Planning a holiday to Japan, advice please.

Paulfrombrum

Good evening I'm looking for some advice please I'm planning to holiday to Japan for next year.

I will be going with my wife for 2 weeks, probably in June.

I understand and speak Japanese to a fairly high level but have bever travelled there before, this is my dream holiday.

My questions are regarding base camps and bullet train travel.

In a nutshell I want to stay in Tokyo but travel to Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima, I have no idea how to even begin booking hotels in different locations to ease with train travel as whenever we have holidayed abroad I has always been to one hotel only.

Can anyone advise on this and on JR pass travel please?

We are planning to do the holiday on the cheaper side but still staying in 3 star hotels and nothing more extravagant whilst also avoiding the capsules, we are not young.

I was looking to book through love holidays or kayak but they only have one hotel options....

Thank you for any help and or advice.

elsien

Expedia, Booking.com, Hotels.com, booking direct with the hotel?

https://www.jrailpass.com/faq/seat-reservation

Do you know how long you want to be in each place for?

jimi_man

Hi.

Either try a specialist provider such as Trailfinders or an independent travel agent that specialises in Japan such as https://japanspecialist.com/ or book the travel and hotels yourself with JR and booking.com

I enjoy searching and putting together trips so the second method is preferred for me but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. As you have a huge advantage in the language then doing it yourself shouldn’t be a problem. 

(Nb I have no connection with the above travel agent - it was literally the first one in Google). 

skycatcher

We went last June and booked through booking.com. if you make sure you are near metro stations then travel will be easy. We went to those places also. I would advise staying for a number of days in each location so you are not moving hotel too many times. Make sure you go to Miyajima island when in Hiroshima ( you get there with your JR pass). It's all quite easy and if you speak the language your are minted.

SiliconChip

I had 2 weeks in Japan 17 years ago, so online booking was not as prevalent then as it is now. I went to pretty much the same places as you (including Miyajima as @skycatcher suggests, and also a few days on Shikoku, where your Japenese will come in even more handy than in the big cities on Honshu), I booked a few hotels online but I also booked places just by turning up at the Tourist Office on the day and getting them to do it. I didn't bother with a JR pass, I just booked specific trains between particular destinations and also used buses for some journeys.

MDMD

The JR pass had a significant price increase last year of c. 70% so from what I understand it’s now much less the obvious route. 

https://www.japan-guide.com/news/japan-rail-pass-cost-increase.html

martindow

For rail travel internationally, seat 61 is a good place to find up to date and detailed information.  Here is the Japan page

https://www.seat61.com/Japan.htm

frankie

As above, talk to Trailfinders, they will be able to put together an itinerary for your needs and will be very flexible.  They may not work out to be the cheapest but they are very good about what they do.  Also consider Audley Travel. 

Beenie

We travelled in Japan in the days before the internet took off. We booked hotel rooms rated in Lonely Planet and did this over the phone. We didn't speak any Japanese apart from Hello, thank you and goodbye but found that many Japanese speak enough English for us to manage nicely. All metro, road and railway signs were in English as a second language so didn't get lost once. The tourist areas cater well for English speakers, the rural places not so much but if you're fluent in Japanese you will have no problems. It's a lovely country, clean well-organised and a truly memorable experience. Go and enjoy!

[Deleted User]

I always use the same hotel in Tokyo, PM me for details.

Booking.com and various Japanese sites are fine for hotels. I've used Japanican and Yahoo before too.

For shinkansen I just get tickets at the station. The machines are confusing but you can go to the counter and someone will help you.

Get a Suica card for train and bus travel, makes things much easier.

Get a SIM card so you can use your phone with Google Maps to get around. You can either buy one at somewhere like Yodobashi Camera or the airport, or an eSIM like Ubigi.

Again, feel free to PM me to chat if you have questions.

strawbeery90

For hotels, check booking.com - you can filter by location/amenities and see prices of different 3-star options in each city and definitely get a JR Pass - it's the best way to travel between major cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka easily on the bullet trains. There are different durations so choose based on your itinerary.