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.

Just as an aside, I find it really interesting that just as it’s starting to feel like autumn to me, many shops have decided that it is now Christmas. Autumn and Halloween themed menus and displays in some stores have been replaced with Christmas ones before the leaves have even turned.

We saw them setting up a Christmas market outside Hakata station yesterday. (We took the Shinkansen there from Yamaguchi to hide from the rain and do a bit of shopping)

We are also staying in a Tokyu Stay hotel in Tenjin. Just used the washing machine in the room!
@Georgieporgie29we too stayed at the Randor in Hiroshima. It was a nice big room, but we prefer a hotel with 24 hour desk, and this was more of an apartment set up.

@Takonekoits full on Christmas in Tenjin. Bonkers!

We have the other Tokyu Stay in Fukuoka booked, the Hakata one.

I’m curious as to how it will compare to this one, which has prominent Mercure and Accor branding and has only been open a few months. This is a really lovely hotel, so I’ll be delighted if it’s anything like this. We’ve stayed in an awful lot of hotels this year and we’re learning that it’s really hard to beat a freshly opened hotel though.

The Tenjin Tokyo Stay isn’t new, but not too tired. It’s a good price including breakfast, and the staff are friendly. We dithered between this one and Hakata. We’re currently waiting at Tenjin station for a train to Karatsu. It sounds like an interesting place for a day trip.
Are you still in Hiroshima?

Yes, we’re still in Hiroshima. I love it as a base city. There’s so many interesting and beautiful places in day trip distance and it’s a really good place to eat and hang out in the evening. We’re currently in Kure to check out some maritime museums and a submarine.

We leave Hiroshima on Tuesday to head to Kitakyushu. The rest of the trip is then Beppu, Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Kumamoto. We have decided to cut our Kyushu portion slightly short and head back to Tokyo for an extra couple of days (giving us 5 in total) at the end because it looks like there’s a lot of fun Christmassy things happening in Tokyo in December.

@Takoneko good idea about Tokyo. I saw lots of adverts about it earlier in the week. We’ve planned our final night there to include something Christmassy. It can’t be avoided in Fukuoka, there’s lights and music here already!
We liked our trip to Kuratsu, it was a scenic rail journey along the coast, and the town is very calm and friendly. We went to the castle (great views) and had lunch in the town. The pottery is very expensive, but it was nice to browse.

@Pusspot That’s good to know. It’s on our list as a possible place to visit for a day.

I’m also amused by how suddenly it’s now Christmas here. Christmas music in all the shops, Christmas menu at Tully’s and the other coffee chains etc.

We went on the scenic train Yufuin No Mori today. We stopped at Yufuin for an hour, then got a second train onto Beppu.
Not a hint of Christmas all day @Takoneko!

Interesting. We’ll be in Beppu in a week’s time, so it will be interesting to see if it changes between now and then. Hiroshima is Christmassy in the shops, but not full on markets and lights like in Fukuoka.

Hi everyone, super excited to start planning my first trip to Japan this fall!

I’m trying to sort out my data situation early and was looking at the Jetpac Japan eSIM. For anyone who has used them there, which local network do they connect to?

I just need it for Google Maps and translate apps, but I want to make sure it holds a signal in the subway. Also, does it activate instantly when you land at Narita, or did anyone have to manually tweak the APN settings? Thanks!

I’ve never used jetpac.

I use Saily and find them reliable. I’ve not had any issues with connectivity and I’ve travelled the country pretty extensively. It connects automatically when I land. I’m connected to SoftBank at the minute and it sometimes switches to au. They also now have a feature that allows you to share data packs with other users, so we save money by buying 20gb and sharing between the two of us rather than each buying 10gb.

Mobile signal is really good in the subway networks (and I think I’ve been to almost all of the Japanese cities with subway networks). I don’t think you’d have issues with connectivity on the Tokyo or Osaka metros regardless of which network your eSIM connected to tbh. The Shinkansen are where internet connectivity (both the Shinkansen WiFi and mobile signal) gets unreliable.

