Osaka / Tokoyo

[JaiLai]

Thinking about a 4 or 5 day trip to Japan mid Feb, any comments about where to go / what to see / airline to use that may be helpful?

 

Recent experiences with what this might cost?

 

Thanks.

[richard_smith237]

Flights: Check TG (about 18,000 baht) into Haneda or Narita.. check the airline webpages or sky scanner for more flight ideas.

 

Lots to do and see in Tokyo...   hotels, look on Booking.com and you'll get a range of hotels and prices.... Budget for prices similar to any Western city. 

 

BTW: Mid Feb - Japan can be brutally cold. 

 

Snowy mountain areas are not too far from Tokyo... i.e. bullet train to Nagano area.

 

 

[JaiLai]

13 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Flights: Check TG (about 18,000 baht) into Haneda or Narita.. check the airline webpages or sky scanner for more flight ideas.

 

Lots to do and see in Tokyo...   hotels, look on Booking.com and you'll get a range of hotels and prices.... Budget for prices similar to any Western city. 

 

BTW: Mid Feb - Japan can be brutally cold. 

 

Snowy mountain areas are not too far from Tokyo... i.e. bullet train to Nagano area.

 

 

Thanks for the info, what areas in Tokoyo would you recommend for staying in?

[CG1 Blue]

I tried Tokyo a couple of years back. Make sure you fly to the right Tokyo airport - I didn't! One is very far from central Tokyo (unfortunately I can't remember which).

When I arrived the queue for train tickets was a mile long and moving extremely slow, so I took a cab which cost a fortune (over 100GBP). I found it a logistical nightmare getting around with the lack of English anywhere.

I stayed in Shinjuku, which was ok, and near a big park that enabled me to see the Sakura in full blossom, but that happens around April time. I went on a trip to Mount Fuji, and the 'bullet' train I was on stopped randomly in the middle of nowhere for 1.5 hours.  Of course I never found out why because the announcements were all in Japanese, and nobody around me spoke English. Fuji is beautiful though. 

After 3 days of struggle and continuous rain I gave up and flew to LOS.

Japan is a fascinating country though, and I'll definitely go back with much better planning! 

[richard_smith237]

47 minutes ago, JaiLai said:

Thanks for the info, what areas in Tokoyo would you recommend for staying in?

 

Tokyo is huge... like London, there are many area's to stay in...  you can get around quite easily on the Subway / Metro system on which you are pretty much 30mins from wherever you wish to visit. 

 

Thus, its probably best to do your own research (i.e. TripAdvisor - what to see in Tokyo and follow whatever takes your fancy).

 

Best advice I can offer: Pre-Order a data SIM and you can use maps, follow directions, use the Metro-app and do real-time research if you find yourself wanting to do something else.

I've found Sakura Mobile to be a good Data-SIM company

 

More advice: Stopping off in any restaurant in any part of town has never disappointed - food is always high quality in Tokyo.

 

The area's have their own character... 

Shinjuku for Chaos typifying modern Japan

Shibuya has that famous junction (cross walk)

Harajuki is funky and very popular with tourists (next to Yoyogi park and the famous Takashita st) and also next to Omante Sando which is a very high end shopping and restaurant area 

Ginza is the posh area with lots of high-st shopping

Akasaka has lots of good restaurants in the area

Akahabari is an electronics shopping area

Roppongi has the nightlife and is popular with foreigners 

Asakusa has the famous Senso-Ji temple

 

Airports: 

Narita the Major Airport: About 1 hour from Tokyo station on the NEX (Narita Express) which runs every 30mins (I think).

Haneda is the city Airport: About 30mins by Taxi to Tokyo Station but has less frequent flights from BKK.

 

 

 

[eisfeld]

Some very good recomendations already. I would also say Shinjuku is a pretty good place to start out in Tokyo. 4-5 days is not super much. Osaka is also like Tokyo a pretty big city. If you want something a bit different then also consider Kyoto which in contrast to the two cities above is more centered around culture (say temples etc). Mid Feb might not be the best time as mentioned. But whatever you do, I'm sure you will enjoy it. Japan is a fascinating country and the people are great. I had no issue in Tokyo not being able to communicate. Learn a hand ful of Japanese words and make sure you got a sim with mobile data.

[jphasia]

I did a similar trip in April 2017 with my wife and my son. We spent 6 full days in Japan. That was our first trip to Japan and of course even with limited time, we want to see as much as possible. But we limited our trip to Tokyo, Fuji and Kyoto. Landing in Tokyo Narita, we booked the first 3 nights in Tokyo (Shinjuku area).

We spent the first 2 days exploring Tokyo. It was the perfect time for the cherry blossom.

The 3rd day, we did a day trip from Tokyo to Mount Fuji.

The 4th day, we checked out from Tokyo and went to Kyoto by bullet train. We arrived in Kyoto mid-day, check-in hotel and went around Kyoto on ourselves.

The 5th day, we had a day trip booked within Kyoto to visit most of the tourist attraction.

The 6th day morning, back to Tokyo with Bullet train. Arrived before noon. Stay in Minoto area (near Tokyo tower). We enjoyed the rest of the day shopping and going around.

We had our flight next day morning back to Thailand.

In term of cost, the flight ticket (Phuket-Bangkok-Tokyo) 2 way with Thai Airways cost me 25,000 bahts per person. Night flight on the way to Japan, landing in Tokyo early morning (06h00am) and day flight on the return.

We took the train from Narita to Shinjuku station, close to our hotel. It was easy. On the way back, our hotel in Minato had a free bus to airport.

I pre-booked the day trips (Fuji & Kyoto day trip) through website (japinican.com). All were well arranged and easy. 

