BruceMuzz

Saturday in Japan is just another day of the week for many Japanese.

Most are working.

Shops will be open like on any other day of the week.

We have a question about getting from Osanbashi Pier to Shinjuku.

 

We've gotten a 7 day JR Rail Pass, and thought we would activate it in Yokohama, and use it to get in to Tokyo, and begin our week in Japan. I've noticed the "options" for getting in to Shinjuku on the train, can someone clarify which of those our JR Rail Pass will work on? :)

 

THANKS!

 

And for those who have used the suitcase courier service, did the suitcases get there that day / next day?

 

Again, thanks!

If you want to use the JR Pass to get from Yokohama to Shinjuku, you should take one of the many taxis from Osanbashi Terminal to Yokohama Station. At Yokohama Station you can activate your Pass at the "JR View" Office in the Station.

JR Rail pass will work on nearly any train from Japan Railways. You can google the trains and schedules.

From Yokohama you can choose from:

1. Narita Express from Yokohama to Shinjuku (with luggage storage at each end of the train, and free WIFI), which runs about every 30 minutes.

2. Any of the hundreds of regular JR Trains that go between Yokohama and Shinjuku every day. (without luggage storage and without free WIFI)

3. Shinkansen between Shin-Yokohama (a different station in Yokohama) and Shinjuku Station. These trains do not go as fast on this segment as they do on others; they have nearly zero luggage storage, are very comfortable, sometimes have free WIFI, and run hourly or so.

Takuhaibin (luggage forwarding) is very reliable. Depending on beginning and ending locations and times, most bags arrive the next morning - as promised. If you start the process early in the day and the destination is not too far away, there is a good chance to receive the bags the same evening.

If you start the process later in the day, and/or the destination is far away, you can expect to wait a bit longer.

Taxi is the best way.

Takes about 45 minutes if the traffic is good.

Overnighting in Osaka and Yokohama is not really my idea of the "Ultimate Japan Cruise".

Sort of like overnighting on a ship in Chicago and Baltimore and calling it the "Ultimate America Cruise".

Osaka is a good location for an overnight. You can easily visit Kobe and Kyoto from there. Staying there in a hotel would be more productive than sitting on a mega-ship at Osaka Harbor.

Overnighting in Yokohama is a bit of a waste of time. There is a little bit to see in Yokohama; Chinatown and the Red Brick Warehouse area. But the real draw is Tokyo. A taxi would cost you US$200+ each way. The trains and subways are very good, but a pain and a waste of valuable time running back and forth from the ship to Tokyo.

You should probably overnight off the ship in Tokyo, but that also takes more time and money to arrange.

I recommend you find a good tour operator (on the internet) in Tokyo and ask them for a two day immersion tour of the Tokyo area in a van. This would give you the most bang for the buck, make it easy for you and your elderly parents, and get you back onboard in time.

Malecon is the Spanish word for the esplanade along a waterfront.

Asking which city has a Malecon is like asking which city has a Main Street.

YMMV -

Some officers on cruise ships do not have to pay any income taxes anywhere,. which adds quite a bit of value to their salaries. They also receive free medical and dental care from their employers, so do not need to pay for insurance.

\Why would you want to get to know a Senior Officer on a Cruise Ship?

They have some amazing dinner parties in private locations on the ship. Some people find that fun.

They enjoy showing parts of the ship that most people never see. Others find that fun.

They have large expense accounts to entertain passengers. Some people like that.

They know all the best restaurants, bars, attractions on shore and are happy to share that knowledge.

They have visited more places than you will ever hope to. They enjoy sharing that knowledge.

They have all the inside info on other cruise ships and lines, and can give you valuable info on what is good and what to avoid.

They can explain to you why cruise lines do some of the seemingly crazy things we do.

They can tell you which cabins on which ships are desirable, and which should be avoided. Some people like that.

They can give you inside information on future cruises that even the travel agents are not yet aware of, giving you a heads up on anything special you might like to book.

