With the yen at record low, Japan offers amazing value: Top tips for travellers

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He has not spoken English for three years, says the fatherly volunteer at the tourist office. “But we are ready. It is a long wait,” he says animatedly.

 

He urges me to spend some tranquil, twilight moments at the famed Nara Park. Dinner can wait.

 

So I wander through the park, and count more wild deer than humans. They stare quizzically and have stopped “bowing” – their trademark ploy to get snacks from visitors. Perhaps the returning tourists may hone the skills of these deer again.

 

Japan reopened on Oct 11 in probably the world’s most widely anticipated tourism reboot. This is the second last bastion among the world’s largest economies to reset pandemic measures to endemic mode – while China steadfastly embraces a zero-Covid-19 strategy.

 

I am fortunate to have a sneak preview, as Japan Airlines invited me for a corporate cultural event in Kyoto in early September. The one-night “Otobutai” concert, full of atmosphere, reaffirms my love affair with Japan.

 

Since then, over the past six weeks, I have been traversing Japan and staying in four-star hotels at prices even lower than those in Bangkok, Bali, Manila and Ho Chi Minh City. I cringe, remembering my Singapore staycation rates, which were double the prices of downtown Tokyo hotels.

 

I wish hoteliers would pick up productivity tips from the Land of the Rising Sun. I pay $50 a night for sparkling modern rooms in hotels that provide free breakfast and washing machines.

 

As I delight in Tokyo’s Michelin-starred restaurants for $40 a meal, I try to figure out if the fish in $500-per-head omakase meals in Singapore travelled first class.

 

And I begin to wonder why I made those 45-hour flights with multiple connections, crossing continents and oceans, to dive with schooling hammerhead sharks in Galapagos when they are just three hours away on a day trip from Tokyo. 

 

Just like Thailand, Japan’s room rates and airfares will skyrocket once the borders reopen. But with the Japanese yen at a historic 24-year low against the greenback, and coupled with the strong Singapore dollar, travellers have a 23 per cent “discount” compared with a year earlier.

 

Whether it is a maiden trip or a reboot, here are some reasons the Japan journey will rank among the best-value destinations in the world today.

 

1. FARES HAVE GONE UP, WITH MORE PRICE SPIKES TO COME

 

Since last month’s announcement of the reopening by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, fares to Japan have jumped. Yet, Japan remains good value, compared with regional destinations.

 

Using budget carrier Scoot as a benchmark, its Singapore-to-Japan fare is even lower than to Seoul, Taipei or nearby Bali – and this is despite the longer flying distance.

 

I took a punt in June to buy a Singapore Airlines (SIA) business class round-trip ticket for a Bangkok-Singapore-Japan route. It cost a rock-bottom $2,200 for forward travel in December. 

 

With news of the reopening, SIA’s business class round trip between Singapore and Japan now easily crosses $4,000. Add the Bangkok-to-Singapore round trip, valued at $1,200, and I have scored big savings.

 

For those seeking more comfort and frills, business class fares are still about 20 per cent lower than pre-pandemic times.

 

Despite being a SIA Priority Passenger for more than a decade, I am more receptive now to other carriers as I note that they are catching up on service standards and offerings. On my flight from Singapore to Tokyo, I blissed out with Japan Airlines’ in-flight menu and its elegant Junmai Daiginjo sake – its business class fare was $1,000 less than SIA’s.

 

For my return leg, I look forward to low-cost-carrier newcomer Zipair which boasts the lowest fare for a flat-bed. While there are no frills, Zipair’s round-trip fare difference against SIA is a substantial $2,000 – enough to buy a 15-night stay in a brand-new Hyatt property in Kyoto. Unbelievable? Read on.

 

Pro tip: Fares can only soar higher as more travellers take off – so you should still lock in the fare today and get a ticket issued for future travel. Just change the dates if plans change.

