See the subway map below. All the red arrows point out the main attractions in Tokyo city. Most attractions can be accessed via Ginza Line, Asakusa Line and Hibiya Line. I like to stay at hotel near Ningyocho subway station (A14 on Asakusa Line, H13 on Hibiya Line). I used to stay at Hotel Horidome Villa. There is also direct train service operating between Ningyocho station and Narita Airport or Haneda Airport. (Click here for more information) What an awesome location! One thing I don't like about this station is, not many elevators available from platform to ground floor and many stairs. This gonna be a pain if you carry big luggage.

Download the pdf metro map here.

Transport in Tokyo 

The easiest way to commute in Tokyo is probably by train. JR, Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines are 3 main train operators in Tokyo. I'm more familiar with Tokyo Metro so I'm going to discuss more about Tokyo Metro subway. English signs are available in most subway stations. English language is available in all train ticket vending machines. English speaking subway staffs are also available in most big stations to assist foreign tourists. Different train operators have their own different station entrances, meaning you cannot just switch line between operators within the station, you have to exit and enter another one. Also, same station name by different operators may not locate at the same place. For example, JR Ueno station and subway Ueno station are located at different place.

Buy a SUICA card, it's easier than you buy the train ticket by cash. It works like ezlink card. If you plan to travel from Narita airport to Tokyo town e.g Shijuku by NEX (Narita Express), you can consider to get NEX & SUICA package (1 way ¥3500 yen, round trip ¥5500). This package consists of 1 way express train ticket (return express train ticket if you opt for the round trip package) from Narita to Tokyo and SUICA card with value of ¥2000 (¥1500 travel value and ¥500 refundable deposit). 

Fixed taxi fare chart from Narita.

[Update 3rd Apr 2014]

Suica & NEX package had been discontinued on 1st Apr 2014. Suica card can still be purchased from Narita Airport. NEX ticket is replaced by NEX Tokyo Direct and is now at ¥1500. See here. 

I don't recommend to get tourist pass, they are usually more expensive than what you would use. Even if you can work out an itinerary that allow you to fully utilize the pass, you will only save a small amount. It is better to go with Suica or Pasmo for convenience and flexibility. Train fare starts from 130 and can go up to 400 one way. Click 1 day open ticket by Tokyo Metro and JR Tokyo Tour Ticket to find out more. Check out Tokyo Metro route planner and fare calculator here. Hyperdia, Jorudan, JR map and Tokyo subway map can also help you to plan your journey better. You can find the train (including Shinkansen) schedule, train number, transfer station and even platform number from Hyperdia. If Shinkansen (high speed bullet train) is required during your trip, you may want to consider JR pass. Click here and my post to find out more about JR pass. I got mine from Nippon Travel Agency website. 

How much budget should you set? 

Well, I'm a budget traveller so I usually won't spend much on air ticket and accommodation. Most of the time SGD180/night/room twin sharing is a good guide to estimate your accommodation cost. You can get a double room as low as SGD84 in Hotel Horidome Villa (the hotel I mentioned earlier). A standard meal can cost at least ¥1000 in standard restaurant or as expensive as ¥5000 in better quality restaurant. SGD30/meal is more than enough to estimate your food budget in Tokyo. You may not eat that much sometimes and the excess can be shifted to the next meal for better food. Breakfast is not available in Hotel Hodorime Villa, but there are many eateries and convenience shops around this hotel. I bought my breakfast like potato salad, sushi set or sandwich from 7-11 and cost me less than ¥500. You can also find good ramen, tasty beef rice bowl less than ¥1000 in a lot of smaller restaurants.

I spent only SGD2300/pax in a 8-day central Japan trip last year December, including air ticket, accommodation, meal, transport, entrance fees, shopping and etc.  

Read japan-guide on budget estimation. 

Scoot air ticket SGD550

7N accommodation SGD542/pax

JR pass SGD364/pax

8D meal SGD30x8x3-4 (included in accommodation) = SGD600 (we used only SGD350/pax)

Museum/ Temple entrance tickets SGD50/pax

Mobile wifi SGD22.5/pax

Local transport SGD100/pax

Shopping (souvenir etc) SGD300/pax

Average SGD216 (US166)/day/pax exclude air ticket

Sound pretty reasonable right?

What are the places to visit in Tokyo city?

Tsukiji Market/ Ginza

Tokyo Tower

Ameyoko Market

Akhihabara 

Asakusa/ Tokyo Skytree

Disneyland/ Disney Sea

Shibuya/ Shinjuku

Read more information about these attractions here.

