Over-planners plans for 30 days in Japan – Help

8 comments

1. 6:00 AM train from Fukuoka and bus from Tokyo will get you to Kawaguchiko at 1:30 PM.  So theoretically you can do that, but don’t. After Yokohama, fly to Fukuoka from Haneda Airport and do the Kyoto > Fukuoka segment of your trip in reverse order, and you won’t need to spend 7.5 hours in transit that day.

2. >I am under the impression rush hour is 8am-11am and 3pm to 5pm is that correct? Would it best to avoid attractions that time and go either early morning / late night and just grab food during the rush hours?

   The morning rush hour in Tokyo sharply eases off after 9 am and is finished by 10 am, and doesn’t start until about 5. It eases off sometime after 6, though some lines remain busy later – the Ginza Line especially. I’m not sure why you’re asking whether it affects attractions – it’s just public transport that’s busy. The rush hours are much shorter in Osaka.

   >I plan to use luggage forwarding where I can, where I can’t, do ALL 7/11 have the service? So could I just ship to the nearest 7/11 to my hotel if my hotel does not accept luggage forwarding?

   I’d be surprised if any of your hotels don’t accept luggage forwarding given it’s a standard service Japanese hotels offer. Email the hotels to confirm if you’re worried.

3. I would turn it around. Fly to Fukuoka, make your way toward Tokyo and go to Kawaguchiko from Yokohama.

   Why woould you wast a full day doing it from Fukuoka.

   Kirby cafe and Pokemon cafe (center is just a store, you do not reserve it) I think you should book when available. Teamlab not too bad, Borderless have not sold out a single day and it’s their re-opening.

   I personally never especially check time regarding rush hour. Of course you can expect more people in the train, but that also depend on the line, station, time, day of the week… yes, if you want to avoid crowd in the train, you can try to avoid, but being at attractions during rush hour does not make a difference because rush hour is in public transport, not in attractions.

4. You should look at accommodation ASAP! At least book some placeholders with free cancellation, because the options thin out very quickly at the 3-month point (you’re now less than 2 months out).

   Oh, unless you’re travelling alone, then you can just capsule it 🙂

5. For Kirby Cafe, you can visit the one in Hakata/Fukuoka and it is easier to secure a slot there instead of the Tokyo one.

   For teamlab borderless, it is better to reserve early as they will reopen in Feb and crowd will be expected.

   Pokemon cafe is tough to book so you can practise on their site to get a feel, else you can try going to the cafe early for leftovers sometimes.

6. Flying Tokyo to Fukuoka and working your way back up sounds more reasonable. Look into the JAL explorer pass for cheaper domestic flights.

7. Since you’ve already booked your flights, and since flying to Fukuoka from Calgary is pretty much impossible without a minimum of two stops anyways, I understand that you probably won’t be able to fly into Fukuoka. Nevertheless, I would strongly recommend heading there as early as possible and then doing the rest of your trip in reverse order. (Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka, etc.) The Tokyo-Fukuoka route is well staffed by a number of airlines, so you should have little trouble finding a cheap fare; and if you do you can usually get a half-price ticked on a low-cost carrier if you fly out of Narita instead of Haneda.

   Given that you will be staying in major cities, any 3-star hotel or above should either offer you Kuroneko service at the desk or at the very least, point you to a Konbini nearby that does. Konbini are likewise plentiful in major cities so it shouldn’t be hard to find one that offers Kuroneko service.

   Incidentally, the only time where I stayed at a hotel that didn’t offer Kuroneko service at the desk was in Fukuoka. The 7/11 they directed me to was about 5 mins away.

8. I would spend more time in Fukuoka. There are so many delicious restaurants in Fukuoka, two days wouldn’t do it justice.