Visiting Japan in May – General questions for travel/places to go.

[SaviorSelf]

Warning: This will be an extremely long post. I apologize in advance for the livejournal-ish type post, but I’m not sure where else to get all these questions and concerns out. This will be my first visit to a foreign country for what it’s worth. (inb4 weeaboo, faggot, etc)

As the title says, I’m looking to go to Japan in May for around 2-3 weeks. Don’t worry, my FFXI account is still mine and I have not purchased a few nice suits. This posting will probably be long, but I’m looking for people who have actually been there and have some experience and recommendations. I’ve looked up some general information such as flights, maps/locations, and hotels, and I’m not quite sure if the prices are any good since I don’t have anything to compare them to.

For starters, how is Expedia with their prices? For a roundtrip leaving on May 18th and returning June 8th, the price is around $900 for the flight alone. I’m leaving from New York, Laguardia (LGA), and by default I picked Narita as my destination. LGA -> Narita is $900~ for a 20 hour flight with 1-2 connections.

Main questions for airlines are:

• Is this a good price?

• What airlines would you recommend/avoid for international flights?

• For the ones leaving from LGA, the airline is Delta. For JFK, there is a United airlines 14 hour non-stop trip for 30 bucks more, otherwise, Delta too for the same price.

• I was hesitant about a non-stop flight before. LGA provides 2 breaks in the flight, which also means longer to get there obviously. For safety reasons, I think this is a safer choice.

Next up is where to go. Obviously being the stupid American tourist that I am, I want to see Tokyo. Here is a list of places I want to visit that I think I would like. I’m mainly looking for suggestions here, but I’m guessing I’ll stay in the Kanto region if the prices aren’t too outrageous.

• Tokyo

• Akihabara

• Shibuya

• Hakone

• Yokohama

• Ginza

With a flight planned and general location picked, next up for discussion would be a place to stay. I plan to only sleep here, but would like a bit of privacy while I am there. From looking on various websites, a lot of places talk about having shared facilities which I’d like to avoid. If it cuts down the cost by a lot, I’d take it into consideration, but I’d much rather have my own. If shared facilities is the norm over there then, works for me.

Before getting into hotels, one thing I should mention is that I don’t want to get a JR Rail Pass. The prices for those seem to be outrageous. Close to $600 for a 3 week pass seems insane. I understand they thrive on the train systems, but I don’t have enough saved up to purchase one. On that note, how is it compared to Manhattan? Walking from China town to the upper west side distance wise is something I’m fine with. I walk all over the city here and rarely take the subways. (Exercise = Good!) I planned for a lot of walking in Japan so I won’t be shocked when the need comes up. When looking at a website like this for train tickets/times, it seems like you can get to a lot of places for only a few bucks and in a short time. One time tickets like that would be more suitable for me since I’d make day trips out of anywhere I go.

Back to a place to stay. What’s the cheapest places I could look at to stay in that wouldn’t get robbed/broken into and raped? Like I said earlier, I’m only looking for a place to sleep at night that is preferably close to the places I want to visit, either by walking or cheap train ticket. No curfews either. Basically,

Place to stay perference:

• Cheap.

• Safe.

• Relatively close to a train line/places mentioned above.

• No curfew.

• Just need a place to sleep, that's it. Don't need all the bells and whistles. Western style preferred (need a bed ;[)

Last on my list of concerns (that I can think of) is technology. Planning to bring my laptop to have something to do on the flight/unload my pictures from my camera onto. How much WiFi should I expect? Also, I have an iPhone. I’ve heard the stories of people being charged an arm and a leg for data roaming while being overseas with one. Is that still an issue? I’d like to keep it on me and not in airplane mode fulltime so I can use the GPS features for when I am inevitably lost and iPhone app for finding train lines/times on the go.

Outside of my general concerns, I’m now flipping the spotlight onto you. If you’ve been there, what do you recommend I see? What places should I visit? I’m a young 20-something fun guy; night time scenes are where I want to be. Anything you can recommend?

If you feel I’ve missed something crucial or want to throw out some information or website links I might find useful, please feel free.

