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.

Is anyone else feeling a bit of decision paralysis about booking flights? We have our flights for the first chunk of our adventure booked (thankfully we booked before the war with Iran kicked off) but I’m dithering about the second stint. Part of me wants to just book now in case prices shoot up even further and another part of me thinks we should wait it out another couple of months to see if the pressures on fuel prices relent a bit. If we buy now there’s a hefty fuel surcharge, but I’m not sure that’s going away anytime soon.

We’d be flying out some time around 9th January and coming home some time during the first week of April. We have some date flexibility.

We have had changes to the flight times we booked coming home this June (virgin) so have to leave a day later (such hardship! ) We are flying to South Korea then taking a ferry to Japan. So it does seem things are a little unsettled.

@Jellyslothbridge Oh no, an extra day in Japan? Bummer!

It does feel like there’s more changes and cancellations than usual recently. I guess they are trying to consolidate and run planes as full as possible.
Everything just feels really up in the air with flights right now. I think I’m just going to take the wait and see approach.

Just over 4 weeks till we go, and we settled on Tokyo, Hiroshima, Minijima and Kyoto over 17 days, so we can relax in each area without too much travelling. We’re in Tokyo for 5 days and I’d really like recommendations for good shopping districts - two older teens are very keen on interesting Japanese stores and unusual shops. Also what evening tours are good in any of the places we’re going? Thanks all in advance

@Flowersinvase Shimokitazawa is pretty trendy for shopping nowadays.

Ginza and Shibuya are big mainstream shopping areas.

@Flowersinvase Cat Street is cool for shopping, between Shinjuku and Harajuku. It’s near to Takeshita Street (!).
Uniqlo in Ginza is the flagship store, and it is enormous. They stock a much wider range than the UK shops. It had a florist stall outside, and a cafe. Muji in the same road is also brilliant, plus the stationary chain Itoya. We loved Loft, and also Hands. Have fun - your itinerary sounds excellent.

@Flowersinvase we also liked shopping at the big stations - they generally have a mall attached, and with loads of places to eat etc. We stayed in Ginza, and the shops and restaurants underneath the metro were fabulous.

@Flowersinvase With older teens look out for b side label. They sell a dizzying array of vinyl stickers in original designs by Japanese artists. They make a quirky and affordable souvenir. There’s a few in Tokyo and some in other cities around Japan.

Thanks @Pusspot and @Takoneko

Agree with the Cat Street area of Harajuku. Good for street fashion. The Takeshita Street area isn’t great unless you’re into idol culture.

Shimokitazawa has a lot of second hand stores. It’s not cheap though.

Nakameguro is good for independent boutiques and some second hand spots. Pretty expensive though. It’s also kind of spread out compared to Harajuku.

Jumping onto thread , as we are in the early stages of planning our trip to Japan , possibly including a cruise ( in spring 2028 )
I like planning
Will plough back and read all of the threads ( gosh , there’s a lot ! )

Which are the favoured flights ? Such a lot of choice , not keen on Air China , the direct flights are ummm long ! It’s a long way though , makes sense

We live in Wales , so will be flying from London I expect , probably to Osaka , and back from Tokyo

We've flown BA on our visits as we've used our companion vouchers, their Business class was fine but not wonderful. I think @Takoneko is a fan of JAL, and our internal flight with them (Osaka to New Choitose) was a breeze and the whole airport experince was supersmooth.

@SemmaLina

i prefer the Japanese airlines over BA. I’ve had luck with cheap ANA/Lufthansa tickets in the past. JAL economy is great though. It’s like economy used to be on other flag carriers.

I’m not sure the open jaw style of flying into Osaka and out of Tokyo is really the right way to go about traveling in Japan. Tokyo to Osaka is an easy two and half hour £65 Shinkansen trip. I’d focus on getting the best cheap flights that work for you to Japan (either Tokyo or Osaka) and use the Shinkansen to connect to your flight home. I guess that would mean Tokyo Haneda but could be Tokyo Narita.

As an aside, if you’ll be in Japan for two weeks or less, I wouldn’t even bother going to Osaka or Kyoto. There’s plenty to do in the Tokyo area (Kamakura, Nikko, Yokohama etc.) that would cover the historical and cultural part of the trip. I realize some people here will disagree with me on this but there it is!

@SemmaLina
I fly economy and use JAL as my first preference. They are often a bit more expensive than BA or other competitors but for me I consider the extra money to be worth it. Their economy seats are wider and have a better seat pitch than BA, they have very generous luggage allowance and give free seat selection at the time of booking. For me it’s significantly more comfortable for a long flight.

