Japan trip - where to go

[gisele]

Hi People,
Can you share with me whether I should get the JR pass to travel from Tokyo to Osaka? Or should I get just the round trip tickets? Or is there cheap domestic flight to get? Also please share with me if you know of any cheap and nice ryokan and onsen in Osaka. Thanks!

 

[tingting]

hi gisele,

if you're just using the JP pass once or twice, it may be cheaper to buy a normal ticket while being there. I feel that JR passes are more economical when they are used for frequent travel. You should be able to check out their prices for normal travel at the JR website or the japanese tourism board. Here's a good site: www.jnto.go.jp

 

[mini]

hi gisele,

if u intend to travel from tokyo to osaka n back to tokyo again, its better for u to get JR railpass. fyi, by shinkasen (bullet train), it cost 14050yen one way from tokyo to osaka. journey took 3hrs. if say you have to go back tokyo again will cost 28100yen. this is even more ex than JR rail pass. with a JR pass u r free to travel ard in osaka n tokyo. can even go kyoto or kobe if there is time.

domestic flight also ex. can only get cheap domestic tix if book more than certain number of days in advance. so far i only noe can get tix domestic tix in jap. not sure how to get cheap tix here. fyi, cheapest domestic tix also cost 11000yen per way.

 

[mini]

forgot to add..price of domestic flight tix ranges from 11000yen~20000yen depending on when u book n when u fly. somemore have to take domestic flight from the tokyo domestic airport. so still means have to pay for train tix to domestic airport. overall still feel JR pass is the best as dun have to pay anymore when take train.

 

[gisele]

Thanks tingting and mini. In that case, I'll get the JR rail pass as I also plan to go to Kyoto as well. So come to ryokan and onsen, do you have any cheap and good recommendations?

 

[sakurasan]

Hi gisele

U shld get the JR Pass coz you can use it within Tokyo as well. And if you want to, you can use it to pop by Kyoto or Kobe or Nara...it's definitely worth it coz the Tokyo to Osaka trip by shinkansen is equivalent to the cost of the entire JR pass.

 

[askabride]

Hi all,
Anyone who has gone on a japan packaged tour with CTC? Care to share howz their services (tour guide esp)and meals provided?
I tried calling them up and even my hubby went to their office to ask on some packages but turned out that the counter service quite bad, as in they dun seem very keen on serving the customers...?

 

[petals]

Hi askabride,

I & hubby signed up with CTC for our honeymoon in Central Japan (7-days) in Nov last year. It was simply one of the best trips that we ever had !!!

The itinerary was good and well planned - 100% meals covered & 5-star hotels stay (except for the one at Mt. Fuji in which we stayed at a ryokan).

The local tour guide was friendly, helpful and very "hard-working". We were able to complete most of the rides at Universal Studio and Tokyo Disney Land by 3 pm, all thanks to him. He went around collecting fast-pass for our tour members while we were taking the rides. With the fast pass, we need not queue up like the rest of the people and we can just proceed with the other rides without much delay

Btw, one of my friends happened to sign up the ANA's Japan 7-days package during the same period of our visit. She complained to me that their local guide practically left them on their own at Universal Studio and Disney Land - they had to locate and queue up for every ride and therefore could only finish about 4 rides at the end of the day. Furthermore, they had to buy their own lunch at Disney Land which were mostly expensive. Also, going by ANA's itinerary, they only had about half day to spend at Universal Studio - they had to transit at Narita airport before flying to Osaka airport ... By then, it was already in the afternoon

On a separate note, we reached Universal Studio in the morning and we still had time to go to Osaka Castle(this is not in the itinerary) after finishing all the rides.

Btw, I fully agreed with you that CTC counter service is bad - We were frustrated with their counter service many times. However, do not let this bad experience deter you from signing up their Japan package tour. I believe you will enjoy the trip

Petals

 

[celyw]

Hello,

I plan to have a F&E trip to Japan - Tokyo this coming Aug will it be cold then? is 6 days in tokyo enough or too long? because we can only take leave for one week. Please advise.

