thanks, based on what _ChAoS_ said, looks like i need to check on airbnb for the price of accommodation in kyoto 1st before decide

and another question
USJ seem like so much more complicated than disneysea/disneyland
apart from their confusing "express pass", now i saw they have ticket A,B,C for their entrance ticket...they didn't even mention what are the difference
anyone can tell?
and their bundle doesn't make sense
like ticket B + osaka amazing pass RM399
but if i check both separately and add it up, it's not even near RM399

When are you going?
Kyoto prices during autumn are quite outrageous, I only managed to find a hotel in a decent location for $196 per night (including brekkie).

If you don't mind travelling a bit or are just visiting Kyoto for a couple of days, staying in Osaka would be a better option budget wise.

oh ya, am going autumn too
early october
going on 4 person family, looking for airbnb instead

Yeap, booked other places with better and more recent reviews. Now in the midst of planning itinerary during my off days, 2 days for Osaka and 2 Days for Tokyo.

i did went on last autumn (mid nov), i did stay at kyoto for less than RM200 pernight. no breakfast but they let us do laundry for free.
n its not hotel tho. tho i admit osaka is cheaper (i did stay at business hotel tho, still more expensive than my kyoto stay)

where u plan to stay?
if u are catching morning flight at KIX, my guess is u are looking at Namba area?

my flight is AA to KIX, the usual 9.30PM arrive time
yup, plan namba area and kyoto station area(if i ever plan to stay in kyoto, near to transport)
but initially i was planning to go kyoto 1st, thn only move back to osaka so don't need osaka >> kyoto thn osaka again for flight back
but seem doesn't make sense due to my late arrival

now i'm pretty confused on how to plan my itinerary
the USJ is also giving me a headache

Yeah if 4 people, better use an Airbnb to save costs. Make sure to get a legal one!

I'm guessing it's one of those guesthouses? Less than RM200 per night is pretty darn good.

That's the fun part of creating an itinerary. Once you built one, you have utmost satisfaction. At the same time you get to learn many things as well.

If you are arriving KIX at 9.30pm, then it makes sense to stay in Osaka first. Your flight back should be at night too then so technically you could go straight to KIX from Kyoto, no need to come back to Osaka again.

If you plan to make day trips to Kyoto, the only problem with staying in Namba area is that I think there is no direct train from Namba to Kyoto. You will have to switch to a different train line. I think cheapest from Namba is ¥590 one way per person on the Keihan line. So you can do the math for your family if you wanna do day trips if it is cost effective for you or not.

Personally, I found staying in Kyoto made more sense in terms of time and transportation as there are too many things to see and do there. But of course, it all boils down to what you and your family want to do lah.

Namba is not really a main hub. even if u wan to go other city, u still need to go Osaka/Umeda Station for it.

If me, i would stay a night at Osaka, then move to Kyoto next day >> Osaka.

My previous trip was overnight flight reaching KIX in the morning, so easier to manage.

i read above need to have registration number listed

i always create my own itinerary
but seem like japan always give me trouble
the tokyo one i used alot of time to create
but seem straight forward

osaka kyoto though, seem complicated
got a few prime area in osaka unlike in tokyo is shinjuku
osaka got namba, thn osaka station and umeda
namba is like shinjuku but cannot go kyoto straight unlike shinjuku station can go everywhere(from google maps)

thn there is that over-complicated USJ


hmm...make sense
last day checkout thn can do a daytrip in osaka before going to KIX for night flight(last minute shopping)
and yes, there are no direct train from namba to kyoto
from googling seem like namba >> osaka station >> kyoto station

after reading some comment here
it seem like i wanted to plan like
osaka 1st thn explore all of osaka(since already there)
thn move to kyoto for the rest of the days
thn last day check out come back to osaka for day trip and last minute shopping should my mom tasted something in osaka she like and decide to buy

but thn again, the things bought in osaka needed to be hauled to kyoto

How about spending your first night in Osaka (since you arrive late), then move to Kyoto the next day for a few days before ending off your last 2 or 3 nights in Osaka for your shopping?
Yeah a bit of a hassle changing hotels 3 times, but you can always use the luggage forwarding service if lazy to bring your luggage around.

