i wanna go japan too...

Lai lai quick come here, this weekend is Comiket 2007

haha yassai mossai!

最高！

i was there during summer and had the chance to experience it. emptied my pocket playing janken for the chocolate dipped bananas.

anyone been to Fukushima b4?
will be heading there soon, 1st time to Japan also

Its snowing in Tokyo now yay

Hi Hi..

I am planning to go Japan end of March - beginning of April, what type of clothing is suitable for that time ya?

Can help me with the itinerary also?? Since I am not sure whether these places is near or not, esp within Tokyo, can please advise wehther there is any changes I need to make?

Day 1: Tokyo
===========
1. Check in Hotel
2. Sanrio Puroland -> I think will spend whole day
3. Dinner / Shopping

Day 2: Tokyo
==========
1. Tsuji Wet Market
2. Imperial Palace East Garden
3. Beer Museum
4. Sumo Museum
5. Amlux
6. Honda Welcome Plaza

Day 3: Kyoto
===========
1. Will go by Shinkansen and want to stay in the traditional ryokan
2. Want to go onsen
3. Dunno what else to do

Day 4: Osaka
===========
1. Sumiyoshitaisha Grandshine
2. Osaka Castle
3. Naniwa Tanken Cruise
4. Tsurumiryokuchi Park
5. Museum of Housing and Living
6. Osaka Aquarium "Kaiyukan"
7. Etc

Day 5: Tokyo
==========
1. Disneysea -> whole day
2. Dinner / Shopping

Day 6: Tokyo
==========
1. Hakone
2. Asakusa
3. Shibuya
4. Shinjuku Gyoen (Park for sakura viewing)

Day 7: Tokyo
==========
Harajuku / Shinjuku 新宿 / Flight back by night time.

Any suggestion to be made?

bring a decent jacket, should be in the 10ish degrees.

there are alot of temples in kyoto, kiyomizu,kinkaku ji,ryuu-an ji are the few must see places. others would be arashiyama,fusihimi inari taisha. your schedule's abit pack and maybe abit rushed but def doable enjoy! it's gonna cost ua bomb though.

I have calculated, if using tour package will spend around RM10-11k for 7D 5N, problem is this will mean spending lots of time travelling (as in on road in bus, traffic, etc)

If I go backpack, will also spend around the same amount, however, I got bonuses like:
1. can stopover in HK (if use cathay pac)
2. my schedule is flexible (i can go to disneysea, the tour package only offer disneyland and cannot change)
3. Can try out the love hotel, hehehehhe, since after 10pm, the rate is cheaper for whole nite stay
4. can experience Japan more than only boarding the tour bus

But of course, needs careful researching and scheduling. And which is why I need all the sifu here to advise about my itinerary.

yea, i definitely suggest backpacking.

oh yea, hakone is abt 1hr+ from tokyo, so u might as well spend the day there, or early morn till late aft at the very least. so, u might not have time to go asakusa as its on the other side of tokyo.

www.japan-guide.com is a good place to do research. pm if u need any advice, i'm willing to help

Hi clemong_888,

You got any japan tour package recommendation?

Thanks

This post has been edited by arthurlwf: Jan 23 2008, 10:24 PM

nah, i don't.i'm staying here at the moment, so i dont mind helping anyone coming by themselves. i don't really like tours as well because u spent half the time in the bus!

Wow.., clemong, thanx for the offer!

Me definitely needs help in sorting out my itinerary, but let me do more research first and will come out with the latest and consult u again. Thanx again though~

Oh yes.., for a decent backpacker ryokan, what is the average price and which location is the best?

ahh.. it's so expensive for a trip to Japan.

Escudo, you said tour package will spend around RM10-11k for 7D 5N. That is the cost if you go backpacking?

i assume when u mean ryokan,u mean traditional japanese guesthouses, most preferably with onsens(hotsprings) and where they pamper u? if thats the case, it shouldnt be associated with backpacking miniumum price would be 10,000yen(approx rm300) and most places would include 2meals(which are really good,btw). end of march could be a busy period though and u might find that the norm would be 450 up. for location, i'm not too sure as the only ryokan i've ever stayed in was in hokkaido but do check out hikone which is 1-2hrs from tokyo. u could spend a day there i guess.u coming here alone?

when i go backpacking around japan, i never pay more than 3000yen for accomodation

u're coming here alone?oh and if u're planning to go kyoto/osaka with shinkansen, u might wanna get a jr rail pass which has to be applied before u come here.if u do come kyoto/osaka and if i'm free, i could show you around.

