Travel plans/Winter 2011-2012: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:47, 17 June 2012

Things to definitely do[edit]

January 4 (Wednesday)[edit]

Rail pass day 1.

Arrive in Kanazawa in the evening.　

Stay at Tokyu Inn (economy double room for 5909 yen for 2 people. Reserved.)

Other backup options for staying include:

Guest house from AirBnB
kikunoya ryokan (きくのや旅館)
Ryokan Shibaya (~ 4100 yen for two people w/ onsen bath in basement)

January 5 (Thursday)[edit]

Rail pass day 2.

Spend day in Kanazawa.

Travel to Jigokudani in the evening, Kanazawa to Yudanaka (~265 minutes).

Stay at Hotel Nishimasa (reserved for two people 7000 yen). (directions)

Other options include:

Matsya?

January 6 (Friday)[edit]

Rail pass day 3.

Spend day in Jigokudani seeing monkeys at the Snow Monkey Park and possibly doing a natural onsen. Also check out more Yudanaka resources

In the evening, travel from Jigokudani to Sado Island. Ferries come from Joetsu, Niigata and Teradomari (express/jet ferry). Ferries from Niigata come roughly once every hour (schedule) and seem like the best bet. Last ferry is to Ryotsu at 22:40.

January 7 (Saturday)[edit]

Rail pass day 4.

Spend day looking at Sado.

Travel from Sado to Tokomachi, Niigata. ~~The train will involve getting a JR series from Yudanaka to Maikamachi (~200 minutes) and then taking the Hokuhoku line for 290yen (14 minutes) to Tokomachi station.~~

Stay at Sansei House. The price includes a room, 2 meals, onsen, transportation from/to the station, and a Kanjiki tour (total should be ~8000 yen)

Another option would be to stay in House of Light by James Turrell.

January 8 (Sunday)[edit]

Rail pass day 5.

Visit Tokomachi during the day. Then go snowshoeing at 15:00.

Look around Sado, take the boat back to the mainland and head to Kakunodate.

Train from Niigata to Kakunodate are two reserved shinkansen (~275 minutes).

In terms of where to stay:

Ohmagari Hostel
There is one couchsurfer listed in Daisen.

January 9 (Monday)[edit]

Rail pass day 6.

Spend day in Kakunodate (the site of some samurai training houses) in Akita looking at the samurai houses.

Travel from Kakunodate to Odate (~170 minutes). Grab dinner with a quick stop at Odate so that we can eat kiritanpo. Finally, travel to Hirosaki (~36 minutes).

Stay at Youth Hostel? (Not reserved)

January 10 (Tuesday)[edit]

Rail pass day 7.

Day in Hirosaki which is has a big float museum.

Take train from Hirosaki to Sapporo (perhaps with a short stop in Aomori?) (~363 minutes).

Options for places to stay:

Guest House Nonaka (￥3000)
Sapporo Kokusai youth hostel (￥3200)
Sapporo House hostel/Japanese style (￥3150)

January 11 (Wednesday)[edit]

Visit Sapporo.

January 12 (Thursday)[edit]

10:25 -> 12:15: Flight from Sapporo to Tokyo (Haneda)
Afternoon: Sumo Tournament - The cheapest tickets should be around ¥3600 but it is often possible to move up. We should buy tickets at the gate to avoid a ¥1000 extra fee for booking online.

January 13 (Friday)[edit]

Return to Boston!

Potential things to do[edit]

