Japan for less than €300 rtn!

mrcheez

Tusky wrote: »

What prices range are the sumo tickets? Is this a particular tournament or...?

Yeah it's the annual May tournament in Tokyo.

Tickets aren't too bad, but I was told they sell out early especially on weekends (the only day I have free to go is a Sunday).

I opted for the best seats which are around €70 in Section A, but I read you can buy the cheaper seats for €20 or something and just sit in Section A until the actual occupier comes along

I wanted to be able to stay in Section A even when all the seat holders come along for the final match so bought one there.

It's an all-day event, so well worth it.

Jesper

Bhangraman wrote: »

Yes a 2 weeks JR pass for my wife and I during our 3 weeks holiday, when we travel extensively inter-city. I ordered it online on https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/ and received it a couple of days later via Fedex. Checkout https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/book-jrp/delivery-rates-and-times

JR rail passes can be purchased in Dublin as well. Is this the better option? Wer e you happy with the using this website?

mrcheez

Jesper wrote: »

JR rail passes can be purchased in Dublin as well. Is this the better option? Wer e you happy with the using this website?

They seem to be charging the going rate, I also found this site which has prices in sterling but they are more or less the same

http://www.japanspecialist.co.uk/product/japan-rail-pass/

I think you can buy them from Usit as well, but not clear on the prices. I'd say they'd be higher based on previous experience with them.

fartyarse

Anyone interested in buying two Dublin-Tokyo flights for the price I paid for them?

Departs 14th May, returning 28th May, looking for €540 for the two return flights, name change fees at the buyer's cost?

hecmail

Jesper wrote: »

JR rail passes can be purchased in Dublin as well. Is this the better option? Wer e you happy with the using this website?

I'm going to Japan at the end of the week. Can you not just order the JR Rail pass online and pick it up over there? Why would you need to get the tickets FedEx'ed? What am I missing? Do you just not have to pick them up over there?

mrcheez

hecmail wrote: »

I'm going to Japan at the end of the week. Can you not just order the JR Rail pass online and pick it up over there? Why would you need to get the tickets FedEx'ed? What am I missing? Do you just not have to pick them up over there?

The JR Pass is supposed to be purchased outside Japan and has to be physically in your possession before arriving (I'm guessing it's to prevent Japanese from availing of the discount)

You may be able to get one before your trip by heading into a travel agent or USIT.

Konata

hecmail wrote: »

I'm going to Japan at the end of the week. Can you not just order the JR Rail pass online and pick it up over there? Why would you need to get the tickets FedEx'ed? What am I missing? Do you just not have to pick them up over there?

You have to order it in advance and they will send you an 'exchange order'. In Japan, you bring the exchange order to a JR ticket office and they exchange it for the pass. You cannot purchase the exchange order in Japan.

If you order from jrpass.com, they do next day delivery so you should still get it in time. Alternatively, you could get it delivered to your accommodation in Japan but this would be more expensive and you would need to speak to your accommodation in advance to make sure they would take and keep the delivery for you. Order today though and you should have the exchange order here by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.

Hugo_Whoriskey

There is also an option to buy it in person in Dublin and have it in hand immediately, at least that's what I did two years ago. Two places, both located in 7 Herbert St, D2. The place just inside the door on the ground floor was cheaper by a decent margin, I think it was Premair 01-6610749. The other place is Unique Japan Tours 01-6787008. Phone them and they'll give you the price. Pay cash for cheapest rate.

mrcheez

Hugo_Whoriskey wrote: »

There is also an option to buy it in person in Dublin and have it in hand immediately, at least that's what I did two years ago. Two places, both located in 7 Herbert St, D2. The place just inside the door on the ground floor was cheaper by a decent margin, I think it was Premair 01-6610749. The other place is Unique Japan Tours 01-6787008. Phone them and they'll give you the price. Pay cash for cheapest rate.

Let us know how you get on, I've got to order my pass in about 2 weeks.

Hugo_Whoriskey

mrcheez wrote:

Let us know how you get on, I've got to order my pass in about 2 weeks.

