missmara112

Hi all,

I am going to Thailand and Vietnam at the end of May/beginning of June. I have a layover in Tokyo. Since I have been dying to go there, I extended the layover so I will now be there from 6:30am Saturday June 9th until 4pm Sunday June 10th. I know that is really no time at all but I am excited about it nonetheless and am looking to squeeze as much in as possible. It will just be me and my husband - both in our mid-twenties looking to sightsee, shop, EAT (lots and lots of sushi), and go out late night.

Anyone's expertise would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Mara M.(the 2nd Mara in this forum I guess)

lina219

i'll be back to Japan in mid April. this time we'll spend 2 nights in Fukuoka (with compulsory stop at Ultramanland), 2 nights in Osaka (as a base to travel to Kyoto / Kobe), 2 nights in Kanazawa, & 3 nights in Tokyo. cant' wait!

Dukey

We just bought air tickets and will be in Japan for a total of 12 nights. Fortunately, we are going with the folks who live next door. They are frequent Japan visitors and one of them was raised in Japan and speaks Japanese. For once there will probably be few questions about where to go/what to see/how to get there?

I will say this: these days I rarely, if ever, use any sort of travel agent, especially to buy air tickets.

However, the agent we ARE using for this trip had Business Class tickets on United for HALF of the lowest fare quoted by United or any of the various consolidators on the internet so if definitely paid to ask!

hester

We will be in Tokyo on April 23. We start out in South Korea. Our son lives in Masan, South Korea and we are going to visit. We are spending six days in South Korea and four days in Tokyo on the way home. I have never been to Asia so it should be interesting. I usually always travel with my sister and/or daughter, this time my husband is going. He decided he was tired of sitting home while I had all the fun. He was the one who never wanted to travel, so I went without him. But he has changed his mind. I am really hoping he gets the travel bug like I have. I have so many more places I want to see and I have the next chapter of my life to do it, hopefully he will go with me and not sit at home!

bmttokyo

hello dukey,
do you mind sharing how we can reach your agent? thanks.

tcreath

We are headed to Japan in October; our first trip to Asia! We used FF miles for our tickets, and are planning on splitting our time between Tokyo and Kyoto.

Tracy

Maximian

We are headed in early May to Tokyo & Kyoto. Are suggestions on using the trains or subways ? Is the JR any good for intra city travel ? Any help would be appreciated.

mrwunrfl

Maximian, for the itinerary you have described, and assuming that you are returning to Tokyo from Kyoto, you could use a JR Pass only if your trip to Kyoto was 7 days or less (i.e. if you leave Tokyo on May 1 and return on or before May 7).

The JR Pass can be used for some intra-city travel in Tokyo but not in Kyoto. However the costs in Tokyo are low, say 200 yen per trip.

Narita Airport to Tokyo is about 3000 yen (can be done for cheaper). For that price some people find it more convenient to take a limo bus from the airport to their Tokyo area hotel.

Tokyo to Kyoto is about 13500 yen each way.

The 7-day JR 28,300 yen. So for the pass to make sense you would need to go from Tokyo to Kyoto and back to Tokyo in 7 days for you to even get close to breaking even.

You can of course, use the pass for day trips around Tokyo, like Kamakura. Or Nara from Kyoto. And from Kyoto if you wanted to visit Himeji then you could use the pass.

But even with day trips and intracity use the pass is not economical without the Tokyo-Kyoto roundtrip included.

If you are considering going further than Tokyo and Kyoto -in a week- then it is more likely that the pass would be useful to you.

jmsvss

I'm so excited! I just started researching our trip. Our oldest son graduates from college in June 07 and will be going to Japan to teach. I lived in Japan as a teenager so I am very happy to be able to return.

I am planning for a three week trip probably in June 2008.

My initial thoughts are:
1. A nonstop out of Washington DC
2. Doing one-third time around Tokyo, one-third around Kyoto and one-third wherever our son ends up. We'll do day trips from these three locations.
3. I have a lot of research to do on the train system - I'd like to stay somewhere close to train stations. It seems in some cases the rail pass may not be the best value, but sometimes it is and you have to know before you go, hmmm....
4. The limousine bus from Narita seems the best way to get to hotels in Tokyo but the limousine bus only stops at select hotels hmmm...
5. Do ryokans have showers?
6. i thought about taking a week off the Japan trip and going to Korea. I lived there for a couple of years as well and really enjoyed it. I'm not sure that would dramatically increase the budget or not yet.

Thanks for allowing me to ponder - I welcome any and all suggestions, comments, and experiences.

mrwunrfl

jmsvss, that sounds like a good basic plan. I for one would not take any time out from Japan for Korea.

1) Don't forget to get your FF miles on your Star Alliance carrier's mileage program. Nonstop to Japan from IAD means ANA or United.

2) sounds like a plan. Might be better to go in May, depending on where he ends up.

3) That is true. You'll know more, and we can help you with the JR Pass decision, after find out where DS will be.

4) You could get off at a hotel in Tokyo where the bus stops and take a taxi from there to your hotel. This would not be the cheapest option, but would make life easier while still saving vs a taxi from the airport (assuming there will be two you).

5) Traditional ryokans might not, but some do, as a concession to modern convenience. Maybe even most do. At a modern ryokan or a ryokan hotel you can expect a shower.

6) You've outlined a good basic plan for 3 weeks in Japan.

mrwunrfl

There is a good description of ryokans here:
http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com