OK,
need some help please peoples.
there's a few of us from Aust. who are thinking about coming over.
what's transport to the track like??
what's closest town/large town? certainly don't want to commute from Tokyo.
good grandstand?????

pass all hints on please.

Kathe

If someone can open a thread from last year for me that would be good please.
thank you

For memory, i don't think there was a thread for last year's race... I'll find out some info for you this weekend...

Hi Kathe, I booked my airfares to Japan today, so its locked in.

Did some research as to where to buy F1 grandstand tickets from. local prices for Grandstand F or H (2 which I am considering) are 46,000 yen which translates to around $460 aud.

Now if you purchase online, from the various F1 ticket agents, you will pay around $660. Big difference, I'd love to be able to buy them direct from fujispeedways website.


As for where to stay, Shizuoka is nearby, Tokyo is around 1hr by bus, or a little less via JR - Shinkansen bullet train.


I havent booked any accomodation as yet. Lots to do.

I arrive at Osaka on 27th sept, fly out on the 13th Oct.


exciting!

we'll flying in 8th i think.
have done a lot in japan before, so don't need to be too much of a tourist, mind you that was 16 years ago.
Sith mentions staying in a city Gotemba.
is there anything about which form of transport you have been allotted with the ticket purchase.
that seems a little confusing so far where i've looked.
we'll be flying out asap afterwards as we'll be going to see the "warriors" in China and then onto
shanghai for the next one..........
is this you Gav?

Ya tis me

We fly out on Monday night after the race, departing from Osaka.

There are designated shuttle bus pickup points, from nearby train stations, havent confirmed which stations as yet, but the shuttle buses are provided for free - inclusive of your ticket price.

I plan to stay at Gotemba for the weekend, and just walk to a shuttle bus departure point.

But I will be in Tokyo for the week leading up to the race.

Gav

Any advice on airlines from Japan to China? I've been looking into doing Fuji and Shanghai just now and I can't find any flights from Osaka to Shanghai for less than US$1,300.

You're right about that.

we'll probably a ticket which incorporates "round the world" sort of thing , but just within the asia-pacific region. we belong to qantas freq flyers, and there is a "one world alliance" ticket incorporating all their partners. within 13,000 Kms you can do 5 stops for only $2000 AUD, or there's another one for more Kms.
seems to be a lot cheaper than all single flights. still worrying about lottery aspect though. don't want to book flights until can confirm ticket to race.

Excellent idea! I have seen those kind of tickets and they seem to be a good choice!

On f1tickets.com I saw there are some tickets for all 3 days for Shanghai for US$137. How good/bad are they?

Sorry to change the subject from the Japanese GP to the Chinese GP but many people use to do "the double."

How good/bad is public transportation in Shanghai? Does it really matter in what part of Shanghai you are staying or can you get from one part of town to the other easily? How about transportation to the track and back to town?

Thanks in advance!

OK, have been to shanghai the last 3 races.
at that price, i'd hate to think where you would sit.
the last 2 years, we have sat on the TOP row of the main grandstand, and you can see 85%
f the track from up there. it was $750.00 AUD last year, and believe me it's worth it. it's the
best view. check with Sith, he'll tell you,
china is good as you can go to heaps of other parts of the track and watch from the different corners on
friday and saturday, and then go to the main grandstand for the race.
transport is interesting. don't listen to anything about shuttle buses, have never seen them, and then they
go to some suburban football field that i've never seen.
they are building a fast train track out to there, but not sure if it will be up and running by October.
i've actually emailed the circuit the other day to see whether it's up and running by then, but haven't heard back from them yet.
we have private transport. we hire a driver and buy a car parking pass for him, so he picks us up from the hotel, waits out there all day, and picks us up from the front gate when it's time to go back. we have had the same driver for the last 3 years. it's similar to a taxi. can't remember the exact price, but we can talk closer to the time. it will depend on how many of us there are for sharing. not cheap, but it's convenient.
we stay one street of the main drag - Nanjing Road. it really buzzes at night. it's better to stay that side of the Bund. the other side is a bit dead except for office blocks and hotels.

Sweet!!! Thanks for all the info!

So with any grandstand ticket you get to go anywhere you want on Friday and Saturday?

