Travel: Japan - General

[MyPillow]

How long does it take for a typical bullet train (jr pass) to travel fr

Osaka to Tokyo (vice versa)
Or Nagoya / Osaka then ?

Jr pass does not cover Nozomi & mizuho bullet trains , as these trains are v fast . Takes abt 150 min to reach Osaka

[Estéema]

Japan, Hokkaido having heavy snow. As bad as last year. I rmbr last year they’ve to close airport for some days. Hope it’s less incident in Tokyo.

[Estéema]

MyPillow:

How long does it take for a typical bullet train (jr pass) to travel fr

Osaka to Tokyo (vice versa)
Or Nagoya / Osaka then ?

Jr pass does not cover Nozomi & mizuho bullet trains , as these trains are v fast . Takes abt 150 min to reach Osaka

Osaka to Tokyo - abt 2.5 hrs
Nagoya to Osaka - 1hr

Super-fast train cuts the hrs but I don't rmbr by how much. Only know we were so amazed to hv reached before we cld rest our eyes.

You're right, JR do not cover Nozomi & Mizuho

[Zeit]

Esteema

You were not allowed to take Nozomi & Mizuho trains, right? If you had taken Hikari (2nd fastest Shinkansen), it'd have been 3h 10-15 min. Had you hopped onto Kodama Shinkansen, it'd be even longer.

Osaka to Nagoya is slightly over an hr (70-80min, depending on departure timing or u]depending on whether your hotel is in Shin-Osaka or Osaka (Umeda downtown)[/u]). The Shin Osaka-Osaka journey itself is 3-4min but allow for 10min to transfer to another platform within the JR station, if need be.

My Pillow

Please use HyperDia to search for your preferred departure timings, and remember to de-select NOZOMI/MIZUHO and Private Railway. Keep others checked.

http://www.hyperdia.com/en/#


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If still very confused, please go to Tg Pagar Japan Rail counter (there's a nice Jap cafe there) to consult the staff, like Esteema did

[Zeit]

Kevinlu:

I was reading up on how to use the JR to travel from place to place. and totally concede defeat. haha. even google map is so congested in those main area. it certainly look and sound very intimidating,...
how do i even differentiate the different type of train? Coz it say JR pass is not for certain train.

Also, i read about leaving luggage at the station, what that means? coz if i travel on winter, surely the luggage will be alot, feasible to carry them all around? say if im going to kyoto/osaka...

Sorry for these noob questions, just very confuse about the travelling. haha.

any recommendation for first timer?

don't be confused. First things first. Who where what which?

Who - are your 6 and 8 year olds cooperative? Are they sleepyheads, whiners, slow walkers, first-timers?
Where - have you visited all the tourism sites for each of those cities mentioned by forummers here yet? Go have a read and consult your little kids and wifey if they are game. Some temples, museums and gardens can bore the hell out of 6-8 year olds.
What - what are their interests? Sanrio, Lego, Tomika, Plarail, Pokemon, Disney, Ghibli? Your wifey needs shopping?
Which - which is their preferred mode of transport? Can they train-hop or subway-hop?

Next, study the map of Japan very closely. It's elongated so you need to strategise a bit, eg buy open jaw airtickets or back-track. Circle those cities you desire to visit after your family meeting. Put down estimated no of nights you want next to city. Then connect the dots, i.e check HyperDia for train or bus timings and fares. Also, check if there are day tours from your base, e.g Nagoya, so you need not lug your bags everywhere.

Then calculate the fare breakdowns and compare with JR Pass' 7-day ot 14-day prices. Make a decision to buy or not to buy.


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Edited to add the last 'W' - 'When' you travel.

You asked about the est budget for 12-14 days for 2A2C. I think the period that you travel will tip the scales. Nov-Dec hols can be divided into 4 broad periods:
1. End of SA2 (i.e. you ponteng a few days or after PSLE)
2. Last 2 weeks of Nov
3. First 2 weeks of Dec
4. Last 2 weeks of Dec

Run a quick search based on your desired period on some hotel and airline booking websites and you'll see your budget fluctuate. F&B as all forummer have rightly pointed out is very cheap in Japan, more so if you have two 6 and 8 year olds who will pick the cheaper Kids' Meals

[Zeit]

Kevinlu


One more thing to include in your budget est : Ski gear. Any hand me downs from relatives or colleagues? Can rent from those Nagano ski resorts?

[zac's mum]

Zeit:

don't be confused. First things first. Who where what which?


Who - are your 6 and 8 year olds cooperative? Are they sleepyheads, whiners, slow walkers, first-timers?
Where - have you visited all the tourism sites for each of those cities mentioned by forummers here yet? Go have a read and consult your little kids and wifey if they are game. Some temples, museums and gardens can bore the hell out of 6-8 year olds.
What - what are their interests? Sanrio, Lego, Tomika, Plarail, Pokemon, Disney, Ghibli? Your wifey needs shopping?
Which - which is their preferred mode of transport? Can they train-hop or subway-hop?

Next, study the map of Japan very closely. It's elongated so you need to strategise a bit, eg buy open jaw airtickets or back-track. Circle those cities you desire to visit after your family meeting. Put down estimated no of nights you want next to city. Then connect the dots, i.e check HyperDia for train or bus timings and fares. Also, check if there are day tours from your base, e.g Nagoya, so you need not lug your bags everywhere.

Then calculate the fare breakdowns and compare with JR Pass' 7-day ot 14-day prices. Make a decision to buy or not to buy.