They can get you onto tours and into restaurants that are officially sold out.

While cruising in the tropics at Christmas, they can invite you to attend the Officers Christmas Party in a giant walk-in freezer, below decks, with all the music, lights, decorations, and special drinks.

The answer to your question is easier than you think. The train that you catch at Nihon-Odori Station in Yokohama takes you through Yokohama Station to Shibuya Station in Tokyo. From Shibuya Station, the same train (with a different name) continues to Shinjuku San-Chome Station, which is a short walk from Shinjuku Station.

Takuhaibin - also called Takyyubin - is not offered by cruise lines.

It is offered by delivery companies.

At most Japanese ports, all Japanese Shinkansen stations, and at all Japanese airports, these companies have desks set up where you can drop off your bags.

A few cruise lines arrange with the delivery companies to have the pre-printed forms available at the ship's front desk.

Most 7-11's in Japan also offer this service.

On rare occasions you can get your bags delivered the same day.

In most cases, it is an overnight delivery promise.

Narita to downtown Tokyo by taxi will run about US200.

Narita to a Yokohama hotel or cruise terminal is over US300.

Narita Express train from Narita to downtown Tokyo will cost just over US30, is more comfortable, has free WIFI, luggage storage, and takes the same amount of time.

Narita Express from Narita to Yokohama costs under US40, and is actually faster than a taxi.

Google Translate is so-so with Western Languages, but not very good with Asian ones.

It can translate individual words reasonably well in Asia, but falls down with sentences and complex grammar.

There are several other similar programs that work far better, for example Babelfish.

Actually, any equipment that is out of order, but still installed is counted against the score, and it still must be clean.

 

Sorry, late joining the thread.[/

 

 

Wrong thread

If you are a Karaoke fan, here is a bit of trivia for you.

Firstly, if you are pronouncing it "Carry - Okee", you have it wrong.

Karaoke ( カラオ*********) is a unique Japanese word.

Kara means "Empty" in Japanese

Oke is the Japanese contraction of the English word "Orchestra"

So Karaoke = Empty Orchestra

Correct Pronunciation is: KAH RAH O KAY with equal stress on all syllables.

If you visit Japan, you will see many street signs with カラオ*********館、karaoke kan. Kan means Hall in Japanese.

We are staying at Intercontinental Hotel in Yokohama, and need to get to Hurumi Cruise Port.

What is the best way to get there, and approx cost?

Thank you

Your hotel is near downtown Yokohama. You want to go to Harumi Terminal, which is near downtown Tokyo.

The only easy and direct route is a taxi, which will cost you about $150 - 200. Travel time about one hour.

Next you should ask the hotel concierge about shuttle buses to Tokyo. They probably have some. A shuttle bus has room for suitcases, will be much less expensive, and will get you to Tokyo Station in about 90 minutes. From Tokyo Station, a taxi to Harumi Terminal costs around ¥1500 and takes 10 - 15 minutes.

From Tokyo Station, you can ride the subway (no luggage storage) with a couple of transfers, to Harumi Terminal for ¥210 per person. Travel time is about 10 minutes.

The Kachidoki subway station near Harumi Terminal has free shuttle buses between the station and the Cruise Terminal (5 minute trip)

Narita Express - or many other JR trains - run from Yokohama station to Tokyo Station. Narita Express has luggage storage at the ends of each car. Other JR trains do not.

Narita Express from Yokohama Station to Tokyo Station takes around 20 minutes and costs about ¥1300 per person.

JR trains from Yokohama Station to Tokyo Station take 30 - 40 minutes and cost around ¥600 per person

One more option, more complex, but less expensive.

There are many inexpensive shuttles and trains going from Yokohama to Tokyo. Many of the trains pass through Hamamatsucho Station to get to Tokyo station.

Hamamatsucho JR Station in Tokyo is the terminus for the Tokyo Monorail, a very good option to get to Haneda Airport.

