Top Japan hotels
from / to the Airport Tokyo
61 Reviews On arriving at Narita Airport we took the Limo bus into town to avoid the trains at rush hour...and we're glad we did, the bus took just 45 minutes to our hotel. It dropped us literally at the door....
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City Buses Kyoto
40 Reviews Kyoto City Bus is quite convinient for most of the touristic sites. 220 Yen, longer distances are more (these longer distance buses have black numbers). Ypu can get a One Day Pass for 500 Yen (for...
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train Osaka
25 Reviews Kansai Thru Pass (Suruttu Kansai magnetic card) is a exzellent Pass if you travel between Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Koyasan, Kobe, Himeji... 2 or 3 day's (don't have to Be consecutive), 3800 and 5000 Yen,...
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Travel Within Hiroshima Hiroshima
14 Reviews In Hiroshima there are plenty of trains to move around in Hiroshima. The trains don't go everywhere, but they get you closer to a number of destinations. We paid 150 yen each one way to get to our...
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Getting To Okayama Okayama
6 Reviews Many people use the Shinkansen to get to Okayama. It's certain fast and convenient, and for many travellers, the Shinkansen itself is on their list of things to experience in Japan. If however, you...
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Getting Around the City : General Info Tokyo
34 Reviews The Toden Arakawa line doesn't really connect any notable places, but it is the only tram line in Tokyo, and so makes for an interesting trip if you get the chance, meandering through areas of Tokyo...
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Shinkansen Kyoto
25 Reviews When booking a Shinkansen to/from Kyoto and Tokyo, might be good if you can specify which side seats you would prefer when making seats reservation at any JR station. When I boarded the Shinkansen...
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subway & busses Osaka
36 Reviews These vending mashines let you select you ticket only after you put your money in, subway allows you to switch to english, Train only in japanese, but you need only to put in the fare price (somewhere...
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Getting To Hiroshima Hiroshima
11 Reviews Hiroshima is an important port with ferry connections to other cities and even to South Korea (where we came from). We also took the ferry to Matsuyama on Shikoku which costs Y 2600 and takes 2 3/4...
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Travel Within Okayama Okayama
5 Reviews The trams in Okayama start just outside of Okayama Station (across the street at the start of Momotaro Odori, the main street). There are two lines, one which ends at Higashiyama and the other ends at...
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Waterbus & Ferry Tokyo
11 Reviews The famous tokyo waterbus that takes you to Asakusa and back. The Assorted cruising boats owned by a company called suijobus takes persons on a 40 minute ride from Hinode Pier (its a 7 minute walk...
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Trains Kyoto
23 Reviews There are a couple of ways to go to Kyoto from KIX. There's the Limousine Bus, the taxi and our recommended choice --- Haruka airport express which is 75 mins and costs normally at 2980 for unreserved...
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taxi / car Osaka
6 Reviews I found the Cartrafic in Osaka and other places of Japan not extremely bad and I also dont remember any trafic-jam. Something that is quite confusing for any tourists are the inscriptions mostly...
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Flying into / out of Tokyo Tokyo
31 Reviews this is the main gateway to the tokyo and the kanto plain area of japan, the other one is the haneda airport but it caters mostly domestic flights and flights to korea and china. The Arrival Area of...
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Taxis Kyoto
8 Reviews * Since May 17, 2002 the Shinpuhkan is also operating the new Velo Taxi - bicycle taxis imported from and based on those running in Berlin. No Velo taxis run during February and March otherwise they...
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airport to city Osaka
6 Reviews The Haruka is an express train that will take you to Kansai international airport in 50 minutes. It's fast, comfortable and relatively inexpensive. It departs from Shin Osaka station. There are other...
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Rail > Metro / Subway Tokyo
68 Reviews Ok, the first thing that freaks you out about Tokyo is it size and the confusing maps of all the trains... but once you do it, you realize it's a simple as any other train system around the world......
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Subway Kyoto
15 Reviews The subway is very modern and convenient. Having a sightseeing day pass let you go all over town very quickly and visit the different landmarks scatered around town. Otherwise, you will always have to...
