I want to quickly share my experience, since I've been to Japan two times now and did one time with a guided tour and one time entirely self planned: We saw A LOT (and by a lot I really mean, like, more than you can even remember) on the guided tour during 8 days, traveling by bus from Tokyo to Kyoto and stopping at Fuji-Hakone, Matsumoto, Yamanouchi, Nagano, Shirakawago, Takayama, Nara and Osaka. But we spent no more than a single at each location (with the exception of 2 nights at Tokyo and Kyoto), some places were even no more than a few hours during the day. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing, incredibly packed of things to see, especially since it was our first time in Japan, but also kind of stressful, since we had so little time at each location. The second time was only recently with a duration of 2 weeks, planned entirely by myself, only me and one more friend. Tokyo, Hiroshima/Miyajima and Osaka/Kyoto, we took our time at every location and while we have seen less things per day, it was, in my opinion, a lot more pleasant, since it was a lot more relaxed and you could thoroughly enjoy everything you saw. Also you're a lot more flexible to see the things that interest you the most. And my biggest tip: Do not take too much into your itiniary. Maybe put two big things, which you really want to do that day, onto your list and after that put a few optional things onto it. Stuff you can do, if you still have time. It's really hard to calculate how much time you will need everywhere, also don't underestimate travel time from one attraction to another. What I also liked to do was simply marking interesting things on google maps, so we could always look the marks up and decide on the spot what do to. Also great Video, very good tips!
Thanks for sharing your experiences, that's really interesting. I agree entirely! While I haven't been on an organised trip (I prefer sorting out everything myself!), that's definitely the impression I got from looking at the itineraries. Thanks so much! :-)
@@cakeswithfaces I'm planning a gap year with a friend after high school/before college, so I took a lot of notes haha Do you have any tips for extended stays?
@@IATEALLTHECHEESE I've only ever been on short trips so long stays aren't my area of expertise! I'd imagine you'd be looking at staying in rental apartments more than hotels to reduce your accommodation costs. Just be careful with Airbnb (check reviews) as there are some strange laws about them in Japan, and a few years ago a lot of bookings were cancelled at short notice because they weren't licensed correctly. But overall it'll be amazing - you'll get to do so much, and get to know Japan in a way that you can't on a shorter trip! Sounds fantastic!
@@cakeswithfaces Ok, thank you so much! Yes I've been planning to stay in an AirBnB, but we might have a couple nights in a Ryokan when onsen hopping, maybe a homestay at one point, who knows!
I like your hotel advice. Frequent hotel changes may be easier for 1 or 2 people, but the stress ramps up exponentially the larger your group or family is. Another thing to consider is the gap of time between hotel check out and check in times. You can't always just waltz over to your next hotel. In Tokyo especially, check in times can be really late (3 or 4 pm) so I'd recommend trying not to arrive at your next hotel too early if you can help it. It's almost always impossible to get an early check in, and you'll just end up stuck killing time, with your options being to sit there and watch the paint dry, or hit the town tired and disoriented. It's a lose-lose situation and a bad use of vacation time. It's also a good way to piss off your travel mates. TLDR: Arriving at your hotel early is almost always a bad move and is a surprising morale killer.
Yes - in some countries hotels have allowed an early check-in if the room's free, but in Japan that's never happened in my experience! However, they've always held our luggage until check-in time when we've got there early, so you can drop your bags off then go out and do something else for a few hours or get something to eat.
Amy, very sound advice on getting some depth in a location instead of trying to do too much. My wife and I travel with only a carry-on bag each, which has made our travels (28 countries of which Japan is the next) much more enjoyable. We learned from Rick Steves PBS TV show, books, and website (and visit) how to do it and eliminate a lot of anxiety. Cheers! Your smile and attitude are greatly appreciated!
Wow that's impressive travelling so light! I like only taking what I need (there's so much stuff you take & then don't touch) but never tried just taking carry-on! 😊
I'm binging your old video's since I decided pretty last minute I'm going Japan in August, and they're very helpful! Thanks a lot! You might call me crazy to go in summer and on short notice, but I'm graduating, so it's my last months as a free person 😉 I am however going to ignore your advice on Osaka-Kyoto, haha, since I really want to experience staying for a longer period in both kinds of cities! Osaka will also serve me well for daytrips to Kobe, Nara... I think. For the rest, it's going to be pretty much the Golden Route, but I'm already thinking about my second and third trip before even having been once, oops 😅 Since it's gonna be hot & humid and I can get overwhelmed pretty quickly, I'm gonna take it slow and try not to stuff in too much for this first trip. Sorry for the ramble, I'm just so excited and you've been really helpful!
Exciting!! You've gotta do what interests you - there are certainly lots of day trips around Kansai. Hopefully there'll be fewer foreign tourists in the summer...! 🤞 And there are lots of festivals and fireworks to enjoy. If I went in August, I'd go to Hokkaido where it's cooler! 😝 You're right to take it slow - good luck with the humidity!
One tip regarding interesting places to log is with google maps. Sign in to a gmail account and open maps, when you find a location in Japan that you want to visit, you can place a colored 'pin' that marks the location. There are different colors for things like 'want to go' or 'favorite'. So when your traveling in that area and are close to a marked pin, it is easy to find on your phone. The phone map is sync'ed with the map on the computer which is good. My next trip is moving from place to place as I want to see/visit more perfectures (which is kind of a bucket list item for me) But I will eventually plan a whole month in Japan at some time and I'll probably book 2 weeks in Kyoto and 2 weeks in Tokyo and run day trips from there. Nice vid and tips!
Thanks for the tip! A month-long trip would be amazing, you could do so much! Enjoy planning your trip. When I was working on my book recently, I discovered so many things to do around the Kansai region (and all around Japan tbh) - it looks great! :-)
This was amazing. My family just got in touch with family in Fukuoka prefecture and a few of us are hoping to go to Tokyo and make our way to Fukuoka stopping along the way!
