What to do in Japan for 2 weeks?

Raymond Lin said:
Just had a look, a single 1 way ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto is £60. Without looking in further, I would guess may be if I get a 7 day pass for £200 should work out same ish as buying separately.
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Whatevers cheapest, I know ours was either cheaper or so close it wasn't worth the hassle really. But we only done Kyoto > Hiroshima RTN and Kyoto > Tokyo one way.

Still the best holiday I've been on. I've left loads of countries happy to feel like I've done enough. But Japan is somewhere I NEED to return to. :)
 
Begbie said:
Whatevers cheapest, I know ours was either cheaper or so close it wasn't worth the hassle really. But we only done Kyoto > Hiroshima RTN and Kyoto > Tokyo one way.

Still the best holiday I've been on. I've left loads of countries happy to feel like I've done enough. But Japan is somewhere I NEED to return to. :)
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Normally with BA deals I'd book hotel deals together but with 3 cities I'm going to arrange my own stay...which brings me to my next task...hotels? Air b&b?
 
I cannot wait to go back to Japan. I did 2 weeks there last time and went to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. I go to Korea every year so it doesn't cost me anything to throw a flight to Japan in there as well. This year I'm busy doing things in Korea but next year I think I will throw a week of Japan in.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Normally with BA deals I'd book hotel deals together but with 3 cities I'm going to arrange my own stay...which brings me to my next task...hotels? Air b&b?
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I wouldn't reccomend my hotels, they weren't great but cheap.

I'd also be careful with AirBNB (my first call, normally) there is a legal grey area. Or at least there was when I was looking with people on reddit losing their accomodation just weeks/days before travel.

Edit - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ight-in-japan-with-home-sharing-law-s-passage

It's changed this year :)

I'd go AirBNB, hotels are expensive! I stayed in Shibuya though and can recommend the area.
 
Depending on when you are going ANA have a flight sale at the moment which is cheaper than that given in the OP if you are willing to go via Dusseldorf.

I've been to Japan a few times now and I say consider changing you split so you are in Tokyo for a shorter period at the beginning and longer there at the end. Means that you can spend time seeing things and doing shopping before you fly back.

Rail passes are good and are usable on the JR lines in Tokyo as well as on the bullet trains. I like Osaka but I'm not sure you need 3 days there really ... but you could take a day trip to Hiroshima easily particularly with a rail pass. Personally I get one usually and have a Suica card to use within the cities other that that as it makes things so much easier.

Looking forward to going again next year ... this year I get to go to ... Birmingham ...
 
memyselfandi said:
Depending on when you are going ANA have a flight sale at the moment which is cheaper than that given in the OP if you are willing to go via Dusseldorf.

I've been to Japan a few times now and I say consider changing you split so you are in Tokyo for a shorter period at the beginning and longer there at the end. Means that you can spend time seeing things and doing shopping before you fly back.

Rail passes are good and are usable on the JR lines in Tokyo as well as on the bullet trains. I like Osaka but I'm not sure you need 3 days there really ... but you could take a day trip to Hiroshima easily particularly with a rail pass. Personally I get one usually and have a Suica card to use within the cities other that that as it makes things so much easier.

Looking forward to going again next year ... this year I get to go to ... Birmingham ...
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I am thinking booking the flight, then getting a rail card which give me total freedom within japan (?) and then book my accommodation to suit.

The more I think the more going straight to Kyoto first makes more sense being that means I get to be at Tokyo last for shopping.

As for getting a connecting flight, I would prefer flying direct, the journey is already 14 hours so I don't really want to add anymore to it.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I am thinking booking the flight, then getting a rail card which give me total freedom within japan (?) and then book my accommodation to suit.
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In general you are not going to be able to get you Rail Pass until a month or so before you go. The normal process is that what you actually get is a voucher and then when you are in Japan you exchange this voucher for the actual rail pass. The voucher has a finite life time in which it can be exchanged so you can't get it too early. I believe that they have been making changes so that you can/will be able to get a rail pass in Japan without pre-purchasing a voucher before you travel but those changes are since my last trip (April 2016). The process is simple and I normally get my vouchers from jrpass.com who, even if you don't use them, have quite a lot of useful information on their site on rail passes and how to use the Japanese rail system in general.