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Added on January 24, 2008, 11:45 ami could do it within 5-6k(exc tix) but it really depends on the comfort,food u want.

This post has been edited by clemong_888: Jan 24 2008, 11:48 AM

I am going with my husband. This is supposed to be our honeymoon trip, but I am quite dissatisfied with the itinerary given by the travel agencies.

The ryokan in Kyoto will cost 7770 yen/room and the Tokyo costing around 8192 yen/room.

The RM10-11k was an estimation for 2 pax. But after doing the itinerary again.., it seems impossible for that kind of amount.

Clemong, is this itinerary okay? I have tried to design and redesign again for whole day. Please help me to do correction yeah.., if there is some places with overlapping route.

Oh yes, for the JR pass, I intend to buy here. May I know if I activated the pass on 28th Mar, when is the last day for using it? Will it be 3rd or 4th of Apr?

This post has been edited by Escudo: Feb 16 2008, 11:44 AM

If you are considering to lower your expenses, pls stay in Asakusa, this is area of cheap ryokan and hostels. And most cheapest & convenient to travel to Narita airport. (There's 2 airport in tokyo, make sure u get the right airport.)
From here you can travel to most of interesting spots in Tokyo.

I stayed in 2 of these hostel.
khaosan tokyo -> http://www.khaosan-tokyo.com/en/
This was the cheapest & great hostel I found last time i traveled. Con is cleaniness so so only. Old building, but nice rooftop view and just next to the river, I managed to stay in a room with river view, very nice scene. no private bathroom, but I like the toilet WC there, sit down type->got different water pressure to wash and got hot air to blow dry ! less than 5 minutes walk to LRT, I feel thankful coze during checkout, I got lots of luggage and only short distance for me to jump on train to airport.

This is a bit pricy but still cheap. Very quite and very very very clean, nice place. Walking distance to LRT. more than 5 minutes but still short distance. here the living room is tatami style. U can enjoy the decor here.
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.p...sou-Tokyo-15493

I will comment things I know about Tokyo.

Day 1: Tokyo (Friday)
============
1. Arriving at airport at evening
2. Check in ryokan
=> Goto Ueno Night market, dinner there. ueno is very good place to shop
3. Dinner and take a walk in Shinjuku => shinjuku is famous for it's busy ppl crossing scene at big junctions. go up an overhead bridge and catch the fantastic view. The later the better. More n more people flooding up the junction to cross.

Day 2: Tokyo (Saturday)
============
07.00-08.00 Breakfast
08.30-10.00 Asakusa - Sensoji temple
10.00-12.00 Akihabara => u can skip if you are not buying gadgets or electronics, comics, cosplay etc
12.00-13.00 Lunch
13.00-15.00 Amlux
15.00-19.00 Harajuku / Shibuya =>harajuku is a must, great fashion trend shops...
19.00-20.00 Dinner

Day 3: Osaka (Sunday)
============
07.00-09.00 Tsukiji Market
=>I got up 4am, were there before 6am to view the bargain market of Big Tuna fish, must have your breakfast there, most fresh sushi and sashimi in town
10.00 Train station
10.15-13.00 Shinkansen to Osaka
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-15.00 Osaka Castle (600Y) & Hokoku Shrine (Open until 17.00)
15.00-16.00 Shintenoji Temple
16.00-19.00 Namba, Shopping
19.00-20.00 Dinner
20.30 Train Station
20.30-21.30 Shinkansen to Kyoto
22.00 Check in Hotel
If got time, we go Sento Spa (350 Y)
Day 4: Kyoto (Monday)
============
07.00-08.00 Breakfast
08.45-09.45 Nijo Castle (600Y) (open until 16.00)
10.00-11.00 Kinkakuji (400Y) (open until 17.00)
11.00-12.00 Imperial Palace (free)
12.00-13.00 Lunch
13.00-15.00 Gion & Kiyomizu Temple (bicycle) (300Y) (open until 18.00)
15.00-16.00 Sento Spa
17.00 Train Station
17.30-20.00 Shinkansen to Tokyo
20.00-21.00 Dinner

Day 5: Tokyo (Tuesday)
============
08.00-09.00 Breakfast
To be continued.....

