tokyo dec
 

Hi all

have a couple of questions

I will land in tokyo at 06:55 Haneda Apt 12th

I will take off from Narita Apt at 11:55 18th

I would like to pre book the rail pass but which one is best i only really want to go to hiroshima

I will also be going to yokohama twice

I will be staying in the IKEBUKURO area

is it ok to wander about with shorts I have tattoos on my legs ??

anything else i should know

thanx for your time

Hi Foxy Fox, welcome to FlyerTalk!

I'm not sure what month you're planning to visit Japan, but if you're talking about next month Nov.12 to 18, then the weather in Tokyo area will be around 10-15 degrees C I think, which may be a bit cool for shorts.

I don't think there will be much problem with tattoos on your legs if you wear shorts, but if you plan to visit some temples it may be nicer to wear long trousers instead.

For prebooking the rail pass, I hope some of our train experts will be able to help you more than I can.

Enjoy your upcoming visit to Japan!

Hi there

as the heading says tokyo dec = december

its the height of summer in scotland at 15 deg haha

I understand "dec", but what is "Apt"?

Apt natural? I have a gub?

For the trip from Tokyo to Hiroshima and back, you will save money with a JR pass. (The one that covers all of Japan). Activate the pass on arrival and it will cover the cost of the Narita Express from Tokyo (or from Yokohama) to Narita airport.

apt i assume is airport

is it the approx 250.00 pound one week pass

rgds

Since you are staying there for just about a week you obviously want the 7 day rail pass. Tokyo to Hiroshima round trip should be around 35k yen so it will be worthwhile for you to get the pass. As for shorts I would think people would find you wearing shorts in Dec more unusual than the actual tattoos.

You must buy the exchange order for the JR pass in advance before entering Japan. So it's not a matter of "like", you have to.

However, you cannot make actual train reservations for that route until you reach Japan. The JR pass center at Haneda airport does not open until 11am, so the best way would be to pay for a ticket to Tokyo station. The pass exchange office there opens at 7:30am, you can get the actual pass, and make your bookings. Then you can use the pass to take the Yamanote line to Ikebukuro.

You will be there for 7 calendar days so can make the pass valid for your whole trip, including the Narita Express back to Narita airport -- you can reserve that at the same time you book your trip to/from Hiroshima.

I hope you are not planning Hiroshima as a day trip. It is a long day trip just from Kyoto, I think it is really pushing it to do it as a day trip from Tokyo. Bear in mind that you cannot take the fastest (Nozomi) shinkansen with a JR pass.

To avoid unnecessary confusion, let me re-iterate the key points in Foxy-speak:

U must buy exchg ordr for JRpass b4 entering Jpn. U shuld go 2 TKYO stn to xchg it. Day trip to HIJ not recommended, 2 long 4 1 day.

Oh, I see. This is a holdup?

FWIW - Richard's advice is all great. +1. Thumbs up. Etc.
And the advice about long pants not shorts in Dec. is also good. Japan is not a tropical country.

Thanx RichardInSF , jib71, aceofangel & KIXman

I have got the jist of the ticket situation, i will get a Tokyo Furii Kippu day

ticket to Ikebukuro there is a place there to get my week pass.

is there any place i should not go to ??

rgds

Yeah, I'd skip Ikebukuro. Not because it's unsafe, but because it's boring.

If by the "Tokyo Furi Kippu," you mean the Y1580 ticket that covers all subways and JR Tokyo, that is a waste of money. It's really hard to spend Y1500 in a day on transport plus I don't think it covers either the monorail or Keikyu line that is the first leg leaving Haneda.

The special JR tickets that include the monorail will not be available at Haneda before 11am.

Hi RichardInSF

what ticket should i get then ??

rgds

You may check out and purchase the JR pass online at http://www.jrpass.com/buy_the_japan_rail_pass_online. Go for the normal class will do, i.e. non-first class.

Did you even bother to read the thread before posting?


To OP: Just pay cash for the local trains to Tokyo Station and exchange your Rail Pass voucher there. Then use the Rail Pass for everywhere else.

Killjoy. What fun would that be?

If Foxy Fox digs viper ice cream, lackluster gyoza and getting lost in large department stores, Ikebukuro might be a good start. Oh, and then there's the Toyota Amlux Centre if OP likes cars. Other than that, it's no tobacco and salt museum.

abmj-jr do you mean me ??

with spending 220 GBP on a train pass im no worried aboot another 10 GBP or so saves me waiting at the airport.

BuildingMyBento where would you suggest i go for a beer or two ?? my hotel is in the Ikebukuro area, i read that you could be anywhere in tokyo in a short time.


to recap i am gonna get the bus from the airport at hopefully 07:45 to the Ikebukuro area (dinna want to be caught up in rush hour people goin to work and all that, watch the world go by from said bus) drop my bag off at hotel and go get my train pass.

ta for the input

Usually quote is omitted if replying to the post immediately above. Therefore, I think abmj-jr's post is a reply to jc777.

