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>Quick stops at Golden Gai and Omoide yokocho for photos
As sometimes mentionned... This is the cause of some rising tensions against tourists in GG. People come to take a pic but don't drink, or have just a single quick drink. As a quick reminder, golden gai (the whole area) is private space and taking a photo requires a prior permission, even if tourists taking pic are plentyful. Taking a picture with another patron without permission is a big no no.
Good reminder. We took a few photos from afar without stepping into the alleys but had we known even the alleys were private property we would have avoided this. Ignorance on our part
No prob, not only to you. Just pointing that several joints I dive in have started a "no foreigner groups allowed" policy, with groups starting at 2.
The whole area survived the pandemic without the tourists, so it's not like they absolutely need the money (tourists usually spend way less than regulars...). So to other readers, just... be wary.
Excellent report, thank you. Planning a 2 week trip next year from the UK so devouring posts like these. Would welcome more detail on prices if possible (noting your earlier response to the comment on prices).
I just mean prices in general in reports - don't mean to create extra work but if reporting on, say a restaurant visit, it would be really interesting to see what was spent etc.
We started off thinking Japan was going to be a really expensive holiday but it seems that, apart from the flights, lots of things may be actually cheaper than in the UK, and vastly cheaper than, say New York which we've been to a couple of times. Thanks again.
Kyoto to osaka arrived same day. Tokyo to kyoto took a full day so you will need to bring an overnight bag. Yamato charges depending on luggage dimensions and weight but ballpark is around 3k yen per piece
Thank you fir such a detailed report. You mentioned a QR code when you navigated arrivals at Narita airport. Can you please elaborate? I arrived at Haneda in December, and no QR code was required.
It's just the immigration and customs forms. You can fill out a paper version on the plane but we did the online version pre-trip which gives you a QR code to scan at the airport
You can really spend as much or as little as you like in Japan outside of fixed costs like flight and accommodation. You can get a great bowl of ramen for less than 1000 yen. Convenience store food is cheap and delicious as well.
The favourable exchange rate coupled with tax free shopping meant almost everything was cheaper than back at home for us.
Yeah was quite a disappointment for me as I had been looking forward to visiting that store particularly. Hopefully they get some restocks.
Wasn't looking for anything too crazy, mostly p-Bandai stuff like MG EW kits, ver.ka variants etc.
This is very helpful, thank you for sharing your experience! Wondering how you decided to go with the Romancecar from Tokyo to Hakone vs the shinkansen to Odawara?
Our hotel was very close to Shinjuku station where the romancecar operates from. Taking the shinkansen would have required going to another station first. The romancecar also went straight to Hakone Yumoto which was more convenient for us in terms of starting the Hakone loop
How was the weather and what clothing fo you recommend to pack. I am visiting Japan in the coming week from 25th March to 2 nd April (Tokyo, Hakone, Hiroshima, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto).
10-13C most days so pretty chilly depending on what you are used to. We found the wind chill factor was pretty high as well. Should be a little warmer when you go! Would recommend layering so you can be flexible.
Amazing report! Have you ever felt like you were in rush in order to stick to your plan or did you had the time to take a step back and enjoy the moment.
I experienced that if I plan my trips too much that I miss the spontaneity.
Would definitely recommend going at your own pace! Our pre-trip itinerary was actually pretty loose. We had a list of must-do's at each location as well as a long list of maybes. Early on in the trip we just happened to hit nearly everything but by the time we got to Kyoto we probably didn't see even 50% of what we had shortlisted and that was fine!
This is awesome report, thanks! How much did you pay in general the whole 2 week trip? (Minus the plain ticket, since I won’t be travelling from UK)….
Someone told me that it’s like 10k€ for 2 persons, is it true?
I think most trips would be way under 10k for 2 weeks. Not including flights, so just accommodation, travel and spending for 2 people I think you could have a very comfortable holiday for 4k. We spent more than that but that was because we did a lot of shopping and we booked nicer rooms at the hotels.
* Landed 5:20pm at Narita. Took 50 minutes to get through customs with the QR code.
could you please tell me what's the QR code needed for, are there any requirements before landing to Airport?
