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.

I've had a good read of these great threads. Really helpful.

Flights look quite expensive for April 2027 so it's putting me off but maybe that's just the price. Around £1800

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.

We are a family of 5 so would need accomodation options to suit our larger family. Probably looking at golden route type locations.

@sparkle17 Flights in late March and early April are pretty eye watering. £1800pp is broadly in line with what we’ve typically paid for Easter, even before the Iran war and fuel surcharges kicked in. We fly JAL, sometimes with a connection in Helsinki if it saves us a chunk of money, as long as the long-haul leg is operated by JAL. They are at the more expensive end of the spectrum, but on a 14 hour flight I really appreciate their wider seats.

The cheapest options are usually via China, but I’ve never taken that option personally.

Accommodation is reasonable. Eating out, attractions and day to day costs are very cheap. You can get a decent meal out for under £10 and there’s no tipping on top.

Hoping everyone is ok with news of the earthquake in Kyushu 😳

There’s been a huge earthquake in Kumamoto prefecture today. The most severe since the Noto earthquake.

I hope that anyone currently travelling in Kyushu is safe and well.

The damage looks really very bad.

Me too. It looks really bad.

April will always be expensive as that is a very popular time to visit Japan. The cherry blossom season goes from March to May and then 'Golden Week' at the end of April when the whole country is basically on holiday.

Direct flights are going to be about that much but you will find indirect flights a lot cheaper.

Just checking today on flights leaving the first week in April and returning seven days later there are any number of flights from London to Tokyo for £800 to £1,000.

For example, Lufthansa from London to Tokyo with a two hour stopover in Frankfurt £986.

Or Asiana Airlines with a 2 1/2 hour stopover in Seoul, South Korea for £800.

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Prices are a bit cheaper at the end of April. For example, a direct flight with BA leaving 24th April and returning 1st May is currently £1,228

The same applies with indirect fares as well.

For example, Air China with a 4 hour stopover in Shanghai for £637

Or Cathay Pacific with a 1 1/2 hour stopover in Hong Kong for £862

@Tangerinesattack Has the jet lag worn off now? Are you still in the phase where everything at home is a bit disappointing because it’s not Japan? 😂😂

I’d really love to hear about your trip. Any particular highlights?

😆 Just about.

Well, the whole trip was fantastic. We all really enjoyed Tokyo - staying in Asakusa suited us well - except for a couple of streets everywhere was extremely quiet. This was the same everywhere we went. We did a few touristy things like team labs and the samurai museum but spent a fair bit of time just wandering and soaking everything in. Ds and I got interviewed for Japanese TV about our convenience store snacks one night which was unexpected. The bar in the Asahi building was cool . We also went to a mall in Odaiba which had a little showa museum and a food court dedicated to Takoyaki . So many awesome nooks and crannies everywhere.

Then on to Izu peninsula - my favourite part. Stunning scenery and lovely little towns. Plus onsens everywhere. It was so relaxing. Loads of amazing seafood, although the dancing abalone was a step too far for DH!

Then up to Nagano and Matsumoto - these were both great cities. The castle and art gallery in Matsumoto were fab and the Zensoji temple in Nagano was our favourite of all the one we went to.

We finished up with a few days in Kyoto and Osaka with a trip to Universal for DS, which he loved. This part felt rushed plus the heat became overwhelming so we didn't get to see a huge amount. Next time. We did a cooking class and a boat trip which were both really fun. I really enjoyed the vibrancy of Osaka - I think I preferred it to Tokyo.

The food was excellent - DS love the sushi train places and the BBQ places were a great hit too. The people that we met were all friendly and helpful, without exception. We had a wonderful time and want to return although perhaps not in the summer!

Sounds amazing! I really fancy the Izu peninsular and Matsumoto/ Nagano- next time! Glad you enjoyed it so much, thanks for sharing!

@Tangerinesattack I’m waiting for the day that my moment comes to be the random foreigner on a Japanese street interview slot. Very jealous! 😂

We’re heading to Atami for a couple of nights in early October, so it’s good to hear nice things about Izu. It’s one of the places we’re really looking forward to.

I’m glad you all had a wonderful time and the weather didn’t get too oppressive until the end.