[Correction]

Staying in Tokyo won't be cheap unless you want to stay at a 'business hotel' where the rooms are the size of your shower stall. Expect to pay upwards of $300/night minimum for something better than that.

Of the places you listed only Yokohama is more than 10 minutes away by train from central Tokyo, so keep that in mind, as well.

[takethistoyourgrave]

iace-usa.com for tickets. Call them; they will answer in Japanese but should speak English just fine. Although the 900 you saw might be a decent price for tickets from NY (I'm not sure, I've always departed from SLC), I was able to get tickets for 600-800 4 times last year.

I lived in Osaka, and only went to Tokyo a few times; that said, your list of places you want to visit looks pretty solid for the Kanto area. If you plan on making a trip to Osaka let me know ($~130 bucks one way by bullet train, 3 hours) and I can tell you some fun places. For Tokyo, if you stick around Shinjuku, Shibuya, or Harajuku I'm sure you can find all sorts of crazy nightlife.

If you are into food, I would say must-eats are Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Horumon, Nabe, Sukiyaki. Most of these are probably more popular in the Osaka area though. It may sound silly, but while you are there, push yourself to try new things. It opened up a whole new world for me.

For a place to stay, look for a hostel if you want cheap. I have never heard any horror stories about Japanese hostels. If you wanna be crazy and just go with just backpack or travel lightly or something, you could sleep at net cafes for about $5-10 a night in a somewhat-private cubicle, with bathroom/shower access, food, and unlimited drinks, and obviously internet.

For airlines, I've gone over on Delta, United, Eva, and Korean. Eva and Korean are amazing. United sucks. Delta is alright. Having said that, I'm not picky, I just want to get there 1. cheap and 2. fast. If you can somehow end up on JAL, they are pretty badass too.

Expect little to no wifi. Some places have it but require you to be subscribed to a service to use it. As for your iPhone, it will automatically pick up a Docomo signal while you are there. I never turned roaming on, so I don't know about the charges. But I always had that signal on my phone while I was there with it (you don't need to leave airplane mode on to not get charged, there is somewhere in your phone to turn off international roaming. I recommend calling AT&T and inquiring about overseas data charges, but I would suspect it will cost you a bomb.)

Sorry for the general responses, but let me know if there is anything else I can clear up. Again, I've only been to Kanto a few times, so I don't know too much about the area.

[takethistoyourgrave]

Staying in Tokyo won't be cheap unless you want to stay at a 'business hotel' where the rooms are the size of your shower stall. Expect to pay upwards of $300/night minimum for something better than that.

Of the places you listed only Yokohama is more than 10 minutes away by train from central Tokyo, so keep that in mind, as well.

I dunno, when my Mom visited and we went to Tokyo, we found a decent hotel 10 minutes off the Tokyo loop line for 100 a night with 2 beds. Of course, we pre-booked a reservation through a normal Japanese website online in advance. A lot of places will look to make money off of foreigners though, because you don't have any other choice if you can't speak Japanese.

[SaviorSelf]

Any links for hostels? I'm just trying to get an idea of prices/where I am staying just so I can plan further for getting between places efficiently.

For the net cafes, on a somewhat related situation, I've read about the Manyo Club in Yokohama. Photo related article I read here. 4100 yen to stay until 9 A.M., but wondered if you could book it for more than a night. The sign on the second picture says "No tattooed persons" allowed, so I probably can't stay there, but main question was can I still visit/use the onsen there?

Hyperdia says its a 35 minute train ride for 540 yen from Tokyo to the Manyo Club, that seems like a great deal.

[takethistoyourgrave]

What are the extent of your tattoos? If you can't cover them with athletic tape or something similar, you are going to have a hard time getting into most onsens.

[SaviorSelf]

What are the extent of your tattoos? If you can't cover them with athletic tape or something similar, you are going to have a hard time getting into most onsens.

Wrist tattoos I could cover with my watch, but a two inch symbol on my chest/shoulder area on both sides.

[takethistoyourgrave]

Doesn't sound too bad; if you really wanna hit up the onsens (which I would highly recommend, they are amazing), get some athletic tape and just cover them up (people do this pretty often, so it isn't really weird).