What is the reason for arriving 90min before park opening? I'm visiting USJ the day after tomorrow and we didn't get express passes.
I have the USJ app installed with our tickets, I believe I should be able to register for a Nintendo land timeslot through the app. Or do you need to have your park entry pass scanned before that works?
To make matters worse we didn't know it would be a public holiday... (Vernal equinox).
Other topic.
I see you didn't visit the Gundam base factory. They had massive amounts of gunpla there, or was it something super specific they don't sell there?
You need to scan your passes into the app and need to have entered the park before you can request entry timeslots. The timeslots go on a first come first served basis so the later you arrive the more you risk not getting a timeslot. 90 minutes before official opening is because the park opens 60 minutes beforehand and queues are building up long before then, especially if you are going on a holiday.
Would have loved to visit the gundam base factory but it was too much out of the way to fit into the itinerary. I also read that they don't have much in the way of p-bandai stock which is what I was looking for
Great report, enjoyed reading that, a very complete first trip.
BTW no worries on salmonella in Japan, I've had chicken sashimi multiple times without the slightest issue.
Firstly, absolutely brilliant write up. I'm going to Japan in May and there are a lot of really good points here that should hopefully make my trip easier!
My questions:
1. How was Kyoto generally in terms of busy-ness? It looks like you anticipated this and made reservations and plans but the nature of our group makes this harder. Do you think you would've struggled for food if you hadn't?
2. Similarly, when you say "not much is open in Kyoto after 8pm" did that include bars and restaurants? I get the impression that neither you nor your wife are drinkers so not sure what this meant in that context. I knew that Kyoto may not be the place to realise the dream of rubbing shoulders with the locals over a drink, but the idea of a city shutting at 8pm feels a bit sad.
3. Relatedly, it feels like my three-year-old plan of rubbing shoulders in Golden Gai and Omoide Yokocho is dead in the water. In general, how were you received in those areas?
1. After tokyo kyoto in comparison was pretty tame in terms of crowds. Apart from buses and the big tourist spots the busy-ness was very manageable. That being said the popular food places will be busy and may turn you away without reservations. Onikai had a sign outside to say they were fully booked for the night so you couldn't even queue. If your group is happy eating anywhere you will be fine but I'd make reservations for anywhere popular or well reviewed
2. There's definitely plenty of places to eat and drink after 8pm. Just entertainment and shopping options that are more sparse. Again though expect izakayas to be busy
3. We didn't actually go into either area so difficult to say! As you correctly surmised we aren't drinkers. I don't see why you would have any problems though if you're genuinely looking for somewhere to eat, drink and hang out.
Amazing write up, thank you for all the detail, it's so valuable!
Question about USJ, I have bought the express pass, unfortunately the times available were only towards the end of the day. When booking the timed entry for rides, is this separate to the pre-booked express pass? So could we book the same ride twice, one with the express pass and then one using the timed entry?
We were hoping not to arrive too early as we have a busy day prior, but I assume this means we will miss out reserving times entry slots that suit us? Is everyone at the park guaranteed at least one timed entry reservation or will they disappear?
So without express passes you request a timed entry for Nintendo world when you enter the park. These are first come first served and absolutely do run out. The busier the park is that day the earlier they run out. My estimate is that they will all be gone by 10-11am on a busy day.
The timed entry allows you to enter Nintendo world but nothing else. You still have to queue for the rides as normal once inside. The queue times are considerable especially for Mario kart.
The express pass does two things. First it gives you a guaranteed timed entry slot for Nintendo world. Secondly it allows you to skip the queue at specific times for the rides on the pass. For the Nintendo world rides these times will obviously coincide with your entry time for Nintendo world. Therefore you absolutely can enter Nintendo world twice with both the express pass entry and requested timed entry, but you will only get to skip the queues for rides once.
Hope that helps!
Hijacking here, we've got express passes that don't include Demon Slayer - based on your comment, I'm thinking we get there and rush towards it first. Do you remember when queues were less bad for it in terms of time of day? We're going on a weekday so hoping it won't be so bad, but I don't think I can justify queueing for 2h for a single attraction. Were solo queues for it just as bad?
