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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Rail > Yamanote (Loop) Line Tokyo
19 Reviews the JR Yamanote line is the main loop of tokyo and you would not get lost here so I would suggest you master it before taking the other JR and other train lines to other areas but remember that...
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A huge savings can be had if foreigners purchase rail passes "before" traveling to Japan. Simply bring the receipt of the purchase with ID to the rail office and presto, you'll have hundreds compared to buying individual tickets.
Travelling on Shinkansen trains is very fast and convenient. You can zip across most of the country in a few hours. There are smoking and non-smoking cars. Usually a vendor walks up and down the corridor with a snack trolley. There is sometimes also a quiet car, where there are no announcements over the loud speaker, so you have to be very alert as not to miss your stop because trains usually only stop for 2 minutes or so. And you have to be ready before it stops otherwise you won't get off, especially in busy times.
If you plan to travel around it is absolutely essential to buy a railpass voucher overseas as rail travel is very expensive if you buy individual tickets. Check the internet on where you can buy the voucher. Keep in mind that you can only buy it at JAL offices if you book a flight with them, so it is better to buy it at an ANA airline office or at other addresses provided.Once in Japan there are only certain cities where you can exchange your voucher for the railpass. In some places like Ueno (Tokyo) you have to go to the travel center (see photo) which may be hard to find in the maze of a big railway station. There you fill in a form, give your voucher and passport. When you get the railpass, don't be confused about the year because they use the Japanese year count which is different to ours. With your railpass you can get free seat reservations for most trains except some local ones....
TIP 1 This website shows real live data of JR and other trains in English. you just type your destination and you will know the cost, time it takes to travel and the trains to take, right down to the train number and platform, and the exact timetable schedule of the train. Go to http://grace.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperd01.cgi TIP 2If like me, you make long journeys from a small town to Tokyo and when you want to return you can't find a ticket to your small town station, here's what you should do. Get a ticket in the direction of the line you are going, for the furthest train station. For eg. I want to go from Shinjuku to Utsunomiya, but there isn't a ticket for that. So I just buy a ticket from Shinjuku to Ueno, and I continue my travel as usual. But at Utsunomiya, I'll go to the ticket counter and give the man the ticket, and he will calculate how much I own and I pay the difference....
There's this website that they show you the real live data of JR trains and other trains in English. you just type your destination and you will know the cost, time it takes to travel and the trains to take, right down to the train number and platform, and the exact timetable schedule of the train. Go to http://grace.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperd01.cgi If you can read Chinese characters, it's no problem for you to get around. Each train shows the kanji characters of their destination. Romanji is also shown at times, but not as frequently. Something very important: you MUST remember the end destination of the train. (So you don't get onto the wrong train) For eg. if you're going to Omiya from Hoshakuji like I do, you must know that the end destination is Ueno, because all the trains will only reflect this and there's no train map in most of the trains. But the good thing is, they will...
If you plan to use the Japan Rail system for anything more than one round-trip on the Shinkansen (bullet train), it will be cheaper to buy a JR Rail Pass. A 7 day pass costs about $267 and gives you unlimited use of all JR trains except Nozomi- super express- trains. I bought a 7 day pass, only used it for 4, but still saved a lot of money! The catch is you MUST buy the voucher before arriving in Japan. When you're ready to use it you take it to the Information Office found in most large train stations and you exchange your voucher for the pass itself. Keep in mind that a 7 day pass runs, as an example, from Sunday to Saturday, not Sunday to Sunday. You go to the regular ticket desk to reserve and buy but all you do is show your Pass. If you know your traveling schedule you can buy tickets in advance, recommended for weekend travel. Just make sure you arive at the platform on time (read:...
As a New Yorker you get used to seeing dirty trains and delays BUT not in Japan. Trains are spotless and never ever ever ever late. It's very easy to get around. My rule was to know my the train station near my cousins house. Once I knew how to get home I was fine. In Tokyo train information is in English and Japanese so you don't have to worry. What's very interesting about the trains aside from what I've mentioned is that due to the fact that Japanese people are not very tall as a tall person I felt even taller on the trains. The hand bars keep hitting me in my head. LOL
If you are planning on getting the Shinkansen, it is well worth looking in to reserving your seats. Some trains do get quite busy.At any JR station, look out for the green reservation signs. If you have a JR Pass, show this and say where you want to go. The staff will show you which trains are available.Seats can be reserved minutes before the train departs and best of all the service is free!!!
The JR Pass is a great way to save money when using the trains around Japan.The passes can only be purchased by foreign visitors. In England the 'Exchange Orders' for the pass can be bought from RailChoice (http://www.railchoice) or Trainline http://www.internationaltrainline.com/?Once in Japan, the Exchange Order can be exchanged for the actual pass at one of the major JR stations, Kansai Airport or Tokyo Airport(full list at http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en07.html) You need to show your passport before you can change the Exchange Order to a pass.There are a few options available. The main JR Pass can be used for unlimited travel on the JR (Japan Rail) lines, JR buses and JR Ferries (such as the ferry to Miyajima)The Japan East Pass covers Tokyo and the East side of the country.Japan West Pass covers the West of Japan from Sasebo to Osaka.Japan West (Kansai Area) covers a smaller...
Take the subway whenever possible. The buses can be a little complicated. In front of Kyoto station however you can find some electronic machines, in English, where you can enter your destination and it will show you the route and bus number etc. Otherwise in spring or autumn I prefer to walk as much as possible.
Park Hyatt Tokyo Tokyo
7 Reviews and 525 Opinions Most memorable
Hotel Granvia Kyoto Kyoto
6 Reviews and 740 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 351 Opinions
Reviews and photos of Japan attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Japan sightseeing.
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Q: Hello, I'm going to Japan next week and wanted to get some suggestions on hotels in Tokyo. I would like to stay somewhere close...
A: Take a look at my Tokyo page for some answers to your questions: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/d6834/ Shinbashi is convenient to Yokohama as well. You don't...
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