Kobe
Ishikawa
- Kanazawa; Ryokan Shibaya at ~ 4100 yen for two people w/ onsen bath in basement
- Hakui; including the amazing lookingUFO museum and the ocean
Takayama, Hida
Nagano
- Jigokudani (snow monkey onsen); Yudanaka station (about 265min from Kanazawa; 357 from Takayama); more Yudanaka resources
Niigata
- Sado Island
- In Tokomachi, Niigata there are two cool art hotels. House of Light by James Turrel and Yume no Ie by Maria Abramovic (an art hotel where you get uniforms and sleep in boxes). Both seem reasonably priced. (Snowshowing is also available for a good price. We'd leave sometime in the early evening on the second day.) [1]
~~Yamagata~~
- ~~Notoya Ryokan (an awesome inn) in Obanazawa, Yamagata which is a town the highest snowfall in the entire world~~ (looks like the cheapest places are too expensive and it's a 1 hour bus ride from the nearest JR station)
Akita
- Nyuto Onsen (a secret onsen village); Housing: Magoroku Onsen Hotel
- Kakunodate (the site of some samurai training houses) in Akita; housing: ohmagari hostel or a couchsurfer in Daisen.
- Yurihonjo which is comprehensively covered on wikitravel and is an hour south of Akita (city)
- Odate; perhaps for a quite stop to eat some kiritampo on the way to somewhere else
Aomori
- Hirosaki which is has a big float museum and a decent looking hostel
- Yagen Valley in Aomori which seems pretty rural
- Itayanagi A very apple themed village with apple street lights and more
Hokkaido
- Sapporo
- Noboribetsu has a nice onsen and is 1 hour from sapporo and is on the way to the city (a possible stop off)
- Toya is another onsen stop along the way

Near Tokyo:

Mizunuma Station (a train station with a hot spring) 11AM-8PM: http://www.mizunuma-sb.com/facilities.shtml

Resources[edit]