Oh yes, for the JR pass, I intend to buy here. May I know if I activated the pass on 28th Mar, when is the last day for using it? Will it be 3rd or 4th of Apr?

[/quote]

try your very best to slot in City Hall visit 1st, take a free lift to cityview deck. you can have almost 360 dgree city view. and at the ground floor, there is a tourist information office, with maps of each area in tokyo. And oso lots of information about travel destination for tokyo and surrounding. the officer speaks english. All info is color printed, and it's free.

Dun buy Jap phone, u can't use it here. And the only phone network usable for our phone is 3G, if u do not hav it already, and u do not really need it, just buy a IDD card for your normal callback to malaysia.

sometimes there's a daily pass promotion for metro in tokyo, and only can be purchase at airport. checkout their website or the airport websites for any promotions for tourist.

tokyo and osaka part looks alright, lots of shopping time, so can always just cut down on that if u're short on time.

just kyoto, depending on where u;re staying, u might want to go kinkaku-ji first.it's the furthest place and the rest of the places u mentioned are pretty much near.u dont hafta rent a bicycle. take a bus. a one day city pass is only 500yen. and u might want to stay abit later in gion area, might be able to find geishas. i dont think 530pm is the last shinkansen to tokyo and do u like green tea ice cream, i know one very good place in kyoto! (u might have to queue and hour though )

Hi hi!
Sori I didn't reply earlier - hope others' answers are good for you
Your revised itinerary looks alrite to me, just always be sure to check the time so everything goes as scheduled.

Another place in Osaka that you might consider going is the Osaka Universal Studio's theme park.
But that place is as big as Disneyland, so just give it a consideration

One thing to remember: Sakura season "usually" last 1 week.
So make the best of it and take as much photos as you can, then later share it with us here

Arigatao, Marchkingdom.

Do u have the pictures of the rooms for Khaosan? It seems like they have lots of branches, dunno whether I can get lost or not trying to locate it.

Is there any curfew? Staying in Asakusa sounds really tempting and it is cheap too! My fren recommended Andon, which is located around Ueno, but quite pricey although it looks nice.

My plan is to stay in cheaper hostel in tokyo, since most of the time will be out. However, I have changed my itinerary for Kyoto, I want the traditional ryokan (which is quite pricey, but I want to experience it), so ur suggestion about the Khaosan is really appreciated.

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Added on January 25, 2008, 10:16 amNyummm~~~ My trip is to sightseeing and of course MAKAN~~~~ kekekke..... Heard the food in Kyoto and Osaka is the best? If yes, then you are lucky, man~

I wanna see geisha~ Any tips on how to locate them?

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Added on January 25, 2008, 10:22 amFiredauz, thank you for ur suggestions also! heheh.., I really like lowyat.net, lots of sifu here.

For the Osaka Universal studio, I decided to forgo it, since I will be going to Disneysea, and I have been to Gold Coast Movieworld, waterworld, dreamworld, so I reckon all are more or less same thing. Initially wanna go Hello Kitty Land, but hubby protested, hehehe, said it is too girlish.

I wanna catch the sakura~~~ Hopefully I am going at the right time to catch it, my husband will bring his big camera, so if got nice pics will share out.

This post has been edited by Escudo: Feb 16 2008, 11:44 AM

http://lovekyoto.hotwire.jp/eng/?v=ehwol for your kimono, about 120-200 a day. but if i'm not mistaken u might get discounts in temples and stuff if u're wearing one. not sure whether that offer's still on though. and also, don't expect to walk alot in a kimono,it's not as easy

i don't stay in osaka/kyoto actually. i live nearer towards nagoya at gifu but i like goin down there and the food is great there. u must try the okonomiyaki,takoyaki in osaka(though the takoyaki in akashi is prolly the best)

it shud be sakura season then, so expect a CROWD and when i mean crowd, i mean thousands of people. i havent experienced it myself cos i'm never around in spring(will try it this year) but the foilage season is that bad in kyoto when i went there last yr. i had to queue 30 mins to get into a temple your husband a photographer?? just to let u know,most temples dont allow tripods during sakura/autumn season due to the crowd.

oh yea, u might wanna go umeda sky tower in osaka to check out the view and impressive architecture.