Discussion
djsmith74 said:
Apologies to the OP for the thread hijack but, as the theme seems to be travelling around Japan using public transport, I have a query regarding using local trains as we are out in Japan for 2.5weeks in May 2024.
I am aware that, if you are travelling with luggage, you need to pre-book seats with luggage space on the shinkansen. But what about "local" trains, i.e. from Osaka to Kyoto? Do you need to book a luggage space on those? Is just jumping on board with luggage frowned upon? We could just get a coach from Osaka to Kyoto, but the local trains look very appealing.
Thanks
I don't recall any issues with luggage on the Skinkansen we used the JR ones and just put the cases on the luggage rack but we did pre book seats, same for the local trains although IIRC they had luggage storage at the end of the carriage like here . The local trains are pretty slow the one we went on didnt go over 45mph and had frequent stops but allows you more time to view the scenery although coach would be nice also I am aware that, if you are travelling with luggage, you need to pre-book seats with luggage space on the shinkansen. But what about "local" trains, i.e. from Osaka to Kyoto? Do you need to book a luggage space on those? Is just jumping on board with luggage frowned upon? We could just get a coach from Osaka to Kyoto, but the local trains look very appealing.
Thanks
It goes off size. Most cases are actually ok so check the JR site for dims, but the larger ones are caught in the "reserved seat only". Ours were too big.
The reserved seats are the back most pair of seats on each train carriage. So there are only 4 seats on each section of the train.
The cases then go in the space behind the seat on the floor.
If you are going to book this and your cases have wheels a tip is to pack a bungee cord other wise on each bend your cases will roll ...
We did see a guy getting fined going from Tokyo to Osaka for over sized luggage. They then moved him to the seats next to ours and put his case behind. A few minutes later a guy came with a credit card machine and took his money
The reserved seats are the back most pair of seats on each train carriage. So there are only 4 seats on each section of the train.
The cases then go in the space behind the seat on the floor.
If you are going to book this and your cases have wheels a tip is to pack a bungee cord other wise on each bend your cases will roll ...
We did see a guy getting fined going from Tokyo to Osaka for over sized luggage. They then moved him to the seats next to ours and put his case behind. A few minutes later a guy came with a credit card machine and took his money
gotoPzero said:
I have a feeling the problem will be resolved soon,
As expected Suica cards have gone back on general sale.However you cant currently buy one from a machine like you used to do - you have to go into the actual travel office to get the card.
The good news is most major stations have a travel office.
I’ve revised my plans (at least for now) and have approached https://www.insidejapantours.com/ to give me a price for a partial custom self guided tour.
That way I’ll have more of an idea of costs at least and it will cut down on the logistics which quite honestly were daunting. Although if it came down to a massive cost difference I could do it.
That way I’ll have more of an idea of costs at least and it will cut down on the logistics which quite honestly were daunting. Although if it came down to a massive cost difference I could do it.
Drawweight said:
I’ve revised my plans (at least for now) and have approached https://www.insidejapantours.com/ to give me a price for a partial custom self guided tour.
That way I’ll have more of an idea of costs at least and it will cut down on the logistics which quite honestly were daunting. Although if it came down to a massive cost difference I could do it.
My in laws are in a similar position they want to go but the logistics is just a bit too much for them. I have tried to tell them its not really any different to any other country but they are worried. They use a company called Distant Journeys for travel quite a bit and always rave about it. I thought they would be expensive but when I had a look it was actually pretty good price wise. Its defo more than DIY but I reckon not by a great deal give they bus you around etc. The only down side is its *early* starts each day as they do cram a lot in. That way I’ll have more of an idea of costs at least and it will cut down on the logistics which quite honestly were daunting. Although if it came down to a massive cost difference I could do it.
They are looking at this autumn. 3 weeks including flights is £11k for a couple.
I am actually considering tagging along!!
No affiliation etc. YMMV!
Drawweight said:
I’ve revised my plans (at least for now) and have approached https://www.insidejapantours.com/ to give me a price for a partial custom self guided tour.
That way I’ll have more of an idea of costs at least and it will cut down on the logistics which quite honestly were daunting. Although if it came down to a massive cost difference I could do it.