Japan Youth Hostel webiste

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==Things to definitely do==
-=== January 2 ===
+=== January 4 (Wednesday) ===
-=== January 3 ===
-=== January 4 ===
 ''Rail pass day 1.''
 Arrive in Kanazawa in the evening.
-=== January 5 ===
+Stay at [http://www.toyoko-inn.com/eng/ Tokyu Inn] (economy double room for 5909 yen for 2 people. Reserved.)
+Other backup options for staying include:
+* [http://kanazawa-stay.cheap.jp/ Guest house from AirBnB]
+* [http://kikunoya.ninja-web.net/html/eaccess.html kikunoya ryokan (きくのや旅館)]
+* [http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Ryokan-Shibaya/Kanazawa/37747 Ryokan Shibaya] (~ 4100 yen for two people w/ onsen bath in basement)
+=== January 5 (Thursday) ===
 ''Rail pass day 2.''
@@ Line 15: / Line 21: @@
 Spend day in Kanazawa.
-Travel to Jigokudani in the evening (~265 minutes).
+Travel to '''Jigokudani''' in the evening, '''Kanazawa''' to '''Yudanaka''' (~265 minutes).
-=== January 6 ===
+Stay at [http://www.nishimasa.com/ Hotel Nishimasa] (reserved for two people 7000 yen). ([http://www.nishimasa.com/access.html directions])
+Other options include:
+* [http://www.yudanaka-shibuonsen.com/standard_ryokan Matsya?]
+=== January 6 (Friday) ===
 ''Rail pass day 3.''
-Spend day in Jigokudani seeing monkeys and doing a natural onsen.
+Spend day in Jigokudani seeing monkeys at the [http://wikitravel.org/en/Jigokudani_Monkey_Park Snow Monkey Park] and possibly doing a natural onsen. Also check out [http://www.yudanaka-shibuonsen.com/ more Yudanaka resources]
-In the evening, travel from Jigokudani to Tokomachi, Niigata. The train will involve getting a JR series from '''Yudanaka''' to '''Maikamachi''' (~200 minutes) and then taking the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokuetsu_Express_Hokuhoku_Line Hokuhoku line] for 290yen (14 minutes) to '''Tokomachi''' station.
+In the evening, travel from '''Jigokudani''' to '''Sado Island'''. Ferries come from Joetsu, Niigata and Teradomari (express/jet ferry). Ferries from Niigata come roughly once every hour ([http://www.mijintl.com/sadokisn12.html schedule]) and seem like the best bet. Last ferry is to Ryotsu at 22:40.
-=== January 7 ===
+=== January 7 (Saturday) ===
 ''Rail pass day 4.''
-Visit the area during the day. Then go snowshoeing at 15:00.
+Spend day looking at Sado.
+Travel from Sado to [http://wikitravel.org/en/Tokamachi Tokomachi, Niigata]. <strike>The train will involve getting a JR series from '''Yudanaka''' to '''Maikamachi''' (~200 minutes) and then taking the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokuetsu_Express_Hokuhoku_Line Hokuhoku line] for 290yen (14 minutes) to '''Tokomachi''' station.</strike>
-In the evening, travel from Tokomachi to Sado Island. Ferries come from Joetsu, Niigata and Teradomari (express/jet ferry). Ferries from Niigata come roughly once every hour ([http://www.kodo.or.jp/ec/travel/index_en.html schedule]) and seem like the best bet. Last ferry is to Ryotsu at 22:40.
+Stay at [http://www.echigo-tsumari.jp/calendar/event_20111224_03 Sansei House]. The price includes a room, 2 meals, onsen, transportation from/to the station, and a Kanjiki tour (total should be ~8000 yen)
-Trains go from '''Muikamachi''' to '''Niigata''' (~75 minutes with connections).
+Another option would be to stay in [http://www11.ocn.ne.jp/~jthikari/ House of Light] by James Turrell.
-=== January 8 ===
+=== January 8 (Sunday) ===
 ''Rail pass day 5.''
+Visit [http://wikitravel.org/en/Tokamachi Tokomachi] during the day. Then go snowshoeing at 15:00.
 Look around Sado, take the boat back to the mainland and head to Kakunodate.
-=== January 9 ===
+Train from '''Niigata''' to '''Kakunodate''' are two reserved shinkansen (~275 minutes).
+In terms of where to stay:
+* [http://www.jyh.or.jp/ohmagari/e-index.htm Ohmagari Hostel]
+* There is one couchsurfer listed in Daisen.
+=== January 9 (Monday) ===
 ''Rail pass day 6.''
-Spend day in Kakunodate looking at the samurai houses. Leave in the evening, travel through Odate to pick up kiritampo on the way to Hirosaki.
+Spend day in [http://wikitravel.org/en/Kakunodate Kakunodate] (the site of some samurai training houses) in Akita looking at the samurai houses.
-=== January 10 ===
+Travel from '''Kakunodate''' to '''Odate''' (~170 minutes). Grab dinner with a quick stop at [http://wikitravel.org/en/Odate Odate] so that we can eat [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiritanpo kiritanpo]. Finally, travel to '''Hirosaki''' (~36 minutes).
+Stay at [http://www.jyh.or.jp/english/touhoku/hirosaki/index.html Youth Hostel]? (Not reserved)
+=== January 10 (Tuesday) ===
 ''Rail pass day 7.''
-Day in Hirosaki. Arrive in Sapporo?
+Day in [http://wikitravel.org/en/Hirosaki Hirosaki] which is has a big float museum.
+Take train from '''Hirosaki''' to '''Sapporo''' (perhaps with a short stop in Aomori?) (~363 minutes).
+Options for places to stay:
+* [http://www.healingweb.net/nonaka/ Guest House Nonaka] (￥3000)
+* [http://www.jyh.or.jp/english/hokaido/sapkokus/index.html Sapporo Kokusai] youth hostel (￥3200)
+* [http://www.jyh.or.jp/english/hokaido/saphouse/index.html Sapporo House] hostel/Japanese style (￥3150)
-=== January 11 ===
+=== January 11 (Wednesday) ===
 Visit Sapporo.
-=== January 12 ===
+=== January 12 (Thursday) ===
 * 10:25 -> 12:15: Flight from Sapporo to Tokyo (Haneda)
 * Afternoon: [http://sumo.pia.jp/en/sumo01.jsp Sumo Tournament] - The cheapest tickets should be around ¥3600 but it is often possible to move up. We should buy tickets at the gate to avoid a ¥1000 extra fee for booking online.
-=== January 13 ===
+=== January 13 (Friday) ===
 Return to Boston!
@@ Line 74: / Line 107: @@
 * Takayama, Hida
 * Nagano
-** [http://wikitravel.org/en/Jigokudani_Monkey_Park Jigokudani] (snow monkey onsen); Yudanaka station (about 265min from Kanazawa; 357 from Takayama)
+** [http://wikitravel.org/en/Jigokudani_Monkey_Park Jigokudani] (snow monkey onsen); Yudanaka station (about 265min from Kanazawa; 357 from Takayama); [http://www.yudanaka-shibuonsen.com/ more Yudanaka resources]
 * Niigata
 ** [http://wikitravel.org/en/Sado_Island Sado Island]