Sounds good. I'll look it up and update on Post #1.

Don't book these things last minute. If you're based in KL, there's still another hope. Contact H.I.S. office. Their WIFI is at RM15/ day rental. If you can drop by their office in Bukit Bintang to collect, you can still make it to rent. But you have to contact them ASAP to book a unit: https://www.his.com.my/

1. Check post #1 on page 1. Look at item No.10. Your answer is there.

2. I suggest you open up Google Map and search for Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo. Read the map and you'll find your answer. I guarantee it. If you insist on going, then yes, you'll need a JR pass.

3. "Unique" is very subjective. I think doing some basic research such as Googling around, you'll find some recommendations. When you have a rough itinerary, you can post it up and get some feedback from the regulars here.

This post has been edited by sweet_pez: Apr 10 2018, 02:11 PM

You didn't read properly. Under #10 scroll down a little more there's a "Discount Passes" item. No doubt you'll be aware of SUICA/ PASMO since you've been to Tokyo before. I'm surprised you're not aware of the Discount Passes they have and only ask on the 3rd time you're going

Good to know you're at least aware of the distance. We have seen many ambitious travellers. Nothing is impossible, just whether it's feasible and worthy for the person himself/ herself.

For tour, it's a good price if A to Z is all-in.

However the term "all-inclusive" can be misleading sometimes. There's usually some sort of T&C. Best for you to read the full details/ T&C on what is included and what is not. Call up the agent and get a Black & White copy. Be careful of whatever is promised verbally.

Have an upcoming trip soon and it's places I've not been. Just want to get second opinion on whether there's anything I should include or exclude. Generally what I'm looking forward is a good balance of sight seeing (nature), some shopping (shopping street, snacks etc) and fun (something unique/ different to see or experience).

Yokohama
Note: I know Chinatown is not in the list and it's something iconic, but I'm not sure about it. Have been going 50-50 on the place coz I heard it's typical Chinatown. If there's anything interesting inside, perhaps you can share. I Google-d but mostly only talk about food.


Kamakura
Note: It's only a day trip so I don't think I want to squeeze Enoshima in. Unless it's a 2 day trip then it's more reasonable to do Enoshima IMO. Not sure if there's any bike rental in Kamakura with bike trail, or is it only for hiking/ walk?

Any (other) places you will recommend to include in? The Zeniarai Benzaiten Shrine looks interesting, that's why thought it'll be interesting to make a trip there.

We've not visited any instant noodle museum so it's just for an eye opener. Likely will still drop by, as one of my friend is keen to go; probably spend less time there to make way for the rest. Guess Chinatown is a no no.

No beef for us, unfortunately. Thanks for the recommendation on Enoden train, will look it up to see if it can fit to our itinerary.

Did read the manga and have some sort of affinity towards it, although not a big fan. Hahaha if Enoshima is in (with friends' blessing) this is a must-go. Thanks!!!

Japan so big, onsen in which area are you talking about? Be specific with your question. And when it comes to onsen, there's Google which gives you plenty of recommendations and reviews.

Due to shortage of time, we were contemplating between the ramen and cup noodle museum, but at the end of it finds the cup noodle one more interesting. Unless someone who had been to both can share their view on which is better and why hmmmm

1. For late arrival to Haneda, look through page 1 again. There is a page there with plenty of information for you to look through.

2. For Day 1, you're trying to do too much with elderly and children tagging along. I will suggest Akihabara, Ameya Yokocho, Sensoji and Asakusa. Have a nice dinner in Asakusa and make your way home. There's nothing much in Tokyo Skytree unless you're planning to go up for the Observation Deck.

3. Day 3 - Doable. I suggest to skip Meguro River/ Shukuyamabashi Bridge; Sakura is ending. You'll save time. Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park is just next to each other. Note that you'll have to walk back to the entrance of Meiji Shrine (where you enter, exit same place) and walk next to it. Friends and I were inside Meiji Shrine and we saw signs pointing to another road to get to Yoyogi. However, after going big circles and ended up not sure where.

