input from aisha

First of all bawa phrasebook! They rarely stops kalo diajak ngomong bahasa inggris. Jadi walopun abis itu loe bakal nanya things in English, stop them by saying 'Sumimasen' dan sejenisnya. Kalau di Tokyo sign2nya dah lumayan bersahabat sih jadi agak aman, suka ada bahasa inggrisnya ato paling gak pake romaji (huruf romawi) jadi kita bisa baca. Tapi if you're going outside Tokyo, katanya not that easy.

For me, i like museums and they have quite a few yang interesting. Daripada naik Tokyo Tower, I'd visit Mori Museum at the top of Mori Tower di daerah Roppongi. Mori Tower is a lot taller than Tokyo one + they have a 360 degree deck gitu diatas. Bisa liat the whole Tokyo from above. The museum shop juga lucu2.

Definitely check out the net ttg lagi ada festival apa during your visit. Mereka banyak acara2 public gitu kok dan selalu PENUH orang hehehe. Tapi seruuuu...

Harus ke Harajuku or Tokyo Dome in the weekends to meet with the Cosplay people (yang suka dress up sebagai karakter komik). Gue sih waktu itu minta ikut foto bareng mereka. Mereka juga demen kalo kita mau foto mereka, ngomong aja sama mereka nanti mereka dengan senang hati bergaya for the camera.

For travelling within Tokyo sih gue waktu itu beli PASMO card namanya. Belinya di underground stations. Kartunya bisa isi ulang to use for subway traveling.

Gue sih waktu itu tiap hari makan Jepang, trying all different types hehehe Gak mau rugi ;p Oh, pastiin coba Izakaya yah. Izakaya itu restoran tempat orang2 jepang kumpul2 abis pulang kantor. Biasanya pada suka minum2 bir + makanannya kecil2 gitu tapi enak2!

Ginza, Roponggi, Shinjuku, Harajuku & Shibuya are exciting untuk liat the different kind of area blanja orang Jepang. Shibuya juga seru kalo weekend malem2. Banyak anak2 muda nongkrong and hang outnya disini.

Disneyland ya udah pasti lah yaaa... Tapi kalo ada waktu if you like scary rides you have to try ke FujiQ Highlands. The tallest roller coaster and the one with most rotation in the world ada disini!!

Oia, check out Odaiba. Apparently is the next development area in Tokyo. I didn't get a chance to go, tapi katanya bagus.

Wah banyak laaaannn hehehehe... Pokoknya siapin kamera everyday :) You'll absolutely love it....

input from ronald & wanda

Breakfast: 300 yen - 600 yen
Lunch: 900 yen – 1,300 yen
Dinner: 1,100 yen – 1,500 yen
Snack: (banyak godaan. Ice-cream, cakes, etc. Jadi allow sekitar 800 yen sehari untuk snack).

Kira-kira demikian. Walaupun untuk lunch kita sering save uang karena banyak lunch special yang harganya sekitar 1,000 yen doang, atau 700 yen untuk curry rice. Breakfast-pun kita save karena Cuma beli instant noodles dari convenience store atau some other cheap food. Percuma budget-in banyak duit untuk breakfast karena banyak restoran café di sana bukanya setelah jam 11 pagi.

Snack: MAJOR WARNING: Beware of the pretty-looking sweet mochi cakes they sell in airport / temple / tourist area. They look good but the majority don’t taste good. I learnt this the hard way, after Mum & I bought cases of the sweets back home.
Snacks / desserts sold in cafes and restaurant are usually great, tho’.

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Ada teman kita yg coba tinggal di Love Hotel, mereka bilang lebih murah dan fasilitasnya bagus. Memang kalau tinggal di Love Hotel semalam, jatuhnya lebih murah daripada sewa buat beberapa jam. Umumnya orang Jepang sewa Love Hotel barang 1-2 jam tuk keperluan pribadi. Jadi harga sewa murah kalau nginap semalam. Umumnya ada jam tertentu di mana rate-nya murah, kalau ngak salah di atas jam 10pm. Masalahnya ngak bisa di-book jauh hari, mesti book hari itu juga.

