The Japan Trip Resource Thread!

[teddymeow]

I don't think I've ever used the Chiyoda line. Relied on Ginza and Yamanote for the most part. I love the Metro - so much cleaner and comfortable than the Tube. Call me geeky but I love the female announcers voice too!

[briareos_kerensky]

Just booked the hotels in Kyoto or Tokyo...or better, asked to confirm the availability for all nights.
Chose to stay from the 10th to the 16th in Kyoto and then to the 24th in Tokyo. Chosen low-budget inns after Expedia threw some 1.000+ euros hotels at me :P They were recommended by Lonely Planet, I hope they are right about them.

Stooopid question: is it worth packing a jacket or evenings and nights are already warm during mid-April?

[edit] JR Pass question: I don't really know if I have to get one. Does it cover JR lines inside Tokyo too?
I'd use it to go from Narita to Tokyo to Kyoto and back, and sounds quite useful just for that, if it covers urban lines inside Tokyo it would be sweet.

[DCharlie]

March-April is mainly unpredictable! I'd pack a jacket. Tokyo has been FREEZING the last two months, infact, it was snowing last night - not looked outside to see if we have a carpet of white dung this morning or not!

re: JR pass - yes, it covers JR lines inside Tokyo too - only hassle is you have to show it to the railway desk rather than go through the ticket wickets.

I'm sure you know but once it's activated then that's it - your 1 week (or 2 weeks or whatever) start from that day. So just in case and i'm sure you have, check your travel dates

[kryss]

Remember it ONLY covers JR though, not subway lines like the Metro, Toei, etc.

[briareos_kerensky]

Thanks for the info but I'm still massively undecided about getting it.
A 14 days pass will cost 45,100yen (around 360€) and won't cover the trip back to Narita (flight to get back home on the 15th day), the grand total would be 48600yen.
Round trip from Narita to Tokyo station is 7,000yen, cheaper on slower trains.
Round trip Tokyo to Kyoto is 27,000yen on the Nozomi, cheaper on slower trains.
Kyoto has an excellent bus network, so no JR there. To move around in Tokyo I'll need tickets for other lines and by getting single tickets is of 14,600 yen (little more than 100€). I don't plan to visit everything in Tokyo and I doubt that I'll spend more than 14,000yen just on the JR lines in 8 days...or will I?

[Darwock]

If you're not planning on jetting around the country extensively by Shinkansen I wouldn't recommend the JR pass. In the major cities you will likely end up using the subway (or buses) more than JR.

[kryss]

7000 yen round trip Narita-Tokyo? A reserved seat on the Keisei Skyliner to Ueno is ~2000 each way. Where are you staying? Shinjuku? Shimbashi?
If you go to Kyoto, you'll want to use the shinkansen. Anything else is just a waste of time. Why use the bus? You could walk or use their subway. But again, not JR.

Remember Hyperdia, save you it can!

And Darwock is quite right, if you're mainly trotting around Tokyo then you would probably spend ~270yen each way.

[briareos_kerensky]

Remember Hyperdia, save you it can!

Ya, it did. So, JR pass is no more. Now I only need to wait to go. Long, hard, wait.

[teddymeow]

Mrs Teddy has just turned round to me and said "maybe we could go see a J-League game when we're in Tokyo in May".

What's the easiest way to get tickets for a central Tokyo based team? Will the season be on whilst we are out there?

[r3z]

Tokyo Metro passes are cheap, particularly combi-tickets that are only sold at the airport:

http://www.tokyometro.jp/global/en/ticket/narita.html

After that Tokyo Metro is ￥710 for a one-day pass or ￥1000 if you want to use Toei lines as well. JR also do a 1-day ticket for their lines around central Tokyo for ￥1000.

If you go to Kyoto, you'll want to use the shinkansen. Anything else is just a waste of time. Why use the bus? You could walk or use their subway. But again, not JR.

Kyoto subway is very limited. I'd get a 1-day bus pass for ~500 yen and take the bus if you're going out to Kinkakuji (which you definitely will want to visit.. also Ryuanji and Ninnaji nearby worth a look) on one day. Most of the rest can be done on foot.

I used a JR Pass the first time I visited Japan and would recommend it if you're going West and have limited time as it opens up a lot of possibilities when you can just jump on and off bullet trains. Kansai has a lot of interesting places besides just Kyoto (Nara/Osaka/Kobe/Himeji), or you could even manage a day trip to Hiroshima/Miyajima and make stops on the way (e.g Himeji on the way, go out for the evening in Dotombori in Osaka on the way back - about the best part of Osaka).

What's the easiest way to get tickets for a central Tokyo based team? Will the season be on whilst we are out there?

Yes, probably easiest place for most kinds of tickets is a JR ticket office at a large station. There aren't any central Tokyo based teams, although games are occasionally held at the National Stadium near Shinjuku.

For J1 the best bet is FC Tokyo. You could also travel a little further and see Kawasaki Frontale or Yokohama Marinos but I would recommend going to see Urawa Red Diamonds - decent team and one of the best stadiums in the league (60,000+ seater and usually pretty full so good atmosphere but bit out of the way).

[randombs]

My first time in Japan, I used the shinkansen twice and probably didn't even spend as much as the pass itself (I did get the first class pass, though). My second time, however, it must have paid for itself about three times over (regular class). I made a few trips back to Tokyo from Osaka for concerts and whatnot, knowing the journeys were free. I even lost my ticket while running for the shinkansen at one point and just got another for free (I didn't lose the JR pass itself, just the ticket).

It really does just depend on your usage.

I'd probably get another if I went there again, and I'd just take random trips to places because it'd be free. I got the one that just covers Tokyo and anything to the West.

[teddymeow]

Been looking through my photos from last year today and reminiscing about the good times we had last year.

On a whim I've just checked Expedia to see how different the prices are from when I booked back in November for this year's trip versus what it would cost now. The price has shot up ?500!

I can't believe it. I thought it was supposed to get cheaper closer to the departure date?

[neoboy259]

My flight too has shot up by around £400.

Fancy taking in a baseball game whilst I'm there. Anyone know if I can just roll up to the ballpark on matchday and just grab a pair of tickets?

[briareos_kerensky]

I can't believe it. I thought it was supposed to get cheaper closer to the departure date?

I was monitoring prices on various flights before the start of the year and on the average they go up about 50-100? a month depending on company and class. I think they start to lower within a week or so before the flight.

BTW, uber-exicted about this trip even if there's more than a month before the departure.

[teddymeow]

BTW, uber-exicted about this trip even if there's more than a month before the departure.

Over 11 weeks for me but I'm already bouncing off the walls.