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First time to Japan - tour or independent trip?

First time to Japan - tour or independent trip?

Old Oct 14th, 2017, 07:26 AM
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First time to Japan - tour or independent trip?

My 25 year old son and I would like to go on a trip to Japan. I have not traveled much but when I have it has been as an independent traveler although it does seem nice to have someone take care of the in-country details. On this forum someone recommended japan-guide.com for itineraries. There is a really interesting 14 day itinerary which seems great albeit ambitious. I wondered if doing an itinerary or modified itinerary like this on our own would be doable and worth the savings in cost from a tour. All thoughts are appreciated. I do know that we have much research to do, but wanted to get a sense first of how to proceed. Thank you!
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Old Oct 14th, 2017, 08:09 AM
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No reason whatever to take a tour in Japan. Excellent public transport including the rail system.

Suggest acquiring/borrowing some guidebooks to supplement japan-guide.com and becoming familiar with hyperdia.com where you can plan your rail travel.

If you post the specific itinerary you are considering people can comment.
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Old Oct 14th, 2017, 08:26 AM
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I agree. I can think of no reason to use a tour in Japan.
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Old Oct 14th, 2017, 09:01 AM
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I find japan-guide.com a great resource, but have not liked their itineraries -- the ones I have seen are too fast-paced for me. They can be a good starting point, though, for your additional research.

Japan is delightful -- enjoy!
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Old Oct 14th, 2017, 11:42 AM
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Thanks so much! I have some guidebooks on order. I imagine if I search trip reviews I should find some good itineraries.
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Old Oct 14th, 2017, 01:19 PM
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Trip reports and planning threads can give you some great itinerary ideas! Of course, you'll want to revise whatever you come up with to suit your particular interests and preferences.
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Old Oct 14th, 2017, 02:55 PM
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Go yerself.

Look: (1) the second language in Japan is English.
(2) Japanese like us - they're really friendly and you'll occasionally get random residents just saying hi and welcoming you to the country and hoping you like it. (3) The gawdang trains run more timely than your watch - you can time your adventures to the second. (4) Whatever length of time your itineraries say for Kyoto, add two days.

But yeah, you don't need a tour. You just need the ability to read timetables and maps, and be able to point (lots of menus have pictures - helps those [read foreigners] who can't read them).
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Old Oct 14th, 2017, 04:53 PM
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I just did Japan, for the first time, in August, and did it totally independently. However, I do travel a lot. But, I still think that you can do Japan easily on your own as long as you do your research. I liked it so much until 2 days after I had returned I was already booking accommodations for Summer 2018 and now have the entire trip booked and again, independently. For me, Expedia is my best travel friend. LOL!

Happy Travels!
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Old Oct 14th, 2017, 07:08 PM
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There is no real need for any tour. If you do your homework and have a good idea of what you want to do, you can have a great time and nothing beats the freedom of going where you want, when you want, and for how long you want.

I would strongly caution you about tourist guidebooks - do not solely rely on them. All of them miss a lot of great places, and many have not been updated in a few years. You can get the most up to date info online. Japan Guide is one place to look, you can also look at the JNTO page (www.jnto.go.jp) plus if you want to find some real hidden gems, look at the official websites of the cities you plan to visit - you can find their own tourist guides with a lot of places that are not listed anywhere else.

A lot depends on whether you will return to Japan in the future for another trip. Some important places are under renovation, and that may or may not matter to you. You might look at some that are on:
https://www.japan-guide.com/event/construction.html
You might want to leave some places for a future trip if it interferes with your visit too much.

Youtube can also be a gold mine to find some great places. Of course the season you visit matters a lot in this regard. You could browse through:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ChannelAGG/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/hanazakurasakura/videos

If you still want some guide, there are a number of free volunteer ones.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/tr...teerGuides.php
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Old Oct 14th, 2017, 08:18 PM
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While I agree with Adastra that one should never rely SOLELY on a guidebook, I would nonetheless strongly encourage you to use at least one – you will find a wealth of information at your fingertips, including (in the better ones) a short listing of key words, information about Japanese cuisine and art and architecture, lots of maps, etc.
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Old Oct 15th, 2017, 03:29 AM
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A combo of guide books, Japan-guide.com and trip reports are a great way to plan. Develop an itinerary inclusive of what you personally want to experience and then come back here for advice. I found the input I received once I posted my first itinerary with my goals to be extremely thoughtful and helpful.

Personally I don't like tours but do like private guides for some cities/countries. And while I do hire agencies to plan some trips, Japan did not seem like it was necessary when I started my research and this turned out to be true. Not only is it an easy country to navigate, the hotel concierge in this country are hands down some of the nicest, knowledgeable, professional and helpful individuals I have ever had the pleasure to work with. They helped immensely via email months before our arrival on restaurants, activity suggestions/bookings, train tickets, luggage forwarding, etc.. But the things I booked myself were also quite easy to do.

We did utilize walking guides in Japan, both half-day and full-day, for a couple of days while in Kyoto and Tokyo. Other days we explored on our own. I really loved the guide company we used as we walked, jumped in taxis, and took the train based on what was best for what we wanted to see. It was very flexible -- such as if we stayed longer at one place than expected, the guide would suggest that maybe we should use the train to the next stop instead of walking to maximize time. I thought having someone with a deep knowledge of some of the historical temples, shrines, gardens we visited was advantageous. And then it was nice and totally doable to be on our as well. There is just so much to see/do in Japan and we barely barely scratched the surface.