Hi Cat, can share with me your F&E itinery I have never been to Japan thou hubby went there before but always on biz trips very rush so he never do any sightseeing himself too.

 

[mini]

hi celine,

August will be v hot in japan. infact it will be the hottest mth..temp will be like spore. what do u intend to do in Tokyo? will u be going to visit those sightseeing places ard tokyo? tokyo is mainly shopping n can spend many days shopping. if not can take 1day trip from tokyo to hakone, yokohama, kamakura etc. think 1 wk is enough to visit tokyo n take those day trips. oh yar.. think will spend 1-2days at disney too right?

check on www.jnto.go.jp as it recommends those above mentioned sightseeing places.

 

[celyw]

hi mini, thnx for your info.

good to know aug is hot in japan...then can buy summer clothes there.

intend to shop, visit disneyland and mount fuji...think 6 days just nice dun think we got time to get out of tokyo rite??

 

[biba8169]

hi petals,

who's ur local tour guide in Japan? I went for ANA package twice last yr too.

 

[mini]

celine,

6days including of flight? oh yar...within tokyo alone, must go to Odaiba. it is a beautiful place. there r also nice shopping centres in Odaiba. think 1 day will be spent there. Shinjuku n Shibuya are nice shopping areas n the ppl there also happening. there is a famous meiji shrine at harajuku. yup, can buy summer clothes there... but then the clothes there are really ex! just a top alone cost $60-100.

u mean u r going to take bus to 5th station of mt fuji? infact can view mt fuji at Hakone when the weather is v good since Hakone is v near to mt fuji.

 

[celyw]

hi mini,

yah 6 1/2 days incl. flight flying off midnite. My hotel stay will be at ikebukuro. My itinery something as follows

day 1: shinjuku
day 2: shinbuya/harajuku
day 3: disneyland
day 4: asakusa/ginza
day 5: mt fuji/hot spring
day 6: ikebukuro/depart TYO

do you think its okie? too rush or too long?? can still squeeze in other areas??

Thnx.

 

[celyw]

how to take bus to mt. fuji? isit very far? how long is the journey??

 

[askabride]

Hi Petals,
Thx for ur sharing of your experience. I am really keen but when i called them up again, they said it's no longer 100% meals provided and the updated itinery taken fr their office (not the online one) is not as attractive as the online copy cos the online one has hot spring bath and others...

Oh well, see if therez any better pkgs than CTC, else i'll juz take it up lorh

 

[mini]

celine,

wow...mainly shopping trip! the itinerary is ok n not too rush. not sure if how long u intend to shop at these places. coz i m not really into shopping so will just visit a few shopping centres. so to me, haf day at shinjuku is more than enough. there are also many shopping centres at ikebukuro.

try to see if can go to Odaiba as it is a beautiful n romantic place. infact dun need so long at harajuku coz nothing much there. think shinjuku, shibuya/harajuku, asakusa/ginza can visit in 2days if say u start ur day early n end the day late.

can take bus to mt fuji at shinjuku. there is a bus co called "Odakyuu" or wat that offer bus service to mt fuji. think the journey takes 2-3hrs per way. but if goes to 5th station of mt fuji dun think there is any hotspring. if want hotspring, can try hakone as there are many hotspring areas. but then august is abit too hot for hotspring

 

[celyw]

heehee....thot tokyo famous for shopping.

anyway one day for disneyland, one day for mt fuji enough of sightseeing lah. want to go there to eat & shop all the way.

odaiba is near where? go there to see what huh?? i dun mind squeezing in one more plc if really that nice.

 

[mini]

can take monorail from shimbashi station (within tokyo) to odaiba. have fuji tv building where the building design quite unique. have nice shopping centres..also have a ferris wheel. quite romantic to ride in ferris wheel then have a big toyota showroom where u can sit inside the cars to take photos. got a rainbow bridge which is beautiful at night. not sure what else but heard got new things to see there. really regret only went odaiba once

when go shibuya must go to the 109 building..that place is happening.. even the sales assistant also

 

[tsubame]

Hi Celine, my itinerary around same as yours. Only I have 10 days there. Haven't decide where to go first, only that cannot go Disney during weekend.

