Looking back on this trip, there were a lot of things that went well, along with a whole list of things that could have been even better. Trying to think of the best way to organize my thoughts, I figured that it might make sense to organize it along the same order as we planned the trip.
First, we jumped on a flight deal. It was an insane price we couldn't refuse, and in keeping with the mentality of saving money, we declined every "add-on" that would increase the price of our flight. This turned out to be somewhat painful - as one of the "upgrades" when purchasing the flight was the ability to reserve your seat. Depending on the type of ticket you're buying or the airline you're flying with, seat selection may be included in the price and part of the purchase process. If it's not, the additional fee may be something in the range of $15 to $20. If it matters where you sit on a long 10-hour flight, then this extra cost may be well worth it, especially if it's a good deal and the flight is likely to be fully booked.
Next, we decided where to go - we wanted to go to Sapporo and Tokyo. We realized at this point that with only 2 destinations, there would be a lot more time per city (more than the typical 4-day allotment), but figured there would be a lot of time spent travelling since we wanted to take the train. In hindsight, it would have been beneficial to find out exactly how much time it would have taken us to travel between Tokyo and Sapporo (and Asahidake). Since it turned out to be approximately 8 hours, or a full day, that information might have guided us to:
First, we jumped on a flight deal. It was an insane price we couldn't refuse, and in keeping with the mentality of saving money, we declined every "add-on" that would increase the price of our flight. This turned out to be somewhat painful - as one of the "upgrades" when purchasing the flight was the ability to reserve your seat. Depending on the type of ticket you're buying or the airline you're flying with, seat selection may be included in the price and part of the purchase process. If it's not, the additional fee may be something in the range of $15 to $20. If it matters where you sit on a long 10-hour flight, then this extra cost may be well worth it, especially if it's a good deal and the flight is likely to be fully booked.
Next, we decided where to go - we wanted to go to Sapporo and Tokyo. We realized at this point that with only 2 destinations, there would be a lot more time per city (more than the typical 4-day allotment), but figured there would be a lot of time spent travelling since we wanted to take the train. In hindsight, it would have been beneficial to find out exactly how much time it would have taken us to travel between Tokyo and Sapporo (and Asahidake). Since it turned out to be approximately 8 hours, or a full day, that information might have guided us to:
- Pick a 3rd city to visit somewhere in the middle of Tokyo and Sapporo, or take the plane between Tokyo and Sapporo
- Fly into Sapporo instead of Tokyo
Because we were so confident that we would be travelling by train, we bought the JR Pass. This is always a great purchase if you're travelling extensively on the railways - it saved us money on buying tickets, and making reservations at the JR Tourist Information center was easy once we knew our schedule. Note though, that if you're arriving later in the day (past 18:00), you should check what time the JR office closes - a lot of them close at 18:00 or 18:30.
After deciding what cities we would visit, we booked our hotel. Something I would have done differently was picking a hotel based purely on location, instead of looking for both location and the best deal. In Sapporo, it would have been far easier to stay by Sapporo station. In Tokyo, I think the best areas to stay are Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, or Shibuya. When looking at location, I did not look thoroughly enough at the subway/railway maps to find the biggest hubs - I figured it would simply be sufficient to be near any station. This obviously turned out to be less optimal, but the time/cost penalty turned out to be more than I guessed (more so for Tokyo, than for Sapporo).
More on hotels:
- Make sure the hotel has coin laundry available if you're packing light
- Read detailed reviews - we booked with APA hotel in both cities, and it seems standardization between locations is not as strict as we thought so the one in Sapporo (APA Hotel Sapporo Susukino-EkiMinami) turned out to be much better than Tokyo (APA Hotel Shintomicho-Ekimae)
- If you're booking a ryokan or business hotel (like APA), you do not need to bring pajamas - they will provide yukata or sleeping clothes for you
After booking the transportation and hotel, we did research on what we wanted to see/eat/do in each place. Making reservations for dinner is part of the culture in Japan - if you'd like to eat at a popular restaurant, it's courtesy to book your spot in advance (also, you might not get a spot otherwise). We also found that the places we researched ahead of time were much better than the random "possible hidden gems" we happened to come across (with the exception of the fish markets, where the research was for the general area, not for a specific stall/vendor). It's also a good idea to check in with the Tourist Information center if you're unsure about what sights/areas might interest you - they'll have a much better understanding of what the city has to offer (and current events or changes that might affect you). We found that most Tourist Information centers had English speakers (even if they didn't have a fluent English speaker available, they would still be able to point you in the right direction). I think most of the activities we picked were worthwhile, and this came from mostly our own research - with the exception of the Hokkaido University Botanical Garden, which might have been better in the springtime.
That brings me to seasons. Japan is extremely seasonal - there will be certain foods you'll want to eat depending on the season (and certain foods to avoid), and the same goes for sights. In the springtime, the obvious example is cherry blossoms. In the autumn, and at other times of the year, you may want to see when festivals are happening or what is open during that season. When we were at the onsen, we had been looking forward to taking the Asahidake Ropeway, but it was closed due to high winds (which were likely common for the season), and even if we had been able to take it, our plan to hike and see autumn colors would have been impossible because of all the snow. It may be difficult to find this type of information for smaller towns/attractions, but this should available for large cities.