I pre-booked all the hotel rooms through Booking.com. I chose mid range hotels (APA chains) which cost me around 5,000 bahts / night / room except the last night in Tokyo Minato which was high range hotel and cost a bit more expensive.

On our 1st day in Tokyo, we went to the train station to book our Bullet train trip for Kyoto.

I did some research on internet to prepare this trip and I was warned about payment by credit card difficulties, languages barriers, ect...

I brought USD cash with me which I change a bit at the airport on arrival. But I paid most of my expenses (hotels, restaurant, train...) by credit card (Thai Credit Card, Visa/ master / Amex) without any problems. I also withdraw cash from ATM using my Thai debit card without any problems.

I didn't have any major problems with the language. Most of the communication in English were fine. We travel through Tokyo with the subway only which was easy.

We had a great time during our trip and really enjoyed all of it. We chose Tokyo / Fuji / Kyoto among all the other places we want to see in Japan for a 1st time and it was great. 6 days to do what we have done was not too much but enough to not run. We will definitely go again to Japan and visit other places such as Osaka.

Hope this will give some input.

[JaiLai]

Thanks all for the input, very helpful.

 

I will spend some time on TA but lots of food for thought here.

 

THe SIM card that several mention, this is available at the airport and pretty painless to get?

 

Thanks again!

[eisfeld]

We got a little pocket wifi device with a data sim at the Narita airport. The name had something with Ninja in it ???? Worked pretty well.

 

For getting around Tokyo, you'll want to take the trains, there will be vending machines in each station where you have to buy tickets with cash. Make sure you always have cash at hand and ask someone to teach you how to use the machines. Or maybe you can find some Youtube video that shows this.

 

To maximize your time in Japan, I also recommend an over-night flight that arrives there in the morning and a return flight that leaves in the evening. And if you can, push your trip to April/May ????

[jphasia]

I forgot to mention about SIM card. As for myself, having a AIS postpaid, I subscribed to one their data roaming package for Japan before leaving. It's data roaming package for 10 days only and maximum 10GB at 1,900 bahts. I activated at the airport and I was good on roaming for my 6 days trip.
It might not be the cheapest option but it suit me and was working very well. It was helpful for me to stay connected for my work (emails, messengers...) and for the navigation.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

[JaiLai]

18 minutes ago, jphasia said:

I forgot to mention about SIM card. As for myself, having a AIS postpaid, I subscribed to one their data roaming package for Japan before leaving. It's data roaming package for 10 days only and maximum 10GB at 1,900 bahts. I activated at the airport and I was good on roaming for my 6 days trip.
It might not be the cheapest option but it suit me and was working very well. It was helpful for me to stay connected for my work (emails, messengers...) and for the navigation.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk
 

Yeah, i look at the True roaming charges and it's only 350 a day which is not the end of the world so that'd probably be my preference too.

 

Thanks.

[LongTimeLurker]

I'm going in April to avoid Songkran, 7 nights in Tokyo and 6 in Osaka with side trips to Fuji, Kyoto and Iga.

 

I'd suggest for only 4 or 5 days you'll find plenty to do in either Tokyo or Osaka but will be pushed to see both.

 

Air Asia fly direct from Bangkok to Tokyo Narita and to Osaka KIX.

 

Booked accommodation on AirBnB, Osaka is much cheaper than Tokyo if cost is an issue.

 

P.S. A lot of the airbnb places provide the portable wifi modems

 

[halim]

Hello, sorry to hijack this thread. I hope OP wont mind. I'm planning to go to Japan this coming songkran holiday. 2 nights in Tokyo and 4 nights in Gunma. Any advice on car rental? Also, since we are planning to go to the ski resort in Gunma and since it is off season, are winter tyres necessary?

[LongTimeLurker]

2 hours ago, halim said:

Hello, sorry to hijack this thread. I hope OP wont mind. I'm planning to go to Japan this coming songkran holiday. 2 nights in Tokyo and 4 nights in Gunma. Any advice on car rental? Also, since we are planning to go to the ski resort in Gunma and since it is off season, are winter tyres necessary?

A mate who was recently in Japan told me that the toll roads are very, very expensive so you may want to consider that also.

[JaiLai]

After some thought and advice given here i have decided to delay this trip until April ( perhaps escaping Songkran ).

 

I realise it may be a bit more expensive but i think it'll be more enjoyable with the weather and Sakura season as mentioned.

 

Can anyone recommend a preffered airline to fly with? what should i expect to pay for a flight?

 

Thanks.

[Greyhat]

20 minutes ago, JaiLai said:

what should i expect to pay for a flight?

Just use a website like skyscanner or kayak and you'll find out, this is a result for searching from Bangkok to Tokyo in April. Bear in mind prices get more expensive booking closer to the date.

 

 

[JaiLai]

1 hour ago, Greyhat said:

Just use a website like skyscanner or kayak and you'll find out, this is a result for searching from Bangkok to Tokyo in April. Bear in mind prices get more expensive booking closer to the date.

 

 

Thanks for that, not a bad price...

 

Is NRT the preffered airport to arrive at?

 

 

[LongTimeLurker]

18 hours ago, JaiLai said:

Is NRT the preffered airport to arrive at?

Yes, flying to Hanida involves flying via KL and takes a lot longer and is more expensive.

 

You could also fly into KIK but you arrive late at night so I'm flying into NRT, train down to Osaka and leave from KIK.

[Heng]

You can ski in Japan from December to May (although if you are a powderhound, narrow that down to January to March).   1 1/2 to 2 hours out of Tokyo station via Shinkansen for a choice of something like 100 ski resorts (and they have something like 450-500 resorts in all nationwide).   I like the Hakuba area myself (which gives you a choice of 10 resorts in one).