Summer has arrived, and this year my wife and I have decided on Japan as our travel destination. Of course I’ll have my array of posts on my experiences in Japan when I return, so be expecting some great travel reviews covering the city of Tokyo during the months of July and August. Since I was basically tasked with the entire itinerary for the trip, I actually spent time preparing for our vacation since early March.

Booking Hotels and Airline Tickets

The first thing I did was book and confirm our flights and hotels. I bought tickets from Expedia once again since they were the most convenient for me, but I found competitive rates at both Priceline and Travelocity. In my experience with booking, its best that you have all the information you need available (credit cards, passports, etc..) before getting started. It just makes things much easier this way. The prices changed so quickly that I probably could have gotten a better deal if I had been prepared a bit more.

My original plan had been to book a decent three star hotel somewhere in the Shinjuku area, but even with all the discounts Expedia offered us, we would have easily paid $120.00 USD per night for something decent. Fortunately, the couple traveling with us are in the active military so they were able to sponsor my wife and I at The New Sanno located in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Therates are amazing, and if you are in the active military or have a friend who can sponsor you, its definitely worth a look. Its located less than ten minutes from the Hiroo Subway Line and they provide all the amenities you would need for a very comfortable stay. (money exchange, bank, BX, gym, etc…)

We did run into some problems however and it was primarily because we waited so long to book. We discovered that during the July 4th weekend its extremely hard to get rooms at the Sanno, so we’ll actually be staying at Azabu Court Apartments, which is about a ten minute walk from Sanno for a couple nights and return once the weekend is over. My advice : book very early.

Transportation and Costs

The next thing I wanted to learn a bit more about was getting from place to place in Japan. I knew that renting a car was not an option at all so I tried to learn as much about Japans public transportation as I could. The first option I looked at was a taxi. I quickly crossed that out after discovering they are about as expensive as riding the taxi’s here at home. $250.00 USD to get from the airport to hotel? Forget about it!

Apparently, the best way to get around Tokyo is by train or subway. I experienced Washington DC’s Metro System last year so I was familiar with how everything worked. The fact that everything is in Japanese may pose a bit of a challenge, but because everything is color coordinated and numbered, I’m pretty sure we’ll figure things out in a day or two. If your really concerned about getting around, I suggest you visit this site here. I took down a few notes and we already know which trains/subway stations to get on and off of for the first couple days. I’m sure if I had more time, I would probably have mapped out more of the trip. You may also want to look at this well done video about how to actually use the Metro if you have never used the subway station before.

Finally, be sure to purchase either a Pasmo or Suica smart card to use on your daily travels. It basically is a chargeable card that can be swiped at all major bus and train stations to make travel alot smoother and faster. It definitely beats buying a ticket at every stop. I plan to get a couple $50.00 USD cards upon arriving at Narita Airport, and simply recharging them as needed. I believe you can also refund any remaining balances when its your time to leave Japan by returning the card to a ticket sales office.

Our Itinerary (10 Days)

This was actually the toughest part of the vacation planning for me. There is just so much to see in Tokyo and I doubt we’ll cover even a fourth of everything in the ten days we’ll be visiting. I’ll post the basics here for everyone to guide themselves with, and start my reviews on each day as soon as I return.

Day 1

Enjoy the Hotel.
Walk around the area.
Possible Evening Trip to Roppongi Hills

Day 2

Tokyo Disneyland or Disney Sea(Chiba)

Day 3

Shinjuku & Shibuya, Japan Sword Museum, Isetan
Top of the Metropolitan Gov’t Office (South Tower) (Shinjuku),
Hachiko Statue, Shinjuku Station for Lunch , Stroll Shibuya in the Evening
(Check out the LOVE HOTELS!)

Day 4

Wake up Late. Gym/Pool
Shinjuku in the evening or Tokyo Dome

Day 5

Ueno Park (Tokyo National Museum and Zoo)
Edo-Tokyo Museum

Day 6

The Tsukiji Market (5:00), Imperial Palace Gardens,
Asakusa (Asakusa Shrine and Sensoji Temple)
Ginza, Sony Building Kabuki-za Theater (1 Act)

Day 7

Wake up Late.
Harajuku – Yoyogi Park and Meiji Jingu Shrine
Akibahara at Night

Day 8

Odaiba Pallette Town and Venus Fort shopping center,
Miraikan Museum Ride the Daikanransha (FERRIS WHEEL) Joypolis by Sega

Day 9

Kamakura (We need to leave early!)(5:00)
Inquire about Enoshima Kamakura Free Pass
Kamakura , Great Buddha of Kamakura ,Kotokuin Temple ,Tsurugaoka Shrine

Day 10

Not sure what we can do. Check out at Noon. Get Limo Bus to Narita. Check in Baggage. Hang out! What a VACATION! Where are we going next? SAYONARA! UNTIL NEXT TIME!!!!

Additional Information

I found a ton of useful sites to help me with the trip. I’ll list some of the most useful ones here.

Japan-Guide
Japanese Lifestyle
Japan Travel Info
Japan Zone
Virtual Tourist Tokyo
Wiki Travel Tokyo