any recommendation for JAPAN land tour?

[danjud]

hi bros / sis,

my family and friends planning to redeem mileage to fly into Narita during Apr

we were considering to book a land tour in Japan, either travel around Tokyo or Hokkaido

anyone know of good land tours company we can use in Japan?

thanks in advance

 

[plasma]

theres a local land-tour company, called Hato bus. you can google them out. they conduct tours in both japanese and english.

 

[ortega]

how many days are you planning to stay in japan and what do you want to see?

i would go free and easy

get the japan rail pass

go to these travel blogs and see what they saw
http://www.vjc2010.sg/

there is a contest too, just try your luck

 

[davidtkl76]

actually..Tokyo is not too difficult to get around..can do free and easy.

I posted an itinerary on my travel blog www.mytravelfiles.net. Search under "Japan".

Hope this would be useful to you.

 

[wayangking]

You can try this website for day tours for Japan.

http://www.jtb-sunrisetours.jp/JTB.SunriseTours/FrontEnd/

I actually tried their 1 day tour to Mt Fuji & Hakone. Not cheap, about 200 bucks per pax. But you get to experience bullet train ride. A pity the weather was abit foggy thus we couldn't head up further the mountains. Alternative, I heard you can buy a Hakone pass (not sure of the exact name) and do it free n easy style. The pass would cover most of the transport.

Have Fun!

 

[Nel21]

If you have time to do some planning and research, going free and easy will save you significant amount of money.

Well established name is JTB. There's a sale office at ION Orchard. Good service but you pay for it.

 

[danjud]

dear all,

many thanks for the valuable information

 

[shierwin]

Check my post here. DIY free and easy is the way to go bro and more fun, besides being cheaper.

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=629490

Had other posts on japan under "travel photography" that you can draw info from.

Besides tokyo, can make day trip to Nikko, sendai, Nagano, Hakone, Kamakura, Yokohama... all under 2hr train ride from Tokyo

 

[gnohz]

I agree
DIY is definitely better than following a tour. Especially in terms of free time. It can also be cheaper depending on how you look for accommodation and what type of transport you take But of course you need to overcome the language barrier. Either that or do lots of research before going

 

[shierwin]

I agree
DIY is definitely better than following a tour. Especially in terms of free time. It can also be cheaper depending on how you look for accommodation and what type of transport you take But of course you need to overcome the language barrier. Either that or do lots of research before going

Language is not a great barrier in Japan. If you can read classic chinese characters, the kanji can be handled. You may not know how to pronounce in japanese, the meaning is almost the same as in the chinese language. 无料 written in the classic way means as it stand "free" Get japanese maps as almost all the places are written in Kanji.

A decent budget for a DIY per day per person, excluding airfare, railpass, accommodation would be average Y1,000 per meal (hope your hotel provide breakfast), local transport Y600 and sightseeing Y500-1000. A day trip to Nikko 2 hours from tokyo by train would cost you around 2000 in entrance fees... check my links mentioned above and formulate the travel plans. In March make a 10 day trip to Kyushu and south Honshu up to Himeji cost us all in expenses of SGD 2,800 pax and included 2 nights stay in a japanese hotel providing 2 meals like you see in Japan hour...

 

[minch]

tokyo is easy to diy. yup i agree that not speaking japanese is not a big prob, as long as u can read chinese. furthermore tokyo is so cosmopolitic that chances are, when u really nd help, u will come across someone who speaks either mandarin or english. and i suggest getting out of tokyo (easily done by train) to nikko/kamakura if u like temples/shrines, or hakone for onsen and nature sights.

for hakone, i will suggest http://www.odakyu.jp/english/freepass/hakone_01.html
it covers almost everything in hakone, includes round trip train ride from tokyo, buses around the area, theres also ropeway (cablecar) and cruise (may b able to catch sight of mt fuji if sky is clear). all at a very reasonable price of 5000yen~ish. can get e tix from any tour agencies there (they charge minimal or no service fee), which can be found at/near all major train stations.
personally hakone is my fav place out of nikko, yokohama, and kamakura.

if u r too lazy or have no time to do side trips, theres lots of interesting places to shop or walk around, odaiba, shibuya, shinjuku, asakusa, ikebukuro, akihabara, kichijouji, rippongi etc etc. all these places have their own character, depending on what u want to c.

and hokkaido has to be my favourite place in japan. just the food itself is enough to compel me to go back. seafood (mostly raw) and ice cream (soft serve) especially. its also one of e more rare places in japan where u can find lamb/mutton.

will be happy to share if anyone needs more info =)