Japan Questions

Hello!

Please help me with Japan questions. Traveling over there in a second half
of November.

1.. Should I book all accommodations in advance or try to have more
flexibility and find a place to sleep upon arrival, considering my
preference to cheaper places and zero Japanese skills?
2.. How easy to obtain Internet access, either from public computer or by
means of prepaid card. I will have a laptop with me.
3.. Looks like trains between major cities are frequent. I am planning to
buy a rail pass. Is there a chance that train will be so full, that I will
not be able to find a seat?

Gene

"_Gene T. _" wrote in message
...
1.. Should I book all accommodations in advance or try to have more
flexibility and find a place to sleep upon arrival, considering my
preference to cheaper places and zero Japanese skills?

well when i visited recently (backpacking) i felt more comfortable booking
ahead. As it was so expensive (the most expensive country on our trip) we
felt really apprehensive about turning up to where we went (kyoto, fukuoka,
tokyo) with nothing booked just in case we got left high and dry at night
with no option but to pay some exorbitant fee at the only hotels we could
find at the time. in thailand or india for us it wouldn't have been that
much of a problem, but in japan for us it would have been crippling for our
budget if we were unlucky.

try this website for a potential hotel bargain: www.coo.ne.jp/english/ you
have to be lucky to find a real bargain but they are a real possibility with
this website.

2.. How easy to obtain Internet access, either from public computer or
by
means of prepaid card. I will have a laptop with me.

we were staying in western style youth hostels mostly which had net access.

from sunil

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 00:25:50 +0100, "sunil panchal"
wrote:

2.. How easy to obtain Internet access, either from public computer or
by means of prepaid card. I will have a laptop with me.

we were staying in western style youth hostels mostly which had net access.

free wifi seemed pretty common in tokyo and elsewhere, I was there on
a conference, online most of the time, and even when people
distributed off to different hotels etc. they often turned up wifi to
be available.

Someone also said Mosburger had free wifi, but I never actually looked
for it.

Jim.

_Gene T. _ wrote:
Hello!

Please help me with Japan questions. Traveling over there in a second
half
of November.

1.. Should I book all accommodations in advance or try to have more
flexibility and find a place to sleep upon arrival, considering my
preference to cheaper places and zero Japanese skills?

In my experience you can typically get a better rate if you wait until
you arrive to get your accomodations; this also gives you more
flexibility. A lot of decent hotels are smaller and I've found you can
get good prices at check in. An example is the Hotel Sungarden in
Himeji, which online shows around Yen8,000 for a single; when I lived
in Himeji I regularly saw promotions for that hotel at much lower
rates. The downside is that you will spend a certain amount of time
searching for lodging in a foreign land, dealing with non-English
speaking hotel staff.

2.. How easy to obtain Internet access, either from public computer
or by
means of prepaid card. I will have a laptop with me.

Can't help out here, unfortunately. Many hotels do; that much I know.

3.. Looks like trains between major cities are frequent. I am
planning to
buy a rail pass. Is there a chance that train will be so full, that I
will
not be able to find a seat?

There is always a chance the train will be full. However, if you're
traveling outside of peak seasons you should be fine. If you want you
can always reserve a seat, even just before getting on the train. A
good link (if you don't have it) for train travel is
www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english; great for rail travel planning. I'd
bookmark that on your laptop and, if you do find Web access you can
plan out the next day easier.

John W.

_Gene T. _ wrote:
Hello!

Please help me with Japan questions. Traveling over there in a second
half
of November.

1.. Should I book all accommodations in advance or try to have more
flexibility and find a place to sleep upon arrival, considering my
preference to cheaper places and zero Japanese skills?

In my experience you can typically get a better rate if you wait until
you arrive to get your accomodations; this also gives you more
flexibility. A lot of decent hotels are smaller and I've found you can
get good prices at check in. An example is the Hotel Sungarden in
Himeji, which online shows around Yen8,000 for a single; when I lived
in Himeji I regularly saw promotions for that hotel at much lower
rates. The downside is that you will spend a certain amount of time
searching for lodging in a foreign land, dealing with non-English
speaking hotel staff.

2.. How easy to obtain Internet access, either from public computer
or by
means of prepaid card. I will have a laptop with me.

Can't help out here, unfortunately. Many hotels do; that much I know.