Izu was lovely. We hired a car and stayed at Atami, Ito, Shimoda and an Ryokan near Toi. It's all stunning though!
I'd have liked to continue on into the Alps after Matsumoto but that will have to wait for another trip. We spent a night at Raicho Guesthouse which I'd recommend for a bit of relaxation in nature.

Atami was great - the walking streets had a lovely, festive atmosphere. Also this place had beautiful tonkatsu: Tonkatsu Shizuku Atami ten.

Thanks! I’ve added that to my map.

That sounds wonderful and is exactly what we were hoping for there.

Hello - this has been a fascinating read but I will admit to not reading all three threads in full! We're thinking of a trip to Hokkaido in the school summer holidays 2027 with 16 and 12 year old boys. I can see some of you have been to Hokkaido and say there's enough to do for 2 weeks. We'd be happy to hire a car and would prefer to self cater though it looks like that might be harder in rural areas - looks like there are some nice farm stays with optional provided food. We like a bit of action so hiking, kayaking, that kind of thing. Any recommendations?

I’ve not been to Hokkaido yet. We’re going in February for the snow festival, but that will be a different experience to the summer. Hokkaido is big, so I think you’ll find plenty to do to fill two weeks. The Tohoku region is also amazing.

Hokkaido has so many famous food specialities. Summer is melon season and they are also famous for their dairy, seafood, grilled lamb (jingisukan/genghis khan), soup curry and miso ramen.

Even if you can’t get SC accomodation, hotels and guesthouses will almost always have somewhere that you can heat up a prepared meal from the supermarket or from a michi no eki in a pinch. Chains like route inn (often convenient for road trips) will usually have a microwave station next to the vending machines.

If you’re renting a car then michi no eki (roadside stations) are an experience in themselves. They often showcase really local speciality food and produce. I love a good michi no eki. https://www.visit-hokkaido.jp/en/feature/michinoeki-gourmet

Thanks!

We looked at Hokkaido last year. Didn’t go in the end, we explored other parts of Japan, but i made some notes about must dos for us ( as well as Sapporo and the flower fields possibly) Shiretoko np (bears, boat trips and geothermal walk up a river)
Shiretoko Five Lakes, Shiretoko Pass, Nature boat cruise up peninsula, Kamuiwakka-yu-no-taki waterfall onsen, book this in advance

Happy planning!

We are just back from our 2 week trip - had such an amazing time I’m not quite sure how to summarise it!

Tokyo - 3 nights Asakusa with views of Senso-ji and only steps away was perfect for late-night snacks/bubble tea. We walked miles even in the heat (36!). Edo-Tokyo museum a great introduction to local history. Hakosai museum virtually next door if you are a fan - both v cheap and we did in a morning with our teen/tweens. We also took a boat from Asakusa to Odaiba which was a nice relaxing way to get some stunning views of the city and rest the legs. we also did the usual Akihabara, Ginza, Harajuku, Shibuya, the imperial gardens, Meiji shrine…

kyoto - 4 nights in Kabin Gion (super cheap, basic but v clean and fabulous location) - we all loved Kyoto (apart from the subway which was always packed) but we didn’t really do any of the hugely famous temples/sights…we were there for the end of Gion Matsuri - saw the floats up close on the first evening and then the final parade 2 days later - beautiful and loads of atmosphere! We went to some less popular temples like Chein-in and Shoren-in which were virtually deserted! Uji - beautiful temple, amazing ramen at Menya Inoichi (we were 3rd in the queue for when it opened!), saki museum and tasting with rice snacks in Fushimi…

Kanazawa - 3 nights, traditional-style Japanese house, amazing host got us reservations at a local hibachi BBQ restaurant. Loved Kanazawa as all a bit quieter and closer together. Gardens are stunning (pick up the leaflet in English at the gate and it tells you all about the important features). We covered their geisha district, samurais district, the ninja weapons museum, lots of craft shopping, the temple districts, the food market. The only thing we didn’t do which was on our list was cycling out to the port on the cycle way along the river as it was our only day of rain the entire holiday!

