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

[SaviorSelf]

$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?

First off, thank you for the detailed response. Hopping around might be a bit more confusing, so one centralized location would be preferred. I'm looking into more of the hostels now and looking at the areas via mapquest and google earth. I haven't made any decisions yet, but doing some comparisons for a few more days while searching.

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

Figured as much, but as I said in the OP, I don't mind walking a bit. I know they base the price on things with how close it is to a central station, but walking 15 minutes is no big deal to cut back on the price.[/QUOTE]

[QUUTE]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. [/QUOTE]
From pictures I've seen, it's a lovely area. A lot of great photos could be taken there, which is why that was my main interest point. Looking on Hyperdia.com, a few of the areas would take me to Hakone for around 10-30 bucks in an hour. Unless I'm reading it wrong of course.

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.

Could fit the city into a day trip as well, but then you won't get to see much. I'd like to have leisure time to walk around and still cover a lot of area.

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?).

So is it the foreigner place, that's extremely expensive? I don't care for an area where people are around me and having to pay $15 for a beer. Nice place to hangout, but looking more for bars with stupid dancing. I'm a friendly drunk so hell, maybe I'll get lucky (with a girl and not some nigerian guys).

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.

The ferris wheel by the manyo club? I want to go into that place so bad but I'm not sure how I'd cover up. They wear robes in there when not in the onsen which would cover up my tattoos. Could I just go to the roof and soak my feet at night dressed?

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.

Will look into this.

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...

Unrelated to this (or maybe it isn't) do you know of where the indoor snowboarding places are? There was a website I was on that I can't remember for the life of me, but that's something I'd love to try.

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

Good news!

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.

If someone decides to go, they're welcome. If not, can't control everything. Just another life experience I have to accept and roll with. I'd prefer someone, and yeah I understand why, but if not, oh well.

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

How are the phones you rent for international calls? Is it a flat fee to rent, or pay per minute? I'd only call to check in for a few minutes a day probably, most other stuff will be uploaded videos via YouTube for my friends/family to see (permitting free wifi which some of the hostels do provide) and keep tabs on me while I'm gone. Suicas, got it. Heard of them before. And it looks like I'll have to pass on bathing naked with a bunch of dudes, DAMN.

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

Working on it! Awful at kanji, but working on the others. Have a small book of useful phrases I'll carry with me at all times.

[Metah]

Do NOT rent a cell phone if you're going to be there a short time. Me and my sister did that, we spent a short time on the phone and it was very costly. Just buy a phone card for when you need to call home.

It has been some years since I've been to Japan so my memory on the subject is a bit fuzzy, but Tokyo is definately my favourite area by far. I was there for a month, so I ended up renting an apartment. It was very nice, fully furnished and had cleaning service twice a month. It was costly, but it was cheaper than a hotel by far. Since you're staying about 3 weeks, I wouldn't recommend this, but if you decide to go back for longer DEFINATELY rent an apartment. You can get ones that are not as expensive (ie: not fully furnished, no cleaning service, lower floor, etc).

Hostels are disgusting. They are dirty, awful, terrible places. My sister has several horror stories with them.

Regarding sleeping in an internet cafe; I have done it. They charge by the hour, but the overall cost is much cheaper than going to a hotel. The cubicles are small but cozy. Many places offer you either a chair or a mat for your comfort. There are places to put your things. No one will ever open a door on you (although, true story, me and my sister were at an internet cafe but at different cubicles. She told me through MSN to come over, so I did, and when I opened the sliding door, it was a guy inside watching porn. He had headphones on and didn't hear that I opened the door. I didn't say anything, I just closed the door slowly and he didn't notice me. I moved one cubicle over and tried again, and it was my sister lol. Talk about embarassing but luckily no one saw me). You can also purchase food at most internet cafes, its pretty good and relatively cheap.

Airline cost of 900 dollars is quite reasonable in my opinion.

Regarding chopsticks, NEVER leave them inside your bowl without your hand on them. I was warned about this in advance, the Japanese take offense (why is hard for me to explain because I don't really know myself, its something about funeral ashes). If you have to leave them, put them beside the bowl or on top of it like a bridge.

