Tokyo / Fukuoka / Sapporo (Japan ) - Massage / Sauna / Places To Visit (Compiled)

[takeitoff]

Oh I use Sunroute when I'm going to Japan alone lol. It's pretty good for single occupancy! Plus the Friendly Airport Limousine stops right at the hotel.

[Guest Buy]

What in the world do you buy? I thought people from Japan go out of the country to buy stuff cos normally stuff is so expensive there as compared to elsewhere?

Usually stuff which is made in Japan. Cheaper than outside of Japan. Check Amazon Japan best seller list or www.rakuten.co.jp ranking list, and you can decide if those items catch your fancy. But of course some people might find the items unappealing and don't need to buy.

[Guest 25off]

Oh I use Sunroute when I'm going to Japan alone lol. It's pretty good for single occupancy! Plus the Friendly Airport Limousine stops right at the hotel.

And it has a 25% discount if you are staying 6 nights or more. Someone said that the rooms were fitted with wifi in Aug 2013.

[Guest Hito]

I almost booked a hotel room at Yotsuya previously as it's walkable to Nichome.

I missed it. Dang!

I prefer flying by SQ to Scoot. lol

I also prefer SQ as it is direct flight. Luckily SQ has promotion from time to time, and the promotional ticket price is about $700. But $450 Scoot promotional ticket is worth it for taking on the inconvenience of a 1-hour transit in Taipei.

[Guest Hito]

Oh I use Sunroute when I'm going to Japan alone lol. It's pretty good for single occupancy! Plus the Friendly Airport Limousine stops right at the hotel.

Because it is near to Nichome right? Haha.

Any Yoshinori or similar place near Sunroute Plaza?

[Guest Hito]

LOL I don't go often, 2 to 3 times per year only.

Wow, what kind of job is that? If there is job opening like that, please let us know so that we can apply, and get to travel to Tokyo 2 or 3 times per year.

[takeitoff]

Because it is near to Nichome right? Haha.

Any Yoshinori or similar place near Sunroute Plaza?

 

It's near but not that near. Around 15 minute walk.

 

If I'm too drunk I would cab back lol. I'm not sure how much it costs because I'm not that sober if I have to cab, but I remember I will pay in coins so should be less than 1000 yen.

[Enelym1978]

One reason why I stay near Ni-Chome is because of how expensive taxis are.... It's waaaaay too expensive omg.

[Guest Guest22]

One reason why I stay near Ni-Chome is because of how expensive taxis are.... It's waaaaay too expensive omg.

Enelym, you don't have to stay near Ni-Chome ... you can stay at Ni-Chome itself. 24 Kaikan at Ni-Chome has rooms for rental. Hehe.

[darkflame]

I actually considered staying at 24 Kaikan Shinjuku but the room rates made my mouth drop.

 

If I'm backpacking next time, I think I won't mind getting the 12 hour package for the night.

[lausanne]

the rooms at 24 Kaikan (Ueno or Shinjuku) are pretty decent, clean and comfortable - the overnight rates are a deal, but they go really quickly, especially the weekend, so it has to be booked in advance.

[lausanne]

One reason why I stay near Ni-Chome is because of how expensive taxis are.... It's waaaaay too expensive omg.

 I remember a taxi ride from Haneda Airport to 24 Kaikan Ueno after midnight cost me like some 9500 yen.

[Guest Guest22]

I remember a taxi ride from Haneda Airport to 24 Kaikan Ueno after midnight cost me like some 9500 yen.

Wow, u headed straight from the airport to 24 Kaikan Ueno. Must be in a hurry to release.

[Guest Guest]

 I remember a taxi ride from Haneda Airport to 24 Kaikan Ueno after midnight cost me like some 9500 yen.

 

Thats not bad. One of my (ex)colleagues was late for a flight and took a taxi to Narita, from the city. Cost him the equivalent of 300USD!

[lausanne]

Wow, u headed straight from the airport to 24 Kikan Ueno. Must be in a hurry to release.

Hahaha no la, my flight arrived aft midnight, and there is no more transport other than cabs after midnight!

[Guest Guest22]

Hahaha no la, my flight arrived aft midnight, and there is no more transport other than cabs after midnight!

Which airline? Were you on a leisure trip? If yes, could have chosen another airline and pay more. The savings from the midnight flight are depleted by the expensive taxi fare.

[Guest Guest22]

I remember a taxi ride from Haneda Airport to 24 Kaikan Ueno after midnight cost me like some 9500 yen.

