Travel: Japan - General

[tamarind]

ksme:

Tamarind,

Beautiful Photos you have there! Reminds me of Hokkaido in Winter. I love the tranquility and timelessness. Thanks for sharing.

I think snow makes everything looks different, so pristine and beautiful.

[tamarind]

happymom_aa:

tamarind:

starlight1968sg,

Yes we went on our own None of us know how to ski, how about you ?
We went to Hakuba just to enjoy the snow scenery, and I think it is very worth it !

Yes the walk up to see the snow monkey is really memorable.

Hi Tam,
welcome back!
can share how did you go to Hakuba on your own? by Shinkansen or domestic flight?

Had just returned from Hokkaido group tour, overall was ok but my boy did not enjoy all the shopping trips, all he wanted is snow and more snow. Looking at your photos, think we'll go there ourselves next time.

happymom_aa,
Welcome back too ! My kids also did not like shopping and enjoy playing with snow.

I booked hotel to hotel transfer using the Chuo Taxi :
http://www.chuotaxi.co.jp/index.php?id=8

The taxi picked us up at Disneyland hotel and drove us straight to the Hakuba hotel. The taxi van can take up to 8 people. For parties of 5 and above, you can charter the taxi privately and it is worth it. The staff at the hotels helped us to move the luggage, so it was very easy for us. I did not want to take the train because we have tons of luggage.

Actually when we arrive on Christmas eve, there were only very little snow. Then it snowed very heavily, and on Christmas day we had 50cm of snow everywhere ! It continued to snow everyday and on the third day the snow was about 1 m deep. So it is best to go there after Christmas.

[MUMMYOF3]

Hi Everyone,


I am lost at what to do/plan in Tokyo after reading all the info here. Can someone help me ?

I’m planning a trip to Tokyo in March next year. This will be our first trip in Japan . Can someone help to recommend an itinenary suitable for kids. Am planning to be there for 7 days 6 nights. Not sure if there’s enough time for us to travel to Kyoto for a day trip. Any cheap or resonable hotel recommendation that’s suitable for 5 (2 adults and 3 children -4,6,10 yrs old).

We’ll be arriving Hanade in the night around 2305 and leaving Hanade in the morning 0655. Will there be any airport limousine bus or train running at this hour ? If not, i’ll hv to hire a cab then but will be very ex.

Appreciate your help here !

[mckenzy]

dear MUMMYOF3,


2adults + 3 kids i think you would have gathered that accommodation will be a slight problem.
you may have to split up into 2 rooms if you want 3-5 star hotels. Or, you may want to stay at a YMCA equivalent.

everyone here has varying degrees of financial management. so it really depends on this first. if you can manage, get a suite, everyone stays in the same place, happy… if not, maybe hostel with bunk beds… external shared toilets, everyone can alos be happy depending on how adventurous you are.

once accommodation settled then can settle itinerary…

4/6/10… that’s a handful…! i always suggest Disney on the last leg of the vacation… at least the kids got something to look forward-to… otherwise if you do it in the beginning, then they might whine after the theme park for DAYS…

Disney = 2 days.

For first trip to Ryokan, try Hakone - very straightforward, takes about 2 hours to get-to.
No need for Shinkansen (if cost is a concern)

Any other ryokan area will take longer.

day 1 - walk about, get a feel, and orientate yourselves, shop/eat abit
day 2 - head to hakone, stay a night
day 3 - come back but maybe a side trip to Gotemba Premium outlets if you are the shopping-kind
day 4 - explore any one of Tokyo areas interesting places - museums, aquariums, markets, etc…
day 5/6 - Disney

short and sweet. 5 pax = S$6-7k including air tickets, accommodation, food, attraction-entry and a little shopping.

Having just come back from Kyoto, i must say that a trip there needs strategy.
Very old and very modern completely mixed up in one place.
Recommended only for the die-hard Japan culture-type of tourist. For kids, Nara is actually quite fun. Laid-back, easy walking, quiet easy to finish in one day.

so… depends on your interests and budget

[starlight1968sg]

tamarind:

happymom_aa:

[quote=\"tamarind\"]starlight1968sg,

Yes we went on our own None of us know how to ski, how about you ?
We went to Hakuba just to enjoy the snow scenery, and I think it is very worth it !

Yes the walk up to see the snow monkey is really memorable.

Hi Tam,
welcome back!
can share how did you go to Hakuba on your own? by Shinkansen or domestic flight?

Had just returned from Hokkaido group tour, overall was ok but my boy did not enjoy all the shopping trips, all he wanted is snow and more snow. Looking at your photos, think we'll go there ourselves next time.

happymom_aa,
Welcome back too ! My kids also did not like shopping and enjoy playing with snow.

