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-   -   2019 Spring Central Japan Trip (https://www.fodors.com/community/asia/2019-spring-central-japan-trip-1665068/)

thursdaysd Mar 24th, 2019 09:33 AM

There are at least two direct flights to Tokyo you could make - see skyscanner.com. Or, if you follow mrwunrfl's excellent advice but really want to see Osaka, then you could put all your Osaka time at the beginning.

mrwunrfl Mar 24th, 2019 09:43 AM

I misread the schedule. There is a flight on ANA for US $144 at 17:30. The reason I mention ANA in particular is because they are partners with Singapore Airlines.

janisj Mar 24th, 2019 11:14 AM

You have lots of experts helping you - but just my small input. I think you really do need more time in Kyoto -- I'd try for 5 nights minimum (which would give you barely 4.5 days there). And I would cut back on Osaka for sure.

curiousgeo Mar 24th, 2019 12:42 PM

Your current itinerary is a bit rushed but doable, especially if this a first time visit hitting some high points. Agree with everyone about adding at least one more to day to Kyoto and less time in Osaka, unless you have some must see plans there. It’s an easy bus ride from Kyoto Station to the airport as mentioned earlier.

mrwunrfl Mar 24th, 2019 02:31 PM

3. 13th-14th May 2019 Morning Bus to Mount Fuji and Hakone (2 nights)
4. 15th-16th Tokyo (2 nights) Day trip to Ashikaga Flower Park and Tochigo (optional or to be removed)
5. 17th May 2019 (1 night) Matsumoto for Alphine

I'm trying to figure out how this is going to work out?

On the 15th you leave Hakone for two nights in Tokyo. I suppose that means your day trip to Ashikaga FP is on the 16th (I don't know what you mean by Tochigo.

On the 17th you are going from Tokyo to Matsumoto. That is a short trip. You spend the night there. Then on the 18th you take the Alpine Route and end the day in Takayama?

OR

On the 17th you leave Tokyo, go on the Alpine Route, and spend the night in Matsumoto. Next day go to Takayama.

or something else?

mannequin_yeo Mar 24th, 2019 03:23 PM

1. 10th May 2019 Osaka (1night)
2. 11th May 2019 Tokyo (1 night)
3. 12th-13th May 2019 Morning Bus to Mount Fuji
4. 13th May 2019 Mount Fuji to Hakone (1 night)
5. 14th-15th Tokyo (2 nights) Day trip to Ashikaga Flower Park and Tochigo
6. 16th-17th May 2019 (2 nights) Matsumoto and Norikura Kogen
7. 18th May 2019 (1 night) Toyama for Murodo
8. 19th-20th May 2019 (2 nights) Takamaya
9. 21st-22nd May 2019 (2 nights) Kanazawa for Shirakawa-Go
10. 22nd-24th May 2019 Kyoto (3 nights)
11. 25th-26th May 2019 Osaka (1 night)

mannequin_yeo Mar 24th, 2019 03:26 PM


Originally Posted by mrwunrfl (Post 16892764)
Ok, you are on SQ 620, I think, with travel time of only 6h 40m. And you only lose one hour in time zone change. You don't have to stop in Osaka the first night. I think I would, tho, maybe at the JR hotel at Shin Osaka.

You could fly from KIX to Tokyo Haneda on ANA for only US $76. There are seats at that price for nonstops at 15:15 and 21:35.

we are thinking to buy from KLOOK for fastest Shinkansen at SGD80 to Tokyo

mannequin_yeo Mar 24th, 2019 04:36 PM


Originally Posted by mrwunrfl (Post 16892914)
3. 13th-14th May 2019 Morning Bus to Mount Fuji and Hakone (2 nights)
4. 15th-16th Tokyo (2 nights) Day trip to Ashikaga Flower Park and Tochigo (optional or to be removed)
5. 17th May 2019 (1 night) Matsumoto for Alphine

I'm trying to figure out how this is going to work out?

On the 15th you leave Hakone for two nights in Tokyo. I suppose that means your day trip to Ashikaga FP is on the 16th (I don't know what you mean by Tochigo.

On the 17th you are going from Tokyo to Matsumoto. That is a short trip. You spend the night there. Then on the 18th you take the Alpine Route and end the day in Takayama?