You can use the pass in two main ways; you can either just turn up, show the pass and sit in unreserved seating or you can reserve tickets using it for free. If doing the latter it's best to have gone onto Hyperdia in advance and worked out exactly which train you want (bullet trains are uniquely named, e.g. Hikari 416) so you can say you want this train on this day from A to B ... makes it a lot easier if the person you are speaking to has not very much English. You can't use the Nozomi trains with the rail pass (the fastest bullet trains) and you cannot use it on non-JR lines. It does mean for instance you can do things like this; I was in Kyoto and decided I really wanted some Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki ... so used my rail pass to get a train to Osaka (about 10mins) and then jumped on a bullet train down to Hiroshima in the unreservered seating. On the way down I saw a castle near the station at one of the stops so when I was on the way back, after spending the day in Hiroshima, I jumped off at that stop, had a wander around te castle for an hour then wandered back to the station and got on the next bullet train towards Osaka ... total cost to me for rail transport on the day ... nothing.

A Suica card (think Oyster card) can be useful in the cities saving you from having to buy tickets every time and can stop you ending up with loads of small change. Whilst different cities have different cards most have been linked so you can use them in the other cities as well. This means my card has been used everywhere from Sapporo to Fukuoka and even with some private rail lines that don't take JR passes will take work with the Suica cards (I've used my on private lines in Nagoya and Enoshima). You can get cards and top them up at most main line stations in Tokyo (and you can top them up elsewhere). There is info on this on the jrpass.com site too. I tend to use the JR pass whilse it is valid and I'm travelling on somethings which takes it and then switch to the Suica card when I'm back in Tokyo and the JR pass has expired. The Suica card doesn't save you money but does make you life easier. You can also use it in some convenience stores in Tokyo, some vending machines and some station lockers.

The more I think the more going straight to Kyoto first makes more sense being that means I get to be at Tokyo last for shopping.
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I'd spend one day in Tokyo as it would allow you to sort out any rail pass things and also if you are staying at the same hotel when you return to Tokyo you could then store some of your luggage there rather than dragging it around (remembering that luggage space on bullets trains is not large at all). This is what we normally do and leaving big suitcases in Tokyo and then only using small ones for travelling around and the hotels we use normally do it for no charge for up to 7 days (or if you sweet talk them you can get a bit longer).

As for getting a connecting flight, I would prefer flying direct, the journey is already 14 hours so I don't really want to add anymore to it.
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I'm with you on getting direct flights .... at ~11:30hrs for the flight I want to just get on and then off at the final destination. Personally I fly JAL (usually premium economy) normally as I find their ~7pm flight from Heathrow works best for me jetlag wise as, after staying awake on the flight, it gets into Tokyo mid/late afternoon which means I get to my hotel between 5-6pm, shower, go out for some food / top up my Suica card / wander around Shinjuku a bit and then go to bed about 9pm and normally by the next morning I feel normal again. Speaking to someone I know who is Japanese and has flown many different carriers back and forth she says that whilst JAL and BA do code share on flights you can get better luggage allowances on JAL flights than BA ones.

You need to consider as well which Tokyo airport you are flying into, Narita or Haneda ... the former being a lot further out of Tokyo than the latter so taking quite a bit longer and can cost more to get into the city from. Also how you are going to get in from the airport to the city. there are various options for this including rail and limobus. Personally I use the Limobus (orange and white coaches you see all around Tokyo) as it's realy easy, I just walk out of Haneda arrivals and across to the desk and buy a ticket ... then it's only about 50 yards and a lift to get to the Shinjuku stop. From there I can get the coach that loops round Shinjuku and be dropped off directly outside my hotel (in Tokyo I tend to stay at either the Hilton Shinjuku West or the Keio Plaza) ... but there are lots of coaches going to lots of hotels and means you don't have to drag your luggage through crowed train stations after a long flight. If you look around there can be various ticket deals to do with getting the train in from the airports as well if you want to do it that way.
 
