Some handy tips if you are thinking of travelling to Japan!
1. Japan Rail Pass– You will need one of these if you intend to travel around Japan and not just stay where you fly into i.e. Tokyo or Osaka. The JR pass may work out cheaper than buying single or return tickets to each destination and there are no limits to the number of journeys you can make with it. You will need to make the assessment as to whether it makes sense to purchase one with the number of journeys you are planning to make. There are passes for 7, 14, 21 days. What you do is as soon as you land you can exchange your JR pass received through the post for a JR ticket-like pass. That then allows you to exchange it for tickets to the places that you wish to visit. In my case I got the 7-day pass. I was able to use the pass for the following trips outside of Tokyo on the Shinkansen (Bullet trains) and JR trains:
**Kyoto to Arashiyama return
**Kyoto to Inari return
**Kyoto to Nara return
** Train seats cannot be reserved as these are relatively short journeys.
In Tokyo, JR passes can be exchanged at either Narita or Haneda airports or at Tokyo train station.
Green 7-day JR pass: ¥44, 810 / £260
2. Get yourself pocket WiFi or a Japanese SIM– You do not want to leave the airport without sorting out one of the above. The great thing is that you can preorder either online before arriving in Japan and you can usually indicate where you will pick it up from – either the airport or Tokyo central station. Do not make the mistake I made thinking I was going to be able to get one readily in the city. That didn’t quite materialise and let’s just say my phone bill is quite hefty this month. You can also pop into places like Starbucks and other cafes to make use of their WiFi but there is nothing more convenient than having your own personal WiFi on the go.
3. Maps for getting around- Directly related to the point above, do make sure you have a good online map app on your phone, as navigation can be very tricky, especially given the fact that places obviously have Japanese names, so you want to make sure you know exactly where you’re going before getting the location/name right. In my case my lack of internet connection at the best of times meant that I only had an offline map which, even though it worked was not the best option. In addition, I would also try getting the subway maps for the different cities before arriving and getting used to the station names and connections. Japanese stations quite helpfully also have numbers which may prove helpful when you are trying to plan a journey.
4. Cash is king- In Japan it is helpful to always have cash to hand. They haven’t quite embraced the fully cashless society like some other places. With the exception of supermarkets, restaurants, train stations and convenience stores, most places would only accept cash. Luckily you have convenience stores with ATMs on every street corner so you can ensure you have cash to pay for purchases.
5. Tax amount/return – In Japan the price you see on goods is often not the final price you pay when you check out. The good thing however, is that you can get on-the-spot tax refunds over a certain amount as long as you have your passport to hand. This is useful as you do not have to wait till you’re flying back and doing it at the airport, just ensure you have your passport readily available when shopping.
Anitaalovestravel 