How come you went to the Ueno one and not the Shinjuku one?

[Guest Guest]

Which airline? Were you on a leisure trip? If yes, could have chosen another airline and pay more. The savings from the midnight flight are depleted by the expensive taxi fare.

 

Same same lah, what he paid in taxi fare, he saved on accommodation. But hmm.. am sure Lausanne did not get much sleep but I doubt if he was looking for sleep, hahaha. But Lausanne, you did not have issues with your suitcase? Where did you store it at 24 Kaikan Ueno or were you travelling very very lightly?

[lausanne]

Same same lah, what he paid in taxi fare, he saved on accommodation. But hmm.. am sure Lausanne did not get much sleep but I doubt if he was looking for sleep, hahaha. But Lausanne, you did not have issues with your suitcase? Where did you store it at 24 Kaikan Ueno or were you travelling very very lightly?

Hahaha..actually there are public lockers near the Ueno Station which is accessible 24/7, so my suitcase did actually manage to fit in the locker. Then I just carried my day bag and went to the 24 Kaikan. 

 

How come you went to the Ueno one and not the Shinjuku one?

 

Cos Ueno is nearer Haneda, and moreover I like chubbies. 

Which airline? Were you on a leisure trip? If yes, could have chosen another airline and pay more. The savings from the midnight flight are depleted by the expensive taxi fare.

Aiyah my flight was delayed, that's why I arrived after midnight. 

[Guest Guest22]

Hahaha..actually there are public lockers near the Ueno Station which is accessible 24/7, so my suitcase did actually manage to fit in the locker. Then I just carried my day bag and went to the 24 Kaikan.

Cos Ueno is nearer Haneda, and moreover I like chubbies.

Aiyah my flight was delayed, that's why I arrived after midnight.

I see. That fully explains why you went to the Ueno one. Did it live up to your expectations, with regard to chubbies?

[lausanne]

I always get fun there =). I actually wrote a field report, but then I think the forum had some issue, and the posts were lost. 

 

Anycase, in every sense Shinjuku and Ueno are excellent places to find fun. I tend to find the younger ones for fun, but the younger chubs really melt me....

[Guest Guest]

I always get fun there =). I actually wrote a field report, but then I think the forum had some issue, and the posts were lost. 

 

Anycase, in every sense Shinjuku and Ueno are excellent places to find fun. I tend to find the younger ones for fun, but the younger chubs really melt me....

 Do you  really mean melt you or ... make some parts of you really ... "solid" .

 

So did you find actual accommodation after your fun @ 24 Kaikan Ueno or did you stay there all the time? I cant imagine you stayed there all the time - it would have been fun but it would also have been very exhausting. If you did stay around there, which hotel did you stay in? Storing ones larger suitcase in a locker is a good idea as it then frees you up to move around but I think there is a limit of 3 days on the locker so you will have to either switch lockers or cart it around to actual accommodation.

[darkflame]

I was checking out some SQ rates last night. Thinking of a 13 day trip in Tokyo in December that will cost me less than 2000 SGD...

 

For the first night, if I'm to land at Haneda near midnight, might just be better to spend the night at Kaikan. 

[chiang111]

_{Hi Darkflame,}

 

_{13 days in Tokyo in December will cost you less than SGD2000 ?}

_{Like to know how can you do it ?}

[Guest Guest22]

I was checking out some SQ rates last night. Thinking of a 13 day trip in Tokyo in December that will cost me less than 2000 SGD...

For the first night, if I'm to land at Haneda near midnight, might just be better to spend the night at Kaikan.

Darkflame, you are indeed a Japan aficionado. Which places are you thinking of visiting? Or what activities are you planning to do over the 13-day trip?

[Guest Guest22]

_{Hi Darkflame,}

_{13 days in Tokyo in December will cost you less than SGD2000 ?}

_{Like to know how can you do it ?}

Promotional airfare from SQ is about $700. Delta airline flight also about $700. Scoot offers flight to Tokyo for low as $450 with a one hour transit in Taipei.

Hotel in Tokyo can be booked for $100 a night. 12 days = $1200. Perhaps darkflame hotel is about $80 a night.

Transport by train is perhaps $10 to $20 a day, depending on the number of train rides you take.

Ramen costs about 700 to 900 yen. So one day you can allocate for 3000 yen for 3 meals. But you can also make do on 2000 yen , or about $25, by eating bread sometimes. So the daily expense can be hotel of $80 + food of $25 + transport of $15 = $120.

