Comments by "Moonstone-Redux" (@Moonstone-Redux) on "Things You always Overpay in Tokyo, Japan" video.

Some more add on notes. One of them (the hotel thing) touches on a politically sensitive issue so exercise discretion. 1. Smaller out of the way independent sushi shops may give better cost performance. Even getting away from the main street can give a sharp drop in prices and crowds. I had my best sushi in Numazu, right at the fishery port. 2. Just because taxis are expensive doesn't mean you should always avoid them. Sometimes paying a little bit more would be well worth saving some sanity. They are especially useful if you have luggage and you need to move from the hotel to the train station quickly. I took a taxi from my hotel in Tawaramachi to Tobu Asakusa even though this distance is walkable because I had a very early train ride (6.30am) to Kinugawa. 3. If time is paramount, consider the Shinkansen nonetheless especially if you are going between Tokyo and Osaka. Consider that you would need additional time to travel to and from the airports and the time needed for check in as well. 4. JR pass used to be worth it if you are going on a single return Shinkansen journey between Tokyo and Osaka, but now you need at least two return Shinkansen journeys of this distance or longer (Tokyo to Hakodate also works) for the 7 day pass, four for the 14 and 21 day passes. If you are in Tokyo, consider instead the 24 hour Tokyo Metro pass, which will be worth its cost with only four Tokyo Metro train rides. It normally costs 600 yen, but your hotel may sell passes for even cheaper. 5. (this is the politically sensitive part) I personally do not recommend any APA hotel. The CEO is an imperialist who uses this hotel chain as a platform for his offensive views of Japanese history in WW2. 6. If you are staying in Asakusa, check with your hotel if you plan to go up the Skytree. Some hotels in Asakusa have special deals with the Skytree to sell discounted tickets. The most overpriced thing I have ever paid for in Japan would probably be that over 9000 yen unagi set I ate at the Skytree Solamachi, but it's from a very esteemed restaurant that claims to use only Japan-raised unagi so I felt that it is well worth the price. Unagi is an endangered species, so I want to limit my consumption, and if I want to limit my consumption, I might as well go for the highest quality. It was the only unagi I ate in Japan anyway.
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@123456kiste I don't know about you, but a luggage forwarding service from any Tokyo airport to any hotel is going to cost way more (1000-3000 yen) than the 600 yen taxi ride I took from the hotel in Tawaramachi to Tobu Asakusa. I took a taxi from my hotel by Atami beach to Atami station because it (960 yen) is still cheaper than a forwarding service and I prefer having my luggage within my sight as much as possible. I still used a forwarding service to send my luggage from Hakone-yumoto to my hotel in Hakone anyway since you're not really going to find a taxi within Hakone.
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@123456kiste Options do exist, and you shouldn't be afraid to use them. Luggage forwarding is fine, but during my trip to Atami I found that it's cheaper for me to take a taxi from the hotel at the beach to the station (I think it was 900 yen) than to set up a forwarding service from the hotel to my hotel in Tokyo (1000-3000 yen), and my luggage stays within my reach. I also took a taxi from my hotel in Tawaramachi to Tobu Asakusa because it was a very early train ride at 6.30am and while the hotel is technically walkable to Tobu Asakusa it's not great doing that with luggage, and I'm not exactly going to trust a forwarding service that goes from Tokyo to Kinugawa to arrive in my hotel in Kinugawa on the same evening (I would, and did, trust a forwarding service stationed in Kinugawa to send my luggage to my hotel there, but it no longer existed when I got there). I still used a forwarding service to bring my luggage from Hakone-Yumoto to my hotel in Hakone since it's way out there and you are not exactly going to get a taxi out there.
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