When it's actually time to leave - you'll be packing. I tried my best to pack light - with only carry-on luggage for the trip to Japan. I packed a foldable duffel bag in my suitcase just in case I needed extra space for the trip back, and this turned out to be extremely useful. There is so much to purchase in Japan (clothes, electronics, food) that what I should have done was pack almost nothing but bare essentials (1-2 changes of clothes, minimal toiletries), then buy clothes there. Uniqlo is awesome - good quality, enduring styles, very affordable, and appropriate sizes! I'm sure I could have bought more - my only limits were the duty-free limit and luggage space.
One thing I was so happy I packed: skin care products and eye drops. I find I get dehydrated easily while travelling, and as wonderful as Japan is, it is no exception. Having enough lotion and eye drops to keep me comfortable through 2 weeks was essential.
ETA: I forgot to mention foreign currency. Before travelling, I always like to convert $100 per day in cash of the local currency. For Japan, this means 10,000¥ per day for a total of 140,000¥ for 2 weeks. Because of an untimely lack of Japanese yen at the currency exchange, I only ended up bringing 110,000¥. This made me slightly uneasy and I resorted to using my Amazon Visa credit card (which has zero currency conversion fees) for all purchases to conserve cash. It turns out Japan is not as cash-based as it's rumored to be - every restaurant and hotel accepted Visa! The only places where cash was necessary were: fish markets and the transit ticket machines.
More on how transit works in Japan: the JR pass works for the major railways that connect each city. Within the city, the JR lines do have stations that you can use your pass for, but it's likely more convenient to take the subway lines which are not included in the JR pass. To use these subway lines, you'll need to pay per use. You can either buy tickets as you go (per ride, or buy a 1-day pass), or you can purchase a reloadable card. Both options require cash (as mentioned above). For Tokyo, the reloadable card is called the Suica card, and can be used for all subway lines. Just tap before the gate to enter the station, and then tap when exiting. The advantage to using the Suica card is that you get a slightly discounted fare for all rides. In Sapporo, if you had purchased the Suica card in Tokyo, you could continue using that on the Sapporo subway lines. Otherwise, if you wanted to purchase a reloadable card for Sapporo, you would get the SAPICA card, which works the same way. For this trip, because we were trying to conserve cash, we did not purchase the Suica card when we arrived in Tokyo. In hindsight, this would have been a great use of cash and I'd recommend getting the Suica card as soon as you arrive in Tokyo.
ETA: I forgot to mention foreign currency. Before travelling, I always like to convert $100 per day in cash of the local currency. For Japan, this means 10,000¥ per day for a total of 140,000¥ for 2 weeks. Because of an untimely lack of Japanese yen at the currency exchange, I only ended up bringing 110,000¥. This made me slightly uneasy and I resorted to using my Amazon Visa credit card (which has zero currency conversion fees) for all purchases to conserve cash. It turns out Japan is not as cash-based as it's rumored to be - every restaurant and hotel accepted Visa! The only places where cash was necessary were: fish markets and the transit ticket machines.
More on how transit works in Japan: the JR pass works for the major railways that connect each city. Within the city, the JR lines do have stations that you can use your pass for, but it's likely more convenient to take the subway lines which are not included in the JR pass. To use these subway lines, you'll need to pay per use. You can either buy tickets as you go (per ride, or buy a 1-day pass), or you can purchase a reloadable card. Both options require cash (as mentioned above). For Tokyo, the reloadable card is called the Suica card, and can be used for all subway lines. Just tap before the gate to enter the station, and then tap when exiting. The advantage to using the Suica card is that you get a slightly discounted fare for all rides. In Sapporo, if you had purchased the Suica card in Tokyo, you could continue using that on the Sapporo subway lines. Otherwise, if you wanted to purchase a reloadable card for Sapporo, you would get the SAPICA card, which works the same way. For this trip, because we were trying to conserve cash, we did not purchase the Suica card when we arrived in Tokyo. In hindsight, this would have been a great use of cash and I'd recommend getting the Suica card as soon as you arrive in Tokyo.
If I think of anything else, I'll keep this post updated. Overall though, it was another memorable trip to Japan - I'm sure I'll visit again in the future! Visiting Sapporo was fun - I enjoyed the different scenery and cuisine. We found the people to be even more polite than in Tokyo, and the city was much easier to navigate since it was smaller. The day trip out to Otaru was one of the highlights from Hokkaido - and planning to spend only 1 day in the city turned out to be the perfect amount of time. The onsen was heaven - I've never taken so many baths in 2 days before in my life, and the relaxation was much needed (along with the delicious food) in the cold weather. Tokyo will always be a favorite - all the restaurants and sights could keep me occupied for much longer than 4 days!
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