Help with Tokyo trip please

Roberta1 · 22 January 2012 at 11:20AM

Hello All,

I am planning a March/April 7 day trip to Tokyo for me and dh, possibly 2012 but more likely 2013. Please can I have some help as follows?

1) There seem to be loads of budget hotels. Does anyone have any particular recommendations? I don't want a shared bathroom. Anything earthquake-proof would be extra attractive!

2) Flights from Heathrow seem to be about £560 non-stop per person. Can anyone think of a cheap way around this, e.g. flying cheaply to another European capital then on to Tokyo from there?
3) Is it worth staying a whole week in Tokyo or is it better to split the time between Tokyo and Kyoto?
4) Good budget places to eat authentic Japanese food?
5) Good things to see and do?

I would be really grateful for some help from people who have been there.
Roberta

agrinnall · 22 January 2012 at 11:49AM

My information would be out of date as it's almost 6 years old so I'll restrict my answer to point 3. You can definitely find enough things to keep you busy for a week in Tokyo, but having gone all that way it would be a shame not to see a bit more of Japan. I would say 4 days in Tokyo, a few hours travelling to Kyoto and the rest of the time there, although even better would be to spend longer than a week and see a few more places too. Have a look at open jaw flights into Tokyo and out of Osaka so you don't need to lose time travelling back to Tokyo.

claire16c · 22 January 2012 at 10:13PM

We stayed in the Oak hotel. really nice, tiny bathroom, but means you dont have to share. We were there for a week, and we needed it, there was so much to do. We did one day travelling to Hakone to see Mt Fuji. Also the jet lag is really bad the 1st couple of days.

BusinessStudent · 23 January 2012 at 12:33AM

You could get a Alitalia flight departing from Madrid, Spain to Tokyo for £259 - see www.kayak.com and use the multi-city option to book on expedia (Example date - Depart from Madrid on 19/03/2012 and return to London on 26/03/2012 / Short change of planes in Italy both ways enroute to Madrid and back to London) ....so what you could do is get yourself a cheap Ryanair/Easyjet flight from the UK to Madrid and then a have a night or whatever you feel like there in a cheap hotel.

Edit: Alitalia flights departing from MAD and returning to LON seem to be fixed at £259 in all the random searches I have done upto June on expedia - an absolute bargain!. It is my understanding that flights are cheaper from Madrid because airport taxes are lower than in the UK.

So possibly, you and whoever you fly with could save loads between the two. You will also get to enjoy Madrid too! :-). Another extremely helpful poster on here suggested flying from Madrid to save money. If It was me then I would get a cheap flight from the UK to Madrid, 1/2 nights in a hotel in Madrid > fly to Tokyo > return to London

You might view all this as a hassle but then again you could also have a trip to Madrid for the same or less cost as flying from the UK to Tokyo.

So total for one person would be:
Easyjet Flight to London to Madrid (Around £40-£50) with Luggage (Look at Ryanair too)
+ Hotel in Madrid (£60 cheapest, although you could stay at the airport or a hostel for even less or free)
+ Alitalia flights for £259 (Madrid > Tokyo > London)
= £369

So total for 2 people - 2 x Easyjet flights from UK to Madrid + 1 night in Madrid + 2 x Alitalia flights from Madrid to Tokyo to London : £678 total.

...Just an idea :-)

nmb123 · 8 February 2012 at 10:25PM

Hello

Apologies if I should start a new thread, rather than asking here.

I'm also looking a trip to Tokyo for the Fuji Rocks festival in late July, probably going out on/around the 14th and coming back towards the end of July/Early August but dates are flexible.

The cheapest I can find for direct flights from London at the moment is over £800.

I've looked at the helpful Kayak suggestion above going Madrid to Tokyo to London and that still seems to be expensive this far in advance. Are there particular things I should look out for or other websites to search on.

Are flights likely to be cheaper nearer the time, or is it a case of earlier the better?

Sorry if those are daft questions; thanks for your help.

grace_kelly · 9 February 2012 at 1:56AM

Hi,
I was in Japan Sept 2011 so have some fairly up to date info for you.
I would recommend looking at cheap flights (maybe Easyjet) to Turkey then on to Asia from there, can be significantly cheaper that way.

Defo try to get to Kyoto as well, doesn't take long on the train and its an incredible place. You could easily spend a week in Tokyo but seeing both cities is well worthwhile.

There are loads of budget places to stay. If you don't mind taking a gamble, it can be way cheaper to look online a couple days before you go to get the best cheap deals. When you book, try to make sure you are near a train/subway station because taxis are quite pricey.

Places I recommend.....
Tokyo: Asakusa and Harajuku for shopping, also Electric town. The government building in Shinjuku and Ebisu tower have (free!) observatory views of the city (well worth doing). Also check if any sumo tournaments are on - amazing!
Kyoto:Golden and silver pavilions (Kinkakui and Ginkakuji temples). Walk around East Kyoto - the whole place is wonderful.

One final recommendation, people do speak English but if you get a phrase book and just give a few words a go they love you for it. Very kind, friendly people.

Have a great trip!

AHAR · 9 February 2012 at 2:29AM

In all the times I've been to Japan, I think I've only paid over £600 for flights a couple of times - and this is from Newcastle with few choices of airlines with connecting flights. I always end up going with KLM. Last time over the New Year period was only ~£450 but that's unusually cheap.
I've never been during the summer though as I hear it can be very hot and humid.

japan-guide.com is a good site for general research.

Since Fuji Rock is in JR (Japan Rail) East's region, you'll be able to use their online ticket reservation system for the Shinkansen. (Joetsu line is the one you need) Probably a good idea for travel to a big event like that. I think it's too early to book yet though.
http://jreast-shinkansen-reservation.eki-net.com/pc/english/common/menu/menu.aspx

BusinessStudent · 10 February 2012 at 6:14AM

Just looked and all the £259 Alitalia flights from Madrid to Tokyo to London have now all gone.

Was tempted to book myself as the flights were incredibly cheap!

Molly41 · 10 February 2012 at 8:28AM

Can I suggest Nikko - about an 2 hours on a fast train from Tokyo.

dispic1 · 11 February 2012 at 9:38PM

we stayed in the grand palace, really good location near to lots of things to do and see, just round the corner from old imperial gardens and really close to underground. you would be better of in one of the business class hotels.

Help with Tokyo trip please

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