Highlights and tips of our Japan trip

Tips and ideas from our Japan trip

Monday, September 01, 2008

Tallahassee, FL, USA

We have visited couple of places in Japan and here I have given list of those places and highlights of our trip. Enjoy

Links:

• Hirohsima and Himeji
• Kyoto
• Osaka
• Nara
• Nagoya

Travel to Japan 04

Registration

21st Congress of the InternationalUnion of Crystallography

Osaka, Japan

I went ahead and filled out the registration form for the IUCr conference in Osaka, Japan and submitted via web. They were ready to take American Express CC to for the registration. Soon I received the confirmation of my registration and receipt of the payment.

Travel to Japan 03

Accommodation in Osaka
Near Grand Cube Osaka
Osaka, Japan

I needed to get some accommodation in Osaka for my trip to attend the 2008 Congress of the International Union of Crystallography. I wanted the accommodation to be closer to the conference site which is Grand Cube Osaka. I contacted the organizers and found out the first choice I had requested was no longer available.

However, I was able to find some accommodation in a nearby hotel called HOTEL OKUUCHI OSAKA, 3-8-8 Utsubo Hommachi, Nishi-ku, Osaka-city, Osaka. The price was reasonable running around 110 range. The Kinki Nippon Tourist Co., Ltd from Chuo-Ku, Osaka handled my reservations.

Once I reach Osaka I will find out the convenience of this place.

Travel to Japan 02

Purchase of Japan Tickets
Tickets to Osaka via United
Friday, March 28, 2008

I have started to inquire about my upcoming trip to Osaka, Japan in late summer 2008. I first started my search using the regular websites like, Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, and OneTravel. However, since I am leaving from a small town in the USA my flight options in late March 2008 for a trip in late August were not good. Several of them quoted prices in the 1500 range.

So I decided to modify my plans so that I will leave from a bigger city in the US and try to fly to Tokyo or Nagoya both of which have relatively larger International Airports compared to Osaka. In addition, since I will be traveling to Japan just after the Olympics in China gets over, I assume that may contribute to the high cost of the ticket.

Even after exploring the options I was unable to find good fares either through the above mentioned sites or even through airlines themselves like Delta, NorthWest, and Continental.

Then I spoke to people who are native of Japan and they suggested I contact Travel Agents who specialize in travels to Japan. One such vendor was IACE-USA Travels. They have offices in Orlando, Atlanta, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other places.

I sent out my plans and the next day they sent me an itinerary via e-mail. Then I spoke with one travel agent who helped me fine tune my departure and arrival as per my request. It turned out that if I traveled out of Orlando (MCO) and arrived Nagoya (NGO) they would offer me their best price. So I decided to go with that itinerary. This meant I had to travel to Orlando by car and take a train to Osaka after arriving in Nagoya. Another option would have been to arrive at Tokyo/Narita (NRT) International Airport and change to Haneda (HND) Domestic airport in Tokyo and arrive in Osaka. I preferred to fly to NGO and take the train rather than shuttle between two airports after a long journey.

Once I gave my selection they sent me the tickets in United Airlines. The tickets were reasonably priced in the 1300 range.