The Japan Trip Resource Thread!

[teddymeow]

Woohoo! Just found out that I get paid my Xmas bonus the day before we fly out! Bring on the Akiba game stores (or any other game stores in Tokyo for that matter!)

[Champloo]

Anyone got any recommendations for things to see/do in Kyoto and Osaka?
Looks like we will be visiting Tokyo again this year, and would like to spend a few days in some other cities.

Thanks!

Havn't been to Osaka, but in Kyoto don't miss the Golden Pavillion, and the silver pavillion for that matter. Nijo Castle was good, and there's a little walkway called the 'philosophers walk' which leads to a lot of temples - you could spend a day here. And the station is pretty amazing in itself.

There's so many temples there, i'd recommend you buy a lonely planet guide for a couple of quid before going, it came in handy for me. A lot of these places were difficult to find.

Emir: I managed for 2 weeks with ?550 spending money, that included my accommodation, food, and a few gifts. I should have brought more, because after a while me and my mate compeltely ran out of money, we managed to get half way to Narita on the way home (this was travelling all the way from Kyoto on local trains) and couldn't get to the airport from Narita as we had no cash left - one stop away. Luckilly, we found some friendly Aussies of gave us enough for the train and some breakfast, but by that point we had missed the last train and so we had to spend the night sleeping rough - and it was raining. And that wasn't the only night we slept on the streets, twice in Gion! Luckilly its safe there, would have been buggered in England.

In any case you might want to bring a little more cash than I did...

[asnozz]

^ oh dear :O thats how much i was planning to bring lol

i'll have to economise even more at uni :S lol

[Emir]

Damn Champloo, sleeping rough in the rain in a faraway place... that's pretty hardcore.
All my accommodation is paid for, as well as a Rail Pass. It's just food, travel for the other week and shopping that I'm budgeting for. Should be ok with about 700 quid methinks.

Just a quick question. How expensive is Kobe beef?

[Richard.John]

Kobe beef as in from Hyogo prefecture is the real deal, home grown, so expect to pay top yen.

[teddymeow]

With regards to Travellers Cheques, which is better to go for:

Pound Sterling cheques from my bank which I then change to Yen out in Japan or am I better ordering Yen Travellers Cheques straight off the bat?

Cheers again.

[Champloo]

With regards to Travellers Cheques, which is better to go for:

Pound Sterling cheques from my bank which I then change to Yen out in Japan or am I better ordering Yen Travellers Cheques straight off the bat?

Cheers again.

I changed mine to yen here in england, made more sense - saves time when you get there. It'd be worth having 10,000 yen or so in cash so you've got some money when you arrive, your going to need some money when you fly in to get from the airport (Narita, I imagine) to wherever your staying and you'll get a higher exchange rate at the actual airport than you will here - I think.

[dave heats]

so people still actually use travellers cheques?

[teddymeow]

I changed mine to yen here in england, made more sense - saves time when you get there. It'd be worth having 10,000 yen or so in cash so you've got some money when you arrive, your going to need some money when you fly in to get from the airport (Narita, I imagine) to wherever your staying and you'll get a higher exchange rate at the actual airport than you will here - I think.

Cool. The exchange rate for Cheques looks to be higher than the one for cash too if my bank is to be believed.

[Pookmunki]

Decided this morning that im going to make a trip to Japan at the end of this year/start of next, have read quite a bit of this thread and i am getting more and more serious/excited by the prospect of jetting off for a few weeks.

Taking accommodation, travel, food etc into account without spending money, how much is it recommended to have to be able to survive comfortably for 2 weeks?

I will also be going on my own, first time travelling without family/ girlfriend in tow, will i have to gear myself up for a majorly intimidating time?

Thanks in advance for any advice

[Supergoal]

You should have no major problems coming here for a holiday. I came here by my tod when I was barely 19. Another mate(TokyoChojin) came when he was 18 for a month or so and he had the time of his life. Hard to say how much you'll need. Just work out your hotel costs and taxes, then say 30 quid a day as a minimum for food and travel. I'm thinking 7/8 years ago prices! Smeg, has it been that long!!

[JU!]

Time flys eh. When I was 21 and before I started uni, I went to Australia first for 3 weeks then Japan for 8 days the first time I travelled on my own. Everyone gets nervous and that's why many people don't travel, I think because of this fear. Go for it! Once your there you'll work it out. Japanese are very helpful, all you really need is a phrase book. Like Supergoal said just work out a budget and you'll be fine. Credit card a la Visa is a good idea for a back up in case you get into difficulties. Hope that helps

[Anpanman]

Me too, I'd been away on my own for weekends to Euro cities but the first proper holiday I did was to Japan back in 1994.

We'd just been pulled out of the ERM and I was getting sub 150 yen per pound meaning everything was super expensive, jeez my railpass cost over £200 and by flight was £510 with Aeroflot.

Arranged an internal flight ticket, sorted out all my rail travel and even negotiated the trams in Hiroshima without too much problems.

I think one of the big worries for singles travelling is the security aspect but Japan is about as safe as it can be certainly for one of the 1st world modern economies.

As JU! said, get a decent guide book - one with a map of the Tokyo underground and you should be fine, but please ask away with any particular queries as we would be happy to help.

[Champloo]

Decided this morning that im going to make a trip to Japan at the end of this year/start of next, have read quite a bit of this thread and i am getting more and more serious/excited by the prospect of jetting off for a few weeks.

Taking accommodation, travel, food etc into account without spending money, how much is it recommended to have to be able to survive comfortably for 2 weeks?

I will also be going on my own, first time travelling without family/ girlfriend in tow, will i have to gear myself up for a majorly intimidating time?

Thanks in advance for any advice

Well I was 17 when I went this summer but I did have my mate with me. If you read my above post, I had £550 for 2 weeks but that really wasn't enough. I mean my friend was buying 50p burgers from McDonalds for each meal towards the end of the trip, and I was buying some god-awful vege sandwiches from the convenience stores. And we either got our alcohol from the convenience stores, or hoped some japs would buy us a few drinks (which they often did - very friendly people, especially when they've had a few drinks ). We had to live seriously budget, during the last week especially. You'd really be best having about £700 - £800 (including a bit of spending money), although i'm sure probably manage alright with a little less than that.

You shouldn't have any problems getting around the country. A lot of signs are in english, in the subway's etc which makes getting around easy enough. You'll quickly learn how to use the trains or busses although it might be a bit confusing at first. The place is also entirely safe and the main dsitricts of Tokyo and the center of Kyoto are always packed at night, you don't have to worry about getting lost or what not, as we quite often did do. Also get a lonely planet guide, it'll be very helpful.

I can reccommend some good places to stay if your in Kyoto or Tokyo. The popular places go quickly so its worth booking soon. And getting your flights well in advance is especially important as you'll end up paying a fortune otherwise.

[Pookmunki]

Thank you for the advice guys, very thoughtful, useful stuff there from each of you. I really want to go out and soak in the culture, good and bad. I'm still coming out of a bad patch regarding relationships, and doing something on my own (or at least the thought of) is helping no end. /emo

I'm really looking forward to this trip, i'l hopefully manage to rustle up over a grand for use while im over there, it's my number one priority for this year, il let you all know how i'm getting on with the saving

And thanks again for the advice.