If you book capsule hotel, can be as cheap as $40 per day.

[Guest Guest22]

When it comes to hotels, I think the no-frills hotels (usually small business hotels with less than 100 rooms) in Tokyo are a good choice. In an earlier post, Darkflame has listed down the hotels he had stayed at. Go to hotels.com or agoda.com to find out the rates.

[chiang111]

Guest22

 

Thanks for the imfprmation

[Guest Guest]

Hotel in Tokyo can be booked for $100 a night. 12 days = $1200. Perhaps darkflame hotel is about $80 a night.

Transport by train is perhaps $10 to $20 a day, depending on the number of train rides you take.

Ramen costs about 700 to 900 yen. So one day you can allocate for 3000 yen for 3 meals. But you can also make do on 2000 yen , or about $25, by eating bread sometimes. So the daily expense can be hotel of $80 + food of $25 + transport of $15 = $120.

If you book capsule hotel, can be as cheap as $40 per day.

 

Good summary. Costs are mainly due to accommodation.  Trick is to plan - you pay more if you are not ready or have not planned in advance. Another example for meals is Yoshinoya where the food is fast, nutritious and enough e.g. stir fried pork on rice with a side pickles and soup. More than enough to fill your tummy and I think averaging between 500yen to 700yen per set menu. End of the year is towards the low season for Northern Asia - hope the airlines drop prices accordingly!

[darkflame]

Well, I'm considering a period from 10 - 24 December.

The plane lands near midnight at Haneda so it would be best to stay at Kaikan. (2400 yen)

 

After that I have found two good hotel choices.

One is at Yokohama for 2700 yen ($34) per night and another at Ueno for 3500 yen ($45) per night.

The former has shared toilet while the latter has a personal toilet.

The Ueno one may be better because my flight home is from Narita.

The hotels I pick are from Rakuten Travel as Japanese langauage communication is not a problem for me.

 

I'm not a morning person so I budgeted for 2 meals, effectively.

1000 yen each for lunch & dinner. From my experience, I hardly go over 1000 yen for my meals.

Transport is set at 8000 yen.

Along with SIA's 716 SGD ticket, my total is around 1,716 dollars. But I set it to 2000 for a shopping buffer.

 

This trip is likely to meet my friends in Tokyo so I won't be doing intercity.

Also, I'm considering to just bring a big backpack only.

 

Darkflame, you are indeed a Japan aficionado. Which places are you thinking of visiting? Or what activities are you planning to do over the 13-day trip?

 

Most likely around Tokyo. I want to go to places I missed out on my last few trips.

I haven't even been to Kamakura or Kawagoe!

Also, I want to try going to a bar again in Nichome...

Edited September 22, 2013 by darkflame

[Guest Guest22]

After that I have found two good hotel choices.

One is at Yokohama for 2700 yen ($34) per night and another at Ueno for 3500 yen ($45) per night.

The former has shared toilet while the latter has a personal toilet.

The Ueno one may be better because my flight home is from Narita.

The hotels I pick are from Rakuten Travel as Japanese langauage communication is not a problem for me.

Which is the hotel that is near Ueno? $45 is a very good price. Wonder how far away is it from the Ueno station. Hope it is not located in an unsavory part of Ueno.

Have you been to Nikko before?

[Guest Guest22]

Well, I'm considering a period from 10 - 24 December.

Nice period. The illuminations for Christmas will be nice. Why not shift it slightly later so that you cover Christmas and New Year, unless the SQ promotional price tickets are sold out for the year end dates.

[Guest Guest]

Nice period. The illuminations for Christmas will be nice. Why not shift it slightly later so that you cover Christmas and New Year, unless the SQ promotional price tickets are sold out for the year end dates.

 

Just read this.

 

You can also get a 14 day free Wifi card provided by NTT East by presenting your passport at selected NTT East Offices in Narita Airport, Akihabara and other major cities. Utilize the details presented in the card to access the internet in selected NTT East Wifi spots around Tokyo.

 

Anyone know the details? Will check it out end of next month and let you know

[Enelym1978]

Isn't Yokohama a bit far from Tokyo? I mean, what you save at that hotel, you pay it in transit back and forth? Or is it another Yokohama? 

[lausanne]

 Do you  really mean melt you or ... make some parts of you really ... "solid" .