OR

On the 17th you leave Tokyo, go on the Alpine Route, and spend the night in Matsumoto. Next day go to Takayama.

or something else?

12-13 May We will prefer one night in Mount Fuji and one night in Hakone - we still have no idea with Fuji Hakone Pass , could we travel from Mount Fuji to Hakone? No point to travel back to Shinjuku from Mount Fuji and then from Shinjuku to Hakone

14-15 May could be our free and easy on Tokyo if we are tired to go for Ashikaga Flower Park or Nikko?

16 May from Shinjuku to Matsumoto sightseeing in Matsumoto and Nagano in the afternoon

17 May to Nokuria Kogen or Murodo to Tomaya

18-19 May Toyoma to Murodo to Takayama

Something like that... if doable if not stay one more night in Matsumoto?

mannequin_yeo Mar 24th, 2019 04:42 PM

Is Osaka really nothing much to do for two days?

thursdaysd Mar 24th, 2019 04:43 PM

Why are you going to to Tokyo and then backtracking to Mt. Fuji and Hakone? They are on the way from Osaka. Use rome2rio.com and hyperdia.com.


Is Osaka really nothing much for two days?
What are you planning to do in Osaka? I have been to Japan twice for a total of two months without visiting Osaka and I don't feel that I missed anything.

mannequin_yeo Mar 24th, 2019 04:45 PM


Originally Posted by thursdaysd (Post 16892968)
Why are you going to to Tokyo and then backtracking to Mt. Fuji and Hakone? They are on the way from Osaka. Use rome2rio.com and hyperdia.com.

we are thinking to rest a day in Tokyo. We will check it out from Osaka to Mount Fuji

thursdaysd Mar 24th, 2019 04:49 PM


we are thinking to rest a day in Tokyo.
Why do you need to rest? You're only traveling from Singapore, on a daytime flight. In any case, Hakone is likely to be more restful than Tokyo, and you would save a hotel change.

mrwunrfl Mar 24th, 2019 05:07 PM

That is about US$ 60 and I see that fare at klook but it is for Osaka to Nagoya. The Tokyo price is US$ 133 which would be about SG$ 180. That is the regular fare from Shin-Osaka. Your fare from Kansai Airport to Shin-Osaka would be about SG$ 37. The travel time by train from KIX to Tokyo would be a bit under 4 hours.

Instead of going to Tokyo you could just go to Odawara. It is on the way to Tokyo - about a half-hour less travel time. And it is a gateway to Fuji-Hakone National Park. From Odawara it is just 12 minutes to Hakone-Yumoto. There are a couple of travel passes that you could use for this part of your trip.

It sounds like you are planning to travel from Takayama to Kanazawa and then go to Shirakawago from there. But, Shirakawago is between Takayama and Kanazawa by bus.

mrwunrfl Mar 24th, 2019 05:12 PM

There is plenty to do in Osaka for two days but the other places on your itinerary are more interesting and you are not giving them enough tine. Or, well, just a minimal amount of time, and it is not clear to me if you are considering travel time.

mrwunrfl Mar 24th, 2019 05:30 PM


Originally Posted by mrwunrfl (Post 16892773)
I misread the schedule. There is a flight on ANA for US $144 at 17:30. The reason I mention ANA in particular is because they are partners with Singapore Airlines.

The partnership might mean that SQ will check you in for both flights, the one to KIX and then ANA flight to Tokyo Haneda. They might check your bags on through. You'd get to Haneda at 6:50PM and be in a hotel room in Shinagawa by 8:30 PM. The next morning you could get to Odawara in less than 30 minutes.

tt7 Mar 24th, 2019 08:35 PM


Originally Posted by thursdaysd (Post 16892968)
What are you planning to do in Osaka? I have been to Japan twice for a total of two months without visiting Osaka and I don't feel that I missed anything.

+1.

We've been to Japan probably 6 - 8 times in the last 5 years or so, usually for 2 - 3 weeks at a time. We've spent a grand total of 1 day in Osaka ... that was a few months ago and then only because we flew in to KIX fairly late in the day (7.30+ pm) and our next stop was Kanazawa, so we figured we might as well spend a day in Osaka. Osaka Castle (not nearly as good as Himeji), lunch and dinner in Dotonbori (certainly interesting to see - once - particularly at night when it's lit up etc. <and crowded> ) and a general bit of wandering around and we were done. Been there, done that, don't need to do it again. To me, Osaka, which is primarily a commercial city, has always seemed like a mini-Tokyo but without most of Tokyo's attractions. It's like visiting the U.S. and going to New York and then deciding the next place you should go is Pittsburgh or Cleveland or visiting the U.K., starting in London and then deciding the next place to go is Birmingham. Yes, you can, but why would you?