 

The world is not back at pre-pandemic fare levels yet. With red-hot inflation and the ongoing conflict in Europe, airlines are foisting higher fuel surcharges onto fares. Procrastination will not get you a discount.

 

2. A DORMITORY BED IN SINGAPORE FOR TWO- TO THREE-STAR HOTEL ROOM IN JAPAN

 

In Japan, you get a clean, functional hotel room with free breakfast. Plus your own high-tech WC with an oscillating nozzle. Not enough? How about free use of the washing machine, with detergent provided?

 

Japan’s leading business hotel group Super Hotel (superhoteljapan.com/en) even provides an onsen with natural spring waters at 7,000 yen (S$70) a night for a single-occupancy room. This is smack in downtown Tokyo’s Ginza District.

 

Plus, you get welcome drinks with free-flow delicious mango liquor, sake and whisky. Women choose from an array of organic beauty amenities such as face masks and lotions, though these gifts are limited to five for each guest.

 

Other operators even throw in free ramen supper, ice cream or a beer after your onsen soak.

 

In a perfect storm, Japan’s hospitality industry got slammed by the pandemic and its closed-borders policy; a stagnant economy; and now the conflict in Europe. To make matters worse, hoteliers stacked up new properties feverishly in anticipation of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which fell short in terms of economic payback.

 

Luxe hotels, however, held their rates to protect their brand image, even if occupancy languished.

 

I start my Japan trip with Kyoto and, in a celebratory mood, I decide to add a “zero” behind my daily budget to stay at super-zen Park Hyatt Kyoto. Though its standard room starts at an eye-popping $1,200 a night, the wonderful memory of my stay, three years ago, is etched into my mind. This is my favourite Park Hyatt of the 20 or so I have tried worldwide. 

 

My membership status rewards me with a free upgrade to its 68 sq m suite and, every morning, hotel staff set up my complimentary Japanese breakfast from a one-Michelin-starred restaurant in my room. I just sit spellbound looking at the iconic Yasaka pagoda looming silently ahead. In the evenings, free-flow champagne is served. 

 

At the six-month-old Hyatt Place Kyoto, where I pay $110 a night, I make my way through its 30m buffet spread of Western and Japanese breakfast, which boasts aromatic matcha bread.

 

Pro tip: Japan’s room rates in popular destinations surged between 20 and 50 per cent for November and December with the announcement of the reopening, plus the relaunch of new domestic travel incentives – locals get a subsidy of 11,000 yen a person a day.

 

The incentive programme will run till end-December and lower room rates will appear for January – but you will miss out on Japan’s astounding autumn colours.

 

Nonetheless, do book your rooms now, with flexible cancellation, as returning visitors will fuel demand. Industry observers project room rates to end the year higher by at least 20 per cent.

 

3. INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND GAME-CHANGING STRATEGIES

 

How does a hotel make money on a 5,000 yen nightly rate with a full buffet breakfast thrown in? Yes, the compact and space-efficient 12 sq m room (the size of a Housing Board bedroom) helps.

 

Less-used items and facilities are done away with – phones in the hallway instead of the room. Also, strike out the gym, the fancy banquet rooms and restaurants. 

 

Instead, the hotels truck in containers of therapeutic hot spring water for their onsen baths twice a day.

 

Overall, Japanese hotels design every bit of space optimally and do not compromise on cleanliness and comfort.

 

And there are a lot of technology and savvy systems at play. Super Hotel’s latest properties use natural diatomite for their ceilings – the material deodorises and provides humidity control for cleaner air and better sleep. Its top-selling room comes with overhead projectors instead of television sets.

 

You can check yourself in. Once payment is done, you will receive a digital code for your door’s keypad – no room keys – and just leave by 11am. Just two staff members are required to man the front office for a 100-room property.

 

“Our highly productive housekeeper cleans a room in less than 20 minutes. And each room costs about 1,000 yen to turn around,” says Ms Eiko Hoshiyama, a senior executive of Super Hotel.