Next to the Hamamatsucho Station is the Daimon Subway Station. The Toei O-Edo subway line will take you directly from Daimon Station to Kachidoki Station in about 10 minutes for ¥210 per person.

We are cruising out of Kobe after a week in Japan so we plan to stay in Osaka the days before the cruise.

Does anyone know what a taxi would cost? We would probably stay at a hotel close to Shin-Osaka station.

 

Once we return we would have to make our way to Narita or Haneda to fly out the next day. Is the train station close to the cruise terminal?

 

Thank you for your help!

A taxi from Shin-Osaka station to Kobe Station will cost you around 13,000¥. The train will cost you 836¥ per person. Both trips take the same amount of time.

Haneda and Narita Airports are both very close to train stations, but you haven't told us where you will be after the cruise, or which train stations you will be going through.

If you are taking Shinkansen (bullet trains) to Tokyo area, at some point you will need to transfer to regular JR trains or subways to get to the airports.

Haneda airport is just South of the Tokyo Metro area, and just North of Yokohama. If you take a JR train or Toei O-Edo subway to Hamamatsucho station in Tokyo, you can transfer to the Tokyo Monorail, which quickly takes you into Haneda Airport. There are also many shuttle buses from Yokohama Hotels and Yokohama Station that take you directly to Haneda Airport.

Narita Airport is about 100km North of Tokyo. From a JR train, you can transfer to a Narita Express train at Yokohama, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, or Tokyo Stations. Narita Express will take you directly into Terminals 1, 2, or 3 at Narita Airport.

Free WIFI in Japan has always been a challenge. There are far fewer places to find it than in most developed countries.

As we get closer to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, all that is slowly changing.

But it is still a challenge.

There are several free APPS available that not only identify the locations of free WIFI in Japan, but allow you to easily and quickly log in; Japan WIFI, TownWIFI, Japan Official Travel App, are just a few of them.

The 11 cruise line companies I have worked for never had the staff, time, or equipment ready to weigh your suitcases as they came onboard. Even if we did weigh them and they were too heavy, what could we be expected to do about it?

Although there may be one or two companies that do weigh them, I highly doubt it.

The cruise lines are all different regarding luggage policies. We have never experienced any restrictions, but some do limit the max weight of any case, while some limit the number of cases, based on length of the cruise.

 

Since I am not aware of any cruise line that stores your empty cases these days, the determining factor is how many cases can you store under the bed and how much space in the cabin to store stuff.

For the past 100 years or so, ALL the major cruise lines will store your luggage away from your cabin. They don't advertise it, but you only need ask your cabin steward, and he will take care of them for you. He will return the cases to you on the final afternoon/evening of the cruise.

Ship internet speed varies dramatically from hour to hour, based on a multitude of factors that are nearly impossible to predict, control, or manage.

A very few are predictable:

How far is the ship from the equator?

The satellites that provide Internet connection to nearly all cruise ships are in orbit above the equator. The further a ship sails away from the equator, the more atmosphere the signals need to travel through, at a steeper angle. This generally slows down speed.

How rough are the seas and how much is the ship moving?

If the ship is pitching and/or rolling, the satellite dishes up to keep re-adjusting their positions to get a good signal. If they are forced to do this a lot, the signal speed goes down.

A few are semi-predictable:

What are most of the passengers doing?

If it is prime dining or show time, most of the passengers will not be on the Internet. The speed will be higher.

If the ship is just arriving at the pier, or just departing the pier, most of the passengers will not be on the Internet. The speed will be higher.

What are most of the crew doing?

If they are on duty, they cannot use their discount cards to surf the net or call home. The speed will be faster. In the middle of the night, when many crew are off duty, it may be daytime at their homes. They use the system to call, Skype, and email their families. The system slows down.

How many repeater antennas does the ship have inside and outside, and how far away from them are you when you try to connect? These factors have a great effect on speed.