Fantastic, that sound like an amazing trip! I don't know if you saw it already but I have a playlist of videos from Fukuoka when I stayed there. (When I was planning I found there weren't many useful videos about that area so I hope it helps!) ruclips.net/p/PL-YXkErUfa4mMamzwAYQXCw0Xo55PBy-6
One note in Takuhaibin, if you’re going from A to B to C, spending a night or two in B you can forward your luggage from A to C and the hotel in C will store it for you until you arrive. Then take an overnight bag for while you’re in B.
Nods I’m planing on flying into Sapporo for the winter festival for a couple of days then fly down to Osaka for another couple of day’s before taking the bullet train Tokyo. Then I’ll fly home from there. Love your book
Really enjoyed this video Amy! Gets me really excited to research travelling to Japan again - it’s one of those never going to happen but I dream about it a lot trips.
Planning a trip to Japan , 5 nights in Tokyo - 5 nights in Osaka (with day trips to Kyoto and Nara ) and then 4 nights in hakone and then back to Tokyo for flight home. Can’t wait ☺️
Very good idea to find accommodation near train stations, as it is close to food options and it makes it easier to get around. A JR Pass or regional rail pass is worth it, and makes life easier. Stay for 2 or 3 days at least in each city if you don’t want to keep unpacking and repacking suitcases. Try and find train routes that don’t need transfers. Use luggage forwarding as it can be hard to fit suitcases on trains and buses, and it is exhausting wheeling them around, and up and down stairs. Avoid trains in peak hour when you have luggage. Yes, bigger cities have more vegetarian options!
We were looking to fly in to Tokyo and take a domestic to Kagoshima then work our way back towards Tokyo along the bullet train line. Now you mentioned it we might just park somewhere for a while, we did the same in Osaka :) tips were useful as always, thanks :)
Always fun coming up with plans!! Kagoshima's great! My fav place on Kyushu was the Beppu Hells, and if I went back I'd definitely go to Yufuin as well. :-)
Oooh, this is useful. I'm always looking for new places to add to my list so I'm totally checking out your pinterest (I use it too for my ideas!)...even though my list of places is...extremely long and to see them all I'd probably have to spend several months in Japan lol. Also the thing about using one hotel as a base and taking day trips out...I never thought of that...literally I thought I'd have to change hotels quite often and was planning to have a huge budget just for the hotel costs...so that's really handy. Means more money for stuff to buy...though it also means more research lol.
@@cakeswithfaces Thanks girl...!!! I Wanna go well prepared rather than go there and prepare. Such videos as yours will certainly help me. Will check out other Japan Videos of yours as well....💙 India🇮🇳. Looks like You've prepared quite consciously while making these videos. No Nonsense. To the Point Info...!!! Loads of Love...
Thank you for keeping up: a) the high level of your information and advice; b) my spirits! I was planning to be in Hokkaido by now ☹️ I had mapped out two month-long trips this year, heading north in late spring and south in the autumn, because I've never been to Japan before. If I could focus, I should be using this time to improve my basic language skills, but I can't help wondering whether even being able to travel in November is a realistic goal 🤔 Stay safe and sane! 💙
Thanks so much and sorry to hear about your trips. It sounds like a lot of people rescheduled their spring trips for the autumn, but who knows what will happen. At this point it's impossible know, so fingers crossed! I should have been flying out this weekend - don't want to book anything yet until things are looking more stable. Good luck with your Japanese studies, you can do it! :-)
Can you please do a separate video on *JR Pass* and *AirBNB* in Japan? That'd be really helpful ! I like you very much and your videos are very informative ! :D
Thanks for the suggestions and I'm so glad you like my videos! :-) I have a couple of other videos about trains, some of them talk about the JR Pass a bit, they're in this playlist: ruclips.net/p/PL-YXkErUfa4mVX6YOhO0lNQgBndxjOFBV Personally I wouldn't book an Airbnb in Japan because of the laws around them and how a few years ago, lots of bookings were cancelled with very short notice. They're not always looked on favourably by other residents, which would make me feel uncomfortable. However that's just me, and I have friends who've stayed in them with no problems and got great deals (as well as friends who have had problems...). It'd certainly be good to experience staying somewhere more suburban for more of a taste of everyday life in Japan!
@@cakeswithfaces Oh !! Thanks for the insight. I was actually looking for Airbnb recently and found them to be really cheap as compared to other hotels. More importantly, I'm a *Vegetarian* too (yup that's why I like you more 😁) and would therefore need a place with kitchen ! Anyway, thanks for the info, and waiting for more videos on *Vegetarian in Japan* 😁✌️
@@Rachit114 Thanks! Happy to share places you can find delicious things to eat! :-) Did you see my list of restaurants with vegetarian options? www.cakeswithfaces.co.uk/japan/vegetarian-restaurants-in-japan/
Some places riding the train for three or four hours or are worth it like Osaka to Shimane for Izumo-taisha or Nagoya to Nachi Taisha to Osaka. But yes it is very draining.
UPDATE: after the video was made the JR rail pass price was drastically increased, its now substantially more expensive than a Tokyo-Osaka round trip. Still an excellent video, just wanted to let folks here in the future know the math had changed on the break-even point for rail passes 😁👍
Yes, now you have to do the maths and work out whether it's worth it, instead of automatically getting a pass if you're travelling long distance. I'll be making a video this week about updates if you're going to Japan this year. :-)
Hello ! Always, your tips are very useful ! Current Japanese situation is not good. 😱 Emergency Declaration will continue at least for one more month. I guess, probably foreign tourist will can come to Japan at least after this late Fall. I hope, I miss the forecast.
Thanks so much. I hope you're staying safe. I never expected to be banned from entering Japan (everyone from the UK is)! But it's an unusual situation. I'm trying to stay home and be very careful.
@@cakeswithfaces That's good to hear, you too. Now, I'm planning imagine travel at home. One day, I'd like to go to York Railway Museum and watch well.
Hi Amy. I'm going to Sapporo 2021 Feb for the Sapporo Ice Festivals. My friends and I decided Hakodate first then to Sapporo and Otaru. Your Vlog helped me convince them. Hopefully, Covid will not play a role. Just wondering, have you been to Miyazaki in Kyushu? Thanks for all your info!
