Need help on Japan cruise ports, PLZ?!

[DONNAKG]

hello-- hubby and I are  doing the Fall foliage   Japan  7 day  Diamond Princess cruise Nov 21, 2019,  R/T Tokyo.

We fly into Osaka -- stay in Kyoto  for 3 nites , and have a guide.

Need help  with a Hotel in Kyoto and Tokyo?

We take the bullet from Kyoto to Tokyo .

The ports I need advice on are-

Toba-

Osaka

Kochi

Kagoshima

 Busan

Nagasaki

We normally do tours on our own or get a private local guide.

Are the attractions  some distance away from the ports ?

Is there transportation/ taxis readily available?

Are these doable on your own? and did you buy JRP  to use at any of these ports?

Any comments or experiences would be great!😁

thanks

DONNAKG

[Essiesmom]

Have you done any research on the Ports of Call board for Asia?  EM

[cubfan63]

3 hours ago, DONNAKG said:

hello-- hubby and I are  doing the Fall foliage   Japan  7 day  Diamond Princess cruise Nov 21, 2019,  R/T Tokyo.

We fly into Osaka -- stay in Kyoto  for 3 nites , and have a guide.

Need help  with a Hotel in Kyoto and Tokyo?

We take the bullet from Kyoto to Tokyo .

The ports I need advice on are-

Toba-

Osaka

Kochi

Kagoshima

 Busan

Nagasaki

We normally do tours on our own or get a private local guide.

Are the attractions  some distance away from the ports ?

Is there transportation/ taxis readily available?

Are these doable on your own? and did you buy JRP  to use at any of these ports?

Any comments or experiences would be great!😁

thanks

DONNAKG

 

I was on the Diamond Princess in April 2018, for Spring Flowers itinerary.  Of the ports you list, the only common one is Busan, South Korea.

 

They had a paid shuttle sold thru Shore Excursions as well as a free shuttle from the pier to downtown.  I don’t know the difference in location.  Busan, by the way, is the 2nd largest city in South Korea.

 

I took the Market and Korean BBQ excursion from ship and enjoyed it immensely.  

 

We were delayed exiting the ship in Busan due to delays with South Korean immigration on the pier (you will also need to go thru immigration at the next Japanese port too).

[riffatsea]

What sort of hotel pricing do you want in Kyoto??
I have done 2 land trips to Japan so far and loved my hotel in Kyoto:

https://www.okura-nikko.com/japan/kyoto/kyoto-hotel-okura/

Get the included breakfast . There are 3 restaurants from which to choose just for breakfast!!

One with both western and japanese food.

One with Chinese(dumplings etc) and western.

One with just japanese.

The service is superb.

There is a mall underneath with shops and more restaurants.

There is a shuttle from the train station. It was just great!!!

 

BTW  in the airport when you arrive there will be good ATMs where you can get yen. Also in the train station in Kyoto there will also be ATMs that will take your foreign cards to get yen.

Edited February 26, 2019 by riffatsea

[smtcan]

We stayed in Citadines Shinjuku in Tokyo and Citadines in Kyoto.  Both reasonably priced and close to subway stations.  We toured independently in Japan after a Transpacific cruise and found getting around very easy.  We  loved Kyoto and would have liked more than four days there.

 

Regarding the JR pass,  we got them because the cost was similar to the return Tokyo to Kyoto fare so any side trips were a bonus.  We took a day trip to Nara from Kyoto and stopped in Hakone overnight to see Mount Fuji on the way back to Tokyo.

Sheila

[ROCruiser]

I can only comment on a couple of these ports. Osaka is easy to DIY with the subway station (Chou line) less than 10-minutes walk from port. The Chou line takes you right to Osaka Castle and you can switch trains to other parts of the city accordingly. Not sure if you would need info there though since you will be in Osaka already. Nagasaki is also easy to do on your own, with the tram station right outside the cruise port. We took the free shuttles to downtown Busan in 2015, not sure if its still available though. Have read contradicting reports. 

[DONNAKG]

gosh ,, thanks to all of you! I have looked at the excursions from the ship , but some don't tell how far / or if there is transportation close. We tend to avoid the big bus trips the ship offers.

your comments tell alot!! Any other tips would be awesome.

DONNAKG

[edinburgher]

Lots of info to get you started with your reading. Where you dock, what there is at the dock, currency, suggested sightseeing, which ships are there the same day etc.

 

Go to the top of the page and choose RESEARCH. From the drop-down select DESTINATIONS and take it from there.