Is your ship's superstructure made of steel or aluminum? These have a huge effect on connectivity speed.

If you are trying to connect in your cabin, is the door open or closed. It sometimes makes a huge difference in speed.

Some are not very predictable:

The corporate cruise offices use the same bandwidth as you to send large files to the ship. Some are system upgrades, some are music. This slows the system.

The ship uses the same bandwidth as you to send large files to the corporate offices; passenger manifests, engine tests, medical records, daily reports from all departments, credit card transactions, casino operations.

Video conferencing with the head office also consumes major bandwidth. This really slows down the system.

Satellite telephone calls also the same limited bandwidth. Many cruise lines have special offers for passengers to use their own mobile telephones to call home. If many are doing it, the system slows down.

In some parts of the world, satellite capacity is pooled between 2 or 3 cruise ships in the same general area. Although your ship may not be using very much of the pooled bandwidth, one of the others may be using most of it. The system speed on your ship will suffer.

There are a hundred other factors that can affect your internet speed at sea; sunspots, solar winds, local thunder storms, mountains or trees blocking the signal at extreme Northern or Southern latitudes, or the funnel blocking the satellite dish just about anywhere, sailing at the extreme edge of the satellite's coverage footprint, or simply sailing in a area that has no satellite coverage. In some ports, local military radio traffic disrupts or blocks the satellite signal to the ship. In some countries, like Japan, C Band transmissions to and from foreign flag ships are illegal. If the ship does not have the far more expensive K Band antennas, the system stops completely.

As you can see, it is not so simple to just run a test and determine if a cruise ship has fast or slow internet. Whatever results you get, the speed may change by several hundred percentage points in a few minutes, hours, or days.

Hi, I am trying to go the other way...Narita to Yokohama Hotel. Am I correct in saying you could catch the limo bus Narita to YCAT? Does the limo bus go further like towards the terminal or hotel near there like the Hotel New Grand?

 

I checked Viator, so thanks for that tip (they offer Narita to Port).

 

Also have seen the Narita Express, but cannot makes heads or tails of the map. At first I thought it was direct to Yokohama but maybe you take it to Tokyo then transfer to another line to Yokohama...can anyone help?

 

Thank you in advance for any help! We are trying to figure out the best way for us as we have a cruise starting in Yok, but are staying near the cruise terminal for a week or so.

Yes,there are many transfer buses from Narita that will take you to various locations in Yokohama.

When you exit the luggage claim/customs area at Narita, you will find yourself in the Arrivals Hall. In the that area are several desks that sell bus and train tickets to just about anywhere in Japan. The staff working there speak English.

You need only tell them where and when you want to go.

They issue the tickets, give you the boarding location, and you pay them.

Narita Express is on the B4 level of your terminal. Trains run very frequently. You need only tell them your destination. They sell you a reserved ticket for the car that arrives where you are going. The general route is NRT to Tokyo Station to Shinjuku Station to Yokohama Station. There are also intermediary stops at Shibuya and Shinagawa on some of the trains.

Ummm, I've got pictures of adults from April/May wearing shorts in Kyoto. While I am sure some of those that look Japanese may not be, I doubt all are.

No doubt you are right. As I said, the American grunge look (looking like you are dressed to clean your garage) is quickly gaining popularity with the lower classes here.

Tokyo's Harumi Cruise Terminal is just a short distance North of Haneda Airport.

Yokohama's Osanbashi Cruise Terminal is just a short distance South of Haneda Airport.

Larger ships cannot fit under the Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo Bay, so cannot access the Harumi Terminal. Docking fees for the Harumi Terminal are also 400% higher than the Osanbashi fees, keeping many smaller ships away.

Narita Airport has a much wider range of overseas flight options, and generally far better arrival and departure times. Narita Express train was designed to carry travellers and their bags easily and quickly to Tokyo Station (60 minutes), Shinjuku Station (75 minutes), and Yokohama Station (90 minutes). There are also many limousine buses available, slower, but cheaper.

