It's official

[lurkingknight]

going back to japan.

 

Flight is booked.

 

March 28th - april 12th.

 

we have a rough framework of where we'll be... pinned by the places we want to go eat based on where we've been last time plus a few new places we found.

 

lol.

 

4 nights in osaka, hitting himeji, kobe and sakai

4-5 nights in tokyo, sky tree, shinjuku/harajuku, akihabara

4-5 nights in kyoto kiyomizu dera, fushimi inari, we're going to go eat a kaiseki dinner at wakuden muromachi again

 

The reason we're going to tokyo in the middle is because we want to try and be in harajuku on the middle sunday and gamble something interesting is going on. It's the only sunday we'll be able to go since we arrive and leave on a sunday, so it's an all or nothing, if not we'll find something else I'm sure.

 

The sunday we arrive at narita at 3:30pm  or so, we're going to grab our rail passes immediately and grab the nex to tokyo station, probably find something to eat and shinkansen out to osaka. Our arrival time in osaka would be about the same had we flown in, we figure if you add the layover, the extra time we spent at itami and the cost and time of the limo bus from itami into namba, but with taking the shinkansen at least we can eat and nap comfortably.

 

On the list of things is the kobe chinatown, one of my friends has a weird fetish of seeing and eating in various chinatowns in the world... I don't know what the infatuation is. We'll also be going to check out kitano chuo and find a place for kobe beef, more than likely as a lunch time destination.

 

Sakai we'll be visiting the knife museum and the workshop/store of mizuno tanrenjo and possibly more things.

 

We'll be basing out of downtown osaka to hit kobe and sakai, that way we can mope around dotonbori and shinsaibashi/namba. 

 

Our tokyo leg is what's weak at the moment. Our planning seems to center more around shinjuku and golden gai this time, the kato store is in the vicinity, harajuku and meiji temple, Return to akibahara to visit the gran vania. Hopefully get to go up the sky tree this time rather than see the bottom of it cause of high winds. 

 

Our new traveler friend more than likely wants to see the ghibli museum. We may or may not head out to odaiba to see the gundam and rifle through the malls.

 

Back in kyoto we're going to hit up kiyomizu dera during the day, since were up there at night the last time. My other friend has been up fushimi inari and I have not. Hopefully my feet won't be completely destroyed by this time as they were the last trip by day 5.

 

We have a day or two to play with before and after heading to tokyo on the 4th, the new travel friend might want to go to hiroshima, he might want to go up miyajima, so I'm not sure if we can fit that in a day, as well, at the tail end of the tokyo leg going back to kyoto we have a day we're not sure of depending on what we can fill it with or possibly something we didn't get to see or do in kansai since it's all pretty close in there. 

 

The final sunday we check out of the hotel in kyoto and shinkansen to tokyo station, catch the nex to narita and grab our flight back to canada at 6.30 pm.

 

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

We'll have 14 day rail passes in hand.

 

The veteran traveler among us will be staying an extra week to go check out koyasan and shikouku. 

[E6系]

Ghibli booking conditions.  Please check website.  From memory, you must book between 2 and 3 month in advance.  You must bring tickets to museum at allotted time. http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/ticket_information/

 

Do you like fine French cuisine?  Maybe you are fan of Iron Chef TV series?  If so, I highly recommend booking an evening at La Rochelle: http://www.la-rochelle.co.jp/english/  Mr Sakai has two restaurants in Tokyo.  Personally, I prefer the Sanno restaurant.  It is conveniently located near the junction of four Tokyo Metro Lines: Ginza, Nanboku, Chiyoda, and Marunouchi.

Edited October 26, 2014 by E6系

[lurkingknight]

Sanno might be a bit on the fancy side for us. 

 

For ghibli, we are informing our friend and working out the details since we've already been. He'll have time to decide if he wants to go, so that we can book the tickets from the same company we will be getting our rail pass from. The site says we can book up to 3 months in advance, but there is no limit leading up to your planned visit date as long as there is a ticket available. We should be safe as long as he makes a decision between now and when we order our rail passes.