 

As not all ports are listed, try other websites such as whatsinport, cruisemapper and others. We find these two very helpful.

 

Also try the official port website for each location as they quite often have info for cruise passengers.

 

And use the SEARCH facility on the Asia forum  here on CC inserting each location individually. Results will bring up all threads with that name in them. You can then read what others have asked and the replies. Saves scrolling through many pages looking for the location you want.

 

And Tripadvisor and Tourist Info websites (and others) to get an idea of what might interest you in each location.

 

Hope some of the above will be useful.

 

 

Edited March 1, 2019 by edinburgher

[Tara Jane]

A lot will depend on your time in port.

We have cruised on the diamond to all those ports other than toba Osaka.

Kochi we took the shuttle from ship to centre of town then the hop on hop off bus by another name it was very cheap and 50% discount for cruisers.  Bus location 10 min max walk from where bus dropped us.  Lunch at a lovely beach side area then back to town then walked to koch park and castle.

Kagoshima similar took the shuttle then walked to ferry to take us over to the volcano island.  Did the ho ho bus around the island.  Info for that google cute pass kagoshima.  We had enough time to go on a night bus route  before heading back to the ship.

Busan did the hoho bus really enjoyed the day getting out of the main town.  First stop was United nations memorial and cemetery. Excellent.  Rest of day on bus stopped at a few places but had to be aware of time to get back to ship so unable to cover all routes. Previous cruises had been to city and not impressed. Aquarium was very good another cruise as we were located right next to it but last July were at a new port.

Nagasaki easily done with day tram ticket. Went to peace park and memorial.   Very different to the Hiroshima but equally as significant and necessary to visit I believe 

We have done 3 cruises around Japan on diamond and added DIY travel pre and post cruise using JR rail pass.

The Japanese people are very helpful and gentle.  There is also a lot of Chinese on board which you may confuse unless you know a bit of the Japanese language.  I wasnt aware just how many until we were going through immigration in one of the lounges on the ship for non Japanese travellers 

Be sure to participate in as many activities as possible.  They make a real effort to mix culturally. One special activity is to have volunteer Japanese cruisers dress us westerners in traditional clothing   always very popular so go early to get your ticket.  Limited number allocated.

Hop on hop off buses are known by different names in Japan but googling each town will give you the info you need they are often called a loop bus.  Very reasonable price usually between 500 -100 yen for a date ticket but dont come with commentary just a day transport ticket with routes. The bigger cities like Osaka and Tokyo now have more of the ho ho buses as we know them with the equally increased fare.

 

Edited March 2, 2019 by Tara Jane

[DONNAKG]

Wow ! thanks guys! that is really helpful!

Arigatogozaimashita!

(Thank you in Japanese)gotta love goggle translate

[Tara Jane]

Good to know a few words, the one I use  the most is sumimasen = excuse me.   Always use that when asking.  I probably only know a dozen real Japanese words and am about to go on my 14th trip to Japan.  Always DIY sometimes with a cruise.  That shows how easy it is to get around with heaps of research and help from locals.

One thing to be aware of is that the railway stations are HUGE.  Some will take you 10-15 mins to get out eg Kyoto, Osaka, some of the Tokyo stations.  When you have booked your hotel make sure you ask which exit to take as there are many exits going in all directions.  If you take the wrong exit its a long walk back through to the other side.  

If you are still looking for accommodation in Kyoto we are staying at Hotel Masahisa Senbon Shimodachiuri  its not a hotel but more of a small apartment.  We usually try to stay in apartments as they are cheaper and have a lot more facilities eg washing machine and microwave and small hotplates.  I booked it via booking.com for the ridiculous price of aud $150 for 3 people for 3 nights total non refundable.   It is new, only opened late last year and I am guessing the bargain price is to get known.   

7-11, family mart and lawsons will be your new best friend in Japan, they are everywhere and very reasonable price for food on the go, but healthy,  they will heat anything that you want heated in the microwave.

Most standard hotels  ie not the 5 star ones, have a laundry room with machines and dryers and sometimes there will be a shared microwave in that room.  Often vending machines too.   No coffee so take your own if you area coffee drinker.  Only green tea provided and very small cups so take a mug if you like me enjoy a good size mug of coffee.

Nikko is a good day trip from Tokyo and also I recommend Nara as a half day from Kyoto.  In Tokyo the metropolitan government building has a great view, open til very late at night and free entry.  Better views than the skytree and tokyo tower in my experience.