Regarding reading and speaking; many signs and labels have english on them in the Tokyo area. I can only speak for Tokyo area and Enoshima island. Enoshima had significantly less english. You can get by with minimal or no Japanese in Tokyo area. Many people speak English to at least some degree, although they will almost always say they don't know any english, they're terrible at it, etc. Belittling yourself is modest in Japan. However it is always good to learn at least a little to help facilitate communication.

I'm going to teach you an extremely valuble phrase I learned while I was there. "kekkou desu" If you're not aware, the u is whispered. If you just said "kekkou des" you will be better off than saying it with a hard u. It means "I'm fine" or "No thank you". Example: If you go to a convenient store, they will bag anything you buy, even a single item. If you do not want a bag, this phrase is useful here. "Baggu wa kekkou desu" is like saying "I'm fine without a bag". Its not an impolite phrase.

If you're looking for places to go still, I would recommend Enoshima island. Its off the coast of Japan and is part of the city Fujisawa. The island is EXTREMELY close to the coast, the bridge that connects it to the mainland can be crossed in 10 minutes. By walking. Slowly. The island is very small, but very tall height wise (its like a small mountain that's also an island). You will have to do lots of climbing. It has a very nice botanical garden and small shops that have lots of neat things to buy. There is also a light house on top of the highest part of the island, you can climb up to the very top of it as well. From here the view of Japan and the sea is breathtaking, you can see extremely far especially on a clear day (it was slightly foggy when I went), especially since by the time me and my sister reached the top the sun was setting.

If you want to go to Enoshima, my only warning is if you are afraid of spiders, be wary. We didn't notice them at first, but the spiders on Enoshima are very large, red, yellow and black. They live on webs built between telephone poles, wires and trees. Both me and my sister are afraid of spiders, but we were half up the mountain when I first noticed them. I looked up into the sky for some reason, and saw the sky. Was filled. With spiders. Even writing about it makes me fucking cringe.

Mount Takao is also a nice place to go. Not extremely tall, very beautiful trees are on the summit of the mountain and it has a great view.

Sorry for the long post, have fun in Japan!

[SaviorSelf]

Don't be sorry, I'm glad you shared your stories. Always interesting to read about others experiences with things (good or bad) and you provided some other things to do that I can look into.

This hostel looks the most appealing. Small, quaint, and great views. Prices are pretty good too from what it seems. Anyone have any experience?

http://www.tokyo-ih.jp/en/index.html

[Syntex]

Been to Japan myself before and I will say if I go back I will visit some more shrines, amazingly they are quite interesting.

But the major places to see, Tokyo tower and its nightlife, and the Hiroshima Museum are must see.

[Maaglin]

I've been living in Japan for the past 2 years. Some good advice in here.

First off, Hakone is awesome. I went there last summer and I thought it was pretty amazing and I would obviously highly recommend it. It's such a change of pace from the big city and it's just gorgeous out there.

You can also stop at Odawara to see a samurai castle on the way if you wish. I didn't think it was all that great, but it does have some cool displays and it's cheap.

I would also vote for getting the suica/passmo train/subway card. You pay 2000 yen for one and can just put money on it as you need. It will work for almost every line in Japan and is BY FAR the best way to get around. Riding the train/subway in Japan is a piece of cake and there are many english websites that will "mapquest" you directions to where you are going to take all the guess work out of it.

Roppongi is fun for the nightlife, but as already mentioned, it can also be a very dangerous place and at the risk of sounding like your mother, I wouldn't recommend going out there (at night) without a group of people as single drunk foreigners make easy targets. Will also be very expensive.

[Chicomagiko]

When you people say very expensive, are we talking in the thousands per night or hundreds per night?(USD)

[SaviorSelf]

I've been living in Japan for the past 2 years. Some good advice in here.

First off, Hakone is awesome. I went there last summer and I thought it was pretty amazing and I would obviously highly recommend it. It's such a change of pace from the big city and it's just gorgeous out there.

You can also stop at Odawara to see a samurai castle on the way if you wish. I didn't think it was all that great, but it does have some cool displays and it's cheap.

I would also vote for getting the suica/passmo train/subway card. You pay 2000 yen for one and can just put money on it as you need. It will work for almost every line in Japan and is BY FAR the best way to get around. Riding the train/subway in Japan is a piece of cake and there are many english websites that will "mapquest" you directions to where you are going to take all the guess work out of it.

