Hello,

I'm very much in need of help, feeling overwhelmed by having to do a lot of planning in very little time... My Japanese course here in Tokyo is on a break and I wanted (/have to, they don't let me stay) to travel from December to January 4th, but I have barely planned anything in detail, just a rough idea of places I'd like to see:
Kamakura (and Enoshima?), Gifu, Takagawa, Shirakawa, Kanazawa, Fukui, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, Himeji, Okayama, Hiroshima, maybe Nikko at the end... Does that even work in this order?
But I don't know how long to stay at each place (no need to rush, I'd rather go slow), and if I should include Kyushu for filling my 4 weeks. I would like to go to a temple for few days, would be nice if they spoke some English there to get more out of it. Found one in Kyushu (Oita), but it will cost me more to go that far.

Also, I have no idea how night busses work - where do they go, where do you buy tickets..
Would be really grateful for some tipps on how to travel cheaply - just registered at "couchsurfing", I hope I'll find something there, but it seems like you need to say exactly when you will be there, so I need to plan first. I just looked at hostels and a lot seems to be booked out for the second half of December. That really worries me...

Anyone interested in joining me? Preferably female (I am), but I'm not that picky by now.

Lanval

Here is a booking site for night buses: http://willerexpress.com/en/
And here is a site that might help you find some budget accommodation: https://www.airbnb.com/

Not having been to Japan yet I can't really vouch for either of these, but they sound like the kind of thing you want.

I've used http://www.hostelworld.com/ in the past with good success.

Kamakura is quite close to Tokyo. You can take a train there in about 1-1.5 hours. Stay somewhere nearby overnight (Yokohama?), then hit Enoshima the next day. You could also go back to Tokyo from either place. They're both day-trippable.

Yes, you should go to Kyuushuu if possible. There are a lot of nice places there (Beppu, Yufuin, Fukoka, Kumamoto).

Train travel is a lot easier than busses, if you can afford it. Just go to the train station, tell them where you want to go, and they'll hand you a ticket. Some yen is involved.

Alternately, you can walk into any travel agency (often in or near major train stations), tell them where you want to go, and they'll work out the details. They can search for hotels, trains, buses, the whole bit. If you want to be your own travel agency, you might want to check out this site for buses: https://willerexpress.com/en/ . Night buses have a reputation for being cramped and not great, but they're cheap, so it's your call.

Lastly, there are a number of Low-Cost-Carrier (LCC) airlines now operating in Japan, and sometimes the fares are very low. You might want to check around for those as well.

Happy travels.

If you're living in Tokyo, Kamakura and Nikko are better done as weekend trips (and Nikko is awfully cold at that time of year).

By Takagawa do you mean Takayama?
Anyway, sounds like a reasonable plan. I hear that Himeji Castle is still being renovated and it just looks like a great big piece of scaffolding at the moment though.

If hotels are booked out, internet cafes are a totally valid option for sleeping. Except in the really big cities the best ones are usually located a few train stations away from the centre, so look up where they are before you get there.

If you want to be really really cheap, I can tell you of hitchhiking Japan, but in the middle of winter is has pretty high potential for just being miserable. Night buses are pretty miserable too, mind you - but at least you'll definitely end up somewhere.

I've never done it, but you can ride local lines to get pretty much anywhere in Japan. Some of the more remote places might require a bus from the station to get to though. But I've heard of people going from Tokyo to Osaka on like few 1000 yen. I think there are some special all day tickets you can get that let you do it.

Do be warned though, it takes like 8 hours to do.

Thank you for the links!
With local lines, you mean busses?
Ups yea, I meant Takayama. They kinda all sound the same to me xD
Hitchiking, yea, I considered it, but being alone and female, and with winter coming, dunno xD I would like to try out night busses or see if I can get a student discount (just have my visa and an ID by uni). I'm afraid it might be difficult to go from Yokohama or Kamakura to Gifu /Kanazawa, I'm really late with booking and they don't have every route in their program. But maybe I'll just leave it for later? I still have time left in Tokyo afterwards, I just thought I might save money by doing it all in one go.

Oh I wish I had someone to go with me and help me plan xD Biggest problem is deciding on how long to stay where, I kinda need an exact schedule already. Hope I can stay in my flat for a little longer...

By local lines he means trains - the slow ones.

