going to japan

[badkuk]

peeps, balita ko mahal daw sobra...e.g. tickets, lodging...parang nag US ka na rin?


gusto ko sana makita ung places like kyoto, hokkaido, etc. the more
historical/nature sights....then maybe a few days lang sa tokyo


magkano kaya usually aabutin for, say a 1-week trip? meron kayang budget flights like ung papuntang hk/singapore?

when's the best time to go btw?


tia

[tidus1203]

MAHAL! Mas mahal pa kaysa US. To give you an idea, brewed coffee there just a small cup costs Y500 thats like P230 more or less

[Radical!]

Japan is very, very expensive, I believe Tokyo is the 3rd most expensive city next to Paris and London.

You can get a roundtrip ticket from Manila for about US$500 (depending on the season). In Tokyo, a pack of cigarettes is about US$2.00. A bowl of Soba noodles in a train station is about US$10.00 (a full meal with rice and ulam is about US$20.00). A bottle of beer is about US$5.00 just to give you an idea how expensive it is there.

Kyoto and Hokkaido is beautiful around this time until August for me is best. If you're there on a budget Tokyo up to maybe the Yokohama area you will see a lot of Japan already.

For Tokyo on a budget: Stay at business hotels. It's the cheapest at around US$100/night. They call them 'business hotels' because that's where 'travelling salarymen' (like salesmen, etc) stay. Problem is, they are "holes-in-the wall" some even have common (dorm-type) bathrooms, which to me is not a problem since they are generally clean.

Learn to take the train. Very complex, but it's the cheapest form of transportation around and is the most efficient. Look for english maps of the train system around the train stations. Trains are not 24 hours, however. I believe the last train is around 11-11:30 at night.

So a good workable budget per person for a week stay should look like this:

Food: $50.00 per day
Transpo: $20 to 30 per day (more or less)
Hotel: US$100
Extra expenses: US$50 for museums, parks, etc.

So for about a week, you'll be spending about US$1,600+ $500 airfare. Budget about US$2,500 ++ roughly P105,000.00

HTH

[Jun aka Pekto]

If you want cooler weather, northern Japan (Aomori and Hokkaido) can't be missed. The pace is also more relaxed up north. Lake Towada, Sapporo, and Chitose are good places to visit. I love volcanic lakes (Lake Towada is one) and northern Japan has a number of them. Northern Japan is ramen country and the ramen soup there's awesome, especially in winter when there's a lot of snow. Summer is short. August is the warmest month and cools down from September onward.
Japan is expensive. A big steaming bowl of ramen at a mall food court costs around Y600-Y800. A full blown meal can cost Y1800-Y2500 at a restaurant. The food's worth it. I love Japanese cuisine, even more so than Pinoy (sorry) cuisine.

The best ones are the all-you-can-eat-for-90 minutes buffet. You can get already cooked items or get strips of raw meat/poultry and cook them right on the dinner table. Oooh, man. I miss those.

One tip is if you're close to a supermarket, you can buy trays of ready to eat meals and soups that are Y500-Y800. They're the Japanese equivalent of microwave dinners but much better.

**One rule of etiquette is never to eat or drink outside of an establishment or at home. The Japanese kind of frowns on that kind of behavior.

There are vending machines on every street corner that sell hot and cold drinks. Either drink on the spot by the vending machine or keep the drink stored away until you get home.

Add: One order of ramen is enough to fill me up. The bowl is that big.

[badkuk]

100k eh? hmm...mag apply na lang kaya akong cultural dancer? :D

*sigh* i guess i'll have to be content watching Japan Video Topics for now. taya lotto bukas!


i kinda expected food to be expensive there, kaya napaisip ako na magbaon ng maraming lucky me,etc...but then that would sort of defeat the purpose of going there B)

meron po bang area sa japan that's the equivalent of our banawe/evangelista?

[Mguy]

Sus ginoo. Kamahal ang Japan.

Malamang kung bibili ka nga giveaways sa mga kamag-anak mo, doon lang sa 100 yen store.

I stayed in one of the hotels in Tokyo and it cost 30000 yen a night! Dinner was at 7500 yen! Pero maganda talaga sya. Kung mag bu-budget ka going to Japan, I suggest you search at the internet for very cheap lodging. I guess the train is the most economical way of going from one city to another.

[Jun aka Pekto]

Sus ginoo. Kamahal ang Japan.

Malamang kung bibili ka nga giveaways sa mga kamag-anak mo, doon lang sa 100 yen store.

I stayed in one of the hotels in Tokyo and it cost 30000 yen a night! Dinner was at 7500 yen! Pero maganda talaga sya. Kung mag bu-budget ka going to Japan, I suggest you search at the internet for very cheap lodging. I guess the train is the most economical way of going from one city to another.

Ouch. I stayed all the time at the Haneda Excel Tokyu right there at Haneda Airport. The regular rooms averaged around Y18000/night. Meals at the hotel restaurant averaged ~Y3600 per meal. Or when it's open, I just go inside the airport and eat there. I think at Terminal 1, there's a bunch of restaurants at the 2nd floor near the hotel. You could get a decent meal there for less than Y1000 although if you're like me, you'd first make sure you recognize what you're eating.

I find Haneda a good hub to use when traveling back and forth between Aomori and Okinawa.

Japan's a pleasant place to visit. My family wants to go with me next time. They're a little miffed at me for not taking them along previously.

Note: Y100 ~ $1

[Jun aka Pekto]

Much like any country, it's most expensive where there's an international flavor such as tourist spots, big establishments, airports, big hotels, etc.

Once you get to "mainstream" Japan, with smaller Mom and Pop restaurants, malls, flea markets, fish markets, etc, food is generally cheaper although they're still expensive compared to US or Philippine prices.

I can't overemphasize enough the all-you-can-eat-buffet-for-90 minutes eateries. The prices range from Y1800-Y2000 although sodas are extra, I think. You also have your choice of traditional Japanese tables where you sit on the floor or western-style tables and chairs. More and more places are now also providing spoons and forks in addition to chopsticks.

One thing that's very hard is parking. If you rent a car, you'll find parking spaces generally very tight. Even a Subaru Impreza is a tight fit. The malls and modern supermarkets have decently sized parking slots. But everywhere else, you either arrive early or avoid prime time altogether because of the parking.

Add:

Oh. Also concerning cars..... It took me a while to adjust driving on the wrong side of the street. There were a couple of times when I turned into incoming traffic. I had to do a quick reverse and find the correct lane I guess you just have to pretend you're counterflowing all the time.

[Jun aka Pekto]

I stand corrected. Haneda Excel Tokyu Hotel is at Terminal 2, the international section of Haneda Airport. Terminal 1 is where the majority of JAL domestic flights are located. I recall walking a bit to get there:

From expedia.com:


Haneda Excel Tokyu via Expedia

If you want really cheap rates, try this. It's barracks-type, but very cheap. Nightly rates are only Y2700:

Hostel Asakusa

[Mguy]

Paiba iba ang hotels that I stayed but this is the most expensive; Marunouchi Hotel, near the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station.

http://www.marunouchi-hotel.co.jp/en...uide/rate.html

Usually I stay sa Tachikawa/Akishima area and mas mura doon, but mahal pa rin in our terms.