1. Ikebukuro (we also staying there

)
2. Shinjuku
3. Roppongi
4. Shibuya / Harajuku
5. Odaiba
6. Akibahara / Ueno
7. Yokohama / Kamakura
8. Studio Ghibli (if can get tickets)
9. DisneySea (been to Disneyland b4)

Mine's mainly shopping. Intending to take our time and get lost on the streets there.

I also highly recoment Mt Fuji, very nice. Been there last time so not going again. Same for Asakusa and Ginza. Ginza really not much to see. Asakusa is quite nice. As mini said, must go Odaiba. And my friend who went last year highly recommend Roppongi Hills.

 

[celyw]

wow mini, the way you describe odaiba seems so nice!! I definitely must try to squeeze in this plc into my itinery.

Thnx so much mini for telling me about this plc.

 

[celyw]

hi cats, you are so lucky can spent 10 days there we cannot coz we have another couple frens following us and they cannot take so much leave and if we extend stay not really that good rite...

mine oso mainly shopping and walk around to absorb japan's ambience.

just intend to squeeze in mt. fuji and disneyland nothing else but if can go hot spring better...mt fuji nearby got hotspring??

 

[pink]

Hi Celine,

You can try this website for any one day tour packages such as Mt. fuji, Kamakura, etc.

http://www.jtb.co.jp/sunrisetour/

If you have the time, can also try to spend sometime at chinatown by Minato mirai line.

http://www.minatomirai21.com/english/index.html

 

[cathy]

Hi, anyone has already booked a trip to Japan jus for the cherry blossom and would like to share how much was your package? I've jus booked 1 and it cost $1

 

[cathy]

sorry typo error. my package cost $1838 excluding tax

 

[pluto]

Hi cathy, i went to Japan juz last year to watch cherry blossoms...wow! it was really beautiful and nice...I went Free and Easy. Was in Japan for 11 days. My airfare was $550.00 and accomodation was ard $80.00 per night with my hubby

Hmmm...$1838 is quite steep...How many days is ur package?

 

[littlesmurfie25]

hi,

anyone can share how much will it cost for 2 pax to visit central japan say for 6-7 days?

 

[serene2001]

hi lisa ho,

wow, $80 accomodation is really cheap. can i ask which hotel is that, which area? really hard to find cheap accomodation in japan.

 

[sakurasan]

Hi lisa

Did you fly by UA? And where is ur accommodations? I managed to get $130+ for 2 persons per night and I thot that was cheap.

 

[min_minnie]

Hi, all,

Anyone can tell whether Tokyo Disneyland or Tokoyo Disney Sea better? Agency only allow us to choose one.

 

[freespirit]

Hi cathay,

can share where did you sign up the tour?

anyone got any good recommendations? If i go in Mar will i be able to see the cherry blossom season??

 

[cathy]

Freespirit, i took tradewinds going on SQ for 7D trip. Cherry blossom season is around end Mar and start Apr. Bloom or not is unknown.

 

[fizz]

Hi Lisa

Which airlines did you travel and which hotel did u stay? $550 for an air tix and $80 per room per nite a real deal...my husband n I wld like to go to Tokyo & Osaka for our honeymoon in early Apr but found tat the tix and accomodation real ex...plus the Japan Rail...phew!!!

Thanx...

 

[min_minnie]

Hi, Fizz,
Which hotel did you stay in? Convenient?

Cathy,
If not too expensive, we could extend for another day or so on our own?

 

[tsubame]

For various accomodations, check out: www.itcj.or.jp I booked mine with House Ikebukuro, Yen6000 per night for a Japanese room for 2 with common bath and toilet.

 

[fizz]

Hi Min

I have not booked any hotels yet...but all hotels in Tokyo/Osaka under Asiatravel.com cost at least USD100+ per rm per nite...Phew...a fren recommended me to liase directly wif an agency called JTB in Japan...I'll c how...

