Ikimashou: Travel Tips and Hints

1. Ikimashou: Travel Tips and Hints Emmett Jones Hakata Seisho High School

2. My Hotel Experience • Newport Beach Marriott Hotel • 532 room hotel in Newport Beach, California. • Worked for 3 years. • 1year front desk. • 2 years accounting.

3. Common questions I am asked: “Will I get in trouble for taking towels, shampoo, robes, etc.?” Individual containers of shampoo or soap are okay to take. If you take towels or robes, your credit card will be charged.

4. Common questions I am asked: “Has anyone famous ever stayed at your hotel?” Dennis Rodman was a guest once, but the most high profile guests were the Marriott family. It was a big deal whenever they came to stay.

5. Common questions I am asked: “If I give the front desk clerk $20, will I get an upgrade?” Nothing too fancy. You may get a room on a higher floor, but don’t expect a suite or anything. Suites are often controlled by management and need approval to have a guest placed in one.

6. Common questions I am asked: “What’s the best way to get an upgrade then?” Being polite and friendly to the front desk clerk is good. Another suggestion is to approach a clerk who is of the opposite gender as you. A little flirtation actually helps.

7. Hotel Tips • Loyalty programs • Free to join. • Earn points for free nights. • Stay more than 10 nights and obtain first level of elite status on some programs. • Greater recognition from hotel staff.

8. Loyalty pays off!

9. Emmett’s Special Tip #1 *Even if you think you will only use a particular hotel chain once, still sign up for the loyalty program.

10. Hotel Tips • Advantage to booking on a hotel website vs. 3rd party website • Offer packages that include breakfast or transportation. • Generous cancellation policies. • Room can be paid at checkout. • Better room assignment. *Note: Some hotel websites are now offering discounts if you pay for your room in advance.

11. Hotel Tips • Know the hotel: business or leisure. • Business hotels can be expensive Monday-Thursday, but half price on the weekend. • Business hotels can also be cheap during holiday periods. • Stay at leisure hotels on weekdays.

12. Hotel Tips • Where to find deals. • Travel agents. • Hotel’s website. • Hotel e-mail newsletters.

13. Emmett’s Special Tip #2 *If you arrive on a date that is expensive, sometimes hotels will charge you that rate for the entire stay. Book two separate reservations to avoid paying the expensive rate everyday.

14. Airline Tips • Frequent Flyer Programs • Free to join. • Earn free flights. • Can earn miles from internet shopping. • Some programs allow you to obtain elite status with as little as 20,000 miles. • Don’t always have to fly the same airline to earn miles. (Just fly on their alliance partners.) • Beware of mileage expiration policies.

15. One World Alliance

16. Star Alliance

17. Sky Team Alliance

18. Final Note About Airline Alliances • Each of the airline alliances just mentioned feature additional airlines not listed. The slides only featured the larger airlines in each respective alliance. • Check each alliance’s website for information on additional airlines.

19. Emmett’s Special Tip #3 • Hotels near the airport will usually offer complimentary transportation to the airport and in addition, may provide free rides to local attractions.

20. Airline Tips • Low Cost Carriers (LCC’s) • Can get you there for a fraction of the price. • Usually new planes with young, energetic crews. • Beware of extra fees…and cramped spaces.

21. Airline Tips • Stopovers • A good way to see a second city. • Prices range from free to ￥10,000. • Good stopover cities: • Singapore, Hong Kong, and Seoul.

22. Airline Tips • Air Passes • See many cities in one country or region for a decent fare. • Pass works on a flight coupon system. • The 3 alliances all offer various passes. • Often, passes can not be purchased for the region in which you reside. 

23. However, there are a few exceptions to be had.

24. Asia Pass from Cathay Pacific Airlines • Fly to 22 cities around Asia • Stopovers in Hong Kong and Taipei permitted. • 6 sectors for ￥79,000. • 8 sectors for ￥90,000. • Only available until March 31, 2011. 

25. Discover Thailand from Thai Airways • Visit any city within Thailand. • Pass comes with 3 flight coupons. • Cost is $278 (US).

26. Discovery Airpass • Run by Bangkok Airways, Siem Reap Airways International, Lao Airlines, and Berjaya Air. • Travel anywhere in these airlines’ network. • Must purchase minimum 3 flight coupons, maximum of 6 coupons. • Coupon prices range from $70 (US) to $200 (US).

27. Emmett’s Special Tip #4 • Consider departing from Tokyo. Flights can be cheaper and you will have a better selection when it comes to airlines and departure times.

28. Train Tips • Japan Rail Pass • Can use on all JR trains except “Nozomi” Shinkansen trains. • 1 week pass: $340 (US) • 2 week pass: $542 (US) • Can only be purchased outside Japan. • Can only be used by people on tourist visas. 

29. Train Tips • Korea Rail Pass • Purchase online at www.korail.com • Passes last 1, 3, 5, 7, or 10 days. • 3 day pass is 84,600 Korean Won (￥6,300) • Receive a discount if traveling with 2-5 people. • 3 day pass is 76,100 Korean Won (￥5,700) • One way standard fare from Seoul to Busan: 51,800 Korean Won.

30. Emmett’s Special Tip #5 • Not all rail passes are a good deal. Some passes will require you to travel extraordinarily long distances in order to make your money back.

31. Ferry Tips • JR Beetle (Fukuoka – Busan ferry) • Travel time of 2 hours and 55 minutes. • Round trip fare of ￥24,000. • Weekday round trip fare of ￥20,000 • Sometimes specials as low as ￥10,000 roundtrip at jrbeetle.co.jp/english

32. Ferry Tips • Kitakyushu to Tokyo and Osaka • Departures out of Shin Moji Port • Kita “Q” to Osaka • 12 hour travel time. • Lowest class fare of ￥6,800. • Kita “Q” to Tokyo • 34 hour travel time. • Lowest class fare of ￥14,470.

33. Helpful Websites • tripadvisor.com • Reviews posted by everyday travelers. • kayak.com • Searches several travel sites at once to give you the best price. • hostelworld.com • Great place to book hostels and boutique hotels. • flyertalk.com • Community website used by frequent flyers. Sometimes, news of “accidental fares” and specials are posted here.

34. Books / Magazines • English language guide books. • Frommer’s • Focus is more on families and those who don’t mind spending some money. • Lonely Planet • Geared more towards backpackers or budget travelers.

35. Should I go to Huis Ten Bosch? • Frommer’s • “…I consider this the country’s premier theme park designed for adults.” • Lonely Planet • “…did you really come to Japan to spend ￥5000 to see a replica of another country?”

36. Books / Magazines • Japanese Travel Guides • Available in most book stores. • Usually priced around ￥1,000. • Very colorful. Each page is full of pictures, maps, and charts. • Focus tends to be on a Japanese tourist’s favorite travel activities: eating and shopping.

37. Have a nice trip. Questions? E-mail me at padrefan82@hotmail.com