What are the popular cities to visit in central Japan?

Takayama

Tateyama (snow corridor)

Shirakawago

Kanazawa

Kyoto

Osaka

You can check out my central Japan trip itinerary here. I also wrote about Takayama, Shirakawago, Kanazawa, Kyoto/ Osaka. Start with http://www.japan-guide.com/, it has a lot of information in there.

Japan is not difficult to navigate without guided tour. In fact, it's very fun and interesting if you do it free & easy. You will learn a lot during the process of planning. You will not have any problem if you do your preparation work properly. I hope these tips will be useful to you!

Takayama - Shirakawago - Kanazawa - Kyoto - Osaka

This trip was planned almost 1 year ago. When I first saw the picture of this beautiful village, Shirakawago on internet, I fell in love with this place immediately. After months of looking at their pictures, I finally had the chance to visit this UNESCO Heritage site at the Gifu region. Shirakawago is famous for their traditional gassho zukuri farmhouse, some of them are more than 250 years. With it's beautiful backdrop of magnificent mountains, this little quiet village is so unique that one has to come here at least once in their lifetime.

The suspension bridge between bus terminal and the village, That's Shokawa River.

Dusk in Shirakawago. It's getting colder especially after the sun is gone at about 5pm. I wanted to take few more shots but my partner was rushing me go back to our farmhouse. It's so irritating when you travel with someone who is not so keen in photography and keep asking me: are you done =_=''''


Getting here and around

From Takayama
Shirakawago was one of the highlight in this December winter trip. We took Nohi bus from Takayama station and arrived Shirakawago after 50 mins bus ride. The bus ticket cost ¥2400/pax one way. Click here for more information.

You can also take taxi from Takayama.
Miyagawa Taxi tour - http://www.joyful-taxi.com/english/index.html
Hato Taxi tour - http://www.taxisite.jp/hato/english/
Kanto Tourism Taxi

From Kanazawa
Niho bus departs from Kanazawa to Shirakawago 3 times daily. Reservation is required. The bus ticket cost ¥1800/pax one way. Click here for more information. If you can understand Japanese, you can make the reservation on Nohi website (Japanese version). I wrote email to Shirakawago Tourist Association info-e@shirakawa-go.gr.jp and get them help to reserve bus ticket.

[Update 20th Oct 2016] It seems that Shirakawago Tourist Association doesn't help to reserve bus ticket. Below is the email they sent it to a friend of mine who is going to Shirakawago in November

When you need bus reservations and other details operated by Nohi Bus, Hokuriku Tetsudo Bus and Gifu Bus, please call them directly. Reservations are accepted one month before you take. 

To customers who have "Shoryudo Pass," reservations are accepted at the ticket desk only, not by phone.  To customers who have "Hokuriku-Area-Tourist Pass," reservations are accepted by phone and at the Nohi bus ticket desk. For more details, please ask freely to Nohi Bus Company by email.  

Nohi Bus
TEL: (0)577-32-1688
HOURS: 9:00 - 18:00 
http://www.highwaybus.com (only Japanese) 
http://willerexpress.com/en/ (from Takayama to Tokyo or Osaka) 
email: nouhi-websystem@nouhibus.co.jp 

Hokuriku Tetsudo Bus
TEL: (0)76-234-0123
HOURS: 9:00 - 18:00

Gifu Bus
TEL: (0)58-240-0489
HOURS: 9:00 - 18:00/17:00(sat, sun & holidays)
  
Nohi Bus & Hokuriku Tetsudo Bus
Timetable Takayama - Shirakawa-go - Kanazawa. 
http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/new/shirakawago_kanazawa.html

Gifu Bus 
Nagoya - Shirakawa-go 名古屋～白川郷　 
The fare: 3.600 yen/one-way/person. 7.200 yen/round/person 

Nagoya       Shirakawago  until March 31 
 9:00           11:45 
11:00          13:36 
from April 1 
9:00            11:53 
9:50            12:26   

Shirakawago    Nagoya 
15:00          18:01 
16:00          18:44

My friend made her bus ticket booking directly via Nohi bus website (in Japanese). She created an account and booked from there. She doesn't understand Japanese so she used Google translate and she managed to book her ticket without much problem.

From Tokyo
There is no direct bus service from Tokyo to Shirakwago. You will need to transfer bus at Takayama. Nohi bus has direct bus service between Tokyo Shinjuku and Takayama 7 times daily. It takes 5 hours and 30 mins to travel from Shinjuku to Takayama. The bus ticket cost ¥11,700/pax one way. Click here for more information.