You'd probably be aiming for Nagoya anyway rather than Gifu (they're very close) - I caught a nightbus from Nagoya to Shinjuku once and it was about 3000 yen. From Nagoya it's pretty simple to catch the train to Takayama, take the bus from there to Shirakawago, and then another bus from there to Kanazawa. The buses aren't particularly cheap, but, well, there's not really any other option.

If you do seriously consider hitchhiking, have a look at hitchwiki's Japan page and the maps (half the notes on the map are mine)

There are quite a few different companies that operate night buses out of Tokyo to various parts of Japan. I'd do a google search, willer express is not always the cheapest, or best option. There's JR buses and a couple of others that I know of but have forgotten the names. Having said that, it's easier to book on Willer, because their site is in English too.

For places to stay, I recommend khaosan kyoto hostel, it's reasonably priced, and very very conveniently located, but it fills up quickly. I would start planning now, because between the 28th and the 3rd of January, everyone will be travelling (well not everyone, but it's basically as bad as the obon period. Everyone needs to return to their home town to clean their family's grave). Make sure you don't get caught out with nowhere to stay during your travels!

For Takayama I'd recommend 2 days, you'll be able to see everything then. Nagoya to Takayama by train is very doable, if you want to start from there, take the bus from Shinjuku to Matsumoto (Nagano). There's some great minshukus (B&Bs) in Takayama.

Ok, I just booked a night bus to Shinagawa for Sat (4400 or something, but sadly just standard bus with no leg room) and then I saw I can only bring a piece of baggage of 1m IN SUM TOTAL. Is that even enough to bring a big backpack? Not that I have one yet, I brought a big suitcase, and now I guessI will have to leave it here (luckily I can) and buy a backpack... guess shinjuku should have those somewhere... 1m seems awfully small!
Also booked a room in Pongyi in Kanazawa for 2 nights, so I'm ok until Tuesday. What to do next? Go to Takayama and Shirakawa after and book something there? And then Fukui or to Gifu? What would be easier in terms of cheap travelling? I could even skip Gifu, but I need to fill 4 weeks somehow. Next stop after that will be Kyoto, I suppose.

Something else: can you travel here without a mobile phone? I'd like to save the costs, I can use internet for contacting, after all.

Its always been my experience that buses have a lot of room for baggage. I've never really payed attention to the bag limits, but I have taken 2 large suitcases on a bus before and never got any complaints (not to say it doesn't happen). I wouldn't fret too much about bag sizes, they'll go under the bus easily enough.

Oh ok, then I wont worry about them refusing to transport me But I already stored my suitcase, so I have to buy a backpack now - its a good idea I think, I can travel much more lightly. Just that picking one takes time again.
Any suggestions on how to go about visiting Takayama/Fukui/Shirakawa, (also, for how many days the last two)? If I got that part planned, it should get easier again...

lanval Wrote:Oh ok, then I wont worry about them refusing to transport me But I already stored my suitcase, so I have to buy a backpack now - its a good idea I think, I can travel much more lightly. Just that picking one takes time again.
Any suggestions on how to go about visiting Takayama/Fukui/Shirakawa, (also, for how many days the last two)? If I got that part planned, it should get easier again...

I stayed one night in Shirakawa-go and it was more than enough. We took a fairly short bus ride there from Kanazawa.

As for Shirakawa-go, we spent about a day seeing the scenery, went to a nearby onsen at night, and then stayed in one of the farm houses. The next day we left quite early because we had already done pretty much everything. So I don't think you need to devote more than a day to it really.

I didn't go to Fukui or Takayama though. I'm supposed to go to Fukui to see the dinosaur museum with a friend, actually, but somehow I don't think the trip will ever actually materialize, haha.

I just read about the Kansai Area Pass - it includes 5 cities on my list. Maybe I should stay in Kyoto for 4,5 days (I really like this city, wanna see some museums and maybe I can find a couch) and then buy this pass to move on to the other cities? 6000 for 4 days sounds good, doesnt it?
And I guess I should get that seishun kippu 18 too, but do you have to use those 5 tickets up in a certain time frame?

I got a slight problem here... I
Kanazawa to Fukui = no problem
but
X Takayama to Fukui - kinda roundabout way
I'd have to go back to Kanazawa again. Is it not possible to make this a round trip, without going back somewhere, am I missing something? Need sleep...