Like others have said, get the rail pass it's a godsend.
Also if they still have it, get the Hyperdia app. It really helps with finding trains, you just stick in your departure and arrival, filter by trains that you can board with the rail pass and it will even show what platform to use.

One place I highly recommend visiting is a place called Nikko (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3800.html), it's an amazing place perched on a mountain. I much preferred this to Kyoto.
We also got a mobile 4G dongle, that was very handy for Apple Maps and on the fly translation!
 
memyselfandi said:
In general you are not going to be able to get you Rail Pass until a month or so before you go. The normal process is that what you actually get is a voucher and then when you are in Japan you exchange this voucher for the actual rail pass. The voucher has a finite life time in which it can be exchanged so you can't get it too early. I believe that they have been making changes so that you can/will be able to get a rail pass in Japan without pre-purchasing a voucher before you travel but those changes are since my last trip (April 2016). The process is simple and I normally get my vouchers from jrpass.com who, even if you don't use them, have quite a lot of useful information on their site on rail passes and how to use the Japanese rail system in general.

You can use the pass in two main ways; you can either just turn up, show the pass and sit in unreserved seating or you can reserve tickets using it for free. If doing the latter it's best to have gone onto Hyperdia in advance and worked out exactly which train you want (bullet trains are uniquely named, e.g. Hikari 416) so you can say you want this train on this day from A to B ... makes it a lot easier if the person you are speaking to has not very much English. You can't use the Nozomi trains with the rail pass (the fastest bullet trains) and you cannot use it on non-JR lines. It does mean for instance you can do things like this; I was in Kyoto and decided I really wanted some Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki ... so used my rail pass to get a train to Osaka (about 10mins) and then jumped on a bullet train down to Hiroshima in the unreservered seating. On the way down I saw a castle near the station at one of the stops so when I was on the way back, after spending the day in Hiroshima, I jumped off at that stop, had a wander around te castle for an hour then wandered back to the station and got on the next bullet train towards Osaka ... total cost to me for rail transport on the day ... nothing.

A Suica card (think Oyster card) can be useful in the cities saving you from having to buy tickets every time and can stop you ending up with loads of small change. Whilst different cities have different cards most have been linked so you can use them in the other cities as well. This means my card has been used everywhere from Sapporo to Fukuoka and even with some private rail lines that don't take JR passes will take work with the Suica cards (I've used my on private lines in Nagoya and Enoshima). You can get cards and top them up at most main line stations in Tokyo (and you can top them up elsewhere). There is info on this on the jrpass.com site too. I tend to use the JR pass whilse it is valid and I'm travelling on somethings which takes it and then switch to the Suica card when I'm back in Tokyo and the JR pass has expired. The Suica card doesn't save you money but does make you life easier. You can also use it in some convenience stores in Tokyo, some vending machines and some station lockers.



I'd spend one day in Tokyo as it would allow you to sort out any rail pass things and also if you are staying at the same hotel when you return to Tokyo you could then store some of your luggage there rather than dragging it around (remembering that luggage space on bullets trains is not large at all). This is what we normally do and leaving big suitcases in Tokyo and then only using small ones for travelling around and the hotels we use normally do it for no charge for up to 7 days (or if you sweet talk them you can get a bit longer).