I didn’t expect Japanese Christmas season to feature so many gonks, but they really seem to like gonks.
So look out for gonks 😄

There were gonks on the check in desk at our hotel today. 😂

This thread is making me want to book a trip to Japan! So many lovely places mentioned. Where would people recommend going for a first visit?

This website is a good introduction to different places to visit and here are some suggested itineraries:

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400.html

It depends on budget, time and interests but typical route for first timers is usually something like Tokyo Hakone Kyoto Nara and Osaka. You can add or take away as time permits.

I’m busy planning for next September! Can anyone recommend a ryokan in or near Shujenzi? Would love the full traditional experience with tatami, futons
and a private in-room onsen! Anyone stayed in one in that area please?

Shuzenji in Izu?
It’s is a really pretty onsen town. There’s also some nice light hiking in the area.

I haven’t stayed in any of the Shuzenji ryokan but I’ve heard that Katsuragawa is pretty good.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/DiTmugFGDoGURFN56?g_st=ic

Yukairou is famous but is expensive.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/1yx7qJNtBKkQ1mDW8?g_st=ic

I have stayed at the SunValley in Izunagaoka which is very close to Shuzenji. It was nice. Good variety of baths with some private ones you can reserve if you don’t want to mix.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/b4UrAGy5ZKno7E4w8?g_st=ic

Sun Valley has an annex and another hotel called Yuyu. You would want to avoid those and only stay at the main hotel.

Problem with Sun Valley is there’s not much to do in the area around the ryokan.

Yes in Izu! Will be at the end of our 3 week trip so will just want to pretty much flop by then! Thanks for the suggestions will take a look.

Just to add to the list from Remoter33, my brother and his wife stayed at one there several years ago, the Asaba ryokan. It was fantastic but stupidly expensive.

I just checked and prices are upwards of £1,000 per night half board for two people in one room.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g790340-d304281-Reviews-Asaba-Izu_Shizuoka_Prefecture_Tokai_Chubu.html

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"...and a private in-room onsen!"

They are going to be more expensive than ordinary basic rooms. Some ryokans don't have any rooms at all with in-room onsen.

"Yukairou is famous but is expensive."

I don't think that it is so expensive (but that's just my point of view, it all depends on the budget you have available). Half board for two people with a private onsen in the room next September starts from £325 depending on dates.

But you can also get much larger rooms, such as their "Detached Annex Cottage / Japanese-Style Room (53 m²)" from £385.

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If I may make a couple of suggestions a little further afield?

About 5 miles to the south of Shuzenji there is a small town called Tsukigase. There is a bus to there from Shuzenji but it's a lot easier to just take a taxi.

There is an excellent ryokan there by the name of Sagasawakan. A room with a private onsen which is half indoors/ half outdoors is around £345 per night half board.

https://selected-ryokan.com/ryokan/sagasawakan_izu-shuzenji_shizuoka_tokyo-suburbs.html

There is also another lovely little ryokan there called Tsukigase Onsen Ufufu where each room has its own private onsen outdoors and most are in a small garden, again from around £350 per night half board.

https://www.ikyu.com/en-us/00001831/

Photos of the private onsen in the garden attached to the room:
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Ooh thank you for those! I had started to look outside of Shujenzi itself as accommodation seems fairly limited and as you say transport to and from is quite easy. Whilst our budget is not off the chart we’re prepared to pay to get that traditional ryokan experience!

@Pusspot Hope your trip is going well. How have you enjoyed Kyushu so far? Any highlights?

I think you are going to the sumo tomorrow, right?

It should be an exciting day. They have scheduled some great matches tomorrow. My tip is to look out for Wakatakakage in the second division. He won the top division in July and then got life threatening compartment syndrome in his leg right after the tournament and had to get surgery, which has dropped him down the ranks. This is his first tournament back and he’s currently undefeated at 7-0.

I have two favourites in the title hunt in the top division. Please cheer for them both tomorrow! They will fight towards the end. Both are 6-1 and in the shared lead of the tournament with a few others.

