Japan Sightseeing and Transportation Logistics for the Lazy and/or Mobility-challenged

1. Back from Japan: a life-changing experience
2. JAL business class vs. Delta premium select (review of our flights to/from Japan)
3. Japan sightseeing and transportation logistics for the lazy and/or mobility-challenged (this post)

Are you planning to visit Japan? Are you lazy? Traveling with someone who has a hard time walking and taking stairs? If you’ve said yes to all three questions, this post is for you, my friend.

Back in the day, before we had kids, my husband and I took the cheapest form of transportation whenever we visited another country. So what if takes two trains and a bus ride to get to our hotel?! We weren’t going to splurge on a taxi, not on my watch. We were young, able-bodied and packed light, so in my mind there was simply no excuse to spend extra.

But after the kids came along, everything changed. I still try to take public transportation when it makes sense, but definitely not with luggage. Plus, if our time is limited, to me it makes good financial sense to pay more money in order to save time and energy.

For this particular trip, I had to come up with the easiest possible plan in regards to transportation and tours, even if it cost us a ton extra. Why? My MIL would be joining us. She is 78, has arthritis, bad knees, bad hips etc. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of information on the internet for my particular situation. Everything was geared towards using trains, buses and subway. And I knew it just wouldn’t work for us. Well, we did have to take a bullet train from Kyoto to Hiroshima because it was our overall best option, plus it’s something you have to do  while in Japan. More on that later.

Be aware, visiting Japan involves a lot of walking and some occasional stairs if you actually want to see the good stuff. If you have an elderly relative expressing interest in going, be realistic in assessing their ability to handle it. The situation with my MIL was actually worse than we thought. I tried to make it easy on her, but even that was too much at times, especially when we had to walk uphill.

To her credit, she handled it like a champ, and kept going despite some pain and discomfort. Not one complaint, though we could see on her face that it was challenging for her. Naturally, we took frequent breaks to make it easier, but there is only so much you can do. Btw, Japan doesn’t have a lot of places to sit when in public, so keep that in mind as well. Go to cafes and buy drinks even if you are not thirsty. Occasionally, you  may have to improvise.

Anyway, I had to open my wallet and book airport transfers and private minivan tour charters a month or so before going to Japan. Everything worked as intended, and I highly recommend going this route if you are in a similar situation. Plus, even though I did it primarily for my MIL, my family certainly benefited from this arrangement immensely. My kids get tired of walking, so having private transportation with a personal driver was a real treat. Also, Uber (my referral link) is your friend in Japan, though coverage will vary and may be non-existent in small towns. But it’s the same way in US.

It did take many hours to find the best deal for each destination, and I had to use several websites for my reservations. I will leave links (pay me no commission) for each tour/taxi booking along with the price we paid, though I can’t guarantee it’s still the same by the time you read this post.

First, let me outline our itinerary. We flew to Osaka from Los Angeles and went straight to Kyoto where we spent four nights. Afterwards, we took a train to Hiroshima and had three nights there. We then flew to Tokyo where we spent just two nights. Finally, we finished our trip in Hakone (2 hours from Tokyo) and stayed there two nights as well. Below, I will have four sections, devoted to each city, with the focus on transportation. I plan to write separate posts with hotel reviews and sightseeing highlights at a later date.

Kyoto

Believe it or not, I found the best price on transfer from Osaka airport to Kyoto on Booking.com in their taxi section. You don’t need to have a hotel reservation via this site, anyone can use it. Price paid: $190 for a minivan, for a 1.5 hour ride in the evening. I did get a 10% discount since I have a Genius 1 level status on Booking.com.

I thought that was a pretty good deal. I got a message via WhatsApp on my phone with the instructions on how to find our driver outside. Btw, definitely download this app, as Japanese seem to love it. Everything went smoothly, so no complaints. Trying to figure out a train option from Kansai airport after 12.5 hour flight was the last thing I wanted to do. So thanks, grandma! Oh, only one of our taxi drivers in Japan spoke English, and he was an American expat. But with the help of Google Translate app we managed fine.