 

So did you find actual accommodation after your fun @ 24 Kaikan Ueno or did you stay there all the time? I cant imagine you stayed there all the time - it would have been fun but it would also have been very exhausting. If you did stay around there, which hotel did you stay in? Storing ones larger suitcase in a locker is a good idea as it then frees you up to move around but I think there is a limit of 3 days on the locker so you will have to either switch lockers or cart it around to actual accommodation.

No I actually stayed one night at 24 Ueno, one night in 24 Shinjuku. I didn't really need my suitcase, since I have packed some clothes in my day bag. Day time I was moving around anyway. Evening you get to shower at the sauna. The locker does have a limit of 3 days, but I was there for only two nights in Tokyo so there were no issues. And yes, after the sex, you tend to sleep with your partner anyway, and so when people see two pple sleeping together, then they don't tend to disturb you. So the sleep was more or less peaceful. 

[Guest Guest22]

Lausanne, 2 days in Tokyo and you visited two Kaikan. Certainly know how to maximize the fun and minimum cost (by not booking hotel). Impressive.

[Guest guest]

 

Well, I'm considering a period from 10 - 24 December.

The plane lands near midnight at Haneda so it would be best to stay at Kaikan. (2400 yen)

 

After that I have found two good hotel choices.

One is at Yokohama for 2700 yen ($34) per night and another at Ueno for 3500 yen ($45) per night.

The former has shared toilet while the latter has a personal toilet.

The Ueno one may be better because my flight home is from Narita.

The hotels I pick are from Rakuten Travel as Japanese langauage communication is not a problem for me.

 

I'm not a morning person so I budgeted for 2 meals, effectively.

1000 yen each for lunch & dinner. From my experience, I hardly go over 1000 yen for my meals.

Transport is set at 8000 yen.

Along with SIA's 716 SGD ticket, my total is around 1,716 dollars. But I set it to 2000 for a shopping buffer.

 

This trip is likely to meet my friends in Tokyo so I won't be doing intercity.

Also, I'm considering to just bring a big backpack only.

 

 

Most likely around Tokyo. I want to go to places I missed out on my last few trips.

I haven't even been to Kamakura or Kawagoe!

Also, I want to try going to a bar again in Nichome...

 

yeah...where is this $45 hotel in ueno? can give details? and I'll be going in mid Nov....how's the weather like then? need to bring rain coat for rain? or thick clothing for approaching winter?

[Guest Guest22]

yeah...where is this $45 hotel in ueno? can give details? and I'll be going in mid Nov....how's the weather like then? need to bring rain coat for rain? or thick clothing for approaching winter?

Darkflame probably found the hotel at the Japanese language Rakuten Travel website, so perhaps the hotel is not usually listed at hotels.com or agoda.com. It is also possible that the hotel caters mostly to Japanese and the hotel staff might not speak English. Darkflame speaks Japanese so it is not a problem. If you don't speak Japanese, perhaps it is better to go for a bigger hotel where the staff are more likely to speak some English. Earlier posts suggested Sunroute Plaza at Shinjuku.

As for the weather in November, a jacket will be needed. If you are sensitive to cold, bring a thicker jacket. And if still feel cold while you are there, just wear more layers under the jacket.

[darkflame]

The Ueno hotel is near Asakusa station, a little far from Ueno but it is actually walkable distance to me.

The Tsukuba Express runs through this station and the fare is a little pricey so I'd recommend walking although you have a direct link to Akihabara.

The $45/night is part of an autumn offer on Rakuten Travel which is why the price is quite cheap.

But cost wise, the Ueno/Asakusa area has always been reasonable.

 

You can try the Rakuten Travel website and cross your fingers that the staff speaks some English.

Some hotel staff know certain set English phrases but that's all they know. (If it gets too complex, they start speaking in Japanese.)

 

Anyway for reference, the stuff is here:

 

<Hotel Details>

http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/HOTEL/76409/76409.html

<Plan Details>

http://hotel.travel.rakuten.co.jp/hotelinfo/plan/76409?f_otona_su=1&f_static=1&f_nen1=2013&f_nen2=2013&f_teikei=quick&f_s2=0&f_s1=0&f_heya_su=1&f_tuki2=12&f_hizuke=20131210&f_tuki1=12&f_y2=0&f_y3=0&f_camp_id=2922165&f_y1=0&f_hi2=24&f_y4=0&f_syu=kbws-h&f_hi1=10&f_hak=14

 

I tried looking at the English site but it's really horrible with lack of detailed information.