Roppongi is fun for the nightlife, but as already mentioned, it can also be a very dangerous place and at the risk of sounding like your mother, I wouldn't recommend going out there (at night) without a group of people as single drunk foreigners make easy targets. Will also be very expensive.

Sweet, what's your address? I'll just crash at your place instead.

Roppongi sounds like a load of fun.

Incoming BG meet-up in Japan!?

[Fodder]

try Hotel Dormy in Akihabara. I don't know about curfew, but it's cheap, 3 blocks from Akihabara station, Yodobashi, and the rest of the electronics shops and shit. Try iace-usa.com for airfare.

[SaviorSelf]

When you make a hotel reservation, they ask how many people will be staying. Can you just say 1 person will be staying and then have someone else with you to get the cheaper price?

Is there a site to check for hotels and sort by how much a night they charge?

[Not not Mattaru]

When you make a hotel reservation, they ask how many people will be staying. Can you just say 1 person will be staying and then have someone else with you to get the cheaper price?

Is there a site to check for hotels and sort by how much a night they charge?

Not sure since I went on my own, would probably depend on the hotel. I think maaayybe Kayak.com includes hostels that you can search.

The apartment idea is not a bad one if that person can give you a link, I think Sakura House, which is a hostel, also does something like that for a monthly rate.

Also...on Roppongi, if you know where to go it is not bad I am told, but most people do not know where to go including myself. It seems most people still go to the classic foreigner swillholes, not to be an elitist but that is what some of them are from what I have heard. The 'old' Roppongi is fun, there are a few places still like that I am told, but it is not the playground of foreigners making money off the bubble and models anymore. If you are in Tokyo for however long you are definitely go there, but check other areas out to like Shibuya for nightlife.

As far as going out expenses, cover varies and depends on the time you go somewhere, if you are there really early you may not have to pay anything but no one will be there yet, during prime time at a good club 20-40$ cover. No joke on the 40$ (think Womb is like 30-40 on average)- I would pay it just to go to a few once but not make it a habit. Drinks can be 5-10 a pop. Standard budget practice is grab a few easily chuggable drinks at the conbini (711 or what have you) and get at least tipsy beforehand for cheap.

[Mystryl]

I strongly recommend the Khaosan Tokyo series of hostels, found here:

dubya dubya dubya dot khaosan-tokyo.com/en/ (can't post URLs yet, sorries)

most of them are located in Asakusa, and I enjoyed my stay there. Tokyo Smile and Annex are a ~5 min. walk from the nearest subway station, but they seem to have opened additional facilities perhaps even more conveniently located.

The prices are generally from 2200 Yen and upwards depending on level of privacy, but I see Tokyo Smile, for example, are having promotional offers atm with twin private rooms for 2300 per night (which is pretty awesome) and 4 person private rooms for 2k.

I stayed at the Tokyo Annex in a 4-bed dorm, for 2200 yen per night. You get access to shower (very decent showers imo), tv and computer room, kitchen, washing machine etc.
Now, everyone in the dorm room gets a key to the room, so it'll be only 4 ppl max having access to your room. Also, you get a key to a locker inside the dorm room for further storage and safety. It's pretty nice. Half the time when me and my buddy stayed there we were the only two in the room anyway, but the ppl staying were very nice in general.

Alrighty, just wanted to give you a little more insight on the hostel situation. Basically, I think you should go for one, considering the criteria you stated!

also, Greetings BG, lolfirstpost.

[Marihoki]

A JR rail pass is totally worth it if you are planning on taking the shinkansen more then once. I think there are one week and two week pass that are also available. Two summers ago me and a few friends went to japan and we each got about $3000 worth of tickets from the $300 two week passes we got. Granted we were crazy and went all over japan in two weeks (I personally don't recommend anyone do what we did, especially in the middle of summer...) but I have to say the passes are worth it if you take the Shinkansen anywhere, it will usually pay for itself.

As far as flying goes, 900$ is probably a good price for a ticket. My mom is going to Japan May and goes there regularly and also got her tickets for that price.

I guess since since we are on the topic, does anyone know how easy it would be to purchase a plane ticket to Japan and then cancel last minute if needed? I have been wanting to go (to visit family, ect~) but my schedule may or may not have time to take a week to go and visit.

