Just checking to see if anyone dealt with G Adventures, looking to do the Japan on a Shoestring in July with them and wanted to get people's thoughts?
G Adventures - Japan on a Shoestring
cr12330 on 25/04/2017 - 16:26
Last edited 25/04/2017 - 16:29
Last edited 25/04/2017 - 16:29
Comments
Yeah the other issue is that its the first time to Japan and wanted to do some hassle free and at a budget, there not many tours on the internet around that $2000 per person, every other company asking around that $3000 to $5000 dollar mark for around 8 to 10 days for their tours.
horrible prices. Plan it all yourself, with ideas from expedia, tripadvisor and reading these forums. before living here i'd travel here for 10-14 days on a $2k budget, and visited 3+ cities. you can get cheap peach/jetstar flights within japan to other cities. i havent had experience with night buses. highway buses in kyushu are easy.
Theres also couchsurfers in japan and airbnb for accommodation.So you definitely want to do a tour?
as long as you get a sim when you arrive and have a translation app then you'd be cool.
internet is your friend when travelling (it's made life so stupidly easy)
Japan is not a cheap country. Tokyo is a mega-city with 20+ million people. Sure you can come to japan and eat onigiri 3 times a day, but you wont enjoy yourself.
I've travelled to Japan with a budget of $100 a day, and stayed at a variety of accommodation, from $70 a night hotels to $25 hostels and ryokans priced between. Japan has plenty of snacks and other things you cant buy off aliexpress, and the country is pretty much a massive kitchen with plenty of things to eat and restaurant areas to explore. Museums and parks are often cheap and interesting, especially around ueno in tokyo, but all major cities have museums, art galleries and interesting places.
If you get cheap jetstar return flights, youve made a good start to a japan adventure. transport in japan is expensive, and because japan is getting in excess of 24 million visitors each year, accommodation can be difficult, so book early. make your trip interesting and dont travel to the standard Tokyo/Kyoto/osaka route. The countryside is beautiful, albeit lively.
July its summer, and possibly the end of the rainy season. weather has been a bit random lately.
Plan as much as you can yourself, and read through the 100s of other japan posts here and on whirlpool. it definitely helped for my travels.
Source: I live in nagasaki prefecture
My plans was originally was to go and see Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka/Mt Fuji and was thinking of doing small 3 day tours and spend up to 8 to 10 days, its going to be via China (Return to Australia) as I need to go see family etc.
Yeah if this was my second time in Japan I would be more flexible but it will be with my Wife and I so really have to see.
I'm more worried about getting in and out of cities and understanding Japan train, I can see the tours line up on trip advisor but the last thing I want to do is my Wife keeps looking at me and she you know what your doing here or for their etc, so trying not to make it stressful as well.
You can use the G adventure itinerary as a basic guide as its shown on their website.The "shoe string" trips are more for backpackers or budget travellers and you'd find its a younger crowd between 18-35 which may suit you or not. They take care of all the travels from A to B for you and show you a recommended list of things to do in each place. Its good if you have a good group of fellow travellers, but can be hit or miss.
I tend to google itineraries as a base guide and use stuff like wikitravels or guide books to see what to do in each place and where to go next or go off the beaten track.
If there a way the a swing this, then I would spend 3 days in Tokyo, 1 day in Mt Fuji, 2 days in Kyoto and 2 days in Osaka, with Japan rail etc, its 8 days but can swing it to 10 days.
You must consider the JR pass then.
Did it years ago. Only worth it if you are catching the shinkansen based on your cities you have mentioned. the unlimited travel in metro tokyo on the yamanote line (green colour) is a must to see most tourist attractions. I guess why they have english announcements on that line.
buses are a decent and inexpensive way of travelling. I use this website to book http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/bus/
tokyo to osaka by bus - yen2,900 / AU$35
Anyone recommend a budget 2 to 3 star hotel in Tokyo, where we can walk around and explore on foot and has places to go to, looking to do a day trip and have 2 free days in Tokyo so still deciding what to do on the free days as well.
I've done a couple of G Adventures trips although not to Japan. I find them well organised and have good itineraries. Yes it's more expensive than DIY but sometimes you just want to show up and enjoy your trip and let somebody else worry about the logistics and not have to spend weeks and months researching what to see, where to go and how to get there.
take a look around Shinjuku or Shibuya. Quite central to most of the attractions such as Golden Gai, Shibuya crossing, Metropolitan government building. Depending on your time of travel, one night will be around $130-180 for a hotel.
Alternatively, plan what you want to see, then book a hotel in that general area.
For example, if youre more interested in Akibahara, and the Tsukiji fish markets, then book closer to that side of townThat said, getting around by subway/rail is quick and not too inconvenient anyway.
also, fyi, Cheaptickets currently have 16% off
I'm thinking of doing this one day tour https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/AttractionProductDetail?produ…
Then got 2 free days, might take up some of your ideas, the subway metro has easy access to get to sites? Thank you
totally unrelated but if you like whiskey then buy your booze at a supermarket before you leave and pack it safely in your checked in luggage..
and you don't need to spend heaps to get a great japanese whisky. nikko red or Akashi are both reasonably good for ~800yen
also convenience stores and restaurants within in the airport charge regular prices unlike australian airports - 500ml bottle of water? $5 please.
i think i got the cheapest suntory whiskey at a convenience store just to see how bad it gets. small bottle for 300yen. surprisingly good, bought more
One I hear often is the Nikka from the Barrel blended whiskey.
Apparently best bang for buck. $30-35 in Japan, around $75 in Aus
Looking to head to Japan in either Late November and come home in Early December, is there any deals with a group at that time? If not airfares are coming just over $700 per person at the moment returned.
you can do it waaaay cheaper than that.
source : I lived in Japan for 4 years.