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Zeit, this is extremely practical advice and very well thought out. Clap clap clap...I am a logical planner myself, so over the years this has become how I plan my holidays too. DH is the “go with the flow” person in the family, so I always factor in some leeway to sidetrack if he wants.

To
Kevinlu: Just a little bit about my experience in Tokyo/Osaka in March 2016 with a 6 yo DS. He is an early riser and can walk long distances, won’t sit in pram kind. Suitable to take trains in Japan because there is plenty of walking (the stations are huuuuge and u need to find the correct platform. Communication in English with the staff is possible but it is chicken & duck talk sometimes. I can read a bit of Japanese so that helps when following the signs. I’m general, if u need to ask for directions on the street, the younger Japanese are more conversant in English. Or use your phone translator to help, they love tech haha.

The major places I planned for the kid were Disneyland & Disneysea. There is Thomas Land near Mount Fuji but small & hard to find if you don’t know Japanese. Tsujiki fish market for the adults. DH’s agenda was to eat high quality Japanese food. Absolutely the best experience because they do not export their best produce. No clothes shopping for us.

Kiddo was happy to walk around with us. We did Ueno Park and Daiba area (Toyota showroom). Tsujiki is crowded like a Taiwanese night market on weekends but he is trained to not wander away. I still put a “emergency contact info” card (in both languages) in his backpack just in case. Safety is not an issue though, just communication. In Tokyo the train signs have English, but not in Osaka, which is more like suburbia. Universal Studios Osaka was quite disappointing so I should have just cut out those 2D1N from my itinerary.

[zac's mum]

Oh just a small add-on: do not expect people in the train to give up their seats to your kids. Japanese kids are very independent from 4-5 years old. They are expected to stand not sit. We set out early before the morning rush hour. If your kids like to sleep in, then set off after the morning peak.

[Cloud Cloud]

We stayed in Tokyo for 5 nights and Osaka for 4 nights. We brought along a stroller because our 5 year old sleeps early.


In Tokyo, our hotel was walking distance to Hamamatsucho station which is a station along Yamanote line (like our circle line). We wanted to stay in Shinjuku but cost too much for a family of 4. We did not really enjoy Disneyland because everything was in Japanese. We enjoyed the day trip to Mount Fuji and was fortunate that Mount Funji was not shy that day and we managed to take nice pictures.

We took Nozomi train to Osaka. Our hotel was within walking distance to Hommachi station which was 2 or 3 stations from Namba station. An airport train leaves from Namba station which is also walking distance to the main shopping areas. We also did a day trip to Kyoto where we visited some temples and shrines. Universal studio is a must go only if you are a Harry Porter fan.

We purchased our day trip from JTB at Takashimaya. You can also consult their staff on your itinerary.

I find their train system confusing but was fortunate to travel with 2 other families who were good at interpreting the train map and finding the right platform. It helps that there are station names in English and we can read the Chinese characters. Their train staff are very helpful and you can also check with your hotel staff before you set off. They may be able to advise you on the shorter route.

[Estéema]

Zeit:

Esteema

You were not allowed to take Nozomi & Mizuho trains, right? If you had taken Hikari (2nd fastest Shinkansen), it'd have been 3h 10-15 min. Had you hopped onto Kodama Shinkansen, it'd be even longer.

Osaka to Nagoya is slightly over an hr (70-80min, depending on departure timing or u]depending on whether your hotel is in Shin-Osaka or Osaka (Umeda downtown)[/u]). The Shin Osaka-Osaka journey itself is 3-4min but allow for 10min to transfer to another platform within the JR station, if need be.

My Pillow

Please use HyperDia to search for your preferred departure timings, and remember to de-select NOZOMI/MIZUHO and Private Railway. Keep others checked.


If still very confused, please go to Tg Pagar Japan Rail counter (there's a nice Jap cafe there) to consult the staff, like Esteema did

Zeit,

Don't rmbr taking 3-hr rides coz we usually book our JR seats for super-fast trains. Not the fast or normal trains. Maybe u're referring to the normal train.

Whenever to traverse fr Osaka thro Tokyo to Hakone, we'll take JR. Local train don't bring us cross diff cities. Shinkansen operates within localities. Within Tokyo, we take the local subways. Similarly for Kyoto we take the subway to get fr one scenic spot to ano.

Pre-planning with Hyperdia is a good idea. However, you've got to be very thorough & then print your planned journey out. If I don't rmbr wrongly, u can't get access whilst in Japan. Correct me if I'm wrong. That's why we chuck our printout fr Hyperdia coz we're also the go-with-the-flow type & when on the ground, we just explore deeper into an area if it attracts us more. DH is a gadget buff & I explore all their electronics & kitchen/household stuff. Kids go either with me or DH. Then when in Nagoya, we found Toyota hv 2 diff museums besides other tourist spots. DH & kids wants the Innovation museum but we didn't book to go, hence we made extra trips forgoing pre-planned Castle visits, etc.

We found JR Pass very useful in that we didn't hv to fork out extra :moneyflies: to travel btwn cities and the forgiving part when we stay longer at some other scenic spots & missed our pre-booked seats, we just book again without penalty or extra-charges.

I find train staff always try their best & very helpful tho not all can communicate in English. Just ask them directions showing map for your intended tourists spots or hotel name.

Save up on JR valid travel days for crossing cities & leave last day for airport limousine. Convenient, inexpensive & luggage rolled into the bus compartments for you & u get on air-con bus without need to hold on to yr luggages.