Great plan - that's exactly the route I took! It was so strange taking the bullet train from Tokyo where it wasn't really all that cold, then 4 hours later stepping out into the freezing snow in Hakodate! Such an experience! :-) I haven't been to Miyazaki but I'd love to go, especially to Takachiho Gorge - it looks beautiful! The reason I didn't go was because I was staying in Fukuoka, and the route there on the train was a bit too long. I hope I can go back one day, I really loved Kyushu!
we supposed to have a planned multi-trip from osaka nipponbashi and akihabara tokyo on april thanks for this video, might be a big help in our travels soon are there news that overseas travel ain't possible this year?
Aww sorry to hear that. I was supposed to be flying out this weekend. :-( At this point there's no news on when it'll be safe to travel again, so we just have to wait and see what happens, and keep our fingers crossed!
Planning ultimate train trip: Kagoshima to Sapporo. Similar to this article: The ultimate Shinkansen trip: Riding Japan’s bullet train network from one end to the other. By the way, I saw there are several videos that are train related. But do you have one with Kyushu Shinkansen related?
That would be a loooong trip! I've done the whole journey at different times, broken up into sections on different trips, but not all together! You can see the Kyushu shinkansen for a short time in this video, when we took it from Hakata to Kagoshima and back: ruclips.net/video/epfRRAfV9Mc/видео.html
Hi Cakes with Faces, was wondering if it would make sense to purchase the JR Pass if I were to travel from Osaka to possibly Hiroshima & Kobe, back to Osaka --> Nara --> Kyoto -> Nagoya -> Hakone -> Mount Fuji area -> Tokyo Thanks!
It would *probably* be worth it. The general rule is a JR Pass will save you money if you're doing a return trip between Tokyo and Osaka. You've only got a one way trip, but there are lots of day trips there, and the trip to Hiroshima's quite long. You can check the individual train prices on the Japan Travel by Navitime app and do the maths (remember to include the seat reservation fee, which you have to pay if you don't have a JR Pass). Otherwise it might be worth looking at a regional pass for the Kansai region, and maybe a regional pass for Fuji area, plus individual shinkansen ticket between them.
I dot not really agree with your statement at 4:00. I did my own planing for some of my trips, changing accommodation every night. And how much time did I had in each city? Almost a full day. I would usually take the train somewhere around 5-6 pm, so I should be at my destination around 8-9 pm max or even earlier, so still have time to see illumination, observation deck/ropeway with night view. Next days I have the full day, so basically from 9am to 5pm that is typical opening hours for most attractions such as museum, castle and such. You could also wake up early and take the train somewhere between 6 an 9 am and still literally have the full day to visit. Most smaller city require a single day to visit the highlight, staying more would often mean that you go out to nearby attractions outside of the city. I personally think that there is less time wasted in the train if you move on a route than if you have a hub with day trips. Yes, Fukuoka to Kumamoto is "only 90 minutes"... you mean 3 hours round trip, while I would only have to spend 90 minutes once in the day to go to the next destination. I also do not agree that changing accommodation take so much time, and if I had to compare with time difference to do a round trip, again with your Fukuoka-Kumamoto example. Let's say I wake up at 7:30, pack my stuff, check out, bring my bag to the station or let it at the hotel, depending on the location and reach the first place I want to see. I have a full 1h30 to do that before most attraction open. On your side, you have to wake up earlier to be in the train at 7:30 so you can be at the destination at 9:00 then it might take a bit of extra time to reach the first attraction. At the end of the day, I would go to pick my bag at the hotel or just at the station, and we would both take the train about at the same time. Also I'm more of the backpack type, so that's relatively easy to move around. Not saying that you are wrong, just saying that I feel that you are presenting it as the best way, when it is really subjective.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, and I'm so glad you enjoyed your travels in Japan! :-) As you say - everyone's different and has a different style of travelling, so absolutely, it's best to consider all these aspects and go with what works for you! :-) The benefit of organising your own trip is you can do whatever you want. (Unless of course you prefer going on a group trip, in which case, do that!) :-)
@@cakeswithfaces I know that some people like organized trips as they do not have to think ans just follow. I would never do that! I like to select things I want to do and go at my own pace. In any case, I know my first comment had a lot of "I don't agree", but of course it was all totally a valid options. I watched a couple of videos and I quite enjoy them!
My God! I can't believe how complicated the procedures are now to enter Japan. I last went to Japan in February 2020, right before the pandemic. I didn't even HAVE a smartphone !!! With just my passport, I filled up entry and customs PAPER forms on the plane using a ballpen, and that was all !!! I hope all these electronic procedures would be revoked someday. I sure miss those pre-pandemic days when you can travel the world with NO smartphone, just a passport.
Is there anyway you can plan my trip??? I have no idea what I'm doing lol we want to see Tokyo but we also want to see temples and that bamboo forest. Its overwhelming 😆😔
I haven't stayed in a capsule hotel, but I'd to one day for the experience! It looks fun! What's put me off is that (for most of them) the floors are women or men only, so we'd need two capsules and wouldn't be able to stay on the same floor. However it is an economical option as they're cheaper than regular hotels. I'd like to stay in one for a night or two, not sure if I would for a whole trip but that's all personal preference! :-)
I don t like a lots of people and I hate the heat and I deffently love food. Do you need lots of money to go? Thank you for sharing your vlog from Michelle in Australia
Thanks Michelle! If you don't like heat, definitely avoid the summer! :-) The expensive part is the flight and hotels - although the flights might not be so expensive from Australia where you're a bit closer (maybe..?) :-) Once you're in Japan, it's not so expensive - food and transport are quite reasonable, compared to the UK at least. So if you can save up for the flights and hotels, you can get there! :-)
@@cakeswithfaces hi the flight were about less then a $1000 return. I don,t really want to go any where to special I just want to say I,'ve gone and I,m 59 so I carn,t weld very far.