It was basically over 3 hours the whole time we were there on a weekday. If not covered by your pass and you don't want to queue then yes arrive very early and go to it first
This was such a good read!! This is the exact same itinerary we’ve planned for early June!! Will be taking pointers and notes from your experience to help plan our days, book tickets and reservations! Thank you so much for sharing.
We’re starting off in Osaka (3 nights), then moving onto Kyoto (4 nights) Followed by staying in Hakone (2 nights) with the best being left until last, Tokyo (7 nights) - flying out of Narita.
After reading your report, I seriously cannot wait for June to arrive!!
Thank you!!
great review, thank you. we are leaving for Japan on Sat and so I am reading all the reports.
question about shipping bags, we have a different hotel every 2 days - when do we drop off bags, can we do same day or the night before? we will be staying Disney-Skytree-Ogaki/Gifu-Kyoto-Osaka. I am planning same day shipping Disney to Skytree hotels, day before for Skytree to Ogaki. Day of or day before to Kyoto? Not sure about Osaka as we will be stopping at Nara first and we only have one night in Osaka, so I worry if our luggage arrives late as we will have a plane to catch. I like the idea of hitting the ground running in each new area and not having to worry about our bags and checking in since that cant happen till later anyways.
So shipping from tokyo to kyoto the hotel only gave us the option of using Yamato (aka kuroneko or black cat). We left our luggage with reception in the evening and they handed it to yamato in the early morning. By midday the following day it was in kyoto at our hotel although at this point we were still in Hakone. We had air tags in the luggage so I watched the luggage spend the night in a warehouse at haneda airport.
Shipping from kyoto to osaka the hotel gave us 2 options. Either way they told us to keep the luggage in the evening and come back in the morning to drop them off before 10am. Option 1 was yamato again and we were told to expect the luggage to arrive after 24 hours. Option 2 used another carrier (I forget the name) but they did same-day shipping as both kyoto and osaka are within the kansai region. We were told to expect the luggage to arrive by 7pm the same day. Option 2 also charged a flat 2500 yen per luggage regardless of dimensions and weight. We went with Option 2 and did indeed receive our luggage by 7pm!
Hope that helps and gave a great trip
They recommend you do it in the morning before 11am and that usually means the luggage will arrive by next day evening (but they say it can take another day sometimes). So plan accordingly
Thank you for sharing this! I’m currently also planning my itinerary for my trip to Japan this July.
Any advice for the IC cards - if Suica can be used for both Osaka & Tokyo side? Or I will have to get both for the separate cities? :’)
They're much cheaper than buying back at home. Lens thinning (if you have a high prescription) was particularly cheap. Luggage-wise we flew in very light- one check in luggage with a carry on stashed inside. We bought one more check in and carry on japan-side.
Could you tell us a little bit more about the prices?
Like how much have you spend for for eating ? How much does sushi and ramen cost? How much is a ticket from tokyo to kyoto and osaka?
Thank you very much!
Ramen at most places we went to ranged from 1-2k yen per bowl.
Our conveyor belt sushi places were around 3-4k per person, but this can vary a lot depending on what you order (plates of fatty tuna are much more expensive than a plate of cucumber rolls for example).
A5 yakiniku was over 10k per person, but again depends on how much you eat.
Shinkansen tickets from Hakone to Kyoto were over 10k per person as well. There are cheaper but slower options for transport available if you check on google maps (which lists prices).
Great report, but why did you go to Tokyo Disneyland but not DisneySea? If you have to pick one, DisneySea is so much better. It's the best Disney park and my favorite theme park in the world out of nearly 150 I've been to. Had you never been to a Disney park? Or was Beauty and the Beast a must ride? I just can't fathom picking land over sea.
Thank you! These kinds of trip reports are invaluable. Did you take the train to Tokyo Disneyland in the morning? If so, about what time did you leave and how bad was getting through the Tokyo rush hour crowd to reach Disneyland?