As far as hostels, I just googled "Tokyo Hostel" and got 7+ results with direct links on the google map thing, I would begin there. I glanced through a couple and Tokyo International Hostel was about $35 bucks a night and looks pretty nice, although you could probably get by even cheaper if you don't mind staying at a slightly older/crappier place.

[SaviorSelf]

Have never stayed at a hostel, but trying to get an idea. It's a basically a room with beds where everyone sleeps? Would I have to hug my belongings all night while I sleep? The few I saw are around $30-$35 a night, but booking a flight+hotel on expedia would put me in a nicer place for around $40 a night. Own room for $5-$10 more a night I would spring for honestly. :/ Unless the hostel was like, $20 a night. The pro for it would that I would probably meet some other people staying there for cheap as well, right?

[takethistoyourgrave]

If you can get your own room for 5-10 more, I'd do that. Hostels can be interesting places to meet other foreigners, but you will have a lot of time to meet plenty of other people while you are there anyway ;o

[quannum]

i stayed here, when i was in tokyo
http://hotel-nuts.com/english/index.html

[SaviorSelf]

i stayed here, when i was in tokyo
http://hotel-nuts.com/english/index.html

If only that place was cheap, 8k yen a night >_>

[Not not Mattaru]

Airfare: 900$ for roundtrip is good, you may find something lower through a travel agent specializing in Japan/Asia, but not by much really.

The problem with staying in Kanto for 2-3 weeks is you will run out of things to do tourist wise. Maybe two weeks you will be fine, but I think that may be pushing it a little. If you are staying for 3 weeks try to branch out.

I have heard good things about Hakone. IF you are taking the bullet train 2 times look into getting a JR pass, spend a couple hundred more maybe and you get to ride most shinkansen and the Yamanote line in Tokyo for free for a few different time periods depending on how much you want to pay. IF you are not taking the bullet train more than once or twice than it is not worth it. When I went as a tourist, I about broke even with it because I went Tokyo>Okayama>Osaka>Tokyo with it.

I say go to Kansai because you can spend time in Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and Osaka which are all very close together and have tons of cultural things.

Onsen - what others said.

Tokyo - if you are in Tokyo and want to go out...it depends on your Japanese level. Roppongi tends to be more gaijin friendly, but watch out for Nigerians who want to take you to a titty bar, drug you, steal your credit cards etc. My Japanese is decent so I stayed around Shibuya when I went out, but I am not an expert. I used to live in Kansai area so I know it better.

There are a few good hostels...I don't remember which I did. You can find business hotel deals for around 5000-6000 Yen a night iirc. I remember Sakura House and one other that was pretty good - it was not too hard to find when googling tokyo hostels. Don't worry about curfew...if you are going out shit doesn't get going to 11-1am and trains stop around 2ish (actually I hear they are going to start a 24hr route, but I am not sure when this is starting).

Check out to see if there are festivals (matsuri) etc. beforehand and try to go to them if you can.

I always had internet at places I was staying, but had a Japanese cell phone so can not say too much on IPhone.

I could go on and on, PM with anything specific etc.

[aduidarnenye]

If you're going in May you might want to get down to Kyoto since it'll be blossom season. Geisha girls come out at that time too.

We had a one week rail pass, which wasn't that expensive, and went from Fukoka to Tokyo and back. We saw Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo along the way. If you didn't want to get a pass for the full three weeks you might try doing two weeks in Tokyo and one week by rail. Trains in Japan are lovely.

Look at hostelworld.com for some really good deals for places to stay. I got some good deals on Expedia for regular hotels as well, but we went as a couple so $70 a night wasn't bad for us.

Don't take taxis in Tokyo! Get a metro pass and always take the train. Taxis are unbelievably expensive. Our first taxi ride was 10 blocks and CAD $40 so after that we walked or took the metro.

[Talint]

The JR Rail pass would give you access to the entire continent. If you're comfortable just staying in the Tokyo prefecture, then just getting a local rail/subway pass should be fine. If you really want to see some areas outside of the prefecture like Kyoto, Osaka, etc; look into being mobile for a week and plot out accordingly -- you don't need a three week pass, but experiencing the shinkansen is really nice.