Good luck with your planning!!
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Old Oct 15th, 2017, 07:48 AM
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Japan is one of the easiest countries to travel independently. Even though there is a language barrier outside of big cities and the most popular destinations for overseas visitors, somehow the incredible hospitality of the Japanese people will help you to overcome. That and the wonderful public transport systems which run absolutely on time -- we even used hyperdia.com to check which platforms our trains ran out of and into, so we could write notes on where to go when we had an interchange to make. Easy peasy!

It's also a very safe country to travel in, crimes in categories such as pick-pocketing, physical assault / muggings etc. seem to be rare, whereas many places I've been to they are not only common but often specifically targetted at foreign visitors.

Japan-guide.com is a fantastic resource for learning about Japanese culture, lots of travel practicalities, etiquette and more. I recommend people use it to narrow down where they want to visit and what they want to see when they get there. However I wouldn't suggest using the itineraries as anything more than a very rough starting point that you then refine with reference to further reading on their site, on other sites such as JNTO, in guide books or via web resources such as travel blogs.

And of course, everyone here is happy to help!

It can take time to craft your perfect itinerary, and in some cases, to secure the bookings you want in places with high demand. So I would suggest that your first step is to decide what time of year you will be travelling and then give yourself enough time to decide on an itinerary that works for your joint interests, and give yourself time to book what is needed!
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Old Oct 15th, 2017, 03:01 PM
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Lolazahra, Can you share the name of the guide company you used for your private walking guides in Tokyo and Kyoto? Any particular guides at that company?
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Old Oct 15th, 2017, 03:03 PM
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I trust that Lolazahra will share her info, but in the meantime:

There is no need for you to hire a guide or join a day tour unless that is your preference. You might, however, consider taking advantage of an occasional local “goodwill guide” – The Japanese National Tourism Organization coordinates free volunteer guides – “Goodwill guides” – who are generally knowledgeable and happy to guide you in return for practicing their English – which can be excellent, but it is a bit of a luck-of-the-draw.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/tr...deservice.html
You pay any entrance fees and his/her meal if your time with the guide includes one . Do NOT tip these guides, or anyone else in Japan.
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Old Oct 15th, 2017, 05:36 PM
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Hi Traveler1365. I used Chris Rowthorn Walking Tours. The website is http://www.chrisrowthorn.com/tours/tokyo-tours/. I can highly recommend this company. Some of the listed walking tours we took without adjustment but some I tweaked a bit to my liking with absolutely no issue. All of the guides were fantastic with great knowledge, an understanding that flexibility is a must and great wisdom. Good luck!
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Old Oct 15th, 2017, 10:24 PM
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It's probably the easiest and safest solo trip I've done. As someone said- the Japanese are friendly, courteous, and go above and beyond to be helpful. Even budget hotels are generally very clean and pleasant. Anyone working in the tourist trade will speak some English and very often hotel clerks speak great English. Informational signs are usually in English. ATMs are easy to find and navigate. Japan is a very efficient, and well run country, very used to tourists or expats.

The signs not in English generally don't matter much. For example- in a small coffee shop, a few words might be in English as a stylistic thing but then the specials list might be in kanji. But generally people will translate for you. If not the counter person, the guy behind you in line.

I will say that if you go beyond Tokyo and Kyoto, it is very helpful to have data so that you can show people your destination written in Japanese in case you get lost or confused. Especially when it comes to city buses. English really is the second language there, and many people speak it, but comparatively few people speak it well enough to carry on a conversation, at least when you're a bit off the beaten track. Hyperdia really is useful. To buy train tickets, I just looked up my route, went up to the desk and showed them, and they'd make the reservation for me, the whole way through.

If I went back and splurged a bit, I would stay entirely at the ryokans or nicer hotels. It's really nice to have access to someone who can speak the language, call restaurants, check hours, give you directions and recommendations. (I stayed at hostels mostly. I got by, but ate a bit too much backpacker food. I was fine with it, but if I went back, I'd go for more hotels. And onsens!!).

There's a huge expat community in Japan, LOTS of blogs and restaurant lists out there in English. Those will be more interesting and more up to date than most guidebooks.

My only advice would be do not go in the summer if you want an ambitious itinerary. You can click on my name, scroll down and find my trip report and learn from my suffering
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 03:40 AM
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" Anyone working in the tourist trade will speak some EnglisH"

True in places on the usual foreigner tourist circuit. I got off the circuit a bit my last trip and it was not true. If you do that a smart phone with a translate app is useful. Said smart phone is also very useful for local transport - it will walk you through a bus ride, for instance.
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 06:04 AM
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Lolazahra,

Thank you! This looks like a great company. I may have to try them when I am in Tokyo next April for the Cherry Blossoms.
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 02:28 PM
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I also experienced people who didn't speak English, although not many and generally not in major tourist destinations. But even in major tourism destination like Nara, some older people -- who may have understood English -- were reluctant to speak it, perhaps because of a concern about mispronunciation. Young people were more likely to be willing to speak English.

That said, I did NOT find language to be a problem -- there were enough people around who did speak English to avoid that.
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Old Oct 18th, 2017, 04:24 PM
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Hi Burry,
I'd do independent travel every time.
We also went on our first trip to Japan this year.
Before leaving I had a combination of a lot of online research, helpful people on this forum, and the Hyperdia train time table which saw us on our way.
In Japan I was amazed at the help we received every single day of our travel. For example, we'd only have to be staring blankly at a train ticket for a couple of minutes before a Japanese person would stop and direct us to the right platform. Strangers went right out of their way over and over again. We've never experienced anything like it.
We also used Goodwill guides for 3 day trips in 3 different destinations. Their prior planning for what we wanted to do, and their company on the day, was wonderful.
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