@@michelle10261 Hope you can make it there one day! :-) You don't need to go to fancy places or spend a lot to have a good time. :-) Just walking round and seeing places is interesting - and even cheap food tastes really good!
my planned 14 day (covid cancelled) trip has Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto and final 1.5 days (shinkansen, no plane) in Tokyo before flight back home. shinkasen travel from each city route. i calculated single 1 way fare total cost of all shinkasen trips with the estimates spit out by google as standard fares to be 43,000->45,000 yen, the JR pass came up to 47,250 yen. its not a big price difference but single 1 way fare is a bit cheaper. are there and pricing, convenience issues with going single 1 way fares or are there unseen bumps i missed? not sure yet if Kyoto or Hiroshima are 2nd and 3rd location or just Hiroshima 2nd, Kyoto 3rd.
Sorry you had to cancel your trip (same for me) :-(. That sounds very similar to an itinerary I did once! (And a great plan!). If you can get away with a 7 day JR Pass, it'll definitely save you money as it costs about the same as the return trip from Tokyo to Kyoto. The 14 day pass maybe not. When you're working out fares, make sure they include the reservation fee (which you have to pay if you buy the ticket, but is free with a JR Pass). On Hyperdia.com there's a breakdown of the fare so make sure you're looking at the price that includes the seat fee / reservation fee. Also check if a Flex Ticket would work out any better than buying tickets individually. Details are in my previous video: ruclips.net/video/65b-ffd-8u0/видео.html Hope that helps! :-)
@@cakeswithfaces thank you for the reply, it sucks any time ones travel plans are cancelled. im not sure if the 7 day pass will work ie presuming it will start on day of arrival. Tokyo will be 6 days long no shinkansen travel, its day7 where the Shinkansen travel begins. pricewise its 8700Y cheaper individually but id still need to buy the tickets each time without getting the 14 day JR pass. its more a question of convenience but 8700Y to convenience isnt the biggest gap to choose. if covid didnt happen id be in Kyoto by now... cant wait to see Kure city, full Fushimi Inari climb and the usual stuff to do in Tokyo. hopefully it blows over soon enough
Hey this was super helpful i was wondering if you would recommend the bullet train from kyoto to Huis Ten Bosch or if these is a faster more efficient way? Also I was wondering if you help plan itineraries?
Thanks! I don't plan itineraries, but I don't know if you saw I'm writing a Japan guidebook :-) www.cakeswithfaces.co.uk/product/japan-travel-guide-book/ I've taken the bullet train from Osaka (basically the same distance as Kyoto) to Hakata Station in Fukuoka and it's only about 2.5 hours and very do-able. From there you'll need to change to regular trains to get to Huis Ten Bosch - that leg of the journey could be another 2-3 hours. If that's too much in one day, how about staying somewhere along the way? There are lots of interesting places around there - I'd love to visit Nagasaki, and the Unzen Hells! And in Shimabara there are streams along some of the roads with carp swimming in them!
I want to visit Kyoto kagoshima areas as well as visit tokyo. Do you think it would be better to fly into Tokyo and out of Osaka or do it the other way round. As you can tell I'll be focusing largely on Kyoto Kyoto kagoshima areas.
You could do them in either order - it really only depends on which you'd like to visit first! :-) Whether you want to be in the big city first, or somewhere more historic, or less built-up. Note that Kagoshima is quite a long way from Kyoto - it's right at the bottom of Kyushu, the southernmost island.
One million yen(about $8,000). 30 days, mostly getting fat in Osaka and being a heckin weeb in Akihabara. Oh and also... The Gundam theme park that's supposed to open 2021. I'm traveling with only a backpack. Do I have this nailed down or is there something I missed?
I want to quickly share my experience, since I've been to Japan two times now and did one time with a guided tour and one time entirely self planned:
We saw A LOT (and by a lot I really mean, like, more than you can even remember) on the guided tour during 8 days, traveling by bus from Tokyo to Kyoto and stopping at Fuji-Hakone, Matsumoto, Yamanouchi, Nagano, Shirakawago, Takayama, Nara and Osaka.
But we spent no more than a single at each location (with the exception of 2 nights at Tokyo and Kyoto), some places were even no more than a few hours during the day.
Don't get me wrong, it was amazing, incredibly packed of things to see, especially since it was our first time in Japan, but also kind of stressful, since we had so little time at each location.
The second time was only recently with a duration of 2 weeks, planned entirely by myself, only me and one more friend. Tokyo, Hiroshima/Miyajima and Osaka/Kyoto, we took our time at every location and while we have seen less things per day, it was, in my opinion, a lot more pleasant, since it was a lot more relaxed and you could thoroughly enjoy everything you saw. Also you're a lot more flexible to see the things that interest you the most.
And my biggest tip: Do not take too much into your itiniary. Maybe put two big things, which you really want to do that day, onto your list and after that put a few optional things onto it. Stuff you can do, if you still have time. It's really hard to calculate how much time you will need everywhere, also don't underestimate travel time from one attraction to another. What I also liked to do was simply marking interesting things on google maps, so we could always look the marks up and decide on the spot what do to.
Also great Video, very good tips!
Thanks for sharing your experiences, that's really interesting. I agree entirely! While I haven't been on an organised trip (I prefer sorting out everything myself!), that's definitely the impression I got from looking at the itineraries. Thanks so much! :-)
instablaster.
The "Kyoto and Osaka are only 15 mins away on the bullet train" information was really helpful - I didn't know that, so thank you!
Unbelievably close isn't it! I think a lot of people don't realise before they go to Japan. :-)
@@cakeswithfaces I'm planning a gap year with a friend after high school/before college, so I took a lot of notes haha
Do you have any tips for extended stays?
@@IATEALLTHECHEESE I've only ever been on short trips so long stays aren't my area of expertise! I'd imagine you'd be looking at staying in rental apartments more than hotels to reduce your accommodation costs. Just be careful with Airbnb (check reviews) as there are some strange laws about them in Japan, and a few years ago a lot of bookings were cancelled at short notice because they weren't licensed correctly.
But overall it'll be amazing - you'll get to do so much, and get to know Japan in a way that you can't on a shorter trip! Sounds fantastic!
@@cakeswithfaces Ok, thank you so much! Yes I've been planning to stay in an AirBnB, but we might have a couple nights in a Ryokan when onsen hopping, maybe a homestay at one point, who knows!