Speaking of, Tokyo's rail system shuts down at midnight and doesn't start up again until six in the morning, so it's either walking or cab fare, and if you're pretty far from your hotel, you're really not going to hoof it. Something to remember when it's late and you're walking the streets of Tokyo drunk with your new friends (there's a funny story there...).

When I stayed in Japan, only domestic cell phones work unless you specifically worked out some kind of deal with your cell phone company to have access to it, or something. I don't know if this has since changed, so it's something you want to look into.

Sorry, it's been a long time since I've been to Japan now, so I'm forgetting a lot. I really want to go back. I miss the curry... so delicious. In fact, all of their food is delicious. And I love Shibuya and Shinjuku...

[Karasu]

I was over in Japan in late November/early December visiting a friend who was studying a broad(so I didn't have to worry about a hotel) but I can try to give you a few tips.

I got my plane tickets through cheaptickets. I ended up paying $947 for a ticket with American Airlines(total with taxes and flight insurance). The tickets were from Phili to Narita with 1 stop in Chicago(19 hrs to Japan, 16.5 on the way back). Honestly, the flights were miserable. My seats were at the very back of the plane next to the toilets. So I had the extra noise from being behind the engines, waitresses walking past me and people slamming the door of the toilet behind me the entire time. Once I landed in Japan it was all good though, had no trouble getting my bags and passing through customs.

Personally I went with getting the JR Rail Pass, my friend was staying in Kyoto so using the Bullet train to get there from Tokyo was the most economical choice for me. I was also able to get a lot more use out of it by doing some day trips to Kobe, Osaka and Tokyo. But if you don't plan on doing a lot of side trips like that it probably won't be worth it for you (Ps. The Gigantor statue in Kobe is totally bad ass if you get down there; Pic related)

http://img3.uploadhouse.com/fileuplo...9ee0f6a6c4.jpg

The subway system was very easy to use and relatively cheap, but it took me a bit to get adept at reading the maps. Make sure to remember that the trains and subways don't run 24hrs a day. They usually run from around 4am-11pm depending on where you are, and you probably wouldn't want to get stuck in the middle of no where without a way to get back to your room. I don't really have a subway system around whereI live so I couldn't compare it to anything in the states. In Kyoto, at least, there was a subway or train station every couple of blocks so I never really had trouble finding stations if I was out exploring.

I only spent one day in Tokyo and that was mainly in Akihabara. If you get to Akiba I would highly recommend the arcades. The big ones are 5+ floors and loaded with awesome games. I did a little shopping, but most things there you could find on the internet and probably for less. The exchange rate then was kind of shitty too so that didn't help either.

Most of my trip was spent in Kyoto. I spent a lot of my time seeing historical type things like shrines, rock gardens, castles, etc. And a lot of time just wandering around, exploring the city. I did go out drinking with my friend a few times but it gets really expensive really quickly if you like to drink a lot. If you decide to go to Kyoto I would recommend going on the Johnny Hill Walker tour. It was a really good tour and I met some other foreigners as well. Also, pick up some of the Green Tea flavored Kit Kats there, they taste pretty good and they make great gifts.

For general tips I would just say try and read up on Japanese etiquette a bit (what to do and what not to do) so you don't come off as a dick to the locals. And make sure to carry cash around with you a lot. Most places don't take credit cards and even if they do they won't always take foreign cards. Only certain ATMs will take foreign cards, like the ones at 7-11s (which are open 24/7 and are all over the place) so I usually got my money from them.

Other wise just relax and have fun!

[SaviorSelf]

Watch out for Nigerians trying to drug me, got it. Standard procedure.
http://mrw.blox.pl/resource/around_b...ever_relax.jpg

I'm a pretty big guy so I should be okay. Can't end a good party without someone on the floor.

How uh..."safe" are the hostels? I'll probably have a good amount of stuff for two weeks, and I don't want to carry it all whenever I go out. Are there lockers or something? I wouldn't mind a room with a few people cause I'd like to meet some other foreigners so I'd have some people to do stuff with randomly. At this point, I'm going by myself just to explore and for photography since a few people I was going to go with aren't as flexible. Maybe I can leech onto a group there or something lol

[popsiclestix]

$900 for round trip is pretty damn good.

