Need help for Japan

Hallo everybody,

finaly we have found a cruise RC with LOS

from Shanghai, Busan (corea), Beppu, Osaka, Osaka, Nagoya, Yokohama (Japan)

We will be staying for 3 days in Tokio and I would need a lot of help.

Any Hotel in the center (not too expensive),

what can we do in the 3 days?

Is it easy to go in the metro?

I supose it will be quiet expensive!

I would be very happy to get some information of any of our ports.

Thank you

I lived in Japan for a while about 10 years ago. There is a chain of hotels I remember being reasonable were Toyoko Inn.

http://www.toyoko-inn.com/eng/

Many things to do in Tokyo, recommend something like the below

- 100 yen shop funny shopping every thing 100 yen.

- Imperial palace and grounds, mostly the grounds only as you cannot really go in.

- Shinjuki Gyoen (park)

- Ueno Park - museums' but not so interesting I thought.

- Shinjuku, the Tokyo government area. Buildings very tall and you can go up for free.

- Meiji Shrine - Yaskuni shrine - major shrines in Tokyo.

- Asakusa temple

- Tsukiji fish market - might be moving soon, might not be free as before to walk around.

- Mount Fuji from Tokyo you might need to take a tour if just for a day there.

The above stuff is mainly free.

It was fairly easy to take the metro. You might need someone to help with the ticket for the first few times. There is a map English and Japanese, then read the Japanese then press the Japanese button on the machine to get the ticket. Metro is reasonable in Tokyo.

This is 10 year ago information I think things might have got easier for foreigners now.

Depends on the season what to do. If winter / fall then you can expect pleasant weather and you will be able to walk around a lot. If summer it will be too hot to walk around so much. In spring there is the cherry blossom.

whe we were in Japan last fall we obtained a volunteer guide for the day through the Japanese Tourist Office and a local service organization. You do not pay for the guide's time. You buy lunch and pay for the guide's metro fare. The link below should give you more info about the program. The JNTO website is also really good one for selecting accomodation.

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/essential/list_volunteerGuides_a-n.html#kyoto

We had expected it to br very expensive too but were pleasantly surprised. There were even lots of good inexpensive restaurants to eat at. We usually paid about 1500 yen per person for a good lunch and bought yogurt and juice at the local supernmarket for breakfast.

You could always stay in a hostel...they tend to be cheaper, albeit more "backpacker-ish". Or if you want a real treat and aren't claustrophobic, you might try a capsule hotel. They also tend to be a little bit cheaper...Don't have any websites handy for those, but you could probably find some if you google them and the cities you will be in. You might also have a look at the Lonely Planet travel guide. That was the one that I always felt the most useful when I was living in Japan.

goya-

As with any large city, you can do things cheaply or expensively. I found that Scandinavian cities such as Denmark or Stockholm were much more expensive than Tokyo (we traveled to Japan:Tokyo,Kyoto,Osaka in March, then to Scandinavia on a Baltics cruise last year).

If you are looking for a hotel, start with Tripadvisor and a travel search engine such as Expedia, Hotels.com or Travelocity. We always look for hotels that are near the Metro. We happened to choose the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka which was $120 a night and got a free upgrade to a higher floor room that was quite large by Japanese standards. The Metro was 2 blocks away. Many people like the hustle and bustle of Shinjuku but we felt it was way too busy for our taste.

There is an airport bus that makes stops at most of the major hotels (similar idea to Barcelona's Aerobus) which is much cheaper than taking a taxi. Just tell the attendant which Hotel you want and you will be directed to the proper bus.

We hit most of the sites that stig mentioned, all by using the Metro. The metro map looks confusing at first but it's easy to understand after one use because the stops are numbered. You can buy one-day or multi-day passes which are cheaper than single use tickets depending on how many activities you plan to do during the day. Avoid the rush hours as the platforms will be packed. We watched the official "pushers" shove commuters onto the metro (they wear uniforms and wear white gloves). Certain metro lines have "Ladies Only" cars that only ladies are allowed to use during rush hour to avoid being shoved alongside men. These cars are decorated in pink and red and smell like perfume.

We ate mostly at noodle shops, curry places and food purchased from the food stalls in the basement of the major department stores. We like to follow locals to see where they eat and discovered the vending machine shops whereby you select the food you want by looking at a photo from a vending machine, you then pay for it at the machine, the machine gives you a ticket, then you bring the ticket inside the shop or restaurant and wait for it. Many establishments have a display case with plastic food outside so that even if you do not speak Japanese, just show the waiter/waitress what you want. Be forewarned, fresh fruit is extremely expensive in Japan.