@@IATEALLTHECHEESE Sounds good!!
This was very helpful!
Thanks so much! Enjoy planning your trip! ✨
Just this short video answered so many things I needed, thank you! ^.^
Yay, that's great to hear, thanks so much!
Takuhaibin is a wonderful service - I use it every time I visit Japan and can heartily recommend it.
That's great to know, thanks for the recommendation! :-)
I like your hotel advice. Frequent hotel changes may be easier for 1 or 2 people, but the stress ramps up exponentially the larger your group or family is. Another thing to consider is the gap of time between hotel check out and check in times. You can't always just waltz over to your next hotel. In Tokyo especially, check in times can be really late (3 or 4 pm) so I'd recommend trying not to arrive at your next hotel too early if you can help it. It's almost always impossible to get an early check in, and you'll just end up stuck killing time, with your options being to sit there and watch the paint dry, or hit the town tired and disoriented. It's a lose-lose situation and a bad use of vacation time. It's also a good way to piss off your travel mates.
TLDR: Arriving at your hotel early is almost always a bad move and is a surprising morale killer.
Yes - in some countries hotels have allowed an early check-in if the room's free, but in Japan that's never happened in my experience! However, they've always held our luggage until check-in time when we've got there early, so you can drop your bags off then go out and do something else for a few hours or get something to eat.
Amy, very sound advice on getting some depth in a location instead of trying to do too much. My wife and I travel with only a carry-on bag each, which has made our travels (28 countries of which Japan is the next) much more enjoyable. We learned from Rick Steves PBS TV show, books, and website (and visit) how to do it and eliminate a lot of anxiety. Cheers! Your smile and attitude are greatly appreciated!
Wow that's impressive travelling so light! I like only taking what I need (there's so much stuff you take & then don't touch) but never tried just taking carry-on! 😊
I'm binging your old video's since I decided pretty last minute I'm going Japan in August, and they're very helpful! Thanks a lot! You might call me crazy to go in summer and on short notice, but I'm graduating, so it's my last months as a free person 😉
I am however going to ignore your advice on Osaka-Kyoto, haha, since I really want to experience staying for a longer period in both kinds of cities! Osaka will also serve me well for daytrips to Kobe, Nara... I think. For the rest, it's going to be pretty much the Golden Route, but I'm already thinking about my second and third trip before even having been once, oops 😅 Since it's gonna be hot & humid and I can get overwhelmed pretty quickly, I'm gonna take it slow and try not to stuff in too much for this first trip.
Sorry for the ramble, I'm just so excited and you've been really helpful!
Exciting!! You've gotta do what interests you - there are certainly lots of day trips around Kansai. Hopefully there'll be fewer foreign tourists in the summer...! 🤞 And there are lots of festivals and fireworks to enjoy. If I went in August, I'd go to Hokkaido where it's cooler! 😝 You're right to take it slow - good luck with the humidity!
@@cakeswithfaces Totally true!
Thanks for all these excellent tips. I hope I will be able to go to Japan within the next year or so, and your travel style matches my own very well.
Hope you can make it! There are so many interesting places to go!
Great Job Travel Enjoy Japan 🇯🇵
Thank you! 🎶
One tip regarding interesting places to log is with google maps. Sign in to a gmail account and open maps, when you find a location in Japan that you want to visit, you can place a colored 'pin' that marks the location. There are different colors for things like 'want to go' or 'favorite'. So when your traveling in that area and are close to a marked pin, it is easy to find on your phone. The phone map is sync'ed with the map on the computer which is good.
My next trip is moving from place to place as I want to see/visit more perfectures (which is kind of a bucket list item for me) But I will eventually plan a whole month in Japan at some time and I'll probably book 2 weeks in Kyoto and 2 weeks in Tokyo and run day trips from there. Nice vid and tips!
Thanks for the tip! A month-long trip would be amazing, you could do so much! Enjoy planning your trip. When I was working on my book recently, I discovered so many things to do around the Kansai region (and all around Japan tbh) - it looks great! :-)
This was amazing. My family just got in touch with family in Fukuoka prefecture and a few of us are hoping to go to Tokyo and make our way to Fukuoka stopping along the way!
Fantastic, that sound like an amazing trip! I don't know if you saw it already but I have a playlist of videos from Fukuoka when I stayed there. (When I was planning I found there weren't many useful videos about that area so I hope it helps!) ruclips.net/p/PL-YXkErUfa4mMamzwAYQXCw0Xo55PBy-6
One note in Takuhaibin, if you’re going from A to B to C, spending a night or two in B you can forward your luggage from A to C and the hotel in C will store it for you until you arrive. Then take an overnight bag for while you’re in B.
Sounds like a good plan, might be helpful for some people - thanks for the tip! :-)
Excellent as always, we're planning a trip in 2023, using your book and your vidz 👌
Thanks, hope they're coming in useful! Enjoy planning your trip!! 😄
This is very helpful, great tips for Japlanning , thank you for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much!! :-)
Nods
I’m planing on flying into Sapporo for the winter festival for a couple of days then fly down to Osaka for another couple of day’s before taking the bullet train Tokyo. Then I’ll fly home from there.
Love your book
Sounds like a great plan! February in Hokkaido was extreme cold but it was an amazing experience and definitely worth it!
Really enjoyed this video Amy! Gets me really excited to research travelling to Japan again - it’s one of those never going to happen but I dream about it a lot trips.
Never hurts to dream - it'll happen one day!! :-)
Planning a trip to Japan , 5 nights in Tokyo - 5 nights in Osaka (with day trips to Kyoto and Nara ) and then 4 nights in hakone and then back to Tokyo for flight home. Can’t wait ☺️
Sounds good!! Enjoying finding all the things you're going to do!! :-)
@@cakeswithfaces thank you !
Thanks for lots of really useful tips. Can't wait to go back to Japan.
Me too! It'll be all the more enjoyable when we finally get to go back!
