Hectic Tokyo
After all these years I finally made it to Japan! I just couldn’t do all these Asian countries and just skip my all-time-favorite. And so far, Japan isn’t that expensive as everyone says it is. You have a decent hotel room for €40 a night and food wise you can make it as cheap or expensive as you like. The only pricey part is transportation, but even this isn’t too bad. Depending on the places you visit and the time you spend there it might be worthwhile to get a Japan Rail Pass. But this is not always the cheapest option! After you figured out your itinerary check the railway prices at Hyperdia.com to calculate if the JR Pass is actually a better deal for you.
I’m in Japan for 14 days and got a 7-day pass for €200 back in Singapore (you can only get this pass outside of Japan). When I leave Kyoto after 5 days, the JR Pass begins; during these 7 days I’ll travel from Kyoto to Hiroshiyama, Miyajima, Koyasan, Nikko and Tokyo. In Tokyo I will stay for another 5 days before I fly to my next destination.
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Japan can be surprisingly inexpensive if you do a bit of work finding the cheaper accommodations, but sometimes Tokyo can be a bit expensive if you want to stay in a decent area….. when flying out of Narita staying there for your last night might be a good idea, and it’s even a nice area to visit as well.
I found Miyajima to be a bit of a tourist trap, nice for a few hours (especially since the ferry is covered by the JR pass, but nothing more. If you want to see deer hassle tourists, Nara is a better place to see that :-). Koyasan can be a cheap train ticket from Osaka/Kyoto using a regional pass so you might want to save that day on the JR pass for a longer trip to something like Fukuoka, Matsue or Kanazawa. The difference is noticeable when you get a bit farther from the standard tourist Shinkansen routes.
Tokyo did seem more expensive. That’s why I used Airbnb to rent a small apartment while I’m there. Sure am curious how that will work out.
I find it fascinating how everyone has different travel experiences. I loved Miyajima, don’t care much about the deer (therefore also skipped Nara), but hiking Mt Misen is worthwhile if you like nature. Plus I just had to see the floating torii.
About the JR Pass, once you activate it, the consecutive 7 days starts. You have to plan your route within those days. It’s not like I can save a day for a further destination when it’s not in that timeframe.
Thanks for your input, always helpful!
It’s like you say… different experiences for anybody. The other thing I could not really appreciate on my last trip was Sensoji in Tokyo. After seeing so many great temples this was a major disappointment. So who knows….
I know about the JR Pass, I figured you would plan your visit to Koyasan from Kyoto/Osaka. Then you might have activated the pass a day or two later…. So much to see, so little time :-).