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public transport maps Osaka
3 Reviews MAP OF OSAKA SUBWAY: Click Here MAP OF OSAKA PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Click Here OSAKA KANSAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Click Here JAPAN SHINKANSEN MAP: <A HREF='http://jin.jcic.
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Rail > Rail Passes / Reduced Fare Tickets Tokyo
14 Reviews JR Pass is a special arrangement for tourists visiting Japan. With JR Pass you will be able to use Japan Rail ordinary trains as well as Shinkansen. Shinkansen also known as bullet trains provide...
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Highway Bus Kyoto
4 Reviews Most short-stay visitors will use the trains, but those looking to save money, especially on long-distance travel, can do so by taking a highway bus! Because it is such a popular destination, buses...
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airplanes & airports Osaka
17 Reviews the "West" region of Japan known as Kansai is the alta-ego of its Eastern counterpart : Tokyo . and a Japan being an isLand w/ Limited LandMass they have conjured the technology 2 build artificiaL...
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Rail > Getting into / out of Tokyo by Train Tokyo
41 Reviews A great deal is available if you take the NEX from Narita airport into Tokyo. You get a Suica card preloaded with Y1500 (almost free) when you buy your NEX ticket at the JR office in the airport...
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Rickshaws Kyoto
6 Reviews Riksha's are available in some places but not that common, maybe more in the torist area's temples and small streets I saw those which can be somehow nice adventure for a short ride. However, it was...
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Road > Taxi & Bus Tokyo
34 Reviews There are no street addresses in Japan, so if you are traveling by taxi, you have to describe to the cabbie more or less where you want to go. (Our apartment, for example, might be described as...
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Japan has a lot of taxis compared to your country.At any places in Japan you can find it easily and timely when you need.When you use a taxi, the left side door is opened automatically by a taxi driver.The fare system by mileage is adopted and no tip is required.In the case of the medium class car (2000cc) cost you the initial charge for 610 Yen plus running charge for 80 Yen a 288 meter.[Back to Japan]
Anybody who is planning to travel between cities in Japan has to try the famous Bullet Train at least once. It puts British trains to shame. Apart from looking like something out of a sci-fi movie the travel itself is an experience. The interior is more akin to a plane with reclining seats. Some typical Shinkansen times and fares from my own notebook (sorry the info is incomplete):Osaka to Shizuoka; 2 hoursKyoto to Shizuoka; 1hr 50m, Y10,000Shizuoka to Tokyo; 1 hr 20 m, Y6,500Osaka to Hiroshima; Y9,950Osaka to Tokyo; Y13,750Osaka to Kyoto; 2,900UPDATE: Some more observations now I've travelled on the Shinkansen a good bit. You have the option of a reserved or non-reserved seat. The non-reserved cars can sometimes be very full. It costs a lot extra for a reservation but can be worth the expense, particulary on the Osaka-Tokyo route. There are also smoking and non-smoking cars. The smoking...
Do your homework for a trip to Japan!It is a good idea to check out all of the many different rail passes before making plans. Some very good bargains are available if you are aware, such as to Kyoto from Tokyo or to Himeji from Kyoto. Done the standard 'touristy' way on JR, Himeji can run over 5,000 Yen for a 1-day trip, but with the JR West Kansai Area Pass the round trip is only 2,000 Yen. Also the Puratto Kodama Plan good for Tokyo to Kyoto or Osaka. Also in the opposite direction.
There is the Express. Then there is the Limited Express, the Special Express, the Rapid Express and the Special Limited Express !!! And all that is aside from the Local, the Special Direct and the Limited Direct, not to mention the 3 kinds of Shinkansen (bullet trains).
