Travel & Holidays Trip to Japan?

LMFAO!!! Wasn't with it last night, long day, when I read "per leg" I took it literally as in it was some kinda weird marketing campaign.
(as in "AU$250 per leg", I have two legs hang'n off my butt I use to walk, = $500) lol

Thanks for clearing that up

I was initially thinking something like that (rather than drive one end to other) however go further Nth then come back to Tokyo so the boy can buy all his aneme stuff before we fly home, otherwise we have to carry it everywhere.
Perhaps get off at some little used rail station along the way, jump on the 1st bus & get lost for a few days.

 

I was so lost in 1998. No one believed I'm aussie Asian. I had to bring outlying passport to verify my alien status. Do they have English signages now on train stations? I got my north south east West wrong...so wrong. Haaaaa!

 

A little tricky, given that Nagasaki is not between Fukuoka and Tokyo...

Also, I just found Okayama to Matsuyama by train is about 2:40, not four hours like I first thought, so Matsuyama castle would be doable as a long day trip from Okayama.

GP

 

Also forgot Hikone castle on Lake Biwa. An original, and an easy day trip from Kyoto.

And Inuyama castle near Nagoya.

GP

 

A heads-up for anyone in Sydney, or who can get there without too much expense.

ANA (All Nippon Airways) has flights from Sydney to Tokyo Haneda for just under A$900 return, if you pick the right days. They're direct overnight flights (9 to 9.5 hours), with luggage (2x23kg), seat selection, and meals included in the price, and no extra fee for paying by credit card. The sale is on until 17th February, but the cheap seats may go before then.

The only real catch is that travel for that price has to be between May and August, so no blossom time or autumn colours. June is supposedly their wet season, and July and August can be quite humid and hot (so I gather - I've never been there at that time). But for a bit more, travel can be any time during the whole year.

Still, that sort of price normally only comes from airlines like Air Asia and China Southern, which can charge quite a bit more for luggage and seats, and can take 20+ or even 30+ hours to get there.

We've already booked for May.

GP

 

Happy Australia day from Japan. Yes those Aussie (and some imports) went for a ski in boardies and flags

 

Is that at Nagano?

Given what some people wear in Japan, only the shorts might seem out of place.

GP

 

It's Sahoro near Shintoku Google マップ
Anyway - time for me to get off PC and hit the slopes

 

Ah, Sapporo. Enjoy!

GP

 

Check out Jetstar also.
We came back via Cairns on Jetstar. Cheaper than QANTAS direct. The few days in Cairns was lovely too.
I loved the 2 day pass from Tokyo to Hakone. It's beautiful. The pass includes train, cable car, boat across the lake. It's a circuit. We stayed overnight near the cable car and continued the journey the next day. Economical Excursion Tickets | Odakyu Electric Railway
Hope to get back and explore more of Japan.

 

We've mostly flown Jetstar in the past. I could get a similar price with them now, but the flights are about 4 hours longer because of the stopovers, and the flight over is during the day, departing at 6am.

GP

 

Definitely look through the tripadvisor site. I found that this covers all my planning. Asking for directions in Japan is quite tough as most people do not speak the language, so I screensaved all the directions. Do get the JR Pass. I travelled on Green Pass for my first trip but went regular on my 2nd. Definitely go for the regular as I found it was good enough.

Tips:
1. They don't sell prepaid sim cards. So you have to hire the SIM or portable Wifi. You can do this at the airport.
2. There's a well known Manga museum in Kyoto. Depending on how independent your child is, you can leave him/her there the whole day. (Some people spend days there lol)
3. If you are not confident in travelling, Tokyo has free travel guides that can take you around. You can book them on tokyofreeguide.org.
4. Depending on your budget, I would also reccommend the themed restaurants in Tokyo. ( I've been to the Ninja one and it was awesome, I'm pretty sure your whole family will enjoy it) With a lot of the popular restaurants, you will need reservations. You can get the hotel reception to book it for you.
5. Mt. Fuji will take you the whole day and tricky navigation (A lot of train changes and cable cars or boat)

 

Japan is one of the best countries to live and holiday imo. If I spoke Japanese I'd migrate there in a heartbeat, and buy some Tokyo 15% yield properties at 0.7% interest rates

 

If upgrading from Economy to First any idea what you would get that for? Does it also depend on the length of the leg?

 

You can only upgrade one step up, so have to buy a biz ticket first. Not sure how much to upgrade to First. Yes, minimum bid prices depend on length of leg.

 

Thai airways you can buy an upgrade at the airport, about 800 to go from economy to business, they also offer first class upgrade from economy, cant remember the price. So from Sydney to KL, what should I expect to offer/pay and get accepted to upgrade to business? Cheers.

 

I think $300 to $350 will secure the upgrade.

 

there is no first on malaysian airlines from australia to toyko only business.

 

Brings back memories, I lived in Osaka (Kyobashi) in 2000-01, and have visited Japan 8 times over the years, going as far south as Kagoshima to as far as Hiroksaki castle in northern Honshu (for hanami) but have yet to take our little ones.

Lots of great advice here from the Japan hands but something is missing. Baseball. Get out to a game at one of the smaller stadiums. The Tokyo Swallows (battlers) play at Jingu which is in the heart of town, easy to get to. Japanese baseball is a great experience, the crowd really get into It and will get you guys into it too. And they deliver food and beer I your seat. Can't go wrong

Also, izakaya and yakitori-ya for dinner. He will love that stuff. Don't go for the easy stuff like Maccas or donburi bowl joints.

Also someone mentioned Himeji. Probably best castle in Japan imo and I've been to quite a few.

 

Wow 8 times! I've only been twice. Thoughts on Sumo? Couldn't figure out how to buy the tickets the last time I went.