VDD19/Traveling Advice

Introduction

This a unofficial guide written by Rémi, and ported to the wiki.

Upon not-yet-but-surely-soon popular demand, this is the unofficial VDD attendee guide to first time Japan sightseeing. Obviously you first need to determine your time and price budget. Japan is a country with high living standards and costs.

If you only have a few days in addition to the three days of conference, you should probably stay in Tokyo. There are plenty of things to see in the megalopolis; you could invest in a pocket city guide. I personally perused -the French translation of- Lonely Planet's Tokyo Encounters.

With a week, you can venture outside, but the stereotypical once-in-a-lifetime (or decade) trip to Japan lasts roughly two weeks, covering mainly Kanto (Tokyo area) and Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe area). In that case, I may be old-fashioned, but I'd advise buying a country guide book from your local book shop. Also, as noted in previous communications, if only to save time, you should check airfares of multi-city "open-jaw" itineraries arriving in Kansai(KIX) and returning from Tokyo(TYO) or vice-versa, rather than a round-trip to/from Tokyo.

Japan has excellent public transportation, is a congested left-side driving country. Therefore, it is highly recommended to use public transit rather than a rental car. In fact, it can be argued that using public transit is part of the experience.

Kanto area

Refer to your tourist guide for the key sights of Tokyo. Outside Tokyo, I would recommend the following day trips:

• Nikko: major Shinto sanctuary
  • w/ JRP: Tohoku Shinkansen to Utstunomiya, then Nikko line

• Hakone: hot spring, nature viewing
  • w/ JRP: Tokkaido Shinkansen to Odawara, then local line;
  • w/o JRP: Odakyu private railway from Shinjuku

• Kamakura: old capital, major Buddhist sanctuary
  • JR Yokosuka line from Shinagawa, Totsuka or Ofuna

Also be sure to spend one night in a traditional hotel, presumably in Hakone (for the hot springs).

Between Kanto and Kansai

There are three options to get from one region to the other:

1) With a JR pass or with a JR Central Tokyo-Kyoto round-trip package, you can take the Tokkaido Shinkansen between Tokyo and Kyoto.

You can buy the JR Central package there. It makes sense if you are too short on time to visit other cities in Kansai, and both your flights arrive and leave in Tokyo.

Note that JR pass holders are not permitted on the fastest "Nozomi" services.

2) With either a JR pass or an Osaka-Tokyo Hokuriku Arch Pass, you can take the new Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa. The remainder of line to Osaka via Kyoto is not yet built, so you have to switch to express train there, which is obviously slower.

However, Kanazawa has one of the best Japanese gardens, so you might as well make a stop to visit it.

You can buy the arch pass from specialist travel agents, such as JRpass.com. It is slightly cheaper than the 7-days JR pass, but it is much more limited in geography.

3) Without any pass, you can fly between Tokyo-Haneda (HND) and Osaka-Itami (ITM).

JAL and ANA both have deals for fixed discounted prices on domestic routes, but compare with list prices. These options only make sense if you do not have a rail pass of any kind.

• JAL Explorer Pass
• ANA Experience Japan (The ANA promotion should be valid in November inspite of indications.)

Those deals used to be restricted to international passenger of the two airlines' respective alliance, but no longer are.

Kansai area

Obviously, you will want to visit Kyoto, including the gold and silver temples, the Kioymizu-dera and many more. Given the crowd and the number of sites, that will occupy a few days.

Ideally, you would book a hotel near the Kyoto central station. From Kyoto, a must-do day trip:

- Nara: big Buddha statue, sanctuary with pesky deers... (w/ JRP: JR Nara line; w/o JRP: Kintetsu private railway)

Further West, I can recommend the following day trips:

- Himeji: wooden samurai castle (w/ JRP: Sanyo Shinkansen)

- Takamatsu: Japanese garden (w/ JRP: express train from Okayama) Especially if you do not visit Kanazawa.

- Hiroshima: Miyajima island and ground zero (w/ JRP: Sanyo Shinkansen; to Miyajima: local train and ferry; to city centre: tramway)

Okayama makes an ideal base for those trips, but anywhere along the Sanyo Shinkansen works.

General notes

There is no must-follow ordering. This guide starts with Tokyo because VDD is held there, but you can equally travel west-to-east or east-to-west.

These guidelines are geared toward self-guided tourists. If you prefer to spend money to have somebody else guide you, that is of course possible as well. This one is managed by an acquaintance: http://80days.co.jp/ but there are surely plenty others.

You can buy a voucher for a JR pass from local travel agencies or from online specialists such as jrpass.com or japan-experience.com. Compare prices. You need to exchange the voucher for an actual pass when you arrive in Japan.

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║ YOU CANNOT BUY THE PASS IN JAPAN! ║
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Note that the pass is only available in 7, 14 or 21 day spans without interruptions. If possible, don't have it enabled during VDD's, or even while staying inside Tokyo.

Guidance for airport transfer and other practicalities will be left for later communications to all international attendees.

Disclaimer

Use at your own risk. Not professional advice. No warranties whatsoever.