Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe Travel Vacation
Travel is fun but to plan a travel vacation needs much effort and research and should be as thorough as possible. It is also a very enjoyable experience and as eye-opening as the actual travel.
Planning a travel vacation to Japan for my wife and 2 adult children for about 10 to 12 days in March 2016. It is better to plan early once the dates and duration is confirmed. This way, there is a good chance of getting cheap air fares and good value accommodation.
Here is what I did and I hope it would be useful for those who wish to plan similar travel vacations.
Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and surrounding areas are places we wish to visit. They are located in the
Kansai region of Japan. The Kansai region comprises 10% of Japan's land area, with 24 million residents, 18% of Japan's population. It consists of eight prefectures; Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Shiga, Nara, Wakayama, Mie, and Tokushima. The major cities of Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Ohtsu, Nara, Wakayama, Tsu, and Tokushima are all located in the Kansai region.
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| The Kansai Region of Japan |
Step 1 - Finding Cheap Airfares
As I am flying from Singapore, there are only 2 budget airlines that fly to Osaka. They are Scoot and Jetstar. Of course, the aim to to look for the cheapest vacation deals. Travel airfares for budget airlines fluctuate by the day and season. Here is a comparison of the travel airfares from the 2 airlines for 4 adults.
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| Jetstar airfares |
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| Scoot airfares |
This is a big difference in price for 4 adults between the two budget airlines to Osaka. Scoot gave a good price, beyond my expectations. For the return trip Scoot fares, note the jump from 11 Mar to 12 Mar 2016, a whopping increase of some S$500!
Step 2 - Find a Hotel with Good Reviews
Where to stay is a huge component of any trip. For me, if I need to find a hotel in a city, I like to stay in a location where there is good access to public transport, especially the Metro network. A hotel that is within 5 to 10 minutes walk from a metro station is great.
My next important criteria is there is plenty of food outlets nearby - it can be street food or restaurants, convenience stores etc. I enjoy the local food and it is part of the fun and adventure to sample the distinct food and smell of the city.
Another important criteria is to make sure that the hotel has good reviews. I usually go the TripAdvisor to check and other hotel booking sites like Agoda and Booking,com which provide very useful reviews of the major hotels.
For this travel vacation, I decided to stay in 2 locations - 4 nights in Osaka and 5 nights in Kyoto. Based on my research, there is more to see in Kyoto as it was the ancient capital of Japan.
A travel vacation to Japan is not complete if we missed out on staying in the traditional Japanese guestrooms. Hence, we decided that we should stay in a
'ryokan' since we are in Japan, just for the experience of a lifetime. A ryokan (旅館 ?) is a type of traditional Japanese inn that originated in the Edo period (1603–1868), when such inns served travelers along Japan's highways. They typically feature tatami-matted rooms, communal baths, and other public areas where visitors may wear yukata and talk with the owner.
Just as there are many different ryokan room prices, there are also many different types or styles of ryokans. No two ryokans are the same, and the quality of ryokan varies dramatically. On the low end of the scale is what we call a “standard ryokan” and at the upper end of the scale is our “luxurious ryokan.”
Osaka Hotels
I decided to go to Tripadviser to check on reviews of ryokans. I found that
Carpe Diem to be the #1 BnBs or Inns in Osaka.
Here's some of the reviews:
"Great hosts, beautiful ryokan and quiet surroundings - we had an excellent stay. Our room was very spacious and breakfast each morning was a nice touch. It's a very relaxed ryokan and we felt at home. The location was great - close to restaurants and a supermarket. Only a 15 minute walk to the JR station. I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again in future." -Stayed October 2015, travelled with family
"For three nights Carpe Diem was our home away from home. Lovely place,. We didn't book the accomodation for the rest of our trip and we couldn't find a place to stay after our stay in Carpe Diem. They helped us find a place. The children loved the garden. Easy to Find. Good breakfast. Just wonderful!_ - Stayed July 2015
"We spent 5 days at Carpe diem and are very happy of our choice!
The location is great: 10 minute walk from train stations and Osaka Castle park. Convenience store within 500m. Quiet area (in a dead-end), which makes the place very peaceful and relaxing.