We booked a private 4-hour afternoon tour via Toursbylocals for the next day and I recommend it highly. The cost was $135 total for all five of us, and I thought it was a bargain. Our certified guide Katsuko (who spoke English fluently) was absolutely amazing, so knowledgeable and patient. I emailed her ahead of time telling her we have an elderly person with us, and she said she would plan on taking several cafe breaks throughout the tour. She came to pick us up in our rental, and after some walking, we used Uber app to order a minivan that would fit all six of us.

The following day I booked a private Kyoto and Nara 10-hour minivan charter with a driver for $335 total via Klook.com. Download their app and you might save 5%. Never heard of this website until this trip, but it’s apparently quite popular in Asia. Originally we planned to see Arashiyama grove and Nara, but I reached out to the company and asked them if I could swap Nara for Osaka, since the distance is similar. They agreed. This isn’t something I recommend you do, but I’ll explain my reasoning in another post. Everything worked out well with the charter, so no complaints.

The driver would drop us off at my selected landmark and then pick us up a few minutes after I reached out to him via WhatsApp. Extremely convenient and something I recommend highly.

Nintendo store in Osaka

A word of warning: you may want to order your Uber van the evening before your hotel checkout, since there is a limited number of them available in Kyoto. We had to settle for two taxis instead due to long wait. It wasn’t a bid deal, though, as I paid a total of $28 to get us to Kyoto train station.

This was the part of the trip I was most nervous about: taking the bullet train from Kyoto to Hiroshima. I grew up taking trains in Eastern Europe, but it was ages ago, and on another continent. Fortunately, it wasn’t complicated at all. We didn’t buy our train tickets ahead of time and I recommend you don’t either, unless you are traveling during a major holiday in Japan.

When you enter the station, you will see signs saying “Shinkansen tickets”, so simply go in that direction. You can purchase your train ride via ticket machines (there is English option), but I was too nervous and afraid to make a mistake. Instead, I went to the ticket office, staffed by human beings. Don’t worry, they speak some English and are used to dealing with tourists. Simply tell them where you need to go (in my case Hiroshima) and they will offer several departure options as well as booking classes. “Green” car is more expensive, but more comfortable.

We settled for a cheaper option, since it was only a 1.5 hour ride. The cost was $85 per person for Hikari-type train. We bought reserved seats via credit card, departing in 30 minutes, and that was plenty of time to find our platform. Fortunately, the directions in the station are in Japanese as well as English, making your task much easier. I actually felt silly for being so nervous about it.

I was happy to see that the train had no steps to worry about.

Also, the luggage storage wasn’t an issue either. You don’t want to take a large suitcase, but a medium one will fit in the storage rack above your train seat (sorry, forgot to take photos). We had no problem with all our junk, including the beast on the right side of the photo that belongs to my MIL. Of course, packing light whenever possible is always my advice.

Despite the fact that everything went smoothly, I was glad that it was our only train ride on this whole trip. It can get a bit hectic, especially if you throw kids and an elderly person into the mix.

Hiroshima

After we got off our bullet  train, we found a taxi stand. Here I’ve learned that Hiroshima only has taxi cars and Uber options that fit a maximum of four people, plus luggage. So, we had to take two cars to our ANA Crowne Plaza hotel. But it only cost about $20 for both, since the distance  is fairly short.

Even though I won’t review the hotel in this post, I will say that the location is excellent when it comes to your transportation options. So, if you plan to spend a few nights in Hiroshima, definitely look into lodging near Peace Memorial park. Here is why. One of the reasons I’ve decided to do a detour to Hiroshima is so we can visit a nearby Miyajima island. There is a ferry that goes there right from Peace park, just a few minutes walking distance from the hotel we stayed at.

It’s by far the easiest option, and one I recommend you take. There is another ferry that goes to Miyajima, but getting to that port will require a train ride.

