teriyaki

So, this will be my first time head to Japan. Always dreamt of it, always said we'd do it, and finally its happening courtesy of THIS fare. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milea...any-dates.html

Gist of it is, they'll be 3 guys going on this trip. 2 of us have never been to Japan, one has but for the purposes of planning this we're gonna do it like its everyones first time.

We're in our mid twenties, so we will only have so much patience for temples, but we definitely want to see the "real japan" as well and not just the concrete jungle. Balance is key.

Budget, is going to be tight as we're all recent graduates. There will be no 5 star hotels here! Try your hand at your yen saviness. We're all ears.

Here is our itinerary as it looks so far (It heavily borrows from japan-guides sample itinerary for a 14 day trip)

Day 1:
Arrive NRT 3:30
Stay in Tokyo (Shinjuku Tokyo Plaza Hotel).

Day 2:
Train to Kyoto (Redeem 7 day JR Pass)
Stay in Hana Hostel

Day 3:
Stay in Kyoto

Day 4:
Option 1: Stay in Ryokan in Kyoto
Option 2: Train to Hot Spring Ryokan near Osaka/Kyoto
Option 3: Head up to Mt.Koya for a mountain stay.

Day 5:
Train to Osaka
Stay in Hana Hostel Osaka

Day 6:
Stay in Osaka

Day 7:
Train to Hiroshima
Stay in Hiroshima (Undecided where)

Day 8:
Train to Tokyo (End of 7 day JR Pass)
Stay in Tokyo

Days 9 through 14: Tokyo all the way (Side trips undecided)


So in essence. 3 Days in Kyoto. 2 in Osaka. 2 in Hiroshima. Rest in Tokyo+side trips.
We have a few riff raffs that we haven't sorted out yet. Mainly:

Where should we go for the best hot spring experience for a first timer. We don't mind heading out from Tokyo?

Are we missing anything that we should be doing?

Is this too many cities to pack in the 7 days JR Validity?

Many people say to skip Osaka altogether on Flyertalk. We want to atleast see it (timing it to be on a weekend to see it at its busiest?)

hailstorm

Some preliminary thoughts:

If you're going to Kyoto on Day 2, then I think you're better off staying in Shinagawa the first night, so you'll be close to the bullet train.

I think that two nights in Osaka is definitely overkill.

If you want a true hot spring experience, you need to take a trip to Hakone. This is where having a Shinjuku hotel is handy, as there's a train that goes straight from Shinjuku to Hakone in about an hour and a half.

LosPenguinosII

i've never been to onsen in kyoto, but this might be of help:

http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/...t/hot_springs/

kyoto and osaka are two big cities in kansai, but they have different
faces.


by the way, when (in which month) do you go there ?

NoMiddleSeat

I'm not sure how helpful this will be but take it for what its worth...
Japan is a country of a great formality. Talking on phones on public transportation, eating while walking around, shoes indoor (never stayed at a hostel but consider your shoes...) ...little things that we take for granted as "normal" in the West are simply not done. Reading the etiquette section of a guidebook is probably a good starter.

I hope you have a great time!

jib71

Easier to get oriented about the Japanese people and their customs through YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IAOp...elated#t=2m16s

jib71

I would suggest spending more time away from the big cities. Spending at least some of your time in rural areas - Shikoku, Nagano, the San-in coast etc. etc. - is a great way to experience some of the best of Japan without spending a fortune. For a 14-day budget trip, it's better to do that than to base yourself in Tokyo and take daytrips IMHO.

You'll find lots of tips in the budget travel threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/archive/t-1107062.html

IIRC, LapLap gave an entertaining account of her trip on a shoestring budget to Shiraishi island. That would be the kind of thing I'd suggest if you want to have some "real Japan" experiences at minimal cost. I can't find that trip report for some reason.

ksandness

I'd suggest reading The Rough Guide to Japan (available as an e-book) to get a better idea of what you really want to see. At this point, you seem not to have any specific ideas of what to see.

I agree that two nights in Osaka is overkill. It has its fans, but for a first-timer, it looks like just another big city. Even the castle is a postwar reconstruction, but you can find genuine castles in places like Hikone (not Hakone, Hikone--a brief local train ride out of Kyoto), Fukuyama, and Matsumoto

Furthermore, there is definitely a level between hostels and standard hotels with "plaza" in their names. Business hotels offer small but clean single rooms with private bath, TV, refrigerator, and either a wired or wireless Internet connection, for between ¥6000 and ¥10000 per night, sometimes including a breakfast buffet.