Haneda Airport is newly enlarged and updated. A very nice option that is nearly downtown. Overseas flights to North America often depart very late at night. The Tokyo Monorail runs from Haneda to Hamamatsucho / Daimon on the Tokyo waterfront in 15 minutes, with free WI-FI onboard.

Hamamatsucho to Tokyo's Harumi Terminal is a short trip by taxi, train, subway.

There are also subway trains and many transfer buses from Haneda Airport to the Yokohama area. Limousine bus from Haneda to Yokohama Station and Hotels takes around 30-40 minutes.

In Japan's bigger cities, only young children and teens wear shorts.

It is common practice for Japanese people to shine their shoes every time before they leave their homes.

Unfortunately the American "grunge look" is gaining popularity with the lower Japanese social classes.

I am a little bit confused. I think I read somewhere (now I can't find the post) that transportation options at Haneda to Yokohama were limited in the evening hours and that the limo (or was it the train) stopped running at 5 pm. We will be flying into Haneda next year and departing from Yama****a Pier (that's another question....anyone have experience departing from there rather than Osanbashi?) I believe there is a bus which departs Haneda with a stop at Yama****a Park and also the Marine Tower. This seems to run relatively often and into the evening hours. Can someone confirm this? We will probably be booking a hotel within walking distance of Yama****a Pier.

 

Thanks.

Yama****a Park and Pier are at the South end of the Yokohama waterfront.

The pier is primarily for cargo ships, but small cruise ships occasionally call there.

Just North of the Yama****a pier is a famous old Japanese Ocean Liner (permanently tied up as a tourist attraction), called Hikawa Maru.

Just North of the old liner is Osanbashi Cruise Terminal.

From Yama****a Pier, if you walk inland a few streets, you will find yourself in Yokohama's Chinatown.

In Chinatown you will also find the terminus station (Motomachi-Chukagai) of the Minato-Mirai subway line that will take you directly to Yokohama Station in Yokohama, and then to Shibuya Station and Shinjuku Station in Tokyo.

Nearly every train and subway train in Japan run until at least 11pm, every day of the year.

Every convenience store and every major hotel in Japan offer luggage forwarding services.

They are all open 24/7.

I am arriving at the Yokahama cruise terminal on 30th Sept 2018 on a Sunday!!

I cannot find any shared shuttles from the port to a Tokyo hotel.

Green tomato do not offer a bus on this day either.

Can anyone give me any information about couriering the suitcase and travelling on public transport to the Chiyoda-ku, Akasaka ward in Tokyo. I believe there is a metro opposite the hotel called Akasaka-Mitsuke

thanks:o

Luggage forwarding in Japan is called Takuhaiban.

It is efficient, fast, reliable, and a good value.

At Yokohama's Osanbashi Terminal, there will be a desk where you can take your bags. You need to fill out the form and pay about 1,500 yen per bag.

The bags will be delivered to your hotel in Tokyo before noon the next day.

Then walk straight down the entrance ramp from the terminal into Yokohama with your carry-ons.

At the second intersection, turn right.

In the middle of the block in a brown brick building is the Nihon-Odori Metro station.

Go down the escalator to the ticket level.

A one-way ticket to Shibuya is 450 yen. Buy it from the vending machine.

Go through the turnstile and down to the platform for trains going to Yokohama and Shibuya.

A regular train will get you to Shibuya Station in about one hour.

An express train will get you there in 29 minutes.

Your ticket is good for either train. You decide which to wait for.

At Shibuya Station you are in the B1 level.

Follow the signs to the Ginza Line. About a ten minute walk.

Buy a 180 yen ticket from the vending machine for Ginza Line.

Shibuya is one terminus for Ginza Line. There is only one direction you can go from there.

Board any Ginza train from the platform.

You will be at Akasaka-Mitsuke Station in about 8 minutes.