[lurkingknight]

hotels are booked!

 

And with that sets up our framework for where we can go and what we can do.

 

Ends up being a similar city stop to my first trip.

 

6 nights in osaka, day trips to kobe and sakai

3 nights in tokyo

2 nights in hiroshima, fairly early morning out of tokyo to get all the way down to hiroshima, do whatever for the half/two third day, early morning go miyajima, then off to kyoto in the morning.

2 nights in kyoto

 

Guess we'll have to have the hotel staff in osaka call in our reservations for us for a couple of the more expensive restaurants we will go to in kobe and kyoto, since I think it would be bad for us to try and make a reservation on the same day or next day... given how busy the hotels are too, that might not be possible.

[JR 500系]

Oh that's early! Do the hotels receive such early reservations? Can I ask which hotels would you and your friends be staying at? Would like to use some of them for my Osaka leg planning. Thanks!

[katoftw]

I booked mine 4 months early.  3 hotels in total.  All gave discounts if the bookings were 90 days or more early.  Shinjuku Washington for example gave 30% off for booking 90 days early.  Good for your wallet to book early.

Edited October 29, 2014 by katoftw

[lurkingknight]

Hotel Route Inn Osaka Honmachi

Smile Hotel Asagaya Shinjuku

APA Hotel Hiroshima Ekimae

Reiah Hotel Otsu Ishiyama 

 

Last year when we booked it was january booking for late march, first week of april and there was lots of choice, kyoto was an issue because there seems to be a shortage of hotels in that city. We were able to get dormy inn in hiroshima for something ridiculous like 59$/night with breakfast, new osaka hotel in shinsaibashi and hotel anteroom in kyoto. Working out the average from our first trip we made out with 73$/night average.

 

This year our average is 82$/night canadian dollars. We're going a week later than we did last year and hotels were a lot more full, on top of booking 3 months sooner. Even booking the flight we seemingly had less choice than before. Tourism seems to be picking up.

[katoftw]

You are travelling in school holiday period, that is why is it busier.

[lurkingknight]

is that what it is? I thought golden week was the big thing first week of may.

[katoftw]

is that what it is? I thought golden week was the big thing first week of may.

Spring school holiday break are first 2 weeks of April normally.  Showa Day is on the 29th of April as part/start of Goldern Week.  School holidays plus anywhere close to good hanami spots would assume be busy times in Japan.

 

I also had issues with booking Kyoto hotels.  I didn't book in a busy period either.  Plenty of hotels there but they dont have english booking websites.  So I used expedia to book my kyoto hotel.  Heaps of Kyoto options/hotels on there.  But you could use any website you prefer.  I just exampled expedia as that was what I used.

Edited October 30, 2014 by katoftw

[JR 500系]

Oh... Mine would be 9th to 23rd, so I think i'm in the holiday season too... Made it this time as it is Sakura season and we have never experienced sakura so might as well...

 

I use Trivago.com, a very good portal site that instantly compares multiple booking sites and give you the best deal for the dates and venue you've chosen. Quite useful indeed... Going through the options I have now to see...

[lurkingknight]

you might be a bit late for sakura season in mid april... but it's hard to gauge. :Last time I was there, it was late march/early april. When we left they were pretty much all off the trees.

 

 

Here's some JR pass questions:

 

If I have a regular pass, is it an extra charge to book a nozomi or is it the full nozomi ticket price?

 

In this season, is a green car pass worth it? Would it do better in guaranteeing seats? How busy are the hikari and kodoma trains in this season? We'll definitely be trying to book train tickets as soon as we land to guarantee our travel times, especially back to narita on the day we leave.

Edited October 30, 2014 by lurkingknight

[Kitayama]

Full Nozomi ticket price.

http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en004.html

[lurkingknight]

IT's possible to charge an IC card outside of its zone of issue right?