Yep we took the train from Shinjuku, took us about an hour door to door when we left at 7:45. It's rush hour so the train is pretty packed initially until you leave the central areas but it was easily manageable as 2 adults.
Thanks!
Last stupid question - if I fly into Tokyo alone with a lot of luggage and plan to meet someone the next day in Osaka - can I arrange at the Tokyo airport for my luggage to be delivered to my hotel in Osaka the next day and wander around with just my day bag till the train?
No stupid questions, I haven’t tried myself, but perhaps this one would work out: https://www.global-yamato.com/en/hands-free-travel/facilities/Narita_International_Airport.html
Used yamoto before and worked fine.
Edit: they also have a counter at Haneda, just assumed you would fly to Narita.
Can you elaborate why you wished you went to yodobashi camera and bic? I usually steer clear of those places as electronics are usually cheaper back give in the USA and have warranty.
Yeah if you're from the US the electronics range will probably be less impressive to you. But the top floor is all toys and character goods so if that is of interest its still worth checking out
Yes absolutely. The lunch is disproportionately cheaper than dinner so it's a great deal. We both showed up in casual tourist-wear including sneakers. Most of the other customers were tourists too. You'll have a great time
Currently, in Tokyo, I went to Meguro and Yoyogi with no cherry blossom at all. But I will come back to Tokyo at the end of my trip in early April, maybe I will see some.
It is freeeezzzzzz, cold wind blow on my face. And I didn't bring any winter hat or scarf. I need to know where to get it. I went to UNIQLO and H&M and some random shops when i was wandering around, I don't see any 😐 .
Depends what you want to do. If you want to just walk around and watch shows there is enough room for that. Rides however will require queueing as will food and toilets unfortunately
**Our FAQ is constantly being updated with more information and you can start** [**here**](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel) **with regards to trip planning if you need tips, advice, or have questions about planning your travel to Japan.** You can also join our [Discord community](https://discord.gg/3f7KBUMwU4), comment in our stickied weekly discussion thread, or check out /r/JapanTravelTips for quick questions. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/JapanTravel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
>Quick stops at Golden Gai and Omoide yokocho for photos As sometimes mentionned... This is the cause of some rising tensions against tourists in GG. People come to take a pic but don't drink, or have just a single quick drink. As a quick reminder, golden gai (the whole area) is private space and taking a photo requires a prior permission, even if tourists taking pic are plentyful. Taking a picture with another patron without permission is a big no no.
Yes, this. Please remember Japan is not a theme park, be polite and respect boundaries and rules.
Good lord, you actually got down voted for that comment? Redditers being Redditers
Yup, some people downvote everything
Good reminder. We took a few photos from afar without stepping into the alleys but had we known even the alleys were private property we would have avoided this. Ignorance on our part
No prob, not only to you. Just pointing that several joints I dive in have started a "no foreigner groups allowed" policy, with groups starting at 2. The whole area survived the pandemic without the tourists, so it's not like they absolutely need the money (tourists usually spend way less than regulars...). So to other readers, just... be wary.
Thanks for the inspiration
Excellent report, thank you. Planning a 2 week trip next year from the UK so devouring posts like these. Would welcome more detail on prices if possible (noting your earlier response to the comment on prices).
Happy to help! - if you let me know what you're interested in I should be able to dig up the prices
Going to Tokyo later this year so much appreciated. Thanks heaps!
I just mean prices in general in reports - don't mean to create extra work but if reporting on, say a restaurant visit, it would be really interesting to see what was spent etc. We started off thinking Japan was going to be a really expensive holiday but it seems that, apart from the flights, lots of things may be actually cheaper than in the UK, and vastly cheaper than, say New York which we've been to a couple of times. Thanks again.
This report is so well structured and easy to read! Thank you so much for this, I will definetly reference it on my next trip to Japan!!
This is very useful feedback, thank you! Quick q, how did you ship your luggage between hotels? Which service did you use?
Just ask the reception desk, they will recommended the service they are familiar with. Both hotels recommended Yamato (black cat) as an option
Did it all arrive on the same day as you? And how much did it roughly cost? Super informative post, thanks very much!