Kita sempat ngitari Love Hotel Hill di Shibuya barang beberapa jam, tapi ngak nginap soalnya ngak ketemu hotel yg kita suka. Soalnya setiap love hotel ada temanya: Las Vegas, Egyptian, cowboys, etc. Dan saat itu kita udah book kamar di hotel. Waktu nginap di Tokyo kita tinggal di dua tempat:

• Kimi Ryokan > http://www.kimi-ryokan.jp/
• Shinjuku Park Hotel > http://shinjukuparkhotel.co.jp/english/index.html

Kedua-dua tempat ini termasuk kategori yg menegah ke bawah. Jadi kalau mau tinggal di tempat yg lebih mewah, bisa coba hotel yg lain sih. Capsule Hotel rada mahal ya, dan kita saat itu ngak sempat cobain. Kayaknya per capsule satu orang deh, soalnya kecil sekali. Jadi tinggal di situ cuma buat experience aja.

input from yen 1

1st thing - harus beli JR pass di nz (bisa dibeli di galleria duty free di downtown). Tiket ini basically bisa bawa lu ke luar kota, naek express train nya - shinkansen. This will save you heaps of money.
A must buy :)

Maren itu g cuman ke 4 kota - tokyo, takayama, kyoto & hiroshima - jadi g komen daerah2 situ aja yah.


Tokyo - setuju ma Grace, shibuya itu ok untuk shopping. Other suburbs are Harajuku, shinjuku... disneyland was fun :)

Kyoto - ada 2 main temples to go : Kinkaku-ji & Kiyomizu-dera temples. Di sini ada suburn Gion (terkenal banyak geisha - seperti felem memoir of geisha) - tapi kita ga liat siy waktu ke sono, cuman liat tante2 pake kimono.

Hiroshima - ada museum yg bom itu. very interesting though that is the only main attaction in this town.

Takayama - kita mainly cuman stay di hotel trus onsen-an (must do in japan - berendem di air panas). This is a small & old town - beautiful.

tergantung perginya kapan, cek aja ada event apa - biasa mereka bisa ada festival2 gitu kalo lu perginya pas sakura time. kalo ada event, mereka ada bazar- penuh makanan & orang2 gitu.
harus coba makanan2 mereka yah :) (eg. Okonomiyaki itu berbeda in every city- beda khas nya gitu)

umm apa lagi yah.... yg pasti research aja di website. pasti banyak deh ide2 nya. Yg pasti, japan is a very exciting, beautiful, clean country. Orang2 nya juga interesting. G masi amazed by how they can walk on heels all day long (heels yg tingiiiii2 gitu)..

you'll love it :)

input from sylvia 1

When to go: The best I would say is end of March or early April. You can see cherry/sakura blossoms. Plus, the weather is super nice.

Accommodation: You can choose either business style hotel or ryokan (Japanese inn where you sleep on tatami on the floor). I chose a hotel cause the location of most ryokans are in the outskirt of the city. It's still accessible by subway and bus (and taxi of course) but consider your luggage and level of comfort for yourself.

Transportation: Subway system in Tokyo is super complex. You have to know which station you are getting off, which subway line you have to take (sometime there;s more than 1 subway lines going to the same station), and which exit. You see from itinerary I always wrote the station I got off, what subway line I took and which exit. If you take the wrong exit you could end up 3 km away from your destination. To go around Tokyo, I suggest to buy SUICA card. I have written a note for you in my itinerary about this card. Check their website!

Meals: Food can be expensive if you don't know where to eat. Avoid eating at restaurants in hotels or along business/entertainment districts . I enjoyed eating in small noodle restaurants or food court in a shopping mall. Or you can always buy bento box from any convenience store (their convenience stores are really convenient! They carry everything you nee). Honestly, you can get by with onigiri (rice ball sold in convenience store). What I did for my breakfast, I bought cereals and milk from conv. store, that's about it

Point of interests: See my itinerary. But I add more interesting places for you to consider. I didn't visit them either because I had visited them before or I have no interest or I just didn't have enough time.

