Travel: Japan - General

[TheAnswer]

starlight1968sg:

Hi byte

Yours is definitely doable.
JR pass comes in 7, 14 or 21 days. You may need to consider which 7 days if you want to buy the pass.

This is a travel pass izzit? Where to buy?

[TheAnswer]

Dnls_mum:

If you like Hello Kitty or is looking for a price to take a break when visiting Higashiyama, do to the Hello Kitty Cafe. Just opened last Nov and was a nice price which served great Kyoto sweets/dessert. Conveniently located along the streets of Hiashiyama as you approach it from Kodaiji heading towards Kiyomezudera.
This is my review on TA:
http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserR ... Kinki.html

Hi Dnls_mum,

I am actually neutral to Hello Kitty but after reading your review, I think it is a place that we must visit. Do we need to make reservations or we just turn up? Thanks.

[dimitri_can]

TheAnswer:

starlight1968sg:

Hi byte

Yours is definitely doable.
JR pass comes in 7, 14 or 21 days. You may need to consider which 7 days if you want to buy the pass.

This is a travel pass izzit? Where to buy?

Info on JR rail pass: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361.html
Basically it's used for inter-cities. E.g from Tokyo to Osaka, etc.

You can buy it at JTB in ION (can pay in credit card) or NTA (cash only i think) or Prime Travel (can pay in yen)

[TheAnswer]

dimitri_can:

TheAnswer:

Eastern Kyoto
- Kiyomizu Dera Temple (Pure water temple)
- Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion)
- Higashiyama district
- Gion district
- Maruyama Park

For Eastern Kyoto, the flow should be something like this
Kiyomizu Dera temple->Higashiyama District->Maruyama Park->Gion (at night)

i think you can leave Ginkakuji out.

For food, these are my recommendations:

Tenya Tendon (Tempura)
Menu: https://www.tenya.co.jp/menu/
Shop at Namba
Address:
〒542-0076 大阪府大阪市中央区難波2-1-3 (just copy and paste on Google map)

This shop is generally visited by Japanese natives only, not many foreigners know about this. Not to fear, they have English menu. The special thing about this restaurant is that their prawns are reared in a pond, not fished out from the sea. That makes the prawn very crunchy and delicious..

http://uds.gnst.jp/rest/img/r62wm8pa0000/s_003r.jpg?t=1392020864\">
http://i.gzn.jp/img/2013/10/22/tenya-ebi-before-after/00_top.jpg\">

Ichiran Ramen
Shop at Dotonbori
Address:
7-18 1F Souemoncho Chuo-ku Osaka-shi Osaka-fu
〒542-0084

Originated from Fukuoka, this ramen is a MUST-try.

Site: http://www.ichiran.co.jp/english/html/kin_douton.html

http://niigata.way-nifty.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/11/08/photo_2.jpg\">

For beef, you can refer to Hotpepper (equivalent to our Hungrygowhere site) for the top ranking by Japanese.

https://goo.gl/ESS1Gz

Other Osaka food
1) Kushi katsu
2) Tako yaki
3) Okonomiyaki
4) Yakisoba
5) Kitsune udon

Feel free to translate the below page for more info.
http://gurutabi.gnavi.co.jp/i/p27/gm101

The eating places need reservations?

[dimitri_can]

TheAnswer:

Hi all,


Need advice on how to move about from Kyoto to Osaka to Kobe.
Need advice on prepaid mobile data also.
Thanks.

From Osaka to Kyoto:
Take JR Kyoto line from JR Osaka station: Platform 7/8
http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/bunchousann/imgs/7/6/76635da1.jpg\">

From Kyoto to Osaka:
Take JR Kyoto line from JR Kyoto station: Platform 4/5
http://i62.tinypic.com/2qny35i.jpg\">

From Osaka to Kobe:
Take JR Kobe line from JR Osaka station towards Sannomiya (三ノ宮): Platform 5
http://hfoeg.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/%E5%A4%A7%E9%98%AA%E9%A7%85%E3%81%AE%EF%BC%96%E7%95%AA%E3%83%9B%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0.jpg\">

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For prepaid mobile data, you can refer to the following:

7 days SIM card: http://goo.gl/OI22uo
(SG vendor)

So-net: http://goo.gl/Wxf3RO
(make sure you select the correct size)

Comst: https://goo.gl/FvwdMO

[dimitri_can]

TheAnswer:

The eating places need reservations?

For Tenya and Ichiran, no need. Just queue. For the rest, i am not so sure but i believe you can just walk in.

[dimitri_can]

For those thinking of going or passing by Fukushima, read this


http://www.japantoday.com/smartphone/vi ... ear-crisis

[starlight1968sg]

dimitri_can:

For those thinking of going or passing by Fukushima, read this


http://www.japantoday.com/smartphone/vi ... ear-crisis

OT: Quite some mths ago, there was a report that a farmer led his cow to see Tokyo government. He demanded an explanation why there were spots on his cow which no vet could explain...

[Dnls_mum]

TheAnswer:

Hi all,


Need advice on how to move about from Kyoto to Osaka to Kobe.
Need advice on prepaid mobile data also.
Thanks.

Use the train to move around these places. All connected. Very convenient.
We bought the data sim ijimo.

[dimitri_can]

There are a few types of trains on Kansai area (Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Kobe,etc), so do familiarize yourself on which train to take.


http://i58.tinypic.com/mr5stc.png\">

Train Network Map:
https://www.jr-odekake.net/eki/pdf/teisya_01.pdf

An example of how to read the train network map in Kansai area.

On the boxes marked red, you see that Osaka, Kyoto and the types of trains are marked.
See the 3 dots on Kyoto station, this indicates that 普通 (Local), 快速(Rapid) and 新快速(Special Rapid) trains will go to this station.

Now, look at the box marked green, only the top dot is marked, this indicates that only the 普通 (Local) train will stop at this station.
http://i58.tinypic.com/nmdik5.png\">

If you take 新快速, u should be able to reach Kyoto in 30 mins and reach Sannomiya in 20 mins。

If you take the 普通 train, it will take about 1 hour to reach the same destination