Quote:
Originally Posted by kel64
For the hostel, this is where I stayed last year... (booked it here too)
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldet...tel-Tokyo-6464
If you dont mind sharing, then you can get away with $20 a night. Was the best option for us heh. It is located in Minowa, which is in northern Tokyo. Was a very friendly place to stay and would easily recommend it. |
Seems like a lot of people liked it =) By "sharing" do you mean my gf and I sharing (which would be perfectly fine for us), or do you mean we share with other strangers? That would probably be fine as well, unless we'd get unlucky and stuck with *******s or something
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hatix
IMPORTANT NOTE: you cannot buy a JR Pass in Japan! You have to buy a voucher for it in your own country and then you can exchange it for a JR Pass in Narita or a big JR Station. Check the english website of the JR Pass for addresses: http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en005.html
Also: also try the reseller shop in Ueno, it's bigger than the one in Harajuku and sometimes has more choice. I also suggest taking a hostel in Tokyo, not in Yokohama, you'll probably only be in Yokohama for the concert (and maybe visiting Minato Mirai 21). And you would have to get on the train half an hour every time to go to Tokyo, and then take other trains/subways to other parts of Tokyo. I took a look at hihostels and they don't have much choice for Tokyo, try hostelworld.com as well. Compare and see what you think is good. It's always best to check a few different sources.
Also, plan ahead what you're going to do in Tokyo, don't go there and think "we'll see what we do". Tokyo is big and so that you know where everything is and how to get there (which train/subway). Because it's big, it's not like just strolling through Tokyo, you don't do that. You stroll through parts of Tokyo which are 10-20 minutes from each other  . Not to scare you of the size, the train- and subway system can get you everywhere in no time.
It's just that personally, I want to be prepared before I go somewhere I haven't been. Things like size, distance, language barrier... if you have (almost) everything planned out up front, you don't need help on the spot. (Although the japanese people are very friendly and would love to help you out)
P.S.: I think I'm really gonna have to make a big tutorial too, with some travel tips and how get things like a Japan Rail Pass. Not that I know everything (certainly not!), but that I can share the things that I do know. |
You should! Reading several different "tutorials" can help newbies such as myself even more by reading about different experiences and examples.
You seem to be very knowledgeable about Japan and especially Tokyo - I will certainly be taking all of your advice! If we do decide to go through with all of this, I will definitely be printing out much of this forum to take with me haha. I'll check both the shop in Harajuku and the shop in Ueno just incase one has more selection than the other, or better prices, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Corybobory
Here's a map of my plans of action if I were you (hopefully ti would help)
1. Get a Youth Hostel Membership Card- it's 35$ and you save on average 5$ a night so it's worth it. You also get a free magazine subscription and good guides on traveling. And it's good for a year, so if you ever go anywhere again...
2. Find a cheap flight. Make sure you arent planning to go during any holidays or it's the high season or you'll be paying for it. Wikipedia will show you the best times to go. Test the days of the week you fly out and in on, cause that could change prices.
3. Get a rail pass. Buy it online and get it mailed to you. You can't buy them in Japan, but like Hatix said you get a voucher which you use in Narita airport in the JR place. The person I sat next to on the plane was so helpful and took me there Get it stmped so you can use it right away, cause you can use it to get into Tokyo for free. Decide how much travelling you will do, and then what rail pass you'll need. If you just go to Kyoto and back it will already have paid for itself right there.
4. Find a hostel for the dates you will be there. Book the first few days. It probably says it's all booked because you are looking so many months in advance! I recommend Tokyo Yoyogi youth hostel. You and your girlfriend will be in separate roms, but you get individual rooms and it's 30$ a night and they are very helpful. It's right by shinjuku so it's central and easy to get to. I think I've talked about that hostel in here and it's the same on the creator of this thread sayed at. The best part about it is it has this awesome breakfast buffet next door that all the school kids and other travellers use and it's sooooo yumm- all you can eat and drink for 4$.
5. Plan your itinerary and have fun! Japan in incredibly convenient but you should still have a rough idea of what you want to do when. Searchthe internet and read some travel books on Tokyo and Japan- make a list of what you want to see |
Ahh this is exactly what I needed! To have everything sort of mapped out (I couldn't do this for myself before because I still couldn't figure out the hostel stuff). Thank you so much
I will definitely be getting a Hostel membership card, now that I realize it will be totally worth it. For the flight, that's exactly what I'm trying to find. A cheap flight - haha. Great idea about wikipedia; I'm going to try to find when the cheapest tickets for June would be available, while still being able to try and see the June 7th or June 8th concerts. I'm not quite sure what to type into Wikipedia for it, though - any suggestions? "Japan seasons"? Or maybe "japan holidays"?
"
The person I sat next to on the plane was so helpful and took me there Get it stmped so you can use it right away, cause you can use it to get into Tokyo for free." -- I can only hope I'll meet someone nice like that as well
Did you speak Japanese when you went? I can ask little things here and there, and I know some vocabulary, but that's about it. I'm taking a class soon though, just because I love it. Also, you say to get it stamped ASAP so you can get into Tokyo for free - where do I get it stamped once I trade the voucher in for the JR Pass? At Narita airport as well?
"
Book the first few days. It probably says it's all booked because you are looking so many months in advance! " - Good point, maybe you're right about that. So maybe I should wait until about May to try booking a hostel? Also, do you mean to say only to book the first few days that I'll be there? So, like June 4th - June 8th, or something? Why is that?
Tokyo Yoyogi Youth Hostel sounds really nice (I also read your previous comment about it in the thread..), I'm going to have to compare that one to this one that kel64 mentioned:
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldet...tel-Tokyo-6464 decisions, decisions.