 

And travellers endorse the value for the quality. The 170-property hotel group hums along with a commendable 80 per cent occupancy year to date.

 

Japan’s leading resort operator Hoshino (hoshinoresorts.com/en) takes its offerings to another level, with a focus on local culture and the surroundings.

 

Guests enjoy evening musical performances, local seasonal cuisine, community activities such as tea-picking harvests followed by delicate desserts.

 

Samurai wannabes can even practise wooden swordsmanship and deep-breathing exercises on a skyscraper’s rooftop.

 

In its trendy city-centre OMO properties, the staff double up as “Rangers” to provide mini-lectures on a city’s highlights and activities. Gourmet restaurant tastings, local market tours and bar-hopping are scheduled.

 

Lobbies feature playful graphics, centred on a huge map of nearby eateries and entertainment spots. The managers actively seek tie-ups with food outlets to connect with the local community. Meal packages include a stack of coupons to try out ramen stores.

 

Even the global chains are leveraging the destination’s unique culture.

 

Hyatt is teaming up with a local Japanese partner to set up a line of modern hot-spring ryokans nestled in breathtaking landscapes.

 

“We want developments with intent. Products with true brand concepts as opposed to just another hotel,” says Mr Sam Sakamura, senior vice-president of Hyatt Japan.

 

He also highlights that Hyatt is launching its new upscale, select-service lifestyle brand Caption by Hyatt in Japan by 2024. 

 

Japan is innovative to the core.

 

Pro tip: Japanese operators offer myriad products and packages. Booking directly with the Japanese hotel operators can yield substantial discounts not available on the international booking platforms.

 

The website of Hoshinoya (hoshinoresorts.com/en/brand/hoshinoya) – this is Hoshino’s flagship brand – offers discounts of up to 50 per cent for stays of six nights and early-bird bookings at 40 per cent off. And with effect from Oct 5, all guests at Hoshino’s 55 properties enjoy free medical insurance during their stay.

 

4. IT IS HARD TO HAVE A BAD MEAL IN JAPAN

 

Over the past three years, with Japan’s closed borders, I eagerly sussed out recommendations on Japanese food in Singapore. I made peace with unagi eel from Indonesia and pretended to enjoy the $500 meal of aged sushi at Chijmes.

 

Deep down, I know we have overpaid.

 

In Japan now, I have a leisurely buffet breakfast and skip lunch for a heartier dinner. I gleefully tuck into $4 yakitori skewers in a one-Michelin-starred restaurant (str.sg/wH8Z), savour half the line-up in Tokyo Station’s famous Ramen Street and eat twice at Rokurinsha (rokurinsha.com/).

 

On the eve of Japan’s Super Typhoon Nanmadol in mid-September, I rush to finish my meal at Japan’s eel capital city of Hamamatsu. There, Kanerin (kanerin.net) lives up to its tagline of Japan’s top 10 unagi places.

 

And a few days later, I detour to Takamatsu to try the legendary Wagyu Beef from olive-fed bovines. The $120 was money well spent on the world’s rarest beef (steakhouse-ichigo.jp/en). It makes the Kobe or Ohmi A5 seem like distant cousins.

 

Pro tip: When not indulging, I scout the supermarkets of Mitsukoshi or Daimaru just before closing time. At about 8pm, the stalls simultaneously cut their prices up to 50 per cent. It is a massive food fair and hordes of locals rush to snap up the bargains.

 

5. TOURIST PERKS THAT THE LOCALS CAN ONLY DREAM OF

 

Usually, the tourists get slapped with discriminatory pricing and pay more for their air or rail tickets than locals. In Japan, it is the reverse as the tourists get transportation perks.

 

There are dozens of different rail and transport passes, but they all provide tremendous savings compared with single-ticket purchases.

 

For example, a two-way Shinkansen train ticket between Aomori and Tokyo costs more than 34,000 yen while a Five-Day JR East Pass (Tohoku Area, str.sg/wH84) with unlimited travel covering the same area costs only 20,000 yen – an average of 4,000 yen a day.