Oh I'm not going this time around unfortunately, just used this method for my two previous trips. Someone else will have to do the ringing/buying and update here!

mrcheez

Hugo_Whoriskey wrote: »

Oh I'm not going this time around unfortunately, just used this method for my two previous trips. Someone else will have to do the ringing/buying and update here!

sorry didn't mean you, I was referring to the other poster that you responded to :pac:

If they can let us all know how they got on it'd be great.. might only be €10 difference in the price, but hey a bargain's a bargain.

hecmail

Just went with JRPASS.com. It was e232 each plus e9 next day FedEx delivery. This seemed pretty reasonable. The official price is Y29,110 which converts to about e238 at the current exchange rate so I was happy enough with the JR pass. It should definitely arrive before we go on Friday. We are only going for 10 days (including flights) so it'll be a fairly rushed trip, but I'll check back in after. The post with the google itenrary was a great reference. I'll try to post mine when I come back.

Thanks for all the replies.

mrcheez

For anyone thinking of booking internal flights it's worth considering the airline-equivalent of the JR Pass:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2364.html

I went for the "ANA Experience Japan Fare" (only available to tourists) to fly one-way Osaka -> Miyakojima, then 4 days later Miyakojima -> Tokyo on the return leg.

Total price $200.29 (which came up as €177.28 when I paid using Revolut)

Fantastic as I was just about to book 3 separate flights on no-frills airline Peach for about €270 and I thought *that* was a good deal, but ANA are a proper international airline (like JAL) with decent baggage allowances and good reviews so much happier with them.

.

mrcheez

I've run a few JR price searches using http://www.hyperdia.com/ and it seems that it's cheaper for me to just buy the tickets in Japan for each rail fare, rather than getting a 1 week JR pass?

e.g.

Tokyo -> Shinjuku : €2
Shinjuku -> Kyoto: €65.64
Kyoto -> Arashiyama (and back): €4
Kyoto -> Osaka: €5
Osaka -> Nara (and back): €13
Osaka -> Mt Koya (and back): €24

Total: €113.64

vs: €230 for a 1 week pass

Is it really worth paying the extra for the JR Pass when it really isn't a saving, or am I missing some hidden costs that aren't shown on hyperdia?

lc180

mrcheez wrote: »

I've run a few JR price searches using http://www.hyperdia.com/ and it seems that it's cheaper for me to just buy the tickets in Japan for each rail fare, rather than getting a 1 week JR pass?

e.g.

Tokyo -> Shinjuku : €2
Shinjuku -> Kyoto: €65.64
Kyoto -> Arashiyama (and back): €4
Kyoto -> Osaka: €5
Osaka -> Nara (and back): €13
Osaka -> Mt Koya (and back): €24

Total: €113.64

vs: €230 for a 1 week pass

Is it really worth paying the extra for the JR Pass when it really isn't a saving, or am I missing some hidden costs that aren't shown on hyperdia?

Are you including tax on these?

For Tokyo to Kyoto I shows up as ¥13,080 for me when you include tax. That's roughly €104.

EDIT : Sorry not tax but a 'Seat Fee'

sheep?

Did you factor in the seat fee for the shinkansen from Shinjuku to Kyoto? Not too much more, but it is there. Even unreserved seating is priced at about 4,800Yen.

mrcheez

sheep? wrote: »

Did you factor in the seat fee for the shinkansen from Shinjuku to Kyoto? Not too much more, but it is there. Even unreserved seating is priced at about 4,800Yen.

Nope, these are the hidden costs I meant I guess

I'll recalculate and check... if it comes out as roughly the same I'll get the JR Pass purely for convenience-sake, but if it's €100 cheaper to buy all separately that's a different story

mrcheez

ok ... latest including seat fees...

Tokyo -> Shinjuku : Y200 (€1.60)
Shinjuku -> Kyoto: Y13080 (€104.33)
Kyoto -> SAGAARASHIYAMA (and back): Y240 (€1.91)
Kyoto -> Osaka: Y1420 (€11.33)
Osaka -> Nara (and back): Y1600 (€12.76)
Osaka -> WAKAYAMA (and back): Y2210 (€17.63)

Total: €149.56


Still not quite €230 ... I assume Hyperdia prices are inclusive of tax.