The garden is beautiful: We got there at night and did not see it until we opened the sliding doors of our room in the morning. What a great way of starting the day!
Misa and her son Alex were very helpful and friendly, making sure our stay was great. They even organised a kimono-photo-shoot for us in the garden.
If I go to Osaka again (and I really hope I will), I want to stay there again." - Stayed June 2015, travelled with family
The webiste of
Carpe Diem is here and you can book directly with them. It is rather easy. Since there are 4 of us, we booked the Tea Room.
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| Superior Tea Room at Carpe Diem |
Kyoto Hotels
After having chosen a ryokan for Osaka, the next part is to look for a ryokan in Kyoto where I will be staying for 5 nights.
Here is a good place to look for
ryokans in Kyoto . The main website is
The Japan Ryokan & Hotel Association Kansai. Here is gives information on how to use a ryokan. Also, if you like Japanese baths, there is useful information in this site.
After a lot of searches, I settled for Oyado
Ishicho Tower. This ryokan has an 8/10 rating from
Booking.com reviews.
Step 3: Buy Travel Insurance
Once I have booked my flights and accommodation, I normally proceed to buy travel insurance straight away to ensure I secure the protection for the trip. Travel insurance is not expensive and these day, you never know what can go wrong - flight cancellations due to volcanic ash or haze, sickness that may cause you unable to travel, loss or delayed baggage, accidents etc. Hence it is better to be protected by travel insurance against such loss.
I bought travel insurance from NTUC Income which I think gives the best value for money. Scoot also offered travel insurance for $39 per person. NTUC Income's rate was only about $38.
Step 4: Places to Visit
Here I took my time to research in great detail. I normally check travel blogs what others have done and decide. I also check the recommendations from Tripadviser and other travel sites.
For travel to Japan, one of the most useful sites is
japan-guide.com where it gives up to date comprehensive suggestions and tips regarding travel to Japan. This is really an authority site for ideas on travel to Japan. You need not look further.
Useful links:
a) In this site, you can choose
many Kyoto itineraries for visits lasting 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days and 5 days, plus tailored Kyoto itineraries for Shoppers, Temple Lovers, Hikers and Garden Lovers.
b)
Osaka Info Guide and
another one here.
c) Japan - the
Official Guide site.
d)
Kyoto Walking Trails - many ideas for great walking tours in Kyoto.
e)
Japan Travel - the largest tourism and travel website and official collection of maps and guides.
Step 5 : Local Transportation
Last but not least is to know how to travel within the cities you are going to. This is especially so when one is travelling on your own and not on any travel package.
Learn how to get from the airport to the hotel. In major Japanese cities, there are usually several options - bus, MRT, express train etc.
My research shows that since I am in the Kansai region, the
Icoca & Haruka pass is the best option. This package is a discount ticket package for foreign visitors arriving at Osaka's Kansai Airport. It provides transportation from the airport into the city by the Haruka limited express train and an Icoca prepaid card for use on urban transportation at a highly discounted price.
Icoca & Haruka (as of April 1, 2014)
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One-way version
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3,030
yen
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Roundtrip version
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4,060
yen
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The Icoca & Haruka packages
consists of a) a ticket that can be used to travel
from Kansai
Airport toOsaka, Kyoto or Kobe and b) an Icoca prepaid card valued
2000 yen that can be used on urban transportation in the Greater
Osaka region.
The roundtrip version of the package additionally includes a ticket that can be
used to travel back to Kansai Airport.
Another useful website is the Japan Rail. This website is an unofficial website about Japan Rail Pass, other rail passes and rail travel in Japan. It explains you how to use Japan Rail Pass and assists you to use Japan Rail Pass to its maximum! And also this site explain about many more rail passes, gives you tips and supports you to enjoy rail trip in Japan.
From this website, i find the links below particularly helpful for my trip: -
a) Guide to take trains in Osaka. How to choose the best route by train to get the major spots?
b) Visit Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Kobe for 5 to 7 days sample itinerary
c) Sample itinerary of day trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima from Osaka/Kyoto
d) Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass. Perfect deal for the traveller who wants travel both Kansai and Hiroshima.
I hope this guide helps.
Happy travelling!
