165 replies to this topic

[kannaforever]

I'm now thinking about going to Japan around June 15. C-ute has a concert on the 16, Kanna is having a play around that time, and best of all...it's Kanna's 20th birthday! That seems like the best time for me to go.

 

I have a few questions, would like to get feedback from people who have been to Japan.

 

Is it generally easy to get train tickets without speaking or reading Japanese?

What hotels are recommended in the Tokyo area and also in the Osaka area?

Does anyone recommend getting the Japan Rail Pass? It looks like that would make traveling a lot easier since I wouldn't have to worry about getting tickets on Japan Railways.

[Nichan Desu~]

Its Nichan, but call me Nichi IRL. 

 

 

I need to come to this thread to pick me up. (Beyonce tickets sold out and I am having a breakdown about it)

 

Anyways. I will be coming to Japan on the 15th of May. Still haven't figured out where I will stay so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I will probably arrive in Tokyo

(I was going to go to Fukuoka first but my friend wont be there during that time so its no use) 

 

I'm going to the Momusu Grad. I don't know how to purchase the tickets yet though. I plan to stay until the 30th. If anyone is interested lets chat up on Skype or something (Maybe someone can show me how to get my ticket and stuff because I REALLY dont know how.)

 

This will be my first time in Japan so I'm a little nervous guys. I'd love to meet up with everyone. Im friendly and kind and I have an amazing afro.

[kittychan]

I'm now thinking about going to Japan around June 15. C-ute has a concert on the 16, Kanna is having a play around that time, and best of all...it's Kanna's 20th birthday! That seems like the best time for me to go.

 

I have a few questions, would like to get feedback from people who have been to Japan.

 

Is it generally easy to get train tickets without speaking or reading Japanese?

What hotels are recommended in the Tokyo area and also in the Osaka area?

Does anyone recommend getting the Japan Rail Pass? It looks like that would make traveling a lot easier since I wouldn't have to worry about getting tickets on Japan Railways.

 

It is easy to buy tickets for the trains.  You just stick your money in the machine and press the button for how much you want the ticket to be for and that's it.  I'm not sure how much experience you have with train systems, but the hard part is figuring out what train/subway to catch and where to transfer and get off, etc.  The good thing is that all the train stops in Tokyo are written in English and Japanese, so you don't need to worry about reading kanji or not.  But to figure out how much you need to pay, just look at the map at the train station and it will have your current train station highlighted.  And just look for what station you want to go and it will say how much the ticket will cost.

 

There's so many hotels in Tokyo.  I guess it depends on how much you want to spend.  I think i read some people will stay at the Shinjuku Sunroute Hotel.  I've been there and it's a really nice hotel and all the staff speak English...it's a little pricey, but for what you get, its worth it. 

 

If you plan to go to Osaka, then it's worth getting the Rail Pass.  If you make 1 round trip between Tokyo and Osaka, you pretty much paid for your 7-day rail pass.  So you will definately get your monies worth.  Plus, you dont have to bother with buying tickets and figuring out how much each individual train ride will be. 

[Nessy]

Yes, the rail pass is great if you go anywhere else in Japan. Then while it is active, just take only JR lines for normal use too (easy if you don't mind walking a bit sometimes) and you'll save A LOT. But if you're not planning on going anywhere other than Tokyo I think it's a waste of money.

The train system is big, but not hard if you've lived in a city before. If you're confused, the train station staff is used to tourists and can help you out. Anyway, just make sure you put your money in the machine that will give you a ticket for the right train line (if the station serves multiple lines) and it is always easy to tell, there's lots of signs.
Maybe the confusing thing is when you put the ticket through the turnstile you take it out afterwards and keep it for when you get off the train...but the staff can help if you get confused. I've done dumb things before like putting the wrong ticket in the wrong turnstile and the staff always helps so you'll be fine.

[Ares13]

To add ... the ticketing machines ... you just need to select the English button and you can buy the train tickets in English interface ...

As Nessy say ... rail pass is great if you are going to more than 1 city in Japan ...
However if you are going to be in Tokyo alone ... its a waste of money ...

furthermore ... as good as JR line looks ... they actually don't cover many place closely ..
JR usually cover major area in Tokyo in general ...Quite many places is not cover under the rail pass ..but its under other rail or subway companies...
If you take a the rail pass .. you will be force to take JR only ... and that will increase your walking time and distance by a lot ..
So get really for a good hike if you stay only in Tokyo and only want to travel around in JR ..

Usually .. I would get a Suica .. and top it up good ... and its just tap and go on the reader ... don't really have to think about the fare ... lol

Anyway ... its not that hard ..
I know zero Japanese ... and I have been to Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya on my own ...
And for this 3 places ... JR only cover the major area .. I used their subway system most of the time ...

