Japan Trip

indy34

New member
So at the end of college next year I'm planning on going to Japan with some of my friends before I join the RAAF.

So I was wondering if anyone here had some suggestion on where to go and what to see. Also I'll only be going for about 3 weeks and I was wondering for those here who have visited Japan if you could give me a rough estimation of how much that would cost.
 

NONoXLL

New member
Well, I'm living here and have lived and travelled from the top to the bottom, so if you tell me what kind of things you want to do I should be able to help.
:hat:
 

indy34

New member
For me it's mainly cultural and scenic stuff that I like, but I can't be doing things that I like all the time if I'm bringing friends. Really what I'm after is a few 'must see's' in Honshu.
 

NONoXLL

New member
OK, how about your budget? And how long will you stay? Do you prefer to travel by plane or train? Will you or your friends have a driving license?
:whip:
 

indy34

New member
I'm not really sure what my budget is, I know it's reasonably expensive in Japan and the AU$ isn't too strong against the yen (about $1AU=82 yen). So for 3 weeks in Japan not including flight to and from Japan $6000-7000? If thats too much or not enough please tell me. Since we'll most likely only be traveling around Honshu we'd go with train. We'd all have our P licenses by then but not our full licence.
 

NONoXLL

New member
Once you get here you'll find it's like most places - if you know what you're doing it will be easy and cheap; if not, it won't. So, for the budget, I recommend planning:
$30 - $40 per night cheap hotel
$45 - $90 per night business hotel
$90 or more for Brand hotel (Hilton, etc.)

$50 per 1000Ks by bus
$150 per 1000Ks by Shinkansen train
$150 per 1000Ks by rental car.
$100 - $300 per 1000Ks by plane (depends on when/how far in advance it's booked)

$3 per meal for instant crap/McDonalds
$10 per meal for standard Japanese/Chinese meals
$15 - $25 for nice Japanese/Western meals
$50 - $100 for French/high end restaurants

As for what to do. Japan isn't like Egypt. You can't go to Egypt without seeing the pyramids/nile, etc. You can come to Japan and do this or that - or nothing or everything - it's all much the same. Your goal should be to just get a feel for the place, note how things are done differently, see what the lifestyle is like, and try to enjoy the atmosphere of the different places/cities you go to. But generally speaking Japan is like a Thai 'lady-boy'. If you try to see a woman you see a boy, if you try to see a man you see a woman. You'll understand what I mean after you get here.

Suggested things to do (with $6000) budget (remember prices are much the same as Sydney):
Fly to Narita (Tokyo Int airport)
Spend first night/s in Tokyo (if you need a cheap place let me know and I'll recommend one)
During the day go to:
Akihabara
Tokyo Tower
Shibuya
Shinjuku
Ginza
(All these places are on the same train line and easy to get to. There's nothing special to do - just walk around. Costs about $2.50 per train ride)

Day trip:
Go to Kamakura
About a one hour local train trip from Tokyo
Easy to get to, famous, and free. All you have to do is walk around as much as you like and look at things. (You could wear your Indy clothes too - Western clothes in Japan are all costumes).

Day trip:
Yokohama
About half an hour from Tokyo. Just walk around, go to Chinatown if you like (it's crap) have lunch, go to Sakuragichou (one stop - 4 minutes) it's nice - walk around.

Day trip:
Kawagoe
This place is famous for old style traditional houses. It's a one hour trip from Tokyo (costs about $5.00). Walk around a look.

Next go to Nikko.
About a three hour bus trip. See the temple and walk around. Take your whip because there are monkeys. It's about a $5 entry fee, the bus is about $25.

Next go to Kyoto.
Look around and stay a night or two.

Next go to Hiroshima.
As above. You'll love it - they're friendly and it's easy to understand.

Next go to Kyushu.
Fukuoka and Nagoya.

Choice:
Back to Tokyo or fly to Okinawa or some other island

From Tokyo get the night train to Hokkaido.
Costs about $150. Look around, play with the cows, and take your whip - there are Russians.

Fly back to Tokyo - stay until you have no money and then go home.

I could do all that for just over $1500 Australian but you will probably make some mistakes and also want to buy crap stuff so it should cost you about $3000 - $4000.

Cheers,

Rob
 

indy34

New member
Thanks this is great! I'll probably save a bit of money on accommodation, my Japanese teacher said she might be able to set us up with some of the people who take in exchange students from our college. I think they might be in Kyoto.
But anyway thats great I might be able to stay a little longer.
Thanks!:hat:
 

NONoXLL

New member
Oh, I forgot to say - you can stay in an internet cafe (from midnight to morning) for about $10! Most have a shower and drink machine - kind of for people who have missed their last trains and don't want to spend $60 on a hotel. Usually only in the cities though.
 

indy34

New member
Another question besides the Snow Festival in Sapporo is there anything else of much interest in Hokkaido? And when traveling on the Shinkansen is it worth upgrading to green(first class) or is better just to save a couple hundred by staying in economy?
 
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