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Planning to go to Japan in summer '11 -
04-12-2010, 09:35 PM
To start with, hello everybody
 Me and a friend are thinking lately to visit Japan next summer for about 2-4 weeks. I'll be 17/18 by then and he will be 18/19. Never been on my own outside of Europe before.(I'm from the Netherlands.) I've read some more stuff about a railpass and more. The cities we wanted to visit are Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa. (Maybe other cities too, but we didn't decide yet.) Do you people maybe know a few things we need to know and how much will the total thing cost us? (I think its about 500-700 euros for a plane ticket each of us.) And also what are musts to see in those towns? We both are anime fans, we're going to visit some clubs, check out museums, check out the culture ofcourse.(Temples and more stuff.) Any more suggestions which we will have to see? Also will our ages be a problem over there even if our parents agree we're going there? Thanks! EDIT: Also, do the internet cafes over there have qwerty keyboards or keyboards with japanese on it? (Maybe a weird question.) O yea and are the outlets over there the same as in Europe?(So I can recharge mobile, PSP, camera n stuff.) EDIT #2(Prolly more to follow): Will English speaking be enough? I know about 5 words japanese lol. 
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04-13-2010, 06:32 AM
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cheers
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04-13-2010, 06:36 AM
I doubt you will find a return flight for as low as 500 Euros in the summer, but you might be lucky. Okinawa is going to add to your trip costs because you will have to fly there out of either Tokyo or Osaka- probably around 20,000 yen at the cheapest for the round trip, or a lot more if you are coming in the high season, i.e. most of August. Ferries are not a lot cheaper.
Keyboards here are always qwerty. There is hiragana on the keys under the alphabet here but everyone uses the alphabet input anyway. No, electrical outlets are not the same here as in Europe- this is something you can Google actually- try "electrical outlets in japan". Because of this you will need to buy an adaptor. Voltage is also different- 100V compared to 240 in Europe. Laptop, camera and cellphone chargers usually have built-in transformers so should be fine with just an adaptor. My Nintendo DS does not have a built-in transformer so I can't charge it overseas- not sure about the PSP. For must-sees have a look at a site like japan-guide.com - Japan Travel and Living Guide - lots of info about travelling in Japan there. Not many people here speak a lot of English, but tourists who don't speak Japanese visit all the time and get around fine with just simple English and gestures- people who work with tourists usually have some basic English, but don't expect it to be like the Netherlands where everyone's fluent!
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04-13-2010, 10:58 AM
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Total cost really depends on the lifestyle that you plan to live in while in Japan. Here is a simple pricing gudie that may help you plan your budget. - Hotels: Hostel and business hotels start from around 4000 yen per person per night, some business hotels cost up to 12000 yen per person per night, but hardly go over that. You can always stay at really grand hotel for about 20000+ yen a night - Food: A) Breakfast: Many choices here, you can live off conveience store food (Onigiri for about 150-300 yen, instant noodle 200 yen, a bottle of drink will cost you around 100 yen), coffee store (like starbucks, tully's etc, standard price as North America). Some hotel offer buffet breakfast (Continental) for around 800-1000 yen B) Lunch and dinner: Ramen appears to be popular among tourist, 500-1200 yen. Other type of set lunch or bento (like katsudon, udon) are available at aroun d800-1500 yen. Japanese-Western style restaurant (like Denny's, the Mom/Pop Pizza place etc) 1500yen - 2500 yen. There are also real Japanese cuisince like Sushi, Teppanyaki, Shabushabu, these can get expensive, especially if you eat at specialty stores like Kani Douraku or like a kobe beef lunch/dinner in Kobe/Osaka. Transportation: If you have a rail pass, your JR travel will be covered, so factor that cost in. Otherwise, most transportation are base on distance travelled. Regular surface train (Densha) can run you around 120yen-560yen, subway is around the same thing. Shinkansen is rather pricey if you don't have a rail pass, a single ride from Tokyo to Kyoto on reserved seat will cost roughly 15000yen (i believe is around 9000yen on non-reserved). In some cases, if you travel with a big group, it may be cheaper to get a taxi: I remember traveling from Akiba to Tokyo Dome, tickets cost about 240yen each if I remember correctly, i was traveling with 3 other friends, so if we are to take the train/subway, it would have cost use 960yen, while a taxi ride was almost the same, but faster depending on time/date Attraction/Entrance: Shirnes and temples are generally around 300-500yen per visit, some special shirne in Kyoto cost more (Kokedera for example, will need a reservation by mail, and it will cost 3000 yen per visit). Museum cost more, around 1000yen-1500 yen per visit in some cases. Most major cities have some kind of tall building setup and an observation deck, these will cost a bit more (like umeda sky building, i believe entrace was like 2000 yen per person). There is also different type of food themepark (Gyoza stadium, icre cream park, ramen museum etc etc), some of these are free to enter Thats about it, I don't drink or party, so I don't know the cost of nightlife (cost me nothing just to go out and take pictures  ). You also will find yourself spending a lot on souvenir, there are just too many nice little things that you can't get anywhere else....
