September 16-26, 2015
We planned this trip as early as December last year. There were two national holidays sandwiched within this trip - Malaysia Day and Hari Raya Haji, which made it a 6-day work and school leave for the three of us. I'll do a series of posts for this trip. But first, some tips and learnings from our trip.
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| Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion |
Book flights and accommodations early.
It goes without saying but booking early can really get you some pretty good deals. I signed up on Citadines online membership and received seasonal member deals for both our hotels, about 15% off normal rates. For Singapore airlines, there's not much of a price difference whether you book way ahead or just a few weeks before your trip. The only good thing, in my book, is you can select better seats according to your preference, either closer to the door or lavatory.
Malaysian Airlines was significantly cheaper but my husband just doesn't trust his national airline with its recent tragic history of accidents and incidents.
Malaysian Airlines was significantly cheaper but my husband just doesn't trust his national airline with its recent tragic history of accidents and incidents.
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| Dinosaur bones at Tokyo's National Museum of Nature and Science |
Rent a pocket wifi.
This was a definite must have for us! Among the numerous online rentals, I chose the Platinum series from Japan Wifi Buddy which cost RM345 (~$83) for a 10-day rental.
I arranged for package pick-up at Kansai Airport. The company misspelled my surname and we had to wait about 35 minutes to get it sorted out. Returning the unit was easy. I simply packed up the pocket wifi and its accompanying accessories on the return envelope it came with and dropped it off at the red post box right outside our Osaka hotel.
Other than the misspelled name, we didn't encounter any issues with the device. It delivered on speed and reliability. We actually ended up using it over the hotel wifi as it was much faster! When we're out and about, we used it for money converter app, viber/whatsapp, social media and google maps, very helpful for bus/subway/train schedule and exit locations.
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| Strolling along Osaka's food street, Dotonbori |
Useful travel apps
Google maps - useful with its bus/subway routes with fare indication
Google translate - can do voice or text or pictures
xe currency - converting to RM when shopping :)
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| Shopping and food street leading to the Kiyomizu-dera Temple |
Ravi bought us the JR Pass at a travel company in Penang. A JR Pass is sold only to foreign tourists, and can be used on most major transportation modes anywhere in Japan. The pass comes in 7-day, 14-day or 21-day time frames.
We bought the 7-day pass and used it to ride the shinkansen (bullet trains) from Kyoto to Tokyo and Tokyo to Osaka. Nozomi, the fastest bullet train, is not included in the JR Pass. The Hikari train, the second fastest train which is included in the JR Pass, stops at 1 to 4 more stations compared to the Nozomi. We also used the JR Pass at some Tokyo subway lines.
Riding Japan's bullet trains was an unforgettable experience!
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| Nozomi, on the left, is the fastest bullet train. The JR Pass only allows rides to the second fastest train, the Hikari, the one on the right. |
DisneySea park tips
Bring food inside Disneysea. I bought sandwiches, bananas, boiled eggs, rice balls at a local convenience store called Lawsons just below the hotel. Initially meant to be just snacks, it ended up as main meals for us. The queue at the park restaurants were very long, one will think they're lining up for a ride! Snacking saved us precious time. We did try cart snacks like popcorn, churros and hotdogs. Refill water bottles at drinking stations, drinks can be expensive.
Use the Fastpass tickets. Get one, go to other rides or eat then come back at the allotted time.
Bring food inside Disneysea. I bought sandwiches, bananas, boiled eggs, rice balls at a local convenience store called Lawsons just below the hotel. Initially meant to be just snacks, it ended up as main meals for us. The queue at the park restaurants were very long, one will think they're lining up for a ride! Snacking saved us precious time. We did try cart snacks like popcorn, churros and hotdogs. Refill water bottles at drinking stations, drinks can be expensive.
Use the Fastpass tickets. Get one, go to other rides or eat then come back at the allotted time.
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| Toy Story Mania at DisneySea. The Fastpass tickets at this ride sold out by 9am! |
Kyoto
We used the all-day-bus pass worth Y500 (adult), Y250 (child) several times. You get unlimited rides in one day. Normal one way fare costs Y230 (adult), Y120 (child). If you use the bus more than twice, you already saved a lot. You can buy right at the bus. First, board the bus. Then before going down, ask the driver you need the all-day-bus pass and pay up. Slot the card in the machine beside the driver and off you go. When riding Japan buses, you pay only before you get off the bus.
We used the all-day-bus pass worth Y500 (adult), Y250 (child) several times. You get unlimited rides in one day. Normal one way fare costs Y230 (adult), Y120 (child). If you use the bus more than twice, you already saved a lot. You can buy right at the bus. First, board the bus. Then before going down, ask the driver you need the all-day-bus pass and pay up. Slot the card in the machine beside the driver and off you go. When riding Japan buses, you pay only before you get off the bus.
If you want to avail of local guides, reservations can be arranged at the Good Samaritan Club site. Their guiding services are free, you just pay for their bus fare and lunch. Our guides were the lovely Manami and Ayana, both university students who are active volunteers at the GSC. They taught us how the bus system works and gave information at the tourist attractions we visited. The ladies also took us to a local conveyor belt sushi place for lunch.
Don't miss the Fushimi Inari Shrine, climb all the way up of you're fit. Spend half a day or more at the Arashiyama district. It has lots of charming areas to stroll about and experience old Japan.
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| Fushimi Inari main temple at sunset |
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