bnicolas1987 Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Hi guys, I'm thinking in going to Japan the first two weeks of february 2016. (Arriving at Narita the 31th january at 16pm or first february at 9am and leaving the13 february at 11am) As there is the Yuki Matsuri in Sapporo it would be wonderful going there Otherwise, I don't really know what I can do in only ten days, it's so short... I was thinking do ° 2-3 days in Tokyo - Some visit of museums - A Fuji trip °A 2-3 day trip to Kyoto ° then Tokyo or Kyoto -> Sapporo (with the Cassiopeia... If someone in Japan has the possibility to obtain a ticket for two in the Cassiopeia I would be the happiest man in the world... maybe in the super deluxe suite with view... Did someone have a tip to have tickets?) (Train run on 5, 7 and 9 from Tokyo to Sapporo and (6), 8 and 10 from Sapporo to Tokyo) (the trip on 6 february isn't very cool as the festival begins on 5 february...) ° Some days in Sapporo (4-5 days?) - The famous Yuki Matsuri. (5-11 february) - Some visit near Sapporo. Is it possible do do some round trip with every nights in Sapporo? ° Return to Tokyo by plane or train? - Last shopping - Last visit? I'm quite disapointed of not knowing waht to do in a so shortand for the forst trip in Japan... (And the last trip where I can take a famous overnight express) So if you have tip and advice and anything that can help me, thank you for helping me!!! See you. Nicolas Link to comment
bikkuri bahn Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 One day for the snow festival is enough. Be aware hotel rooms are in very short supply, especially with all the Chinese tourists. Hokkaido is completely covered in snow in this period, unless you really like snowscapes, don't expect to see very much else in terms of scenery. I would devote more time in Kyoto/Kansai if this is your first time to visit Japan, especially given your tight itinerary, more bang for the buck IMO. 1 Link to comment
bikkuri bahn Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) To add: It will be almost impossible to get reservations for Cassiopeia- snow festival season and the fact the end of services is near make it so. I presume you will be traveling on the Japan Rail Pass, which you must show in person when you make the reservations, so the whole exercise is moot anyway. Better to fly r/t and save time or if you must go by train, take the Tohoku Shinkansen (why not splurge on the Gran Class?)+ ltd express up to Sapporo, and return by plane? Airplane travel is (still) very pleasant in Japan, unlike most other places. Edited November 8, 2015 by bikkuri bahn Link to comment
katoftw Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Lots more things to do other than Hokkaido. I think you'd miss a lot of Japan making Hokkaido as your only destination. Link to comment
spacecadet Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) You can get tickets for the Cassiopeia on Yahoo Auctions, but be prepared to pay some $$$. It's really the only reliable way for a foreigner to do it, though. (I did it just a couple of weeks ago - still working on a trip report for my blog.) It might be even more difficult at that time; tickets will probably be available but you will have more competition and prices will be higher. It's right before the train will be discontinued. You will almost definitely have to "settle" for a twin room, though. There are a lot more of them on the train and very few people want to give up their suite with view once they get it. You can basically forget about the suite with view. Sometimes regular suites come up, but they're not worth it IMO. The only advantage to them is that you don't have to make your bed. And you will pay four times the price for that. Twin rooms are totally comfortable, though. You're not missing out on anything with a twin room. Well, you are over the suite with view, but that room is just impossible to get. The twin rooms are basically exactly the same as the sitting room in the regular suite. The suites just have a separate sleeping room, but again, this doesn't matter much in practice. It's slightly more convenient for 15 minutes of the trip. I think the suites also have their own shower, but if you get in line early and sign up for the public shower, this also doesn't matter if you have a twin room. Edited November 8, 2015 by spacecadet Link to comment
Das Steinkopf Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 With travelling to see Mount Fuji I would suggest taking the Odakyu Railway's Romance Car to Hakone Yumoto, from there you catch the Hakone Tozan Railway train up to Gora, you then go on the Hakone Tozan Cable Car to Sounzan and finally onto the Hakone Ropeway to Owakudani. From there you can get a fairly good view of Mount Fuji, you can also see the hot springs where they cook the black eggs Kuro-tomago, I can't stand eggs but wife enjoyed a few of them. The trip takes up most of the day but is worth your while, you could go the quicker route by travelling by Shinkansen to Gotemba and then travelling to the lakes to get a view of Mount Fuji. A lot of people I know who have gone that route have been dissapointed as a ring of cloud midway up the mountain obstructs the view of the peak, funnily enough the day I went there was that ring of cloud hanging midway up but it didn't stop us from seeing the peak as we were up high. Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 I agree with the Hakone route, it's really nice... But please be aware of the closing of the Hakone ropeway: http://www.hakonenavi.jp/topics/pdf/4730.pdf Link to comment
Das Steinkopf Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) I agree with the Hakone route, it's really nice... But please be aware of the closing of the Hakone ropeway: http://www.hakonenavi.jp/topics/pdf/4730.pdf Hopefully they will reopen the Owakudani site soon, we went there in early April and were lucky enough to miss all the drama. Edited November 8, 2015 by Das Steinkopf Link to comment
bnicolas1987 Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Hi, Thank you for all those answers, I'll try to make a schedule with things I think to do or new ideas. Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Hopefully they will reopen the Owakudani site soon, we went there in early April and were lucky enough to miss all the drama.image.jpeg Hey guess what! I was there in April too! We might have walked pass each other! :P Nice ride on the LSE 7000? :) 1 Link to comment
Das Steinkopf Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) Hey guess what! I was there in April too! We might have walked pass each other! :P Nice ride on the LSE 7000? :) We were there on the 12th of April, how about you Edited November 9, 2015 by Das Steinkopf Link to comment
katoftw Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Hey guess what! I was there in April too! We might have walked pass each other! :P Nice ride on the LSE 7000? :) Was that the trip where all you photos lost? Especially the west Japan photos? hint hint. Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) We were there on the 12th of April, how about you ? It was great to get a ride on both the old and new Romance Car's, both were very comfortable. Haha 2 days later... We were there on the 14th April... We only managed to ride the Odakyu VSE 50000 to Hakone-Yumoto but sent off from Hakone-Yumoto to Odawara to travel further West... Not the Observation seats unfortunately, and it was raining badly... Could barely see anything but water on the ropeway.... Was that the trip where all you photos lost? Especially the west Japan photos? hint hint. Haha ~ I know... Apologizes for that. Will be uploading these long-overdue pictures really soon... I know you're waiting for Kyushu ones, right? :P A little teaser for the next update attached... Edited November 9, 2015 by JR 500系 Link to comment
bnicolas1987 Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 How annoying, due to a changed shedule of exams It won't be possible to ride to Japan in february... Maybe at end june, but I don't know if it is a good idea to ride there at the wet season... Link to comment
spacecadet Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Maybe at end june, but I don't know if it is a good idea to ride there at the wet season... The rainy season is often a bit overstated. They call it that because it has higher than average rainfall, but we hear "rainy season" and assume that must mean it rains every day. It doesn't; just a bit more than it normally does. I've been there during the rainy season several times and it hasn't seemed any different than normal over the week or two that I was there. I'm sure some years are worse than others, though. But that's true of really any time period you might go. The bigger concern is going to be the heat/humidity combination at that time of year. Late June can feel really uncomfortable. And there's usually no relief even at night. If it's the only time you can go, then go, but I try to avoid summer in Japan. Link to comment
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