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 Traveller's Tales: Getting around in Japan
Know the most popular landmarks in Japan. You may read about best transportation, recommended travel itinerary, suggested routes and directions. Also, you might want to read our
city guide.
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| P Den duyn |
29 November 2004 |
Stayed at Park Hotel Tokyo - Tokyo, Japan.
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Tokyo is a great city to visit, yes it is one of the more expensive cities in the world. It is a first world city and puts most to shame when it comes to cleanliness and thoughtfulness of other people. That said it still has its own funny idiosyncrasies. For a western lady, watch out going to a public toilet, the tradeoff for that is more shopping than you could possible imagine. It seemed every train stop on the JR line had multiple malls 10 stories high. The subway and railway is a little confusing, bring along a subway map in English (found at all hotels) and then it is much easier to work out where to come and go. Not much is in English and the JR railway line and Tokyo subway line are run sort of independant of each other yet appear to be seamless. The parks and shrines are amazing and well worth a visit to any that you come across, make sure you visit any before 4:00pm as they generally shut around then and you will need some time to absorb it all. There are plenty of places to let your hair down once the sun goes down, Shibuya and Shinjuku are 2 areas that we found however there are plenty more.
All sorts of cuisines exist, however the more japanese you go the harder it is to order, but not impossible as they will try to help you as much as possible.
Overall, Tokyo is well worth a visit, just a little difficult to understand some things, but sometimes we have to get "lost in translation".
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| L Black |
28 November 2004 |
Stayed at New Yokosuka, Hotel - Yokosuka, Japan.
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My story - appreciation of the Japanese Travel Bureau and Agency: My son and I took a tour of Mount Fuji via the Japanese Travel Agency. The tour guide (Harry) was especially delightful. His wit kept us entertained. We appreciated, above all else, that he made sure we bought the correct train tickets for our return trip from Tokyo to Yokosuka, and that we had platform numbers for our trains.
Also I would like to share a tale of appreciation to a fellow traveler. When I first arrived in Japan from the U.S., I asked a young man (Robert) who had flown with me to help me buy the right train ticket from Tokyo-Narita to Yokosuka. Robert not only did that but also he accompanied me from Tokyo-Narita to Shingawa, where he put me on the right train for Yokosuka. Having arrived in Japan at approximately 4:30, I was eager to find and check into Hotel Yokosuka. Because of Robert(from U.S. but lives in Tokyo) who helped me, I was able to move smoothly from the airport and from one train to the other with no problem. By 8:00 I had checked into Hotel Yokosuka. I shall forever be grateful to Robert for making my arrival into Japan a smooth, easy one. Japan's train system is incredibly wonderful (I learned), but when you first arrive (very tired) --- it is quite intimidating to small-town folks, who do not know train systems. I was in a number of countries during the past year, and I found that the Japanese people were among the most willing to help me, when I asked them to do so. Japan is a joy to visit.
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| E Dyckhoff |
14 November 2004 |
Stayed at Osaka Airport Hotel - Osaka, Japan.
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Reaching the destination from Kyoto with the Japan Rail West pass was a little adventure! But being there we discovered that the city bus to Itami gave good connection with JR, so our wives could fly from Itami, while we (the boys) needed just two hours to catch our plain at Kansai, seeing each other again after safe flying in Amsterdam!
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| M Linn |
12 October 2004 |
Stayed at Kyoto Royal Hotel - Kyoto, Japan.
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Kyoto is the cultural capital of Japan and a wonderful place to experience the soul of Japan. It is small and very easy to get around on the local bus system. Be sure to get an english map from the central bus station at Kyoto Rail Station.
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| M Maticek |
11 October 2004 |
Stayed at New Miyako Hotel - Kyoto, Japan.
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Took the JTB Sunrise tour of Kyoto, highly recommended to get background on the temples and shrines, especially since the sites are distant from the train station. Used the Haruka Express train to Kansai Airport which is very convenient (drops you right off at the terminal).
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| H Seiffhart |
04 October 2004 |
Stayed at Kyoto Hotel Okura - Kyoto, Japan.
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We selected a JTB Sunrise morning tour as an orientation to Kyoto. We visited the Golden Pavillion, The Imperial Palace and the Nijo Castle. The tour was rushed and should have gone for at least another hour. The two Tokyo JTB morning tours (Edo Tokyo and the Tokyo Bay Lunch Cruise) we went on by comparison were enjoyable, well-paced and relaxing.
The transport system in Kyoto is so easy to navigate that we spent the rest of our week stay travelling on our own. We recommend the following places as must-sees -- Kyoto station's rooftop observatory, Takashiyama and Hankyu Department stores, the 400 year old Nishiki market and the covered shopping arcades around Teramachi. If you are going to see temples you must limit yourself as there are so many. We went to the Silver Pavillion which has a beautiful garden, Nanzenji, which is huge and has a fantastic Zen dry stone garden for contemplation and the beautiful Kiyomizu. One of the more impressive temples and the most accessible as far as photography was concerned is the atmospheric Chion-in. Also you must visit the very unusual Sanjusangendo Hall.