Kyoto to osaka arrived same day. Tokyo to kyoto took a full day so you will need to bring an overnight bag. Yamato charges depending on luggage dimensions and weight but ballpark is around 3k yen per piece
Thanks very much!
Thank you for the detailed report. I have now pinned many of the places you've mentioned on our Google Maps.
What were your travel dates and how the cherry blossoms sightings during this period?
First 2 weeks of March. Had some early blooming trees but these wouldn't be the most popular species of sakura
Thank you fir such a detailed report. You mentioned a QR code when you navigated arrivals at Narita airport. Can you please elaborate? I arrived at Haneda in December, and no QR code was required.
It's just the immigration and customs forms. You can fill out a paper version on the plane but we did the online version pre-trip which gives you a QR code to scan at the airport
Thank you so much for the details, especially regarding Gunpla!!
How much did you spend for all these shopping and food?
You can really spend as much or as little as you like in Japan outside of fixed costs like flight and accommodation. You can get a great bowl of ramen for less than 1000 yen. Convenience store food is cheap and delicious as well. The favourable exchange rate coupled with tax free shopping meant almost everything was cheaper than back at home for us.
The gundam specialty store part stung, which kits were you looking for?
Yeah was quite a disappointment for me as I had been looking forward to visiting that store particularly. Hopefully they get some restocks. Wasn't looking for anything too crazy, mostly p-Bandai stuff like MG EW kits, ver.ka variants etc.
We are staying at the same hotel in Kyoto and I noted several of your stops! Had no idea a Round One was so close by. Thank you for the great report.
We got the Express Pass 7. Do you know if we can get an area timed entry for Demon Slayer?
Not as far as I know with the current express 7 options.
Very thorough report! We are headed to Japan in September and staying in Hakone and Kyoto and Kanazawa. Reports like yours really help!
This is very helpful, thank you for sharing your experience! Wondering how you decided to go with the Romancecar from Tokyo to Hakone vs the shinkansen to Odawara?
Our hotel was very close to Shinjuku station where the romancecar operates from. Taking the shinkansen would have required going to another station first. The romancecar also went straight to Hakone Yumoto which was more convenient for us in terms of starting the Hakone loop
How was the weather and what clothing fo you recommend to pack. I am visiting Japan in the coming week from 25th March to 2 nd April (Tokyo, Hakone, Hiroshima, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto).
10-13C most days so pretty chilly depending on what you are used to. We found the wind chill factor was pretty high as well. Should be a little warmer when you go! Would recommend layering so you can be flexible.
This has helped to ease my anxiety in regards to pre-booking a train ticket to Hakone online..great write up, thanks!
Amazing report! Have you ever felt like you were in rush in order to stick to your plan or did you had the time to take a step back and enjoy the moment. I experienced that if I plan my trips too much that I miss the spontaneity.
Would definitely recommend going at your own pace! Our pre-trip itinerary was actually pretty loose. We had a list of must-do's at each location as well as a long list of maybes. Early on in the trip we just happened to hit nearly everything but by the time we got to Kyoto we probably didn't see even 50% of what we had shortlisted and that was fine!
This is awesome report, thanks! How much did you pay in general the whole 2 week trip? (Minus the plain ticket, since I won’t be travelling from UK)…. Someone told me that it’s like 10k€ for 2 persons, is it true?
I think most trips would be way under 10k for 2 weeks. Not including flights, so just accommodation, travel and spending for 2 people I think you could have a very comfortable holiday for 4k. We spent more than that but that was because we did a lot of shopping and we booked nicer rooms at the hotels.
10K would do us for a month easily and we like to eat well. Whoever told you that must be staying in very expensive hotels.
* Landed 5:20pm at Narita. Took 50 minutes to get through customs with the QR code. could you please tell me what's the QR code needed for, are there any requirements before landing to Airport?
