Here's a good info for future tourists to Japan.

b-mobile seems to have updated their prepaid SIM offerings (actually since end of July) and it's much easier to get a Prepaid data SIM card for use while you're in Japan.

The cost is only 3980 yen for 1GB of data for 14 days (Downlink:14Mbps / Uplink:5.7Mbps (Best effort)) which IMHO is very affordable compared to other options. Also, it piggyback on NTT DoCoMo's network so coverage is really good.

You can find out more info on this link -
http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/1gb.html

NOTE: There's another SIM card which offers unlimited data for 14 days but that's capped to a slow 300kB/s only. Best to go for the 1GB plan which should be enough for normal day-to-day use for 2 weeks.

@stimix: Maybe you can add this to the first post?

Here's some of my personal opinions on your Kyoto itinerary -

1. I think your itinerary is too packed as the places you listed are far apart from one another. For eg. Kinkakuji is north of Kyoto and Kiyomizudera is down southwest and Nijo-jo & Kyoto Imperial Palace is located central of Kyoto. You'll really need to be pin point accurate about the schedule of the trains / bus to cover all these places in a day and even that, I don't think it's possible. Plus, they all close around 4pm so you better start your day really early.

2. If you're thinking of renting bicycles and cycling to these places to save cost and time... don't. Summer is wayyyyyyy too hot & humid in Kyoto and you'll find that you need to park the bicycle at designated areas which most of them are not free. Taking the subway or using the 1-day 500yen bus pass is much better.

3. You'll need to do advance booking to visit the interior of Kyoto Imperial Palace. (http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/guide/kyoto.html)

I don't recommend getting the JR Pass if you're only going to travel on the Shinkansen once (Kyoto-Tokyo) and plan to use the JR Pass for normal train commute.

The cheapest JR Pass will set you back 28,000 yen and with that pass you cannot take the fastest shinkansen (Nozomi). You can only take the regular ones.

I would recommend -
- buy regular tickets / day passes when you're traveling in Kyoto/Nara/Osaka.
- get the Nozomi shinkansen ticket from Kyoto-Tokyo (Total:¥ 13,720 one way).
- buy the SUICA card and use it for commute and travels in Tokyo.

That shouldn't work out to more than 28,000 yen and you get to ride on the Nozomi.

Take note you should buy your shinkansen ticket earlier (preferably a few days) as these are reserved seats and they occasionally gets sold out. It's not an open ticket so you'll need to specify the date and time.

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Added on August 28, 2012, 8:44 amIf I recall correctly, it's around 8pm.

I don't think it's a good idea to put it on the last day as you'll need to check-in 2 hours before your flight and Disneysea (Maihama St.) is quite a distance from Haneda (I assume you're flying AA).

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Added on August 28, 2012, 8:46 amIt looks like a packaged tour where you'll have tour guide and a bus to shuttle you around. Covers all the major tourist areas and since they already planned the schedule, there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

This post has been edited by PsyCHZZZ: Aug 28 2012, 08:46 AM

IMHO, JR Rail Pass is great if you're arriving in Tokyo, travel for 2 days, then go to Kyoto/Osaka for another 2-3 days then traveling back to Tokyo for the remaining days until your flight. The round trip of Tokyo<-->Kyoto/Osaka itself is around 26,000 yen so then it makes it worth the 28,000 yen JR Rail Pass.

IF you're only traveling one way, you'll have paid extra 15,000 yen which is for local transport on JR railways.
Now divide that by 7 days, this means each day you'll need to spend more than 2,000 yen on traveling expenses just to make it worth the money. From experience, I can say you will not spend that much on daily traveling expenses.

That's why it's not worth getting the JR Rail Pass if you're only going to take the shinkansen once.

You guys should use the Hyperdia site to plan your traveling expenses. (http://www.hyperdia.com/en/).

The Hyperdia site includes both JR and Tokyo Metro so it'll be easier to plan your travel routes as not all places are covered by Tokyo Metro.

However, if you plan to only use Tokyo Metro for a day trip around the city, then you should get the 1-day unlimited pass which is 710 yen.

Since you'll be taking Shinkansen 3 times between these cities, it'll be worth it then.

Osaka-Hiroshima (10k)
Hiroshima-Kyoto (11k)
Kyoto-Tokyo (13k).

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Added on August 28, 2012, 12:51 pmI see. The plan looks okay as it does cover many of the major attractions in and around Tokyo.
I think some places you'll probably be spending short period of time since some days it looks quite packed but then again, you don't need to worry about train schedules or traveling time.




This post has been edited by PsyCHZZZ: Aug 28 2012, 12:51 PM

There's no direct Shinkansen to Saitama so you'll be taking from Osaka to stations like Tokyo or Shinagawa then change train to Saitama. Use the links on the first page to find the train schedule and the stations where you need to change.
Jorudan's link is on the first page. Personally,I prefer to use Hyperdia. ( http://www.hyperdia.com/en/ )

I don't think there's ways to get the tickets in Malaysia (except for JR Rail Pass). It's not always packed so don't worry.
Just try to get your tickets when you arrive. You can buy them at any of the JR station's office.

You only pay the 300 yen at Hama Rikyu pier if you get off the boat. If not, you can just continue on it to Hinode Pier.
After that, you'll change to the Odaiba line at Hinode Pier to the Odaiba Seaside Park which is the one near to Diver City (1:1 Gundam).

It'll say if it's local/rapid train on the train itself and on the signboards.
Also, all trains signboardss will rotate between Japanese and English.
In Tokyo, they will have announcements of the train stations in English while you're on the trains as well.

This post has been edited by PsyCHZZZ: Aug 28 2012, 11:49 PM

Haha... I'm a bit free recently so just dropped by to say hi.
It's just a coincidence that it's my birthday.

That's great! Well, let me know when you have decided on the time.

It should be safe to drink but if you're concern about drinking directly from the tap, why not boil it first? There should be a water hotpot in the hotel room. Just boil it and let it cool overnight before filling up your bottles.

To future travellers to Tokyo.

Seems like now you can get free WiFi on some JR train stations.
All you need to do is to register your e-mail for first time and then you can get free WiFi access for 3 hours. Just need to relogin after that to extend.

Check out this PDF for more information-
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pdf/free_wifi_02_e.pdf

free wifi, Tokyo