Travel: Japan - General
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mckenzy:
Hi mckenzy,Hi JustKP, the fastest way from Hakone to Tokyo should be to get back down to Hakone Yumoto station and catch a line back. Odakyu probably has a train back (about 2 hours i think)... it drops you off at Shinjuku and you can make your way to Maihama from there...
One of the reasons to go to Hakone is to see the sights, like the Boiling Egg Valley, take the Pirate cruise (chilly but fun)... see the Glass museum... etc etc... if you reach Hakone in the afternoon you will be hard pressed to accomplish these things... + 5pm no more daylight...
and as you've realised... there's nothing much to do nor see at night on this mountain...
Anyhow.. based on your itinerary, have you figured out how to get to Gotemba from Hakone?
There's actually a bus from Gotemba station you can catch back to Tokyo city... stops at Shinjuku as well...
Thanks a lot for all the advice. I've emailed o Prince Hakone to ask for their assistance but no reply yet. As for the connection from Gotemba to Tokyo, I rely on the Hyperdia and JNTO travel planner.
Based on Hyperdia and JNTO travel planner, I should be able to get to Hakone before 1.30pm if I leave Osaka by 9am.
My problem now is when I input the start/end station in both Hyperdia and JNTO, they gave me different route. So I'm confused now and not sure which is realiable and accurate. Anyone knows?
I presume that the total travel duration given for the whole journey is only from station to station excluding the time taken to walk to take the connecting train. Am I right?
Need some advice. Thank you. -
Herbie:
It's best to check with the hotel for policy... and for semi-double beds, some hotels indicate that its 120cm wide.. u sure it's wide enuff??Hi,
For booking of rooms for 2 adult, one 12 yo and one 10 year old, can we book a room under 2 guest which provide 2 semi-double beds?
Can someone advise please???
Tx
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I thought I'll share some of the info I found while doing my 'extra kiasu' planning.. We'll be traveling in June, via haneda (airasia!!) with 2 boys, 5 +6.. Our draft:
Day0 (sun): arrive around 830pm, send our bags via luggage delivery to 2 hotel. Buy Pasmo (which I believe can also be used for the disney train), and head to ryokan in Asakusa.
Day 1: Asakusa, Ueno, Akihabara.. then head to Mystays Maihama. If u can get the early bird disc, it's less than 10000yen a night for 2 double beds. The hotel is supposed to be very near Disney Sea, with it's own shuttle to Disneyland
Day 2+3: Disneyland.
Day 4: check out, send luggage to 4th hotel (not sure if Mystays will do it for me??). and head to Tokyo station, take bullet train to Hakone. do the free pass route. Boil ourselves @ the ryokan
Day 5: check out and take romance car to shinjuku. shop our way up tp Ikebukuro.. check in either House Ikebukuro or Super Hotel. Super hotel's rooms are a double+a loft bed, plus free breakfast.. also less than 10000yen.
Day 6+7: Shinjuku, shibuya, Harajuku then head to airport via limousine around 6pm.
As u can see, it's a very budget trip, I aim to spend no more than S$4.5k to 5k for the entire trip, and my kids hate walking n cultural stuff.. so I try to space it out in the trip.
for iphone users, the are a few apps u can download too.. like hypedia's and offline tokyo maps.. 
If you have any suggestions or recommendations, do let me know!! -
Mrsbongz:
Hi Mrsbongz,I thought I'll share some of the info I found while doing my 'extra kiasu' planning.. We'll be traveling in June, via haneda (airasia!!) with 2 boys, 5 +6.. Our draft:
Day0 (sun): arrive around 830pm, send our bags via luggage delivery to 2 hotel. Buy Pasmo (which I believe can also be used for the disney train), and head to ryokan in Asakusa.
Day 1: Asakusa, Ueno, Akihabara.. then head to Mystays Maihama. If u can get the early bird disc, it's less than 10000yen a night for 2 double beds. The hotel is supposed to be very near Disney Sea, with it's own shuttle to Disneyland
Day 2+3: Disneyland.
Day 4: check out, send luggage to 4th hotel (not sure if Mystays will do it for me??). and head to Tokyo station, take bullet train to Hakone. do the free pass route. Boil ourselves @ the ryokan
Day 5: check out and take romance car to shinjuku. shop our way up tp Ikebukuro.. check in either House Ikebukuro or Super Hotel. Super hotel's rooms are a double+a loft bed, plus free breakfast.. also less than 10000yen.
Day 6+7: Shinjuku, shibuya, Harajuku then head to airport via limousine around 6pm.
As u can see, it's a very budget trip, I aim to spend no more than S$4.5k to 5k for the entire trip, and my kids hate walking n cultural stuff.. so I try to space it out in the trip. for iphone users, the are a few apps u can download too.. like hypedia's and offline tokyo maps.. If you have any suggestions or recommendations, do let me know!!
Thanks for sharing your plan.
Is this your first trip to Japan? After my research, I found it the toughest to get around in Hakone due to lack of info on their bus service/location of bus stop. My family (with kids 13,16) will be staying at Prince Hakone (near Lake Ashi). Seems like a great hotel but the only worry I have is how to move around from hotel to places of interest.
Can you tell me where are your family putting up in Hakone? You mentioned luggage delivery service, is it at the airport? it is reliable and how long does it take to reach destination? -
Hi JustKP, no this is my 2nd trip to Japan, the first was when I was 12yrs old tho...
