Typhoons, Earthquakes & Japan Itinerary Planning

What happens when a typhoon or earthquake disrupts your Japan travels?

Beyond the immediate safety considerations, of course, there’s also the question of how to adjust your itinerary in Japan.

I could tell you a story about what just happened to two of our clients when nature decided to alter their Tohoku self-guided tour plans.

But they’re low priority clients, like, the lowest.

Okay, it was us.

When a Typhoon Looms Over Your Japan Tour Plans

Aki and I were supposed to be on a flight from Kobe to Sendai as I write this. Instead, thanks to a looming typhoon, we scrambled to cancel everything from flights, accommodations, train tickets and more.

We’d been planning this self-guided tour of Japan’s Tohoku region for months. Everything was lining up perfectly, from Pokemon trains and historic castles to seafood feasts and idyllic coastal scenery.

But safety (and sanity) must prevail.

Those destinations will always be there. Better to exercise good judgment, and make the most of what’s possible.

What’s Refundable in Japan: Flights, Trains, Accommodations & Tours

One of the nice things about traveling in Japan is that your transportation is largely refundable.

And that’s all the time, not just in the case of typhoons, earthquakes or other events causing delays or outright shutdowns.

Trains in Japan: Changes & Cancellations

JR, Japan’s rail network, typically refunds train tickets minus a small handling fee (around $2~$5 USD per ticket). This includes shinkansen bullet trains, as well as other express trains and specialty trains.

In our case, JR East waived the handling fees altogether when I canceled the tickets on their website, presumably because of the impending typhoon. The refund was back on our credit card immediately, too, even before the confirmation email from JR arrived.

Changes & Refunds for Flights in Japan

For domestic flights in Japan, most tickets are refundable to some extent, depending on the fare purchased as well as when the cancellation is made. Last year, for example, we purchased flights to Fukuoka (on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu) thanks to a Japan Airlines sale. Despite unforeseen circumstances necessitating a cancellation on our end, JAL gave us a 50% refund – and that was on a cheap sale fare! Imagine a US airline doing that?!

It’s also possible that your airline will implement a change/cancel policy in the case of an approaching typhoon or other weather event. We decided not to wait, in this case, since the flight was the day before the typhoon landfall, and our ticket was fully refundable (minus a 500 yen handling fee).

Canceling Your Hotel / Accommodation in Japan

Hotels in Japan can run a full range, of course, from fully refundable (or, better yet, pay-at-hotel options) to partially refundable to completely non-refundable.

That’s why we’re always careful when booking hotels in Japan (and anywhere in the world), and advise you to do the same. 

Always check before booking – and double-confirm the conditions in the booking process and confirmation email – as to what the hotel’s cancellation policies are. If using a third-party booking service (you know the ones, they rhyme with “Wrecks Media”, “Looking Dot Com” and “Shmagoda”), be extra careful; some are known to say “free cancellation” but then apply a tight deadline to that (sometimes just a few days after booking) before it becomes totally non-refundable.

What About Local Experiences & Tours in Japan? Are They Refundable?

It really depends on the tour operator or service provider, as to their specific policy for refunds.

Again, it’s always advisable to check policies before booking.

But when it’s an extreme situation, such as a typhoon or earthquake in Japan, we always contact the tour operator and ask nicely. Remember, if it’s a weather event or natural disaster, they’re probably affected by the same situation – only more so, since they live there! In most cases, local experience providers and tour operators will be flexible when situations beyond everyone’s control arise. 

If it’s a tour aggregator, on the other hand, a larger company that’s either national or global in scope, getting a refund for cancellations could be more challenging. We take that into account when arranging and booking tours in Japan. Our preference and priority are to local tour operators and Japan local experience hosts.

Okay, It’s All Canceled; What to Do Next in Japan?

With all the cancellations and refund arrangements out of the way, the next stage is planning what to do next.

If you’re working with Japan Travel Pros, of course we’re handling those stages for you at the same.

In our recent Japan travel situation, it took less than an hour to make the go/no-go decision and cancel everything. Meanwhile we were already talking about what to do and where to go next.

Since we live in the Kansai area of Japan (Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto & more), the situation was similar to what a client could find themselves in.

Mind you, we were traveling in Japan during Obon, the August holiday season where Japanese companies shut down and people typically travel to their hometowns or elsewhere in Japan for vacation. That meant that trains and flights across Japan would be booked to near capacity already, and the same for hotels.

Nonetheless, we went about executing Plan B, C & D.

The options from Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe are to travel west and south, to western Honshu or the islands of Kyushu or Shikoku; or to go east and north, to central Japan, Tokyo, Tohoku or Hokkaido.

But there was another wrinkle thanks to Mother Nature!

Earthquakes in Japan: Impact on Travel (and Life)

Two days before our scheduled departure to Sendai, a sizable earthquake struck southern Japan, triggering tsunami warnings and – bonus – a warning from the government that a bigger quake could be imminent. Or not, nobody knows. For years, experts have been predicting a large-scale earthquake and tsunami disaster stemming from the nearby Nankai Trough in the Pacific Ocean. So yeah, there’s a non-zero chance that something may or may not happen in the next week or next 40 years.

That’s life in Japan. Always has been, always will be.

When you live here, earthquakes go with the territory.

