Japan Planning Advice Needed !

celiotte on 02/05/2017 - 15:41

Hi everyone,

I'm planning a Japan trip (18th June - 2nd July) and am tossing up between a few options I need help with !

Initial plan: Travel ourselves (partner and I) to Tokyo and Osaka and do Disneyland, 'cool' things such as anime cafes, Mount Fuji and maybe some hot spring

Travel Agency: They have recommended that we do a Topdeck/Gecko young people tour which is 10-12 days and takes us to multiple cities but it costs around 3.5-4.5k for the tour. (Includes accommodation, some meals and the rail pass for travelling with the tour)

Based on your experiences, what should I do? Would it be worthwhile to go on the tour or would it be easy enough to plan our own trip and stay within Tokyo and Osaka.

Thanks everyone !

Travel

Comments

  • jjjaar on 02/05/2017 - 15:51
    +2

    DIY. Unless making new friends is part of what you want, Japan is easy to do alone.

    If you only want to do Tokyo and Osaka you do not need rail pass. It will be cheaper to just buy the one way Shinkansen ticket. (Providing you fly into one city and out of the other).

    Accomodation is the pricey part of Japan.

    Meals are cheap. You can eat very well for $5 a meal (a bowl of amazing ramen). You can also spend a couple of hundred too, but you can do that here too.

    • altomic on 02/05/2017 - 18:29
      +2

      airbnb is great for accommodation.

  • lippy on 02/05/2017 - 15:53

    definitely easy enough to plan on your own.

    unless you want zero planning involved

  • KaTst3R on 02/05/2017 - 15:59
    +1

    If im alone I would go for the tour, but since you guys are a couple it might be easier to DIY. I enjoy the freedom in planning our own trip. While you follow a general schedule, you have the option of spending more time at places which was surprisingly good or less if it wasnt your thing. The trip is fluid, you have the option.

    And if food is your thing, you can always plan your trip around restaurants to visit. In a tour, meals are fixed and most likely the tour company will bring you to places which give them a commission.

  • pantsparty on 02/05/2017 - 16:10
    +2

    Japan is very easy to travel without a tour. The trains are fantastic and make Australian public transport look like rubbish. Half the fun is getting a little lost and trying to work out how to navigate the train system (although it is easy, all the signs are in English).

    Given Japan is a food capital of the world I also prefer the freedom of choosing where and when I eat and not being stuck on a tour schedule. If I eat a fantastic ramen and want to eat it two days in a row, I don't want some tour guide telling me I can't!

  • Blackfyre on 02/05/2017 - 16:35

    Just dig through tripadvisor Japan forums, reddit's r/japantravel, or even Ozbargain's travel forum for itineraries posted and make changes based on your interest =)

    Like what everyone said, DIY is easy for Japan - It's a safe country with good public transport. Language barrier which was a big issue years ago can now be overcome with Google Translate.

    With Japan gearing up for Tokyo Olympics 2020, there are also more English signs in cities.

  • ApplePineapplePen on 02/05/2017 - 16:37

    its way cheaper to diy. tours are really expensive.

    Day 1-5: Tokyo
    Day 6-9: Mt Fuji, Hakone and Odawara (Hot Spring)
    Day 10-15: Osaka, Nara and Kyoto

    Should be sufficient to cover the places above.

    • altomic on 02/05/2017 - 18:24
      +1

      this is a great schedule. Japan is huge and amazing (I lived there 4 years). don't try to fit in a million things a day. See a few things and enjoy what you see.

      Disneyland - only do it during the week. the weekend is packed tighter than something that has been tightened by an electrified tightening machine.

  • sien on 02/05/2017 - 16:43

    Japan is amazingly safe and courteous.

    I dropped my JR pass once and someone came up and returned it to me.

    DIY it.

    The only tricky thing in Japan is addresses, there are some odd numbering schemes which can sometimes be an issue for finding things like restaurants. But with GPS these days that shouldn't be an issue either.

    • Cubacat on 02/05/2017 - 21:18

      Amazingly safe apart from the bars run by non-Japanese. Give those places a miss or you could end up unconscious and broke.

    • altomic on 03/05/2017 - 16:11
      +1

      Japan Addresses -

      Japan uses a numbering system for its streets+neighbourhoods (it's actually really good). Imagine you're in Sydney and want to go to 15 Smith St BlackTown.

      Blacktown is pretty big, and looking for Smith St is bloody difficult without a map.

