Going to Japan in april 2009 - any advice?

[Njit]

We are going to Japan in april 2009. This is also our honeymoon

 

Flight Info:

 

Outbound travel:

AY 842 - 02APR (AMS-HEL) 11.55 - 15.20

AY 073 - 02APR (HEL-NRT) 17.20 - 08.55 +1

 

Inbound travel:

BA 006 - 24APR (NRT-LHR) 10.55 - 14.55

BA 444 - 24APR (LHR-AMS) 20.00 - 22.15

 

Trip Info:

 

Day 01 - 02 april: Flight Schiphol - Tokyo

Day 02 - 03 april: Arrival Tokyo + Transfer/check-in Hotel + possible exploring of Tokyo

Day 03 - 04 april: Tokyo Disneyland

Day 04 - 05 april: Tokyo DisneySea

Day 05 - 06 april: Disney Resort Tokyo + La Qua

Day 06 - 07 april: Tokyo

Day 07 - 08 april: Fuji-Q Highland

Day 08 - 09 april: Tobu Zoo + Tokyo

Day 09 - 10 april: Sega Joypolis + Tokyo

Day 10 - 11 april: Sea Paradise + Yokohama Cosmoworld

Day 11 - 12 april: Yomiuriland + Tokyo

Day 12 - 13 april: Tokyo

Day 13 - 14 april: Tokyo – Kyoto/Osaka (with the Shinkansen)

Day 14 - 15 april: Kyoto

Day 15 - 16 april: Universal Studios Japan

Day 16 - 17 april: Kyoto (visit to Nara)

Day 17 - 18 april: Kyoto (visit to Himeji-Jo)

Day 18 - 19 april: Expoland Park

Day 19 - 20 april: Nagashima Spaland

Day 20 - 21 april: Kyoto

Day 21 - 22 april: Kyoto

Day 22 - 23 april: Kyoto/Osaka - Tokyo (with the Shinkansen)

Day 23 - 24 april: Flight Tokyo – Schiphol

 

For those who payed attention, we will visit 12 themeparks! But ofcourse we will also see some culture

 

We have booked the hotel in Tokyo: Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku. We are still looking for a hotel in Osaka (or Kyoto, but Osaka seems to be cheaper) and a hotel at Narita Airport for our last night in Tokyo.

 

We are really looking forward to this trip - lots to see and lots to do!

 

-------------------

 

Any advice is welcome. About hotels, best way to travel, themeparks, etc

I have read the trip-reports from TPR visits but the more info the better

[SharkTums]

Honestly, your itinerary looks REALLY good. Is Expoland currently open though? I would make sure and check that carefully before you go as they were having some major issues after the coaster death.

 

We've never stayed in Osaka so I can't help you with a hotel there, but since it seems like you'll be traveling a lot out of the city maybe stay close to the Shin Osaka Station?

 

There are plenty of hotels right near NRT Airport, but we've always stayed in Tokyo to get that last night of fun, then just taken a very early bus or train to the airport with no problems at all.

[Njit]

Honestly, your itinerary looks REALLY good. Is Expoland currently open though? I would make sure and check that carefully before you go as they were having some major issues after the coaster death.

 

The website still states it's closed i think (if Google Translate does it right): http://tinyurl.com/expoland

 

I think we will have to reschedule...

 

Thank you for your other advice. I will look into it.

[robbalvey]

Consider adding Toshimaen to that itinterary if they are open. It's a very easy Tokyo park to do and well worth the hour or two it takes to see the whole park. We easily can do Yomiuriland and Toshimaen the same day and still have time to hang out in Tokyo.

 

Also, on your Joypolis day, be sure to check out the other area attrations like Muscle Park (in the same building as Joypolis), Mega Web (on the other side of the train station) and Pallete Town (next to Mega Web)

 

--Robb

[Njit]

Looks like a nice park. We will consider it!

 

I have a question about getting around. We will get a JR pass for the Osaka/Kyoto part (2 week pass - we will need 10 days of travel. Luckily they are not twice as expensive as 7-days passes).

But how did you guys (and girls) get around in Tokyo. Everything is accessible by Metro i suppose but what would be the cheapest and easiest way to pay for the Metro?

[Loefet]

^ Tokyo have much more then a Metro, there are around 20 different train companies running lines in Tokyo.

If you need some great up to date rail-maps over the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya areas, then this is the place to visit: http://www.mukiryoku.com/railmap_e.html

 

If you don't want to run around with a bunch of cash and buy a lot of individual tickets everywhere, then I would almost recommend you to get a Suica card, it's a prepay card and it's valid all over Tokyo's public transport and a lot of other places (vending machines, some stores, etc.).

More info can be found on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suica

 

Have fun in Japan.

[Njit]

If you don't want to run around with a bunch of cash and buy a lot of individual tickets everywhere, then I would almost recommend you to get a Suica card

 

Did some Googleing and saw this offer: http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/suica-nex/index.html

 

 

We have also been looking at the Limousine Bus. What would you recommend after a long distance travel? We are staying close to Shinjuku Station.

[Loefet]

^ That looks like a great deal since you will save ¥1500 than by taking the bus (not to forget that it's half the price then the normal NEX ticket). Plus that going by train is a really nice way of getting to and from Tokyo, have done it several times myself.

Just get on a train that goes to Shinjuku and just relax, they are really nice to ride.

 

The difference is that you have to walk from Shinjuku station instead of getting dropped of by the Hotel.

[Njit]

The difference is that you have to walk from Shinjuku station instead of getting dropped of by the Hotel.

 

We would have to do that anyway. The Limousine bus to our hotel leaves about 4 hours later than our arrival. If we would take Limousine bus from Narita to Shinjuku the bus leaves every 20 minutes.