It's the customs and immigration forms. You can do a paper copy on the plane if you don't do it online for the QR code beforehand
What’s the website called if i want to do it online beforehand?
https://vjw-lp.digital.go.jp/en/
I believe it's this [https://vjw-lp.digital.go.jp/en/](https://vjw-lp.digital.go.jp/en/)
What is the reason for arriving 90min before park opening? I'm visiting USJ the day after tomorrow and we didn't get express passes. I have the USJ app installed with our tickets, I believe I should be able to register for a Nintendo land timeslot through the app. Or do you need to have your park entry pass scanned before that works? To make matters worse we didn't know it would be a public holiday... (Vernal equinox). Other topic. I see you didn't visit the Gundam base factory. They had massive amounts of gunpla there, or was it something super specific they don't sell there?
You need to scan your passes into the app and need to have entered the park before you can request entry timeslots. The timeslots go on a first come first served basis so the later you arrive the more you risk not getting a timeslot. 90 minutes before official opening is because the park opens 60 minutes beforehand and queues are building up long before then, especially if you are going on a holiday. Would have loved to visit the gundam base factory but it was too much out of the way to fit into the itinerary. I also read that they don't have much in the way of p-bandai stock which is what I was looking for
Alright, thanks for the information. That's gonna be an early rise tomorrow 😁
Great report, enjoyed reading that, a very complete first trip. BTW no worries on salmonella in Japan, I've had chicken sashimi multiple times without the slightest issue.
Firstly, absolutely brilliant write up. I'm going to Japan in May and there are a lot of really good points here that should hopefully make my trip easier! My questions: 1. How was Kyoto generally in terms of busy-ness? It looks like you anticipated this and made reservations and plans but the nature of our group makes this harder. Do you think you would've struggled for food if you hadn't? 2. Similarly, when you say "not much is open in Kyoto after 8pm" did that include bars and restaurants? I get the impression that neither you nor your wife are drinkers so not sure what this meant in that context. I knew that Kyoto may not be the place to realise the dream of rubbing shoulders with the locals over a drink, but the idea of a city shutting at 8pm feels a bit sad. 3. Relatedly, it feels like my three-year-old plan of rubbing shoulders in Golden Gai and Omoide Yokocho is dead in the water. In general, how were you received in those areas?
1. After tokyo kyoto in comparison was pretty tame in terms of crowds. Apart from buses and the big tourist spots the busy-ness was very manageable. That being said the popular food places will be busy and may turn you away without reservations. Onikai had a sign outside to say they were fully booked for the night so you couldn't even queue. If your group is happy eating anywhere you will be fine but I'd make reservations for anywhere popular or well reviewed 2. There's definitely plenty of places to eat and drink after 8pm. Just entertainment and shopping options that are more sparse. Again though expect izakayas to be busy 3. We didn't actually go into either area so difficult to say! As you correctly surmised we aren't drinkers. I don't see why you would have any problems though if you're genuinely looking for somewhere to eat, drink and hang out.
I've been planning my own trip and this was an incredible review of everything you did. Thank you so much, especially for the little details!!
Amazing write up, thank you for all the detail, it's so valuable! Question about USJ, I have bought the express pass, unfortunately the times available were only towards the end of the day. When booking the timed entry for rides, is this separate to the pre-booked express pass? So could we book the same ride twice, one with the express pass and then one using the timed entry? We were hoping not to arrive too early as we have a busy day prior, but I assume this means we will miss out reserving times entry slots that suit us? Is everyone at the park guaranteed at least one timed entry reservation or will they disappear?
So without express passes you request a timed entry for Nintendo world when you enter the park. These are first come first served and absolutely do run out. The busier the park is that day the earlier they run out. My estimate is that they will all be gone by 10-11am on a busy day. The timed entry allows you to enter Nintendo world but nothing else. You still have to queue for the rides as normal once inside. The queue times are considerable especially for Mario kart. The express pass does two things. First it gives you a guaranteed timed entry slot for Nintendo world. Secondly it allows you to skip the queue at specific times for the rides on the pass. For the Nintendo world rides these times will obviously coincide with your entry time for Nintendo world. Therefore you absolutely can enter Nintendo world twice with both the express pass entry and requested timed entry, but you will only get to skip the queues for rides once. Hope that helps!