Kyoto, on the other hand, .... we've spent weeks there and never tire of going back.

mannequin_yeo Mar 25th, 2019 04:06 AM


Originally Posted by tt7 (Post 16893032)
+1.

We've been to Japan probably 6 - 8 times in the last 5 years or so, usually for 2 - 3 weeks at a time. We've spent a grand total of 1 day in Osaka ... that was a few months ago and then only because we flew in to KIX fairly late in the day (7.30+ pm) and our next stop was Kanazawa, so we figured we might as well spend a day in Osaka. Osaka Castle (not nearly as good as Himeji), lunch and dinner in Dotonbori (certainly interesting to see - once - particularly at night when it's lit up etc. <and crowded> ) and a general bit of wandering around and we were done. Been there, done that, don't need to do it again. To me, Osaka, which is primarily a commercial city, has always seemed like a mini-Tokyo but without most of Tokyo's attractions. It's like visiting the U.S. and going to New York and then deciding the next place you should go is Pittsburgh or Cleveland or visiting the U.K., starting in London and then deciding the next place to go is Birmingham. Yes, you can, but why would you?

Kyoto, on the other hand, .... we've spent weeks there and never tire of going back.

any sharing what is interesting in Kyoto which you spend weeks?

mrwunrfl Mar 25th, 2019 08:27 AM

mannequin_yeo, please confirm that the KLOOK fare from Osaka to Tokyo is around SGD 180 or give me a link to where the SGD 80 fare is available (to Tokyo, not Nagoya). It sounds too good to be true, but if it is then I would like to know more.

Could you give a narrative of the first three days? Include transportation, lodging, and sightseeing. For example, expand on the Fuji-Hakone part. You say you would take a morning bus to Fuji and spend a night then go to Hakone and spend a nightl. Ok,but what bus from where to where? Where will you stay the night and how will you get there from the bus stop/station. What will you do when you get there? Next you go to Hakone. How? When? Where?

I get the idea of your Matsumoto stop, but how will it work?

mannequin_yeo Mar 25th, 2019 08:40 AM


Originally Posted by mrwunrfl (Post 16893262)
mannequin_yeo, please confirm that the KLOOK fare from Osaka to Tokyo is around SGD 180 or give me a link to where the SGD 80 fare is available (to Tokyo, not Nagoya). It sounds too good to be true, but if it is then I would like to know more.

Could you give a narrative of the first three days? Include transportation, lodging, and sightseeing. For example, expand on the Fuji-Hakone part. You say you would take a morning bus to Fuji and spend a night then go to Hakone and spend a nightl. Ok,but what bus from where to where? Where will you stay the night and how will you get there from the bus stop/station. What will you do when you get there? Next you go to Hakone. How? When? Where?

I get the idea of your Matsumoto stop, but how will it work?

my original plan to take bus from Shinjuku bus terminal to Lake Kawaguchi 5th Station duration 1.45hrs (stay near Lake) using Fuji Hakone Pass for 3 days at ¥8K. This pass one way via train the other way via bus. Use this pass to go Gotemba then to Hakone (stay near Hakone) I remember I read somewhere.

take bus from shinjuku bus terminal to Matsumoto duration 2.40hrs at ¥2.5K < ¥3K.

i have tried to attach screenshot of KLOOK but not successful

mrwunrfl Mar 25th, 2019 08:45 AM

Here is a start, with two nights in Osaka at the beginning:
10th - Arrive KIX at 4:10 PM, take the train (JR rapid) to Osaka station, take the Westin Hotel shuttle bus and check in. Take a taxi to an okonomiyaki restaurant for dinner and back to the hotel.
11th - Visit Osaka Castle and the park around it in the morning. Head to Koshien Stadium around noon for the Tigers baseball game at 2PM. After the game, go to Spa World for a soak and have dinner somewhere, maybe at Osaka station, then walk back to the hotel if the shuttle has stopped running for the day.


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