Help a JapanesePod101.com Crew Member!

[jeffokita]

Hello everyone,
This is Jeff Okita from the JapanesePod101.com crew! I am traveling all around Japan next week. I am currently living in Tokyo, but my last week in Japan, I plan to do a lot of traveling!

This is my itinerary

7/21 - Hiroshima (6 hours traveling time! Leaving early in the morning)
7/22 - Osaka
7/23 - Kyoto
7/24 - Kyoto
7/25 - Nara/Toba
7/26 - Climb Mt. Fuji!

One thing that I am having trouble with is accommodations! I'm looking for dirt cheap places to stay because I'm a student and I don't have that much dough to spend! Anybody know some cheap places to stay at any of these locations?

In addition, any must-see's at these places? I'm making a list of places I want to see, but it's always good to have input from people that have already been there.

Thanks so much for your help!
-Jeff Okita

[Belton]

Well, if you're lucky some jPodder might let you crash on their couch.

Failing that, in Kyoto, Daiya Ryokan was ok, cheap and very close to the train station.

http://www.hostelworld.com/countries/japanhostels.html
This site has listing of some of the most inexpensive places I found in Japan.

Give Rakuten a try as well.
http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/

I also stayed in APA annex beside the station. I think it was fairly cheap. Very small though. Nice baths on the roof.

My recommendation in Kyoto is Fushimi Inari Daisya, but it takes at least half a day.
Get up early and see Ryoanji and the Golden Temple before the tour buses get there. Also the Kiyomizudera area is worth going to. I also like the train station!

Toba is pretty small. There is the island where cultured pearls were invented though. I presume you're getting a boat from Toba. Ise seems much busier. Toba seemed to close at 6 o'clock.
I stayed in small business hotel in Toba whose name I forget. I found it on Rakuten. Big rooms though.

It looks like you're travelling via Nara to Toba. You'll probably only have time for the Daibutsu in Todaiji, maybe the temples on the hill overlooking it. Again early is best!
Coin lockers are your friends! The train stations are maybe 20 mins walk from the park where most of the sights are. (Kintetsu is maybe the better way to get to Toba rather than JR)

Have fun!

[misterian]

Hi Jeff,

I second Fushimi-Inari and Kiyomizu-dera, those are my two favorite places in Kyoto.

If for some reason you have to kill some time in the Kyoto train station, or just have an extra half hour or so, go to the top floor (by the food courts) and go to a place called Kobe Cappuccino Club, where I had the BEST cappuccino of ALL TIME!! I'm serious, it was a magical moment. Not saying you should skip anything else for it, but it really is a rare level of quality.

Between Hiroshima and Osaka, consider stopping for a half day, or maybe just a few hours, in Himeji to see the castle. It's the best castle in Japan (if you ever saw Akira Kurosawa's "Ran", that was it). I think it was somewhere else on this board that I saw people say there are free bicycles to borrow in Himeji.

In Hiroshima, I recommend going out to Miyajima Island. If you can get there early enough, do this: Miyajima until early afternoon, then get to the museum by 3 (depending on how long you want to spend there, but an hour was plenty for me) then spend a while walking through the park and looking at all the stuff as the sun sets. Then, you have to get some Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki!

All the other places you are planning on are great too. Nara is wonderful, and Fuji-san is a great experience. Be sure to bring warm clothes, it gets to freezing at night up there. You can sleep on the top in a sleeping-bag, and bring some cup-noodles to eat while watching the sun rise!

Sorry I don't have extra room in my dorm Osaka, I'd definitely lend a hand if I did!

-Ian

[Belton]

How could I forget Himeji!? definitely stop off there for half a day on the way to or from Hiroshima if you can. In fact I think Himeji is much more interesting than Osaka by day.