[m(Vo_oV)m]

@kannaforever:

I agree with with everyone above.

Only if you're really gonna travel far across prefectures, then a RailPass would be easy and save you money.

Otherwise, buying a Suica or Passmo Card is best. It's only a one time fee of 500yen ($6)

Like I mention on my on my 1st post, one can get the card right at the airport when you land.

There usually is no line, you just go to the regular machine that sells train tickets and Buy & Charge your Card.

 

@Nichan Desu~:

For buying concert tickets.

Just look at my 1st post for more information.

It covers a lot of basic topics, but in regards to tickets;

Usually the best is to buy them at a concert ticket store like Gorakudoh @Harajuku, or online @Yahoo!auctions.

Unfortunately, the best seats are a bit of a gamble as the sellers give you only a range of seats and not the seat number, which you only get after buying the ticket, in order to protect the original ticket owner's identity, and to get a better price for the ticket too.

By best, I mean as close to front-row-center as possible.

I hope I'm not making it more confusing. : P

[洋hiromi水]

Is it generally easy to get train tickets without speaking or reading Japanese?

 

about the train tickets, check out this video. it's an explanation on how it works

Spoiler

 

I really recommend the playlist this video is part of, too! It covers so many questions on how to do stuff in Japan as well as on how to be behave and stuff like that. It's really interesting and useful.

[kannaforever]

Thanks a lot! That playlist has a lot of very helpful information.

[洋hiromi水]

^

glad you like it

 

so, since I'm going to plan my trip soon... I was wondering... what is everyone planning? Which places are great to visit in Tokyo or in Japan generally? I like searching for destinations on the Internet but it's always more interesting to see what other people do and what people think who have been there before I'd be happy for any information, may it be about cool sights, delicious food, restaurants, bars, streets, shops... anything. 

 

up until now, I thought of visiting Tokyo Tower, Shinjuku and Harajuku, the Imperial Palace, maybe the Edo-Tokyo museum, Sensou-ji in Asakusa and Disney Land~

[Nessy]

^Honestly when it comes to spectacle etc, Shibuya is a bit more exciting than Shinjuku (more video screens and teenagers)
Miyashita Park there is also rather lovely, and interesting cuz it's located on an overpass...

This is a given, but be sure to check out Akihabara and Nakano Broadway for idol stuff.

Basement of Ikebukuro Sunshine City has lots of very small shops (practically stalls) with great clothes for quite cheap (upstairs is more obvious mall chains.) Koenji district, too, has sooo many great clothing shops. Then obviously Harajuku. Also Shimokitazawa (which has nice cafes as well)...

If you're into other types of music, tokyogigguide.com is a great resource for finding cool shows (and by extension, interesting bars/clubs). I went to an awesome noise and experimental electronic show at this place called Super Deluxe in Roppongi the other week on a whim and met a lot of really fun/nice/cool musicians.

I like the National Film Center in Ginza a lot, shows mostly older and/or notable Japanese films daily, on 35mm, for very cheap!

For touristy stuff, the small streets around Ueno station are a sight. Also, the huge plaza at Ebisu is crazy at night, looks like a German fairy tale somehow...

There's a pretty cool contemporary art museum in Aoyama called Watari-um, has an ok exhibition going on right now of that guy JR--worth checking out imo
Lots of free galleries in the basements or top floors of clothing stores around Omotesando but they usually kind of suck.

The National Art Museum in Osaka rules hard, if you wind up over in that direction.

 

If you go to Nagoya, check out Osu (Nagoya's version of Nakano Broadway meets Akihabara, kinda--open air electronics and other weird and not weird stuff-centric shopping arcade). If you go on Wednesday night, you can also see OSU, the (awesome) local idol group, perform (for free) in the central plaza. (And if you actually do this and she happens to be performing that night, please give a few cheers to Tomomi for me~)

My biggest advice would be to walk everywhere, even if it will take extra time and make you get lost. This is of course the best way to experience any city, but especially one that is not structured on a grid system and has very few street names.

[Ares13]

My biggest advice would be to walk everywhere, even if it will take extra time and make you get lost. This is of course the best way to experience any city, but especially one that is not structured on a grid system and has very few street names.

Yes .. this is the best advice ..
Don't be single minded ..and just go exactly where you plan to go .. go explore the area around the place you plan to go and stop along the way if you find anything interesting ...

[kittychan]

And if you are trying to budget your trip to Japan, always, always bring extra money.  Most people that visit here always end up spending more money than they had planned.

