First trip that is fully planned and booked by me! Well.. Except
for planning where to eat, my friend researched on that! However, I do add in
places to eat if I see good recommendations while planning for the trip! It's our first trip to Japan and it's for 12D11N! Our
plan for Japan is to visit the Kansai (Kinki) region of Japan. Basically,
Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe & Himeji! Very greedy, I know! >.< A good website to use when planning for a Japan trip is >>this<<
Cherry blossoms here I come!
Cherry blossoms here I come!
Flight
We booked our flight with Vietnam Airlines. It’s our first time flying on this airline; shall see how it goes! Initally, I was looking to book budget airlines, but only AirAsia and Jetstar fly to Kansai International Airport. I personally feel that AirAsia’s seats are smaller than Scoot’s, so it’s a no-no for a 7hr flight. Never taken Jetstar before but it is too expensive for a budget flight! Close to $900! I can take better full-cost carriers at that price!!
We booked our flight with Vietnam Airlines. It’s our first time flying on this airline; shall see how it goes! Initally, I was looking to book budget airlines, but only AirAsia and Jetstar fly to Kansai International Airport. I personally feel that AirAsia’s seats are smaller than Scoot’s, so it’s a no-no for a 7hr flight. Never taken Jetstar before but it is too expensive for a budget flight! Close to $900! I can take better full-cost carriers at that price!!
In the end, Vietnam Airlines was our best choice; priced at $610
for a round trip to Osaka. Bought it at a promo rate sometime end July 2014;
nearly 9 months in advance to our trip! Very ‘kiasu’ excited you see! ;D
The flight timing that we chose:
SIN to SGN (Ho Chi Minh): 8.25pm to 9.30pm (Sat)
SGN to KIX: 12.10am to 7.20am (Sun)
KIX to SGN: 10.30am to 1.50pm (Thurs)
SGN to SIN: 4.30pm to 7.25pm (Thurs)
I do think that the stopover at Vietnam is
a bit long though… first time taking full-cost carrier flight with stopover,
perhaps it is normal?
Accommodations
While researching on hotels, I chanced upon an article mentioning
that booking of apartment is actually a better alternative to hotels. Its price
can be lower than some hotels, but even at a similar pricing, a hotel only
provides you with a bedroom and toilet! An apartment has kitchen, dining area
and some even have living rooms! Again, it’s our first time booking an
apartment from Airbnb so we shall see how it goes!
Not an Airbnb member yet? Join Airbnb with my referral >>here<< to get travel credits! We can get credits when either of us book a stay using Airbnb!
Airbnb allows for a few options in apartment selection: Entire
home, Private room & Shared room. So see what you prefer! For me, I prefer
having an entire apartment! We will be staying in 3 places; as listed below:
Osaka
This is our ‘home’ when we are in Japan for 11 nights. Paid $940
for 11 nights for 2 person. So 1 pax pays $470 for 11 nights! That’s $42.72 per
night each for a whole apartment for ourselves! See the details of the room I rented
here: https://www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/3672907.
The hosts will be providing us with pocket wifi as well!
When I booked the apartment early Aug 2014, there was a promo for payment
using UOB debit/credit cards. The price I stated is after a 10% discount!
This is an ideal location for us as we will be travelling to Kyoto,
Kobe and Himeji. So we need to be located near to Osaka station for ease of
access.
Kyoto
I also booked another apartment from Airbnb for a 1 night stay in Kyoto.
The apartment: https://www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/3596434.
Prices around Kyoto station for a private apartment are priced slightly higher
than those in Osaka, at least when I was searching end July 2014. However, there
should be other cheaper alternatives as I am looking to stay in a private
apartment located near Kyoto station only. It costs us $193 for a night stay,
so $95.50 each.
The host provides pocket wifi as well, but we will have our pocket
wifi from our Osaka’s apartment, so we will not need it.
We will be spending 1 night in a ryokan at Arima Onsen in Kobe! Named Taketoritei Maruyama, it provides free booking of their private onsen for 45mins upon check-in, subjected
to availability. Basic amenities will be provided by the ryokan, including yukata, towels, toothbrush, shampoo, body wash & hair dryer. Shuttle buses are available from Arima Onsen station to the ryokan.
I booked the Maruyama Japanese room (the cheapest room!) from Agoda in Dec 2014, it is slightly less expensive and you can book a room which serves traditional Japanese dinner and breakfast (Kaiseki Ryori)! The link: http://www.agoda.com/en-sg/arima-onsen-taketoritei-maruyama-ryokan/hotel/kobe-jp.html
Spent $528.66 for this; each person around $264.33. Not cheap, but I hope it will be worth the money! :D This will be my first experience going to a hot spring!
Spent $528.66 for this; each person around $264.33. Not cheap, but I hope it will be worth the money! :D This will be my first experience going to a hot spring!
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