I booked hotel to hotel transfer using the Chuo Taxi :
http://www.chuotaxi.co.jp/index.php?id=8

The taxi picked us up at Disneyland hotel and drove us straight to the Hakuba hotel. The taxi van can take up to 8 people. For parties of 5 and above, you can charter the taxi privately and it is worth it. The staff at the hotels helped us to move the luggage, so it was very easy for us. I did not want to take the train because we have tons of luggage.

Actually when we arrive on Christmas eve, there were only very little snow. Then it snowed very heavily, and on Christmas day we had 50cm of snow everywhere ! It continued to snow everyday and on the third day the snow was about 1 m deep. So it is best to go there after Christmas.[/quote]Hi tamarind,
Perhaps next time you can take the shinkansen to Nagano and then to Hakuba. I am unsure how to go to Hakuba in details since I have not been there.

The train journey from Tokyo to Nagano was beautiful.

I am sure you have stayed in a ryokan to enjoy the hot bath.
I recalled when we walked to Snow Monkey Park, the icy road was quite deserted. Then we saw a few monkeys here and there. After that, we saw a lot of big and small ones. A staff was feeding them with some dried food. Quite close to the pond (the water was quite warm), there was something like a hot spring which hot air shoots to the top. Also, along the way to this park, the sulphur smell was there and confirm no snakes!

Anyway, I guess you made a day trip to this Park since you stayed in Hakuba. Else, you can stay in Shibu Onsen and there is a famous ryokan with its kaiseiki dinner, which you will eat till you drop!

[tamarind]

starlight1968sg,

I have taken the Shinkansen to Nagano before, but this time with 2 young kids, 3 huge suitcases and 3 carry on bags, I think it will be very difficult to get up the train. Furthermore, I have to change train at least 3 times from Tokyo Disneyland. My hubby told me to book the taxi, because he wanted a relaxing trip There is a shared taxi and the charges are comparable to the shinkansen+train tickets.

[tamarind]

MUMMYOF3:

Hi Everyone,


I am lost at what to do/plan in Tokyo after reading all the info here. Can someone help me ?

I'm planning a trip to Tokyo in March next year. This will be our first trip in Japan . Can someone help to recommend an itinenary suitable for kids. Am planning to be there for 7 days 6 nights. Not sure if there's enough time for us to travel to Kyoto for a day trip. Any cheap or resonable hotel recommendation that's suitable for 5 (2 adults and 3 children -4,6,10 yrs old).

We'll be arriving Hanade in the night around 2305 and leaving Hanade in the morning 0655. Will there be any airport limousine bus or train running at this hour ? If not, i'll hv to hire a cab then but will be very ex.

Appreciate your help here !

Actually my suggestion is to just stay a few days in central Tokyo, and a few days near Disneyland. Personally I think that you need to stay at least 3 nights at Disneyland, so that you can spend one full day at Disneyland and one full day at Disneysea. Park tickets are expensive and you want to make sure it is worth it There are long queues even on weekdays ! We went in at 9am, and covered less than 50% of the rides by 3pm.

The Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay is very close to Disneyland and they have large rooms which should accommodate all of you.

There are lots to do and shop at central Tokyo. Kids generally do not like sightseeing, so it is best not to plan too much traveling for them. Otherwise, just the moving of luggage, the packing and unpacking, are going to make the adults very tired !

Also, note that it is not easy to move your big luggage into trains, and quite often you need to walk long distances to change trains. It is going to be challenging with kids.

[cups_muffin]

Tamarind,

Nice pictures. Envy those monkeys, can do hotspring I will definitely bring my kids to japan when they are bigger.

[tamarind]

Dear all,

The photo shows the long queues before the park opens at 9am ! This is on a normal weekday.

Here's my advise :
1. Get to the park before it opens. The opening times may be 9am or 10am, check before going.
2. Once the gate opens, run as fast as you can to all the popular rides and get all the fast passes. Then you can skip most of the queues for the rest of the day. The fast pass allows you to come back at a specific time to take the ride, skipping the queue. Note that only popular rides have the fast pass.
We actually see many Japanese running through the gates, so we should learn from them ! By 11am, you may have to queue more than 1 hour for popular rides.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w1nyHWTEh94/TRqLIwsYaOI/AAAAAAAAB1Q/4z_7LMwBikI/s1600/disneyland.jpg\">

[tamarind]

cups_muffin:

Tamarind,

Nice pictures. Envy those monkeys, can do hotspring I will definitely bring my kids to japan when they are bigger.

Yes it is better to go when they are older. We had to walk 1.6 km up the hill, it is not easy in snow, and the path is slippery. My hubby, myself and our boy all slipped and fell !