Budget travel in Japan - tips and info thread

[ortega]

do factor in the time and cost of traveling into your calculations

 

[petetherock]

If you are in a hostel, it sounds like you are still studying?
Remember to avoid doing the whole refugee type traveling...
I would suggest using Kyoto as a base if possible..

Hi guys,

I'm going to Osaka in may for a week and i'm planning to stay in Osaka throughout (as i found a hostel relatively cheap there as compared to staying in hostels in Kyoto) and then do several day trips to Kyoto and Nara. would this be recommended? and would 2 days of Osaka, 3 days of Kyoto and 1 day of Nara suffice? Is Kobe worth going?

Sorry for the many questions!

 

[sheree]

Do your homework before you go and wake up early to change the bus (I mean train). For the area you're covering a Kansai rail pass should be enough, cheaper. Cannot remember whether you can take/use the Shinkansen

do factor in the time and cost of traveling into your calculations

From what i understand, it seems like i can take the Kansai rail to get from Osaka to Kyoto in about an hour's time.

If you are in a hostel, it sounds like you are still studying?
Remember to avoid doing the whole refugee type traveling...
I would suggest using Kyoto as a base if possible..

Hi, yeah i'm still officially a student until May haha. What do you mean by 'refugee type' travelling? by staying on the streets? hahaha.
From what i searched, Kyoto's hostels seem more expensive than Osaka's. that was one of my considerations when i was trying to plan the itinerary.

 

[iBishop]

From what i understand, it seems like i can take the Kansai rail to get from Osaka to Kyoto in about an hour's time.



Hi, yeah i'm still officially a student until May haha. What do you mean by 'refugee type' travelling? by staying on the streets? hahaha.
From what i searched, Kyoto's hostels seem more expensive than Osaka's. that was one of my considerations when i was trying to plan the itinerary.

since u're interested in kyoto and nara, why not stay in shin-osaka.
accommodation is relatively cheap, its not too far from nara and kyoto.

in addition, shin-osaka is also very accessible to osaka, umeda etc.

 

[shierwin]

Hi guys,

I'm going to Osaka in may for a week and i'm planning to stay in Osaka throughout (as i found a hostel relatively cheap there as compared to staying in hostels in Kyoto) and then do several day trips to Kyoto and Nara. would this be recommended? and would 2 days of Osaka, 3 days of Kyoto and 1 day of Nara suffice? Is Kobe worth going?
Sorry for the many questions!

Should consider a day trip to Himeji. Beautiful town with a beutiful Casle. An hour by regular train, 30min by shinkansen

 

[iBishop]

Should consider a day trip to Himeji. Beautiful town with a beutiful Casle. An hour by regular train, 30min by shinkansen

himeiji castle is closed for reno.

 

[wyl]

Hi, I've planned the following itinerary below but am still deciding where to go during the 2 x TBD periods. Appreciate any suggestions. BTW I've already been to Hiroshima, Osaka and Matsumoto. Thanks

5 Apr - Osaka
6 Apr - Koyasan
7-9 Apr - Kyoto
10-12 Apr -TBD
13 Apr - Kiso Valley
14-15 Apr - Takayama
16 Apr - Shirakawago
17 Apr - Kanazawa
18 Apr - Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
19 Apr - Matsumoto
20-24 Apr - TBD

 

[Redsun]

Should consider a day trip to Himeji. Beautiful town with a beutiful Casle. An hour by regular train, 30min by shinkansen

unfortunately,himeji castle is closed for restoration iirc

 

[spidic]

Can consider a day trip to Miyajima too

 

[hanzohattori]

Interesting, I'm planning similar itinerary, but not sure how to go around by public transport. Care to share your experience later ?

Hi, I've planned the following itinerary below but am still deciding where to go during the 2 x TBD periods. Appreciate any suggestions. BTW I've already been to Hiroshima, Osaka and Matsumoto. Thanks

5 Apr - Osaka
6 Apr - Koyasan
7-9 Apr - Kyoto
10-12 Apr -TBD
13 Apr - Kiso Valley
14-15 Apr - Takayama
16 Apr - Shirakawago
17 Apr - Kanazawa
18 Apr - Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
19 Apr - Matsumoto
20-24 Apr - TBD

 

[DarkImperial]

I be at takayama on 15th Apr and my itinerary totally same as u. Kanazawa, tateyama, matsumoto. haha.

 

[petetherock]

Time to hold on to visits to Japan for now..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23776345

http://www.livescience.com/39067-fukushima-radiation-5-things-to-know.html

 

[nedy77]

Time to hold on to visits to Japan for now..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23776345

http://www.livescience.com/39067-fukushima-radiation-5-things-to-know.html

Hope things will be ok soon. Planning a trip in the near future

 

[petetherock]

Hope things will be ok soon. Planning a trip in the near future

TBH
I don't think it will be resolved for a while...
It's a matter of whether you fancy your chances of getting any issues if you stay in places far away from the trouble area.
Remember it's hard to be sure or otherwise if the food comes from that area or not.
The Japs aren't the most forthcoming people. They value face..
Carry a Geiger counter...

