Travel Answers

Hi guys, do you have any good recommendations for accommodation in Kyoto & Osaka area? My budget is USD $40-60(max) per night. For Kyoto, hotels are great but I would love to try the Ryokan type to experience the traditional Japanese style also accessible to Kyoto Station. And for Osaka, I prefer hotels somewhere around Namba or Dotonbori area and also easy access for everything especially transport. Thanks in advance! :)

was researching getting from narita to central tokyo and was wondering if tokyo free kippu works on that route? thanks

what is this place and what does it mean? is it a restaurant? bar?

Hello, I am coming to Tokyo this month, I have one afternoon free, and would like to know the biggest Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya in Tokyo? and the closest train station?\
thanks

Hey there. I am a young American who has a deep interest in Japanese Spirituality from Shintoism to Buddhism. I want to be able to plan a trip to Japan and be able to really invest spiritually and be able to look at some of the most beautiful sites in Japan. Taking all suggestions would love to chat with anyone who is familiar with the country.

Hello, i would like to seek some advice on my program. My friends and i (4 of us) are planning a road trip in Hokkaido and we are into scenery, food and shopping.
Option A: Day 1: Arrive in Chitose and rent a car from airport. Sin-Chitose-Noboribetsu. Overnight Nobo. Day 2: Nobo to Lake Toya. Overnight Lake Toya. Day 3: Drive to Hakodate. Overnight Hakodate. Day 4: Drive to Sapporo. Overnight Sapporo. Day 5: Explore day trip to Otaru. Return to Sapporo. Day 6: Drive to Biei and Furano. Day 7: Furana to Sapporo. Overnight Sapporo. Day 8: Sapporo to Chitose. Home Sweet Home.
Option B- Day 1: Sin-Tokyo-Chitose. Take train to Sapporo. Day 2: Day trip to Otaru. Day 3: Take train to Hakodate. Overnight in Hakodate. Day 4: Rent a car in Hakodate and drive to Nobo. Overnight Nobo. Day 5: Drive from Nobo to Biei and Furnano. Day 6: Furano. Day 7: Drive from Furano to Sapporo. Day 8: Home sweet Home.

Appended above is the gist of my itinerary. May i seek your opinion on which would be a better option? Should i give up Hakodate?
Thank you in advance

hello: we will be staying at the New Otani Makuhari while my husband is on a business trip. Two questions: 1. how do we get from there (the JR stop is Kaihin Makuhari) to central tokyo, I guess what is the route? and 2. how do we get from the hotel to Narita? I tried looking at the JR map but it was too confusing!!! fortunately my husband knows japanese, so when we get there it won't be a problem, I just wanted to have the routes/stops noted in advance! Thanks

My family and I would like to relocate for a month, sometime in the next 1yr, to Tokyo. No major reason except to expose our kids to cultures other than US. Any recommendations on apartments or hotels or other living spaces while we're there?

Using all the normal search engines the cheapest one-way flight from Japan to Honolulu seems to be about 650 euros. Is there any "secret" source of cheap flights I may have missed?

Hi All, I am planning a trip to Japan and my travel agent, Flight Centre HK suggested that I get the Japan Rail Pass. As I am flexible with cities and time, what would be the best option if I am starting off in Tokyo. This will be my first time in Japan and budget isn't a big thing. I am just very interested to do train travel. Will likely be going in June. Looking forward to your insight!

Hi,

I am coming to Tokyo  next month , I wouldlike to know where can I buy good quilty Japanesgreen  Sencha tea.

thanks

Hello
We travel to Japan next October.
Someone told us that you have to book (make a reservation) your hotelrooms in advance.
Otherwise, we will not find a room for the night. ???
Many Thanks.

My wife and I will be spending 5 days in Kyushu, travelling from Osaka. We would prefer to base ourselves in a central location and travel to other centres (by rail mostly) on a daily basis, probably in the northern part of Kyushu. Please recommend a suitable base .e.g. Would Kumamoto be a practical place to travel to most other northern centres such as Beppu, Nagasaki etc. It seems to be on a main rail line? Thanks.

Hi I know I have too many questions..

