Japan Planning Thread 3

[Takoneko]

Hi!

This is a new Japan Planning Thread for when our last one is full.

Feel free to ask any questions here related to travel in Japan, regardless of budget or style of trip.

@Takoneko I know! It’s a real novelty to travel on reliable trains. It’s also a good way for us to have a decent rest (60s) and it’s so much more affordable in Japan.

Has anyone here done Nikko as a day trip from Tokyo?

If so, how did you travel there and back and do you think it’s worth the trip out?

@Takoneko we are planning to go to Nikko for a day trip from Tokyo. We would be going at the beginning of November for the foliage. I’ve heard good things about it.

We used to go up to Nikko sometimes for the day - I think autumn shows it at its best, though late spring is also nice. It’s a couple of hours, from memory, by train and 3 or so hour drive, depending on where in Tokyo you start from. There were very good bus services, and one could buy a hop on hop off pass, though I have to say we generally preferred the drive option just for the flexibility. If you go by train then make sure you go to Tobu-Nikko not the Nikko JR station, because most of the tourist busses go from there. Traffic could well be worse than it was 10 years ago though, so train might well be the better option now. Our visitors were always very taken with Lake Chuzenji and the waterfall that I can’t remember the name of, so they are definitely worth a visit IMO

We went to Nikko for the day at the beginning of last month. Travelled by Spacia X train from Asakusa which was fun, can recommend the Cockpit Lounge (I set an alarm for ticket release a month in advance, it's very popular). Short bus ride to the lovely red Shinkyo Bridge and the Heritage Site is just across the road. Toshogu and Rinno-Ji in particular are spectacular. There's also a pretty little park which was very peaceful.

So there's lots to see and the Heritage Site grounds are lovely and - as you would imagine - very well maintained.

On the walk back to the train station we met Ryu, the brewer from Spice Kunst Beer, in his mobile van. I can highly recommend his hotdogs and the bottled beer with his face on the label!

We didn't make it to Lake Chuzenji or the rest of the National Park this time - realistically it would have meant an overnight stay to do everything. Next time though.

@Tryingtokeepgoing Thanks! I think we’d probably want to get the train. I think we’ll be going in late September, so too early for Autumn leaves sadly. Hopefully it will at least be a bit cooler there than I’ve been told to expect Tokyo to be at that time of year.

@JudithChalmersPassport That’a really helpful. Sounds like you had a lovely time. We’d like to use the Spacia X if we can. It’s annoying that it tends to sell out though, as having to book in advance means you lose flexibility to plan around the weather forecast.

@Takoneko sorry I should add that we will go via Shinkansen to Utsunmiya station, then change trains to Nikko. All of that is JR, and It would be the first day of using our 21 day pass. There is a direct train from (I think) Asakusa/Shinjuku but it’s not JR.
We originally thought about staying a couple of days in Nikko, and then going to Kanazawa from there. However we are really keen to see lots of foliage on this trip, and Kanazawa will change colour later in the month.

@Tryingtokeepgoing@JudithChalmersPassportthank you too, it sounds like a worthwhile day out. We will likely stick with the JR option as we are staying close to Tokyo station, and will probably have a pass. I will make a very early start to try and avoid some of the tour buses!

@Pusspot We’re staying in Sumida, so for us the Tobu line is a bit of a no-brainer. We’ll just walk to Skytree and then it’s a direct train to Nikko from there on the Tobu line.

If you’ll have a rail pass then the JR lines make sense.

@Takoneko True, the Cockpit Lounge and the other popular upgrades sold out more or less immediately after release when I booked. But other seats were still available on the Spacia X and Revaty Kegon much, much closer to the date and even standard seats are very comfortable.

Truthfully, much as I enjoyed the Cockpit Lounge experience (including the friendly guard taking our photos onboard and the lovely cafe/bar in the carriage), I could have lived without waiting until 1 in the morning to join the online scrum for tickets!

@JudithChalmersPassport It’s good to hear that there’s a bit more flexibility on the ordinary seats. I think perhaps we’ll wait until we have an idea of the likely weather and try and hope for the best.

Thinking about Japanese trains … has anyone else watched the new Michael Portillo series? We’ve seen four episodes, and hoping he’s going to visit Nikko on his travels.

I hadn’t seen this. I love a Japanese train journey, so might give this a watch. It looks like he covers some of the ground that we will be later this year.

@Takoneko he’s covering a lot of the private train lines which looks fun. He also went to the train museum in Nagoya, which we may now visit. I had zero interest in trains before going to Japan!

@Pusspot We have the Shinkansen museum in Nagoya on our itinerary too.

If you’ve got into Japanese trains then I’d also highly recommend the railway museum in Saitama. It’s a really great museum.

@Takoneko that’s a good tip - thank you.

Indeed. The place is spotless. Not one piece of litter. What they would make of the UK I dread to think.
The trains are all on time. And everyone takes a pride in what they do. Engineering that is awesome.

Certainly inspiring. The gardens look lovely. The mountain train incredible scenery. Some more episodes to watch.

@Monty36 yes I agree. The attitude and pride in their work is what impressed us the most on our trip.

Going in July from UK what do you suggest wearing for airport / travel outfit?

@ChristmasMad1 It all depends on what you’re most comfortable in. I make sure I have lightweight layers for the plane and wear a loose fitting maxi dress, as I find that comfier than trousers or jeans.

I tend to like comfy clothes, my go to would be a thick/normal hoodie tracksuit set but that's way too hot for Japan? But I don't like being cold on the plane

Tokyo in July / August is very hot and humid and I would feel pretty uncomfortable in a hoodie and/or tracksuit - you want light, loose fitting breathable clothes really. But yes, they are not necessarily compatible with a long-haul flight, so if you don't want to run the gauntlet of airplane toilets and getting changed, which is understandable, then layers is probably the answer when travelling. That does though depend a bit on how you plan on getting from the airport to your hotel. Taxis and the airport limousine busses are generally have very good AC and would be fine in a tracksuit or hoodie. Moving around stations, streets and platforms on foot less so!!

That's my issue I got fibromyalgia so I get cold and I have a thin legging like tracksuit which may be better. We are travelling via the narita express

Ah OK. Well, the station in Narita is in the basement, and Narita airport has always been well air-conditioned in my 20odd years of passing through it. Though, I do use Haneda more often nowadays. So, given that you feel the cold, and it is a long flight, I think that if you wear a tracksuit / hoodie on the plane to keep warm you'll be absolutely fine as far as the train. Maybe have layers on your top half so you can take the hoodie off if you do get too warm. But I would then get a taxi from the station in Tokyo to your hotel... and tbh I'd advise that anyway for a first time visitor with bags and after a long haul flight :)

I’d wear the thin lightweight one and if you tend to feel the cold add something like a Uniqlo heattech layer underneath. They are very thin and packable. You can pop into the airport toilets to remove the layers after landing. Toilet cubicles in the airport will have a changing platform. It’s a little flip down step that you stand on without shoes and change on to avoid the toilet floor.

The problem with a thick tracksuit is that you’re not going to wear it again after the flight and it’s a bulky thing to have to pack away and carry for the rest of the trip.

We had everything from -1 to 26 degrees last month and I had lots of lightweight layers that I could mix and match.

For the Japanese summer, I’d recommend avoiding cotton at all costs. It holds moisture and once you start sweating into cotton in that sort of humidity you feel soaked in sweat all day.