You can picnic in Yoyogi park, so feel free to buy some food from nearby mart. You can also bring alcohol there.

4. Day 4 - Not sure what's the price of the ticket in Klook, but you can get the Hakone pass at Shinjuku Station: https://www.odakyu.jp/english/passes/hakone/
And yes, I don't see an issue in bringing your child to Kabukicho. It's not like Chow Kit (at least that's how some my friends imagined it loll), it's more like a night-eateries-and-game-shops concentrated in an area.

5. Yes, it's too packed for your family since you added in Tsukiji. The Dorayaki is quite far from the other places so I'll suggest this for you if you insist to do Tsukiji:

Tsukiji - Walk ard & breakfast
Ginza:
- Itoya (Stationeries) ---------------->Pez: if no time, skip
- Uniqlo : Go up to the 2nd highest floor - that's where most of the t-shirts and popular selections are located.
- Manneken: Popular Belgian Waffle shop. ---------------->Pez: if queue is too long, skip
Odaiba
- Fuji TV: FOC (depends on preference in visiting this place) ---------------> Pez: Skip.
- Chibi Maruko Chan Café
- Odaiba - DECKS (afternoon): Enjoy *evening* view (in your case).
- DiverCity Tokyo Plaza : Shopping, souvenirs, specialty shops etc; check out the Food Court which has various selection of meals. Gundam statue is right outside the food court.
- Odaiba - DECKS (night): Enjoy night view; take photo of Rainbow Bridge and Statue of Liberty.

6. Day 6 - you can do Tokyo Tower + Tokyo Station. Or, in the morning you can drop by Tokyo Metropolitan Office for free observation, do a last round of shopping in Shinjuku and finally, check out & make your way to Tokyo Station.

Have to request Malindo send luggage? Will they charge extra? And how can you put in the request with Malindo? At the airport when you check-in?

Next time you can just Google "bus, Kawaguchiko to Shinjuku" and you'll see the link. Or you can ask the person who needed the service to look it up. Just to note, in this section we don't spoon feed on information that one can get with just a click of a button.

You can always refer to the Note on Page 1 post #1.

Can only book 1 month in advance though, last week was planning to reserve seats for this bus as well but noticed can't book yet.

This post has been edited by sweet_pez: Apr 17 2018, 10:15 AM

Hmmm but I think I've seen Japanese girls with short pants in temples. Is it frowned upon? And I thought there's no restriction in terms of this. Eg. Thailand is very strict and you'll have to wear a sarung or something to cover legs if one wears anything above the knee.

I may have missed but you're going to Kawaguchikp straight from Narita? 2 bags... if 2nd bag is a hand carry bag, you can put the hand carry inside the suitcase and just bring '1 luggage'.

Optionally what I plan to do, which will cost a lot, is to drop my baggage in Yamato counter in Yokohama and get to them deliver it to Shinjuku station. Planning to contact the baggage storage counter in Shinjuku to arrange for them to receive and store my luggage until I arrive to collect it 1 day later.

Just saw this. Tour as in you followed tour? That's nice, then it's easy to move around. I'll be going Fuji 5 Lakes alone and I think I'll only be able to make it to Lake Yamanaka and Kawaguchi. I have done Owakudani, Hakone Shrine and Cruise in one of my previous trip. No to Gotemba coz we're not really keen on shopping

Out of the list, the one I really want to do is bike around Kawaguchiko. I'll figure how to do that as 1 of our friend can't cycle we can't leave her though. Hopefully they have the bike for 2 people. Doesn't seem possible to do Oshino Hakkai coz it seems out of the way. Didn't you do Shibazakura?? Since you're there.

Wait since we're on the topic of Shibazakura. The ticket get at Kawaguchiko station?
I saw that they have 2,000 yen pass which includes the return bus ride and entrance ticket. However I also read on their site that if the bloom almost end, the entry fee might be waived off.