This isn’t getting any easier, if anything I’m more conflicted.That way I’ll have more of an idea of costs at least and it will cut down on the logistics which quite honestly were daunting. Although if it came down to a massive cost difference I could do it.
I looked up one of their set tours and it comes in at £6.2 k for 2 weeks, accommodation and travel for us both.
However I priced up the very same hotels for the same number of days on Booking.com, train fares between the cities and it comes to approximately £1.7 k.
I’m assuming that they will have extras that I haven’t accounted for but that’s one heck of a price difference.
If you like to do things at your own pace then just book yourself. When I went I used hotels.com for the hotel, booked a rail pass online before travelling and if my memory is right paid for rail ticket at station from Osaka to Kyoto. I had originally planned to walk to the hotel but we arrived at night, it was dark, I couldn't quite get me bearings so we got a taxi. It should have been a 5-10 min drive but taxi driver took us to the wrong hotel. After a bit of a struggle he seemed to get my English names and address and we got there.
We just used a mixture of hotels and air bnb.
We used hotels in the cities and air bnb in the sticks.
There were almost always hotels available but you defo got better deals if you booked in advance.
Agoda is another good site to use a lot of Asian people use it as its popular in most Asian countries.
We paid on average about £100 a night for hotels. The odd occasion you could get a deal closer to £60 in the south.
3 star type places.
Just be prepared for small rooms, 20m2 is quite common.
Nicer hotels are expensive in Tokyo but you can still get a 3-4 star hotel for under £150 if you look hard enough.
I think the main things the tours offer is convenience. You dont need to think about anything, its all done for you.
Japan is super cheap right now as a tourist so if I were you I would take advantage of that and just DIY.
We used hotels in the cities and air bnb in the sticks.
There were almost always hotels available but you defo got better deals if you booked in advance.
Agoda is another good site to use a lot of Asian people use it as its popular in most Asian countries.
We paid on average about £100 a night for hotels. The odd occasion you could get a deal closer to £60 in the south.
3 star type places.
Just be prepared for small rooms, 20m2 is quite common.
Nicer hotels are expensive in Tokyo but you can still get a 3-4 star hotel for under £150 if you look hard enough.
I think the main things the tours offer is convenience. You dont need to think about anything, its all done for you.
Japan is super cheap right now as a tourist so if I were you I would take advantage of that and just DIY.
InitialDave said:
I've booked myself another trip for later this year, and I always just organise and do my own thing.
Same here. We've rented a traditional house on the outskirts of Nagano City for three months, late summer/autumn, we rent an ancient Keijidosha from Guts (a rent-a-wreck outfit) which is crazy cheap and then we just settle in. We'll have a few excursions away for a few days here and there and we use apps like booking.com, Google and the like or just stop somewhere at random. Scooting up and down the North West coast, Noto Peninsula and Sado Island are in the rough plan this year, and I want to go to the motorcar museum of Japan which is a big one. Then we're thinking of the ferry to South Korea as foot passengers, picking up a rental car and having a months touring into December, which could be quite a challenge, the winters are bitter! Hotels and car hire seem pretty inexpensive in Korea. If anyone has yet to discover Chris Broad, go binge...
https://youtube.com/@AbroadinJapan?si=Bz7CC5ov9hIM...
Well after much consideration I finally pulled the trigger and booked 18 days for Mid May.
We will be visiting Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Miyajima, Kanazawa and Takayama. Longest stops will be 4 days in Tokyo and 5 days in Kyoto which will be a good base to travel around.
It’s quite tricky, choosing hotels, getting the correct dates, booking them. I can see why an organised tour is attractive. Price wise it’s quite a bit cheaper but the main attraction for us was the ability to choose the type of accommodation we used.
I only made one minor cock up, fortunately easily sorted. We’re flying out on the 13th so bookings start from the 14th. Coming home we leave on the 31st so I just assumed we’d be landing on the 1st and booked the car parking and cattery for those dates….oops.
Drawweight said:
Well after much consideration I finally pulled the trigger and booked 18 days for Mid May.
