April 2009 Japan Trip Report
Apr 22nd, 2009, 03:31 AM
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April 2009 Japan Trip Report
My wife and I spent 2 weeks in Japan, leaving Washington Dulles on April 4 and returning home on April 18. It was a great trip. Public transport (trains, intercity buses, subways, and city buses) were all clean, efficient, and "English friendly." We started with a couple of days in Tokyo, train to Kyoto for 3 days, train to Nagoya for 2 days, bus to Shirakawa-go for 1-1/2 days, bus to Takayama for 2 days, and bus to Tokyo for the last 3 days.
Some highlights in no particular order: 1. Helpfulness/friendliness of the Japanese people when engaged 1-on-1. 2. Buddhist shrines and temples for me; varied architectural styles for my wife--and the beautiful gardens. 3. A long dinner with the other guests in our Shirakawa-go gassho minshuku--four Japanese gentleman, a young French couple, and the two of us eating, drinking, and discussing just about every topic under the sun from Obama, to the charms of southwestern France, to the world economic situation, to Japanese history and culture and teenage fashions. A wonderful evening. 4. Staying with old friends in Nagoya and attending our first Kabuki performance with them. 5. Beauty and flavors of the meals at the ryokan and minshukus we stayed at. 6. How each tree, shrub, patch of moss, zen garden grain of sand, and blade of grass in the parks and temples and gardens is lovingly pampered. 7. People watching. 8. Having our suspicions confirmed that you can dine and find accomodations in Japan (including Tokyo) at every price range--you can make it just about as expensive or inexpensive as you wish--e.g., our dinners ranged from $9 per person to $70 per person. Accomodations from $70 a night (including private bath and breakfast--in Tokyo) to $250 a night.
Gotta get to work. More later.
Some highlights in no particular order: 1. Helpfulness/friendliness of the Japanese people when engaged 1-on-1. 2. Buddhist shrines and temples for me; varied architectural styles for my wife--and the beautiful gardens. 3. A long dinner with the other guests in our Shirakawa-go gassho minshuku--four Japanese gentleman, a young French couple, and the two of us eating, drinking, and discussing just about every topic under the sun from Obama, to the charms of southwestern France, to the world economic situation, to Japanese history and culture and teenage fashions. A wonderful evening. 4. Staying with old friends in Nagoya and attending our first Kabuki performance with them. 5. Beauty and flavors of the meals at the ryokan and minshukus we stayed at. 6. How each tree, shrub, patch of moss, zen garden grain of sand, and blade of grass in the parks and temples and gardens is lovingly pampered. 7. People watching. 8. Having our suspicions confirmed that you can dine and find accomodations in Japan (including Tokyo) at every price range--you can make it just about as expensive or inexpensive as you wish--e.g., our dinners ranged from $9 per person to $70 per person. Accomodations from $70 a night (including private bath and breakfast--in Tokyo) to $250 a night.
Gotta get to work. More later.
Apr 26th, 2009, 04:30 AM
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Can you please recommend a hotel in Tokyo? I'll be there in a few weeks and I'd love to find something in that price range. Was it by any chance a Toyoku Inn (http://www.toyoky-inn.com)? I've been checking out their website and their properties look fine and very affordable. Thank you.
Apr 26th, 2009, 06:27 AM
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Citywalks, I am at Toyoko Inn at Kyoto right now. Small but cheap, clean, great location and everything you need including free internet and laundry. Would recommend it highly to anyone. Book soon, they sell out fast. Can only book up to three months in advance. I booked online as well, not one hiccup, staff is very efficient and friendly, even includes breakfast. I am very picky with Hotels and have nothing but praise for this one, especially for the price. Go for it! Just hope you can get in.
Apr 26th, 2009, 03:56 PM
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jayc, join the Toyoko Inn Club at the registration desk when you check out. It only costs a couple of bucks but it enables you to book six months in advance online next time if there is one. You can only join the club from the registrations desks throughout Japan. You cannot join online or by any other means.
rufus, sorry for interrupting your wonderful report
Aloha!
rufus, sorry for interrupting your wonderful report
Aloha!
Apr 27th, 2009, 03:03 AM
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Sorry I haven't been able to get back to the report. We have some situations here at home we've been dealing with. But I do have time to note that we did stay at 2 Toyoko Inns in Tokyo and they were fine. We stayed at the Tameike-sannou-eki Kantei-minami for 2 nights at the beginning of our trip, and one in Asakusa (Asakusa Komagata) for 3 nights at the end of our trip.
With our Sunday night stay senior discount and 1% Visa fee for currency conversion, we paid an average of $69 a night at the first one. We paid $104 a night at the Komagata. The first one was more of a budget place than the Komagata--it had a much smaller room, modular, compact bathroom, and fewer breakfast options. Location of both was great for accessing the subway system--once you find the right subway exit, both are within a 2 or 3 minute walk.
Clean, efficient, and inexpensive would describe both. If you are a large person, the Tameike-sannou-eki Kantei-minami might be a problem--the bathroom is a bit tight and not much space to turn around in the room. We were fine there for a couple of nights. Staff at both locations were very helpful and friendly though the degree of English fluency varied widely among the various desk clerks on duty--from minimal to very good.
The Komagata location had a deluxe room option which we chose. King-size bed, bathroom not a modular setup, more room, a sofa (actually a sofa-bed). The breakfast had a couple of more options. More marble, etc. It did not have "Toyoko Inn" in our alphabet on the hotel, but we figured out which building it was pretty easily. Just print a copy of the photo of the building from the website.
