Thanks everyone for the feedback. Really appreciate it, Just one more question, you guys usually will get the midnight departure ticket so that the time of arrival is actually early in the morning, am I right to say that?

If my date of travel is from March 23 to April 8. Will the chances of seeing Sakura high enuf?

Hi all.. I have a basic question about train. I want to go to ikebukuro from haneda airport. The route is
either
haneda -> shinagawa        -> ikebukuro  (kekyu line + jr yamanote line)  or
haneda -> hamamatsucho -> ikebukuro    (monorail + jr yamanote line).

My question is do I have to buy a new ticket at transfer station (shinagawa or hamamatsucho) or can I use the same ticket to transfer to jr yamanote line?

Thanks.

THANKS for the quick answer..
I'm a poor guy and will arrive late at night.. My choice is either train or I'd rather sleep at airport. No kidding Anyway, thanks for your suggestion on alternative transport..

It is AA flight, so, it is supposed to land at 10.30pm.. Based on my own research, if I cannot catch 11.30pm train, then I will be going to the fifth floor of haneda airport for sleeping..

i received a call from AA regarding next week kl<--> osaka flight delay, asked if i want to change the travel date or refund

the call legit or nt?

will be going to osaka from 5-11 october. initially plan to stay all 6 nights in osaka and travel to kyoto n nara by train in the morning n return to osaka at night so no need to carry my big luggage between city. but seems very time consuming. or should i stay a night at each of the city?

thanks for the advice. does every train station has locker for luggage?

Guys, I have questions about Kansai Thru Pass.

I plan a journey, Kyoto>Nara>Himeji>Kobe>Osaka and some of the trains will falls under Rapid or Ltd Exp or Exp. Does the pass cover this or I have to pay and an extra? Lets assume I do not need to reserve a seat.

This is what been mentioned in the site
KINTETSU / NANKAI RAILWAY / Semboku Rapid DESIGNATED SEAT EXPRESS
Additional charge when in designated seat in KINTETSU / NANKAI RAILWAY / Semboku Rapid

This is the line showed in Hyperdia, from Nara to Himeji
Kintetsu Nara Line Rapid Exp.  for KOBE-SANNOMIYA
Hanshin Namba Line  for AMAGASAKI
Hanshin/Sanyo Through Ltd. Exp.  for SANYOHIMEJI

DO you know how much? Do I have to pay whole amount of fare?

Best is to rent from the ski shops together with your gear if you don't want to buy your own. You can wear jeans and winter jacket of course if you want. But ski gear the main difference is that it has "skirts" inside at the waist area (so snow doesn't get in to your jacket when you fall), and the ski pants are wide / flared enough at the ankles to go over / cover the boots.

Guess I'll find out next month

Which of these areas would you recommend to stay at for someone first time visit to Tokyo?  Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, or Ueno?

I want to go out to Kawaguchiko, Hakone, Nikko, and Enoshima. It seems like Shinjuku is a good option. But I have some friends who say this area got red light district and lots of pachinko, as such not so nice, Ikebukuro or Ueno are more pleasant areas. I'm going to want to visit all three areas so can't decide which area to stay at. Ikebukuro for shopping and Ueno for the park. Appreciate some suggestions or comments about this...

Hi guys, I has been travelling Tokyo few times for business travel. But this is first time bringing my family and friends together for a vacation trip.

For Tokyo, pretty much I will JR pass daily ticket for all those area that popular.
Eg : Asakusa, Euno market, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukoro, Meiji Shrine, SkyTree, Tokyo Tower, Disneyland, DisneySea and etc. Anything else can recommend?
For Tsukiji market, what is the best time to visit? 8am?

I am planning to bring them to Hakone and Nikko since we are going end of November.

Is it worth to stay one night at Hakone during this period (autumn)?

Nikko, I guess day trip is good enough right?

Anything else I need to take note?

Shinjuku is big and not only about red light district. Furthermore Ikebukuro also have a red light district, albeit a smaller one. Since you are there only a few days, just stay at Shinjuku as it is well connected.

But I like the feel of Ginza rather than Akihabara.....guess most probably the crowd they attract are different. And also because I use to stay quite close to Ginza.

Yeah maybe I was looking at Malaysia time loll!!!

But wow I didn't know 中央通り秋葉原地区 is also closed off at certain time for pedestrians. Think I usually avoid 秋葉原 on weekend especially Sunday as it'll be crowded. Next time must go on Sunday ady to check out 秋葉原の歩行者天国。

How about Hokkaido? Will there be any communication issue?

I encountered some hotel staffs who know how to speak Chinese but not ok in English. That's quite interesting.

Yupe, too bad Nabana no Sato ended earlier this year.    Thank you for the suggestions. Will consider those with my friend. 
You read me correct there. I'm into photography but I consider myself super amateur in it    Just hope to get ~20 good shots then I'm a happy man.    Why is it hard to get a good shot at the bamboo groove tho?

As for day 4, I thought maybe spending around 1 hour+ at Nishiki market before heading to Mt. Hiei. But then, it is food we are talking about. If cannot make it back for Kiyomizu Dera, then will shift it to day 7 before going to Nara. Day 7 (Nara) is plan to be a more chillax day playing with deers      Thank you for the tips in Arashiyama.   

Yupe, food is the priority in Osaka. It will be mostly a makan + shopping trip aside from the Osaka Castle and Umeda Sky Building. 

Time to google for Nagoya/Kyoto/Osaka food recommendations.

Yupe, too bad Nabana no Sato ended earlier this year.    Thank you for the suggestions. Will consider those with my friend. 
You read me correct there. I'm into photography but I consider myself super amateur in it    Just hope to get ~20 good shots then I'm a happy man.    Why is it hard to get a good shot at the bamboo groove tho?

As for day 4, I thought maybe spending around 1 hour+ at Nishiki market before heading to Mt. Hiei. But then, it is food we are talking about. If cannot make it back for Kiyomizu Dera, then will shift it to day 7 before going to Nara. Day 7 (Nara) is plan to be a more chillax day playing with deers      Thank you for the tips in Arashiyama.   

Yupe, food is the priority in Osaka. It will be mostly a makan + shopping trip aside from the Osaka Castle and Umeda Sky Building. 

Time to google for Nagoya/Kyoto/Osaka food recommendations.