Holiday travel tips and experiences: Japan Attractions Day 1

Japan Attractions Day 1 – 10th Apr 2009

With the myriad of tourist attractions Japan has, it is recommended to check out these Japan attractions on the internet or collect some Japan travel guides from the Japan embassy or travel agents so that you will have an idea of what sort of Japan sightseeing would interest and excite you. Also you can make use of the Japanese Rail Pass which is the key to convenient sightseeing in Japan.

We arrived at Tokyo Narita Airport at 1245 hrs on 10th April after a 12 hours flight from MSP International Airport. After a super fast clearance, we went to the JR (Japan Rail) Office to present our exchange order for our JR ‘7 day’ pass to start our train sightseeing of Japan.

Japanese Rail Pass Exchange Order

The Japanese Rail Pass cannot be purchased in Japan. It is only for tourists to Japan who are there on a sightseeing travel, i.e. you must be there on a "Temporary Visitor" status and not as "Trainee", "Entertainer", or "Reentry Permit". Or if you are a Japanese national who is qualified to live permanently in a foreign country or married to a non-Japanese residing in a foreign country, you are eligible for a Japanese Rail Pass. The price for a 7 day Japanese rail pass ranges from JPY28,300 (USD291) to JPY37,300 (USD389), though it is much cheaper to purchase the 21-day pass which comes up to less than double the price of the 7-day pass.

The JR Pass for sightseeing by train

This JR Pass enables you to travel on all JR group railways (including the Shinkansen "bullet trains", limited express trains, express trains and rapid or local trains), local lines of JR bus companies and the JR Miyajima ferry. The validity period of the Japanese rail pass is the consecutive 7, 14 or 21 days beginning on the date the pass is first issued when you arrive in Japan and present the exchange order to any JR exchange office.

Japan travel advice:- If you intend to travel extensively from, one main city to another and covering long distances e.g. Tokyo to Osaka/Hiroshima/Sapporo, etc… and looking for cheap Japan travel, it is advantageous to apply for a JR pass as this will enable you to save quite a bit on your transportation and include some form of train sightseeing as well as Japan sightseeing.

One of the many trains

From Narita Airport Terminal 1, we took the 1345 hrs Narita Express Shinagawa to Tokyo where we changed another two different shinkansen, also known as bullet trains, to Hiroshima and arrived at 1955 hrs.

One advantage about Japan is that its transportation system runs like clockwork where all arrival and departure timings are precise and accurate. It is thus easy to plan a train sightseeing holiday.

After an approximately ten minutes walk from JR Hiroshima Station is Hotel Urbain Hiroshima Executive where we stayed for the night. A rate of JPY 8400 (USD86)/day nett for two persons entitles you to a room with a full bathroom, complimentary ‘diy’ laundry, free internet access, sauna, public bath and breakfast. You also get 24 hour access to coffee/ tea, orange as well as vegetable juice.

Hotel Urbain Hiroshima Executive

Typical Japanese hotel room - small

The complimentary laundry facilities
The hotel is new having just opened last year and comes with modern furnishings and makes use of high technology software such as tapping your key on a key pad to open your room door.

After checking in, we took a walk around the hotel to do some Hiroshima sightseeing. We passed by the river and managed to view some beautiful sakura, also popularly known as cherry blossoms.

Lovely Sakura Cherry Blossoms

Upon crossing the street, we saw a Chinese restaurant, Entaikaku, and had dinner comprising ‘ma po tofu’ and ‘jia jia mian’. The ‘ma po tofu’ is a dish of beancurd cooked in a spicy gravy with minced meat. This dish is better eaten with rice as it tastes much better and not too salty. If you like spicy food, try this dish. The ‘jia jia mian’ is a dish of noodles with minced meat and sliced cucumbers served with it. Found it a little too salty, but otherwise a tasty dish. Both dishes cost JPY840 (USD8.65) each, which is about the average meal cost here in Japan although you can find meals below JPY500 (USD5.15).