 

Say I'm in osaka and I get an icoca card, can it be charged in hiroshima or tokyo at any JR machine, or in the case of hiroshima, the tram fare machines?

[lurkingknight]

I just realized a potential issue.

 

We fly out of canada on the 28th of march, which means we arrive in narita on the 29th.

 

We are planning to pick up and activate our rail passes when we arrive so we can take the shinkansen to osaka.

 

This presents a problem with the 14 day pass, as we will need it on sunday apr 12th to get back to narita from kyoto. This would make it 15 days. Would we not be allowed to prebook all our shinkansen tickets to get back on the 12th or will they count it as a 15th day?

[bikkuri bahn]

IT's possible to charge an IC card outside of its zone of issue right?

 

Say I'm in osaka and I get an icoca card, can it be charged in hiroshima or tokyo at any JR machine, or in the case of hiroshima, the tram fare machines?

Yes.

[bikkuri bahn]

This presents a problem with the 14 day pass, as we will need it on sunday apr 12th to get back to narita from kyoto. This would make it 15 days. Would we not be allowed to prebook all our shinkansen tickets to get back on the 12th or will they count it as a 15th day?

 

I don't undertand.  If it is a 14 consecutive day pass, you have to buy regular tickets like any Joe Shmoe for the extra, 15th day. I would spend the first day in Tokyo and just use an IC card for your local travel that day (I recommend Suica, as it is the most widely used), and then activate the pass starting the day you leave for Osaka, so you can get both legs of your shinkansen journey covered by the pass, as the shinkansen is likely your most expensive single journey.  Costs for getting from Narita (or Haneda) to the city are relatively trivial in comparison.

Edited January 14, 2015 by bikkuri bahn

[katoftw]

Agreed.  Either spend the first night or last night in Tokyo.  Then either spend 1500 for the N'EX or 2300 for the Skyliner to get to the airport.  Toyko station to Nippori is 160 yen for example.

 

Otherwise if you cannot change the hotels/accommodation, then get the 21 day pass.  15000 yen more.  But that is what a single Kyoto to Tokyo trip will cost on the shinkansen, but you'll get the N'EX free also with this option.

Edited January 14, 2015 by katoftw

[JR 500系]

Agreed on bikkuri and katoftw said too. Change your first or last day to be in Tokyo, to 'escape' the un-covered' shinkansen ride as it WILL be costly, like 13,600yen for a reserved seat on Hikari from Kyoto to Tokyo, or 13,080yen for a non-reserved one.

 

You case is somewhat similar to mine, but as my last day is technically almost can't be considered a day as I leave in the morning at 1000am, i placed all 14 days to maximise the JR Pass and stay the last few nights in Hakata where i'll be leaving.

[Kitayama]

As you are arriving Narita at 1530 and it can take a couple of hours before you leave Narita (passport, customs, luggage, JR pass activation), it would anyway be late before you reach the Osaka hotel. I would stay the first night in Tokyo and leave early im the morning for Osaka. As you are travelling westbound, you will probably wake up early anyway due to jetlag. You will even get a daytime glimse of Fuji.

[lurkingknight]

the hotels are already booked, so that's why it presents an issue. I'm not sure if we can change the booking or not. I'll look into it though. The first night in tokyo wouldn't be too bad either.

 

We're arriving sometime late afternoon 4:30 or so, if we don't change our plans, the extra day in tickets is not going to kill us. If we have to cough up a fee to change the hotel booking, it would basically even out our expenses by booking 1 night in tokyo vs paying for the airport train to tokyo station or shinagawa to catch the shinkansen.

[spacecadet]

Otherwise if you cannot change the hotels/accommodation, then get the 21 day pass.  15000 yen more.  But that is what a single Kyoto to Tokyo trip will cost on the shinkansen,

At that point it makes more sense to just take a connecting flight to Osaka rather than trying to make it to the shinkansen. That's what I did in much the same situation. It's cheaper and you preserve an extra day on your rail pass.

