Ok, here we go again… for the third time…
My wife and I are travelling on early August (4th to 18th). We are both 39 and we are not too “crazy” we like calm things, so we avoid most nightlife.
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We have a rough itinerary and idea of what we want, the typical attractions and we would like to focus on street food. There are a couple of specific places we are hoping to fulfill those are already below.
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WIP Itinerary
# Aug 5th: Tokyo (1 day)
* Arriving Tokyo from Narita airport
* Arriving around 6 PM so we just want to recover and get ready for initial train trip next day.
# Aug 6th: Osaka (1 days)
* Tokyo to Osaka, some early train
* Osaka City center
* Just stopping to avoid a long trip straight to Hiroshima.
# Aug 7th to 9th: Hiroshima (2 days)
* Only clear thing we have here is Bunny Island
* Must-see places (TBD)
# Aug 9th to 12th: Osaka (3 days)
* Arriving from Hiroshima early
* Osaka Aquarium
* Universal Studios
* Osaka Castle
* Rest TBD
# Aug 12th to 15th: Kyoto (3 days)
* Arriving from Osaka, some early train
* Bamboo Forest
* One day specifically for Nara
# Aug 15th to 18th: Tokyo (2 days)
* Arriving from Kyoto
* Kokugikan
* Miyagino-beya stable visit
* Anything else is welcomed
Questions
1. I’m buying the 14-day JR Pass out of Practicity, I know I won’t get the best bang for buck. However, I understand that in Osaka and Tokyo I can use it for the “loops” to move around, how bad would it be to not use subway?
2. I’m having problems knowing how to get good hotels, what am I looking for on booking? any tips on this?
3. My wife would like to visit Okinawa, but I have no idea on if this is a good idea as is the summer break and I understand it would be very crowded.
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I know in August the Sumo tour goes around the country but as the 2023 Schedule isn’t available yet I’m not sure how to fit it in my itinerary.
1 comment
You didn’t mention the standard of hotels you like. For what I call mid-range, which is about 60 to 80 euros for a double room, these are my choosing tips. These are prices for March, though, so YMMV.
– Check booking.com and filter by area and price, maybe rating too. Or go for Agoda, trip.com, whichever you’re comfortable with.
– If getting a non-smoking room matters, read reviews. Some hotels advertise non-smoking rooms but their rooms will still have cigarette odour. You can also check reviews on google.
– Get the rates with free cancellation.
– Check on more than one device, with logged in and out status. I’ve noticed price differences that adds up when you’re booking multiple nights. Once, genius (booking.com) prices were NOT better than a browser that had no account.