I'm leaving for Japan soon - hotel recommendation?

yeah I'm from Canada so I'm not sure what will work

but I bank with HSBC and I'm sure they have a presence in Japan...I remember getting HKD out of bank machines with my card in HK

most everything should be price marked I assume? and should I expect some sort of tax on top of the price?



thanks for all the help guys, this will definately help me out immensely...this trip was very last minute as I got a round trip flight for about $360US but have to leave quite soon

 

also, don't forget to review this thread THOROUGHLY:

http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22983

 

ugh, HSBC -used- to be a royal pain in the arse. I had a savings account back in the UK that still had a substantial amount of cash in it. So the plan was when i moved here to dip into it in emergencies and on the flip side i added my parents to the account so they could get at the cash if they had an emergency.

Card would only work at Citibank, nowhere else. I still have a HSBC credit card, that too only lets you take cash from Citibank.

I'm sure the situation must have changed, however, i know during the world cup here it still hadn't because there were a ton of complaints about how their cash cards wouldn't work with most banks over here (after an advertising campaign that stated they'd work with all japans banks)

So yeah, i'd just double check - plus you can still always goto a citibank, they aren't difficult to find.

just one extra thing - a lot of places STILL don't take credit cards, and some places that do slap a 5% premium on top for using one. :/

all this talk of aki... thank god i got a house pass today so i can go shopping!

 

Awesome, again, thanks for the help guys.

Is this hotel http://www.oakhotel.co.jp/english/ within walking distance of Akihabara? The site says it's a 20min train ride (subway I assume) but then another site I read says Ueno is a 10 min walk from Akihabara...?


Either way I'll probably be on the JR Yamanote line quite a bit as it seems alot of it's stops are key points of interest for things I'd like to see. It's a shame I only have 5 days/6 nights but considering flight/hotel is only going to cost me about $750 US I can't complain.


Is there like a 1 week pass or something I can get for that JR Yamanote line? Cost of such pass? Hong Kong's MTR system was a dream. I still carry my octopus card in my wallet.

 

You can buy a one day ticket called the Tokunai pass which allows you to travel on the JR East lines in the Tokyo area for Y730, however if you go from say Akihabara to Shibuya, Shinjuku, Nakano then back to Akihabara you will only spend Y680, so you should only purchase this ticket if you are going to at least 4 or more stations in a day. It's only valid on the JR lines and you will still need to pay for Metro stations (there is a similar ticket for the Metro, see below).

There is also a new Skyliner + Metro Pass (http://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/metropass/index.html) which for an extra Y180 or Y560 over the normal skyliner fare will get you a one day or two day metro pass. This is not valid on the Toei subway lines (Asakusa, Mita, Shinjuku and Oedo lines, you are unlikely to want to use the Mita and Asakusa lines but the Shinjuku and Oedo lines means a quick trip from Ueno to Shinjuku is out of the question, you'll have to go from Ueno to Mitsukoshimae to Nagatacho/Akasaka Mitsuke to Shinjuku...) and although you can use the metro pass on any day after the Skyliner (so if you get to Tokyo on Monday you can use it on Wednesday, but the two pass must be used Wednesday to Thursday). It may be worth getting the one day pass at least just to explore (as it's cheaper then a ticket to and from somewhere) , although you'll have to plan your routes given the lack of the Oedo / Shinjuku lines but you can get to Shinjuku, Nakano, Shibuya and Ikebukero with it with a little planning. You can get a one day pass for both subway lines for Y1000 but again you would need to travel to over 5 stations in a day to make it worthwhile.

You can also get a Suica card (there is also the Pasmo which is basically the same) which works in the same way as the Octopus card. You can buy it at the airport from the Suica machine, it's Y2000 (Y500 deposit, Y1500 of travel) and works on JR, Metro and private train lines in Tokyo (and a lot of the surrounding area). You can also use it in many convience stores (even ones not in the station) as well as nearly all the shops in the station, just show it and then put it on the terminal and wait for the reciept.

The distance between your hotel and Suehirocho station (the north most point of Akihabara) is 2km, which would be a 25 to 40 minute walk.

 

Just to reiterate gaijinpunches sage advice : build a list before you come and do a full round of aki prior to purchases : i saved inordinate amounts today by doing just tnat.

The other thing is : as long as your house trained if i am in aki i dont mind meeting up and showing u the places. Though screaming new born rules my life so....

 

If you want to try to save on the hotel then http://www.sakura-hotel.co.jp/ is decent. Fairly no frills but only a 10 minute walk to Akiba from Jimbocho while also being well located for Shinjuku and Shibuya.

A little more on the pricey side but very nice is http://www.wh-rsv.com/english/shinjuku/index.html (Shinjuku Washington). I've satyed with this chain in more than 10 locations in Japan and all are very nice for the price. This was the best though due to being walking distance from the shops in Shinjuku and the fun in Kabukicho.

Also, you mentioned HSBC, I am not certain but I think you should be able to use ATM's in the Post Office and 7/11. 7 will charge (200 yen I think) and try not to use your card in any of the old Post Office machines (look for the line of buttons along the front of the machine below the screen, that's an old one) unless you have to as someone whorking for them told me they have a habit of keeping gaijin cards if they cant read them.

At least you shouldn't be stuck with hunting down Citibank like the dark old days.

 

Yeah I've been around quite a bit and although Japan's train system looks quite intimidating at first I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.

And I can go straight from Narita airport to my hotel by train right? (provided there's a stop near my hotel). I don't have to leave the airport vicinity to hop on a train?


Dcharlie: I totally learned my lesson the hard way to look around before you shop while in HK. I remember the first couple days I bought a bunch of items I found WAAAAAAY cheaper elsewhere. I'm not talking even that far away either. Something on the main street would be cheaper on the side street it's connected too.....argh....thanks for the offer too, we'll see how lost I get heh.