[lurkingknight]

so we decided to stay the night in tokyo and get our rail passes the next morning. We won't lose that much time overall.

 

However, after booking the 1 night in tokyo, i had to adjust our booking in osaka to be one day later.

 

Well guess what.

 

Agoda's system somehow screwed up the reservation and sent me a hotel voucher for check in 1 day later and checking out 2 days sooner. By the time I caught it the system had already sold our rooms off, attempting to change it back did nothing.

 

Calling customer support resulted in 'oh.. the hotel is sold out'... . yes... I saw that... what are you going to do about it?

you clicked and committed the change, it's your fault.

uhh,, it had the proper dates when I said ok, it sent me the wrong dates on the voucher.

well the hotel is sold out now... you can wait 2 weeks to see if there's a cancellation..

 

 

uh.. in high season? when we booked this hotel back in october, and hotel selection was already drying up? Yeah, 2 weeks is going to really help us then, we're going to be waiting for cancellations until we arrive and then be without a place to stay for 2 nights. Good service.

 

 

So I booked another hotel nearby, but at 2x the price... was the only choice in proximity to the original while I tried to reason with customer support.

 

Their negotiating tactics were to always try to circle it back to blaming me, by asking for screenshots or saying I clicked the wrong thing, and then bragging about a system which has thousands of bookings daily... so if you have that many customers, you can fix a screw up for 1.  They refused any sort of compensation or deal, only offering me a paltry 10% on my next single booking... that had to be done at 1 hotel... to make up for a 900$ difference in the pricing.The math isn't that hard there... spend 9 grand at a single hotel to get back what we lost on this computer error. I argued more, they offered 15%... still 7 grand to get our 900 back. Would it have been that hard to match the price of the original hotel and guarantee 3 customers for life with exceptional service? Apparently so.

 

In the end, I rebooked as many of our hotels with expedia and dumped agoda on their ass. I pulled out all the reservations that I could, leaving currently only kyoto and hiroshima, kyoto because the entire city seems sold out, and hiroshima because when we booked the canadian dollar was at 115 yen to the CAD. But we're seeing if expedia will match the booking. If they do, we leave agoda with only 17.5% of our original hotel bookings, plus I will never do business with agoda again, as well as their partners booking.com and priceline. It would have been sweeter if I were able to leave them with 10% or 15% or even 0% but unfortunately, it's not to be.

 

They wasted 3 days of my time, insisting I rebook with hotels that had long been sold out with the same runaround arguments. The only thing left in the same price range are capsule hotels and smoking rooms in inconvenient locations. They even at one point asked me what we wanted for compensation and then in the next email went back to blaming me for making the error. That was the last straw. I'd pull all of our bookings off if I could.

 

 

beware of agoda.

Edited January 23, 2015 by lurkingknight

[Kitayama]

You can still get your rail passes at Narita the arrival day if that is more convinient for you. The passes do not have start the same day as you pick them up.

[JR 500系]

HHmmm sorry for the bad experience at agoda... I've been using them for quite sometime now as they allow chalking up points, which I did, in exchange for free rooms.  It sad they only have this level of customer service...

 

Did you book hotel rooms with free cancellation? There are hotel rooms with free cancellation until the 2 days (or 3 days, cant remember) before check in date and you can get all your money back. There are also hotels whereby you pay on the day of check-in, so you wouldn't have to run the risk of cancellation and not getting your money back.

 

Luckily for me, it has been quite smooth sailing in terms of booking hotels on agoda, which I do quite often. I've also booked on japanican which is another good place to book since they usually have more ryokans ~ Or you could try www.trivago.com, a hotel comparison site for better deals...

 

Speaking of which, i'm going to book my hotels soon. Thanks for sharing the experience so we can all know what to look our for. Cheers!