If you are going to do a roundtrip between any big cities that are a distance away, buy a railpass. You can go on any JR train (except Nozomis) and you save a bundle. These passes can ONLY BE BOUGHT OUTSIDE OF JAPAN and are for foriegn visitors. You can purchase the pass from many travel agents. When you get to Japan, you can redeem the voucher for the rail pass. These passes are done by date, not 24 hours, so if you take a night train to start with, that is still the first day of your pass.For example, we used the following trains:Tokyo to Kyoto (round trip)Kyoto to Himeji (round trip)Kyoto to Hiroshima (round trip) -- including Myajima ferryAll around Tokyo (on JR lines)We paid about $250 for a 7 day pass -- which is close to the cost of a round trip ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto. You can also buy regional passes (like Eastern Japan for example) and these can be purchased inside Japan.
There is much to know about the train system in Japan. First, there are three basic cars on the trains -- non-reserved, reserved and green. Non-reserved (usually 1-5 on shinkansen) is for people who didnt reserve seats (usually car 3 is a smoking car), reserved is for people who reserved seats and green is the fancy reserved car. The conductors do check tickets. Stops are announced in Japanese and English.Nozomi trains are the fastest, followed by Hikari superexpress trains. These generally stop at very few stations and are used if you are going far distances.
We used Air Nippon to get to Japan. The seats are very comfortable and reasonably priced. (we paid $1500 per person for economy during the Christmas/New Years season -- less than it cost to go NY to Paris!). They also have the small TV screens by everyone's seats where the movies start when you press play (not on a schedule) which means you can watch and sleep whenever you want. The premium economy seats (we were upgraded) have power outlets and lan jacks for laptops. Bring your own laptop and LAN cable though!
You can just go about anywhere in Japan with trains. If you're going around big cities in Japan, there should be instructions on both Japanese and English. Going from cities to cities can cost lots of money using the train. If you know that you will take lots of trains during your stay in Japan, I would recommend you take the railpass. The information on who is eligible for this railpass can be found hereOther than that, my experience using trains in Japan was very pleasing. You dont need to worry about food. There are always small restaurants at every stations. Trains are always on time. They are very clean, fast, and not bumpy at all. If you're lucky, you can view the Mount Fuji while riding the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto.
One might think that one would safe lots of money by going around japan by driving a friend's car or by renting a car. At a first glance, yes, it might look that way, but I found out that it may not always be the case. These are, I think, some of the advantages and disadvantages of driving your own car. Disadvantages: - if you dont know your ways, it's hard to get around in japan- in some areas, parking is hard to find and can be very expensive in certain areas. In downtown Tokyo at night, you can be charged 4000 yen to park.- gas and freeways. One needs to pay to get onto freeways. Advantages: - you can come and leave at your convenience.
JR PASS is the best way to get around Japan if you ask me. No need to book any trains .. just jump on and off.. You miss a train or get of at the wrong station, no worries. Certainly helps and makes travelling much more relaxing. Shinkansen and most JR trains uses english signs but out in the middle of nowhere... not a chance! But not having to worry about tickets and prices etc takes a load of your shoulders.Also it is a lot cheaper! When travelling great distances! A trip on the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo and back again pays for 1 weeks pass. Just be sure to get one BEFORE entering Japan, when booking your trip in your country. Passes comes in 7, 14 or 21 days.When travelling within a region dont bother gettin a JR pass. For example Kansai got the Kansai Through-pass valid for 1,3 or 5 days on most trains and busses. A cheap way to get around. And get you from Kyoto to Osaka, Nara,...
Park Hyatt Tokyo Tokyo
7 Reviews and 526 Opinions Most memorable
Hotel Granvia Kyoto Kyoto
6 Reviews and 743 Opinions We stayed 3 nights at Kyoto Granvia Hotel from Feb. 27 to Mar 1, 2008. We paid Yen 17,600 per night,...
The Ritz-Carlton Osaka Osaka
1 Review and 353 Opinions
Reviews and photos of Japan attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Japan sightseeing.
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Q: Hi there, Will arrive in Tokyo, Narit Airport for a layover and wanted to take advantage of seeing something. I will arrive at...
A: youre lucky to be arriving so early, so you will likely pass through immigration fairly quickly. lets still count with an hour just in case. you can either take the...
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