I'm with you on getting direct flights .... at ~11:30hrs for the flight I want to just get on and then off at the final destination. Personally I fly JAL (usually premium economy) normally as I find their ~7pm flight from Heathrow works best for me jetlag wise as, after staying awake on the flight, it gets into Tokyo mid/late afternoon which means I get to my hotel between 5-6pm, shower, go out for some food / top up my Suica card / wander around Shinjuku a bit and then go to bed about 9pm and normally by the next morning I feel normal again. Speaking to someone I know who is Japanese and has flown many different carriers back and forth she says that whilst JAL and BA do code share on flights you can get better luggage allowances on JAL flights than BA ones.

You need to consider as well which Tokyo airport you are flying into, Narita or Haneda ... the former being a lot further out of Tokyo than the latter so taking quite a bit longer and can cost more to get into the city from. Also how you are going to get in from the airport to the city. there are various options for this including rail and limobus. Personally I use the Limobus (orange and white coaches you see all around Tokyo) as it's realy easy, I just walk out of Haneda arrivals and across to the desk and buy a ticket ... then it's only about 50 yards and a lift to get to the Shinjuku stop. From there I can get the coach that loops round Shinjuku and be dropped off directly outside my hotel (in Tokyo I tend to stay at either the Hilton Shinjuku West or the Keio Plaza) ... but there are lots of coaches going to lots of hotels and means you don't have to drag your luggage through crowed train stations after a long flight. If you look around there can be various ticket deals to do with getting the train in from the airports as well if you want to do it that way.
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Great info!

Edit - booked.....Narita it is! Save the money for something else.
 
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Talking of the jet lag, when I've been, I used to KLM to go from Manchester to Osaka via Amsterdam. Took off from Manchester at 11:00 and then arrived in Kansai at around 08:30 Japanese time. Yes, this is more brutal on the jet lag (because that's 00:30 body time) as you've got a full day to endure after just having flown for 12 hours, but I felt like I was still getting a day, rather than having "lost" that first day by landing in the early evening.

YMMV etc.
 
squerble said:
Talking of the jet lag, when I've been, I used to KLM to go from Manchester to Osaka via Amsterdam. Took off from Manchester at 11:00 and then arrived in Kansai at around 08:30 Japanese time. Yes, this is more brutal on the jet lag (because that's 00:30 body time) as you've got a full day to endure after just having flown for 12 hours, but I felt like I was still getting a day, rather than having "lost" that first day by landing in the early evening.

YMMV etc.
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When I fly to HK I generally get a flight that lands at 3pm local time, and you are right, by the time checking into a hotel it is dinner time and then after food you just want to sleep. That's a whole day gone.

Just booked!!!
 
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I've done the arrive at 8.30 am thing three and whilst you do get an extra day it feels horrific.

First time we did it we went to the hotel and they let us check in early. Next thing I knew in was 10pm and this screwed me up for the next four days.

Second time we went out and about but by 6 we had crashed completely.

Last year we went and watched sumo but fell asleep before the maintenance wrestlers came out.

Going this year and landing at 2.40 pm. Only reason was the BA flights for our dates were quite a lot more than the ANA ones when we booked. I'm hoping it might work out better in terms of jet lag. It's a shame that virgin don't fly there any more because the fares were a lot cheaper accross all carriers (£395 direct in 2013 which works out about £427 with inflation today).

Even though you are flying back from tokyo you can get quite a distance in that time. A couple of years ago we did Tokyo-miyajima-Fukuoka-Nagasaki-Kumamoto-Kagoshima-Yakushima. Train down then a flight back. ANA do special 'experience japan' fares which are between £40-70 a flight.

If you go to Hiroshima I recommend staying on Miyajima. It's my favourite place in Japan (and possibly anywhere). Can get over to the island using the JR pass as well.

In Tokyo we tend to stay at the Citadines (the one near shinjukugyoen-mae) because it's not particularly expensive and because it's an aparthotel the rooms are bigger than standard rooms elsewhere. A lot of the standard rooms elsewhere are between 15m2 to 17m2 which felt claustrophobic. I can also recommend the Keio plaza.
 
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