So its a 20 day trip in Kanto area? Well, first you need to figure a couple things. Are you going to have a central place and travel to each destination and return back to the same hotel? Or are you going to have money to hop to each city and spend the night?

I imagine the more central to Tokyo you are, the more expensive. Of course, there will be easier accommodations.

Now Hakone is a bit far from Tokyo. Its kind of cool and all but its like 2 hours away from Tokyo via Romance Car (i wonder if they still have that for Odakyu sen). Its also where Elfen Lied is supposed to be set in (if anyone knows that keke). If I recall there is a buddha there. Honestly, I think it be a waste of time visiting all the way out to Hakone.

You can squeeze in Harajuku+Shibuya+Akihabara into 1 day if you want. Harajuku is sort of the place where you see all the wild dressing up. Akihabara is for the Otaku and Shibuya is for the more yuppy types. Note, it be best to go on a Sunday.

For night life, I hear Shibuya is fun but if you want to go all out, you want to go to Roppongi. This is the foreigner's area. Mostly models and rich people go and play there. Also some of the most expensive housing is in Roppongi Hills (Isn't Princess Lover based on that?).

Yokohama is another side trip that you want to make on its own. Its out of the way Southwest of Tokyo. You can visit their Chinatown if you want. Go to the Ferris wheel at night. etc.

If I were you, I would figure out if you can take a boat ride back into the Tokyo bay or something, or at least ride in it. Be nice to see that and Odaiba. I would also suggest seeing if any sort of events like large scale shows will be in Tokyo, like Tokyo Gaming show, or auto show.

Another suggestion is to take a bullet train to Kyoto or Osaka. I never been to Osaka, but I have been to Nagasaki and Kyoto. If I were you, I would squeeze in 1 week visiting the more worldly known places of Japan beyond Tokyo like Hiroshima and Kyoto. Kyoto for the shrines, geisha, etc. Its pretty cool stuff. Hiroshima be interesting to see the atomic bombing location museum. The real cost would be Shinkansen'ing everywhere. You could spend 4 days in Kyoto easily and maybe 2 in Hiroshima. Or do Osaka as well (as it is the 2nd largest city in Japan). Osaka is known for its food I think...

Regarding the drinking. You can pretty much drink beer during every freaking meal in Japan. It will mostly be beer with the occasional sake.

Lastly, I hope you are going with someone because it will be a little hard to navigate around by yourself. If you are used to NY, then its nearly like that at times, just different culture and language. Just follow along with the other people and try not to stand out as much as you will already will.

oh and with tattoos, good luck lol...

Oh things to avoid: Fuji. Dennys/KFC.

Do: McDonalds (seriously its different there), Shibuya (Hachi is there!), Roppongi, Harajuku, Akihabara, Tokyo Tower. Get a freaking SUICA or similar card. So much easier than Credit card or cash. Buy them at train stations. If you need a cell phone, you can rent for like $50 a week at the airport (Not sure on price). I'd say Onsen, but you fucked yourself with getting tattoos hhahahah

Learn: Basic greeting, customs (especially things to avoid like sticking chopsticks into rice bowl, or shoes thing, b/c those are serious there)

[Edimir]

The JR rail passes are only worth it if your going to use the Shinkansen for long-distance travelling (Ie. A 1 week rail pass is only worth it if you do Tokyo - Kyoto atleast once, if not then its cheaper just to pay for your subway/ticket fares for your trips around Tokyo). Which leads me to my next point, get a PASMO or SUICA (There both pretty much the same) pre-paid travel card, saves you the hastle of having to queue for tickets everytime and works on all the JR East Trainlines within Tokyo and the Tokyo Metro.

As for location, try and get a hostel near to a station thats on the Yamanote Train Line - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamanote_Line - Shinagawa is a good area as the station there has many many connections.

As well, to re-iterate 2 points made earlier - 1) Dont take taxi's in Tokyo, they are too expensive and the public transport there makes getting around so easy. 2) Dont rely on debit/credit cards, before you go get a huge wad of cash (70000 Yen covered myself and an other for 1 person with a fair bit left over).

[vagus]

Hirjuku station. Food, food food.