 

For northern destinations (str.sg/wH8o), both the popular Five-Day JR Hokkaido Rail Pass and Six-Day JR Tohoku-South Hokkaido Rail Pass also cost 4,000 yen a day.

 

To cover the western region (str.sg/wH8q) such as Kanazawa, Osaka and Hakata, the Seven-Day JR-West All Area Pass works out to 3,286 yen a day.

 

While the Japan Rail Pass provides countrywide coverage, it costs more than the regional passes – at 4,800 yen a day for the minimum Seven-Day Pass.

 

Another fantastic money-saving deal is one from JAL Explorer (str.sg/wH8c) that offers domestic fares from 5,500 yen. Taking advantage of the deal, I fly from Tokyo to Chitose in Hokkaido for $115, whereas a Japanese national would need to fork out $345 for the same flight.

 

Pro tip: The longer the duration of the passes, the more likely there will be “idle days” as people take breaks from travelling. Space out the passes to take breaks in between. The rail passes work best if there is substantial travel over long distances.

 

But for cross-country travel, such as Tokyo to northerly Hokkaido, flights using the air passes are better.

 

Upon arrival, I will switch over to my rail passes to explore the cities and towns.

 

For bigger groups, car rental may be economical – but they cost about $100 a day with petrol and toll charges. But do not forget, a five-hour train ride is easier to handle than driving a car.

 

6. ONLY IN JAPAN: DAY TRIPS FROM TOKYO

 

Deer roam freely. Red-faced monkeys soak contentedly in onsen. But two of Japan’s best-kept wildlife secrets are just a three-hour train or bus ride from Tokyo.

 

In Chiba Ito, a dive site teems with hundreds of hound sharks, marauding schools of stingrays and metre-long groupers that swarm you when you enter the water. One stingray sucked the GoPro out of my hand, swallowed it and spit it out.

 

It all started in 2009 when fishermen were desperate to get the sharks away from their nets, so they enlisted a diver to establish a safe zone by feeding them. The diver patiently fed the sharks daily and over time, this site started attracting massive schools of sharks that bump into you and swim between your legs (bommie.jp/en).

 

Another class act lies in Shimoda. Between June and October, hammerheads congregate by the hundreds, attracted by the strong currents (mikomoto.com/english).

 

Both are world-class dive sites, easily accessible as a day trip from Tokyo. And they cost the same as diving in the murky waters off Singapore’s Southern Islands.

 

For more sedate but quintessentially Japan activities, kids will love the six-storey, 25-tonne robot that moves, waves and balances on one leg. The Gundam robot is less than an hour from Tokyo, in the port city of Yokohama (gundam-factory.net).

 

Other fun visits include the Cupnoodles Museum (cupnoodles-museum.jp/en/yokohama).

 

Meanwhile, at the popular Kirin Factory, adults will be thrilled with the free beers (kirin.co.jp/experience/factory/yokohama).

 

And to cap off your trip, make time to visit the JAL Sky Museum to get close to its aircraft and take a sneak look into its massive hangars (jal.com/ja/kengaku/en).

 

Pro tip: Book your sessions in advance as they are popular – especially the free activities. Avoid weekends and public holidays. For the robot experience, the best time to visit is late afternoon, as the flashing lights are more impressive during dusk.

 

JAPAN IS ALWAYS NEW

 

Japan is an extraordinary destination and, after some 30 visits, I still look forward to every trip, eager to discover new thrills and delights. 

 

The country’s tourism is expected to rebound sharply when it reopens and its outstanding value now is once in a lifetime – and people surely do not want to wait for another pandemic.

 

• Since two years back, John Tan started to prepare for the reopening of Japan and signed up for a Japanese language course. He needs to re-take it.
• John Tan is writing a series on rediscovering Japan as it reopens.

 

 

Source: The New Paper © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.

 

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