foreign tourist in a thousand visits Shimane, fewer than five in a thousand visit Fukui, Kochi, Fukushima, Akita, Ibaraki, Tottori, Tokushima, or Ehime. Japan doesn’t have too many tourists, they are just concentrated in too small a number of places.

Just catching up with the thread as my trip is fast approaching in a few weeks!

Really interesting to hear how you're getting on @MyCatsSlave as I'm also travelling solo and am planning a mix of booked stuff and chilled days. I hope you're still having a great time!

Interesting to read about flight/airline experiences too. I'm flying with Lufthansa, mainly because it was cheap (£850 return but several hours wait in Frankfurt in both directions which is probably why!) so hopefully it'll be OK.

Perfect, thanks so much for all your help.

@DustOnEveryPage My trip is going so well. I’m now in Kanazawa which is my favourite place so far. I’ve had the most incredible experiences here.
On my first evening here, I went to a restaurant and while waiting to go in got chatting to a solo traveller from Italy and one from America. We got on and had dinner together and then went back to the American chaps hostel as it was someone’s birthday, My first visit to a hostel and a great but very random evening where we ended up drinking beer and playing crocodile dentist 😂.

On Wednesday I had booked a tea ceremony at the tea masters house and discovered when I arrived that I was the only one who had booked so it was just me. I’d thoroughly recommend a tea ceremony in Kanazawa if anyone visits here.

In the evening I went to the Higashi Chaya district, there were only a couple of people so it was a perfect time to take photographs with no one in them. I was incredibly lucky and saw a Geiko on the way to or from an appointment, it really was amazing.

Thursday was a really relaxed day, visited my favourite coffee shop, read my book in the gardens, had an exquisite seafood bowl for lunch at the market and had a full body and head massage in the afternoon. More exceptional seafood for dinner and an early night watching Netflix.

Today is another great day, seafood for breakfast, then went to the Teramachi temple district before going to the Nishi Chaya district for a Behind the scenes with the Geiko afternoon. This was the most magical afternoon. It was a group of 12 and we were shown around the Geiko house, were shown the kimonos and all the things they carry to appointments. We then watched them perform and got to play the drums with them before having photos taken and being given their business cards to keep in our purses to bring wealth to us,

Dinner tonight with another solo traveller I met in a tea house earlier and then tomorrow morning catching the train to Tokyo. Kanazawa has definitely stolen my heart and if anyone is not sure about coming I couldn’t recommend it more,

__

Geisha district at night

@MyCatsSlave

fantastic post , I’m going to Kanazawa later in the month and would love this to be an antidote to the madness of Tokyo . Could I ask which coffee shop you’d recommend . Hitachi Chaya is on my list to visit and I love Japanese gardens so need so find a lovely one .

@MyCatsSlave thank you for posting, it sounds like you’re having a great time. We aren’t visiting Kanazawa this holiday, but it looks fabulous. I hope you continue to enjoy your trip.
We spent yesterday in Northern Tokyo, starting at Senso Ji which we didn’t enjoy much. Very touristy, and busy. We then walked over the Sumida walkway to Ushijima shrine, which was calm and peaceful, with one worshipper and a couple of staff members. We sat in the gardens nearby, which would look wonderful in spring. We walked over to the SkyTree area, and had a lovely mooch around the shops underneath. The food mall was excellent, and we were given lots of samples to try. It was just nice to wander around and not have a particular itinerary.
We got a train to Ueno and visited the park, but it was getting quite chilly so we didn’t explore as much as hoped. Lesson learnt to carry an extra layer.
We walked through the Yanaka district, had tea in a little cafe and headed back to Ginza for a bit of shopping in Uniqlo, Muji and Matsuya. Overall it was a fairly relaxed introductory day.
Today we went to Disney Sea, which was fun and a lovely way to observe Japanese people enjoying themselves. A very different experience to Florida etc!

We are going to explore the west of Tokyo tomorrow, and then Kamakura on Sunday.

Can’t imagine going to Kanazawa and not seeing Kenrokuen Garden, it’s one of most famous in Japan.

@MyCatsSlave I’m so glad you’re having a wonderful time. We’re going to Kanazawa next year and the way you’ve described it sounds just perfect!

Yes that one is on my list . I’m not into all the neon / aime stuff so want all the wellness relaxing places .

@hattie43 The garden at Kenrokuen is amazing, well worth spending time here. I also enjoyed the grounds at the DT Suzuki Museum, perfect if you want the calm and tranquility that I have been seeking out.

The coffee shop I have been to everyday is Townsfolk Coffee, it’s small, beautifully designed and has the friendliest staff. I’m in here now having a last coffee and stocking up on beans before I get the train to Tokyo.

I’m going to miss Kanazawa but am looking forward to Tokyo. I have the first of my Nagomi Visits tonight and tomorrow am going to Kamakura for the day with a goodwill guide.

There is a lot of over tourism and crowding in Osaka and Kyoto but to be honest I’ve not encountered it. I visited a couple of the most popular spots either early in the morning or later at night and the rest of the time I’ve sought out the less popular but just as incredible places to visit.

I have a list of the quieter areas to visit in Tokyo and am hoping to continue my trip in the same way. Obviously I will have some time in the chaos that I imagine the busy parts of Tokyo will be.