View Poll Results: Would You go to Japan on an EvoM Trip?
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EvoM Trip To Japan!
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Joined: Jul 2006
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From: Boynton Beach, Florida
More of Shiroboi's Japan Tips:
When NOT to fly to Japan.
April=Cherry blossom festival, its already costing me more money, and i'm not even going to Japan.
June=Monsoon Season. Been in Japan during a Monsoon. Not so fun. July would be a better bet. Steer clear of June.
Late December/Early January=New Year. Big holiday in Asia, so everybody travels home. Expect to pay 30% more during this season.
How to Visit Japan on a Budget:
Call me cheap, but I enjoy a place more when I know I'm not being raked over the coals on price. I already went over how to get cheap airfare and how to stay in cheap hotels, so now I'll go over transportation. Lucky for you, the Japanese public transportation system is the best in the world. Your first step should be identifying how to get to the nearest train station closest to your hotel. Thats your gateway to the rest of the world. If you're lucky enough you'll be near some cool sights. For those sights near you, many times you can rent a bike for about $5 a day. I had fun doing this, although it was raining off and on. Tough to ride a bike with an umbrella but it can be done. If you stay at Hotel new Koyo, the bike rentals are 500 yen per day. Asakusa which is a 13th century Japanese Temple, is about 2 miles away from the hotel, perfect for a bike ride.
The most expensive item on your trip aside from hotel and transportation, is food.
Eating cheap will help you save lots of money, especially over an extended period of time. Always ask the hotel concierge where are cheap places to eat in your area. Noodle places abound. Real Japanese Ramen noodles are killer good and pretty cheap, around $5-7. Also, they do have KFC and McDonalds everywhere. I even found a wendies. My comment about that, is I love Japanese food. I almost caved in to Wendies the last time I was there but I thought, as soon as I go back home, i'm going to miss authentic japanese food. So I ate japanese the whole time. Still if you need your american fix, or a quick bite to eat thats cheap, they're good places to go. As far as preference, Japanese McDonalds are better than US MC'Ds, But I like US KFC way better than in Japan. As with everything, the portions are much smaller. There are Japanese burger joints like Moss Burger and Freshness Burger that you should probably try for the hell of it. Also these are pretty cheap as you could imagine.
The super secret thing you should remember if you're low on cash and need food:
7-11. Unlike US 7-11's that only have hotdog, taquitos and slurpies, Japanese 7-11's actually have a range of foods that are fit for human consumption and they're cheap. Theres one right down the street from New Koyo if you stay there. Also, 7-11's are all over the place, even in the country. Dammit, I want to go back to Japan, Oh well.
What happens when you run out of Money in Japan
Alas, this happens to many people, especially after playing Pachinko for too long and losing. What to do? Usually you'd hit an ATM which are fairly plentiful. Remember, Japan is still mostly a cash society, so you should always have an equivalent of about $50 or more on you at all times. The only way for you to get US atm access is at a Post Office or Ubinkyouku. Pronounced, You bean kyo ku.
I'll be back later with more tips and useful phrases.
-shiroboi out!
When NOT to fly to Japan.
April=Cherry blossom festival, its already costing me more money, and i'm not even going to Japan.
June=Monsoon Season. Been in Japan during a Monsoon. Not so fun. July would be a better bet. Steer clear of June.
Late December/Early January=New Year. Big holiday in Asia, so everybody travels home. Expect to pay 30% more during this season.
How to Visit Japan on a Budget:
Call me cheap, but I enjoy a place more when I know I'm not being raked over the coals on price. I already went over how to get cheap airfare and how to stay in cheap hotels, so now I'll go over transportation. Lucky for you, the Japanese public transportation system is the best in the world. Your first step should be identifying how to get to the nearest train station closest to your hotel. Thats your gateway to the rest of the world. If you're lucky enough you'll be near some cool sights. For those sights near you, many times you can rent a bike for about $5 a day. I had fun doing this, although it was raining off and on. Tough to ride a bike with an umbrella but it can be done. If you stay at Hotel new Koyo, the bike rentals are 500 yen per day. Asakusa which is a 13th century Japanese Temple, is about 2 miles away from the hotel, perfect for a bike ride.
The most expensive item on your trip aside from hotel and transportation, is food.
Eating cheap will help you save lots of money, especially over an extended period of time. Always ask the hotel concierge where are cheap places to eat in your area. Noodle places abound. Real Japanese Ramen noodles are killer good and pretty cheap, around $5-7. Also, they do have KFC and McDonalds everywhere. I even found a wendies. My comment about that, is I love Japanese food. I almost caved in to Wendies the last time I was there but I thought, as soon as I go back home, i'm going to miss authentic japanese food. So I ate japanese the whole time. Still if you need your american fix, or a quick bite to eat thats cheap, they're good places to go. As far as preference, Japanese McDonalds are better than US MC'Ds, But I like US KFC way better than in Japan. As with everything, the portions are much smaller. There are Japanese burger joints like Moss Burger and Freshness Burger that you should probably try for the hell of it. Also these are pretty cheap as you could imagine.
The super secret thing you should remember if you're low on cash and need food:
7-11. Unlike US 7-11's that only have hotdog, taquitos and slurpies, Japanese 7-11's actually have a range of foods that are fit for human consumption and they're cheap. Theres one right down the street from New Koyo if you stay there. Also, 7-11's are all over the place, even in the country. Dammit, I want to go back to Japan, Oh well.
What happens when you run out of Money in Japan
Alas, this happens to many people, especially after playing Pachinko for too long and losing. What to do? Usually you'd hit an ATM which are fairly plentiful. Remember, Japan is still mostly a cash society, so you should always have an equivalent of about $50 or more on you at all times. The only way for you to get US atm access is at a Post Office or Ubinkyouku. Pronounced, You bean kyo ku.
I'll be back later with more tips and useful phrases.
-shiroboi out!
Rather than flying into Toyko, go to Osaka. Much more cool stuff in Western Japan. You will be an hour away from Kyoto, Nara, Himeji Castle, Hiroshima, Kobe, etc. Tokyo to Osaka is around 3 hour train ride (Nozomi) and will cost you a cool $300 one-way. It will also save you some money as its much cheaper to find cheap lodging in this area. You have to get outside Tokyo to find a decent hotel for cheap (unless you want to do salary man hotels or love hotels).
If I had 10 days I would spend it as follows:
2 days Kyoto
2 days Nara
2 days Osaka
2 days Hiroshima (including Miyajima island)
.5 day at Himeji-Jo
Use the rest of the time to hit up anything else you find interesting.
I would recommend calling IACE Travel for travel package rates.
And don't end up eating at McDonalds and Mister Doghnut for lunch breakfast and dinner. Try the food - its awesome and not really that expensive!
If I had 10 days I would spend it as follows:
2 days Kyoto
2 days Nara
2 days Osaka
2 days Hiroshima (including Miyajima island)
.5 day at Himeji-Jo
Use the rest of the time to hit up anything else you find interesting.
I would recommend calling IACE Travel for travel package rates.
And don't end up eating at McDonalds and Mister Doghnut for lunch breakfast and dinner. Try the food - its awesome and not really that expensive!
I'm on one of the southern most island so I can't help you guides with the tourguide stuff.
Two travel agencies for Japan travel.
http://www.his-j.com/company/his.htm
http://www.hittravel.co.jp/index.php?lang=ENG
Two travel agencies for Japan travel.
http://www.his-j.com/company/his.htm
http://www.hittravel.co.jp/index.php?lang=ENG
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