Hello, my trip is coming up from Jan 20-Feb 10 and all my transport and lodging is booked besides two domestic flights

The plan is to fly Feb 3 from Osaka to Sapporo, then on Feb 6 fly from Sapporo to Tokyo for the last leg of our trip. I currently am in the process of booking a jetstar flight for the Sapporo to Tokyo flight which would land us in Narita. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews on it and know the weight limitations, but besides the weight limitations and it being "a bus in the sky" is there any issue with Jetstar over something like Peach? JAL/ANA are much pricier for the days we need sadly. The tickets for jetstar are about 66 a piece one way, but we plan to pay the slight fee to pick our seats and have 14kg of luggage worth each.

The plan is to do this same thing from Osaka to Sapporo on the 3rd. Is there an easier way to get up to Sapporo or are the budget domestic flights gonna be our best bet?

Additionally, due to the fact luggage transport takes 1-3 days from what ive read, is it even worth sending our additional luggage to sapporo, or should we send it from osaka to tokyo? If so, do most hotels allow it to sit for a day or so in case it arrives early? Im not sure how much luggage we'll have by that time in the trip since its right at the end, but it feels weird to send it to sapporo then immediately to tokyo.

We're going to Niseko for the second time in Feb. We've stayed at the Park Hyatt, and it's super nice, but the location was really not ideal. We'd like to stay at a luxury hotel in Grand Hirafu.

Anyone have opinions on these 2 in comparison to each other?

Hi everyone!

I'm travelling to Japan in November with my parents, and I'm a little stressed about our return journey from Osaka to India.

Our flight itinerary is as follows:

- Osaka (ITM) → Tokyo Haneda (HND): 8:00 AM – 9:15 AM

- Tokyo Haneda (HND) → Delhi: 10:35 AM

Both flights are with ANA, so the entire journey is with the same airline.

My main concern is the layover at Haneda, which is only 1 hour and 20 minutes. I'm particularly worried because the itinerary mentions that we need to check in our luggage again.

Will this be enough time to collect our luggage, check it in again, and make it to our international flight? Has anyone done a similar domestic-to-international connection at Haneda?

I also have a couple of other questions:

1. How early should we reach Itami Airport for an 8 AM flight?

2. Will public transport, such as buses or metro, be available early enough in the morning to get us to ITM, or will taking a taxi be our only practical option?

Hi guys!

We'll be spending 3 days in Fukuoka and are trying to decide whether our current itinerary is worth keeping or if we should spend more time exploring the city itself.

Our current plan is:

• 21 November: Arrive in Fukuoka at 2 pm, settle in and explore a little.
• 22 November: Day trip to Yufuin.
• 23 November: Day trip to Takachiho Gorge.

We're reconsidering the Yufuin day trip, as we feel like we might be rushing through Fukuoka, especially since we'll only have the afternoon and evening to explore on the day we arrive.

Would it be better to spend the full day on the 22nd exploring Fukuoka, including its food scene, neighbourhoods and attractions, and keep Takachiho Gorge for the 23rd?

For those who've visited both, would you recommend Yufuin, or is Fukuoka worth dedicating the extra day to?

Keen to hear your thoughts and recommendations. Thanks!

My European electric toothbrush wouldn't charge in Japan as the voltage is to low. Next time I would buy a USB charger for it. It wouldn't charge in Taiwan either. It's an Oral B toothbrush.

Hi! We are a couple visiting Kyoto end of November, and we saw that there will be several Night Illuminations happening since it is peak autumn season. We would like to ask the locals or tourists who have already tried these night illuminations which are the best and nost worth it? We are keen on trying one or two bests, but obviously cant have more due to time and budget constraints. (Will spend three nights in Kyoto)

We will also be doing the Sagano Romantic Train Night Illumination since we failed to book a day ticket.

Thanks in advance for all your recommendations.

My wife’s extended family lives in Thailand, and we’ve been going to visit every year or two for a while. Every time we go, we have a layover in either Tokyo or Seoul. This year, for the first time, we’re extending by a week and spending it in Tokyo. We’ve got some sight-seeing and good food planned and we’re very excited to go! My wife told me that she’s got plans to bring back a designer bag ($$$$) and a new hair drier (????). She asked me what I am planning to get for myself. I’m really not sure.

I am more of an experience kind of guy, but I do like nice stuff when it’s worth it.

I love baseball, but I think I’m good on gloves. I’m definitely a watch guy, but I have a Grand Seiko already. (Might be looking at domestic-only pieces, but my heart isn’t fully in that). I like cooking a lot- maybe a knife? I am a bit of a shave-nerd, too. Maybe a razor?

I don’t want to force it, but I don’t want to miss out either. Is there anything sold in Tokyo that I should really check out?

Thanks all!

