HELA46

I would like to go to this show in January 2016. Never having been to Japan, I feel very intimidated by the public transport. The rail system reads so complicated to the tourist. I have been checking out the hotels, and find that quite a number of them are already booked out for the next show.
Has anyone been to this show.....or better still are there any members living in Japan....can you tell me the " do's and don't of travelling on my own.
I live in Western Australia.

Gaijin

I just moved back to the States from Japan, or I would guide you myself. The quilt show is usually inside of Tokyo Dome in the center of Tokyo. The good news is that the venue is ringed by several subway stations, so you can arrive from every direction. The transportation system consists of the JR (national) rail system, the multiple subway lines (each their own color), and many bus routes. Try to become familiar with the lines which service Tokyo Dome and have a look at www.hyperdia.com which you can use to get train routes, timetables, and also hotel info. Let me know if you have any questions. I also used to be a member of a quilt group that always attends together.

kbeuchert

WOW! my daughter is living near Tokyo right now. Wants me to come visit, which I would love to do. However, they will be back in the states in December! LOL my luck.

jitkaau

The transport system is very user-friendly: if you buy a ticket for the train it will have a colour code on it. There are coloured lines painted on the ground and you just follow the same colour as your ticket and it leads you to the correct station for that destination. The trams give you partial refunds if you don't use all the cost of your journey and you put either 4 or two diffrently coloured tickets together to get another journey. When you get on a bus you take a ticket which has a number on it and when you get off you look at the amount under that number at the front of the bus and that is how much you put in the box. The Japanese are generally honest and orderly because everything moves quickly and efficiently but would slow down a lot otherwise because the population is so large. If you get stuck there is plenty who will help. Just remember to get the concierge to write down the name of your hotel in Japanese so that you can show it to anyone or taxi driver if you need to get back. Enjoy your trip and don't worry - it is a lovely country.

tildiemae

We were in Tokyo four years ago and it is an amazing city. It is so very clean. The subway system was fairly easy to follow and we did use the taxi service. Our AFS daughter took me to a fabric shop in the market area as well as one located in a multi level building. I would enjoy returning especially for a quilt show but the 14 hour airplane ride is what makes me hesitate!!!