Shinjuku or nearby Yoyogi area

major transportation hub. apart from railways, the bus terminal is also centralised here.

a lot of sight-seeings and restaurant choices here as well

Not too sure about KL-Osaka flight rates

But back in Jan, I managed to book KL-Tokyo for early April 2018 travel at around RM1.7k/pax. It's ANA btw.

Maybe can consider play around with your travel itinerary such as fly-in Osaka, fly-out Tokyo if you are planning a lot of days in Japan (>10 days)

In Europe, there's actually carbon tax on industries that emit CO2 (coal-fired power plant, etc.)

In this case, Thai Airways is giving you the 'option' to help contribute to environmental protection by paying the carbon tax for CO2 emission from your flight. The money will likely goes into a fund that helps to plant trees somewhere else (i guess la..)

KL-Tokyo rates should be better for us Malaysian because there are other options beside AirAsia and MAS.

I booked my Airbnb and hotel accommodation some time around mid to end-Jan. Can still easily secure bookings and most come with free cancellations. The only issue is I can't get ANY hotels (regardless of prices) for 14-15 April for the Takayama Spring festival. Totally flat out fully-booked.

What you can do is booked your hotels early with free cancellation. Then if you see better deals or your preferred hotel suddenly have rooms available, you can just booked the new 1 and cancel the old 1

It's not uncommon for ryokan or smaller hotels to make their room listing available only 3-6 months earlier before.

23 March to 3 April is very safe, unless weather is totally out of whacked My travel period this year was 5-17 Apr. Sakura wasn't my main focus, but I'm still a bit sour because this year it bloomed 1 week early (despite Jan-Feb winter being the coldest in recent years..? ). If not, I would have enjoyed full bloom in Tokyo and Kanazawa. Consolation prize is Takayama reached full bloom when I was there.

Generally, if you are travelling one-way between Osaka-Tokyo, you don't really need Japan Rail pass. The only ok pass is the Hokuriku Arch Pass, provided you intends to visit that region.

Anyway, back to your original question about flight tickets. Your MAS KUL-KIX flight is around RM2k. Although KL-KIX + NRT-KL is 1.8k, do remember you need to spend around RM500 to bring you from Kansai to Tokyo (assuming taking Shinkansen). So total cost is RM2.3K - additional RM300 for the flexibility

My point is - if you originally just plan to visit Kansai, then why not stick to it and just pay the RM2k fare? You might feel the fare is a bit expensive, but you don't need to spend extra cost (especially you want to keep it within certain budget)

Alternatively, you can just concentrate on Tokyo completely since you already been in Kansai 2x? KUL-Tokyo, you can get RM1.7k return with ANA for sure

EDIT
Also another point to highlight is - maybe your MAS flight is expensive because of your 23 March (Sat) KL departure date? Try getting other dates and maybe you can have cheaper prices

This post has been edited by tohff7: Jul 25 2018, 11:38 AM

No, you go to Klang /s

don't be so lazy la bro

Take last week of March + first week of April should be able to cover sakura full bloom, unless the weather is totally out of whack.

Having said that, it will be good if you dropped Hokkaido? Won't be surprising if you could miss full bloom in early Apr (assume late blossom) in Tokyo/Kansai region, but then you are travelling to Hokkaido in the later part of your itinerary.

You can't claim tax refund for stuff you "consumed" in the country. So, you can't get any tax refund on hotels and meals.

First time travelling?

Tokyo to Hakone/Mt Fuji. Then onwards to Kyoto and then finish at Osaka.

If haven’t booked flights, fly back via KIX. If not, well you just have to spend extra by buying Japan Rail Pass and take bullet train to Tokyo. 7 day pass is more than enough for your 12-14days trip

This post has been edited by tohff7: Jul 31 2018, 03:16 PM

Get the 7-day pass is enough. You'll have a few options. I'll list down and you go research the overall total fare + whether it fits your original itinerary.

1. Land in Tokyo, but what time? Remember JR pass period is based on calendar days, not 24-hr basis. Take Shinkansen to Osaka. Then visit Kobe/Kyoto/Nara. From Kyoto, take Shinkansen to Odawara Station to visit Hakone. Visit to Kawaguchiko area is doable, but not recommended cause it might be too rush? Depending on how you arrange, your 7-day pass should end when you are in Hakone or reach back Tokyo.

2. You can Visit Tokyo/Mt Fuji/Hakone for the first part of your itinerary, then activate Japan Rail 7-day pass to cover Shinkansen between Tokyo-Osaka/Kyoto and Osaka/Kyoto-Tokyo for the last 7 days of your trip

As long as it's licensed, it should be ok. But I doubt price will be any cheaper than hotels, unless you are a big group 4-5 ppl sharing a house

2 nights at least for Kyoto. maybe +1 night if you decide to go Nara from there as well

There are many must-go locations in Kyoto which are not close to each other. Quite impossible to do all with just 1 night, even if you start early in Day 1 and goes to your next destination very late on Day 2

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Kiyozumidera, Fushimi Inari, Ginkakuji, Kinkakuji

1) See highlight above
2) Buy at Toyama station. Snow Wall is only from its opening in April till around June
3) There's a crowd predictor website that you can Google and checked. Well, don't think crowd will be that bad. Plus, you can buy express pass for USJ. it's all about how much you willing to spend.
4) Places you are going is scenic...but doesn't seems romantic enough for proposal...

1. Go to Odawara then explore Hakone area
2. Go to Nikko

Oh, then it should be ok. And by November, should start to have snow also in Murodo.

Shin-Hotaka ropeway got 2 part of cable-car that will bring you to the top. No hiking required.

DisneySEA is just a SEA-themed Disneyland. Won't have any watersports like Sunway Lagoon

Suica card is just like Touch N Go. Metro-pass is for unlimited rides within certain period of time.

You have a lot of research to do....Good luck

Nope. Japan has custom-made models for their market. After iPhone 7 even got special NFC chips that integrate the same payment systems as Pasmo/Suica/ICOCA

Just to further add.

Your minimum 5000yen tax refund can't be mixed between general goods and consumable goods (cosmetic, food, alcohol). Meaning let say you want to buy a 3000yen sport shoe + 2000yen of food stuff. You can't get tax refund in this scenario

when it's too cheap, think twice.

next time just quote everything and then Add Reply. not need create multiple threads

for travel insurance, you should just check your policy T&C. I think typical travel insurance do covers trips cancellation. You can also claim for hotel/travel arrangement that you already booked/paid and is not refundable.

nope. I don't remember immigration asked to show proof about return ticket flights