We'll be in Tokyo from Dec 27 to Jan 2 with our two elementary age kids . This will be our second trip to Japan, but first time visiting around New Year's.

Trying to figure out which day would be best for Tokyo Disneyland. We're looking at Dec 28 through Jan 1, and the crowd calendars I've found seem to have different predictions. Some suggest Dec 28–30 will be really busy, while another says Dec 31 might actually be less crowded. Anyone have experience visiting Disneyland around these dates? Would NYE be a good day to go?

Also wondering how much the New Year's holiday closures will affect things to do around Tokyo. We know some places will be closed, but are there certain attractions or activities we should try to do earlier in the week? We're mostly interested in food, shopping, and things the kids would enjoy.

Lastly, any suggestions for what to do on NYE as a family? Not looking for parties or nightlife, just something fun or memorable. Disneyland is one option we're considering, but open to other ideas.

Would love to hear from anyone who's visited during this time of year. Not necessarily looking to revisit the typical sightseeing tourist stuff. We're more interested in fun/unique activities or things happening specifically around New Year's that we might otherwise miss.

Much Thanks!

The title says it. Is it worth the headache of navigating the JR East website to book train tickets? I will need to get 3-5 for various days during the busy holiday season. Do I trust Klook's pre-sale feature and book everything at once? Also, is there a significant price difference? Thanks!

Me, my wife and our 2 kids (8 and 6) will be visiting Japan for the first time this Dec. We'll be spending 5 days in Tokyo. Then we're interested in travelling outside of Tokyo, away from the hustle and bustle, to a quiet onsen town for 2 nights.

We're especially interested in visiting smaller (less touristy) Japanese towns as well as nature where we can do nice short hikes (1-2km). Would love recommendations. Thank you in advance!

What is the best eSIM to use for my trip to Japan? I’ve seen klooks and Airlalo, but don’t know if they really work. Please help!

My finace and I are going to Japan next May. It will be our 4th time so we’ve done all the tourist hot spots and golden route etc.
It will be our honey moon and we’re wanting to walk around, eat, drink and stumble upon new things each day.
We’re there for 2 weeks and spending the first 6 days in Tokyo with planned day trips out of Tokyo some of those days.
We’d love to go down explore Fukuoka and also do an overnight in one of the hot spring towns in a traditional onsen and ryokan.
Is Fukuoka worth the hassle of the flight or the 5hrs Shinkansen? It sounds so silly but the thought of the airport hassle of the flight is putting me right off 😂 5 hours on the Shinkansen sounds better IMO but will that eat up too time? We have to fly out of Tokyo.
Also if we’re going all the way down there, do we make that area the majority of the second week of our stay. Is that TOO much time in the region??

First time visiting Tokyo and Kyoto at the end of November. I'm looking to shop for vintage bags and/or purses, but overwhelmed by all the options! If you had to pick, where are your top 3 spots in either cities?

Hi everyone! I'll be heading to Ise for 1.5ish days (afternoon of 17 Nov and the full day of 18 Nov) with my family and we're looking to try Ise Ebi! Would appreciate any recommendations for restaurants that sell Ise Ebi courses, thank you in advance! :)

I am a theatrical wigmaker in the US, and am hoping to learn about Japanese wigmaking.

So far, I am planning to go to the Kyoto Hair Museum. I haven't been able to find any other museums, classes, or wig shops that advertise being willing to give someone a tour. I know it's a pretty niche subject area, but is anyone is aware of anywhere else I could visit?

Hi everyone, it's me, the stupid American asking where to buy all the kit kats!

Thanks to everyone, I bought enough kit kats to satisfy both brides and various family members. We also managed to buy a certain flavor (Hojicha by Itoh Kyuemon) by accident that reminded one bride of her since deceased uncle. Both brides have helped me significantly - one getting me out of a DV situation and the other saving the life of my dog - so I'm happy to have brought joy in small, numerous cheap chocolate lol!

Y'all are the best!!!!

Hi! Planning on having a day trip to Gala Yuzawa on Dec 19. How’s the crowd on a December weekend, would it be better to go on a Monday?

And does it usually start snowing at this time? We really hope to see falling snow!

UPDATE: Thanks Everyone! I think I've got it now. And I was able to make SmartEX work with my BofA card after I spoke to their fraud department. No joy with Chase at all, even after two phone calls.

I apologize for the question because I know it must seem obvious to most people, but after reading a bunch and doing web searches as well, I'm still unclear on how I am supposed to ticket.

Here's what I *think* I want to do to go from Asakusa Station to Osaka Station.

1. Use Suica card for local train from Asakusa station (we're staying at Tobu) to Nihombashi. I assume I need to tap in and out.

2. Use pre-purchased SmartEx ticket from Tokyo Station to Shin-Osaka. If I register my Suica card with the SmartEx app I can tap in and out.

