Japan Thread 4

[michi247]

^ Keio Plaza Hotel Tama yung pinagstayan namin, walking distance sa Sanrio Puroland pero malayo siya sa common tourist spots sa Tokyo Japan.

Meron sila branch sa Shinjuku. http://www.keioplaza.com/

[grace08]

sis cebu pac ba kayo ? ano oras kayo pinag check in balak kasi namin mag lounge kung maaga pacheckin

[Maxim04]

Hello mga sis! Just got back from our Japan trip last week. I will try to make this short but informative. 

we spent 7d6n there, covering mostly Tokyo.

Day 1 - Arrival in Haneda. Since the Limousine bus has timings, yung ground staff na din ang nag suggest na mag train kami. they will assist you how to purchase suica/pasmo card, or even if you prefer one way tickets.
We arrived in our hotel in Asakusa after 35 minutes of train and 10 mins walk. Expensive ang taxi mga sis, dont dare to hire cab from airport to your hotel unless you are willing to pay more than 5k pesos for 30 mins ride. 
After Check In, We went to navigate Asakusa Rox 2G and 3G malls.

Day 2 - Morning in ASakusa Temple, Nakamise Shopping Street, Sensoji Shrine. Lunch in Roponggi, Went to Tokyo Tower, Stroll in SUnshine City & Around Ikebukuro, And head to Kawagoe before dawn.

Day 3 - Mt Fuji Tour, Hakone Cable Car, Lake Ashi Cruise. 
Since we stay near Don Quijote, we decided to shop for pasalubong around midnight. ok siya kasi less crowd.

Day 4 - Shibuya, (Try pablo, dun lang kami nakakita) Visited Hachiko, yoyogi PArk, MeiJi Shrine. went to Shinjuku and HArajuku. After 4pm, we headed to Odaiba and enjoyed Gundam, Statue of Liberty and the view of the city. bring your winter clothes here kasi malamig ang hangin. 

Day 5 - Strawberry Picking in Mishima, and headed to Kawazu Sakura Cherry Blossom Festival in Izu Prefecture. Super ganda lang! 

Day 6 - Ueno in the Morning. BAck to Nakamise for some shopping and food trip again. Less "madaliang" travel kasi we have to pack our bags.

Day 7 - Inagahan namin talaga sa airport para maenjoy ang lahat. We strolled sa 5th floor ng Haneda International Airport - meron silang view deck where you can watch landing planes and taking off planes. super ganda ng view mga sis. Super lamig pa ng hangin, extra kilig.  4th floor is their private lounges. 3rd floor are the restaurants. Madaming choices. Surprisingly, iisa lang ang Cafe, we are looking for Starbucks man lang kaso wala. 2nd floor is for departures, ground floor yung arrivals. NAkakatuwa, yung shower rooms nila ay nasa public. you don't need lounge access para makaligo. Sa departure halls naman, madaming upuan. sa left further side, madaming lounge na pwede ka ding maupo at magcharge. Duty free is open before 12 midnight lang. They said PAL passengers are allowed to carry 1 liquor each, pero pagdating ng Manila, hindi naman kami chineck. 

Japanese are very polite. And yes, very strict sa time. Pag sinabing 1202 aalis ang train, 1202 nakasara na ang door at paalis na talaga ang train!
No trash bins everywhere. After yung terrorist attack sa kanila noong 1990's, they removed all the rubbish bins sa train stations. Even sa mall, bihira ang basurahan. SO ang rule is, kung saan ka kumain, doon mo itapon ang wrappers or water bottles.
They encourage people to walk or use a bike.
Soda's are more expensive. their green teas are free sa restaurants. Since you are in Japan, sulitin ang Green tea! 

Re: Anello Bags, Meron sa lahat ng malls na napuntahan namin. Kahit sa gilid ng street meron, Along kawagoe, along nakamise street, even don quijote. same prices sila. yung simple body bag nila, 1600 in pesos. 

[grace08]

sis okay din ba sa akasuka mag stay ? fr narita airport kami . ang definite pa lang na puntahan namin is shinjuku , disneysea and sanrio puroland

[Maxim04]

^Yes sis Super OK. 3 kasi Train lines dun kaya I think accesible siya for us. although hindi kami nagpunta sa theme parks, I find Asakusa a place to recommend. SUper daming kainan din.  Shinjuku is slightly malayo, west part na siya. You can also try to look for a place near SHinjuku since yun pala target niyong puntahan. 

[julmin4u]

@travelling daisy, planning for Sapporo too between Christmas and New Year and we're four too, 2 adults + 2 kids. Haven't started on anything yet kasi wala pa ako makitang murang airfare.

If you don't mind sharing, anong airline kayo?