[SaviorSelf]

A JR rail pass is totally worth it if you are planning on taking the shinkansen more then once. I think there are one week and two week pass that are also available. Two summers ago me and a few friends went to japan and we each got about $3000 worth of tickets from the $300 two week passes we got. Granted we were crazy and went all over japan in two weeks (I personally don't recommend anyone do what we did, especially in the middle of summer...) but I have to say the passes are worth it if you take the Shinkansen anywhere, it will usually pay for itself.

As far as flying goes, 900$ is probably a good price for a ticket. My mom is going to Japan May and goes there regularly and also got her tickets for that price.

I guess since since we are on the topic, does anyone know how easy it would be to purchase a plane ticket to Japan and then cancel last minute if needed? I have been wanting to go (to visit family, ect~) but my schedule may or may not have time to take a week to go and visit.

Yeah just from looking at the cost, it would be worth it if I spent more than $35/day on trains. I really don't see that happening, but maybe I need to branch out and make this trip bigger...

[Stef]

I would definitely agree with some of the other people here that Kansai is the place to be. Kyoto and Osaka are both amazing! Kobe is close and a very nice place to visit, although there are a lot of foreign restaurants and brands there and feels a little less like Japan, at least in the city centre.
Kansai also isn't far away from Lake Biwa, Hiroshima, Shikoku (Naruto, Tokushima) and some other places worth checking out. If you like hiking and checking out temples there are some nice places around Kyoto and Kusatsu too.
I am biased though since I lived in Kansai for 6months , but definitely worth a visit!

One thing I would recommend is that when you go out sight-seeing make sure you plan where you want to go (google maps, schedule, trains, etc). Because of the way Japanese cities are structured it can be easy to get lost or misjudge the time it will take to get somewhere. Smaller streets may not have names, buildings might not have numbers, and so on. It can also be difficult to ask taxi drivers to take you to specific places unless they are large tourist attractions and addresses written on a piece of paper will not help you.

Also, food is something you don't want to miss in Japan. Sushi is a given, but Yakiniku, okonomiyaki (Hiroshima-style mmmm), korean bbq, snacks at Famima (Family Mart) like nuts and rice crackers...so much good food to check out!

[virusiidx]

Lots of GREAT advice in here.

I also would like to add that depending on the time of the year, usually my travel agent can get us a flight with Singapore Airlines for about 700-800 roundtrip. So, you might want to check with those as well. $900 isn't bad either. Of course, it depends on your location and time of the year, day you're leaving, etc...

Also, another option for cell phone rather than renting (which I found to be too expensive) is purchasing a pre-paid phone while you're over there. Softbank has a few of them starting at around 5000yen. Then you can purchase a prepaid card for about 1500-3000 depending on how much time you need.

The only problem is that it's kind of hard for foreigners to buy prepaid phones since most shops will not sell to foreigners due to people exploiting them for scams and such. But depending on the shop and person, it's up to them to sell it to you or not. Not only is it cheaper than a rental phone, but you can re-use it again if you ever plan to visit again. I wasn't hard for me, but I'm pretty sure having a fluent gf helped with it.

If you're using a CDMA phone, then it should be compatible with Japan's network, but the international fees can be crazy expensive. Another options for outbound calls is Skype, pretty useful.

It would be best to get a Suica card for your JR and subway commuting, UNLESS, like others said, you are going to be using JR for commuting back and forth for further out areas.

I would recommend taking advantage of the Suica&NEX deal for foreigners only.

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/suica-nex/

Basically, you pay 3,500yen for the Narita Express train into Tokyo Metro and they give you a Suica Card worth 2000yen to start with. You can recharge it at any subway station, it works on both JR and Tokyo Metro lines. Very convenient.

As for somewhere to stay, the advice given in this thread so far is great. Another thing you might want to look into are weekly mansions. They're small business apartments usually with decent pricing 4,000-9,000/night, plus usually a cleaning/utilities fee. A simple Google search should query a bunch of these, but you would probably need to find one that doesn't require a guarantor or key money.

I usually rent these when I visit Tokyo because of their costs and locations. Though the ones that don't require a guarantor will probably be more on the expensive side. Some will have English speakers, and some will or will not rent to foreigners, so it's best to look around. My gf has family in Tokyo, so usually we have a guarantor for the cheaper ones.

