Im Going To Japan Finally! Oct-31-Nov18 2013~

[MsR]

So im going for the first time and have a short itinerary which, as a car enthusiast, involves visiting a few workshops and other car related mecca's, but i am wanting to know of other places to visit and things to do. basically i'll be in Osaka for 1st half of the trip then Tokyo for the 2nd half before returning to Osaka to fly home.

i will be travelling with 4 other companions, and we are all into all different things. a common concern at this moment is accommodation, as it needs to be vacant to 5 as well as reasonably cheap. we thought about hiring a house for a week then filling the odd days with hotel/capsules/park bench before moving out.

and last but not least is the actually commuting side of things. considering we are staying in Osaka the 1st week or so, we don't plan to activate the JR rail passes til the 2nd week when we head to Tokyo where we will finish of the last day of the 7-day usage by heading back to Osaka to save some money. is this a bad move?

all opinions and help will be greatly appreciated!

[GH05T]

The JR rail passes are a must in tokyo however in osaka the subway is more commonly used, check your JR pass, some of them cover some of the shinsaken to tokyo, otherwise it about $140 per ticket.

mine covered the non express bullets only.

osaka is a nightlife place, dontombori is good., weird in the daytime and not as much to sight see as kyoto or tokyo.

osaka aquarium is worth a looksie. not big, only takes a morning. they have the worlds tallest ferriswheel.

also go to kyoto if possible, its very close to oskaka, and do some shrines. i recomend a walk up the 10,000 tori gates up the mountain. good hike. otherwise you bump into shrines through all the foot hills.

in osaka or kyoto i hired a car. not to expencive and it was fun driving through the hills and easier to get around outside of the main city.

in tokyo i assume your staying in shinjuku as most people do? good place to wander around. go to Akihabara "electric town" for cool shopping.

go to harajuku for more shopping.

must go to gonapachi resteraunt (the kill bill resteraunt) great place, amazing food.

tokyo...aaahh so much to do there.

[liger]

where do you fly out from? i'm heading over there next month hopefully for D1 in nagasaki.

get a 14 day rail pass. travelling from Tokyo -> nagasaki by itself is a $300 one-way trip. so travelling from osaka -> tokyo -> osaka will be quite expensive without a rail pass. and you can use them on the local trains in the JR routes.

dont know about renting a house, most gaijins with visa's seem to have trouble. i personally think it would be pretty impossible to rent a house for a week. just find a cheap hotel. my brother has stayed in Hearton hotel a few times, and if you book early enough the rates can be cheap too ( ~$70/night single room).

if this is your first time to Japan.. head to a travel agent and tell them your requirements for hotels and your budget.

Edited August 13, 2013 by liger

[GH05T]

expect them to be small though, dont think your cramming 3 people into a 2 person room, not gonna happen

[liger]

expect them to be small though, dont think your cramming 3 people into a 2 person room, not gonna happen

oh god no, in some hotels, their twin rooms are the same sige as a single room. space was deffinatly a premium

[MsR]

will sleep on top of each other if must lol

@liger- i was planning to venture around osaka first as thats where we land, then activate the JR pass once ready to go to Tokyo, and on the last valid day of the JR pass we head back towards Osaka....well thats the idea anyways

thanks for your input GH05T =)

[MsR]

any hotels i can look in in good locations within Osaka and Tokyo that isnt too expensive considering i will have to book 2 rooms? unless there is a family room available

[liger]

i'm staying at the Hearton hotel overnight before going to nagasaki in a few weeks time. cheap enough for a one night stay, it might be suitable for you too.

To get there, when you arrive in kansai, there is a limousine bus that goes close to it ( HERBIS PLAZA) and you just walk to the hotel from there.