Zerotai

Hello all,

I have planned to go to Japan at the end of March till mid-April and was wondering if some of you could give me some advice. There for cherry blossoms among other things. I chose this time frame because of the cherry blossom forecast from Planetyze (unable to post link)

Firstly I am flying in from Canada and the trip is 2 weeks.Originally I wanted to go to Hong Kong first but the airfare came out to a ridiculous $2.6k CAD. There is a notably cheaper option however that was from SkyTours and googling them did not yield positive results. I'm also not sure if there's any sale for multicity airfares, would like some advice on the pricing if I should just skip Hong Kong altogether?

Secondly, traveling light. How do you guys do it? Clothing and laundry is my main concern. I usually bring 3-4 different set of shirts, 2-3 pants and a week worth of inner wear. Seems a bit much?

Lastly, should I get a JR pass? 7 day/14 day? with all the shinkansens, I assume it works?

Thanks in advance!

Updated content below:
For Kobe, I'm mainly there for the Kobe beef and Arima Onsen and maybe Hemiji castle if its not out of the day
For Nagoya, I'm mainly there for the Toyota Museum. Nagoya Castle, Oasis 21 and Osu Shopping on the side.

See my tentative original itinerary below
Osaka (1-2 days)
- Fish market/Kuromon
- Shinsaibashi shopping/Namba downtown/Dotonbori
- Mandarake/Nipponbashi (denden town) for my anime/manga fix
- Tenjinbashisuji (super long shopping district?)

Kobe (1 day)
- Beef
- Arima Onsen
- Himeji Castle (if not out of the way)

Kyoto (1 day)
- Nishiki fish market
- Pholosopher's path
- Gion?
- Cherry Blossoms @ Maruyama park (any better recommendations? Really don't know)
- Kyoto International manga museum
- Shopping district around Kawaramachi station

Nagoya (day trip?)
- Toyota Museum
- Specialty foods
- Nagoya Castle (if time permits)
- Osu Shopping (if time permits)
- Oasis 21 (if time permits)

Shizuoka/Izu (day trip?)
- Visiting friend
- Onsen at Izu
- Not sure what else is in this area :S

Hakone
- Fun2Drive driving the touge
- Onsen maybe to stay overnight??

Yokohama (1 day)
- not sure whats here, but i heard there's a Cup Noodle museum and refreshed shopping areas

Tokyo (2-3 days??)
- Studio Ghibli
- Tsukiji fish market
- Akibahara
- Odaiba
- Nakano broadway
- Drive around Tokyo
- Whatever's left

Side trip ideas
- Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Nikko, Kamakura

Either that or I go to Hong Kong for 2 days (visit family, friends, etc)

For large luggages, I suppose I'll just use the Kuroneko service.

JamesBigglesworth

Kobe and Nagoya are eminently missable IMO.


A lot (most?) convenience stores (and any supermarket) will sell single use or small packets of washing powder/liquid, while coin laundries (& that's the name the Japanese use) are everywhere. If you've got cell service while there and have google maps it shouldn't take more than 2 minutes to find the closest one. Rock in with your supplies and clothes, get a pile of 100 yen coins from the machine or attendant, and launder to your heart's content.

freecia

Japanese business hotels often have coin laundry. My non-Tokyo preference is for Dormy Inn since the washer + detergent is free and women's sento/onsen usually has washer & dryer units inside so I can take a bath while the laundry is going. Some of the newer ones even show you which washer/dryer units are free & timer on your in-room tv. I usually stay at Tokyu Stay chain within Tokyo which has washer+dryer combined unit in most rooms and hotel reception accepts any packages/takkyubin for luggage delivery which makes it easy to travel light. Tokyu Stay is also opening in Kyoto.

National JR pass does not work with all Shinkansen. A few of the fastest and most frequent Nozomi trains between Osaka and Tokyo are not allowed. Some of the regional passes also include non-JR lines which could be more useful for Kansai area. The best way to decide between regional pass + 1 way long distance cash ticket vs national pass is to price up further sample routes on Hyperdia or Jorudan. April schedules may not be fully out yet but you can still compare prices from March.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html
HyperDia | Timetable and Route Search in Japan.
https://world.jorudan.co.jp/mln/en/?sub_lang=nosub
Kintetsu also has a pass which connects Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto and Nagoya but limited express trains require an additional ticket .
Discount Tickets?Kintetsu Railway Co.,Ltd.
Limited Express ticket?About the Kintetsu Limited Express?About the Kintetsu Railway?Kintetsu Railway Co.,Ltd.

Do you have a flexible itinerary as the bloom schedule depends on region, weather, & tree type? Here's Japan Guide's prediction https://www.japan-guide.com/sakura/ and weathermap Cherry Blossom Forecast 2017 -- currently 2017, but 2018 predictions should start around the end of Jan. It can be useful to go through historical Japan Guide predictions to see if you should adjust your itinerary or destinations. Yoshino in Nara prefecture has trees at different elevations which make the sakura season a little easier to catch. Try to buy a Ltd. Express reserved seat return ticket when you arrive in Yoshino and can take a look at the trees & weather as the trains can get pretty crowded during peak flowering season.

abmj-jr

I usually book a nice business hotel and do my laundry in the coin machines every 2 or 3 days.

As mentioned above, there is little for a first time visitor in Kobe or Nagoya. On the other hand, there is a LOT to see in and around Kyoto/Nara/Osaka during cherry blossom season. I'd re-do the itinerary.