 

[petetherock]

http://www.japantravelinfo.com/news/news_item.php?newsid=431
The standard answer...

Uk's answer
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/japan

 

[Exposure]

hi, when can i buy a radiation detector in Singapore ?

 

[pinholecam]

hi, when can i buy a radiation detector in Singapore ?

You can buy a few hamsters from the pet shop.


I think its also easy to freak out with a geiger counter, because all things that come from the Earth has some radiation. (ie. metals; soil; etc)

IIRC, I've seen them for sale on ebay.

Maybe some iodine tabs from the pharmacy if you are concerned.
Sorry, can't help you about the Geiger counter, though the hamsters do work.

 

[petetherock]

hi, when can i buy a radiation detector in Singapore ?

Try ebay bro..
Or ask a doctor friend who is a radiologist for one of their radiation badges..

A counter is probably a better bet though and they have a lot of these in Japan..

 

[petetherock]

Fans of Tsukiji....

See it while you can:

http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/tsukiji-fish-market-make-way-olympics

[h=1]Tsukiji fish market to make way for Olympics[/h]

---

TOKYO — Each day before dawn, the world’s largest fish market comes to life in frantic activity, a last holdout of an older, quainter Japan. In one corner, auctioneers loudly hawk the frozen torsos of prize tuna laid on the floor. Nearby, fishmongers in open-air stalls carve the tuna flesh into bricks for sale to sushi bars and grocers.
Soon, it will be gone. The city is planning to spend US$4.5 billion (S$5.7 billion) to relocate the market — nicknamed Tsukiji for the neighbourhood that surrounds it — to a modern, climate-controlled distribution centre on a man-made island in three years. The move is part of a broader face-lift Tokyo is planning before the 2020 Olympics.

For the many who have opposed the change, the relocation will bring not only the loss of a historic, 78-year-old marketplace, but also another blow to a vanishing way of life.
Tsukiji has been a place where merchants haggled face to face, and where even the lowliest fishmonger displayed the obsession with freshness that helped Japan bring sushi to the world.
Its passing is part of a broader transformation, away from the tiny mom-and-pop shops that have been increasingly replaced by supermarkets and fast-food chains.
Officials say they want to redevelop the market’s estimated 20 hectares of land, valued in the billions, into high-rise apartments and a tunnel that will connect Tokyo to the islands that will house new Olympic sites.
They, and many who work at the market, say the move is necessary to keep up with changing times, as the same fast-food chains and supermarkets that have changed Tokyo’s urban landscape have increasingly shunned Tsukiji as too expensive and slow.
Opponents counter that the relocation is another example of the skewed priorities of Japan’s bureaucrats, whom they say want to tear down what has become one of the city’s most popular tourist spots to enrich big construction firms and real estate developers.
“Tsukiji was the beating heart of the sushi culture that spread across the world,” said Mr Kazuki Kosaka, a former local assembly member who opposed the relocation. “Now, it will be redeveloped into condominiums.”
When moving Tsukiji was first proposed 14 years ago, it spurred widespread opposition, leading to rare street protests. In 2001, the plan appeared doomed after the discovery of toxic contaminants at the new site, which had housed a refinery for converting coal into natural gas. But city officials were undeterred, chipping away at opposition by offering subsidies to help pay for the move. Now, the move is considered a done deal barring last-minute reprieve.
City officials say one of the market’s shortcomings is that it was built in 1935 to handle trains, not today’s trucks, leading to congestion each morning. Without a new market built to handle more trucks, there will be no way to reverse the steady decline in the amount of seafood going through Tsukiji. According to the city, the market handled 497,000 tonnes of seafood in 2011, down 15 per cent from 2006.
Mr Tadao Ban, Vice-President of the middle wholesalers union, said it was this decline that convinced the union it needed the new market to survive — and to keep alive another tradition: The passing of business to the next generation.
“Without the new market, we won’t have businesses left,” said Mr Ban, 68, who inherited his tuna wholesale firm from his father. “I grew up in this market and have spent my life here, but I want to have a future dream to pass down to my children.” The New York Times

 

[photoart]

That's quite sad news to me.
I first visited Japan in 2007 and the Tsukiji fish market was one of the few places I visited. While I only have vague memories of the other places, this place was one of those I remember well; the sights and smells were quite memorable lol

It may not serve the most delicious food but that place is a unique experience. Ok, I ordered the raw tuna rice bowl and it was served on warm rice( different from the cold rice I normally have), and it was the summer season hence my appetite wasn't that good after all the walking.
Despite that, i still like that place. Maybe it was because my wife ordered other food that tasted better that my maguro don

We wanted to return to that place for another meal during that trip,however our schedule was too tight and didn't have the chance