USJ is pretty simple if you don't bundle the tickets with everything else. When you prepare your itinerary in USJ, you have to ask yourself this first, do you mind queueing up to 1 hour? Do you mind if you miss the minor side shows on the streets? Do you mind missing on the themed cafes? Do you mind to pay the very expensive express passes which can costs most than your base ticket? When i bought my tickets off Klook, there's only 1 type of entrance ticket. Differences are usually for express passes for which you have to decide which rides you want to use your express pass on (The more rides, the more expensive it is) I went in without express pass on a wednesday during mid Nov (peak autumn) and managed to ride all of the major rides and skipped the themed restaurants and most of the minor side shows.

Based on what you're planning for your accommodation between osaka and kyoto, it is a hassle to move and check in all the time, especially when abnb doesn't have flexible checkin hours. Although i do agree the staying in Kyoto is a good experience (Good environment) and puts you closer to Kyoto attractions, it is indeed more expensive and you'll have to trouble yourself with moving luggages and checking in and out many times. If you're considering staying in Osaka the whole time and travel to Kyoto for day trips, rather than choosing main expensive hubs like Umeda or Namba, you can think about some further places but still have direct connection to the main hubs. I stayed near Tengachaya station in my trip, there's a direct connection to the main stations and using the Kansai Thru Pass, i didn't have to go through Osaka,Namba or Umeda station (Althrough tbh, some transfers are still necessary). You can take all of this into consideration for your planning.

this also but i just don't like the feeling of after settling down, tomorrow morning move again
and it felt like wastage of another day
if i stay in osaka, next day is a full day
if i move to kyoto, i don't know where to go hauling all this luggage waiting for check in time...it's another day wasted for me

luggage forwarding service i have no experience thus don't dare to use
and also scare the luggage didn't arrive thn how

for me
i thought USJ is just entrance ticket and the various express pass only
i've decided to forgo the express pass thingy and just go on weekdays to try to avoid the crowd
i've read the previous thread
they say monday to thursday can avoid...go early straight to harry potter, thn everything else later
but yesterday when i go see USJ entrance ticket at klook, suddenly there is ticket A, B, C without explaining what is the difference
price is different as well

i think i will only decide after i've done listing down the place i wanted to visit whether i want to stay osaka whole trip or separate it
i do notice the hassle of hauling the luggage there thn back again
staying like 1 station outside of the main hub seems to be a good idea, will consider
depending on the airbnb price in namba
and i also notice osaka have so much of these "pass"
at tokyo, i just use suica all the way since their daily pass isn't worth it
i thought i would do the same in osaka kyoto, mana tau i saw so many pass, kyoto bus pass, osaka amazing pass, kansai thru pass

This post has been edited by MR_alien: Mar 28 2019, 04:25 PM

i am planning to travel to Tochigi area. anybody have any suggestion beside Nikko?

regarding various pricing on USJ tix, if not mistaken, the price will be different depending on which day you are visiting. In klook website, you may try click on ticket A and then see the available date in calendar. The available date will be differ among the 3 options.

Great to hear that! Happy planning

I just visited Klook site to check the USJ tickets, the options A, B and C were not there before. It's best to visit their online chat to find out.I do agree to go to Harry potter rides first. However, you don't have to worry about running there as the gate opens (It's not fun to run ), just walk normally there once you're inside. For me, i only waited 20-30 minutes once i was at the queue at leisure walking pace even after i stopped at the HP rides timed-entry ticket park booth (It was then that i found out that there's no timed ticket required for that day).

This post has been edited by _ChAoS_: Mar 29 2019, 10:05 AM

Self-drive? If so I recommend to stay a night at Yunishigawa Onsen then visit Nasushiobara the next day.