 

Edited March 4, 2019 by Tara Jane

[DONNAKG]

Sumimasen--- are you sure you dont want to just be our guide for the trip ? LOL

Tara Jane -you have a wealth of knowledge!

Many thanks-

Donnakg

anything else ,, plz send it our way😁

[Tara Jane]

32 minutes ago, DONNAKG said:

Sumimasen--- are you sure you dont want to just be our guide for the trip ? LOL

Tara Jane -you have a wealth of knowledge!

Many thanks-

Donnakg

anything else ,, plz send it our way😁

Love Japan, never get enough of the lovely people, sadly though the western ways are creeping in particularly around the major cities.   A couple of years ago we would never get on a bus without a younger person usually students offering us their seats.   These days they have their heads in their phones either not noticing or choosing not to notice older folk standing.  We still have people offer us their seat but often they are much older and more needing of the seat than we are.   It is quite difficult to convince them that we are ok to stand, as the older folk consider it an honour to have us in their country and therefore we are their guest.

Dont be surprised either to be given little gifts as you go about, often paper cranes but also a packet of sweets, some fruit or whatever happens to be in their shopping bag when they come across a visitor to their country.   Fruit is very very expensive so make the most of the fruit on the ship.

 

[DONNAKG]

wonderful! The same applies  to Vietnam... the nicest, most accommodating, genuine people , we loved it there!

And recently, some handsome Spaniards offered me their seats on the metro😉

[Morgans]

We can recommend the Ana Crowne Plaza hotel in Kyoto - beautiful hotel with its own waterfall in the grounds, superb restaurants and shops underneath. IT is just across the road from Nijo Castle and has a free shuttle to the railway station. Worth a look.

 

[Northern Aurora]

I also can only comment on several of these ports, as we were on a Celebrity cruise with a different itinerary.

 

In  Kochi we actually booked with the cruise line as we wanted to visit the Ruygyu (sp?) caves which are not located in Kochi proper.  That excursion also included Kochi Castle, which we found very interesting.  Also, a number of ports have tsunami breaks.  Those large levee looking things in Kochi are tsunami  breaks.   At some other ports you will see breaks which are more wall-like in appearance.

 

In September 2018 Busan still offered a free shuttle to downtown.

 

In Nagasaki, as already noted, public transportation is easy to the Peace Park and memorial.  If you are mobile it the Djemi is within walking distance.  And where we were docked the Glover Gardens are about a five minute walk.

[DONNAKG]

thank you all .. this is all very helpful!!

I am looking at the Prince Gallery Hotel in Tokyo ,, any comments or suggestion?

all the best,

DONNAKG

[jkgourmet]

3 hours ago, DONNAKG said:

 

 

delete

Edited March 6, 2019 by jkgourmet

[DONNAKG]

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL FOR YOUR HELP!

I'm looking at the Tokyo Station Hotel now,,but it is very $$$$. Perfect location tho and lovely reviews.? any comments?

 Japan Rail Pass.??

 We are touring Kyoto, and then traveling to Tokyo by bullet, tour Tokyo, then pick up cruise ship.

It seems , from your posts and advice that alot of the other ports of calls I have mentioned above,

have shuttle, ferries, trams etc.

The subway is not covered under the Pass, nor is the fastest bullet train, Nozomi., $127.pp

But the Hikari is., which we would   use only once.

 In your opinion, DO we need to buy it ?     14day   $424 each

Is there a metro card or similiar instead?  HELP?

thank you-

DONNAKG

[jkgourmet]

I've heard that the Marunouchi is equally close to Tokyo Station and very nice.

 

But I'd ask BOTH your questions on Trip Advisor.  Make two separate posts:  One for hotel, one for train/JP rail pass questions.  They have been very helpful. 

[DONNAKG]

 jkgourmet

gotcha!

[Tara Jane]

We always get JR passes but we travel widely.  Kyoto and Tokyo themselves aren't very JR pass useful other than the train line to the bamboo forest area in kyoto and one train line in Tokyo.

The bonus of having a pass is being able to take side trips to places like Nara Takayama Kurashiki Nikko Kamakura and the convenience of not having to buy individual tickets. You could even take a day trip from kyoto to Hiroshima and Miyajima  but 3 days in kyoto for a first visit is barely enough time there.  You are going to Nagasaki on the cruise although it is very different to Hiroshima.  I'm not sure of your schedule but a 7 day pass is available for 29000 yen.  

Yes there are metro passes Tokyo one day for about 1000 yen by memory and kyoto has several types of bus and bus/train passes.

Edited March 12, 2019 by Tara Jane