The Japan Rail Pass is a very good deal if you have enough travel planned to make it pay. I almost always get one unless staying primarily in one area. The Rail Pass does place restrictions on what shinkansen trains may be used. The most frequent Nozomi and Mizuno trains are not available. That is not normally a problem as the Hikari trains are fast and comfortable. Also note that the Rail Pass does not cover non-JR trains.

Early April is peak season for the areas you mention. Make hotel reservations early.

LapLap

IMOA

My comment for Nagoya. If your interests in japan is more about temples and shrines and things of this nature then apart from a half day trip Tim inuyama and a visit to the Tokugawa museum then Nagoya won’t hold much attraction. However if you are interested in some of the industrial aspects of Japan then Nagoya has the best concentration of attractions of any city in Japan. The best science and technology museum, the best railway museum, the best car museum, An excellant industry/applied science museum, the best factory tours. I think sometimes people forget that not everyone visiting japan just want to see temples and castles.

codex57

I'll see you there. Same time frame and start-end point.

I'm planning on doing laundry often. I'm staying at AirBnBs so it's not as big a deal.

SEA-Flyer

I'd suggest dropping Nagoya and Kobe, and add Nagasaki instead. Nagasaki is a pain to get to by train (better for flying), but is a good place to visit.

Land in Osaka/KIX, go to Kyoto for a couple of days
Go Kyoto to Osaka, spend a couple days there
Fly Osaka/ITM to Nagasaki, spend a couple days there
Fly Nagasaki to Tokyo/HND, spend time in Tokyo
Fly home.

ksandness

If you don't want an extra plane trip, there are plenty of cities to see closer in. Hiroshima and Miyajima are common destinations, and Hiroshima is on the Shinkansen route. Kyoto and Nara are both must-sees if you're interested in traditional Japan, although they certainly have their modern aspects, while Tokyo is more of contemporary Japan but not without its more traditional areas.
One thing the OP may not know is that Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto are very close together and that KIX, although often referred to as "Osaka" by airline personnel in the U.S., is actually quite a way out of Osaka and has frequent train service to Kyoto, which has no airport of its own.
It may be hard to find hotel rooms in Kyoto during cherry blossom season, but Nara, only 30 minutes away by train, may be less crowded, and I like its smaller, more manageable scale, even though it has a larger population than you might think.
Entire guidebooks have been written about the Kyoto area on one hand and the Tokyo area on the other.
I agree that Kobe and Nagoya are not of great interest to the first time visitor. Even a resident of Nagoya I was visiting admitted that it didn't offer much in the way of sights. To my mind, Osaka is not worth spending a lot of time in if you're also going to Tokyo. I think a first-time visitor should balance the traditional and the contemporary.

abmj-jr

An alternative to this that can be done by train would be to substitute Hiroshima and Miyajima for Nagasaki. I agree that Nagasaki is great, one of my favorite places in Japan, but it would be a bit out of the way for this itinerary. Adding Hiroshima in place of Kobe and Nagoya would make even better use of the Rail Pass. A stop at Himeji on the way back would add even more value.

SEA-Flyer

Nagasaki is obviously much more inconvenient to get to than Hiroshima. But I think it is a much more interesting city, with a very interesting history. If the trip is two weeks, that is enough time to add Nagasaki to the mix.

I've always found Nara to be overrated. Skip it, and add extra time in Kyoto, or use the time extra time in the Tokyo part of the trip to make a day trip to Kamakura. Or Nikko.

SEA-Flyer

Just as a point of reference, here is the itinerary we did with our kids this last fall that worked out quite well. My wife and I used to live in Japan, but for the kids this was their first visit. It was a 9 day itinerary. Since you've got 2 weeks, you could add additional time at Kyoto and Tokyo, and add Osaka into the mix too if you desire.
Sunday:

• Arrive NRT in the morning from Paris
• Asakusa and Ueno

Monday:

• Shinjuku,Shibuya,Meiji Shrine

Tuesday:

• Flying HND-NGS in the morning
• Dejima,Chinatown,Inasayama

Wednesday:

• 26 Martyrs Museum,Urakai Cathedral,Atomic Bomb Museum, Peace Park

Thursday:

• Fly NGS-ITM in the morning, bus to Kyoto
• Nijo-jo, Nishi-Honganji

Friday:

• Ginkakuji,Kinkakuji,Philospher's Path,Nanzenji

Saturday:

• Train to Kanto
• visit with friends

Sunday:

• More Tokyo and visiting with friends

Monday:

• Tokyo Disneyland (needed to throw this in for the kids)

Tuesday:

• Fly onto Seoul

Zerotai

Wow thanks for all the advice and ideas, so the clothing is most likely going to take up half of my luggage space unfortunately, or almost half. This is my second time to Japan, first time was over the Christmas break in 2015-2016 where I stayed almost 3 weeks in Tokyo. I had a friend so getting around was a-ok but this time I'm traveling solo and I only know basic Japanese. Problem is I don't look like a foreigner.

I remember the hotel I stayed in last time had coin laundry that included detergent so it should be fine.

I updated my OP post with more details and breakdown of my original itinerary. I'm skipping Nara because I'm told there's literally nothing much to do there unless you like Bambi

ksandness

Nara has a lot more than deer. It has one of the national museums and many historic buildings, including the OTHER Great Buddha (this one's indoors), all in a park-like setting.

LapLap

I agree with ksandness about Nara (I think you've been seriously misled).
Easy to spend a full day here - and no need to traverse swathes of an ugly city to get to the picturesque areas. Once you're done, you can spend the evening in Osaka or Kyoto.
If you're really keen and don't think the park area of Nara is enough, there's Toshodaiji and Yakushiji.