Very good idea to find accommodation near train stations, as it is close to food options and it makes it easier to get around. A JR Pass or regional rail pass is worth it, and makes life easier. Stay for 2 or 3 days at least in each city if you don’t want to keep unpacking and repacking suitcases. Try and find train routes that don’t need transfers. Use luggage forwarding as it can be hard to fit suitcases on trains and buses, and it is exhausting wheeling them around, and up and down stairs. Avoid trains in peak hour when you have luggage. Yes, bigger cities have more vegetarian options!
Thanks for the tips!
We were looking to fly in to Tokyo and take a domestic to Kagoshima then work our way back towards Tokyo along the bullet train line. Now you mentioned it we might just park somewhere for a while, we did the same in Osaka :) tips were useful as always, thanks :)
Always fun coming up with plans!! Kagoshima's great! My fav place on Kyushu was the Beppu Hells, and if I went back I'd definitely go to Yufuin as well. :-)
@@cakeswithfaces thanks for the suggestion! Will add it to the big list of things :)
Oooh, this is useful. I'm always looking for new places to add to my list so I'm totally checking out your pinterest (I use it too for my ideas!)...even though my list of places is...extremely long and to see them all I'd probably have to spend several months in Japan lol. Also the thing about using one hotel as a base and taking day trips out...I never thought of that...literally I thought I'd have to change hotels quite often and was planning to have a huge budget just for the hotel costs...so that's really handy. Means more money for stuff to buy...though it also means more research lol.
There's always a reason to go back to Japan to visit more places on the never-ending Pinterest board! :-) Enjoy planning - always cheers me up!!
Thanks for the most helpful tips.
It's fun to make plans for the future, even if we don't know when we can carry them out! :-)
Quality Information girl. Very helpful for me...!!!
Thanks! Trying to answer all the questions I had before I first went! :-)
@@cakeswithfaces Thanks girl...!!! I Wanna go well prepared rather than go there and prepare. Such videos as yours will certainly help me.
Will check out other Japan Videos of yours as well....💙 India🇮🇳.
Looks like You've prepared quite consciously while making these videos. No Nonsense. To the Point Info...!!! Loads of Love...
I have Pinterest aswell Amy it s very awesome .
It's great to collect all your favs and bookmarks, and make boards!
Cakes with Faces I try to fallow on there Amy can you fallow me first
Thank you for keeping up:
a) the high level of your information and advice;
b) my spirits! I was planning to be in Hokkaido by now ☹️
I had mapped out two month-long trips this year, heading north in late spring and south in the autumn, because I've never been to Japan before.
If I could focus, I should be using this time to improve my basic language skills, but I can't help wondering whether even being able to travel in November is a realistic goal 🤔
Stay safe and sane! 💙
omg same, i had a graduation trip planned for mid march :( I hope things get better soon because I wont have much of a chance after this year
Thanks so much and sorry to hear about your trips. It sounds like a lot of people rescheduled their spring trips for the autumn, but who knows what will happen. At this point it's impossible know, so fingers crossed! I should have been flying out this weekend - don't want to book anything yet until things are looking more stable. Good luck with your Japanese studies, you can do it! :-)
I scheduled my trip for end of December. Here's hoping things will be ok for both of our trips!
Can you please do a separate video on *JR Pass* and *AirBNB* in Japan? That'd be really helpful ! I like you very much and your videos are very informative ! :D
Thanks for the suggestions and I'm so glad you like my videos! :-) I have a couple of other videos about trains, some of them talk about the JR Pass a bit, they're in this playlist: ruclips.net/p/PL-YXkErUfa4mVX6YOhO0lNQgBndxjOFBV
Personally I wouldn't book an Airbnb in Japan because of the laws around them and how a few years ago, lots of bookings were cancelled with very short notice. They're not always looked on favourably by other residents, which would make me feel uncomfortable. However that's just me, and I have friends who've stayed in them with no problems and got great deals (as well as friends who have had problems...). It'd certainly be good to experience staying somewhere more suburban for more of a taste of everyday life in Japan!
@@cakeswithfaces Oh !! Thanks for the insight. I was actually looking for Airbnb recently and found them to be really cheap as compared to other hotels. More importantly, I'm a *Vegetarian* too (yup that's why I like you more 😁) and would therefore need a place with kitchen !
Anyway, thanks for the info, and waiting for more videos on *Vegetarian in Japan* 😁✌️
@@Rachit114 Thanks! Happy to share places you can find delicious things to eat! :-) Did you see my list of restaurants with vegetarian options? www.cakeswithfaces.co.uk/japan/vegetarian-restaurants-in-japan/
@@cakeswithfaces Yup, binge watching your videos these days xD
@@Rachit114 Enjoy!! :-)
قناتك رووووعة وخاصة مقاطع ايكهبارا 😍❤❤
شكرا جزيلا (Hope that's right - it's from Google Translate!) :-)
Some places riding the train for three or four hours or are worth it like Osaka to Shimane for Izumo-taisha or Nagoya to Nachi Taisha to Osaka. But yes it is very draining.
Yes, it all depends on your plans, how much time you have and what you want to do! Do what works for you :-)
Amazing video! Really makes me feel more confident for when I start planning our two weeks trip 😁
Excellent, glad to hear it! Always happy to help out if you have any questions or get stuck on anything when you're planning! :-)
@@cakeswithfaces ah you’re awesome! Thank you :)
Great video, love to travel as well, keep up the good work 😃😃😃 LOVE 🍹🍹🍹🍹 been there as weeeeell LOVE JAPAAAAAAAAN
Thanks so much! Can't wait to go back! :-)
Great tips, thank you!!
Thanks, hope it helps! Fingers crossed we can all go to Japan soon!!
@Cakes With Faces i have to to plan where to go when I go to those places! It will be fun! 😁
Keep planning, it'll happen one day! :-)
@@cakeswithfaces i will! 👍🏻
UPDATE: after the video was made the JR rail pass price was drastically increased, its now substantially more expensive than a Tokyo-Osaka round trip.
Still an excellent video, just wanted to let folks here in the future know the math had changed on the break-even point for rail passes 😁👍
Yes, now you have to do the maths and work out whether it's worth it, instead of automatically getting a pass if you're travelling long distance. I'll be making a video this week about updates if you're going to Japan this year. :-)
Hello !