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04-13-2010, 03:32 PM
What's the age limit for alcohol there then?
Would be kinda lame if we couldn't get any. My birthday is around 25th July, I'll be 18 then in '11. And @sarasi: I saw a site with 2 tickets for 1100 euros. And 4 weeks would be fine too. Also I don't know what I wanna see yet because I didn't look around on the net too much yet. But yea it's next summer so time enough. Also I heard theres alot of dangerous/big insects in Japan, like those giant hornets, giant centipedes and spiders with like 20 feet. Will I encounter them in the cities too or just outside the cities? And what on earth is a food themepark? o.o Lots of stand with food or something? Never heard of it. And also, will it be usefull to learn a quick japanese course or should we just watch more anime to learn more basic words? And also, are there a lot of supermarkets in the cities theirselves or not? And are they expensive? And ofcourse thanks for the replies, these will be very usefull for me. I'll probably come up with lotsa more questions later, lol.
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04-13-2010, 05:09 PM
The age limit for alcohol is 20.
Bars and restaurants are not so strict, but you mentioned clubbing, and clubs can be strict. I have never seen any large or dangerous insects in Japan. In summer there are cicadas, but those are hardly dangerous. Twenty foot spiders? Sounds like you are getting your information from Godzilla movies. No, you should not use anime to learn more Japanese, unless you want to look like a fool. Spend a few bucks and buy a travel Japanese book. Yes there are plenty of supermarkets, but are you planning on cooking? Where are you planning on staying?
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04-13-2010, 05:16 PM
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- buy the Lonely planet, everything is in there. - Akibahabara is a must, if you like anime. - I don't think alcohol will be a problem. Also there vending machines everywhere. - lol, no insects man in cities. - there small 24/7 supermarkets everywhere. Food is about the same as in Holland, maybe even a little cheaper in Japan. But you'll spent more money, because food is great and most people eat at small restaurants. - You can manage with English, but some basic Japanese (where is..., thank you, etc.) is handy. People will appreciate it when they see you're interested in their culture and language. - summer is hot! try to go in September/October - I went in September, and got a ticket for € 550 with KLM (direct flight). I was pretty lucky, but just check prices regurlaly. - Enjoy! It's awesome and people are sometimes a bit shy but very friendly.
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04-13-2010, 05:24 PM
Because of school starting in September again I can just go in July/August.
But yea clubbing is what I ment. And those 20-feet spiders do exist. These:  Maybe even more than 20 feet. But again, thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. I'll just buy a travel guide then soon.
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04-13-2010, 06:03 PM
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And by definition a spider has 8 legs, so it is a kind of insect. But no, I never saw or heard of anything like this, but I was in an urban area. You might want to wait until you and your buddy are 20 to go to Japan if clubbing and drinking are priorities.
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