The tickets that I was telling you about are grandstand C.

https://www.f1tickets.com/index.asp?pageid=..._COM_RACE_CHINA

C from memory is not too bad. it's looking straight up at the main straight, and they are coming towards you and then go round the bends.........we sat in B the first year. out in the open so no protection - so sunburnt or cold. screens usually opposite too. not too bad. the only area you won't have access too is the main grandstand itself. but yes, you can go to all the other areas usually. not that many westerners there on fri/sat. usually on race day that they are a bit strict on.

Thanks!

Getting back on track, any progress Kathe? have you booked tickets yet?

I haven't, still searching for a reasonable deal, most ticketing agents are whacking a handsome $200 markup per ticket!

Gav

have had a price from melb.travel agent. $1562.00. main grandstand. A2. hotel in tokyo.
awaiting answer from english co. they have a few spots left for hotels local to fuji, but were a bit busy organising silverstone. they said they'd get back to me this week after tonite.

Is that per ticket? and accomodation and transfers via bus / train from tokyo?


I bit the bullet and got 2 tickets over the weekend for C2 stand (turn 1).

getting excited, haven't organised accommodation yet.

yep. transfers/accomadation and grandstand.
will wait to here from UK site this week for next price. seems ok knowing how much the main grandstand
costs anyway, more than Bahrain anyway, and i thought that was expensive.
K

Have a look at C2 stand, a little cheaper, and its at the turn 1 hairpin, where all the action will take place.

mind you it isn't under cover (as i think a2 is).

Hi KLN,

I am trying to get everything booked for the Chinese GP this weekend. I have been looking at the Oriental Riverside Hotel and it seems quite nice and just across the street from the Oriental Pearl Tower. How good/bad is this spot? Is it easy to get to other parts of town from here? Is metro in Shanghai as good/easy to get around as in Europe?

Any help/tips will be greatly appreciated as this will be my first Chinese GP.

sorry, have been a bit busy the last couple of days, and haven't checked the thread.
it's a bit dull over there i think, but you are very close to crossing the river to the otherside
by going underneath the river via tunnel, so access to the Bund and Nanjing Rd is easy from there.

Sweet! Thanks a lot!

Hi,
New on here, but this seems like a good place where I might get answers

Am going to the Race in Fuji, but was planning to stay in Tokyo and get the train each day, has anyone done this? and what area of Tokyo would be good to stay in?

Can't wait for it.

I honestly think you are better off staying closer to the track for the duration of the GP, when you purchase your ticket, you must nominate a shuttle bus transfer point (at one of a number of rail stations).

We chose Numazu, and have found accomodation, just a minute walk from the station (with a Macca's on the way for breakfast if we dont feel like raw fish first thing in the morning =)

the hotel we are staying at is called Hotel West Numazu, they had an english speaking person at the front desk and were very helpful.


The trip from Tokyo would be nearly an hour each way, plus getting to and from the station.


Numazu is just 10 minutes by bus to the track.

We arrive in Osaka on the 28th sept, spend a couple of days there, then head to Kyoto, Nagoya and then onto Tokyo. We will be staying in Tokyo for the week leading up to the race, then heading to Numazu for the GP.

only 5 weeks till we leave!...

need to book some more accommodation!

Japan just seems like a pain in the ass to get to.

I'll know in a bit if it was hard to get to.

So far I've done.

Canada - Multiple times - Super easy to get to the track on the Metro, but a pain to leave.

Spa - 2001 - Was pretty easy to get to, we stayed in a great hotel in Stavelot, so it was a short drive up to a field and you were parked. easy .5 mile walk to Eau Rouge.

Imola - 2004 - Stayed in Bologna - onto the motorway and wheee off at almost the next exit, was very close. Esay enough to park in a field, and away into the track --

Barcelona - 2006 - Not too bad, 30-40mins on the train and then a 20 min walk to the track. Getting out was also pretty easy, sprint to the train, and back to Barcelona in time for the FA Cup kick-off.

Melbourne 2007 - Fantastic - I think so far this has been the easiest/best organised track I've been to. Onto the Tram, and 15mins to the track. Getting back just as easy. Loads of exit points, onto the tram and about 20 mins back to the hotel.


An hour plus on the train doesn't seem too bad, but I'll be sure to report back once I've completed the trip.

we are staying 28 mins (shizuoka) away on shinkasen train from shuttle bus stop(mishima). am booking green class japan rail pass, so booked seat, as just think it will be easier to leave the track shuttle stations from, even just for the 2 stop, but this will include all travel to an from Narita, hopeuflly includding a stop at Yokahoma with a friend.
bring it on................just not keen on the idea of travelling so far everday back and forwards that's all.