An overnight trip to Mt. Koya is a good way to get out into the countryside, but 1) You should reserve your temple rooms in advance (guidebooks tell you how to do this) and 2) You should read up on Shingon Buddhism in order to understand what you're seeing. Staying at Koya is like staying in a ryokan, only with monks.

snuggliestbear

I just got back from Japan and was kind of on a budget, so I can give some advice.

If you are eating out, just get water or tea to drink. Alcohol can end up being just as much (if not more) than your food bill if you drink a lot. Even a couple of Cokes can really add up.

For breakfast and lunch, convenience stores are your friend. I budgeted 2000 yen for breakfast and 2400 for lunch and most days we were way under that with a quick conveinience store trip. Dinner can be had for reasonable prices too, just check the menu out front before going in.

Other things that I found useful (not necessarily budget):
- Hopefully you have a smart phone or one of the people you are traveling with does - use Google maps and the pre-cache feature to your advantage. I setup a custom map with all of our points of interest before going to Japan and it really came in handy. Google recently broke the offline maps feature for Japan with the latest version so make sure you have an earlier version (5.8.1 I think).

- Use japan-guide.com. I found it invaluable on our trip, I just wish there was some sort of an offline version. They give you the open and closing times along with admission fees and what the best way is to get to a place. If you are going to Tokyo Tripadvisor also has a Tokyo city guide app that did a decent job of reccommending restaurants in our location (no data connection required).

tcook052

Mt. Fuji perhaps? Fuji and the onsen of Hakone could be done en route between Tokyo and Osaka or as a day trip from Tokyo. Just a thought.

abmj-jr

Since Osaka and Kyoto are so close, I'd just skip the Osaka stay and just add a night to Kyoto and another to Hiroshima. Use the rail pass to day trip to Osaka from Kyoto. Other day trip options include Nara and Hikone. With an extra day in Hiroshima, you can use your pass to train and ferry to Miyajima Island for most of a day.

Agree with the above, in many cases, low-cost business hotels offer more value, all things considered, than hostels. Try - http://www.japanhotel.net/ or Rakuten Travel for ideas.

beep88

>> Days 9 through 14: Tokyo all the way (Side trips undecided)

If you want to save money, you don't want to do that. hotels in Tokyo are much more expensive compared to Osaka or other smaller cities.

fdflys

There are many budget hotel chains in Japan (Toyoko Inn, Comfort Inn, Richmond Hotels) - if you look at Rakuten's website you can search for low priced hotels. Be sure to check for a non-smoking room as there are still many hotels that allow smoking. Japan is very safe so don't worry about staying in a "cheap" place. You can eat your main restaurant meal at lunchtime and take advantage of the "set" lunches that are served in most places. You will likely have a fridge in your hotel room so stop in the local supermarket the evening before and get some breakfast things for the morning. There are great supermarkets in the basement of most department stores. If you go after 6pm you will also find that many foods are discounted - look for a red sticker usually showing a percent number i.e. 30% off. You can find lots of great foods to try that way but don't go overboard or you'll spend more than you would in a restaurant. Of course, you should try the ramen places (young males are their natural constituency). If your rail pass is active when you are in Tokyo or Osaka you can use the JR metro lines to get around. You should spend some time people watching - in
Tokyo the best areas to see young people hanging out would be Harajuku and Shibuya. Osaka has a street where the young parade around in their cool clothes. I can't think of the name but it's not too far from Dotonbori. In Kyoto you will have the chance to see junior geisha's (maiko) and maybe some real grown up ones. For geek stuff go to Akihabari and for cheap souvenirs Asakusa. Go to the Time Out Tokyo website for tips on things to do. And if you haven't done so, go to the Japan National Tourist Org (JNTO) website which is full of good information. Have a great trip.

aceofangel

I would cut Osaka down to 1 day. Not much to do there especially on a first trip. Go there to experience the food and take a quick tour of the Osaka Castle. You can probably skip Osaka Castle altogether. I wasn't particularly impressed by it given how "new" it was. IMO if you want to see a Japanese castle Himeji is a better choice.

Your other itinerary looks fine. You can probably do a few days of Tokyo at the start then start using the JR pass and finish off with Tokyo instead of staying in 1 place for so many days. Look into some other places in Japan like Kanazawa as well (historically important areas that was spared in WW2).

I would also reconsider the 7 day JR pass. 14 day JR pass is like $170 more and lets you travel around a lot more instead of staying in Tokyo for 7 days.

kevincrumbs

Personally, I enjoy big cities and spent three days in Osaka. Sure, no one's going there for temples or sights of that ilk but if you want to spend your time eating and seeing a city, there's nothing wrong with Osaka. Of course, it looks like you have a lot of time planned for Tokyo, so perhaps you can nix Osaka because of that reason.

Osaka does get a really bad rap here for some reason.