Does anyone know what the Odaiba Island will be exhibiting this August? I know two years ago it had the ship from Onepiece, Thousand Sunny. Does anyone have any idea where this ship exhibition has gone??

Also, 'cos I don't want to keep making new threads, does anyone know if any Jrockers are touring Tokyo this August? (Or Osaka)?

I've been finding it hard to find any centralised activities going on for the Bon Festival this August. And any I do find, is in Japanese :( Can someone tell me any precise locations and times for the Bon Festival in Tokyo this year? Would be much appreciated!

I'm in Tokyo Narita Airport right now, & thinking of buying back this confection called "Tokyo Banana".

Our daily temperature here in Singapore hovers at 34°C; once I'm back home, must "Tokyo Banana" be kept refrigerated, or is it safe if kept in the open for a few days ?

I ask 'cos I wanna buy for my friends to enjoy, but I'm afraid of it going bad if kept at room temperature (34°C) for 3 days b4 I see my friends. Unfortunately, everything on the box is written in Japanese, & the staff hete don't seem to understand my question.

Thanks in advance for any information.

Hi all members, I will first time travel to Osaka by 30 November until 08 December 2013. I wil only arrive Kansai airport by 2225hr (30th November 2013) which is quite late and leaving osaka by 2300hr (9th December 2013).

I have no idea at all since I will be first time to Japan. I need advices from all, so that I can start the itinerary studying and planning. Hope to hear you all soon! :) Thanks!

Hi All,
I am going to Osaka in June for 8 days with my family which includes 4 young children. We are flying into Kansai airport and are staying in Namba. Our plan is to go to Universal Studios for one day and another day in Himeji. The rest of our trip we'll stay around the Osaka area. Which transportation card is best for us? I have looked at ICOCA, Kansai JR and Kansai thru passes. Can someone tell me whether any of these are good for our travels? I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks in advance :)

Hi, I will be travelling to Japan from 26th Jul for 10 days with my wife and a 7 yr old son. If you can pls let me know:

(i) Is the summertime very hot ? I have read weather charts but it's difficult to gauge the actual feel just looking at the temperature. Is it very humid ? Does it also rain a lot and does that spoil your sightseeing ?

(ii) I will stay probably 5 days in Tokyo and 4 days in Kyoto and the last day back to Tokyo. I will most likely travel by Shinkasen. Do these trains allow big pieces of luggage (I mean tourist size suitcases) to be carried onboard ?

(iii) Are taxis easily available from Shinkasen stations to hotels in Kyoto ?

Many thanks

So I am currently staying at a hotel in Itabashi off of the train station, and am a bit stuck. I got 20,000 yen out at the airport when I arrived, but now after arriving at my hotel I realized that none of the ATMs around here accept my debit card. I tried the 2 nearest banks off of the Ikebukuro stop, but they did not accept my card either. Right now I have 4,000 yen left of my 20,000 and I am saving it for a train ticket to wherever I can get some more cash. Can someone tell me a place to go where I can get some money out? I can't even afford the train back to the airport right now. I know that my card works and is active because I have been using it at the 7-11 to buy rice balls and beer. Thanks!

Hi. Pls comment on my itinerary. Thanks.
Day 1 - KIX arrival 7:55pm. Purchase 1 way ICOCA & Haruka package at airport. KIX - JR Kyoto. Walk to Backpacker's Guesthouse Budget Inn.

Day 2 - Eastern Kyoto Full Day (bus/walk)
Get 500 yen 1-day bus pass.
Kyoto Station Karasuma exit (bus 5/17 Ginkakujimichi or bus 100 Ginkakujimae) - Ginkaku-ji temple→(walk)→Philosopher's path→(walk)→Higashi-Tenno-Cho bus stop→(bus#5, 32, 46, or 100)→KyotoKaikan Bijutsukan Mae bus stop→(walk)→Heian-Jingu Shrine→Kyoto Kaikan Bijutukan Mae bus stop→(bus#5, or 46)→Shijo-Takakura bus stop→(Walk)→Nishiki Food Market→(walk)→Gion→(walk)→Yasaka Shrine→(walk)→Maruyama Park→(walk)→Kiyomizu-dera temple→(bus 100/206)→JR Kyoto station - back to hotel.

