Japan 2017

Trip to Japan 2017

Dates

24/03/2017 - 10/04/2017

Who's Going

• YYY +2
• Mark P
• lmm
• Mark H
• Alasdair
• Zolty

Checklist

Handle	Annual Leave Taken	Plane tickets purchased	JR Pass purchased	 Passmo card purchased	Other stuff here
YYY	(./)	(./)
Mark P
lmm	(./)	(./)		(./)
Mark H
Alasdair	(./)	(./)
Zolty	(./)	(./)
dfb4067424

YYY's Rough Plan

• 24/03/2017: Arrive in Tokyo.
• Possibly do some stuff in Tokyo for a day or two (so that I can recover from travelling)? Meet up with James. Leave on Sunday afternoon?
• Shinkansen down to Kyushu?
  • Fukuoka - stay 1 night?
    • There's really not much there (or if there is then my group didn't find it) - I'd rather go straight on to Nagasaki. Also consider flying - there are flights Tokyo-Kagoshima for about GBP70, which would save most of a day of travel time (remember we can't use the Nozomi services without paying a supplement). --lmm
• Nagasaki - stay 2 nights?
  • Kagoshima - stay 1 night?
    • Again I don't remember there being much there - would sooner proceed directly to Yakushima --lmm
• Yakushima - stay 2 nights?
  • I'd argue for 3 nights if we end up with enough time - my group liked Yakushima a lot last time. --lmm
• Shinkansen to Chugoku?
  • Hiroshima - stay 2 night?
    • Is there 2 nights' worth of stuff to do there? --lmm
• Shinkansen to Kansai? Meet up with Dave?
• Shinkansen to Kanto?
  • Hakone?
    • fun2drive is the original JDM sports car entertainment company near Mount Fuji, only 2 hours from Tokyo. Conveniently located at a gateway to the greatest touges (mountain passes) in Japan, we offer the largest fleet of JDM sports cars from NISSAN: Skyline GT-R & Fairlady Z, HONDA: NSX, TOYOTA: Supra & AE86, MAZDA: RX-7, MITSUBISHI: Lancer Evolution, SUBARU: Impreza WRX, and more. Whichever JDM sports car you choose, experience it on a variety of touges in Hakone, a mecca of car enthusiasts in japan, while enjoying the stunning scenery of Mount Fuji, landscapes, lakes, oceans, etc…
    • Considering the Ultimate Hakone Drive in the GT-R R35.
    • If more people do it, then we can swap cars (for a fee).
      • Put me down as interested - I guess the RX-7 would be my first choice --lmm
      • Alasdair: I have some interest in this - if I'm reading the price list right it comes to under 50,000 JPY? I'd be happy with most cars, as long as it has power steering and manual transmission. S2000 looks suitably bling, but the Super 7 looks hilarious.
  • Hakone is famous hot spring country, apparently --lmm
  • Tokyo:
    • Rabbit and hedgehog cafe
    • ngt=TT0c773e930001ac1e4a112ceMZnqYSN_EjdcS3aCnP12g Kujiraya - Whale meat restaurant
• Shinkansen to Hokkaido? We almost definitely don't have enough days for it to be worth it.
  • I have a vague interest in taking the sleeper train and going to the underwater station. Might well not be worth it in terms of the time though. --lmm
    • No sleeper trains to Hokkaido. Underwater stations also now shut.
• Shinkansen to Kanto?
• 10/04/2017: Leave Japan.

Things people want to see or do

• Kyoto
  • Shrines
  • Traditional theatre
• Nagasaki
  • Dejima --Lmm
• Mahjong in some suitably fancy way (Gemma has offered to arrange) --Lmm
• Tokyo
  • Akiharbara etc. (possibly best as a non-group activity)
• Pop concerts if there are any at the right time? --Lmm
  • Basically impossible to book from outside with the possible exception of entering the AKB48 lotteries.
• The last remaining sleeper train, Tokyo - Okoyama: http://jprail.com/trains/sort-by-type/limited-express/sunrise-izumo.html
• Yakushima (1-2 full days, plus arrival and departure days)
  • Walk up to the summit and look down on the whole island (1 daytime really)
  • Perhaps do one of the other walks to see more ancient cedar trees
  • Hot springs, the local baths and/or the JR hotel (1000 yen). List at http://www.yesyakushima.com/yakushima-activities/yakushima-onsen-hot-springs/ (1 or 2 evenings)

Flight details

• Lmm: Arriving 2017-03-24 12:05 HND, departing 2017-04-10 14:00 NRT
• YYY: Arriving 2017-03-24 10:35 NRT, departing 2017-04-10 12:35 NRT
• Alasdair: arriving 2017-03-24 10:00 NRT, departing 2017-04-10 11:00 NRT (cheap flights through Helsinki)
• Zolty: Arriving 2017-03-24 8:55 NRT, departing 2017-04-10 10:25 NRT

Itinerary

Fri, 24/03/2017

• Morning and early afternoon
  • Arrive in Japan and meet up.
    • Narita Arrivals: Zolty, Alasdair, YYY
    • Haneda Arrivals: Lmm
• Based on current flights, meet for lunch somewhere near Haneda?

Sat, 25/03/2017

• Do stuff in Tokyo

Sun, 26/03/2017

• Leave for Fukuoka

09/04/2017

• Suggest we make this a shopping day in Akihabara, to minimize the amount of carrying stuff around. Unless shops shut on Sundays? Also bearing in mind our JR passes will presumably be 14-day.

10/04/2017

• Part ways