We went to the Gion corner and found the traditional entertainment to be virtually incomprehensible. Wait until you witness the Ikebana demonstration!! Most visitors were bemused. This entertainment is rather expensive so think twice before you go. At dusk the Pontoncho and Gion offer a number of restaurants available to foreigners, just look for the English menus outside. We dined at two Pontoncho restaurants Kaiyoutei (French style, located directly on the river) and Ka-Shin-tei (Japanese style - reasonably priced and marvellous food). At dusk it is possible to witness geisha or maiko walking around in Gion and the Pontoncho. It is not necessary to book yourself onto a tour to see this. You should be neatly and smartly dressed to eat here.
If you have children we would recommend a day trip to Osaka from Kyoto. Time wise we took in three sites - the Umeda Sky Building, the Osaka Aquarium - which houses a whale shark, the nearby ferris wheel and the Osaka Castle. Again, transporation in Osaka is OK and we even met some very kind locals who went out of their way to assist us.
If you wish to buy souvenirs you must visit the Kyoto Craft Centre near Gion. Do not confuse this place with the Kyoto Handicraft Centre, which sells tacky stuff by comparison. The Kyoto Craft Centre is the best place to buy quality handicrafts. In fact we found no better place to shop for traditional wares even in Tokyo, and that includes the Oriental Bazaar.
We recommend that you stay for at least one week in Kyoto. We ran out of time and would have loved to have gone on other day trips.
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| S Whitehurst |
02 October 2004 |
Stayed at Grand Mer, Hotel - Okinawa Island, Japan.
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Rented car just outside airiport. Note that the major familiar rental car companies seem to have pickup transportation at airport, but HERTZ is administered under Toyoto Rental car, so dont stand around waiting for a bus labeled Hertz. Very impressive Prefectural Peace Museum in Naha overlooking ocean with sculpture garden dedicated to those who lost their lives in the WWII Battle of Okinawa. Well appointed displays in the museum.
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| R Liu |
21 September 2004 |
Stayed at Mansions at Roppongi, The - Tokyo, Japan.
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Stayed at Mansions at Roppongi on the first part of a week-long visit to Japan in late September. This was definitely the best accomodation we had on the whole trip compared to the Westin Miyako in Kyoto and the Shinagawa Prince in Tokyo. Mansions is on a small side street - very quiet w/o street noise - a block or two off Roppongi Dori, on the right heading away from Roppongi Crossing (intersection of Roppongi Dori and Gaien-Higashi Dori - lots of taxis here) and the Almond Coffee Shop (if you hit Roppongi Hills, go the other way) - looks like an alley, but you can see the big white Mansions sign down the alley. Despite the great location, we ended up spending very little time in Roppongi itself. We had a great curry udon at Roppongi Hills, a large outdoor mall complex that is also connected to Roppongi Metro station. We had foot massages at an upstairs salon on Gaien-Higashi and dessert at the Almond. We actually spent one night browsing an all-night department store on Gaien-Higashi that had anything you could possibly need from costumes and socks to electronics and manicures. Walking at night is safe, but you will be eagerly invited into bars and night clubs by non-Japanese guys just doing a job.
Overall, this would be our first choice to stay in Tokyo. Although you could find cheaper hotels, in my limited experience, it would be difficult to get a better value than this.
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| J Ong |
10 September 2004 |
Stayed at Mansions at Roppongi, The - Tokyo, Japan.
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Tokyo is still an expensive city despite years of struggling under a deflationary economy. The best way to move around is by subway, and taxi is a no-no (use it as a last resort) as it's ridiculously expensive. For foreign tourists, best to buy a JR Pass (Japan Railway Pass) before leaving home as it's not for sale anywhere in Japan. This pass will cover most if not all trains going to different cities in Japan, plus the JR lines running within Tokyo. Japanese food is generally good but the best could only be found by chance or recommended by locals as most speak Japanese only. Also, set lunches are better value for money vs a-la-carte menu at dinners. Akasaka temple is a good place to visit and Disneyland is definitely enjoyable for family. Other than that, there are more interesting venues in cities outside Tokyo.
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| J Ong |
06 September 2004 |
Stayed at New Hankyu Kyoto, Hotel - Kyoto, Japan.
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Experienced my 1st earthquake in Kyoto at midnight! Quite frightening as it lasted a few minutes and I had no clue how to react other than holding on to my pillow and kept looking out the window to see if anyone else was running. Otherwise, the 2-day stay was very pleasant visiting various temples and shrines, all pretty much accessible by bus that charged a flat fee. Would be advisable to buy a day-pass from the bus station and both Walking and City Maps are available free of charge from the tourist office at Kyoto Station.
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