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

@Pusspot Bunny island was so much fun! The bunnies are really friendly and I absolutely loved it. It’s worth making the trip out.

It is out of the way though and if you’re using the trains you need to plan your connections with military precision. We had two minutes to get from the Shinkansen to the JR line. Even with looking up exactly which doors to get off and sprinting through the station we just made it. If we hadn’t it was 1.5 hours wait for the next train. On the way back we had 7 minutes to get from the ferry port to the station platform for our train so had to be ready and waiting to dash of the ferry and walk very quickly to the station then we had a one minute connection from one train to the next. Again, there would have been a huge wait if we missed it, so just be aware that the transportation runs infrequently here and if you miss a connection it can add hours onto the journey. We had to know exactly what our next train was and look up the platforms in advance in order to make it work.

@Takoneko thank you so much for the detailed reply. Much appreciated. Those connections are extremely tight, but you haven’t put me off! Is the ferry included in the train pass? I think you recommended the Setouchib(sp) one.
I’ve also heard about a 4.5 ferry trip around the Inland Seto Sea, which stops at some of the islands. I need to do some more research on that.
BTW, I bought the DK Japan guide some time ago, and I’m not overly impressed. Can anyone recommended their travel books please?

@Pusspot We got the Setouchi Area pass from the JR west website.

It was 22,000¥ and covers 7 days and we felt we got huge value out of it. We’ve seen so much of western Japan.

The connections are tight but we just about made them all and it is possible with very careful advance planning if everything runs on time. Today was so much fun! 100% worth some slightly stressful dashes through train stations.

We've been back from Japan for five days now and I miss it so much! DS1 (17) was just saying to me on the way to school how much he misses Japan and the food. I miss convenience stores so much! I had a tuna mayo onigiri for lunch almost every day we were there (for the fabulous price of 80p), and I miss Boss Cafe au Lait in a can (either hot or cold - Japanese vending machines do both). We had the best time - even travelling with two teens - we all loved it so much and didn't want to leave. Fabulous country, just such an amazing trip. I highly recommend it.

We’re at the airport now. We have a connection in Haneda so still a very long journey ahead of us. A bit sad to be going home but looking forward to seeing my cat. I’m sure I’ll start planning the next trip soon enough.

@Takoneko good luck with the return trip. I think you’re flying with JAL? We’re going with Cathy Pacific (based on price) and I’m not looking forward to it!

Safe journey home @Takoneko. When we came back literally the one thing I was looking forward to was seeing my cat! We didn't see any cats at all in Japan, which really surprised me, given the cat fetishism that is displayed through popular Japanese culture. I guess Japanese cats must be kept in for their safety, but I never even saw one at a window.

Yesterday, I was missing Japanese cuisine so much that I went and bought sushi rice (available at Sainsbury's) and nori (seaweed sheets) and made my own tuna mayo onigiri. It's very easy for anyone else missing them! I've also got a rice cooker arriving today (thanks MIL, who gave me an Amazon voucher for our wedding anniversary!)

@Pusspot we are going with JAL. Their economy experience is great.

We had a good experience with Cathay when we flew to HK, but that was quite some years ago now.

@cheezncrackers We only saw cats in the windows of cat cafes except for one extremely friendly cat in a shrine in Fukuoka and in Onomichi which delivered in terms of what we’d heard about it being a cat town. There were quite a few free roaming cats on the streets there. We also went to a cute little gallery cafe which had a number of resident cats that the owner was very keen for us to admire.

@Takonekothe price difference between the two was considerable, but the connection in HK isn’t ideal.

@2025istheyeari we walked the castle grounds in Osaka but swerved the main buidling. It was busy as I think it was a Sunday but I am glad we saw it - some of the enormous rocks in the various walls were enormous and just the size of the castle compared to some of our castles and walls. We had previously been to Himeji too (we stopped of en route from Tokyo to Hiroshima and left our bags in the lockers).

We also went to the baseball to see the Orix Buffaloes in Osaka and found it quite different to our US experiences. Great fun!

Thanks @Specialnameforanoutingthread atill debating here! Need to stop procrastinating and make a decision! May look at baseball as that could sway it! Thanks for replying to me!

@Specialnameforanoutingthread they’re playing the night we’d be in Osaka!! How did you get tickets please? Our 16 year old would love it and may sway us to stick to our original plan and have the afternoon and evening in Osaka then go to Kyoto via ( kind of!) Uji the following day!