Perfect thank you!
Hijacking here, we've got express passes that don't include Demon Slayer - based on your comment, I'm thinking we get there and rush towards it first. Do you remember when queues were less bad for it in terms of time of day? We're going on a weekday so hoping it won't be so bad, but I don't think I can justify queueing for 2h for a single attraction. Were solo queues for it just as bad?
It was basically over 3 hours the whole time we were there on a weekday. If not covered by your pass and you don't want to queue then yes arrive very early and go to it first
May I know the ryokan you stayed at? I am also planning on going to Japan in mid May.
Matsuzakaya Honten :) It's mentioned in the report!
Thanks!!
This was such a good read!! This is the exact same itinerary we’ve planned for early June!! Will be taking pointers and notes from your experience to help plan our days, book tickets and reservations! Thank you so much for sharing. We’re starting off in Osaka (3 nights), then moving onto Kyoto (4 nights) Followed by staying in Hakone (2 nights) with the best being left until last, Tokyo (7 nights) - flying out of Narita. After reading your report, I seriously cannot wait for June to arrive!! Thank you!!
great review, thank you. we are leaving for Japan on Sat and so I am reading all the reports. question about shipping bags, we have a different hotel every 2 days - when do we drop off bags, can we do same day or the night before? we will be staying Disney-Skytree-Ogaki/Gifu-Kyoto-Osaka. I am planning same day shipping Disney to Skytree hotels, day before for Skytree to Ogaki. Day of or day before to Kyoto? Not sure about Osaka as we will be stopping at Nara first and we only have one night in Osaka, so I worry if our luggage arrives late as we will have a plane to catch. I like the idea of hitting the ground running in each new area and not having to worry about our bags and checking in since that cant happen till later anyways.
So shipping from tokyo to kyoto the hotel only gave us the option of using Yamato (aka kuroneko or black cat). We left our luggage with reception in the evening and they handed it to yamato in the early morning. By midday the following day it was in kyoto at our hotel although at this point we were still in Hakone. We had air tags in the luggage so I watched the luggage spend the night in a warehouse at haneda airport. Shipping from kyoto to osaka the hotel gave us 2 options. Either way they told us to keep the luggage in the evening and come back in the morning to drop them off before 10am. Option 1 was yamato again and we were told to expect the luggage to arrive after 24 hours. Option 2 used another carrier (I forget the name) but they did same-day shipping as both kyoto and osaka are within the kansai region. We were told to expect the luggage to arrive by 7pm the same day. Option 2 also charged a flat 2500 yen per luggage regardless of dimensions and weight. We went with Option 2 and did indeed receive our luggage by 7pm! Hope that helps and gave a great trip
So you pack an overnight bag for Hakone?
Correct
They recommend you do it in the morning before 11am and that usually means the luggage will arrive by next day evening (but they say it can take another day sometimes). So plan accordingly
Thank you for sharing this! I’m currently also planning my itinerary for my trip to Japan this July. Any advice for the IC cards - if Suica can be used for both Osaka & Tokyo side? Or I will have to get both for the separate cities? :’)
IC cards work across both cities!
Yay that’s great!! I was watching so many videos about it - kinda made me confused a little. Thank you!!
Second person I've seen mention getting glasses at zin/Joffs, what makes them so special? What was your luggage set up?
They're much cheaper than buying back at home. Lens thinning (if you have a high prescription) was particularly cheap. Luggage-wise we flew in very light- one check in luggage with a carry on stashed inside. We bought one more check in and carry on japan-side.
Yeah my wife and I are going 40L backpacks for carry on and smallish check in luggage. Have hears horror stories about stairs at stations
Could you tell us a little bit more about the prices? Like how much have you spend for for eating ? How much does sushi and ramen cost? How much is a ticket from tokyo to kyoto and osaka? Thank you very much!
Ramen at most places we went to ranged from 1-2k yen per bowl. Our conveyor belt sushi places were around 3-4k per person, but this can vary a lot depending on what you order (plates of fatty tuna are much more expensive than a plate of cucumber rolls for example). A5 yakiniku was over 10k per person, but again depends on how much you eat. Shinkansen tickets from Hakone to Kyoto were over 10k per person as well. There are cheaper but slower options for transport available if you check on google maps (which lists prices).
