Japan Help! Where do I start?
 

Hi,
We have just decided on a 2 week trip to Japan in September ..
I have spent all night reading trip reports and posts and I’m so overwhelmed!
Our son is desperate to visit so this is the main reason for our trip (he doesn’t know yet)
He has mentioned Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka..
Where do I start?
We will be flying from Glasgow or Edinburgh .. where are we best to fly to and from? What is the best area/ hotels to stay in?
Any help would be much appreciated!

I'd seriously consider investing in the JR rail pass. These are for foreigners only and have to be bought before you enter Japan. For a two week trip, you should be able to get away with a one week pass, providing you plan your itinerary well. The price of this is roughly equal to a roundtrip bullet train from Tokyo-Kyoto and back again, so you'll almost certainly break even.

For Tokyo, I would recommend researching what there is to do that interests you and then booking your accommodation around that. Tokyo is huge and very spread out, I usually tell people it's better to think of it as several small cities close to each other, rather than as one big city. The subway trains are very efficient but even still, it can take you an hour easily to travel from one area to another. It would be impossible for me to recommend an area because of this.

Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka are all within easy train rides of each other. I based myself in Kyoto and stayed there for four nights (I only had 9 nights in Japan - with 14 I would recommend dedicating more time to this region). I then did a day trip to Osaka and felt I saw most things of interest, and a half day trip to Nara which was also plenty. You could also visit Hiroshima as a day trip from Kyoto, but this is around 2 hours on the train and if you have the time then it's probably worth staying at least one night there. I didn't visit Hiroshima unfortunately, so can't offer any specific advice.

As for other areas of Japan, why not have a look into visiting Hakone? This can be done as a day trip from Tokyo but it might be nice to spend one or two nights there, depending on your family's interests. It is close to Mt Fuji and offers amazing views in the right conditions. There are plenty of museums and onsen (hot springs). You can purchase the Hakone Free Pass which includes all the transport required to do a loop route around the town and all the main sights, this makes it a very 'easy' place to visit as tourists. This would be a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and experience staying in a ryokan - a traditional Japanese inn.

Japan is a great place to visit but I definitely don't recommend winging it. The language barrier made it really tough when I went - although this might be better now given the Rugby World Cup is there this year and the Olympics are there in 2020 so they'll be expecting an influx of visitors. ALL of my regrets about my trip are to do with me not planning enough in advance so research, research, research. I'm more than happy to answer any other questions you have! I had to figure out a lot of stuff the hard way and since I can't afford to go back any time soon, I want to pass on what I learned!

I noticed you said September this year, which is when the Rugby World Cup is on in Tokyo and prices are hiked.

Am going myself in May and live in the Glasgow / Edinburgh area if you fancy a talk over a coffee.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer, your advice is really helpful!
I will look into everything you have said and no doubt ask you many questions ..
Thanks again!

Thanks for that info, I didn’t realise that .. we are very flexible with dates so have decided to go late August/early September ..
That’s really kind of you, thank you!

I have found return Tokyo flights from Glasgow with Emirates for £650, is this a good price?

Is it best to fly in and out of Tokyo and travel by train in between?

What is the layover time for the Emirates flights? I live in Edinburgh and when we looked at these flights the stopover was something like 18 hours!

We go in May and are flying Edinburgh - London Heathrow - Tokyo. We decided against any airline with a stopover in Europe because of the Brexit malarkey. Didn’t want to be caught out in any delays.

We are flying with BA but would have much preferred Emirates.

Edit: the link below was posted by me a while ago giving information on how to get lots of tourist leaflets sent to you for ideas.

https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1101357

Hi, the stopover is 1hr 35 mins .. will that be enough time? The total flight time is 19hrs ..
Thanks for the info

Not sure to be honest. Dubai is a huge airport but if you are not changing terminals then it’s probably doable. If you are serious about booking this flight (which I think is a good price) then I would phone Emirates to double check if it’s enough time.

I contacted Emirates .. they recommend an hour layover .. so it looks like a good flight! 😀