The train journey from Tokyo to Takayama requires quite a bit of traveling and transfers. Here's an outline of the journey there: Tokyo - Nagoya - Takayama. It took us 6 hours from Narita airport to Takayama, 12pm to 6pm. You can also fly to Nagoya (Singapore Airlines offers direct flight from Singapore to Nagoya) and you can skip 3 and 1/2 hrs train ride. Don't forget to purchase Japan Rail Pass. Without the Japan Rail Pass, you would have to pay ¥17,770/pax for one way up to Takayama from Narita Airport. We paid only ¥29,110/pax 7 days unlimited train ride in Japan. Read more about JR pass in this post.

From Osaka/Kyoto
There is no direct bus service from Kyoto/ Osaka to Shirakwago. You will need to transfer bus at Kanazawa or Takayama. Nohi bus has direct bus service between Kyoto/ Osaka and Takayama 2 times daily. It takes about 5 hours to travel from Kyoto/ Osaka to Takayama. The bus ticket cost ¥2700 - 3200/pax one way. Click here for more information.

You can also take JR train (limited express Thunderbird) from Kyoto to Kanazawa which takes about 2 hours. One way train ticket costs ¥6510/pax. Check the train schedule from hyperdia.com

[Update 30th May 2015] Now there is a new pass Takayama Hokuriku is available for tourists who travel to this region, Nagoya, Takayama, Kanazawa, Shirakawago, Osaka and Kyoto. Click here for information.

Accommodation

Most people will choose to settle just a day trip here from Takayama or Kanazawa, but we decided to spend a night instead to experience the unique farmhouse stay. It is a great way to experience a traditional Japanese family home. We stayed in one of the farmhouse, Kanjiya Minshuku and it was just lovely. More than a dozen gassho-zukuri farmhouses around this place are now functioning as minshuku, family run Japanese style B&B. You can make the reservation via Japanese Guest House, another different site of Japaneseguesthouses.com or you can email Shirakawago Tourism Association at info@shirakawa-go.gr.jp and request the minshuku of your choice. You can also call Shirakawago Tourism Association. List of accommodations in Shirakawago can also be found here.

I booked Kanjiya minshuku (Kanjiya also have their own website) via Booking.com. Some minshuku can be booked direct from their website, for example Shimizu (number 5 in map below), Koemon (number 14 in map below), Ootaya (number 67), Bunroku (number 41), Nodaniya (number 6), Isaburo (number 64), Juemon (number 4).  

Click to download JNTO Takayama and Shirakawago tourist map and Shirakawago pdf map here.  


Kanjiya (or Kanja) minshuku is located at the end of the village. The accomodation is not fancy but basic and clean. The village is very small, a 10 mins walk from main bus stop to this minshuku is not a problem at all. But it can be a pain to lure a big luggage in snow. You may want to consider staying in a minshuku nearer to the main bus stop. There is no unit number or street name. You have to prepare yourself an rough idea where the minshuku located which you have booked before you reach Shirakawago. You should also try to remember minshuku Japanese name (or print the name out) as they usually will display it outside their minshuku.

There is house rule to follow since we stayed in local Japanese home. The minshuku owner didn't chat with us at all maybe because they do not speak English. There is an old lady in 80s, I guess she is owner's mother, attended us most of the time. She's friendly and know the village well. I tried to locate the 3 beautiful gassho houses location which we will always see in the postcard and she knew where they are! I spoke to her in English and she answered my question in Japanese, I couldn't understand Japanese but I still got what I wanted. I showed her the poster and village map, she then pointed out that 3 houses location on the map. Lol. Also, she helped to dry our wet shoes though we didn't ask to. That's very nice of her.

There are total 4 rooms in the farm house just for the guests. Everyone (just the guests) will eat dinner and breakfast at the main dining hall. The family of this farm house is staying in another corner which we won't get to see them. 2 toilets (male and female) and bathroom are shared among all guests.  


We paid ¥9500/pax for a night stay included dinner and breakfast. All shops and restaurants there close at 6pm, it's recommended to opt for the half board option. Special meal request is also available such as vegetarian (no fish but with fish broth) or no pork (but the meal it's not halal).

The dinner was a very memorable meal for us. The authentic Japanese dinner was with many different dishes like the famous melt-in-the-mouth Hida beef, miso soup, grilled fish, mushroom, tempura (fried vegetable) and etc. This was a meal that we enjoyed a lot.




What to do in Shirakawago?