To share experience in group travel in Japan, whether to go with a group or by yourself is a question.
Although I really dislike traveling with tour groups, I had no choice but to compromise in the end because it is too difficult to get a Japanese visa, especially if you hold a passport issued in Fujian. Because there are many people in eastern Fujian illegally staying in Japan, the Japanese consulate is particularly strict with Fujianese.
Be careful, it is extremely difficult to obtain a visa for independent travel.
However, our choice to go to Japan with a group turned out to be the right one.
Although there are many disadvantages to traveling in a group, it is just a quick trip, but if you go to Japan, unless you have a lot of money, traveling independently is simply a fantasy.
The only word that makes me feel like Japan is expensive!
Walking, living, sitting and lying down, everything is expensive.
There are almost no accommodations under 8,000 yen in Tokyo, and if there are any, they are nowhere to be found in Tokyo.
The price of a hotel is 10,000 to 20,000 yen, which is equivalent to 1,000 to 2,000 yuan in RMB.
Taxis are basically unaffordable.
A meal worth several thousand yen can only fill your stomach.
Even when we took the Shinkansen from Osaka to Kyoto, it was just one stop and the 14-minute journey cost us 4,000 yen, which is equivalent to nearly 300 yuan in RMB.
So people like me who are called white-collar workers (actually white-collar workers after deducting taxes, mortgages, and three housing benefits) have no choice but to go with the group no matter how reluctant they are!
The following is my itinerary for this trip to Japan.
Day 1: Xiamen – Hong Kong – Osaka Kansai Airport – Stay at Kansai Hotel Day 2: Osaka Castle Park – Shinsaibashi Shopping – Shinkansen – Kyoto Station – Higashi Honganji Temple – Nishijin Ori Kimono Hall – Kiyomizudera Temple – Stay in Kyoto
Day 3 at nearby hotels: Hakone National Park Area – Lake Hamana – Mount Fuji 5th Station – Oshino Hakkai – Stay at Hakone Hot Spring Hotel Day 4: Yokohama (Yamashita Park, Chinatown) – Tokyo Bay – Odaiba – Toyota Motor Center –
Imperial Palace – Ginza – Night view of Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building – Shinjuku Kabukicho Ichiban Street – Stay at a hotel near Tokyo Day 5: Sensoji Temple – Outlet Shopping – Tokyo Disney – Stay at Narita Airport Hotel Day 6: Tokyo – Hong Kong – Xiamen Day 1:
Almost all spent at the airport.
Xiamen actually has direct flights to Osaka and Tokyo, but flights without connecting flights are more expensive, and travel agencies charge more. I have compared them, and the difference is about six to seven hundred yuan.
Think about it, even if you fly direct, it will be already evening when you arrive in Japan, and there will be no activities.
It was also only one day, so I saved as much as I could, so I chose a connecting flight, and I could buy something at the Hong Kong duty-free shop when I came back.
But unfortunately, the Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong was delayed by two hours that day, so it was almost eleven o'clock when we arrived at Kansai Airport.
Japan time is one hour ahead of Beijing time.
The next day: I was woken up at seven o'clock. It took me an hour to wash up, pack my luggage and have breakfast. I was so nervous that I applied my lipstick in the car.
The first stop is Osaka Castle.
Osaka Castle has a history of more than 400 years. It was first built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was destroyed by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1615.
It was rebuilt a few years later, but was destroyed by fire before the Meiji Restoration.
The current main building was rebuilt in 1931.
The ancient walls and moat of Osaka Castle coexist harmoniously with the surrounding modern buildings.
Next is the Shinsaibashi shopping street, where there are begging monks and the crystal-encrusted ultra-luxury Mercedes-Benz displayed in the Shinsaibashi SOGO department store.
The main hall of Higashi Honganji Temple has simple lines and is simple and elegant. There is no embellished ornate decoration at all. Although the outer wall of Higashi Honganji Temple is next to a busy road, it does not detract from its solemn tranquility at all.
Kimono show at Nishi Knitting Kimono Kaikan.
The performers are all mature women, but compared to young girls, these women of a certain age are better able to express the beauty and connotation of the kimono.
The day we went happened to be Japan's third consecutive holiday, and the entire Kiyomizu Temple was packed with people, just like the domestic Golden Week.
You can clearly see the cityscape of Kyoto from next to the main hall of Kiyomizudera Temple.
There are too many regrets in Kyoto for me. The tour group did not take us to many places worth visiting, such as Sanjusangendo Hall, Kyoto National Museum, Nijo Castle, Gin/Ginkakuji Temple, Noh Theater Hall, Arashiyama, and
Numerous temples and shrines.
Day 3: Take a bus to Hakone, passing by the beautiful Lake Hamana. This was an unexpected bonus. It was not included in the itinerary. It was supposed to allow everyone to get off the bus and use the restroom.
But I found this to be a very beautiful lake.
While everyone was shopping, I walked around in a big circle, it was so beautiful.
The sun is shining and the grass is green. Many Japanese families are going on vacation. The children are playing happily while the adults are lazily basking in the sun.
Pinghe Park is a very quiet park with almost no tourists.
Walking up the hillside with stone towers on both sides, you will arrive at the Bell Pavilion of Peace.
Seeing Mount Fuji here has a completely different feeling than seeing it from the fifth station.
Mount Fuji here is like a pretty and lovely girl, while Mount Fuji on the fifth station is more like a woman with experience and stories.
Mount Fuji is 3,776 meters above sea level and is divided into 10 stations, that is, ten stations. The 5th station is exactly halfway up Mount Fuji, and you can drive directly up it.
If you want to reach the top, you usually start climbing from the fifth station.
There are some canteens, a small post office, and a shrine on the fifth station.