Travel & Holidays Japan in January

FYI I booked flights to Asia with Jetstar (I booked the flights over), then I went to complete a separate secondary booking for the return flights and it only offered the flights in the currency of the departure country! It was heaps more expensive then the AUD ones I saw.. Ended up booking the return flights with a travel agent after having a cranky talk to jetstar!

 

It wouldn't be the forex and yes it has to be quoted in the currency of the point of origin. Very rarely is the return leg the same fare. Thats how they bait you (me). Its highly unlikely I'll be Jetstar-ing it back.


Probably have to route back via KL or Singapore ideally Singapore. I'll do Scoot but dont trust the guys at the pointy end of Airasia.

Either way it will not be anywhere near 200pp. That i can guarantee.

 

This title ?
"A thousand ways to quickly spend your rental profit before the next months rent comes in"

 

I have always wanted to go to Japan. Especially an island called yakushima with this multi thousand year old tree and largest nesting grounds for loggerhead sea turtles in North Pacific.

Jōmon Sugi - Wikipedia

 

Im going to japan in just over 2 weeks. Got return flights with jetstar for 389$. U need to do your return flight to get your cheaper return seat, if available.

Will be spending most of my time around mt fuji! Will be going to fujiq which is a awesome looking theme park.. thomas land for my soon to be 4 yo! Mt fuji seems to have a heap of stuff around the area to see. Will spend first night next to airport and last night in tokyo.

 

If you are seeking a "winter wonderland" Hokkaido is stunning in January. Like it so much I've been three times in Jan.

Another vote for Osaka and Kyoto too. Osaka is so very different to Tokyo. The people, the fashion, the food, everything.

Sakura are in full bloom in Toyko now. Great excuse to go see Japanese people pretend to enjoy cherry blossoms while having an excuse to party and get on the razz. It's a sight to see.

 

Osaka has a different language and culture to Tokyo. They stand on the right on escalators whereas in Tokyo they stand on the left for example

 

Wow thats cheap. Would be a great time to go to mt fuji. Not ideal b in January though.

 

One thing i am concerned about is blizzard conditions in Sapporo. Dry crisp days with snow everywhere is a sight to see but if its windy and snowy or wet - not fun. Winter in Tokyo on the other hand is beautiful. Mostly dry that time of year with tops of 8 degrees or so.

 

Yes decisions decisions. Its either gonna be tokyo, osaka and surrounds and hakuba or tokyo, sapporo and niseko.

 

Uber isn't very popular in Japan and not even sure it exists outside of Tokyo, the reason is the cabs in Japan are very good and reasonably priced, but as others have said the train system is amazing. We had a rental car which was also great and not to expensive but you really don't need one.

 

I've been browsing the forums recently as my wife and I look for a PPOR. Can't contribute much to do with property, but have been to Niseko and Sapporo!

Niseko is great! Huge areas to ski, variety of terrain, great snow - dry powder, half the mountain lit at night for night skiing, including blacks - it just runs all day until about 9pm. No specific time like in Aus. It has the ski village atmosphere - lots of places to eat, ski shops, pubs, supermarket, onsens , accommodation options. Because of all this though it is a busy resort, with a lot of Aussies. Fresh snow will get tracked out fairly quickly, although you can usually find fresh tracks after a good fall. I loved sitting in an open air onsen looking over the slopes after a day skiing.

I'd highly suggest for something a bit different is to go to Rusutsu. It's about 2 hours from Niseko by bus, or about the same from Sapporo direct, and is a Japanese holiday resort in the summer, ski resort in the winter. It does not have the village atmosphere of Niseko, and so does not attract the Aussies as much yet, but has a much more 'Japanese' feel and quirkiness to it. The resort is a bit like a Disneyland with German styling! The snow and skiing at Rusutsu is incredible! It's a wide resort, so if you traverse a couple lifts over, it's near deserted, even on a powder day, which was every day when we were there! And the tree skiing is amazing - quite open so easy to head in. You eat on mountain in dining halls, where you get a food ticket from a vending machine. The whole experience is great!

Sapporo is nowhere near as busy as Tokyo, if you like the bustle of Tokyo, Sapporo won't give you that big city hit I think. We spent 3 days there so that we could see the Snow and Ice festival. Highly recommend this if it fits into your schedule - does make Sapporo come alive. But it's cold! When you're skiing -20 is fine, but -10 walking around a city of snow and ice - the cold comes up through your shoes and nothing you can do about it! We stayed just in Sapporo without venturing too far and 3 days was more than enough. It snowed a little while we were there - the great thing is it's so cold it doesn't melt on your clothes - you just brush it off.

Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo Yuki Matsuri)

Another vote for Kyoto. Stunning temples/gardens/food and such. It's about 5 hours from Tokyo on the bullet train. Day trip to Nara was excellent - so many deer! Hiroshima not far and worth a visit. Stayed on Miyajima one night in a Ryokan.

Hope that all helps!

 

That is a almost unbelievable fare ...you sometimes pay that for a return domestic brisbane to Melbourne.
I hear jetstar also have a business class ..has anyone tried it ?

 

ditto

 

I used it once to fly to Japan 7 years ago, I got a cheap offer last minute to upgrade, its basically like business class was 20 years ago for everyone else, 30 degree declining chairs etc. for a short trip like Japan it's fine you get good food and booze as well and use of lounges, only problem is domestic leg (SYD-Cairns) was still cattle class

 

Sorry, resurrecting an old thread - has anyone ever hired a car and driven from Tokyo to the ski fields (who isn't Japanese or married to one) and lived to tell the tale? Just trying to save some $$ if possible.

 

Cheaper to go via train. There are tollways every few km.

 

I have and like Terry said tolls are expensive about $140 from Tokyo to Osaka one way, you don't drive cars to save money in Japan. If you do want to drive it's easy just make sure you have google maps and data connection or english GPS

 

Could of put that money into another IP

Im surprised the majority of us who are over middle aged that our parents didnt do the same but instead worked and raised a family and paid offf the mortgage

For most families in the 70's overseas trips were a fantasy , holidays were spent several hours away on the Central Coast

People have it too good now as i say bring on another recession

 

I will be in Japan in Aug and Sept if anyone is around Osaka let me know,.