Hakuba - 3 nights in a ski chalet in echo land - I’d recommend staying in Happo or at the base of Iwatake mountain as these looked a bit nicer…Hakuba the town itself is not pretty and the summer season is still developing in popularity…we hiked, did downhill mountain biking, paddle boarded in Lake Aoki - all stunningly beautiful and a welcome change from sight-seeing, temples and shopping - my kids favourite days! We drove through Ogawa on our way back - one of “Japans most beautiful villages” - stunning view of the alps from the observatory, and griddled dumplings from an open fire

so many places I want to go to next…I’d also go in Summer again without hesitation. Yes it was hot but the crowds were less and there are so many summer festivals - we saw Gion matsuri and just missed fireworks festival in Kanazawa, and there was a big festival kicking off in Nagano the day we left…the shaved ice everywhere kept us going and we didn’t find it that bad (even when it was over 38 in Kyoto)
It took us a little while to get the hang of restaurants as a party of 5 with kids but if you identify a few places and go early we found some amazing options after a rough start!

I’d caution against too many stops as even once you get the hang of the tickets and stations you are spending several hours getting to/from stations - 4 felt like more than enough for us. Also if you are doing Eki-stamps look up the locations in the big stations or ask someone as they aren’t always obvious! Get a Goushin book for the temples and collect those for a special souvenir.

sorry for the essay!!

Is this your first trip to Japan? If so, focusing on Hokkaido seems an odd choice to me. If you've been to Japan before, just ignore below.

You can do active stuff like hiking, kayaking, rafting in Honshu and combine them with historical and cultural sights. Hiking in the mountains around the temples and shrines in Nikko. Hiking in Hakone and Izu. Kayaking on Lake Motosu (the least crowded lake near Mount Fuji). Hiking in the Japan Alps. All these places are two or three hours from Tokyo.

I like Hokkaido but I probably wouldn’t choose to spend two weeks of my precious vacation there.

Thanks for replying and your suggestions. Maybe I should have said, we thoroughly enjoyed a trip to Tokyo, Kyoto and Hakone at Easter 2 years ago and are keen to go back. I think Hokkaido is quite different (and cooler in the summer, which is the only time we can go next year due to exams). Thanks again.

This sounds like an absolutely awesome trip. I’m so glad you had a great time.

You’ve also given me hope that one day I might be able to brave the summer heat.

It's not always cool in the summer (although it is likely cooler than down south).

There is a youtube couple that I follow, 'Nicole and James in Japan', who have recently moved to Sapporo and are renovating a home there.

They posted just today about a trip to Hakodate and about just how hot it currently is:

Coincidentally, they also previously hired a campervan for a trip in rural Hokkaido as well. Part 1 of 3:

(They are also on Instagram etc but I don't do those other sites at all)

I have only ever been to Hokkaido myself in the winter for skiing and snowboarding so I really couldn't offer any advice myself for what to do in the summer.

Thank you. I wondered if that was the case. Glad to hear you enjoyed Honshu!

Hokkaido is usually a bit cooler than Kanto and Kansai, especially at night.

About self catering, Japan has been cracking down on short term rentals and local municipalities now have the option to restrict the number of days a year STRs can operate or basically ban them outright. I can see Kyoto getting stricter, but I don’t know about Hokkaido.

As another poster mentioned, most hotels will have microwaves so it’s possible to heat up a bento from the supermarket.

Also the “michi no eki” would be very useful. They are like service areas but not on the main toll roads. They usually have local restaurants, delis, bakeries and farm shops. Great place to buy food for a picnic!

Happy planning!

I’m popping in to share my excitement. This time next month I will be back in Japan and this next trip is a properly epic, once in a lifetime one.

We’re currently waiting to see what happens with the Kyushu Shinkansen between Kumamoto and Kagoshima.
That part of our trip isn’t until the end of November, but if the Shinkansen and trains still aren’t running south, then 7 nights in Kumamoto might be a bit too much.

It looks like the expressway is back open, so fingers crossed for the trains. If not, then we’ll probably just shorten that by a couple of days and fly back to Tokyo a bit earlier.

Any better ideas for what to do with two days between Kumamoto and Tokyo in early December?

@Takoneko not long til your trip! We will also be in Kyushu for 13 days in November. I’ve been wondering about the Shinkansen service too. We have four nights booked in Kumamoto and three in Kagoshima. We want to buy our rail passes before the price rise on October 1st (?) but reluctant to do so if we can’t use the bullet trains. My back up plan is to visit Shikoku, but I’m really hoping we can keep to our original itinerary.