Always, your tips are very useful !
Current Japanese situation is not good. 😱
Emergency Declaration will continue at least for one more month.
I guess, probably foreign tourist will can come to Japan at least after this late Fall.
I hope, I miss the forecast.
Thanks so much. I hope you're staying safe.
I never expected to be banned from entering Japan (everyone from the UK is)! But it's an unusual situation. I'm trying to stay home and be very careful.
@@cakeswithfaces
Thank you for reply.
I have no problem.
And you ?
I hope to change current situation early as possible and you are staying safe !
That's good to hear. Thankfully, my family is safe and well so far. I don't mind staying at home if it helps stop the virus.
@@cakeswithfaces
That's good to hear, you too.
Now, I'm planning imagine travel at home.
One day, I'd like to go to York Railway Museum and watch well.
@@あいうえお-o6s1f Ah York's a lovely place! I went to the Railway Museum when I was a child, we did a project about it at school!
Hi Amy. I'm going to Sapporo 2021 Feb for the Sapporo Ice Festivals. My friends and I decided Hakodate first then to Sapporo and Otaru. Your Vlog helped me convince them. Hopefully, Covid will not play a role. Just wondering, have you been to Miyazaki in Kyushu? Thanks for all your info!
Great plan - that's exactly the route I took! It was so strange taking the bullet train from Tokyo where it wasn't really all that cold, then 4 hours later stepping out into the freezing snow in Hakodate! Such an experience! :-) I haven't been to Miyazaki but I'd love to go, especially to Takachiho Gorge - it looks beautiful! The reason I didn't go was because I was staying in Fukuoka, and the route there on the train was a bit too long. I hope I can go back one day, I really loved Kyushu!
we supposed to have a planned multi-trip from osaka nipponbashi and akihabara tokyo on april
thanks for this video, might be a big help in our travels soon
are there news that overseas travel ain't possible this year?
Aww sorry to hear that. I was supposed to be flying out this weekend. :-( At this point there's no news on when it'll be safe to travel again, so we just have to wait and see what happens, and keep our fingers crossed!
Planning ultimate train trip: Kagoshima to Sapporo.
Similar to this article: The ultimate Shinkansen trip: Riding Japan’s bullet train network from one end to the other.
By the way, I saw there are several videos that are train related. But do you have one with Kyushu Shinkansen related?
That would be a loooong trip! I've done the whole journey at different times, broken up into sections on different trips, but not all together! You can see the Kyushu shinkansen for a short time in this video, when we took it from Hakata to Kagoshima and back: ruclips.net/video/epfRRAfV9Mc/видео.html
Hi amy just wondering when you might be sending the books out? Im still waiting on mine cheers
They'll be sent out in July. :-) I've been working on it a lot lately! Thanks for supporting my project :-)
Hi Cakes with Faces, was wondering if it would make sense to purchase the JR Pass if I were to travel from Osaka to possibly Hiroshima & Kobe, back to Osaka --> Nara --> Kyoto -> Nagoya -> Hakone -> Mount Fuji area -> Tokyo
Thanks!
It would *probably* be worth it. The general rule is a JR Pass will save you money if you're doing a return trip between Tokyo and Osaka. You've only got a one way trip, but there are lots of day trips there, and the trip to Hiroshima's quite long.
You can check the individual train prices on the Japan Travel by Navitime app and do the maths (remember to include the seat reservation fee, which you have to pay if you don't have a JR Pass).
Otherwise it might be worth looking at a regional pass for the Kansai region, and maybe a regional pass for Fuji area, plus individual shinkansen ticket between them.
@@cakeswithfaces thanks so much for providing a base for me to start on. Will do further research based on this info!
I dot not really agree with your statement at 4:00. I did my own planing for some of my trips, changing accommodation every night. And how much time did I had in each city? Almost a full day. I would usually take the train somewhere around 5-6 pm, so I should be at my destination around 8-9 pm max or even earlier, so still have time to see illumination, observation deck/ropeway with night view. Next days I have the full day, so basically from 9am to 5pm that is typical opening hours for most attractions such as museum, castle and such. You could also wake up early and take the train somewhere between 6 an 9 am and still literally have the full day to visit.
Most smaller city require a single day to visit the highlight, staying more would often mean that you go out to nearby attractions outside of the city.
I personally think that there is less time wasted in the train if you move on a route than if you have a hub with day trips. Yes, Fukuoka to Kumamoto is "only 90 minutes"... you mean 3 hours round trip, while I would only have to spend 90 minutes once in the day to go to the next destination.
I also do not agree that changing accommodation take so much time, and if I had to compare with time difference to do a round trip, again with your Fukuoka-Kumamoto example. Let's say I wake up at 7:30, pack my stuff, check out, bring my bag to the station or let it at the hotel, depending on the location and reach the first place I want to see. I have a full 1h30 to do that before most attraction open. On your side, you have to wake up earlier to be in the train at 7:30 so you can be at the destination at 9:00 then it might take a bit of extra time to reach the first attraction. At the end of the day, I would go to pick my bag at the hotel or just at the station, and we would both take the train about at the same time.
Also I'm more of the backpack type, so that's relatively easy to move around.
Not saying that you are wrong, just saying that I feel that you are presenting it as the best way, when it is really subjective.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, and I'm so glad you enjoyed your travels in Japan! :-) As you say - everyone's different and has a different style of travelling, so absolutely, it's best to consider all these aspects and go with what works for you! :-) The benefit of organising your own trip is you can do whatever you want. (Unless of course you prefer going on a group trip, in which case, do that!) :-)
@@cakeswithfaces I know that some people like organized trips as they do not have to think ans just follow. I would never do that! I like to select things I want to do and go at my own pace. In any case, I know my first comment had a lot of "I don't agree", but of course it was all totally a valid options. I watched a couple of videos and I quite enjoy them!
Hi Amy. Can you put a link to your Pinterest on too, please? Took a wee while to find it and might help others. Be well.
Here you go! Enjoy! pin.it/5pRX8wF
@@cakeswithfaces 👌🙏
My God! I can't believe how complicated the procedures are now to enter Japan.
