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.

Has anyone bought the Lonely Planet guide to Japan and would you recommend it? The latest one came out in March 2024. I'm wondering if it's worth getting now or if I should wait until they bring out the next edition. I believe they bring out a new edition every 2 to 3 years approximately.

@Pusspot

I prefer the Shinkansen too, but Tokyo to Fukuoka is one journey where I think flying does work out better. It’s faster, it’s cheaper and unlike in most places Fukuoka airport is in the city centre.

I looks like we’ll be in Kyushu at the same time!! We’re actually in the process of planning an epic 80 day itinerary for this Autumn-Winter and we will also be heading to Fukuoka for the sumo. We’ll be taking the trains down from Tokyo to Fukuoka with lots of stops along the way but on the way back we’ll be going straight to Tokyo and flying looks to be the best option by far.

If you’re set on the train, then the national
JR pass is probably your best bet if you’re OK with changing trains. If you want to get a direct train then the Nozomi is your only option and with the ¥8,000 surcharge it pushes the cost into the territory where just buying individual tickets and forgetting the rail passes altogether would be cheaper.

I was advised elsewhere on the internet to book my accommodation in Fukuoka as early as possible. Apparently it can be expensive and a lot sells out during the tournament. We’ve tentatively booked somewhere already.

@Takoneko wow 80 days!! That’s very exciting!
You did mention a potential longer trip up thread. Will you need a visa for that length of time?
I agree about flying - we’ll have another think about it. I read that Fukuoka airport is the most convenient in Japan. Our return trip from Kagoshima will be broken up in Takamatsu (still a fair distance) and then we will head up to Kanazawa where I hope we will see some autumn foliage.
We booked our hotel in Fukuoka a few weeks ago, in case of a price hike or short supply. I’ve set an alert for the Sumo ticket release in September. Really not sure if we will get any, but I’d love to see it. We have also booked our hotels in Nagasaki, Kanazawa and Tokyo so far.

Have you checked whether your local library has a copy?

@Pusspot No visa needed for up to 90 days. It’s very exciting!

We’ve got a chunk of accommodation booked from late September to late October (Tokyo, Yokohama, Kamakura, Atami, Nagoya, Ise, Nara, Osaka) then we’ve got a big fuzzy gap of 3.5 weeks in our itinerary before Beppu, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kumamoto and then back to Tokyo for a few days in early December before flying home.

We’re staying a whole week in Fukuoka to maximise our chances of getting the sumo tickets as sumo is pretty much priority number one on the trip. I’m a massive fan and (outside of this chunk of sabbatical leave) I don’t have the option to visit during tournaments as they are always in term time.

@Takoneko that sounds fantastic. Good luck and enjoy the planning! Our window for sumo is three days, but could travel from Nagasaki if necessary. The tickets for sumo at the Royal Albert Hall last October were eye watering. We were actually in Japan at the time, but I don’t think we would have paid those prices. I’m hoping the tickets in Fukuoka will be more accessible!
We will be in Kyushu from 5th - 14th November.

Last year we started our trip on 6th October and the weather was lovely - mainly warm and sunny with the odd wet day.

@Pusspot We paid £100 per person for final day at the Royal Albert Hall. As a
fan, I thought those tickets were worth every penny. We had an amazing time and I got to see all my favourites. I got home and immediately booked tickets for Paris this June.

In theory, weekdays in the first week of a tournament should be the easiest to get tickets for. We’ll be arriving for the second week of the tournament, so just after you. I really wanted to be in Fukuoka for the victor’s parade.

It’s good to hear that you had good weather. I was worried that the weather in the earlier part of our trip might not be great.

@Takoneko I did wonder if it would be easier to get tickets for the beginning of the tournament.
I’ve never seen sumo before, so it would be exciting.

So exciting you’ll both in Kyushu! We’re heading there at the end of the month, our second trip to Japan (first was 2019!!) and focusing just on Kyushu Island this time

@Citygirlrurallife sounds good! How long are you staying in Kyushu? We’ve got nine days which are currently evenly split between Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Kagoshima.

@Pusspot With the exception of opening Sunday, that’s correct.

@Citygirlrurallife Please let us know how your trip goes. How long are you going to be in Kyushu and what are you planning
to see and do?

@Takoneko please can you recommend a website for booking the sumo tickets? I’ve been looking online and I’ve seen a few ‘pre order’ sites. I thought the tickets were on sale mid September? Thanks!

@Pusspot Tickets go on sale in September from the official site. https://www.sumo.or.jp/EnTicket/ This is the official Japan Sumo Association website with a link to their ticketing site. There aren’t any other official sellers.

There are various websites and tours that will tell you that you can secure tickets in advance by pre-order, but that is misleading. They are selling to customers and hoping that they will secure enough tickets when the general sale starts to fulfil their pre orders. There have been lots of disappointed sumo fans who bought tickets through one of these websites only to get an email to say that the company wasn’t able to secure the tickets. Companies like buysumotickets that used to be reliable are no longer a good way to get tickets.

We’re doing Seoul first for 3 nights then fly to Kagoshima (wanted to do ferry from Busan but it was just going to eat into our travel time too much!). Annoyingly Korea Airlines have moved our flight which was supposed to arrive in the morning but now we’ll miss the last ferry to Yakushima which has botched the itinerary a bit but no harm no foul. Our plan is:

3 nights in Seoul, fly to Kagoshima (DH is full control of Seoul planning as he’s been before. We’ve booked a wooden ring making workshop out of recycled wood like skateboards as a chill activity to get over jet lag on the first day!)