      With the Japan system you'd say "15-4-5 Blacktown" - (the 4 and 5 are just random numbers) the first number (15) is the house number, the second number (4) represents the physical/street, whilst the third number (5) represents neighbourhood within blacktown (so like Blacktown subdivision 5). there are numbers on every street corner explaining the street number and the subdivision. there are also local maps at subway stations and at various points around the neighbourhood. so it's a bit easier to pinpoint the approximate location of an area on a map rather than searching for an individual street name amongst hundreds. think of it as a zoom function. NSW—> Sydney—>Blacktown—>Blacktown subdivision 5—>street 4—>house #15. even if you are lost, if you show someone the address then they should have a rough idea of where to go. cool.

  • CyberMurning on 02/05/2017 - 17:05

    avoid kabukicho.

    • pat0809 on 23/05/2017 - 16:56

      Why avoid it? It's seedy but it's not that bad. It's fun to explore there at night. Golden Gai is just around the corner too which is good if you're into drinking.

  • altomic on 02/05/2017 - 18:27

    Plan it all yourself. book accommodation via airbnb, Buy a sim at the airport,

    have a look at the hundreds of similar threads for travel to Japan that have been posted

  • cipher on 02/05/2017 - 21:24
    +1

    DIY. Was there last year by myself. 3 days are generally enough. Depending the number of days you plan to stay you can use pre made itineraries from this website which I found really useful http://trulytokyo.com/.
    Also, Used Airbnb which was very affordable for a central location, in both Tokyo and Kyoto. You can buy shinkansen tickets from the same website for cheaper or I saw them even cheaper in Akihabara electronic market stalls.
    Buy the Suica pass for traveling around Tokyo which works on all lines and buses makes it easier to travel otherwise you have to buy multiple passes. If you are going to Kyoto, I would recommend taking electric assited bicycles which will make travelling around the city fun and quick.

    • celiotte on 03/05/2017 - 01:30

      That looks amazing, I was just looking for something like that - those premade itineraries !

      Thanks :D

  • Cubacat on 02/05/2017 - 21:27
    +1

    Tsukiji Fish Market
    Sky tree at night is cool but do this during weekdays – Here is the site http://lang.tokyo-skytree.jp/en/
    Akihabara tech district
    Shinjuku at night
    Asakusa temple http://tokyo.hix05.com/Temples/asakusa.kannon.html
    Robot bar http://thisbeautifuldayblog.com/robot-restaurant-tokyo-japan…

    Not sure what else so much to see. Just remember to learn a few Japanese words, be courteous and polite and not too loud and have fun.

  • Buckshot on 03/05/2017 - 09:18

    If you're in Mount Fuji/Hakone, I'd recommend checking out Fuji Q Theme park. They have some of the best rollercoaster rides I've been on plus a great live action haunted house if you're game.

    I'd also highly recommend Hiroshima if you have time too- You can knock over most of the must-do things there in a day. Mazda also do free tours of their Factory/Production line facility in Hiroshima. We really enjoyed that and they give you a free souvenir.

    • celiotte on 03/05/2017 - 12:23

      That theme park already sounds amazing, I can just imagine the Japanese rollercoasters would be crazy !

      I also definitely want to check out their games, I'm sure they would be a little bit ahead of the Western world in terms of video games…

      • Buckshot on 03/05/2017 - 15:53

        The rides at Fuji-Q are some of the best in the world. Youtube Fuji Q rollercoasters and you'll see :)
        If you're into Evangelion, they also have a Museum there dedicated to the Anime series as it's set in the Yaminashi Prefecture (Hakone)

    • altomic on 03/05/2017 - 12:36

      Mazda also do free tours of their Factory/Production line facility in Hiroshima

      that sounds cool.

      years ago I did a tour of a shinkansen maintenance facility outside of Sendai City. that was pretty cool.

      • Buckshot on 04/05/2017 - 10:26

        We did so many Shinkansen trips while we were in Japan.. Such a great system! Would be great to check it out.
        There is an amazing Train museum in Kyoto now. Wish I had time to visit when there but we ran out of time. The Yamazaki Distillery tour came first. A great experience for about $14 AUD including Tasting and snacks.

  • KEPPERS on 03/05/2017 - 14:35

    DIY for sure. Japan is super easy to get around even with the language barrier. Cities have maps everywhere in the street in English so you can generally find where you are. And with accommodation I just always map it out before I get there because as mentioned above they have a different street numbering system. I wouldn't bother getting a rail pass for that distance without costing it out because you won't need it too much in the cities. You must go to Kyoto too as it is quite different to Osaka and Tokyo with a lot more shrines and temples. If you've been to regular Disneyland I would recommend Tokyo Disneysea more as it is one of the most in depth themed park I have been to and Japanese people take visiting Disney parks to a whole other level.

  • Komorebi123 on 20/05/2017 - 20:20

    If tea is your/your partner thing, then I recommend this place :)
    https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Restaurant_Review-g1066444-d1…

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