I personally like Ikebukuro, but given that one of your destination is Hiroshima, I would pick a hotel near Tokyo or Shinagawa station where you can catch the Shinkansen trains. Ikebukuro to Tokyo station takes about 30 minutes, it's time you could be enjoying your holiday instead of being on a train.

The buses are more susceptible to surface road traffic jams than trains, but at least you should be comfortable. The trains will be punctual barring accidents, but will be crowded with commuters.

Hi msb0b

ta for that im there for 6 days for football the extra half hour will be part of the experience

the trip to Hiroshima will an in and out job (get there a few pics a couple of beers) jist to say ive been there

goin to mount fuji too been told i could see it from my hotel as well

up to now spent over two grand and no kicked a ball yet

rgds

No, that was for the post immediately above mine which was completely irrelevant to the question.

The addendum marked "To OP" was for you.

Mt. Fuji in December is not a good time to climb, especially for novices. Conditions are poor and there is little to no support if things go wrong. There are several incidents each year of inexperienced climbers being stuck (or dying) due to sudden bad weather.

However, if you want to spend a day relaxing in a hot spring you could make a booking at an onsen hotel at one of the five lakes at the base of the mountain. (I would be careful when choosing a hotel/ryokan due to your tattoos, however.)

Really? That's a long way to go for a few hour stay.

I would look for other options than Ikebukuro. It is a bit out of the way and not a very nice place. People call it Ickybukoro.

If you persist then I would advise taking the train rather than waiting 30 minutes for your bus. You are likely to find yourself ready to depart HND at 07:15ish. Take the Keikyu line to Shinagawa and then the Yamanote line to Ickyb. Costs 400 yen plus probably 200 yen for the Yamanote ride.

It might depend on the line and how far out you are but trains are not necessarily too busy very early in Tokyo. Like the Hanzomon subway line is quite empty before 08:00 inbound to Otemachi. People generally arrive at work 08:50 so will time it for that.

Ickybukuro? Do the same people who call it that also consider Tokyo to be "expensive?" I'd much rather be in Ikebukuro than Roppongi. What do they call Roppongi, "Little Lagos?"

Anyway, didn't the OP say he/she already has lodging in the Icky?

Hi all

abmj-jr no worries

armagebedar not looking to climb it jist wander aroond the bottom may do the spa thing thanx for the heads up.

tcook052 i will have just flew best part oh 12 hours 4 hours on a train there and back should be fine bulleting along

gnaget thanx for that may well do

BuildingMyBento thanx for he input

canna wait

rgds

Tokyo to Hiroshima? Not even close. Try 5 to 5-1/2 hours each way, not counting the 20-30 minutes each way to/from Icky. 11 or 12 hours sitting on trains in return for an hour or so "looking around" sounds like torture to me. If you build in an overnight at a cheap business hotel, you could actually see the Peace Park and some other sights and sample the local cuisine specialties.

The earliest departure/arrival I can find is Hikari 501 leaving Tokyo at 06:26 arriving Shin-Osaka 09:30, change to Kodama 737 leaving Shin-Osaka 09:38 arriving Hiroshima 12:19.

If the OP can get himself to Shin-Yokohama before 06:00, there's Hikari 493 leaving Shin-Yokohama 06:00 and arriving Hiroshima 10:00.

Shin-Yokohama is 45-an hour away from Ikebukuro.

Hiroshima is hardly a place people pop by from Tokyo to have a beer at and say they have been there.

I call Ikebukuro as The Tijuana of Tokyo.. Besides the 自由学園明日館 and the ねこぶくろ, there's no there there.

Completely agree. I never set foot in the Louvre my last trip to Paris which raised a few eyebrows with family & friends. I said I could run through it just to say I was there as I had a museum pass but what's the point and what would you really get out of it? No, I'd slow down and savour your Japan experience and not try and take everything in a big gulp.

Ok ok i take your points of view will see what happens

thanx for all of your thoughts and inputs

rgds

A more realistic option is to spend like 2-3 days in the Osaka area and from Osaka take side day trip to Kyoto, Hiroshima etc.

The wife and I shlepped out there and enjoyed this (Trad. Craft Center), but something tells me the experience would be lost on the OP.

If you want to check a Japanese experience off your list, why not go to Hikone, the castle town and see a real Japanese castle? And/or spend a day in Kyoto and see a few of the best temples and gardens. All of this is much closer to Tokyo than Hiroshima, giving you more time to actually see things.

Sometime it is better to base at one city and do day trip to adjacent cities. So that you do not have to check-out / in of the hotels too many times given the gap between check-out / in timing of about 4-5 hours. Previously based at Kyoto and did day trip to Osaka.

I'd just as well like to cull Roppongi (except that shady Buddhist Children's Hall; can't remember the Japanese name) and Shibuya from Tokyo都. Pointless areas for a non-clothes shopper/drug-taker like me. Luckily, as my ventures usually run from Shimbashi/Uchisaiwaicho towards the north, then west from Asakusa, and ending up in the greater Lake Bag (Ikebukuro)/New Inn (Shinjuku) 'hoods, they are easily avoided.

Because culture, art, commercial space, high end residential, are high end dining really are pointless? :rolleyes:

Someone hasn't read enough Haruki Murakami...