We were fortunate enough to witness a traditional wedding ceremony in the Meiji Shrine on a Sunday afternoon; then we saw the Dancing Elvises and youngsters dresses in all sorts of unusual outfits a few hours later right outside the park by the Metro station - what a contrast.

We also visited several toy stores since we find Japanese toys to be very different from Western toys.

With a little bit of planning, you will find that Tokyo is a wonderful place to visit and not as expensive as you would imagine.

Suerte...

sorry sorry sorry and thanks to everybody for the messages.

I havent been in the forum for a few weeks, because we went to India

and this kept me very busy to preparate.

But now I need to start soon to organize my Japan-cruise.

I have booked one of the students for a city-guide, but I still dont

have any answer yet.

I have changed my hotel in Ginza for one in Shikuyo.

So this should be a cheaper place than the first one.

I have booked aswell a Hotel near the airport for the last night.

Thanks for your help to everybody

We are going to Tokyo for three nights in March. Could you please send me information about the hotels . Thank you so much.

Karen

Hi Goya, we will also be at the same cruise. Would you recommend DIY for the shore excursion? or book the excursion the ship offers?

We're all first timers and booking with the ship is very expensive.

Hope you can recommend us how to roam the cities on our own. Thanks! :D

Hallo manilla cruisers,

I cant see any excursions they offer with the ship! Normaly they do.:(

We will do all our excursions by ourself, its more fun and cheaper.

I am still waiting for an answer from Tokyo free guide for 3 days in Tokyo. I had an answer for the port from yokohama, where they will wait for us when we arrive, to show us the town. After this we will take a train into Tokyo to Shinjuku to our Hotel.

we booked in the Washington Hotel there.

My big problem is, we arrive in Osaka 2pm, and we have to take a train to kyoto. I think we will arrive quiet late and it will get soon dark. So maybe we have to stay a night there.:confused:

Because we cant see kyoto in only a few hours.

The ship leaves next day at 4pm.

karen, first of all I booked a Hotel in Ginza, because I thougt thats right in the center and would be good.

But when I have seen how expensive everything was, I canceled it and I booked in Shinjuku, great place to shop, and many Restaurants.

The price was very good aswell, and the Hotel is next to the subwaystation and the bus to the airport.

The last night I booked a Hotel next to the airport with a free shuttle, because we have to be there at 6am, so no chance to move there from Shinjuku.

Hi Goya, we will also be at the same cruise. Would you recommend DIY for the shore excursion? or book the excursion the ship offers?

 

We're all first timers and booking with the ship is very expensive.

 

Hope you can recommend us how to roam the cities on our own. Thanks! :D

Normaly what I do is when I get to the ship, I have a look at the excursion they offer.

Thats the way I know how long it takes, how much it will be, and than we do it ourself with renting a taxi o whatever. Depends the country and the prices.

We are staying in Shanghai for 3 nights in a Hotel on the Bund.

Normaly what I do is when I get to the ship, I have a look at the excursion they offer.

Thats the way I know how long it takes, how much it will be, and than we do it ourself with renting a taxi o whatever. Depends the country and the prices.

We are staying in Shanghai for 3 nights in a Hotel on the Bund.

Would you know if there will be free shuttle bus for every port stops? We've been doing research as to how to do it on our own. But it seems to be hard.

Normaly its always a free shuttle in the most of the ships. But if not, it cant be very expensive.

Dont worry to much for the trips, once you are there you do the same what we do.

You get on the ship one of the information of the excursions, look what ever they do o what you like to do, and you can do the same taking taxis.

Most time I could see a lot of people in the port looking for other people to share the taxis. You shouldnt have a problem.

We dont want to book any trips with the ship, and even when we get to Osaka, we try to get to the trainstation to take a train to Kyoto.

Maybe we have to stay there for one night, because we will get very late there. This way we can get up in the morning to see a lot of temples and the lovely city. Maybe aswell the geishas in the night time.

How long are you staying in Tokyo? We leave early in the morning the 5.of May. so the last night we stay in a Hotel next to the airport.

For 4 nights we are in Shinjuku in the Washington Hotel.

Normaly its always a free shuttle in the most of the ships. But if not, it cant be very expensive.

 

Dont worry to much for the trips, once you are there you do the same what we do.

