Travel: Japan - General

[Estéema]

Aiyo! Never take taxi in Japan unless u’re on company expense.


Try not to change too many hotels. Our family strategy was to stay near Express Limo bus point, which is also near the main train station. In Tokyo, its very fast & efficient to get anyway with the Shinkansen. Don’t hv to stay at those Disney hotels as it’s only only expensive but u wld want to travel out to sightsee or shop. So stay near the train station is most efficient to save travel time & overall cost.

Yes, take the Express Limo bus, which takes all the passengers to & from airport. It’s not private tho (as in there’re other passengers travellingvtogether). Punctuality is impt in Japan.

DJKA is right! I didn’t realize 'uve only one night in Niseko. Won’t hv enuf time to hv fun at the ski resort. You’ll want to spend a few days after traveling time taken into account.

So, fly in Tokyo, do yr Disney trips & other sightseeing, then Niseko and fly out fr Chitose airport.

Alternatively, fly into Chitose & bus transfer to Niseko, then back to Chitose to fly into Tokyo to do all Disney, sightseeing & shopping then fly off fr Tokyo.

[Cloud Cloud]

We went Tokyo and Osaka last year with our 6 and 14 year old. Brought one big and medium size luggage. Stayed in Premier Hamamatsucho mystay. As it is an office area, plenty of eateries and cafe. Took airport train and then changed to their local train. Quite convenient as the hotel is a 5 min walk from a train station. Bought a day tour from Singapore JTB (office at Ngee Ann City) to Mount Fuji.

[bluegal6]

Hai, maybe i should just stay in Japan mainland and totally skip Hokkaido…

[bluegal6]

Mummies, can share with me your 8D or 9D japan itineraries in Japan mainland only?

[Cloud Cloud]

Day 1 - arrive in Tokyo

Day 2 - fish market/Tokyo tower
Day 3 - day trip to Mount Fuji
Day 4 - Disneyland
Day 5 - take Shinkansen to Osaka
Day 6 - Osaka
Day 7 - day trip to Nara
Day 8 - universal studio
Day 9 - Osaka Castle
Day 10 - home sweet home

You can Google to see which are the sites you like to visit. Plenty of choices and most accessible by trains.

Really miss japan, clean toilets, nice food, good customer service. We usually eat at those small shops with the vending machine. Cheap and nice. Did not buy much, only some snacks from airport. The air ticket and hotel stay made up half of our budget.

[bluegal6]

Thanks Cloud…

[MyPillow]

Cloud Cloud:

Day 1 - arrive in Tokyo

Day 2 - fish market/Tokyo tower
Day 3 - day trip to Mount Fuji
Day 4 - Disneyland
Day 5 - take Shinkansen to Osaka
Day 6 - Osaka
Day 7 - day trip to Nara
Day 8 - universal studio
Day 9 - Osaka Castle
Day 10 - home sweet home

You can Google to see which are the sites you like to visit. Plenty of choices and most accessible by trains.

Really miss japan, clean toilets, nice food, good customer service. We usually eat at those small shops with the vending machine. Cheap and nice. Did not buy much, only some snacks from airport. The air ticket and hotel stay made up half of our budget.

dec go again ?
can share where to find good eat (small eateries) or buys in osaka city ?
my elder one into jap animation now , he was thrilled in tokyo akihabara last yr-
any tips for Uni Studio theme park, which to q first etc ? which is must ride ride
unlike tokyo disney, uni studio fast pass must pay

[sweetpea]

bluegal6:

Hi All,

I need advice here on our Dec holiday trip.
There's two adults and two kids, not sure travelling with luggages will be an issue or not.

Day\tLocation\tHotel Location
Day 1\tTokyo\tHotel 1 (near Haneda airport)
Day 2\tSapporo\tHotel 2 (near Sapporo)
Day 3\tSapporo\tHotel 2 (near Sapporo)
Day 4\tSapporo\tHotel 2 (near Sapporo)
Day 5\tNiseko\tHotel 3 (near Niseko ski resort)
Day 6\tTokyo\tHotel 4 (near Mt Fuji)
Day 7\tTokyo\tHotel 5 (near Taito area))
Day 8\tTokyo\tHotel 5 (near Taito area))
Day 9\tTokyo\tHome sweet home

We have not book the hotel, would like to hear some advice on the transportation first before we booked the hotel.

Bluegal6,
For Day 1, if time permits, rather than staying at Haneda, you might want to travel all the way to Chitose and stay at Chitose Airport Hotel (book at japanican.com, free onsen, not expensive, fantastic view of runway for some rooms, free breakfast).

Best to choose hotels near train stations and also served by hotel-to-hotel shuttle services. For Sapporo hotels, you might want to consider those that have underpass linking to train stations as well eg Sapporo Grand Hotel (we stayed here) and Hotel Gracery. Would not suggest travelling on trains with young children AND luggages (I have 3 kids). If you have to do that, opt for reserved tickets.

Suggestion:
Day 1: Sin to Chitose
Day 2: Sapporo (eg half day city tour, Christmas Market at night)
Day 3: Sapporo (eg Noboribetsu - take local train, need to book return tickets at the same time when you purchase at counter - not at ticketing machines)
Day 4: Sapporo to Niseko (take hotel-to-hotel limo bus, comes with one rest stop/toilet break, about 3hrs)
Day 5: Niseko
Day 6: Niseko to Tokyo (Niseko to Chitose Airport about 3hrs, so half day gone already)
Day 7: Tokyo (eg day tour to Mt Fuji and Hakone)
Day 8: Tokyo (Disneyland or DisneySea)
Day 9: Tokyo to Sin

For Tokyo, we went to Disney Sea as it is the only one in the world.

Flights logistics: we flew on ANA for both international and domestic flights. Upon arrival at Haneda International Airport, we collected our luggages and then check-in the domestic flight at the International Terminal (ie we check-in our luggages at International Terminal for our domestic flight). After checking in our luggages, we went through customs, then make our way on International-Domestic shuttle bus to Domestic Terminal. Very interesting ride as we rode on the planes' tarmac. Allow 2.5hrs for this as you need to grab some food since domestic flight don't serve food.

Hope this helps.

[vinegar]

Is it possible to do free n easy in jpn??

[Estéema]

vinegar:

Is it possible to do free n easy in jpn??

Very possible. We did F&E all the time whether Hokkaido, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, or any parts of Japan.

Their train stations connects you to almost everywhere & very efficient (even with big luggage). You hv options to pay for luggages to be sent to yr next hotel destination or lockers (mostly available except big ones are hotly after) at every station to relieve u for a hands-free sightseeing experience.

Now I sound like mktg Japan. But it's just that I love to travel ard Japan, love the food & the culture of orderliness & politeness.