3.. Looks like trains between major cities are frequent. I am
planning to
buy a rail pass. Is there a chance that train will be so full, that I
will
not be able to find a seat?

There is always a chance the train will be full. However, if you're
traveling outside of peak seasons you should be fine. If you want you
can always reserve a seat, even just before getting on the train. A
good link (if you don't have it) for train travel is
www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english; great for rail travel planning. I'd
bookmark that on your laptop and, if you do find Web access you can
plan out the next day easier.

John W.

1.. Should I book all accommodations in advance or try to have more
flexibility and find a place to sleep upon arrival, considering my
preference to cheaper places and zero Japanese skills?

Definitely book accomodations in advance. Inexpensive places are few
in number in most major destinations, and tend to fill up.

2.. How easy to obtain Internet access, either from public computer or by
means of prepaid card. I will have a laptop with me.

There are Internet cafes all over the place in the major cities.

2.. How easy to obtain Internet access, either from public computer or by
means of prepaid card. I will have a laptop with me.

In major cities, there are many internet cafes. Unfortunately, most of
their PCs are with Japanese version of Windows and you cannot connect your
private PC.

3.. Looks like trains between major cities are frequent. I am planning to
buy a rail pass. Is there a chance that train will be so full, that I will
not be able to find a seat?

Most trains have non-reserved seats. You may have to keep standing if no
seat is available, but anyway you can go to the destination. Additionally,
November is considered to be off-season and it will be easier to find a seat
than in New Year vacation season.

If you buy a first class (called "Green Car") rail pass, it will be much
easier to get a seat, since first class seats are less occupied than economy
class ones.

================================================== ======================
(Mr.) IIJIMA Hiromitsu,
aka Delmonta http://www.ht.sakura.ne.jp/~delmonta/

Iceman wrote:
1.. Should I book all accommodations in advance or try to have
more
flexibility and find a place to sleep upon arrival, considering my
preference to cheaper places and zero Japanese skills?

Definitely book accomodations in advance. Inexpensive places are few
in number in most major destinations, and tend to fill up.

Actually there are many inexpensive places to stay, and outside of
major holiday times and resorts, most of the best deals (in any
country) are found in country, at least in my experience.

John W.

Dear Gene,

In November it is extremely busy, as it is the best season to sea the
fall-colours.
I am not sure about the countryside, but most hotels (cheap to expensive) in
Kyoto are already now VERY full.
I would definitly book ahead, if you go to the countryside, you might try
youthhostels.
Nice,cheap hotels and ryokan in the cities like Kyoto however HAVE to be
booked now.
I think you are already a bit late.
You might try the website of hte JNTO www.jnto.go.jp


Hope you will still succeed!

Giny
Tozai Travel
Amsterdam

"_Gene T. _" schreef in bericht
...
Hello!

Please help me with Japan questions. Traveling over there in a second half
of November.

1.. Should I book all accommodations in advance or try to have more
flexibility and find a place to sleep upon arrival, considering my
preference to cheaper places and zero Japanese skills?
2.. How easy to obtain Internet access, either from public computer or
by
means of prepaid card. I will have a laptop with me.
3.. Looks like trains between major cities are frequent. I am planning
to
buy a rail pass. Is there a chance that train will be so full, that I will
not be able to find a seat?

Gene

Dear Gene,

In November it is extremely busy, as it is the best season to sea the
fall-colours.
I am not sure about the countryside, but most hotels (cheap to expensive) in
Kyoto are already now VERY full.
I would definitly book ahead, if you go to the countryside, you might try
youthhostels.
Nice,cheap hotels and ryokan in the cities like Kyoto however HAVE to be
booked now.
I think you are already a bit late.
You might try the website of hte JNTO www.jnto.go.jp


Hope you will still succeed!

Giny
Tozai Travel
Amsterdam

"_Gene T. _" schreef in bericht
...
Hello!

Please help me with Japan questions. Traveling over there in a second half
of November.

1.. Should I book all accommodations in advance or try to have more
flexibility and find a place to sleep upon arrival, considering my
preference to cheaper places and zero Japanese skills?
2.. How easy to obtain Internet access, either from public computer or
by
means of prepaid card. I will have a laptop with me.
3.. Looks like trains between major cities are frequent. I am planning
to
buy a rail pass. Is there a chance that train will be so full, that I will
not be able to find a seat?

Gene