Places in Tokyo to visit:

Shinjuku - One of my favorite districts. Lot's of food, entertainment, shopping, nightscenes.
Shibuya - Great nightlife, almost same as Shinjuku. More oriented towards the younger crowd.
Harajuku - Go here on a weekend, Sunday preferably. Also a young generation crowd, lots of shops and LOTS of different kinds of fashion as well as cosplay.
Omotesando - Few blocks from Harajuku (walking distance, you'll see it on the street maps) Nice little area (it's actually one long street) usually known for dating, meeting people, etc... There's a lot of small Coffee Shops and places to grab small bites. Also some shopping stores of course.
Odaiba - This is a man-made island over the Rainbow Bridge. Lots of shopping department stores, malls, places to eat. One of the department store's (Venus Fort) looks similar to Caesar's Palace inside.
Akihabara - The Electronic District, but mostly filled with Anime/Manga shops now. Lots of places to eat, drink, even maid cafes.
Asakusa - Old fashion Tokyo. A traditional district of Tokyo with lots of old temples and souvenir shopping, etc... Be sure to visit Sensoji if you do, it was under construction this past December though.
Roppongi - Mainly to see a good view of Tokyo Tower. It's actually in Minato, which is close by. A must see and still a nice area to roam around.

Those are the most popular areas and attractions, but it's also fun to just to get on a train and visit random places. There's something to do everywhere in Tokyo. Remember though that most (if not all) trains stop running at midnight until 4-5am. So if you plan to stay longer than midnight somewhere, you'll probably have to take a taxi.

Ginza seems to be mostly filled with more premium shops (expensive stuff). Some stuff to do here, but I didn't really spend too much time here.

Also, as said in the above post, Google Maps can help a lot when looking for directions and places around the area. Tokyo is pretty much all mapped out on it as it is. The transportation options helps as well to know where the trains run.

I can give more advice, but I'm at work right now so it's hard to completely focus on this at the moment. I know my way around Tokyo pretty well. Feel free to contact me (via profile) if you need anything.

Well, that's my input and I hope it helps. Have fun with your trip. I'll be visiting again this summer. I usually go for 2-3 weeks at a time as well.

Edit: Oh yes, do whatever you can to cover up your tattoos as suggested in the thread.

[Maaglin]

When you people say very expensive, are we talking in the thousands per night or hundreds per night?(USD)

Hundreds, if that, for a normal place. Granted the rooms are MUCH smaller than what you'd be used to in the states, but who cares? You're just sleeping and showering there anyway.

The few times I've stayed up in the Yokohama, Kawasaki, Tokyo area, I've never paid more than ~$150 per night for a decent hotel. Or course you can spend a lot more if you choose, but it's not like it's impossible to find a normal place.

Best way to go about it is to find some hotels in the area you want to visit that are within walking distance to a train/subway station (which is pretty much all of them).

Any hotel listing you find will have people there that speak english. Call them up and they will be more than happy to help you make a reservation and answer any questions you might have. Service in Japan for things like hotels, restaruants, shopping, etc., is top notch and they will do everything they can to help you out.

[Osede]

Main questions for airlines are:

• Is this a good price?

900USD is a very good deal. Unless you want to go for 5 stars airline, then this would cost around 1100-1500. Also, flight from NY to JP required about 14hrs anyway, therefore, 20hrs flight considered almost shortest flight time for travel.

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

Avoid any airline with the name "China", then you will be fine :D

• 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.

I will say just go to the airline that you feel they will provide most confortable service. For example, usually I will pick singapore airline or malaysia airline because the service quality is better, even thought the air ticket cost at least 200 more compare to others >.>


Actually, if you talk about tokyo, akiba, shibuya, shinjyuku, ginza are all in tokyo area. As others say, you can just get JR pass if you want to use shinkansen, or can get the 5 days pass or whatever to travel within tokyo. I would recommend go to ikebukuro's sun city to check the difference between US and Asia's shopping mall. Definitely, I would also go to asakusa and others place to visit the japanese temple, this is worth it.


One of the more important thing is, check the day and time of your return trip. If it is in the morning and it is weekday, expect the train is pack loaded with working ppl and students. Therefore, plan the return trip on weekend will be recommended.