In Osaka, if you like onsen or even if you've never been before give SpaWorld a try. Its open 24/7 except the baths close for an hour each morning to be cleaned. Unwind after a hard night on the town? Or after a day's sightseeing before hitting the nightlife.
http://www.spaworld.co.jp/
There's even a 24 hour "rest" room with big airline style seats you can sleep in. A better bet than Peter-san's all night family restaurant emergency "hotel" option. (or internet café "lodging") if you're really stuck.
The only hurdle is the initial purchase of a ticket from a machine I found. but the staff as usual are very helpful if you ask them.
If you haven't been to an onsen or sentou you've got to try it at least once. It's the most Japanese thing you can do I think.

The nightlife is situated in South Osaka in Dontonburi. (The main JR station is North Osaka)

(unless there's something you especially want to see or do in Osaka, I'd recommend you cutting it out of your itinerary and spending that time in a Himeji day trip en route to Kyoto first night instead. If you've been staying in Tokyo you've already experienced modern Japanese city life. Osaka doesn't have much easily accessable historic things to see, if that's what you're looking for. But if crazy night-life is what you want Osaka has it.There's something to be said about a city where happy hour in bars starts at midnight and you see people going home at 6am on a weekday...)

In Kyoto the main sights are around the edges of the city. get a 1 day bus ticket (500円）and a bus map when you arrive in Kyoto station. The ticket desk is under the station to the East of the underground shopping mall near the Kyoto-eki subway exits. The subway isn't that useful to a tourist but it's maybe worth the extra for the combined ticket depending on where you're staying (1200円 1 day, 2000円 2 day ticket) . If you're leaving luggage at the station the left luggage in the sub basement is better than trying to find a large locker.

Don't mix-up kinkakuji and ginkakuji as I did. Because the sights are so spread out it can take a bit of time going between them if you don't plan (or go to wrong temple!)

At night in Kyoto, walking about the old Gion districts is interesting. If you stay away from the main touristy bit you might even see a Geisha-san hurrying off to an appointment. Yasaka shrine is very athmospheric at night.

If you get a chance before you go orientate yourself using google earth to get a sense of where things are and distances involved in the places you're going to visit.

Bon Voyage, Have a good trip!

[bobbygriff]

Hi Jeff. Not been to Osaka myself so can't comment. Would definitely recommend Miyajima if you are already at Hiroshima. Himeji-jo also worth a visit.

Fuji-san - are you fit..? For my 50th in 2006, I was in Japan visiting friends. I attempted Fuji-san on July 1st. Caught the early bus out of Shinjuku all the way to the 5th station. Walked at a gentle pace until the 7th station were I conceded defeat. Should have trained a bit more....!

Needless to say, I was passed by an endless stream of (older than me) Japanese.

[jeffokita]

Bobbygriff - I'm not in tip-top shape, but I think I should do alright. No doubt it'll still be a challenge for me, but I love the challenges.

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I've already seen Hiroshima, Miyajima, Himeji, and today is my first day in Kyoto.

One Question: Has anyone stayed overnight in a Media/Net Cafe? What are the average prices? Do you suggest staying here? There's a big one in Osaka called Popeye's Media Cafe. I popped in to get internet access and it looked amazing.

[rewols]

i stayed a night in a manga/internet cafe in nagoya and it was great. it wasn't as cheap as my friend and i imagined (it was roughly what you would expect to pay for a hostel/dorm room, but that could be because we were there on a saturday night and they didn't have any 8-hour packages). we had a private "room"/corner with a tv, ps2, dvd player and a computer with free unlimited internet access, which was great considering we paid quite a bit for internet access elsewhere. and loads of manga from a good variety of genres too.

there were free beverages all through the day and food items at reasonable prices. there weren't that many people and most of them were peaceful manga-reading folks. we did have a bit of noise from some teenagers, who decided that they wanted to have a bit of competitive gaming, at around 1am but that probably lasted for an annoying 30 mins or so.

and! toilets (very important) were spotless and well-equipped.

[Fedgrub]

You should pick up a Lonely Planet guide dude!

[jns4chat]

i stayed at this place in osaka, cost me less than 20 USD per night. looks scary but actually isn't. i'm female, btw
http://www.hostels.com/en/availability. ... mber.14926