Edited September 22, 2013 by darkflame

[Guest Guest22]

Darkflame, thanks for the information on the hotel. From hotel can walk to Sensoji and Skytree Tower.

[darkflame]

Darkflame, thanks for the information on the hotel. From hotel can walk to Sensoji and Skytree Tower.

lol

Actually, I'm not too fond of Ueno but it's one of the cheaper places. The other is Ikebukuro/Otsuka but I find the hotels to be quite derelict. Kamata is nice but few express lines stop there. :/

[Guest Guest22]

Darkflame, have you considered working in Tokyo, since you are proficient in the language?

[Guest Guest22]

Scoot has offer tomorrow morning 7am to 9am for air fares to a new cities, including Tokyo. Must travel by 30 Nov.

[darkflame]

What is the fare range?

 

Not easy to get a job in Tokyo. I need much more experience...

[Guest Guest22]

$128 one way for Fly fare. If FlyEatBag with tax, I think it would be about $480 for round trip fare, inclusive of tax.

[Guest guest]

Darkflame probably found the hotel at the Japanese language Rakuten Travel website, so perhaps the hotel is not usually listed at hotels.com or agoda.com. It is also possible that the hotel caters mostly to Japanese and the hotel staff might not speak English. Darkflame speaks Japanese so it is not a problem. If you don't speak Japanese, perhaps it is better to go for a bigger hotel where the staff are more likely to speak some English. Earlier posts suggested Sunroute Plaza at Shinjuku.

As for the weather in November, a jacket will be needed. If you are sensitive to cold, bring a thicker jacket. And if still feel cold while you are there, just wear more layers under the jacket.

thanks guest22 and darkflame for the info....for attire, do I need a raincoat? as in will it rain? I hve a jacket, but I don't think it's very water proof, so if its gonna rain, the I need to pack in another raincoat and that can add on to the weight...trying to travel light here....the raincoat I have is bit bulky...

 

any good capsule hotels/hostels to recommend? I know some have already shared earlier, but i'm looking at those that you have personally stayed at recently...

 

laundry-wise, how do you guys settle that? hostels should have right? what about the hotels? is it expensive to use the laundry service there? will be travelling quite a bit, so definitely need to wash!

[darkflame]

$128 one way for Fly fare. If FlyEatBag with tax, I think it would be about $480 for round trip fare, inclusive of tax.

 

I checked the website but I hardly found any fares for $128. I guess they were snapped up already. 

 

thanks guest22 and darkflame for the info....for attire, do I need a raincoat? as in will it rain? I hve a jacket, but I don't think it's very water proof, so if its gonna rain, the I need to pack in another raincoat and that can add on to the weight...trying to travel light here....the raincoat I have is bit bulky...

 

any good capsule hotels/hostels to recommend? I know some have already shared earlier, but i'm looking at those that you have personally stayed at recently...

 

laundry-wise, how do you guys settle that? hostels should have right? what about the hotels? is it expensive to use the laundry service there? will be travelling quite a bit, so definitely need to wash!

 

The tsuyu season is over so I don't think there should be much rain. Even if there was, the rain is not very heavy. 

Why not bring an umbrella instead?

 

Personally, the best two I stayed were at Urban Inn Kamata & Touganeya Ueno. Business Inn Okabe @ Kawasaki was good too but it's only convenient if you are flying home from Haneda.

Staff-wise, Touganeya Ueno was quite good. They can speak English, considering how I saw foreign tourists staying there.

For the closeness, I liked Okabe because I think it is run by a family so they really helped me along the way.

(Made me feel that if you speak Japanese, some Japanese can be as friendly as Taiwanese people.)

 

For the big hotels, laundry service is quite costly. However, for some business hotels, there are some automated washing machines and dryers. (Probably 100 - 300 yen per time.)

Even if there aren't such machines, there should be some coin laundry shops.

[Guest Guest22]

Darkflame,

Scoot's promotions on Tuesday is from 7am to 9am. Did you mange to check the air fare price during that time?

[Guest Guest22]

I hand wash the clothes in the wash basin and hang them up to drip dry in the bathroom. When they are no longer dripping water, I hang them in the room. The low humdity of Japan's climate speeds up the drying.

For underwear, you can buy disposable ones from Daiso here. Guardian Pharmacy sells cotton disposable underwear which feels less flimsy.

[Guest Guest22]

Hotels.com will show whether the hotel has laundry facilities.