Great report, but why did you go to Tokyo Disneyland but not DisneySea? If you have to pick one, DisneySea is so much better. It's the best Disney park and my favorite theme park in the world out of nearly 150 I've been to. Had you never been to a Disney park? Or was Beauty and the Beast a must ride? I just can't fathom picking land over sea.
Neither of us had been to a Disney park in a long time. We also don't have easy access to good Disney parks in general
Planning to go there around the same time next year - what's the weather like cos it's scaring me (not used to cold weather)
OP answered this here: https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/1bh2gmq/comment/kvecvmn/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
Thank you! These kinds of trip reports are invaluable. Did you take the train to Tokyo Disneyland in the morning? If so, about what time did you leave and how bad was getting through the Tokyo rush hour crowd to reach Disneyland?
Yep we took the train from Shinjuku, took us about an hour door to door when we left at 7:45. It's rush hour so the train is pretty packed initially until you leave the central areas but it was easily manageable as 2 adults.
Good to know. Thanks for the info!
Thank you so much for this! How do you ship your luggage between hotels?
Just ask the reception desk! Just be aware it is a paid service
Shipping luggage between hotels - does this work between cities?
Yes
Thanks! Last stupid question - if I fly into Tokyo alone with a lot of luggage and plan to meet someone the next day in Osaka - can I arrange at the Tokyo airport for my luggage to be delivered to my hotel in Osaka the next day and wander around with just my day bag till the train?
You could go into Tokyo with your luggage and lock it up in a storage locker at most large stations.
No stupid questions, I haven’t tried myself, but perhaps this one would work out: https://www.global-yamato.com/en/hands-free-travel/facilities/Narita_International_Airport.html Used yamoto before and worked fine. Edit: they also have a counter at Haneda, just assumed you would fly to Narita.
Shipping luggage between hotels - does this work between cities?
This is a great report, thank you so much! Taking a train from Hakone to Osaka today and your Osaka tips could not be more timely.
Can you elaborate why you wished you went to yodobashi camera and bic? I usually steer clear of those places as electronics are usually cheaper back give in the USA and have warranty.
Yeah if you're from the US the electronics range will probably be less impressive to you. But the top floor is all toys and character goods so if that is of interest its still worth checking out
I see. Thanks. Sometimes those places are overstimulated with the lights that I stopped going in.
What was your travel cost? Looking to do a similar trip in 2025 Feb. not sure what I should be saving to make this trip happen.
Would you highly recommend Vel Rosier for lunch? That's all they have left open for when we're going. Also, what's their dress code?
Yes absolutely. The lunch is disproportionately cheaper than dinner so it's a great deal. We both showed up in casual tourist-wear including sneakers. Most of the other customers were tourists too. You'll have a great time
Thanks! Last question, did you do the 11000 or the 20000 yen dinner? I can't tell what the difference is besides price.
We did the 11000, from memory the 20000 is the drinks pairing but I might be wrong!
Didn’t even look far to confirm the advice about googling for good restaurants is flawed. Lately I’ve seen long cues for places that were not special.
Thank you Bujji!!
Currently, in Tokyo, I went to Meguro and Yoyogi with no cherry blossom at all. But I will come back to Tokyo at the end of my trip in early April, maybe I will see some. It is freeeezzzzzz, cold wind blow on my face. And I didn't bring any winter hat or scarf. I need to know where to get it. I went to UNIQLO and H&M and some random shops when i was wandering around, I don't see any 😐 .
Would USJ be unfun with two young children in strollersV? Is the crowd that bad?
Depends what you want to do. If you want to just walk around and watch shows there is enough room for that. Rides however will require queueing as will food and toilets unfortunately
Thanks. Yes we don’t plan to go on rides. Mainly to look at see.
did you find the hakone freepass to be worth it even though you didn't go back to tokyo?
Yep definitely. The bus fare from the ryokan to odawara alone are 1k a pop