1 night Kagoshima, ferry to Yakushima

3 nights Yakushima in a forest lodge, full day island tour, half a day forest hike, kayaking at the lodge. We’re Studio Ghibli obsessive so going for the Mononoke vibes! ferry back to Kagoshima

1 night Kagoshima then pick up the car and roast trip to Takachiho. Haven’t planned it exactly yet as still trying to decide whether to go inland or the coastal route but hoping to take our time and still get to Takachiho for the evening Shrine dance at 8pm

1 night Takachiho, booking the row boat for first thing the next day and walking the gorge then road trip to Yame via Aso - if it’s closed due to vocalnic activity we’ll bypass and hit up Kumamoto Castle instead. Get to the Central Tea Plantation by 5pm to indulge in Matcha treats!, evening private sake tasting with a sommelier for DH and I

1 night Yame then road trip to Nagasaki via the fruit bus stops on the coast and possibly also Shimibara Castle depending on time and if we made it to Kumamoto

3 nights in Nagasaki, booked the boat tour to Gunkajima. Train to Fukuoka and might do it via Arita and the pottery villages or DH and I will sneak off for half a day while in Nagasaki and leave the teens to sit in a cat cafe

3 nights Fukuoka, booked a Yatai stalls tour and a miso making class.

Fly home via an 8 hour day time layover in Singapore so intend to book one of the free bus tours into the city.

apart from accommodation and specific bookings outlined we’re taking it as it comes. Decide what we want to do each day (knowing the options of course!) and leave a lot open to explore. I feel like we’re very pillar to post in terms of travelling so I then want some freedom within it. DH and I and two teens aged 14&17

@Takoneko thank you, that’s very helpful. I will be patient until mid September. I think we will travel back from Nagasaki if we can’t get tickets for when we’re in Fukuoka. The new Shinkansen looks good and it’s about 90 minutes.

@Citygirlrurallife That looks like an epic itinerary! I’m really excited to hear about it after your trip.

@Pusspot I’m massively biased, but for me the sumo would absolutely be worth the Shinkansen ride. It’s a very simple sport to understand and so much fun. I recommend checking out the NHK English language highlights show on their app or YouTube channel. There’s a tournament on at the moment, so you can get a taste for whether you might enjoy it and get to know some of the rikishi. Having favourites to cheer for makes it all more fun.

@Takoneko thank you for the recommendation - I will check it out!

Do restaurants in Japan have anything similar to food hygiene ratings in the UK? I just noticed another thread where someone was asking about food safety in Vietnam. I know Japan is a far more developed country than Vietnam, but I'm someone who always checks the hygiene ratings for restaurants in the UK before dining in them. I generally only eat in establishments that are rated 4 or above (the maximum score is 5). Are food safety standards so high in Japan that it's not something to really worry about?

@Citygirlrurallife your itinerary sounds fantastic! We might do a trip to Yakushima too. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

@SecondSpare I’m not aware of a rating system like in the UK. Food safety standards are very high though. It’s not something you need to worry about there.

I’m just here to share my excitement.

As I mentioned upthread, I’m taking a chunk of sabbatical leave for some once-in-a-lifetime travel. I’ve just booked the flights for an epic 80 day trip to Japan this September to December. That’s made it very real and we’re mega excited.

I’m really grateful to everyone who has shared things on here. We’ve taken a lot of inspiration from other people’s trips.

@TakonekoThat’s very exciting! What an adventure for you. You’ll be able to see so much of Japan in that time. What’s your rough itinerary at the moment?

I’ve recently seen that Boundless Life is offering a 4 week programme in Kamakura in August school holidays. It offers a co-working space for me during the week and holiday club for my daughter Monday to Friday. Thinking we could go explore different parts of Japan each weekend. It sounds a great way to slow travel a country whilst still being able to work.

The weather seems mixed in August, with hot weather as well as potential typhoons. Does anyone know the real risk of typhoons and whether it’s worth avoiding?

@FriedFalafels Kamakura is lovely. That sounds idyllic.

Typhoons are a risk but they are occasional. They won’t disrupt the whole summer. The weather will be very hot and the humidity is extreme. How much is that likely to bother you?

@Pusspot At the minute it’s pretty fluid and the bit between Osaka and Fukuoka is very hazy, but our rough outline is:

10 nights Tokyo, hopefully including sumo.

Then 2.5 weeks where we are on the move more, going from Yokohama-Kamakura-Atami-Nagoya-Ise-Nara. We have some day trips planned here too.

10 nights Osaka in an apartment hotel as a bit more of a home base to stop for a bit and catch our breath and possibly do day trips to some more rural places.

Then we have 3 weeks travelling around the Seto inland sea and Shikoku but this is quite hazy.

Then a couple of nights Beppu/Oita, 7 nights Fukuoka (sumo again), 5 nights Nagasaki, 7 nights Kumamoto with day trips and possibly more sumo.
Then we’ll fly to Tokyo for our last few days and hopefully catch some Christmas markets.

We’re super excited and it will be a really different pace of travel to what we’ve done before.