Ryvyan

I went in June with a tight budget because I left my job for personal reasons. Fortunately I was staying with a friend, but still managed to spend more than I had budgeted...!

I was going to go down to Hiroshima and Kyoto. I thought that the railpass was a little pricey so I didn't, and I'm now glad for my decision to stay in Tokyo for the full crazy experience. I'll probably have to head back to Japan soon for that of course.

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On food, my budget was 500 yen for breakfast, 500 yen for lunch and 1000 yen for dinner (excluding drinks and restaurants when I hang out with friends - this is where my money disappeared). Breakfast because I was staying at my friend's.

Breakfast: 100 yen McChicken & 100 yen coffee. I know, McChicken...?! But I love the one in Japan with the wasabi-flavoured mayonnaise. Plus even though I'm Asian, I can't stomach eating rice in the morning.

Lunch: 2 different flavoured onigiri (~220 yen) from convenience stores. Supermarkets attached to departmental stores have the best tasting ones IMO. Pork cutlet sandwiches (katsu sandwich) are pricey and broke my budget, but so worth it!

Dinner: Waiting around supermarkets for the staff to come out and paste 50% stickers on the meal I eyed. Not very cheap, but what an experience waiting around with other Japanese waiting for the same thing. That said, massive discounts rarely found in the touristy area (my friend lives in the "suburb" area 20 minutes from Shinjuku).

Sometimes I "splurge" and go for the enormous 480 yen meal at one of the beef bowl fast-food chain stores for lunch. It will definitely fill you up, and I think it's an experience in itself.

Ichiran is a ramen chain store that you can find near major stations in Tokyo; make your payment using the vending machine and when you're seated, ask for an English ordering form. Surprisingly tasty, and I am not kind on bad ramen!

Gonna assume you like sashimi and sushi (SASHIMI IS THE BEST), so hit up Tsukiji Market in the morning. Lots more information on the web about the FREE tuna auction (which I didn't manage to wake up for) and the numerous sushi restaurants in the area.

I love sashimi and I never made it here, but I have heard that the sashimi in most Japanese restaurants are good so it is mainly the experience of seeing fish being sold and then possibly eating the same school in the next minute? I don't know.

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Fun spots: Any of the Don Quijote and Daiso outlets, amazing! So much crap you never knew you needed. Akihabara has many gamers sitting outside the station playing on their DS Lites and PSPs, so that might be something interesting?

On Harajuku, I didn't find it that interesting because there are similar stuff in Singapore (of course this is the authentic one). BUT according to my friend, the experience of being in Harajuku is to have crepes! There is Marion Crepes just halfway down the main shopping street (the other one looks good too, but I'm too big a fan of Marion) WHICH YOU MUST HAVE.

There is also Calbee's cafe, where they make fresh potato chips! It might sound boring, but they have so many odd flavours that actually taste good. I love Calbee chips, and being there is great personally.

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Go up the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building (walk from Shinjuku) for views of Tokyo. Absolutely free! If you want a view of Tokyo Tower, apparently Roppongi has good views at night. I never bothered to look out for it, but my friend was insistent there exists the best views of the Tower from the ground.

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Day-trips: I went to Yokohama because I wanted to go for the Nissin Cup Noodles Museum. It was not a problem communicating with the staff despite not speaking Japanese myself. Go early, get a queue number for making your own cup noodle and explore the city if you have time. There is a Chinatown in this city; I walked all the way to/from the Cup Noodle Museum through the famous park, and it was exhausting.

Kamakura was another one. I am not a fan of temples especially since I have been to numerous since I was a kid, but there are some amazing temples for those who are interested in their architecture. Enormous and hilly, with a beautiful view along the coast of the Pacific Ocean when you take the train down.

Meiji Temple in the heart of Tokyo (Harajuku station) is probably a good introduction to temples in Japan. But the naturally hilly parts of Kamakura is something a little different from that of Meiji.

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For travel, as usual, plan most of major travels within 7 days of rail pass validity. Get the Suica card for transport within Tokyo, and use Hyperdia.com to map out cheapest/fastest route because I didn't in my first 2 days and my top-ups were crazy!

I got myself a Data Sim Card (1gb b-Mobile) from one of the electronic stores at Shinjuku because I was meeting a friend there. Ask the staff to activate the card for you using their mobile phones, because otherwise you would have to hunt one down for activation.

I actually spent 10 days in Tokyo with 2 day-trips outside of the city, and it was a bit of an overkill in terms of tourist sights, but there is so much to see and do in the city (exploring Shinjuku, Shibuya... Shibuya 101 is crazy even for girls; guys will be shocked by the frilliness) that I could not bear to leave.

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Hope the above helps somewhat? Have fun!