Chapter 13 - Afterthoughts / Future Planning
I thought I'd make a short section to reflect on the things we did and the hotels we stayed at.
Hotels
Oakwood Premier Tokyo
Last minute booking here. The biggest factor for us to stay here was the washer and dryer in each room. The staff was friendly and their English was excellent. They even offered to assist us with mailing home packages if we needed to. The hotel is located right outside the Tokyo Station, maybe a 10 minute walk from our room to the train platform. We ended up paying $3,852 for the 11 night stay with an additional charge of ¥4,400 for two room keys. Even though this hotel was more than I would like to pay, I'd consider staying here again because of the amenities and it's location next to Tokyo Station. Tokyo Station has an amazing curry restaurant with take-out service which we went to a lot. It was great to be able to pick up dinner on the way back to the hotel and eat in the comfort of the room and watch TV (we don't like to eat out much anyways).
APA Hotel Kyoto-Eki Horikawadori
Tiny hotel, not quite suitable for long stays. I believe the rooms were 177 sq. ft. Central air conditioning which didn't cool down the room very much but you could open the windows to help cool the room off a little more. Didn't try out the public baths. Extremely limited washer/dryer and expensive laundry service. About a 10-15 minute walk from the Kyoto Station to the hotel. 7-Eleven downstairs. Won't stay here again but there is the APA Hotel Kyoto Ekimae much closer to the Kyoto Station. I would consider that for a future one or two night stay in Kyoto. APA Hotels usually run about $40-$50 a night if you book far enough in advance.
Expenses
I decided to keep all my receipts and keep track of how much we spent to budget for future trips. Also listing some individual expenses.
Transportation
2x JR Rail Pass (14 day, Green car) - ¥125,900
JR transportation fees covered under JR pass - ¥248,540 (what we would've paid if we didn't have the JRP)
-Hikari Shinkansen green car from Tokyo Station to Maibara Station - ¥17,180
-Hikari Shinkansen green car from Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station - ¥18,380
-Tohoku Shinkansen green car from Tokyo Station to Shiroishi-Zao Station - ¥13,940
-Tohoku Shinkansen unreserved from Shiroishi-Zao Station to Tokyo Station - ¥10,150
-Kodama Shinkansen green car from Tokyo Station to Atami Station - ¥6,750
-Limited Express Odoriko green car from Izu-Inatori Station to Tokyo Station - ¥5,200
-Narita Express green car from Narita Airport to Tokyo Station - ¥4,560
-Most of the trains within Tokyo ranged from around ¥140 - ¥410
Other transportation fees not covered under JR pass - ¥20,490
Food - ¥56,370
For the most part we at fast food or got take out. We got dinner almost everyday in Tokyo from this curry restaurant in Tokyo Station called Curry Shop ALPS. It was really good, up there with CoCo Ichibanya, but the prices were much better.
Admission to places we visited (zoos/aquariums) - ¥30,140
-Ueno Zoo - ¥600
-Sumida Aquarium - ¥2,050
-Tokyo Skytree ~ ¥2,060
-Izu Animal Kingdom - ¥2,200
-Sunshine Aquarium - ¥2,200
-Tokyo Art Aquarium - ¥1,100
-Zao Fox Village - ¥1,000
-Seaside Top - ¥620
-Kyoto Aquarium - ¥2,050
-Osaka Aquarium/Ferris Wheel - ¥3,000
Future Trips
I enjoyed the two short pilgrimages we did the most. I didn't spend as much because there's usually no admission fees and since they're not establishments or attractions really, we didn't have to deal with the tourist crowds. It's also a great way to get out and see some of the more scenic places in Japan as well. Next time however I need to rewatch the anime so I can get some better pictures.
More to come.
Hotels
Oakwood Premier Tokyo
Last minute booking here. The biggest factor for us to stay here was the washer and dryer in each room. The staff was friendly and their English was excellent. They even offered to assist us with mailing home packages if we needed to. The hotel is located right outside the Tokyo Station, maybe a 10 minute walk from our room to the train platform. We ended up paying $3,852 for the 11 night stay with an additional charge of ¥4,400 for two room keys. Even though this hotel was more than I would like to pay, I'd consider staying here again because of the amenities and it's location next to Tokyo Station. Tokyo Station has an amazing curry restaurant with take-out service which we went to a lot. It was great to be able to pick up dinner on the way back to the hotel and eat in the comfort of the room and watch TV (we don't like to eat out much anyways).
APA Hotel Kyoto-Eki Horikawadori
Tiny hotel, not quite suitable for long stays. I believe the rooms were 177 sq. ft. Central air conditioning which didn't cool down the room very much but you could open the windows to help cool the room off a little more. Didn't try out the public baths. Extremely limited washer/dryer and expensive laundry service. About a 10-15 minute walk from the Kyoto Station to the hotel. 7-Eleven downstairs. Won't stay here again but there is the APA Hotel Kyoto Ekimae much closer to the Kyoto Station. I would consider that for a future one or two night stay in Kyoto. APA Hotels usually run about $40-$50 a night if you book far enough in advance.
Expenses
I decided to keep all my receipts and keep track of how much we spent to budget for future trips. Also listing some individual expenses.
Transportation
2x JR Rail Pass (14 day, Green car) - ¥125,900
JR transportation fees covered under JR pass - ¥248,540 (what we would've paid if we didn't have the JRP)
-Hikari Shinkansen green car from Tokyo Station to Maibara Station - ¥17,180
-Hikari Shinkansen green car from Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station - ¥18,380
-Tohoku Shinkansen green car from Tokyo Station to Shiroishi-Zao Station - ¥13,940
-Tohoku Shinkansen unreserved from Shiroishi-Zao Station to Tokyo Station - ¥10,150
-Kodama Shinkansen green car from Tokyo Station to Atami Station - ¥6,750
-Limited Express Odoriko green car from Izu-Inatori Station to Tokyo Station - ¥5,200
-Narita Express green car from Narita Airport to Tokyo Station - ¥4,560
-Most of the trains within Tokyo ranged from around ¥140 - ¥410
Other transportation fees not covered under JR pass - ¥20,490
Food - ¥56,370
For the most part we at fast food or got take out. We got dinner almost everyday in Tokyo from this curry restaurant in Tokyo Station called Curry Shop ALPS. It was really good, up there with CoCo Ichibanya, but the prices were much better.
Admission to places we visited (zoos/aquariums) - ¥30,140
-Ueno Zoo - ¥600
-Sumida Aquarium - ¥2,050
-Tokyo Skytree ~ ¥2,060
-Izu Animal Kingdom - ¥2,200
-Sunshine Aquarium - ¥2,200
-Tokyo Art Aquarium - ¥1,100
-Zao Fox Village - ¥1,000
-Seaside Top - ¥620
-Kyoto Aquarium - ¥2,050
-Osaka Aquarium/Ferris Wheel - ¥3,000
Future Trips
I enjoyed the two short pilgrimages we did the most. I didn't spend as much because there's usually no admission fees and since they're not establishments or attractions really, we didn't have to deal with the tourist crowds. It's also a great way to get out and see some of the more scenic places in Japan as well. Next time however I need to rewatch the anime so I can get some better pictures.
More to come.
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