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.

@Japlan That sounds very stressful. I’m glad that you’ve managed to get alternative flights sorted. It’s now starting to feel very close for those of us going at Easter. I haven’t booked anything apart from hotels yet. I think our regional rail passes are probably the only thing that will need booking in advance.

That sound like a fabulous itinerary. I hope you have an amazing time!

I hadn’t thought about booking travel, @Takoneko , thanks for the reminder!

Can I ask for advice on travelling? Should I be booking train journeys in advance? And is there some sort of travel card We’re hoping to mainly travel by bullet train where possible (because it seems so exciting!), but there are some parts we need to use (what I’m imagining are called) local trains? I’ve not thought this part through at all. I think I imagined I could turn up at the station and buy tickets.

Just discovered this thread! I’m hoping to travel to Japan in 2027, myself, DH and 3 teens. The difficulty is trying to work it around school, uni and other commitments. We can’t do spring months due to studying and exams. Can’t do autumn due to uni as I don’t think they look kindly on taking time out for holidays. (Unless it was end August / start of Sept?)

Xmas / NY too cold / pricey. So I’m thinking the only time we can actually make it work is mid June to start of July. From what I read that’s not the best time but I really don’t know when else we can go. If we leave it to 2028 we could maybe go from start of June but my youngest would miss a lot of school which also wouldn’t be ideal. July Aug Sept sound very harsh weather wise.

What do people think of mid June to visit?? I read that the north island doesn’t get rainy season so much at that time of year is that right? Thanks for any advice

@Actnaturally For your itinerary I don’t think any sort of rail pass will save you any money. Our itinerary was built around a couple of regional rail passes. You absolutely can just turn up to the station and buy tickets. No need to book in advance.

For local trains you can just use IC cards to tap in and out. If you have an iPhone, add a digital IC card as a travel pass in your Apple wallet. If you’re an android user, you can pick up a physical IC card when you arrive.

@VoteForPedro June isn’t ideal in terms of weather, but we’ve been in June once before and it was manageable. If you can’t go at a more ideal time then I would definitely go in June rather than not at all.

@Takoneko thank you, do you think it’s worth waiting another year so we can go end of May / start of June rather than the last half of June? It will cost so much to go there that I don’t want to be impacted by poor weather the whole time. The kids are really desperate to go with us so think would be really sad if we went without them when they’re older!!

@Actnaturally Just thinking about it… If you haven’t looked into transit options yet, you probably do need to look into what route you’re taking between Fuji and Amanohashidate. That isn’t a straightforward journey and depending on where you mean by Fuji it could be multiple changes and 7+ hours of trains.

If you’re staying near Shin-Fuji then it’s a bit easier and can be as little as about 5.5 hours and one change, but if you’re staying somewhere like Fuji Kawaguchiko then the quickest route involves doubling back to Tokyo and is over 7 hours and at least three changes.

I’ve only been there at that time of year once, but just had a quick look at historic weather for June in the last few years. The rainy days seem to differ. Some years the rain hits in early June and in other years in late June. Last year the end of June was hotter but also clearer and drier than the start. I don’t think there’s enough difference to really make it worth delaying just to go a couple of weeks earlier.

Great tips there, thank you. I’ve just installed the IC app!

Of course we’re staying at Kawaguchi 😱. I vaguely remember looking at the journey times on Google maps before booking our accomodation. Maybe I only looked from Tokyo (where we’ll be travelling from) rather than onward journey. I did realise the onward journey would be more complex, involving travel through Kyoto and then a couple of regional trains, but I really wanted to go there so I put my finger in my ears 🙉

@Actnaturally It’s all part of the experience. Japan really does reward you if you invest a bit of time in getting away from the usual golden route. My best experiences in Japan have mostly been outside of the big three of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

It looks like it might be marginally quicker for you to get an express bus from Kawaguchiko to Mishima station (takes about 90 minutes), which will then mean you just take the Shinkansen to Kyoto and then a limited express from Kyoto to Amanohashidate. It keeps you off the crowded commuter lines and should be both faster and less hectic. You will need tickets for limited express trains and Shinkansen.

@Takoneko thank you so much for that info. Really helpful, thank you!

@VoteForPedro We had the same dilemma due to mocks / A-levels and first year uni. We've decided to go mid December 2026, returning 29th December in the end. The weather isn't meant to be too cold where we're planning to go (Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Osaka and Nagoya) as it's all quite central. We'll miss the Autumn colours but it won't yet be snowy. The days are meant to be bright and crisp, around 10c so we'll layer up and hope for the best!

