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1st time Japan: Itinerary questions
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2016/2/7 19:36
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Hi guys,
My name is Mitchel, 29 years old from the Netherlands, visiting Japan for the very first time with my girlfriend this April. This website/forum has been of great help so far! We made an itinerary for 3 weeks. We like a good balance between cities/nature, busy/quiet, we don't like to travel a lot with our luggage by we don't mind hiking or being active! Still trying to figure out which raillpass to choose, I'd like to share our itinerary with you guys with some questions.
6 april: Amsterdam-Tokyo 7 april: Tokyo 8 april: Tokyo 9 april: Tokyo 10 april: Tokyo 11 april: Matsumoto 12 april: Matsumoto 13 april: Takayama 14 april: Takayama 15 april: Kyoto 16 april: Kyoto 17 april: Kyoto 18 april: Kyoto 19 april: Koyasan 20 april: Osaka 21 april: Hiroshima 22 april: Hiroshima 23 april: Nagasaki 24 april: Nagasaki 25 april: Fukuoka 26 april: Fukuoka - Amsterdam
Some considerations:
1. Fully aware of the magnitude of Japan we won't be able to see everything (by far). However, for a first time, are there any major things we miss in our schedule?
2. Nothing is fixed, but we booked Takayama (festival 13th and 14th of April), Matsumoto and Kyoto in advance. Just to be sure
3. Is it THAT more convenient to fly to Haneda instead of Narita?Prices for Narita are much more attractive, but how about customs and travel distance to Tokyo?
4. We would like to do several day trips from Tokyo (Nikko, Fuji) but also visit the city itself. Would you guys recommend trying to use a 14 day raill-pass or 21 days for the entire trip?
5. Any tips regarding visiting sport games (I know there are no sumo tournaments) are very welcome!
6. Any tips regarding a convenient location to stay in Tokyo is much appreciated!
Thank you so much in advance for helping me out!
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by Mitchel1986
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Re: 1st time Japan: Itinerary questions
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2016/2/8 10:25
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1. "Major" is subjective. This itinerary has no obvious anomaly, soif you like it, great.
3. No, it just may take more time to reach your destination, and even that depends on where exactly your destination is located.
4. There is no rail pass which obviously pays off for your itinerary. To be sure, you'll have to do the math.
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by Firas
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Re: 1st time Japan: Itinerary questions
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2016/2/8 11:33
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Book your accommodation ASAP. Hotels started to book out for the popular cities last year!
With Japan's public transport system, either Tokyo airport is convenient to travel from.
To work out if a pass will be cost-effective, use Hyperdia (hyperdia.com/en) to calculate your train fares. Compare the total cost of the fares to the cost of the various passes, and see if there's one that might pay off for you.
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by sq (guest)
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Re: 1st time Japan: Itinerary questions
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2016/2/8 17:47
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I find Narita to be easier than Haneda.
Narita has two dedicated express rail services to Tokyo stopping at several major Tokyo stations. Haneda has a monorail, which can be a bit of a squeeze with luggage, and will take you to Hamamatsucho.
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If you don't like travelling with luggage, it may make sense to visit fewer places for longer. Also look into luggage delivery services.
You can stay in Kyoto and visit Osaka, or vice versa: it's a short trip and saves booking two hotels and moving between them.
If you are moving around a lot, try to travel light, a little like backpackers. Tokyo has more shops than anywhere else on the planet. If you need it, you can buy it here. Lugging full tourist-scale luggage around Japan may ruin your trip.
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For a first trip, get a Tokyo hotel near a Yamanote line station. Book as early as you can.
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by David (guest)
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Re: 1st time Japan: Itinerary questions
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2016/2/11 14:36
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I agree with sq, you need to book your hotel as soon as possible especially since it's still sakura season in early April and demand will be high. As an alternative, you can also look into Airbnb.
You should also consider making daytrips to places near Kyoto such as Nara and Arashiyama. These are less than 1 hour away from Kyoto via train.
Narita is only 1 hour away from Tokyo Station via Narita Airport Express train so it isn't a big inconvenience to get to.
Personally, I like booking hotels around Nihonbashi/Ginza area since geographically it is the center of all the areas I like to visit (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa, Akihabara, etc)
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by ami (guest)
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