@2025istheyeari our accommodation was not far from the ground so we just wandered to the stadium the evening we arrived and bought tickets at the window about an hour before the game, and went straight in. I don't remember them being horribly expensive but there was only two of us and we were in 'middling' seats about halfway back. If I can dig out the stubs i'll let you know the price.

The food could have been challenging as we didnt have much (any!) Japanese, but I realised I could take photos of the overhead menu to show what food we wanted to order, and that worked fine (and the servers were relieved😂).

Thank you!! You’ve helped make our mind up, sticking to original Osaka plan and ds v excited about baseball! What was the food like?
Can anyone recommend any food markets in Osaka? A colleague mentioned them and we missed them last time! We arrive at lunchtime so could be ideal. Thinking of mooching in the grounds of Osaka castle and finding some vintage shops for DS. Those of you who’ve done Umeda Sky would you recommend or not ?
We leave the following morning for Kyoto, has anyone done luggage forwarding in Osaka and if so, is it easy? We’re hoping to go to Uni ( anywhere else anyone can recommend enroute) and would prefer not to lug our rucsacs. Other option is dropping our bags at Kyoto hotel then getting the train out I guess🤔.
thanks and sorry for my ramblings!

Found you all! Lost the thread for a while! @Takoneko - sounds like you had an amazing trip.

a Hiroshima question. We are planning to go as a day trip. We have equal days in both Kyoto and Osaka. Which one would be best to travel from? Either ease of travel or because we can more spare the time away from our host city? Thank you.

@2025istheyeari The umeda sky is cool to look at but the view from Harukas 300 is better in my opinion. It’s in a more visually interesting part of the city.

@QueenMabby Osaka is one Shinkansen stop closer but I’d decide based on how easy it is to get from your accommodation to the Shinkansen station in each city. If you’re staying right by Kyoto station it might make more sense to do it from Kyoto than Osaka if you’re staying further away from the Shinkansen there. If you’d have to cross a big chunk of Kyoto on the bus first, definitely choose Osaka.

We have been back in the UK for 4 days now and I also miss Japan so much. Had the most amazing trip and tips on here were so good. I am going to start planning a new trip although when I get to go I don't know. We mainly were around Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo as this was our first time but next time I would love to go very north or south and explore more. It is much an amazing country and so many simple things make it so good. I am really missing the super cheap vending machines I have never been so hydrated!!

@Chocaholics So glad you had a great time. Were there any particular highlights that you’d recommend?

Thanks @Takonekowe are right by Kyoto station so will probably do that then.

@QueenMabby Have you looked into rail passes? There’s a few offered by JR West.

Just the return trip from Kyoto to Hiroshima would make a 5 day Kansai Hiroshima Area pass worth buying. You could also use it for any other day trips using JR lines and for travelling between Kyoto and Osaka.

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai_hiroshima/

@2025istheyeari If you’re only stopping in Osaka for one night why not ship the luggage from Hakone (I think that’s your previous stop, but if not wherever you’re coming from) to Kyoto and just take a change of clothes and bare essentials to Osaka. If you just have one smallish bag with essentials between you it will be easy enough to put it in a coin locker in the station in Nara so you don’t have to lug it all day and the rest of your stuff would be waiting for you in Kyoto when you get there.

We were staying in Osaka and did a day trip to Kyoto, took our bags and checked them at the shinkansen station left luggage and picked them up in the evening and went on to Onomichi. It was very easy!

@Takoneko I actually really liked Arashiyama. We stayed there for a couple of nights and walked up the river and into the mountains. Within minutes it felt like a different place with the river, the trees and the peace. Found a lovely temple in the mountains which was so peaceful and zen and so different to the town and just lovely. As we stayed there we also went to the bamboo forest late in the evening which was nice and quiet but would not go there specifically to see it as don't think it is worth it.
I also liked Shibuya Sky, but I love being high up and it is crazy seeing how massive Tokyo really is (my teenager really wanted to go to Shibuya Sky as I would have been happy with the government building!).

I also just enjoyed trying as much different food as I could as was all so flavoursome and so pretty, I also liked the little markets with crockery and kitchen knives etc. I just think the crockery sets are so very pretty!

I loved every minute but next time would like to be out in nature a lot more than in the cities I think.

Also wish we had those vending machines here never been so hydrated!