Famlly Holiday To Japan From Thailand

[brownbear]

Hoping to take the Thai wife and two kids to Tokyo for a week in August. Kids have UK passports. Anyone know any reliable Thai travel agents that can get good flight and accommodation deals and help out with the wife's visa? Or any of those three for that matter. Alternatively best airlines to try?

Many thanks.

[Musongman]

I think August is the month for the "Golden Week" holidays in Japan? With millions of Japanese on the move, I think you'd have Buckley's getting your trip off the ground ( excuse the pun ). My memory could be faulty but check the dates out. Japan is a wonderful place for holidaying.

[asia_pilot]

Try Travex for Tickets. We always fly Thai or Delta to Narita, because they fly non stop.

As far for the Visa. In my opinion the Japanese embassy here is one of the best organized and easy to deal with if your paperwork is complete. They have parking on site (for free) and the application never took more then 30 minutes wait. Pickup is after 2 days. No Bullshitting like 'the applicant only is allowed to come in" etc

[scorecard]

Try Travex for Tickets. We always fly Thai or Delta to Narita, because they fly non stop.

As far for the Visa. In my opinion the Japanese embassy here is one of the best organized and easy to deal with if your paperwork is complete. They have parking on site (for free) and the application never took more then 30 minutes wait. Pickup is after 2 days. No Bullshitting like 'the applicant only is allowed to come in" etc

I agree, there is a lot to see in Japan for both adults and children. Also agree to avoid Golden Week, during this holiday period a large percentage of Japanese travel internally.

Unless you've been to Japan before, hope you realize that: everything is extremely expensive, and there's very little English. In the inner city you'll find some English on train signboards etc, but in the outer suburbs and the countryside almost zero English. But of course never let language be a barrier to travel, and hey maybe you speak Japanese.

Recommend that you take a couple of trips on the Shinkanzen trains.

[PattayaParent]

Take the kids to Disneyland, they'll love it.

[asia_pilot]

Take the kids to Disneyland, they'll love it.

That depends on the age of the kids.

[brownbear]

Thanks all. I've been to Japan before so have a pretty good idea of what to expect although I'm sure the expense will still come as a shock. Disneyland is indeed on the list.

Thanks especially for the tip on the Japanese holiday: its actually Obon, a budhist festival. I can't avoid July/August completely I'm afraid but I've brought my dates ahead two weeks as a result now.

[PattayaParent]

Take the kids to Disneyland, they'll love it.

That depends on the age of the kids.

There were kids from age 4 to 84 there when I went.

[asia_pilot]

Take the kids to Disneyland, they'll love it.

That depends on the age of the kids.

There were kids from age 4 to 84 there when I went.

That's why I have said it depends on the age of the kids. My son was 2 1/2 when we went to DisneyLand in Tokyo. I wouldnt do it again until he is at least 5 years old. Otherwise its a waste of time and YEN.

[Somnambulist]

Golden Week is the first week of May. It's a happy confluence of national holidays that many people can string together to take the week off. The dates and length vary from year to year. At the beginning and end of it the news report obsessively on the 5- - 70-kilometer traffic jams on the highways in and out of Tokyo, not to mention the completely booked trains, hotels and ryokans.

Obon is in August. It's a time when one's ancestors visit (traditionally anyway). As as already been said, school is out and everywhere will be inundated with young travellers. Plan ahead. Oh, and in August it can be just as hot there as it is here.

[kittychan81]

As I'm sure you know August will be an amazing month to visit Japan, lots of festivals and fireworks to entertain the kids. I would suggest getting the Japan Rail Pass to get around and see the country, it's fast and exciting for the children, and will cut out hours of travelling time on the Bullet Train. I used this site www.jrpass.com and they fedex to Thailand.

Have a great trip!

[TheWalkingMan]

Japan in August... Hot and muggy and if you hit the week of the Obon Holiday you can be assured of all the tourist spots being packed and the hotels jacking up the prices.

A colleague went to Tokyo Disneyland a couple of Mondays ago. The waiting time per attraction was about 3 hours.

Yes, you can find some of firework shows, but it will be you and 100k~200k people rubbing shoulders and sweating like piggies from the humidity. And the fight back to the train station is always good for a laugh.

