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How much planning is too much? -
02-02-2010, 05:08 AM
I've got plans to go to Japan for 2 weeks around March to April, so it's not so warm then and the cherry blossoms should hopefully be blooming. So far all i've got done is my passport, next will be accomodation and plane tickets.
This will be my very first trip outside of Australia so i'm a bit nervy about preperations. Unfotunately it's my nature to be overcautious and i don't want to ruin the trip for myself because of it. So i wanted to know from those who have done the Japan trip themselves how much one should prepare beforehand and what can be left until I get there? Heres a few examples i can think of: Getting around Japan Language barrier Mobile/Cell phones, global roaming Washing clothes Any advice that can be offered will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 
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02-02-2010, 11:01 AM
If you plan to travel around the country, look at investing in a JR Pass. They are sold to visitors from outside of Japan, and can only be bought outside. Each country tends to have it's own dealer of such passes and being from the UK, I'm not sure where is best in Aus.
I went on my first trip back in September. I had a month's worth of things to see and my itinerary was packed. I overplanned and had no space to breathe. Especially in Kyoto where I had made it my mission to see everything. Reality was, I was all 'shrined out' by the end of day 2 (of a full week in Kyoto), so unless you have some deep deep love for all things shrines and temples, don't fill your plan up with them. If you want to party, I fully recommend Nagoya and Osaka outside of Tokyo. Nagoya has some awesome places to chill out as well as some great places to have an action packed night. Tokyo is as expensive as they come, and Roppongi...don't even go there for the nightlife (http://www.japanforum.com/forum/japa...ml#post798050). Hiroshima can also be terrific on a weekend, but weekdays it's pretty dead. Fukuoka...Tends to be a full on 'meat market', with it being the biggest City on Kyushu. You tend to get clubs full of US Navy from either Sasebo or Okinawa and its a pretty poor experience. For non-partying, Hiroshima is worth a couple of days. 1 for Miyajima island, and another for Hiroshima city itself, for which it's Peace Park is just so beautiful. Hiroshima pics from Sept 2009
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02-02-2010, 11:07 AM
As for hostels, in my experience these are good stays...
Tokyo: K's House, Asakusa (Very close to Asakusa landmarks, very easy subway links to all parts of the metropolis) Hiroshima: J-Hoppers (Very close to Peace Park) Backpackers Miyajima (Next to Ferry port for Miyajima) Kyoto: J- Hoppers (10 mins from Kyoto Station, walking) Osaka: J-Hoppers Fukuoka: Guest House Kaine (Old Japanese style hostel, very very very friendly owners and has an integrated Udon restaurant) Khaosan Fukuoka (nr Hakata Station)
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02-02-2010, 01:00 PM
Quote:
1. Plan your intinerary 2. Identify your choice of transportation 3. Find accomodation 4. Plan out a budget I usually go by this sequence when I visit Japan. First, find out what you want to see and where you'd want to visit. From that, you will know how much (and how far) travelling you will be doing. For the most part, transportation is the cheapest with the JR pass if you are going to be travelling across cities. I usually plan all my accomodation through Japanhotels.net, but others on the forum have had negative experieince with them, so use it at your own risk, you can do research of hotels on trip advisor and the like. Once you have these settled, you can come up with a rough estimate of how much you will need on a daily basis. To be safe, i will bring at least half the needed amount for the whole trip. The rest can be put on credit card or you can always use an international ATM at a postal office (Or some CITI Bank I heard). As for your concerns: Getting around Japan - As suggested, if you are to be travelling between cities, the JR pass is your best bet. An ordinary 14 days pass cost around 45000 yen, a single trip (Reserved seat) on the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto will run you about 15000 yen already. But if you are staying at just one city, then you may not need this. You can get cost estimate on hyperdia (http://www.hyperdia.com/). Buses are good if you are not traveling with a lot of luggages, and TAXIs are also good if you have 2 or more people sharing the bill (And if its not too far. Example. Traveling from Tokyo University to Akiba - On the train it will be a bout 300 yen, but if you take a taxi it will be about 1000 yen, if you have 4 people taking the taxi, the taxi will be cheaper) Language barrier - This is a tough one, while I do visit Japan regularly, i don't know what the % of english speaker is. You can check with some of the locals on this forum (MMM, Nyororin, Nagoyakee etc etc), but in general, most stations, major attractions and tourist sites have English speaking staff or English map, signs and display. BUT my general experieince is that only 30% of people felt comfortable communicating in English. Your best bet is to have a English > Japanese dictionary handy, even if you cant speak the languge you can "point and show" on the dicitionary should you need help Mobile/Cell phones, global roaming - Not sure what you guys use in Australia, but chances are your current cell phone will NOT work in Japan, you will need to rent one. Japan-guide has som ad for cell phone rental, you can "order" your rental and have it arrive at your place before you leave for japan, or have it delivered to your hotel Washing clothes - Most motels and business hotel have washers and dryer, you can find out more about this when you do your research on accomodations
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02-02-2010, 02:50 PM
I wouldn't worry about the language barrier.
I got along fine with just a smattering of Japanese. Getting around in Tokyo was quite easy due to all the visible landmarks, never really did get lost no matter how much I tried too. Subways are dead easy. Make a list of the things you want to see in Japan and read this forum. Look for housetek's guide which has some excellent info. Weatherwise it'll be cool but not that much so, a few days I walked around in just a T shirt others I had a light jacket.
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02-02-2010, 03:46 PM
Actually I would worry about the language barrier.
Tokyo Subways are made to be fairly easy for non-Japanese speakers...I can't say the same for other train lines. Unless you are planning on spending a lot of time traveling to different cities, I would forget the JR Rail Pass. It's 450 US dollars and it is hard to spend much traveling by train.
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02-02-2010, 06:44 PM
Quote:
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02-03-2010, 05:57 AM
Sorry should have qualified that by saying Tokyo is easy to get around subway wise
 I got myself to Yokuska but when I think about it now getting there was dead easy getting back was a little trickier  All worked out though and it was a lot more fun.
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