Atamifuji- he’s like a 200kg cherub carved out of custard pudding. (He’s sponsored by a pudding company from his hometown). He usually wears a dark red belt.

Kirishima- He’s more middling size and wears a black or almost black belt. He’s a really technical fighter and I’d expect a close match against his opponent tomorrow.

Also look out for Ura. He’s not having a great tournament, but he’s a fan favourite and fights in a really fun way. Foreign fans call him “the magician”. He’s instantly recognisable because he always wears pink. His knees are also always covered with white knee supports.

@Takoneko thank you - yes off to the Sumo tomorrow! We have watched a bit of coverage on tv, and we saw one wrestler wearing knee and (I think) an ankle support. He was really theatrical, so that might be one of the ones you’ve mentioned. I will cheer on your recommended men! What day are you going?
We saw a man at Hakata station last week, dressed in a blue yakata style robe, and looking like a sumo wrestler. No one seemed interested - but it was on the first day of the tournament so I assumed he was connected somehow.
We’re currently in Kumamoto, staying at The Blossom hotel next to the station. I knew that JR owned the Granvia chain, but hadn’t realised this is also a JR hotel brand. It’s really nice, definitely the best we have stayed in. I think it’s really affordable in Kyushu, but maybe not so much in Tokyo.
So far we have been on three of four of the JR Kyushu themed trains. All really fun and different. Yesterday we went on Aso Boy, which was a great trip through spectacular scenery. We stayed on until Miyaji, to walk to Aso Shrine and then a charming shopping/street food area. It’s probably a lot quieter than Aso town itself, but that suited us. Plenty of autumn colour there. The area around the caldera is closed off at the moment, so we didn’t get a bus up any higher. Miyaji is already high, and the air was lovely and fresh. It wasn’t cold though, which surprised me. On the way home, we got off at Shin Suizenji for the garden. It’s a lovely space, and the illuminations have started now. I’d recommend that combination as a day trip (you can get a regular JR train to Miyaji/Aso).
We’ve also travelled on the Two Stars scenic train (fabulous) and Yufuin no Mori. These are all included in the JR pass. The Two Stars was part of our journey from Hakata to Nagasaki. We joined it at Takeo Onsen and it took about two hours to get to Nagasaki. Was definitely worth taking the extra time. Today we hired a car and drove to Amakusa. It’s a long slow drive, and it rained all day. Nice to be in a car, but the views weren’t great because of the mist. We went on a dolphin watching cruise, and saw no dolphins whatsoever. We did get to the western end of Shimoshima island, where the Catholic churches are situated. It was interesting to see them in a traditional Japanese setting.

We enjoyed Nagasaki, especially the Glover Gardens. The peace museum was sobering, and less busy than Hiroshima. Dejima isn’t very big, so that doesn’t need a lot of time. One thing we have not enjoyed is the lack of a metro outside of Fukuoka. The trams take ages to get around on, and they’re always busy. We walked a lot in Nagasaki, but here the station is quite a long way from downtown Kumamoto.
We really liked Beppu, and thought it would have suited us better than Fukuoka. We saw all seven hells, with some lucky bus connections at the beginning and end. Highly recommend seeing them all, and maybe save the furthest two for the end, as they were really impressive.

@Pusspot Thanks for sharing. That’s all so useful. We’re currently in Beppu and will be heading up to a lot of the places you mention starting tomorrow. We also really enjoyed the hells.

We’ve been a bit disorganised about this part of the trip. We bought our northern Kyushu rail pass last minute, so all of the fancy trains that need pre-booking have passed us by. As an over-planner I think it’s probably been quite good for me to be a bit more relaxed about plans though.

We actually considered the Blossom Hotel in Kumamoto but decided to go for something more central in the end and booked the Daiwa Roynet Ginzadoei Premier near the castle.

Sumo for us is on Wednesday, although I’ll probably also drag DP over to the arena for a bit of autograph hunting on one extra day and go hang out with other fans for the winners parade too.