 

[pluto]

Hi Sakurasan & serene,

I stayed in Ryokan (traditional hostel) and not hotel. Quite good..very homely..only Yen3,000 per person so it is abt $42.00 when i went there but i think now japanese currency has inflated. Nevetheless, i think tis is cheapest i can find. It is situated at Asakusa subway. Abt 15mins away. And u can reach town area by foot in 30mins. U can book the room online

http://www.libertyhouse.gr.jp/

Cheers

 

[pluto]

Forgot to tell u tat i flew by Northwest Airlines.

 

[sakurasan]

Hi

I'm paying 8400yen for a semi-double room at Hotel Newstar Ikebukero located near Ikebukero Station. Altho I have absolutely no idea what a semi-double room means!! And I managed to buy my NW tix for $499 excluding taxes. My trip is in early April this year.

 

[sputnik]

Hi all,

I'm considering booking a 5D Japan tour with Nam Ho. Flight is with JAL, and departure in early Apr is $1049 (excluding taxes). Found this to be one of the more affordable packages for Japan. One of my colleagues went for the same tour last Sept and she said it was pretty good. U may want to check out the itinery at their website. Tour is called 5D Japan Fantasy.

 

[fizz]

Hi Sakurasan

I'll check out the NW tix...which agency did u get yr tix?

 

[sakurasan]

Hi Fizz

Sorry for getting back so late - missed this thread somehow.

I got my NW tix with Satours. It's a joint promotion with StanChart I think.

 

[fizz]

Hi Sakurasan

Thanx...I tink it's a good bargain... p

 

[freespirit]

Hi Spuknit,

Can you give me the website for Nam Ho. I am interested in the package as well.

Hi,
If anyone else is going on a package tour please let me know the agency, contact details and cost.

Thanks

 

[sputnik]

Hi freespirit,

The website is www.namho.com.sg

 

[freespirit]

Thanks Sputnik,

I have check through the package. Maybe you should check out CTC as well. I think that their price are quite reasonable.

www.ctc.com.sg

 

[ixwong]

Hi gals,

I bought Ticket online with NW @ S$600 all tax-inclusive (S$530 airfare + S$72 tax).

JR Rail Pass is very ex (abt S$500)- not worth it unless you intend to travel quite extensively. As we only want visit Tokyo & Kyoto, we found a value package from Sunrise tour from Tokyo to Kyoto (return Shinkansen ticket + 1 N hotel) @ Yen 19,000. Quite cheap considering that a return bullet train ticket already cost Yen 26,000. Think such a package used to cost Yen 35000 but they drop the price as part of Japan tourism promotion....

Will be staying at House Ikebukuro (Yen 6000 per night double-room), and Karasuma Kyoto Hotel (booked thru Sunrise tours).

Our itinerary:
Day 1 - Ginza
Day 2 - Ueno, Asakusa, Shibuya, etc...
Day 3 - Tokyo Disneyland
Day 4 - Kyoto
Day 5 - Kyoto
Day 6 - Kyoto
Day 7 - Tokyo (Shinjuku, Ronppongi)
Day 8 - Tsukiji fish market, Dep for SIN

BTW, semi-double room means 2 persons staying in basically a single room. The bed only slightly bigger than single bed. One of you may end up sleeping on floor...

 

[sputnik]

hi freespirit,

Actually I did visit CTC to ask abt their Japan tours abt 2 weeks back, but was put off by their attitude. Anyway, when we visited them, the guy attending to me and my hubby said that the Apr package px not out yet, how abt going in Mar? We said that we can only go in Apr, so he was like 'Apr go Japan very expensive leh, abt $200 more than if you go in Mar .... blah blah' and some of his colleagues listening in also made some snide remarks. Since they did not seem very interested in our business.......

 

[sputnik]

Hi Ivy,

Thanks for clearing up what a semi-double room means. My and hubby really scratching our heads over that mystery!!

 

[sakurasan]

Hi Ivy

Me too! Was wondering what's semi-double room. Maybe I shld change to a double room and pay slightly more.