We will be visiting Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Miyajima, Kanazawa and Takayama. Longest stops will be 4 days in Tokyo and 5 days in Kyoto which will be a good base to travel around.
It’s quite tricky, choosing hotels, getting the correct dates, booking them. I can see why an organised tour is attractive. Price wise it’s quite a bit cheaper but the main attraction for us was the ability to choose the type of accommodation we used.
I only made one minor cock up, fortunately easily sorted. We’re flying out on the 13th so bookings start from the 14th. Coming home we leave on the 31st so I just assumed we’d be landing on the 1st and booked the car parking and cattery for those dates….oops.
You will love Japan, we did an escorted tour last year and previously, a few years ago, a cruise around Japan which prompted us to want to see more.We will be visiting Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Miyajima, Kanazawa and Takayama. Longest stops will be 4 days in Tokyo and 5 days in Kyoto which will be a good base to travel around.
It’s quite tricky, choosing hotels, getting the correct dates, booking them. I can see why an organised tour is attractive. Price wise it’s quite a bit cheaper but the main attraction for us was the ability to choose the type of accommodation we used.
I only made one minor cock up, fortunately easily sorted. We’re flying out on the 13th so bookings start from the 14th. Coming home we leave on the 31st so I just assumed we’d be landing on the 1st and booked the car parking and cattery for those dates….oops.
I keep thinking about taking another trip.
As I mentioned in gotoPzero's thread about their trip, Kyoto, you have to go to the Railway Musuem.
Drawweight said:
Well after much consideration I finally pulled the trigger and booked 18 days for Mid May.
We will be visiting Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Miyajima, Kanazawa and Takayama. Longest stops will be 4 days in Tokyo and 5 days in Kyoto which will be a good base to travel around.
It’s quite tricky, choosing hotels, getting the correct dates, booking them. I can see why an organised tour is attractive. Price wise it’s quite a bit cheaper but the main attraction for us was the ability to choose the type of accommodation we used.
I only made one minor cock up, fortunately easily sorted. We’re flying out on the 13th so bookings start from the 14th. Coming home we leave on the 31st so I just assumed we’d be landing on the 1st and booked the car parking and cattery for those dates….oops.
Presumably you will visit Hiroshima when you are in Miyajima?We will be visiting Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Miyajima, Kanazawa and Takayama. Longest stops will be 4 days in Tokyo and 5 days in Kyoto which will be a good base to travel around.
It’s quite tricky, choosing hotels, getting the correct dates, booking them. I can see why an organised tour is attractive. Price wise it’s quite a bit cheaper but the main attraction for us was the ability to choose the type of accommodation we used.
I only made one minor cock up, fortunately easily sorted. We’re flying out on the 13th so bookings start from the 14th. Coming home we leave on the 31st so I just assumed we’d be landing on the 1st and booked the car parking and cattery for those dates….oops.
Kanazawa was really enjoyable for a couple of days - some great traditional buildings in the old town.
Hopefully you get better weather than we did in Hakone - it rained non-stop on the days we were there, but I can recommend a circular tour with the pirate ship, funicular railway, cable car, train and bus etc. Try the black eggs
Kyoto is a good place to base yourself to see the Bamboo forest, Golden Temple, Fushima Inari shrine etc, as well as visits to Osaka and Nara.
Tokyo is so easy to get around and so much to see!
I’m sure you’ll have a great time and want to return!
Drawweight said:
This isn’t getting any easier, if anything I’m more conflicted.
I looked up one of their set tours and it comes in at £6.2 k for 2 weeks, accommodation and travel for us both.
However I priced up the very same hotels for the same number of days on Booking.com, train fares between the cities and it comes to approximately £1.7 k.
I’m assuming that they will have extras that I haven’t accounted for but that’s one heck of a price difference.
I'm on one of their tours at the moment. It's been excellent so far, we have just arrived in Sapporo after spending a few days in eastern Hokkaido. I looked up one of their set tours and it comes in at £6.2 k for 2 weeks, accommodation and travel for us both.
However I priced up the very same hotels for the same number of days on Booking.com, train fares between the cities and it comes to approximately £1.7 k.
I’m assuming that they will have extras that I haven’t accounted for but that’s one heck of a price difference.
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