jdl196

I'm looking for some advice about traveling to Japan on a budget, but still getting decent quality accommodations. My friend and I will be traveling to Japan next March and are not exactly loaded since we are both still in school. We are looking into the Osaka area and were wondering where we should go/ stay. My friend has been to Tokyo before and I have never been to Japan. Thanks a lot.

kcvt750

Not to be snarky, but try running through the sticky at the top of the thread & restate your question with itin, time in-country, etc.

It helps the group in refining the answer & it looks like you have plenty of time to research (March 2009?).

abmj-jr

Welcome to the Japan Forum. Yokoso!

I also do not want to sound "snarky" but have to agree with my friend kcvt750. Your question is really overly broad and would be difficult to even attempt to answer. Please give us something to work on.

How long will you be in Japan?

Do you want to travel around and see some of the country or stay in/around Osaka?

What are your interests in coming to Japan?

Do either of you speak any Japanese?

How do you define "decent quality" accommodations? I stay in decent accommodations that cost under 8,000 yen/night. Many who inhabit this forum prefer "decent accommodations" at the Grand Hyatt or the Peninsular. There are literally hundreds of good hotels and other types of lodgings in the Kansai (Osaka and area).

Kyoto is quite close to Osaka. Do you plan to go there?

What do you like to do for fun? What do you want to see and do?

In short, tell us a little about you and your friend and your proposed trip and we can probably offer some meaningful suggestions.

JR

jdl196

sorry for being so broad about it. We will be in Japan for about 7 days. We are open to suggestions about either staying in Osaka or traveling around the surrounding areas. When I looked on the travel websites there did not seem to be too much to do. I had earlier received some advice that it would be cheaper to fly into Nagoya and then a fun experience to take the train to Osaka since it is only an hour and a half long and the Osaka airport is an hour outside of the city anyways. What are you views on this, and have any of you tried it?

We both enjoy traveling and have been to many other asian countries and thought that going to Japan would be a fun experience and would like to experience the culture as much as possible. Unfortunately neither of us speak Japanese. We were looking for hotels that are a good deal and would be in the range of 10000- 15000 yen/ night.

I had heard that a day trip to Kyoto is a nice thing to do. We are open to doing almost anything, but really just want to have a good experience.

Thanks for all the help

jdl196

oh sorry I forgot to add a couple of things. We will be going in March of 2009, I know it is a long time from now but we are trying to get some ideas now to see how well it would work to go there. Also we like to see architecture of churches and places of that nature, but we don't need to spend a huge amount of time on in depth tours at each place. We also both enjoy learning about history. Thanks again

kcvt750

You won't find any lack or temples or shrines to visit, but if you're referring to churches in the western sense, you may be disappointed.

The historic venues will provide you with a tremendous amount of opportunity, but I'll leave recommendations to the more culturally-astute members of the Forum.

AlexS

If you're going to be in the Nagoya area and are interested in architecture, you might want to check out Ise:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4300.html

It's extremely popular with Japanese people, but slightly off the beaten path for foreigners.

Pickles

Actually, Tadao Ando's Church of Light and Church of Wind are both in the Osaka/Kobe region, and are worth a visit if you are into church architecture. If you are looking for more "traditional" churches, Kobe's ijin-kan district is great for that.

abmj-jr

Well, the more common, and recommended by me at least, would be to stay in Kyoto and do a day trip or two to Osaka. There is far more in the way of history, temples, culture and such to see in Kyoto and it is a bit more visitor-friendly. Osaka would be your choice for night-life and big city excitement. Easy day trips from either Kyoto or Osaka would take you to the ancient capitol of Nara or the beautifully preserved 16th century castle in Himeji.

Nagoya (NGO) is an easy place to arrive for a trip to Osaka/Kyoto but not quite as easy as Kansai International outside of Osaka. The trip from NGO involves a 30-50 minute train ride into Nagoya on the private Meitetsu Line, a short walk from the Meitetsu Station to the Japan Rail Station (across the street,) and a <1 hour ride on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto or Shin Osaka Station. From KIX, it is a direct 45 minute ride on the limited express to Shin Osaka Station or a 75 minute direct trip to Kyoto Station - both from the JR station inside the airport.

When you mention 10k to 15k hotel rooms are you referring to a twin or double for both of you or two singles? Singles in the <15k range are plentiful and easy to find. Twins will be more challenging but still possible. For "budget" accommodations, try: http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/ - or -
http://www.japanhotel.net/ . For slightly more up-scale, I'm sure some of the other regular posters will have some ideas.

JR

jdl196

thanks for all of the input. By churches I meant that in the broadest nature and completely forgot about the cultural difference. We are looking for 2 singles for the rooms. We were hoping for a hotel that is not part of a global chain so that we might be able to experience a little bit more.

Pickles

I think you will find Japan quite the "learning experience" then.

kcvt750

I'd steer clear of the Aum Shinrikyo (or Aleph) tours.