• You can get the Bus Map when you buy the 1 day pass!!! Also there is the route map at each bus stop!! So before you ride, you should check the bus map!!

Day 3 - Arashiyama Full Day (bus)

JR Kyoto Station - JR Saga-Arashiyama Station (Arashiyama) - Bamboo Forest - Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street (lunch) - Tenryu-ji Temple - Togetsukyo Bridge - Monkey Park - JR Saga-Arashiyama Station - JR Kyoto Station – Hotel
Note: In Arashiyama area, the way to travel there is just to walk!! You don't need to take any bus or taxi in Arashiyama. You can just walk around. It takes a lot of walking. Sagano Scenic train's round-trip fare is 1200 yen. A bit expensive, so I'd recommend if the weather is beautiful.

Day 4 - Northern Kyoto (bus)
Get 500 yen 1-day bus pass.
Kyoto Station (bus 101 Kinkakujimichi) - Kinkakuji (bus #59 Ryoan-ji mae stop) - Ryoanji -(bus#59)- Ninnaji -(bus#59 and #12 at kinkakujimichi stop)- Nijo Castle (subway Nijo Station -Keihan Sanjo station (Subway) - Sanjo station (Keihan Railways) - Shichijo Station) – Sanjusangendo 4:30 pm last entry (Keihan Railways Fushimi Inari Station) – Fushimi Inari Shrine (JR Kyoto station by JR line) - back to hotel

Day 5 - Nara Day Trip (subway/walk)
JR Kyoto Station - JR Nara (900 yen, 1 hr 5 mins)
Join a walking tour:
- Great Buddha, Todaiji Temple, Kofukuji Temple, Deer Park, Kasuga Shrine, Isuien Garden, Yoshikien Garden
JR Nara - JR Kyoto - back to hotel

Day 6 - Osaka (subway)
JR Kyoto - JR Shin Osaka - Shin Osaka (subway) - Namba Station (red line). Exit 3 & 4, 10 mins walk to Hotel Hillarys
Umeda:
- Osaka Station City - Umeda Station (red line)
Namba:
-Shinsaibashi - Shinsaibashi Station (red line)
- Shinsekai/Tsutenkaku Tower - Dobutsuen-mae Station (red) – walk to
- Nipponbashi Denden Town - Ebisucho Station (brown) – walk to
- Dotonbori - 5 min walk from Namba Station (red line)
- Walk back to hotel.
Shinsekai – Denden Town – Dotonbori (walkable for 1 hr). Denden Town is between Dobutsuen mae (subway) station and Nipponbashi (Subway) station.

Day 7 - Universal Studios (subway)
Namba - Umeda (red line), JR Osaka - Universal City Station

Day 8 - Osaka Castle (subway)
Namba - Hommachi (red line) - Tanimachi 4-chrome Station (green line)

Evening flight 8:40pm
Hotel Hillarys (6 mins walk) - Nanba Station (Nankai line) 38 mins – KIX
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Hello guys, I am going for a holiday to Osaka with my mom from November 9 until November 15 2013. We are coming from Kansai airport. We would like to do lots of sight seeings and enjoy the autumn season on the first few days of our trip so I was thinking of visiting Kyoto and Nara area first because I heard its a great place to visit there during autumn and there's lots of great historical temples. Do you think that's a good idea?? Is one or two days enough for us to get the most of Kyoto & Nara? Then after that we'll be spending most of our time in Osaka area and perhaps do some shopping, we would like to visit Universal Studio, Osaka Castle park, Dotonbori, Shinsaibashi etc. Can you guys recommend free or cheap admission of popular attractions there?

I'm having troubles of organizing our itinerary as I thought its a good idea to find a place where we can stay first. I was wondering which websites would you recommend that offers good and affordable accommodations? Lastly, which is the best transport card to get so we can easily access these places? I've heard about Kansai JR and Kansai thru passes but not sure how they work. Can I just purchase them online?

Looking forward to your feedbacks. Thanks a lot in advance! :)