 

You get on the ship one of the information of the excursions, look what ever they do o what you like to do, and you can do the same taking taxis.

 

Most time I could see a lot of people in the port looking for other people to share the taxis. You shouldnt have a problem.

 

We dont want to book any trips with the ship, and even when we get to Osaka, we try to get to the trainstation to take a train to Kyoto.

Maybe we have to stay there for one night, because we will get very late there. This way we can get up in the morning to see a lot of temples and the lovely city. Maybe aswell the geishas in the night time.

 

How long are you staying in Tokyo? We leave early in the morning the 5.of May. so the last night we stay in a Hotel next to the airport.

 

For 4 nights we are in Shinjuku in the Washington Hotel.

Thanks for the tips Goya ;)

We wont stay in Tokyo anymore, have to fly back home after the cruise. Too bad, we cant explore Tokyo.

I think the biggest problem will be in Osaka-kyoto:(

The ship gets there very late, and we dont know how to get to kyoto. We have to go to the trainstation.

It takes about 35min to get there, but than it will be already dark. So I think we have to stay a night in Kyoto.

In the night we could go and see the geishas and maicas.

And next day very early in the morning it would be posible to se the golden temple, sanjusangendo, Kiyomizudera.

maybe it would be better to go with the ship excursions, this way we dont loose the ship.:eek:

Hi - I live in Yokohama. If you have any questions about this city or Tokyo I`d be happy to try and answer them for you. Might be able to help you with your Kyoto questions as well.

owenfinn, thanks very much

How can I get from Yokohama to our Hotel in Shinjuku.

It is the WASHINGTON HOTEL :)

Because with the suitcase we cant walk to long, and the taxis

are very very expensive, this is what they told us:confused:

If I were you I`d use a luggage forwarding service to have your heavy bags delivered from the pier to your hotel. The staff at the Osanbashi pier information desk can direct you one of these services. The Japanese word for the service is "Takuhaibin" (pronounced "tah koo hi bean"). The service is fast (same day if the ship arrives in the morning), surprisingly cheap(about 1000 to 2000yen) and worry free. My family and I use this service frequently when traveling within the country. Some more info here:

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+53323

Sans luggage you will have no problem getting to Shinjuku by train. You will take the Minato Mirai line which becomes the Tokyu Toyoko line after Yokohama Station. From the pier walk 5 minutes to Nihon Odori Station. Every other train to Shibuya Station should be an express that you will want to take to save some time. The express trains have a red light (as opposed to blue for local trains) above or next to the door of every car.

In Shibuya, you will need to change for the Yamanote line for Shinjuku. Leave Shinjuku station at the west exit for your hotel. More info:

http://www.osanbashi.com/en/tourist/

owenfinn I dont know how can I thank you for all the information.

I have a guide in yokohama, so maybe we can arrange with her the luggage problems.

We still dont have a answer from our free guide in Tokyo and kyoto, so I have to do some more work to organize everything.

I cant see the mail direccion from this link, so I need some more help

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/essential/list_volunteerGuides_a-n.html#kyoto

owenfinn, do you mean we cant take a train or whatever directly from Yokohama to Shibuya?

In SHibuya we have to change the train?

And the luggage services are right there in the port?

thanks again:)

Goya, you don`t need to change trains at Yokohama Station. Get the train at Nihon-Odori Station and stay on for Shibuya.

You will need to change trains at Shibuya for the Yamanote Line to Shinjuku. Shinjuku is only three stations from Shibuya.

I would be very surprised if the pier doesn`t have luggage forwarding services available on site - airports, many train stations and even convenience stores offer the service. I will try to find out for sure.

Thanks again for your help, I have a list where I write everything you tell me.:)

Goya - I stopped by the Pier tonight. There is a luggage delivery service located on the 2nd floor. It is open from 10AM to 5PM everyday. Might be a little difficult to find but you can ask the people at the tourist information desk on the same floor to direct you.

owenfinn, my guide is having a look for this place, I am going to copy her your ms.

I am going to do the same when we leave our Hotel, we send the suitcases to the other Hotel in Niarita, so we can go on the train.

I want to go from Shinjuku to the village in Niarita to our Hotel Mercure.

How do we get there please.

You need to take the Yamanote line to Tokyo Station and then change for the JR Narita Line. Looks like your hotel is not far from Narita Station.

no, its nor far. And we have a busstation to the airport very near aswell, but our Hotel is in Niarita village.:)