1. Tokyo Disneyland

2. Tokyo Tower -Shiodome

3. Zozoji Temple - Shiodome

4. Nihombashi

5. Tokyo Metropolitan Government building Shinjuku

6. Electric street - Shinjuku (your husband may find it interesting. it's heaven for camera lovers)

7. Yoyogi Park - Shibuya

8. Azabu Juban shopping town - Ropponggi

9. Akihabara

10. National Diet Building

11. Tokyo Dome: http://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/e/park/

12. Kamakura area

13. Fujikyu Highland (this is out of Tokyo but you can go there by tour bus, see below)

If you're considering excursions out of Tokyo: check this http://www.jtbgmt.com/sunrisetour/index.aspx

For more information on Japan tourism: www.infomapjapan.com

For Tokyo tourism: www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp

I think that's all for now. If I remember anything else...I'll let you know. Have fun planning!!!!

input from grace 2

ke kota laen ga? klo iya, just remember to buy the JR pass, it will save u heaps :)

kita jg budet peginya, i think stay di shinjuku is the best, karna deket dari mana2, kcuali dari disneyland rada jauh, jadi ga spend byk2 d subway fee. aku stay d hotel ristel shinjuku waktu itu..klo booking online murah koq ~

mknan d resto2 biasa itu kan justru yg enak, paling se orang $10nz.. klo pagi kan biasa dpt breakfast. n jajanan d jalanan n minuman d vending machine murah2, paling nz$1 an.

aku ga tau disneyland, tapi aku ke disneysea, bagus bgt, klo malem jem 8pm ada light & water show, its realli pretty.. so klo lg ada show, make sure u go watch it :P bli tiket nya d sana, i think skitar NZ$65, ada website nya.

love hotel aku waktu itu d nagoya ya bkn tokyo jd lebih murah NZ$100an.. tp bagus .. guede kamarnya, trus kinky haha.. its realli something different aja sih..good to know gitu..

btw, its nyebelin urus visa jepang, lotsa requirement.. so do it in advance ^^

input from grace 1

shopping in tokyo for affordable stuff go to shibuya, the main mall is called shibuya 109 (gedung cewek & cowok beda). outside 109, byk butik2 kecil, interesting, so go one by one hehe. dress up ! org2 yg blanja d sana funky2.. i felt realli under-dressed.. hehe

shopping for electronic go to akihabara, if u re into anime stuff, make sure u try the maid cafe. its interesting.

try the love hotel at least 1 night, its interesting for tourists.

try go to during festival season.. early august is the best i heard.

go to disneyland early in the morning !! disneysea is more buat anak2 lebih gede d banding disneyland.

for traditional feeling go to asakusa temple (tokyo), buy souvenirs here. but if u go to kyoto then u dun need to go here..

if u go to more than one cities, make sure you buy JR (japan rail) pass from nz (ga isa bli d jepang, its for tourists only). its cheaper..

input from ronald 2

• Tokyo Imperial Palace
• Nishiki Market > Tokyo's famous fish market, must be there early around 6am to see the busy market and order some fresh seafood.
• Roppongi Hills > modern and upper-class complex consisting of malls, gardens, art gallery and Toho cinemaplex. Really nice for strolling and photography.
• Kabuki-cho > most dangerous place in Tokyo, but this is the hub of Tokyo's night life and Yakuza.

input from ronald 1

Kalau 4 malam di Tokyo, kita bisa rekomen:
• Tempoe Doeloe
1. Tokyo Museum > half a day (all about Japan's history and cultures)
2. Rikugien > http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3026.html or Hama Rikyu > http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3025.html (beautiful Japanese gardens)
3. Watch a Kabuki play at Kabuki-za > check play time, and buy only half a session to save money and time, http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2090.html
4. Meiji Temple > an idyllic walk through Meiji Park into the most popular Shinto temple for couples, go here on Sundays. Beautiful cedar and cypress trees all the way through.
5. Sensoji Temple at Asakusa > most famous Buddhist temple in Tokyo http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3001.html

• Modern
6. Tokyo Disney Sea (lebih bagus dari Disneyland-nya)
7. Akihabara > geeks paradise, cobain: Maid cafe (cari yg murah - yg bayar makanan aja), electronics, collectibles, manga/anime, etc.
8. Harajuku > go on Sundays to watch the Cosplay Gangs and free band-hopping in the Shibuya park.
9. Shibuya > fashion paradise specially for girls, can also try one of the Love Hotels at Love Hotel Hills at night time.
10. Odaiba > 1-day trip to 21st century man-made island filled with theme parks, malls, museums and an Onsen park > www.japan-guide.com/e/e3008.html
11. Studio Ghibli Museum > only go here if you are a die-hard fans. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3041.html