[huit]

Which is better? Plane from Tokyo to Sapporo or train na lang?

[mrs. sweet]

^For me, it depends on the number of days you will be there. If you only have limited time, plane is advisable. But, if you have lots of time to spare, ok din ang experience sa train.

Btw, operational na ba ang Shinkansen from Tokyo to Sapporo?

[naturallyposh]

Maxim04, going to Japan next weekend, ok na ba cherry blossoms?

[huit]

^For me, it depends on the number of days you will be there. If you only have limited time, plane is advisable. But, if you have lots of time to spare, ok din ang experience sa train.

Btw, operational na ba ang Shinkansen from Tokyo to Sapporo?

Ummm...not really sure. I hope meron na. =)

[shygirlme]

^Alam ko meron na. Sabi ng friend ko mas ok pa din daw plane kasi mas mura? Not sure though di ko pa nachicheck

[travelling_daisy]

@travelling daisy, planning for Sapporo too between Christmas and New Year and we're four too, 2 adults + 2 kids. Haven't started on anything yet kasi wala pa ako makitang murang airfare.

If you don't mind sharing, anong airline kayo?

I booked ANA.

[ataypool]

If you think taking the Shinkansen is not worth it and you're willing to pay upfront, most of the time you'll end up paying less with ANA compared to PAL and even Cebu Pacific when you also buy domestic flights with them. Ang JAL naman mas mahal pero when they go on sale comparable rin to other airlines.

Check lang ng check sa website ng ANA and JAL. Maganda ang service kasi ba naman Japanese staff. Alanganin ang kapatid ko to fly with PAL to Japan kasi last time the airconditioning was set above 26 degrees C; sa sobrang init nagdugo ang ilong ng mga pamangkin ko.

[huit]

^

ANA direct o Sapporo na? How much?

[travelling_daisy]

^ Not direct flight, sis. Via Narita kami. Got it for USD610 per pax last Feb. Medyo mahal kasi I chose the time and route na convenient for us. Our route is MNL > CTS via NRT then CTS> HND because we'll spend a few days too in Tokyo before heading back . Return flight is NRT>MNL.

During my time of booking, Jetstar has cheaper airfares for my intended route but I still chose ANA for convenience and service. We were happy with our experience with them the last time we flew to Japan. When I checked JAL naman, it was more expensive than ANA.

[huit]

^

Lay over lang ba ginawa niyo sa Tokyo, then after Sapporo, that's the time na nag stay na kayo sa Tokyo before flying back to Manila? Or is the other way around, bago kayo nag Sapporo nag stay muna kayo for a few days sa Tokyo?

[travelling_daisy]

^ Sis, sa December pa travel namin. But I have booked our tix early Feb.
I booked connecting flight MNL>NRT>CTS. Two hours ang layover sa Narita before the domestic flight to Chitose (Sapporo). Yung pabalik, I opted to break it into CTS>HND (as mentioned, we intend to spend a few days in Tokyo; I chose Haneda as it is closer to the city) then NRT>MNL na.

[khaleesiCersei]

Nalilito ako mga sis kung worth ba bumili ng jr pass or pay as you go na lang sa mga train or bus  around tokyo area?what is more practical ba? Kasi tokyo 2 nights 3 days kami then and in tokyo ginza, harajuko and shibuya area lang gusto ko tapos one day tour siguro pa mt fuji. Then osaka-kyoto na kami, iniisip ko mag night bus na lang papuntang osaka. Namamahalan kasi ako sa JR pass ₱13,500. Haay na ooverwhelm ako sa pag ayos ng trip namin. Btw mga sis how much ba universal studios? Gusto lang namin yung kay harry potter hehe

[huit]

^^

Ah oks. Thanks! =)

^

Sis, get a JR Pass na, magagamit mo naman siya sa 3 prefectures na yun. Tapos bullet train pa. You'll be bale to save time din. Universal is parang  Php3,000. If you want na malibot ang park and and hindi pumila ng sobrang tagal sa Harry Potter, get an express pass ticket. Mas mahal nga lang.  Kasi kami 2 rides lang nasakyan namin, morning till closing time. Hahaha. Spiderman at Harry Potter. 3 hours ang pila ng bawat isa.

[littlemissbiatch]

^^ Sulit lang yung JR Pass if mag-roundtrip kayo na Tokyo->Osaka->Tokyo. Otherwise, you're better off buying individual train tickets. One-way from Tokyo to Osaka via shinkansen is around 6k PHP lang.

Sa Tokyo if you're going to take the train more than three or four times a day you can get the day pass (Tokyo Metro or JR Tokunai, depending on which one serves the station nearest to you). Otherwise, bili na lang kayo ng ticket as you go.