We were in Nagano/Tokyo/Seoul in December (9th to 21st) and looking at our photos we had coats in 'Nagano' (=snow monkeys), hoodie or fleece in Tokyo and hoodie AND fleece or coats in Seoul, so i would consider this a reasonable time to travel. DS lives in Seoul and he advised against Jan/Feb visit as it gets a lot colder there but I think Japan is milder as it is more maritime and further from the Asian continent. I would revisit in December if I had to.

On our first visit I was pretty unprepared and just picked a location with decent access to different tube lines and ended up in Akasaka which @Takoneko mentioned here as a possible place to stay. I would say on balance it suited us better than the area we stayed in Ginza for our December 25 visit.

@Actnaturally I havent forgotten about the Seoul food recommendations - I am still chasing DS 🙄

In case it is of use to Android users, I have also added an image of the location of the cash machine and Suica card machine in Haneda airport building. This area is infront of you as you leave the arrivals are of the terminal. (There are also some phone recharge points to left of this photo [in case you fall asleep on the flight without plugging your phone in on the flight #askmehowiknow]).

@VoteForPedro we were in a similar boat - with one DC at Uni and the other finishing Uni end May/Graduating beg July. Consequently we’re going this June from 5th-28th. I’m really desperately hoping the weather will be ok! But it was literally the only time we could get 3+ weeks which we wanted to do.
Flying from Glasgow with Emirates and a 6hr layover - has anyone done that? It was cheaper and less hassle for us going from Scotland.

@hashisucks fingers crossed the weather is kind when you go! Can I ask who you booked with and how much it was from Glasgow as that’s an option for us too. I really don’t know where to start, booking wise. Need to do some research first! What’s your itinerary?

@VoteForPedro we’re going with Emirates, booked a few months ago - it was around £900 return each in Economy. 6hr layover on way there; only 2 on way back but apparently Dubai airport are v efficient at transfers. Our flight also leaves Glasgow at a civilised time mid-afternoon. London with JAL worked out more expensive but we went back and forth tbh. I hate flying so would find 14hr straight quite difficult too.

Itinerary (after much agonising) is:

6 nights Tokyo
1 night Hakone
2 nights Kanazawa
2 nights Takayama
5 nights Kyoto
2 nights Hiroshima
1 night Naoshima
2 nights Tokyo

Our priorities are eating and art! And shopping (even the husband 😆)

Staying in a real mix - mid-range hotels/ a fancy onsen hotel (one night)/ a ryokan/a machiya townhouse/ an art gallery

Wow that sounds amazing!! Did you research and book everything yourself?

@VoteForPedro yes we just booked flights direct then hotels either direct (eg Naoshima / the Machiya) or with Hotels.com for some of them. I love figuring it all out and never use agents though I can appreciate for some it takes away the stress of making decisions! These threads have been helpful (thanks @Takoneko et al) for ideas on what is doable.

I also found YouTube and Chat GPT good for ideas and costs

That’s great @hashisucks! Can I ask too, are flights and hotels etc a lot cheaper in June compared to spring and autumn?

@VoteForPedro that I don’t know I’m afraid, I only looked at prices for our dates. A Google or AI search should give an idea of price variations.

@Specialnameforanoutingthread thats really kind, thank you. We’re in Seoul for such a short time that it would be amazing to arrive armed with some recommendations so that we can make the best of it!

for Japan (and Seoul @Specialnameforanoutingthread ?) do you think cash or credit card or mixture (or alternative?) is best?

@Actnaturally I think a mix would be best. I think cash is necessary for the T money cards for a start. We usually get some cash but use card when we can, then revert to cash when we feel we need to get 'rid of the cash' towards the end of the visit. But, of course, we are there for longer than you will be, and we always know we will be back so we dont worry of we bring some cash back. But I realise thats not particularly helpful for you 🙄

I just checked online and the Tmoney 1 way fares are abound 70p adult/45p (age13-18)/ 25p (12 and under) [1400won/900won/400won] so you wont need to put much money on the cards. It also said yo uneed to register the childre's Tmoney card as teen/child at a convenience store so present the passports when you buy the cards for their discount. Then they just swipe as usual, as you arrive and leave the subway gates like London. On the buses you use the front doors to get on and swipe on - the TMoney pad is usually just beside the driver. Use the back door to get off and swipe again on the sensor by that door before you get off. The machines will say 'thank you' 😂