I take it the big name places like Super Potato aren't the places I'll find the best prices in, it'll be the more out-of-sight places just outside the main streets.

I'll probably document my trip in this log so people can laugh if I overpaid for a Draqon Quest slime plush or maybe recommend seeing something if I hit a certain area.

 

The Keisei Skyliner goes from the airport to Ueno, so you'll still need to walk to the hotel.

Once you get past customs just look for an escalator going down and that'll take you to the Keisei and JR train lines. If you are going to get that special ticket with the Metro pass then I would print out the sheet and show the person at the counter it, else just say Skyliner and they will say smoking / non smoking...

Super Potato isn't too bad for some items, Famicom Twin, N64, Saturns and for a lot of rare or different items it might be the only place you'll find them (MSX machines), but a lot of the common stuff is overpriced, although a lot of the rare items are overpriced too.

Daily blog would be fantastic to read, I'm leaving Japan on the 22nd so I'll just miss you (although I am going to Taiwan via Hong Kong, so don't feel too bad for me... )

Re: Post Office, as long as your card isn't worn (and if it's showing signs then get a replacement) and your card does have the Cirrus, Maestro, Mastercard or Visaplus, Visa Electron, Visa Delta or Visa logos on it and you can use it as an ATM card then your card will be fine.

 

When you're on the trains, is there an audio or visual alert as to what station is coming up? And if so, is it english friendly?


I've been told I'll see all sorts of wacky vending machines in Japan. Like some really crazy stuff.


Oh yeah, and bartering is considered rude right? Even in smaller shops?



I'll probably end up staying in Ueno and will hop the train. Maybe I'll walk to places in the morning and take the train back. I love long walks as long as there is shit to see. One day in Hong Kong I walked from Mong Kok (Langham PLace is where I stayed) all the way to Causeway bay (took ferry across) and then walked all the way back home. Plus there was alot of zigzagging along the way.

 

Every line in and around Tokyo is announced in English and Japanese with bilingual signs too. Maybe not the Toei Arakawa and Setagaya-sen but those are tiny.

If you like long walks Tokyo is great, longest I did was Hamadayama (Suginami-ku) to Ginza via Shinjuku, Shibuya, Suidobashi, Jimbocho and Tokyo. Grab a camera and snap away on route as you will see tons of shit that will be new to you.

I wish I knew how long that walk in Hong Kong was but not made it there yet.

 

That hotel is walking distance to Ueno station, but not really Akihabara, especially carrying gear that you've bought. It's about a 10 minute walk to Ueno station. Kind of far, but not too bad.

 

Akihabara is world famous for finding retro gaming stuff, is there anywhere else that's great as well that may not have a well known reputation outside of Japan?

If I run out of big cash or have some spare time I'll go take a look at that 40ton giant robot walking spider http://japan-guide.com/even/yokohama-expo/

 

http://chiba4u.com/01/kantei/

Best retro shop within reach of Tokyo. It's in Chiba and the nearest station is Gumyo on the Togane line.

I forget the lines you need, maybe someone else can help, but go to Tokyo and then head out to Soga, you want to change there to a train that takes you to Oami, change there onto the Togane line and get off ay Gumyo.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&s....595414,140.404029&spn=0.015843,0.038624&z=15

It's a 20 minute walk and the last station on the line, Naruto is about the same too but more direct. Look for a big sign where the marker on that map is, it will be in black and white and advertising books, cd, games etc.

To give you an idea I found things half the price of Akiba here. The only place that tops it is up in Akita but that is an even longer journey.

You can use suica but put at least 3000yen on just in case as I think it was about 1200 from Tokyo station one way.

The shopping centre just next door has McD's and KFC if you get hungry because other than this shop about the only other things there are car dealerships.

Look at this url to see some photos of how good this place is.
http://jamie-sam.livejournal.com/3432.html

 

my pants - i just shit them

what a store!!!!

i just found out about nakano broadway too, looks amazing!

 

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3008.html

 

Nakano is lovely to live but real expensive, even more so than Akiba mostly.

 

Believe it or not, this is a pretty new revelation. I think the Odakyuu might not have English announcements. It's a hunk of shit though.

They're both ridiculous. I can't imagine that shop in Chiba being too much better. It's absolutely miles away though... not close to any station if I understand correctly.

 

well, my trip planning for my 7 days is as follows:

day 1 - fly in, come in early evening will likely just walk around and check out the area around hotel in ueno
day 2 - akihabara, giants vs carp game
day 3 - shinjuku
day 4 - general shopping (either shibuya, ginza or nakano broadway)
day 5 - zoo/aquarium/museum day (yet to plan - my scrap if I got alot of shopping to do)
day 6 - probably akihabara, spend whatever yen I have left
day 7 - fly out

I would like to fit in visits to the Pokemon center and square enix store - what stops on the jr yamanote line would be closest to them? I'd love to see the Gundam statue if it's open, but seems quite a ways out of the way and honestly it's cool but I don't know wtf gundam is other than they are giant robots or planes or roboplane transformer guys or something

 

For the pokemon centre you want Hamamatsucho station it's about seven stops from Ueno. The pokemon centre is just around the corner from the station. For the square enix shop you want Shinjuku station then jump onto a Keio line train to Hatsudai. If you do want to see the gundam statue down in toyko bay, catch the train down to Shimbashi, and change to the monorail - the station is just across from the main platfroms. ride to Daiba for the bay. Lovely view crossing the bay on the monorail.

If your going to be using the jr trains a lot you should get a suica card, saves a lot of hassle getting tickets, but be carefull not to get lost in stations like shinjuku.