I'm going 3rd week of May, so hopefully it's still good.

Ahhhh 21st could be early. I think early May will be just nice, since sakura was an early bloom. But I wanted to avoid crowd and peak (if anything, big crowds of people irk me the most) so opted for non-peak.

Dang it's a 3D 2N trip rain all 3 days but seems light.

Indeed, it did say they purposely have a bus to cater for the festival. One more thing, they said there are coin lockers in the Kawaguchiko station, however another person said the lockers are full and it's so bad that sometimes people just dump the bags on top of the lockers and go off. When they come back, the bags are still there. No doubt, usually nobody will take. But did you see this situation at the station?

Okay, thanks for managing my expectations hahaha. So far most of the places I've been are all okay, including station at Shirakawago so this comes as a bit of a surprise. I guess the facilities were a bit lacking to cater for the major crowd that comes.

Unfortunately I'm leaving from Yokohama so I won't be at Shinjuku. My plan for luggage:

Pass big luggage to Yamato service -> they deliver to baggage storage counter in Shinjuku -> store for 2 days -> collect at Shinjuku then check-in to accommodation.



This post has been edited by sweet_pez: Apr 26 2018, 10:09 AM

Wait, what about SIA? I'm flying with SIA next month

Wow you took those photos? They are very nice. You can even sell them online
Yes because sakura bloomed unexpectedly early (tourist wouldn't be able to know), thus those who went last 1-2 weeks don't get to see the full bloom. It's okay, you still get to see them at least.

Yes I read about both and the Cup Noodle one seems a bit more interesting. The Ramen museum - I think main focus are the stalls where you get to try ramen from different places in Japan. But I saw the cost and it's quite pricey for a bowl although they have options of small or big bowl. Don't have a big appetite and not keen to splurge on ramen, so that's why I'm not too keen on this museum.

As for the Cup Noodle museum, I heard there's an area where you can make your own cup noodle with the ingredients you want, seal it off and take it home. When you're back, can make the cup noodle that's one of the thing that made me wanna go.

Where else did you visit in Yokohama? The Red Brick Warehouse?

There's the Akaikutsu Loop Bus that looks interesting. Did you get the round pass/ ticket to ride it? My intended places in Yokohama are:

Cup Noodles Museum
Kirin Beer Factory Tour
Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse
Minatonomieruoka Park 港の見える丘公園
Yamashita Park's Waterfront Walkway
Osanbashi Pier <3

Owhhh dang, no luck then.

The flight from SG -> Tokyo (Haneda) is via SQ636 while return is SQ637.

Good info. Yes Shinjuku Gyoen is good - whether it's Sakura or autumn foliage. When my friend went last April, the sakura in Ueno park is a little irregular so he said it's like "patches" of flower here and there but not all fully bloomed.

For Kawaguchiko did you take up tour or went on your own via bus?

Ah... I would love to bring home more but unfortunately cup noodles are bulky, so at the most I'll get 2 back, with 1 of it for a foodie friend can only buy stuffs like this for people who appreciates it.

The marine tower? It's an Observation Deck right? I think it's fine. Have 1 scheduled in Tokyo, will give it a shot at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Good info. Yes Shinjuku Gyoen is good - whether it's Sakura or autumn foliage. When my friend went last April, the sakura in Ueno park is a little irregular so he said it's like "patches" of flower here and there but not all fully bloomed.

For Kawaguchiko did you take up tour or went on your own via bus?

Ah... I would love to bring home more but unfortunately cup noodles are bulky, so at the most I'll get 2 back, with 1 of it for a foodie friend can only buy stuffs like this for people who appreciates it.

The marine tower? It's an Observation Deck right? I think it's fine. Have 1 scheduled in Tokyo, will give it a shot at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Nice. Guess no luck. Have not thought of flying with Garuda. How was it?


Okay, I've given up hope doesn't matter whether I'm sitting on the left or right side now hahahaha. Thanks for your sharing.