An open-jaw flight is a good idea as that will save you time doubling back on yourself. If you’re going to be transiting outside of Japan then starting in Osaka and flying back from Tokyo is fine. If you’re going to be transiting in Tokyo then it is better to start in Tokyo and end in Osaka because you’ll be able to check your luggage all the way through to your destination and don’t need to worry about immigration or customs between flights if you do it that way around.

I’m not generally an anti-cruise person, but I really wouldn’t recommend a cruise in Japan. When you’re going that far, you want to spend as much time as possible enjoying the country and all it has to offer. A cruise is really time-inefficient for Japan, where long distance travel by rail is so fast and convenient. You won’t be able to see or experience as much on a cruise as you would be able to by train.

I suspect I wasn't clear - we flew BA as we used our companion vouchers for business. I am not a big fan but it was cheap and roomy.

Our domestic economy experience of JAL and the domestic terminals were a really pleasant experience and the service was polished and helpful. Strong recommend!

@SemmaLina we booked economy seats with Cathay Pacific last year, outbound to Tokyo and home via Osaka. This meant we could squeeze a night in Namba at the end of the trip. It also made good use of our regional train pass, which expired in Osaka.
This year, we have booked direct economy flights with ANA. They were a fair bit cheaper than JAL and BA. Booked in mid January though, so prior to the fare increases.

As @Takonekomentioned, airlines like JAL offer free seat selection, so that may be a consideration for you. We found that ANA allowed a number of ‘free’ economy seats across the cabin. We’re sitting at the back, but it’s a in a 2 seat configuration at the rear of economy.

Thanks @Specialnameforanoutingthread @Takoneko @Remoter33 @Pusspot for the tips re flights , I’ve started looking at JAL

DH is not convinced we’re diy type holiday people and wants to book an escorted tour ( we’ve had a quote for a tour and cruise which is eye watering , hence me doing research )
I have started reading the first planning thread , but there’s so much info !

@SemmaLina The tour companies are so expensive. I look at some of the prices and they blow my mind. Flights and accommodation for more than 80 nights later this year has cost us less than a lot of those companies charge for a two week trip. While we aren’t going to be in super luxury places we are staying in decent enough hotels rather than hostels or capsule hotels.

Japan is a very easy and affordable country to DIY travel in (although the flights are expensive), especially in the current era of google maps, interoperable IC cards and google translate. I’d say it pays to be brave. You’ll save a ton of money and probably get to see and experience more than you would on a tour/cruise.

Don’t feel like you have to read all the threads, it’s ok to ask questions even if they’ve been asked before.

@SemmaLina I had exactly the same quandary and did get a quote from a tour company. As we were a group of 6 it meant our accommodation options were really limited and the

Currently in Japan, wohoo. Our second time visiting. Last time we flew with BA which was OK but not amazing. This time we flew virgin's new direct route to south korea which was excellent and added some time there including taking the ferry from busan to Osaka (more cruise ship than ferry, worked well)
Anyone been to Nara or Uji - other than the deer in Nara what would anyone recommend?

@Jellyslothbridge we enjoyed visiting Toda-Ji temple in Nara. We went to Nara first, then got the train to Uji. We preferred Uji, but I wouldn’t have missed Nara. Depending on where you’re staying, it’s possible to go to Fushimi Inari after Uji/Nara, because they’re all on the same Nara train line. We liked seeing Fushimi Inari in the early evening, as you get a great view of Kyoto and the sunset.

Thanks @pusspot good idea,
we are staying in kyoto - We previously visited fushimi inari early in the morning would be nice to see it in the evening.

@Jellyslothbridge

The Keihan Uji station is a pretty cool bit of architecture in itself. It’s a Tadao Ando building. EDIT Turns out I misremembered that. Not one of his buildings but still very cool.

We also really enjoyed Byodo-in temple and the treasure museum at the temple was excellent. It’s a very beautiful and grand temple and so much less crowded than somewhere like Sensoji or Kiyomizudera.

We visited the tale of genji museum, which was small but I seem to recall that I enjoyed it.

Uji was also just really cool to wander around. Lots of little cafes, tea shops and touristy stuff.

Has anyone done, and would recommend, a kintsugi workshop, ideally in Tokyo or Osaka?

@SemmaLina sorry not sure what happened there. We had much more choice of accommodation not going with a tour. For a first trip we’ve opted for Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya and back to Tokyo. It’ll be a whirlwind but covers off what we wanted to experience whilst keeping everyone happy plus lots of Shinkansen / ekiben opportunities. We’re flying with JAL from LHR as the reviews seemed best for a long non-stop flight. Worth watching Sunny in Japan and Allan Su on YouTube for context and ideas too. Enjoy planning!