Traveling here, it’s important to know that anything could happen, but, for the average Japan travel duration, it’s statistically (very) unlikely that a large earthquake would occur. Even so, be aware of your surroundings when staying in a hotel, ryokan (inn) or airbnb in Japan. Know where the exits are and remember the route(s) to get out (solid travel advice for anywhere in the world, of course).

Back to the situation at hand. With the earthquake having hit, aftershocks all the time, and a warning for “elevated risk” in the next week or so for an even larger temblor (and possible tsunami), Kyushu and Shikoku were off the table. 

Tohoku was out already, as was Hokkaido, due to typhoon.

That left western and central Honshu. But let’s stay away from traveling on the coast, we figured, at least the Pacific coast (which, ironically, we live on… well, Osaka Bay anyhow).

We quickly put together several itineraries.

Plan B (& C & D etc) When You Travel

The new plans involved travel by train, plane, car and/or bus, to a variety of destinations in western and central Japan, many of which are gems off the beaten path.

Hiroshima & Miyajima

Ironically, last year we were scheduled to visit Hiroshima and the nearby island of Miyajima. But weather rolled through, and we scrambled at the last minute, ultimately changing the travel plans to Nagoya.

We looked at Hiroshima & Miyajima for this time, as a Plan B option. But given that it’s Obon, accommodations were pretty full. And it’s pretty hot right now, so we’ll defer that destination to another time.

Hida Takayama & Shirakawago

Nestled in the mountains of Gifu Prefecture, Takayama is a gem of travel destination. It’s got a low-key vibe and, even better, a historic old town that oozes character and that “Japanese” thing that so many inbound visitors to Japan seek. There are also folk villages, museums and great local experiences in the area.

An hour’s drive away is the village of Shirakawa-go, famous for its triangle-roofed huts in an idyllic mountain landscape. 

From Osaka and elsewhere in Kansai (and from Tokyo too), getting to Takayama involves taking the shinkansen to Nagoya, then connecting to a limited express or regional train to Takayama.

Takayama can be combined with either Kanazawa (with Shirakawa-go as a stop on the way) or Matsumoto.

Matsumoto

Matsumoto is home to one of Japan’s finest original castles, (you guessed it) Matsumoto Castle.

The city itself is another option if you’re looking for a relaxed vibe to contrast with your Golden Route travels in Tokyo, Kyoto & Osaka.

Matsumoto is reached by shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo and Kanazawa. We had lined up flights to Matsumoto from Kobe Airport next to Osaka.

Kanazawa

Thanks to new service on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, Kanazawa has become a popular travel destination with Japanese and international travelers alike.

It’s got a fantastic old town, and one of the best gardens in Japan. Plus, Kanazawa’s got maybe the best seafood – and that’s saying a lot in Japan!

And you can put Kanazawa on the same Japan travel itinerary with Shirakawa-go and Takayama, and/or with Matsumoto. Of course that’s in addition to Tokyo, Kyoto & Osaka.

Japan Sea Coast: Tottori, Izumo, Kinosaki Onsen

West (and north) of the Kansai Area are a host of destinations on the coast of the Sea of Japan.

Kinosaki Onsen is a town famous for its hot spring baths, right on the coast, and easily accessible from Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe (it’s in Hyogo prefecture, same as Kobe).

To the west, Tottori has iconic sand dunes (yup, sand dunes in Japan!), beautiful coastal drives and its own hot springs.

Follow the Sea of Japan coast to the west and you’ll be in Shimane prefecture. Here you’ll find one of the most revered Shinto shrines in Japan, Izumo Taisha. Plus, the natural scenery out this way is amazing, and your journey here will largely be free of tourists.

How We Decided on Plan B for Obon Travels in Japan

We laid out several itinerary options in central and western Japan.

It was time to decide.

In a matter of a few hours, we’d gone from being packed for Tohoku to gearing up for a new destination in Japan.

Where did we ultimately choose?

The Kansai Area!

Yup, after all that, we opted to stay put, relax, dig deeper and enjoy this amazing Japanese travel destination right around us.

This morning, I’ve already been out for a walk in central Kobe. With a cool(ish) breeze blowing and blue skies above, the timing worked out well to visit Ikuta Shrine when it opened at 7am. I got some video for you as well, which will be up on the Japan Travel Pros YouTube channel soon.

Now it’s time for a sushi lunch at a restaurant that’s from Kanazawa. That’s right, we brought that Kanazawa seafood experience to our Kansai Japan staycation.

What’s in store for the next several days? With our home base, virtually anything’s possible.

Osaka? Kyoto? Himeji? Wakayama? Maybe soak in the hot springs at Arima Onsen?

We shall see!

Lessons Learned: Be Flexible, Have a Plan B – and Always Enjoy

Being seasoned travelers, we knew how to approach a travel disruption.

Something I’ve said again and again to clients in the travel business over two decades is, to put it nicely, “stuff happens when you travel.”

We make plans, to paraphrase another saying, and Mother Nature laughs. So let’s laugh along.

Traveling in Japan, it’s easy to have one’s heart set on certain destinations, experiences, sights and meals. Sometimes there’ll be a wrench thrown into the plans. 

But wherever we’re at, let’s remember to appreciate what’s around us and make the most of what we have.

Plan B is still a beauty!