Do check the website for the latest updates, as the ferry does get cancelled due to high/low tide. Fortunately, we didn’t have any issues. Also, I recommend figuring out how long you want to stay on Miyajima island and buying roundtrip ferry tickets, so you can lock in a specific sailing time for the way back. Plus, you get a small discount for doing so.

I think three to four hours on the island is plenty, unless you want to do the ropeway. Due to my MIL’s mobility issues it wasn’t really an option for us since it required walking half a mile uphill. So, we did some shopping, walked around, took a few photos and had a lunch at a local cafe.

Miyajima gets two thumbs up from me, a very scenic island

The reason I booked an extra night in Hiroshima was so we could go to Yamato museum in Kure (40-minute drive from Hiroshima). This was a treat for my husband, and something I absolutely had to include on our itinerary. How often can you see a Zero plane and tour a Japanese sub, right?

Unfortunately, getting here from Hiroshima was a bit challenging. Via Rome2rio.com website I saw that we could take a bus, but a fair bit of walking would be required. It also rained on the day we went.
So, reluctantly, I ordered two taxis via mine and my MIL’s Uber apps. The cost one-way was almost $140 total. Still, I wasn’t about to let my husband miss out on seeing this museum. He was thrilled beyond belief, and my MIL enjoyed it too, since she is into aviation. Me? Not really my thing, but I knew that ahead of time.

After we were done, I tried to order taxis via Uber for the way back, with no luck. And none were found at the local taxi stand. On top of it, the rain picked up, and my MIL said she had no energy left to walk to the bus station. Luckily, I saw a taxi on the street and flagged it down. So, we sent her and the kids back to the hotel, and my husband and I went looking for a bus station in the pouring rain.  It was actually a fun adventure, like the good old days. My husband said it’s one of his favorite memories of the trip. So all is well that ends well.

A quick aside. Make sure to have yen with you at all times, because many taxi drivers don’t accept credit cards. The same goes for restaurants. Use 7/11 convenience store to get cash because their ATM accepts foreign debit cards (many places in Japan don’t).

After our whirlwind adventure in Hiroshima, it was time to go to Tokyo. For that I used British Airways Avios and booked a one-way Hiroshima-Tokyo Haneda flight on JAL for 7,500 points per person. Oh, and I did splurge on my MIL and booked her business class for 12,500 Avios, but I’m not sure it was worth it. Though she did enjoy a slightly bigger seat. But the flight is only a bit longer than an hour, so economy should be fine.

Keep in mind that you can also book ANA via United on the same route for only 5,500 miles per person.

There was an issue of getting to Hiroshima airport, located almost an hour from the city. I priced a van transfer online, and it would cost us $360. If we did two cars via Uber, it would still run almost $300 total. That seemed too high, so I explored other options. Fortunately, there is an airport bus that leaves every thirty minutes from the bus center located about a mile from the hotel we stayed at. I researched it, and the option seemed simple enough.

So, we took a taxi to the bus center, bought our tickets and 1.5 hours later we were sitting in a cafe in Hiroshima airport, watching the planes take off.  Would I want to do all this after getting off a 12.5-hour plane ride? Not really. But by that point we spent a week in Japan, so I felt more comfortable navigating an unfamiliar bus center. Plus, saving $200 is nothing to sneeze at. This is a fairly easy option, and one I recommend if you have five or more people in your party. Otherwise, take an Uber.

Hiroshima has a fairly small and pleasant airport. I wasn’t sure that flying was the way to go, but I’m very glad I chose that route. The train ticket from Hiroshima to Tokyo would have cost us around $145 per person. So, using miles was a decent alternative and took about the same amount of time, factoring in airport bus transfer. No regrets.

Tokyo

In Tokyo Uber is the way to go, hands down. That’s what we ordered after landing in Haneda, and it cost us $65 to get to our hotel in Roppongi district. If I booked a van online ahead of time, I would have to pay $100. Perhaps you need to consider it if you are landing at night or during holidays. Otherwise, just grab Uber or taxi after you land.