[Ares13]

^ ..lol .. ya ..
I find that there are a few silent budget killers for me ..
1)transport ...my advice is ..if you can walk .. walk .. those 1-2 stop ride cash burn fast ...but I am talking about their subway .. for JR its really far apart so you cant walk ..lol
2) the damn vending machine ... its so inviting ... so easy to get a drink ..the machines everywhere ..
3) their convenience store ... its also almost everywhere and they open 24 7 ...and everything look interesting and nice ... OMG ..

[洋hiromi水]

thanks for the advice guys! your posts were really helpful I actually love wandering around in cities because I agree that you get to see so many things you wouldn't see when going by train or bus. I did this in Paris, too, but I thought that you can't go anywhere by foot in Toyko because it's like... huge >< but I'm definitely gonna check out some of those places! The museum in Osaka is on my list already because I'll be living in Kansai for 5 months. Also, thanks for pointing out idol related places that's what you usually don't find out by checking websites on the Internet! And yes, I'm afraid I'll also spend lots and lots of money in Japan... I need to be careful about that. 

 

another question: has anyone been in Hiroshima before? I heard that the city is beautiful, but checking the Internet, there is not much to see besides the things that are related to the nuclear bomb. I'd definitely like to visit those museums and places, but other than that, I wonder if there is anything else to experience there.

[Ares13]

^ .. er .. i only been to Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka ...
but wow you live in Kansai region for 5 months ? .. that's something I am trying to figure out ...
Except for Osaka .. I heard their train ain't that accessible and bus is the way ... but I don't know how to take a bus with no Japanese knowledge .. LOL
dunno how true ..

And Osaka just saying as you may already know ...
My fav place in of the 3 city I been to is Osaka .. and in Osaka .. I really love the Shinsaibashi, Namba and nipponbashi ..
the are all side by side ... I have walk up and down this area many times and I think I will never get sick of it ...
I really hope to go back there one of those days .. ..

Maybe I plan a Fukuoka or a Kansai trip after my Tokyo trip coming this April ..
anyway ... for my April Tokyo trip .. pretty much nothing is happening ...
I got to book at a time when everyone from H!P to 48 is not doing much .. >.< .. oh well ..

[kittychan]

Hiroshima is a great place.  The main city area is pretty small, so you can walk around fairly easily and not rely on public transportation too much.  Lots of nice shopping arcades in Hiroshima.  but you're right, there isnt too much touristy things to do there.  The main thing is the bomb stuff, hiroshima castle and I highly recommend Miyajima Island.

 

Miyajima Island is just a short 20-30 minute train ride away from the city center (plus a 15 minute ferry ride).  It's a beautiful place, with deers, shrine over the ocean, hiking, cable cars, monkeys, etc.  You could easily spend the whole day.  And once, I stayed overnight there, which is really good because you can see the shrine and the gate in the water at different sea levels.  It looks totally different at high tide and low tide.

 

Plus, if you stay there over night, you can see the island after all the tourists leave.  Much more peaceful.

 

Good oysters on the island too.

[manxmike]

Some great advice in this thread - thanks!

 

I'm in Japan from 4th - 20th April. Joining a tour but having two days alone in Tokyo first, staying in Asakusa. I was thinking of walking East to the Skytree the first day and hoping it's not too busy early morning, then checking out the aquarium and shops underneath afterwards before heading back, maybe seeing Sumida Park on the way. Will it be nicely lit in the evenings in April?

 

Day 2 I was thinking of walking West and seeing Ueno Park, maybe the zoo, then heading South to Akihabara. Any idea how long walking from Ueno to Akihabara would take?

 

Any advice on other things to see or do gratefully received!

[Nessy]

^I just walked from Ueno to Akihabara the day before yesterday, so I can say from recent experience it's a 20 min walk! An easy one, too, just follow the train tracks, you can't get lost. And it takes you thru some of the more interesting streets in the area.

 

It's already getting dark later--the sun doesn't go down til after 6, now, so I'm sure the evenings will be plenty lit by April.

[kittychan]

April weather is really nice.  Sometimes it can be a little chilly, but normally, it's great weather.

 

In Tokyo, the cherry blossoms are scheduled to open from 3/23.  And the estimated best time to view them, when they are in full bloom, is 3/31 to 4/7.  So your timing should be perfect to check out the cherry blossoms.  Of course, it's just a prediction, so not 100% sure.

[洋hiromi水]

^ I hope you're right. I'm planning to head to Ueno Park on 30th or 31st of March and I'd love to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom

 

and thanks, kittychan, for telling me about Hiroshima and the Miyajima island! I haven't realized that it's so near to Hiroshima. I think I'll be going there for one of my longer weekends