If it's cheap travel you're after there's always hitchhiking, Japan is one of the safest places to do this and it's very easy, especially for foreigners.

I hitched from Fukuoka to Tokyo over about a week, stopping along the way at Hiroshima, Osaka and Kyoto, and also more locally around Kyushu (where I lived), and met the most amazing, interesting and generous people along the way! Paired with couchsurfing my travel expenses were nonexistent except for token gifts for my drivers/hosts.

All you need really is a map that shows SA/PAs and materials to make signs for your destination. http://hitchwiki.org/en/Japan

I also have experienced taking the local trains all the way from Tokyo to Fukuoka, it took about 18 hours I think, pretty gruelling but it was very cheap and offered great views

Quoting your link..
While a single girl (or woman) is likely to get picked up very fast, this has its risks: Japan has its fair share of perverts and predators and a lone hitchhiker in a foreign country is a vulnerable target.
I'd rather not get traumatized I think, and it's december. Maybe as a last resort, if there is no good way to get to Fukui by train o_O

lanval Wrote:I'd rather not get traumatized I think, and it's december. Maybe as a last resort, if there is no good way to get to Fukui by train o_O

You could just hitchhike only with families or women. The service areas are open, public areas, so it's not like a creepy person could just shove you into a car and drive away. If you don't want to hitchhike with someone, you can refuse and wait until someone you're comfortable with comes along.

ok, I'll consider it. It's probably bestto try it for travelling between bigger cities and longer distances?
Sooooo I got a plan, what do you think? I feel like it's almost too quick for such interesting places. Btw, aren't many places closed on Mondays?

8, 2 days in Kanazawa
10. morning to Shirakawa-go, stay 1 night
11. to Takayama, stay 2 nights at Zenkoji (booked)
13. to Gifu (1 night?)
14. to Fukui, 3 nights(?) with excursion to Eiheiji
then Kyoto and stuff, not there yet - I'm a turtle!

Unless you have pretty good reason to do otherwise, between bigger cities along the expressway is generally the best way to hitchhike. In your route so far, it's probably not a good idea, but, say, Osaka->Hiroshima it would be worthwhile and easy.

I think it's a pretty good plan, but I don't think there's any need to stay in Shirakawago overnight. It's nice, but it's very small. You can see everything in three hours easily.

And yeah, there's no museums on Mondays.

Hm, well everyone seems to be in agreement that you HAVE to stay there overnight and that the food is delicious `=o

How much would you guys recommend for Gifu and Fukui/Eiheiji for somebody who loves culture, gardens, likes museums and nature?

Has anyone been in Eiheiji? I read "Due to the limited number of rooms, Eiheiji can accommodate only those affiliated with Soto Zen Buddhist organizations." Is that really true? On another page it says anybody can join for 1 or 4 days oO

Too bad they don't have email, I'm scared of phonecalls, they probably wont speak English xD

ok, so that didnt work out, they only had one place left that I didnt wanna take.

lanval Wrote:Hm, well everyone seems to be in agreement that you HAVE to stay there overnight and that the food is delicious `=o

In Shirakawa-go, you mean? Who's everyone? I didn't think the experience was much better than a Ryokan.

I did like walking around at night though to go to the onsen. There's not so many artificial lights so the stars are pretty awesome.

Too bad, I have to leave Shirakawa in the evening so I can stay at Takayama, but well...
I tried calling Eiheiji, they wont pick up. Sent an email, who knows if and when they will answer.
Decided to just continue with Kyoto, I guess I can just stay there longer if my temple-stay doesnt work out. I hope couch-surfing is flexible.

Ok So I looked up distances, I guess it would be good to go in this order:
Fukui - Kyoto - Nara - Ise - back to Nara? - Osaka - side trip to Koyasan - back to Osaka - Kobe (do I have to see it?)

Does anybody know if there is a ticket for roundtrips like Osaka- Koyasan or Nara-Ise and back?
Only one day left before I have to leave 　（”＞＿＜）

Ok if I just choose the most economic way of going, I might be at Okayama/Hiroshima around New Year... As far as I know, this is a good time to be around temples, isnt it? I just found this:
http://www.japan-guide.com/community/rab...report-846
Sounds like Okayama might be a good place, probably easier than Kyoto to find a place? Has anybody seen it? Guess it's better going to Okayama than changing my route completely...