Hi guys, would like to get feedback on my itinerary which i've worked out so far. Will be travelling to Japan in Sept. Flying in from Tokyo and flying out from Osaka. Advice is much appreciated.

5 Sept - Departure to Narita @ 0045AM. Arrival at 8.45AM. Buy Keisei Skyliner + 3 Day subway pass. Check in to Airbnb apartment in Nishishinjuku. Explore Shinjuku & shibuya area. Meiji Shrine & Yoyogi park.

6 Sept - Visit northern Tokyo area (Tokyo National Museum, Asakusa, Tokyo Skytree, Ueno Park)

7 Sept - Tsukiji Fish Market (is it advisable to go on Monday?) Imperial Palace / Garden, Aihabara, Ginza

8 Sept - Visit Odaiba, National Museum of Science, Roppongi

9 Sept - Check-out. Take Limited Express "Romancecar" to Hakone. Check in Hakone Chiyodaso. Explore Gora, Lake Ashinoko. Owakudani is no go now due to volcano warning. (Should i get the 2 day Hakone Free Pass or pay for each individual transport? I'll be heading down to Kyoto after Hakone via Shinkansen hence not coming back to Tokyo)

10 Sept - Check-out of Hakone Chiyodaso. Take Shinkansen to Kyoto. Check in to Airbnb apartment in Gion district. Explore Kiyomizu-dera, Philosopher's Walk (what else is nearby that i can visit as estimate time of arrival at Kyoto will be around 2PM. Will be getting the 1 day Kyoto Pass (is it worth it or should i just use Suica and pay per use?)

11 Sept - Visit Kinkakuji, Arashiyama, Kyoto Gosho (Imperial Palace), Nijo-jo Castle

12 Sept - Check out. Take Train to Osaka. Check in to Airbnb apartment in Fukushima. Explore Namba & Dotonbori

13 Sept - Osaka itinerary still work in progress

14 Sept - Osaka itinerary still work in progress

15 Sept - Day trip to Kobe

16 Sept - Fly back to Malaysia at 11AM.

Transportation is really a pain expensive.. total for 5 person now estimated around RM 3,500 for all the ground transportation (not yet include suica reload). Should i get the Kyoto and Osaka day passes or pay per use? Tokyo site i believe the Keisei + 3 day subway at 3500 yen is quite reasonable as the fare from Airport to city alone is aound 1k yen easily.

I don't plan to pack too many attractions per day as it's supposed to be a free and easy trip with family. Airbnb is the real saviour for us as managed to get apartments that can fit all 5 of us at reasonable rates.

Btw, any nice recommended place to have Kobe Beef steak while in Kobe or Osaka?

Thank you.

crap.... mount hakone eruption... guess my trip to hakone is out.

Just heard news of airasia x cancelling kul to nrt.. Dammit.. My flight is on 4th Sept midnight plus all accomodation booked via airbnb..

Haneda timing really sucks. Supposed to arrive on 5th morning now arriving at 4th late night. Is there any place to rest in haneda like a capsule hotel or something? Travelling with family hence abit mah fan.

booked hotel mystays.. at least it's close to hotel for a good night's rest. quite expensive for 2 small rooms. Btw, i have 5 pax, do they all us to squeeze the 3rd person into one room?

they don't have 3 pax rooms. all 2 pax. even i wan add bed also cannot.
it's for my brother. he can sleep on the floor (assuming that there's space.

staying at mystay haneda.

that cancellation really screws up planning. plus need to fork out another RM 800+ for accommodations for that one additional night due to arriving late.

come to think of it... rerouting to kul-dmk-nrt is a better option than kul-haneda.. no need to spend another night unnecessarily.

your flight to dmk, did you choose the 5pm flight or 6.45pm flight? 6.45pm arrive 7.50pm. Need to check out, collect bags and recheck in right?

just got a call from their cust care... bloody hell. want me to fork out additional money to pay for baggage from kul to dmk..


This post has been edited by raist86: Jul 24 2015, 05:58 PM

with family abit hard to overnight in airport lo. parents old di.. if just me and wife, no problem to overnight in airport.. trying to get AA to waive the kul-dmk baggage fees..

re-checking in and immigration is still a better option then going to haneda at a weird time and having to spend a night there. There's a chance of missing the last train out from Haneda.

there's only one flight to haneda. 2pm arrive 10.30pm

just got an idea for those changing to bangkok... take early morning flight to bangkok, hire a van to go around in bangkok, evening go back to airport and take flight to tokyo.

since nasi sudah jadi bubur, my as well add some ingredients and make teo chew porridge with it.

Try airbnb. Can rent a big house to fit all in one place for about rm1k a night.
Pm me if u need help. All my trips are now with airbnb accomodation. I'd choose it over hotels if possible.

I bought my luggage from kul to nrt. The preflight person told me i have to top up fot kul to dmk. I refuse and told them I'll let them know again.

Whack one sleeping pill and sleep through the whole flight =D.

Still waiting for the preflight team to call. Waited so long on the online chat just to get then to call.

Haneda flight flight slot really weird timing. My cousin who's living there says quite high chance of not being able to make it for the train. Have to use taxi which costs a bomb after midnight. She got stuck 3 times this year flying back to japan due to landing delay.

RegentCid will be asking you to do some homework first.

anyway, i'll help as much as i can based on my homework done. My direction is Tokyo to Osaka.

1) Kansai Through Pass can be purchased online via JTB Malaysia. office at Amoda or KLCC. even the JR Rail pass can be purchased there.

2) depends on where you stay. Usually train from airport is the most convenient. Tennoji is the main station for airport trains. from there, change trains to wherever your final destination is. Use Hyperdia / google maps to plan your route.

3) you plan to do day trips to nara, kyoto and kobe or spend 1 day each at those locations? for myself, i'm doing day trips out with Osaka as my home base. Because of that, i booked an apartment via Airbnb which is near Umeda station. Check out airbnb as there are rather good reasonably priced options there.

cheap wei..

problem is booking so far ahead... who knows AA later cancel the flight.

This post has been edited by raist86: Jul 28 2015, 12:15 PM

for those on a budget, can get the IIJMIO travel sim card (can buy at airport, BIC Camera, Blue Sky etc). It only cost me around Y3200 for 1 month 2GB data. line is quite good as it runs on NTT network. You can turn on data sharing from phone if need be.

i actually ran out of data cos the speed was so fast and my wife kept using the data sharing on FB... damm FB for implementing the auto play video while i was in Japan.. wife didn't know how to turn it off... sucked up my data so fast.

I got my package from Blue Sky @ Narita airport. It's located on the far left side after the exit from the arrival area. It's true that different shop sells at diff price. Y3200 is not yet include tax.

It's the cheapest option around for connectivity. All other pocket wifi i've check cost easily 2 to 3 times more for my 14 days stay in Japan. Didn't need unlimited data as my AirB&B comes with pocket wifi. Other data sim card comes with very limited data around 100mb per day.