The best season for visiting Tokyo is the latter part of October into November. The air is clear, the humidity is low and you can go hiking to enjoy the leaves changing colors. It is really nice during that time.

Japan Rail Pass - The absolute best/cheapest way to travel around to parts of Japan. If you want and adventure, land in Fukuoka and work your way to Tokyo via the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) while stopping at different places. This will take some work as you should book your hotels in advance.

Have a nice trip,

TheWalkingMan

[Max2010]

I agree that traveling in Jpan in August is not ocmfortable due to the humidity. November or March is better.

JapanPass is a must if you intend to visit Kyoto or Osaka because foreignes get 50% discount or more using the pass. There is an express train called Skyliner from Narita to Ueno station (last train stop) every hour and now they use a newer route, 30 minutes, about 2200 yen one way. This is better than using the regular local trains stopping at the airport because they stop often and are always full. Skyliner seats are researved for you and there are only 5 or so stops to Ueno. Ueno itself is a nice place with the famous Ueno zoo, restaurants (hard rock cafe in Ueno station itself, TGIF opposite Skyliner station stop, and japanese restaurants) and museams.

There are also cheap hotels in Ueno. rakuten.com is a local website to book rooms in Japan. From Ueno, you can orient yourself and the next building 5 minute walk from your skyliner station is for domestic travel . "Local Trains" in Japan goes further than local trains in the west. You can take a train and pass 5 prefectures and still considered local. It is possible to take a train from Ueno all the way to Yokohama, another beautiful harbor city with its famous Land Mark Tower malls, hotels and right outside it, kids can ride many different kind of rides under 5 dollars including the biggest F erris Wheel in Japan. To check local train schedule and price from one station to next in English, use hyperdia.com. English maps are available in English too.

Japan is very crowded, so be prepared. There are 12 million people in Tokyo alone. However, people are not pushy and have deep respect towards strangers, Japanese or otherwise. I love their orderly way of doing things. I have never been in any other country where the customer care is superior than that of a Japanese. Avoid travel during rush hours. You will feel like sardines in a tin. I fly Japan-Thailand often and the best ticket is from thai airways. I usually start checking 4 months in advance. They sold one for me as little as 500 dollars return last week via their website. (E-ticket).

Max W

[Spee]

All of Max's stuff is spot on. I took my girl there several years ago. We had a nice time but the heat and humidity made it very uncomfortable.

In addition to the Ferris wheel, there is also a big entertainment and fun park area along the water in Yokohama, which is very easy to get to from the airport via YCAT bus or Narita Express rail.

Might not be much for the kids, but if you are looking for some traditional Japanese sites with cooler weather, you could take a day trip on the train to Nikko. Very scenic.

Make double sure on the wife's visa. The areas around Tokyo are full of Thai, Lao and Filipino people with no visa and the authorities have been cracking down for a long time. While not likely outside of the airport, it is not outside the realm of possibility that you could be stopped on the street.

[Max2010]

About the visa issues, it doesn't matter where you are from. Japanese cops ask for ID randomly in all major touristy areas of the country. So do not go out without your paspsort. It is against the law for foreign residents to go out without their resident cards for example. If you have a tattoo, you will generally not be allowed to use Onsen (volcanic hot spring) because there anyone with a tattoo is considered a gangster (Yakuza). If you walk around with uncovered tattoo, you will definately be stopped by cops.

I forgot to mention a little beautiful town called Kamakura. It"s very near to Yokohama, maybe 30 minutes or less by train. You can see the giant Buddha and they have a beautiful beach too. You can also get a local train there to visit the island very close to it. It is packed though because it is very popular with locals and foreigners alike. Another little beach town with Onsen is called Atami. You can also reach there, some 10 stations from Kamakura. Atami is less crowded and they have an Onsen as well and the only American restaurant (Denny's). Swimming pools are a luxury in Japan, you have to pay extra to use it in hotels, usually 20 dollars per person. Use public swimming pools, there are in every major town in Japan including Atami. They are cheap , 5 dollars or so if you feel like swimmimg to cool off. I wouldn't recommend beaches because of jellyfish.

You can get money from ATM"s if your bank card can be used abroad but mainly from JP (Japan Post ATM, but close at 5PM).

I hope this helps.

Max W