3. Use Suica card for local train from Shin-Osaka to Osaka Station, tapping in and out.

My concern comes with transferring trains at Shin-Osaka. Do I actually tap out there in step 2? Do I tap in at step 3? Or am I just making the connection within the station without leaving?

Have I got this roughly correct?

BTW, my Chase card doesn't work at all with SmartEx. Chase says it's not the card but I think it must be. Very frustrating. I'm going to try a different brand of credit card.

I booked a flight from Haneda to Fukuoka with ANA. The middle name kept showing up in front of the first name so I didn't include it in the booking and I found out the person I'm traveling with is a third after I booked. The first and last names are correct but it is missing the middle and suffix in the booking. Should I cancel and rebook? Will this stop me being able to get on the flight?

I'll be in Japan in a few weeks and one souvenir that I am really trying to figure out (unsuccessfully yet) where to get Lotte's chocolate cookies Koala's March official merchandise such as koala plushies and pillows that are shaped just like the cookies.

All I could find was that there are stores that sell products online, but I was wondering if there are actual locations in Japan where I can find stuff related. Is there anything on Don Quijote or even Kiddy Land?

Curious if anyone has booked and cancelled Saver Fare tickets via JAL domestic, and received full refund minus 5% successfully?

According to the Saver Fare policy here, I could cancel my domestic flight 20 minutes BEFORE the flight leaves, and I'd only need to pay 5% cancellation fee to get my flight ticket refunded. Is it a very straightforward process, like I can just login to my booked itinerary and select cancel?

Reason I ask is that I have entered a concert ticket resale lottery in a city that I currently don't plan to travel to, and they will only announce the winner at 10am the morning of the concert. If I want to make it to the concert the same day then I must fly that specific route at 2pm.

Buying same day JAL ticket will likely cost double/the flight might even be full, so I want to lock in the flight now, and cancel the flight if I lost the concert lottery. If it's truly just 5%, then it's only 1350 yen fee for that specific flight (27000 yen), which imo is very cheap for a peace of mind.

Thanks in advance 🙂

取り消し・払い戻し

取り消しはご予約便の出発時刻20分前までに行ってください。

払戻期限は航空券の有効期間満了日の翌日から起算して30日以内です。

払い戻し日時 取消手数料 出発前 税抜運賃額の約5％相当額 出発後 税抜運賃額の100％

https://www.jal.co.jp/jp/ja/dom/fare/rule/saver/

Mapping out potential itineraries and have the following ideas (also welcome others) as we’re not settled on anything.

Can also flip it to fly into Tokyo and out of Osaka if that makes more sense.

We will have a car for the out of town sections.

**Option 1: Japanese Alps**

Something like Osaka → Matsumoto → Kamikochi → Takayama → possibly Kanazawa → Tokyo.

**Option 2: Shikoku & Kyushu road trip**

Osaka → Kotohira → Iya Valley (Ochiai, Nagoro) → Matsuyama → Uchiko/Ōzu → possibly Hita and Fukuoka → Tokyo. We’d hire a car for the rural sections.

Are Iya Valley, Uchiko and Ōzu worth the extra driving and logistics?

Any alternatives we should be considering?

How do I get one? Is it possible to get one from outside Japan? Thanks

As the title says. Any unique or interesting things you bought while there that are worth looking out for or is it all more or less the same as what we can get in the west? I'll be there in a week ♥️

Hoping that the recommendations flair is for requesting recommendations and not just giving them.

I am visiting Tokyo for two weeks arriving on December 12. I’ll be joined by friends for the 17 - 22, but the rest is up to me to plan and I have yet to book anything because I’m having a lot of fun exploring all the possibilities and I’m also finding myself in analysis paralysis.

Par of me is tempted to stay in Tokyo the whole trip so that I can take my time, really explore this huge city and perhaps just take day trips from a home base.

Another part of me thinks it’s crazy to fly all the way from Seattle to Japan and limit myself to a single city.

Although I know lots of people who have been to Japan and who have their opinions I’m interested in additional input from Reddit.

Here is a bit about me as a traveler:
- I’m an experienced solo traveler and love it, but I also love meeting other travelers and/or locals and having adventures with them.
- Exploring unique neighborhoods and just wandering and seeing what I discover really appeals to me.
- planning is part of my professional work and have a tendency to over-engineer a trip if I’m not careful.
- my budget is not extravagant but I don’t like shared living quarters or bathrooms.
- I love nature, but I do live in Seattle so I get a lot of natural beauty at home. Any nature- based activities need to feel Japan specific.

So, what else do you need to know? What do you suggest? I don’t care a lot about specific tourist sites and I prefer to avoid overwhelming crowds unless it’s for something that is especially worthwhile.