I last went to Japan in February 2020, right before the pandemic. I didn't even HAVE a smartphone !!!
With just my passport, I filled up entry and customs PAPER forms on the plane using a ballpen, and that was all !!!
I hope all these electronic procedures would be revoked someday. I sure miss those pre-pandemic days when you can travel the world with NO smartphone, just a passport.
Is there anyway you can plan my trip???
I have no idea what I'm doing lol we want to see Tokyo but we also want to see temples and that bamboo forest. Its overwhelming 😆😔
You can do all of those things! 😊✨ One step at a time, you can do it! I don't plan trips but my book might help! 😉😝
What is your opinion on capsule hotels? I thought about traveling with as less luggage (small suitcase) as possible and stay at capsule hotels.
I haven't stayed in a capsule hotel, but I'd to one day for the experience! It looks fun! What's put me off is that (for most of them) the floors are women or men only, so we'd need two capsules and wouldn't be able to stay on the same floor. However it is an economical option as they're cheaper than regular hotels. I'd like to stay in one for a night or two, not sure if I would for a whole trip but that's all personal preference! :-)
I don t like a lots of people and I hate the heat and I deffently love food. Do you need lots of money to go? Thank you for sharing your vlog from Michelle in Australia
Thanks Michelle! If you don't like heat, definitely avoid the summer! :-) The expensive part is the flight and hotels - although the flights might not be so expensive from Australia where you're a bit closer (maybe..?) :-) Once you're in Japan, it's not so expensive - food and transport are quite reasonable, compared to the UK at least. So if you can save up for the flights and hotels, you can get there! :-)
@@cakeswithfaces hi the flight were about less then a $1000 return. I don,t really want to go any where to special I just want to say I,'ve gone and I,m 59 so I carn,t weld very far.
@@michelle10261 Hope you can make it there one day! :-) You don't need to go to fancy places or spend a lot to have a good time. :-) Just walking round and seeing places is interesting - and even cheap food tastes really good!
my planned 14 day (covid cancelled) trip has Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto and final 1.5 days (shinkansen, no plane) in Tokyo before flight back home. shinkasen travel from each city route. i calculated single 1 way fare total cost of all shinkasen trips with the estimates spit out by google as standard fares to be 43,000->45,000 yen, the JR pass came up to 47,250 yen. its not a big price difference but single 1 way fare is a bit cheaper. are there and pricing, convenience issues with going single 1 way fares or are there unseen bumps i missed? not sure yet if Kyoto or Hiroshima are 2nd and 3rd location or just Hiroshima 2nd, Kyoto 3rd.
Sorry you had to cancel your trip (same for me) :-(. That sounds very similar to an itinerary I did once! (And a great plan!).
If you can get away with a 7 day JR Pass, it'll definitely save you money as it costs about the same as the return trip from Tokyo to Kyoto. The 14 day pass maybe not. When you're working out fares, make sure they include the reservation fee (which you have to pay if you buy the ticket, but is free with a JR Pass). On Hyperdia.com there's a breakdown of the fare so make sure you're looking at the price that includes the seat fee / reservation fee.
Also check if a Flex Ticket would work out any better than buying tickets individually. Details are in my previous video: ruclips.net/video/65b-ffd-8u0/видео.html
Hope that helps! :-)
@@cakeswithfaces thank you for the reply, it sucks any time ones travel plans are cancelled. im not sure if the 7 day pass will work ie presuming it will start on day of arrival. Tokyo will be 6 days long no shinkansen travel, its day7 where the Shinkansen travel begins. pricewise its 8700Y cheaper individually but id still need to buy the tickets each time without getting the 14 day JR pass. its more a question of convenience but 8700Y to convenience isnt the biggest gap to choose. if covid didnt happen id be in Kyoto by now... cant wait to see Kure city, full Fushimi Inari climb and the usual stuff to do in Tokyo. hopefully it blows over soon enough
Hey this was super helpful i was wondering if you would recommend the bullet train from kyoto to Huis Ten Bosch or if these is a faster more efficient way? Also I was wondering if you help plan itineraries?
Thanks! I don't plan itineraries, but I don't know if you saw I'm writing a Japan guidebook :-) www.cakeswithfaces.co.uk/product/japan-travel-guide-book/
I've taken the bullet train from Osaka (basically the same distance as Kyoto) to Hakata Station in Fukuoka and it's only about 2.5 hours and very do-able. From there you'll need to change to regular trains to get to Huis Ten Bosch - that leg of the journey could be another 2-3 hours. If that's too much in one day, how about staying somewhere along the way?
There are lots of interesting places around there - I'd love to visit Nagasaki, and the Unzen Hells! And in Shimabara there are streams along some of the roads with carp swimming in them!
@@cakeswithfaces thank you this is so helpful i just wanted to make sure it was possible by train
I'd probably go to japan but I have to wait until this pandemic is over
Definitely - it'll be a while before it's safe to travel without spreading infection. But this won't last forever! :-)
No problem - thanks for the request!! Hope it helps!! :-)
@@cakeswithfaces for some reason never got the reply notification! it most definitely helped! xx
I want to visit Kyoto kagoshima areas as well as visit tokyo. Do you think it would be better to fly into Tokyo and out of Osaka or do it the other way round. As you can tell I'll be focusing largely on Kyoto Kyoto kagoshima areas.
You could do them in either order - it really only depends on which you'd like to visit first! :-) Whether you want to be in the big city first, or somewhere more historic, or less built-up. Note that Kagoshima is quite a long way from Kyoto - it's right at the bottom of Kyushu, the southernmost island.
One million yen(about $8,000). 30 days, mostly getting fat in Osaka and being a heckin weeb in Akihabara. Oh and also... The Gundam theme park that's supposed to open 2021. I'm traveling with only a backpack. Do I have this nailed down or is there something I missed?
I give up going to Japan.
This won't last forever! :-)
Don’t give up!
@@ninalindner529 sorry already
If they woukd just let us in japan though!!!😫😫😫😫
I know right!! Completely given up hope now tbh!!