Hmm ... not feeling the love for the JR Pass here

Konata

mrcheez wrote: »

ok ... latest including seat fees...

Tokyo -> Shinjuku : Y200 (€1.60)
Shinjuku -> Kyoto: Y13080 (€104.33)
Kyoto -> SAGAARASHIYAMA (and back): Y240 (€1.91)
Kyoto -> Osaka: Y1420 (€11.33)
Osaka -> Nara (and back): Y1600 (€12.76)
Osaka -> WAKAYAMA (and back): Y2210 (€17.63)

Total: €149.56


Still not quite €230 ... I assume Hyperdia prices are inclusive of tax.

Hmm ... not feeling the love for the JR Pass here

The general rule of thumb is that the one week pass is worth it if you do a long distance return journey on the shinkansen. Are you flying out of Osaka? If so then since you only have a single long distance journey on the shinkansen, the pass probably isn't worth it. Buying the tickets is more of a hassle but when it's cheaper, it's cheaper! Make sure you get a Suica/pasmo to make life easier for those non-shinkansen journeys.

mrcheez

Thanks. I'm flying Osaka to Southern islands and then flying from there back to Tokyo so only really one week (and a bit) of rail time.

Was kinda looking forward to avoiding hassle of buying tickets but maybe I can pick it up quickly considering I save about 80!

.

mrcheez

Is it recommended to reserve a seat on most trips? I'm travelling solo so don't mind where I sit (although generally prefer aisle).

lc180

mrcheez wrote: »

Is it recommended to reserve a seat on most trips? I'm travelling solo so don't mind where I sit (although generally prefer aisle).

If you are travelling from Tokyo to Kyo to during daylight I recommend you book yourself a nice window seat. The views when you pass Fuji is really cool!

Konata

lc180 wrote: »

If you are travelling from Tokyo to Kyo to during daylight I recommend you book yourself a nice window seat. The views when you pass Fuji is really cool!

This. Otherwise just pop in the unreserved carriage. They're rarely full unless it's Golden Week or a public holiday.

mrcheez

lc180 wrote: »

If you are travelling from Tokyo to Kyo to during daylight I recommend you book yourself a nice window seat. The views when you pass Fuji is really cool!

I'm going to Hakone for a day/overnight, so gonna enjoy views of Fuji-san from across the lake too

sheep?

Especially since the difference between reserved and unreserved on the shinkansen are relatively negligible, I'd reserve.

antodeco

Look at you all talking about your trip to Japan.

I hate you all.

Watch out for Godzilla :P

_Tombstone_

https://vimeo.com/163662857

mrcheez

_Tombstone_ wrote: »

https://vimeo.com/163662857

No vomit on the streets? No druggies asking for change?

What sort of madness is this?

sheep?

mrcheez wrote: »

No vomit on the streets? No druggies asking for change?

What sort of madness is this?

I remember going for a few drinks once on a Friday night in mid April. School had just restarted, so all the teachers were out having their start of year parties. Lots of suits around town (well more than usual...).

After a wee night cap in a lovely little bar, walked out onto the streets of Kanazawa and was just chatting with my two friends. An extremely drunk business man started to "walk" up the street, beside this lovely little canal that runs past the bar. The man stumbles surprisingly safely down a little set of stone steps towards the water. I'm kind of keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn't fall in, especially since he has started to take his socks and shoes off.

At this point, the two mates are now looking as well. The man sits on the steps and starts wading a little, looking quite happy, enjoying his little sojourn.

However, he then proceeds to open his briefcase and violently vomit into it. A little sigh, closes the case, gets up, and continues to walk on past us in his bare feet.

TL;DR....The Japanese almost always clean up after themselves.

moc moc a moc

mrcheez wrote: »

No vomit on the streets? No druggies asking for change?

Well the lad is hardly going to put stuff like that in his fancy video!

I lived in Tokyo for the guts of two years and there are rough enough spots if you stray from the usual touristy areas. Still safer anywhere dodgy in Tokyo than most Western capitals though.