We also used Uber for all of our rides. And I mean all of them. We didn’t set foot on a train or subway the whole time we were in Tokyo. Did it cost us more to go this route? You bet. But it saved us a lot of time and more importantly, saved my MIL’s feet. Here is a statement with some of our Uber charges from one day in Tokyo, to give you an idea on what to expect:

Some of the more expensive rides would require two train changes if we chose to rely on public transportation instead. So, my advice, especially if your time in Tokyo is short, is to keep it simple and Uber everywhere within the city. But what if you want to go to Fuji area and perhaps stay in Hakone for few nights after Tokyo? There is a solution for that too.

You see, I decided to add two nights in Hakone at the end of our trip. I also wanted to do a detour on the way there, somewhere where we could get a decent chance of seeing mount Fuji. On top of it, we have friends who live in Ebina city (half -way point between Tokyo and Hakone) and we decided to stop by and spend a few hours with them as well.

I found a 10-hour charter option on Klook that included mount Fuji and surrounding area, with departure/dropoff from Tokyo. The cost was $350, quite reasonable considering everything we were looking to do that day. We would have a van to safely keep our luggage, visit our friends for a few hours, go to village near mount Fuji and then get dropped off at our hotel in Hakone. No trains or buses to worry about, and no looking for storage for our bags.

A word of warning. The day before our transfer, I got a bill via email asking to pay an additional $70 since our drop-off was not in Tokyo. I didn’t really understand why it was an issue for the driver to return to Tokyo without us, but went ahead and paid it.  It  did seem odd since they didn’t say anything earlier, but oh well. Even at $420, this charter was way cheaper than other comparable options I found.

Our driver was a very nice Chinese guy who spoke almost no English. Not a problem, we used Google translation app. He took us to all the places on my list, including Oshino Hakkai village near mount Fuji.  

And spending time with friends in Ebina city, however short, was a real highlight. We got dropped off in our hotel in Hakone around 5 pm, after making lots of memories along the way. What a day!

Hakone 

Since we had a flight from Tokyo Haneda airport two days later, some of you may say that we should have simply rented a van in Tokyo. Sure, it’s a great option if you are comfortable driving on the left side of the road in an unfamiliar country. That’s a hard pass for me and my husband, and we weren’t about to make grandma do it. But if you are up to the challenge, renting a vehicle is likely the way to go if you want to save money.

For our transfer from Hakone to Tokyo Haneda airport I went through City-airport-taxis website. It gave me the cheapest quote of $250 for a van. The driver was on time, and was very courteous. It took us two hours to get to the airport, and we saw some nice ocean scenery along the way. No complaints. I looked into using public transportation to get to the airport, but it was way too complicated.

Uber doesn’t have any drivers in Hakone, but local taxi company has a few vans. I asked a hotel receptionist to order one for us, and she was happy to oblige. It cost us $32 to get to the Motohakone port, where we started the famous Hakone loop by taking a pirate ship to the other side of the lake.

The rest of the journey was done via ropeway and cablecar, and at the end of the day we got  picked up by hotel shuttle in Gora station.   

Most tourists buy a Hakone Free pass, but we just bough individual tickets at each station. I did the math and found out it wouldn’t save us any money. Plus, it was easier to take a taxi to the port rather than walk 1.5 miles to the bus station.

Final thoughts 

If all of this looks complicated, I assure you, it’s ten times easier than using public transportation. Yes, it will cost you more, but it will also make your trip much more pleasant. I reasoned that I’ve saved a ton of money by using miles and points for flights and hotels, so it’s one area I could afford to splurge on. Plus, if you have an elderly person in your party like we did, you don’t really have much of a choice. So, I’m hoping this VERY long (too long?) and detailed guide will be helpful and take some stress out of your planning.

Japan is not the easiest country I’ve visited when it comes to transportation logistics, but going there doesn’t have to be overly complicated either. Bottom line: book some transfers ahead, use Uber, rely on Google Translate app if you are lost, talk to locals because most won’t bite. This is the way.

Hit me up in the comments if you have any specific questions.