I just love planning for trips.. it's my stress 'reliever'..
http://www.hakonenavi.jp/english/traffic/index.html I used this web site to check out the routes and transport for Hakone, then I used Japanican.com to shortlist the accommodations. u can check the map and directions, they usually call it 'access' on the webpage also.. very useful..
My criteria for the ryokan is that it is not too far from the freepass route, with toilet in room and must be Japanese room. we are saving on our other accommodations to spend more on this.. Prince Hakone is quite a distance iirc.. do they have shuttle or bus service? I think their bus has some indication of the next stop's name. u just press the bell. Hopefully someone else with experience can confirm.
we have not selected the hotel, (still early mah.. monitoring for gd lobangs
) but these are some I'm considering:
-Shirayu no yado Yamadaya, ashinoko ichinoyu, hakone yumoto & hakone pax yoshino. they are the cheaper ones.. so not sure if u will like..
There are luggage delivery counters at the airport.. not sure abt the new airport, but Haneda website says the Yamato one opens till 2300hrs. I believe for tokyo central, they usually can deliver within 24hrs. can google the website, it's in english. I heard it is supposed to be 99.9% reliable in most forums. so should b good enuff for me But if u want to deliver TO the airport, u need 2 days I think. it's on the webby. the cost is very low, i think 30+sgd??
hope it helps.. when r u going?? -
oh, in case u r not aware, there are many pickup points (7-elevens, hotels etc) for the luggage delivery service.. a few of KSparents have used it too.. check earlier pages.. and u have to check with the receiving party (eg your next hotel) if they will hold your luggage for u before u arrive. when booking hotels, u can also ask if they can help u with this service, and if not, where is the nearest pickup point. the Yamato transport is the black cat symbol.
the forms are in Japanese, but i remember seeing a english translation on their website. I am hoping the counter @ the airport has english speaking staff tho.. can ask them to fill all my forms for me first.. lol!!
oh dear, i've been too long winded... sorry :oops: -
The areas we considered in Hakone as a base for exploration when we went last year were:
Gora Station area
Hakone Machi
These two places in itself have lots to see and have ready access with trams/buses/taxis
Due to the constraint of limited daylight hours we planned a special route to maximise our time there... still by the time we reached our ryokan it was already pitch black. You must remember that it is a mountain. Streetlights are the exception rather than the rule.
not to worry, the bus drivers are excellent. They are better than Batman.... some may have a screw or two loose (they sing in the bus... or in our case, did a short one-man screenplay)...
all part of the experience...
the buses have an LCD in front that tells you the next stop... just ask if you're not sure... remember to print the address of the destination on a piece of paper (in Japanese)... that helps lots...
.. -
Mrsbongz:
Hi Mrsbongz, my first trip to Hakone was with tour group about 3 yrs ago. No worries coz everything was planned. Now is different, I have to make sure we can get back to hotel at the end of the day or we may freeze to death. I'm going in mid Dec, any idea what's the temperature like?Hi JustKP, no this is my 2nd trip to Japan, the first was when I was 12yrs old tho...
I just love planning for trips.. it's my stress 'reliever'..
http://www.hakonenavi.jp/english/traffic/index.html I used this web site to check out the routes and transport for Hakone, then I used Japanican.com to shortlist the accommodations. u can check the map and directions, they usually call it 'access' on the webpage also.. very useful..
My criteria for the ryokan is that it is not too far from the freepass route, with toilet in room and must be Japanese room. we are saving on our other accommodations to spend more on this.. Prince Hakone is quite a distance iirc.. do they have shuttle or bus service? I think their bus has some indication of the next stop's name. u just press the bell. Hopefully someone else with experience can confirm.
we have not selected the hotel, (still early mah.. monitoring for gd lobangs ) but these are some I'm considering:
-Shirayu no yado Yamadaya, ashinoko ichinoyu, hakone yumoto & hakone pax yoshino. they are the cheaper ones.. so not sure if u will like..
There are luggage delivery counters at the airport.. not sure abt the new airport, but Haneda website says the Yamato one opens till 2300hrs. I believe for tokyo central, they usually can deliver within 24hrs. can google the website, it's in english. I heard it is supposed to be 99.9% reliable in most forums. so should b good enuff for me But if u want to deliver TO the airport, u need 2 days I think. it's on the webby. the cost is very low, i think 30+sgd??
hope it helps.. when r u going??
Yes, Prince Hakone will provide pick up from Odawara upon arrival. I was told that the nearest bus stop is Hakone-en. From the map, looks quite near but not sure how long you need to walk.
I'll try to check those hotel you have recommended and see if if it's convenient and within our budget. Ichinoyu group of hotel very expensive, almost $2k for 2 nights, though breakfast/dinner provided. -
Last time we went Hakone, I think we stayed at Fujiya hotel. It was a old style hotel with many history, and the rate was quite ok. I remembered we left the kid’s bolster in the room, and I wrote an email to them later to ask about it, they actually sent it back to Singapore by air. What a service!
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mckenzy:
Hey Mckenzy,If doing dinner on the budget at Hakone, maybe you can grab your Bento sets at the 24/7 outlet at Moto-Hakone... that will save a bundle and take away a big headache...
This year we're trying Kaiseki... so no choice, have to spend... not cheap wor... about S$100++ per head...
Where are you intending to have the Kaiseki meal? My husband and I would love to try it in Tokyo- so exp in Singapore...We are going in Nov and would appreciate if you could share the names of restaurants, address etc.
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