Not many places to eat within, say, a couple of blocks of either hotel. But a 5 or 10 minute walk gets you plenty of places.
In Kyoto, we stayed at Sawaya Honten. We didn't have many places to choose from in Kyoto as we were there during cherry blossom season and most places were booked. But we were very pleased with our ryokan. The building is old, traditional (sleep on the floor), but modernized to a large extent inside. It cost under $250 a night with a very nice breakfast included. Spacious room with private bath and a nice little garden outside the door. The owner, his wife, and staff are very eager to please. Owner's English is pretty good. It is not totally traditional in that meals are not served in your room--you go to the dining room. But the dining room is pleasant and we never saw more than one other group when we ate. One night we got their Kyoto-style dinner for $70 each--very nice and worth the experience. Location very convenient for bus and subway lines, and within walking distance of several sights in the northeastern quarter of the city.
In Shirakawa-go we stayed at the Yokichi gassho (minshuku). Sleep on floor, shared bath (but updated with heated/bidet toilet), with breakfast and dinner included. Very nice, more-or-less "traditional" experience. We made some Japanese and French friends over dinner--which was, as all our meals were in our lodgings, very good--both in taste and visually. It is a gassho farmhouse, so privacy is minimal and maybe not for everyone, but a wonderful experience for us. Clean as can be as were all of our accomodations.
In Takayama we stayed at Kuwataniya minshuku. An easy walk from the bus/train station even with our carryon size suitcases. Again, slept on the floor and shared bath/toilets (again, heated toilet with bidet). Rooms all on upper floors; 1st floor has men's bathing room, reception, kitchen, dining room. Breakfasts were lovely, and we did opt for their dinner one night--it was also very good.
We can recommend all the places we stayed. All were clean and well-located. All had staffs eager to be helpful, even though English might be limited (our Japanese was limited to what we were able to learn in 2 months from a CD). If you have mobility problems or are obese, sleeping on the floor might be an issue, as well as the size of some rooms, and the fact that in those places with private bathrooms, the bathtubs had very high sides (the Japanese do like to soak after getting clean). Toyoko Inns do show "Easy Access Rooms," but I don't know if that equates to a handicapped room.
More later. If you have questions about any of these places, just add them here.
With our Sunday night stay senior discount and 1% Visa fee for currency conversion, we paid an average of $69 a night at the first one. We paid $104 a night at the Komagata. The first one was more of a budget place than the Komagata--it had a much smaller room, modular, compact bathroom, and fewer breakfast options. Location of both was great for accessing the subway system--once you find the right subway exit, both are within a 2 or 3 minute walk.
Clean, efficient, and inexpensive would describe both. If you are a large person, the Tameike-sannou-eki Kantei-minami might be a problem--the bathroom is a bit tight and not much space to turn around in the room. We were fine there for a couple of nights. Staff at both locations were very helpful and friendly though the degree of English fluency varied widely among the various desk clerks on duty--from minimal to very good.
The Komagata location had a deluxe room option which we chose. King-size bed, bathroom not a modular setup, more room, a sofa (actually a sofa-bed). The breakfast had a couple of more options. More marble, etc. It did not have "Toyoko Inn" in our alphabet on the hotel, but we figured out which building it was pretty easily. Just print a copy of the photo of the building from the website.
Not many places to eat within, say, a couple of blocks of either hotel. But a 5 or 10 minute walk gets you plenty of places.
In Kyoto, we stayed at Sawaya Honten. We didn't have many places to choose from in Kyoto as we were there during cherry blossom season and most places were booked. But we were very pleased with our ryokan. The building is old, traditional (sleep on the floor), but modernized to a large extent inside. It cost under $250 a night with a very nice breakfast included. Spacious room with private bath and a nice little garden outside the door. The owner, his wife, and staff are very eager to please. Owner's English is pretty good. It is not totally traditional in that meals are not served in your room--you go to the dining room. But the dining room is pleasant and we never saw more than one other group when we ate. One night we got their Kyoto-style dinner for $70 each--very nice and worth the experience. Location very convenient for bus and subway lines, and within walking distance of several sights in the northeastern quarter of the city.
In Shirakawa-go we stayed at the Yokichi gassho (minshuku). Sleep on floor, shared bath (but updated with heated/bidet toilet), with breakfast and dinner included. Very nice, more-or-less "traditional" experience. We made some Japanese and French friends over dinner--which was, as all our meals were in our lodgings, very good--both in taste and visually. It is a gassho farmhouse, so privacy is minimal and maybe not for everyone, but a wonderful experience for us. Clean as can be as were all of our accomodations.
In Takayama we stayed at Kuwataniya minshuku. An easy walk from the bus/train station even with our carryon size suitcases. Again, slept on the floor and shared bath/toilets (again, heated toilet with bidet). Rooms all on upper floors; 1st floor has men's bathing room, reception, kitchen, dining room. Breakfasts were lovely, and we did opt for their dinner one night--it was also very good.
We can recommend all the places we stayed. All were clean and well-located. All had staffs eager to be helpful, even though English might be limited (our Japanese was limited to what we were able to learn in 2 months from a CD). If you have mobility problems or are obese, sleeping on the floor might be an issue, as well as the size of some rooms, and the fact that in those places with private bathrooms, the bathtubs had very high sides (the Japanese do like to soak after getting clean). Toyoko Inns do show "Easy Access Rooms," but I don't know if that equates to a handicapped room.
More later. If you have questions about any of these places, just add them here.
