Driving in Hokkaido is not that difficult actually. The cars have English GPS and can use Google map as well. I'm at Hokkaido now and there's not many cars on the roads outside Sapporo. But then if Sapporo only public transport should be good enough

i just realize we need to make booking for the bus from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go!
Anyone have experience in this? If no booking, means no seats at all?

rubella outbreak in kanto region
need to vaccinate before going?

It only effect 3 years below children and pregnant women only.

Oh I see. Thank you for the info 😊

Great thanks. Will likely do that.

I planing to go Japan on November but no itinerary and no time do any research. Anyone at japan now? I don’t mind paying someone at japan to be my tour guide. It’s a family trip 3 adult 1 7months infant.

take tour group. no hassle

you still can buy ticket at bus terminal

Hi wish to check, how is the Nikko day trip and where you covered?
Tq

Yeah, we know. But the uncertainty is snow. It is not a weather that we've experience before, some more gotta drive on it. As we will be going in early December, there are flakes of snow but is actually is in a transition mode going in winter.. where there is nothing much to see yet due to winter not fully kicks in.. and believe that all the farm already close (no fruits, no flowers).

There's plenty to do in Odaiba other than just Gundam. You can visit FujiTV station, shop around Venus Fort/ DiverCity (the mall behind Gundam statue). There's also a Food Court in DiverCity - it's one of my fav eatery.

There's another Mall known as DECKS - check out the night view there. You can just Google "Rainbow Bridge Odaiba" and you'll see what I mean. Always find it's worthy to make a trip to Odaiba. You can arrange for something in the morning/ afternoon and make your way to Odaiba around 2 or 3pm onwards. It's about 1hr or so from Ginza.

Plenty. Like the above is some example.

Are you sure you're able to do so much in Takayama? Mind you, a lot of places close early and it gets dark around 4 or 5pm in autumn & winter. I barely managed to check out Takayama Shrine for an hour or so and then it got so dark, we head straight for dinner at 6pm.

Suggest you research how long it takes for you to get to Shin Hotaka Ropeway and back, as well as how long you'll spend there. Imo, the ropeway will easily take you 1 day without time for the rest. Better check the buses' operational hours as well - you wouldn't want to get stranded missing the last bus.

I always find "no time" is an excuse for an easy way out. Suggest you do some basic research by reading Page 1 Post #1. This is certainly not the place to look for a guide; as most if not all, would have made their own planning. Like Chaud mentioned, go with local ground tour or just walk around your area, or decide on the morning itself where you want to go.

This post has been edited by sweet_pez: Oct 29 2018, 09:36 AM

This is just my draft itinerary, the location is still subjective to change. I knew it is not possible to visit so many places in such a short time. But at least I need to confirm the area so that I can book my hotel and stay first. Of course, I will look at the bus schedule as well.

Pocket WIFI from various companies. Google search around or check the threads for good deals.
--- http://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/pocketwifi.html (contributed by estcin)

Hi guys! Found this from 1st post. Is this reliable? Im going in a month time.. need to book earlier? Any other pocket wifi options?

Then will suggest you bold up the places where it's a must go, and the rest as back up if you have time. Most people plan for ideal situations, but that don't happen often I usually plan comfortably, with 1 or 2 place a backup if there's time.

It's up to you. So far there hasn't been exactly a bad review for WIFI router - they are quite stable. Some of the members have used Travel Recommend, HIS, Samurai WIFI etc. Check them out, and see if the price is competitive, as well as convenient for your collection and drop off.

My last trip to Osaka, Nara, Kyoto and Tokyo also did not follow my itinerary very well. We end up missing a lot of good food ( cause those famous need to queue at least an hour ), and use these times to visit more places. From there I only knew that, it's impossible to accomplish everything in one visit.

Hence this time, I consider the time travel, and even the distance travel. This trip will be even more challenging as I will need to change hotel very frequently, and ensure that there will be no issue finding the baggage courier in that area.

For attractions, I will need to check with my wife about her interest first then I will only be able to bold those places that I will visit. I also will get the 5 days Toyama Tourist Pass which will travel from Nagoya on the way to Gifu, Takayama, Toyama, Alpine Route, Matsumoto, and all the way back to Nagoya.

Not sure whether I want to go Aichi and Matsumoto or not. Not sure whether there is any place to visit.

The date of travel is May 2019, so I believe it will not be darker earlier.

Of course, if you have any useful links, such as baggage courier services ( seriously need it ), bus schedule link, please do let me know.

Day 1 Nagoya - SCMaglev & Railway Park, Nabana no Sato,
Day 2 Takayama - Takayama Jinya, Shin Hotaka Ropeway, Takayama Old Town, Hachiman Shrine
Day 3 Shirakawago / Kamikochi
Day 4 Kanazawa - Kenroku-en garden, kanazawa castle, Higashi chaya district, Omicho Seafood Market, Nagamichi Samurai
Day 5 & 6 - Kurobe Alpine Route
Day 7 - Matsumoto
Day 8 - Aichi
Day 9 - Nagoya - Nagoya Castle. ( + souvenir & hobby purchase )
Day 10 - Back home ( 10am flight )

This post has been edited by Jet23sky: Oct 29 2018, 10:25 AM

I see! Any recommendation to pick it up at japan or klia?

Yes, everyone plan differently. And I agree on the food part because popular spots always filled with queue. If you're able to adjust your schedule, try to go during off hours eg. 11am for early lunch, 5pm or 6pm for dinner etc. It worked for me in the sense that while there's still a need to queue, it's usually between 20min to 30min. If it requires 1hr queue, I'll be sure to move on too.

You're right on the luggage, i was also thinking how you're planning to manage it. The last round, I did Nagoya - Takayama - Shirakawa Go. And then back to Nagoya. The Takayama-ShirakawaGo bit was 3D 2N so we left our big luggage in the coin locker in Nagoya station, going with a handcarry/ bagpack for 3D2N lighter travel. Retrieved our luggage before it went over the 3 days' time.

The Shin Hotaka Ropeway was something I'd wanted to do but didn't manage. Due to lack of time, we didn't even manage to visit the Hida Folk Village which is one of the must-go in Takayama. Do share about the Shin Hotaka Ropeway when you're back. Will likely do a longer, more thorough trip in Takayama. A very pleasant place imo... although most shops close off early.

If you enjoy a bit of hiking and nature trail, with some historic value - I'll recommend a Day Trip to Kiso Valley in Nagoya.

Up to your preference actually, and also depending on your flight timing. For convenience, likely to be KLIA. Personally i usually use SIM card, and have only used WIFI router twice. Once with HIS, and another was with Travel Recommend if not mistaken.

for odaiba you can consider visiting this teamlab borderless. its a digital art museum. it can keep you occupied 3-4 hours.
https://borderless.teamlab.art/

i went to the other exhibition teamlab planets during sept which is also nearby odaiba.

there's a one day pass for odaiba Yurikamome line
Fares
Adult: 820 yen Child: 410 yen

It's not as crowded as Disneyland is still a much more popular place. Joypolis is fully indoors and features a lot of unique gaming machines. It's good if you don't have a lot of time as well, a visit there should take about 3-5 hours as it's not very big.