Do you withdraw from a bank account while you're over there or should I bring some physical usd to exchange?
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Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once
- Thread starter hwalker84
- Start date
Do you withdraw from a bank account while you're over there or should I bring some physical usd to exchange?
MikeHattsu
Member
You should check what kind of foreign currency exchange and ATM withdrawal fees there are for your credit and/or debit cards.
Laevateinn
Member
I;m with chase, so I get charged $5 plus 3% of the withdrawal amount
That sucks. I use US Bank and Capital One 360 for my checking accounts. Capital One has no fees on international transactions. I think US Bank just charges $2.50 per ATM withdrawal with no percentage fee on top.
You should switch to a better bank.
So guys this is how my schedule looks like:
May:
TOKYO - 8-11
NAGANO (Tokyo side-trip)- 12
OSAKA - 13-14
NARA (Osaka side-trip) - 15
KYOTO - 16-17
NAGOYA (Kyto side-trip)- 18
MIYAJIMA- 19
TOKYO - 20-24
HAKONE (Tokyo side-trip)- 25
NIKKO (Tokyo side-trip)- 26
What do you guys think?
May:
TOKYO - 8-11
NAGANO (Tokyo side-trip)- 12
OSAKA - 13-14
NARA (Osaka side-trip) - 15
KYOTO - 16-17
NAGOYA (Kyto side-trip)- 18
MIYAJIMA- 19
TOKYO - 20-24
HAKONE (Tokyo side-trip)- 25
NIKKO (Tokyo side-trip)- 26
What do you guys think?
MikeHattsu
Member
Hm... Any particular reason for why you're waiting till the 26th for Nikko? You getting a 2 or 3 week JR Pass?
Man, life in Japan is great. Great food, cold but not freezing climate, convenient transportation. So many great stores. Its been a lot of fun.
Last week I visited Rabbit Island (Okonushima) and it was a blast! Lots of adorable rabbits jumping around and not afraid of humans, they would get close expecting food and loved to eat out of my hand. 100% worth it if you are near the area.
Last week I visited Rabbit Island (Okonushima) and it was a blast! Lots of adorable rabbits jumping around and not afraid of humans, they would get close expecting food and loved to eat out of my hand. 100% worth it if you are near the area.
Looks like the sakura will bloom a few days earlier than normal in Tokyo this year, and at about the average time in Kyoto and Osaka:
http://www.japan-guide.com/sakura/
https://tenki.jp/sakura/expectation/
Similar forecast on the other site as well:
http://sakura.weathermap.jp/smt/
Better than last year when they bloomed early everywhere
Arriving in Tokyo April 8! It's a shame, but it wasn't the first thing l thought of when l booked - had to arrange it around my daughters' Easter holidays.
Only four weeks to go!
DieAntwoord
Banned
This reminded me, I'll be in Japan from April 15th to May 2nd with a friend; If anyone is up for a day of beer, food and several big arcades let me know.
Also, I wanna bring back and food, sake and maybe a video game and some clothing. What should I expect bringing it back to America. I keep trying to find sources on it but most of what I get is people importing and not actually traveling back with it.
DieAntwoord
Banned
So I keep looking for passes for what I'd want to do and it's seeming like the one pass I didn't want to get might be the one just to take a lot of thinking out of the equation. Plus I saved 500 on my flight already so it might be worth it.
The JR East Tohoku pass isn't really "unlimited" but more flexible within a 14 day period. So if I use it 5 days in my first week I buy another one and it's basically the same exact price as the truly unlimited JR Rail Pass that also get's me bus access.
Can anyone chime in unless I'm clearly misunderstanding this
The JR East Tohoku pass isn't really "unlimited" but more flexible within a 14 day period. So if I use it 5 days in my first week I buy another one and it's basically the same exact price as the truly unlimited JR Rail Pass that also get's me bus access.
Can anyone chime in unless I'm clearly misunderstanding this
MikeHattsu
Member
Well, there'll probably still be some late blooming ones to see.
Aren't you only going outside of Tokyo for 3 or so days? No need to waste money on 2 passes or a JR Pass then. Just get a Suica/Pasmo card and use that within Tokyo.
DieAntwoord
Banned
I love that you remember my post <3
Yes I am. But I'm mostly concerned about the amount of travel we'll be doing. We will pretty much be all over Tokyo everyday I'm just concerned about pass itself. Unless I can find pricing for travel so I know what to expect. What's your experience with it?
MikeHattsu
Member
A single train ride within Tokyo should be around 200 JPY on average.
DieAntwoord
Banned
Wow roundtrip or one way? Because that sounds no different than Bart / A.C. Transit
MikeHattsu
Member
DieAntwoord
Banned
One way. So 400 if you're going back as well
Wow. So I'm going to load up 150 and just roll with it
MikeHattsu
Member
Not sure you're gonna need that much. Try filling it with 5k JPY and charge it up again when/if you run out.
No reason. I'm actually thinking of going a few days before, maybe the 22. The reason I placed my side trips at the end was so I wouldn't have to write
TOKYO- 20-21
NIKKO (Tokyo side trip) - 22
TOKYO- 23-24
HAKONE (Tokyo side-trip) - 25
TOKYO - 26
Anyways, what do you think Mike? Side-trips means I'll be staying in Tokyo and travelling for the day, returning back.
Edit: I'm getting a 2 week JR Pass. First Week around Tokyo will be without it, then when I go to Osaka I'll "activate" the JR Pass. Sounds good?
MikeHattsu
Member
Ya, that sounds good then. Why not active the JR Pass when you go to Nagano though?
Not a bad idea. Thanks!
Well it is my first time in Japan, so I am looking forward to see everything
I agree there is so much stuff we could see, but I think you need to find the right balance, because otherwise I can imagine that it feels very stressful.
Fingers crossed, that we will see a lot of Sakura and the weather will be good.
Fingers crossed! Anything is better than this gross Australian summer tbh
I might be down! Alcohol, food, and games is probably what heaps of my days in Japan will consist of, so doing it with others could be fun!
I'm kinda nervous to go to the arcade alone also
Megalosaro
Banned
My friend wants to check out Aokigahara while we are there. How do you get there from Tokyo
You have to get there by car or bus, takes about two hours, if you go to Tokyo Station there should be travel planners that will help you put an itinerary together to do it.
Polioliolio
Member
So I'm thinking of visiting Japan once more before my first child is born, and I'm researching tickets, but I have a question.
I would be traveling from an Airport in OH, to Chicago, then from Chicago to Narita... Then there is an airport change (wut) and only 4 hours to get from Narita to Haneda, so I can catch the flight in Haneda, to Nagoya, which is my destination....
I was thinking of just bailing at Narita and traveling via train to Nagoya.. It seems to me, that I would be picking up my luggage in Narita, where my international flight would arrive into Japan... is that right? They wouldn't somehow shuttle the luggage to Haneda right? Because if I'm just getting my luggage in Narita, I don't see why I shouldn't just take the train to Nagoya.
Just needing to confirm before buying these non refundable tickets.
I would be traveling from an Airport in OH, to Chicago, then from Chicago to Narita... Then there is an airport change (wut) and only 4 hours to get from Narita to Haneda, so I can catch the flight in Haneda, to Nagoya, which is my destination....
I was thinking of just bailing at Narita and traveling via train to Nagoya.. It seems to me, that I would be picking up my luggage in Narita, where my international flight would arrive into Japan... is that right? They wouldn't somehow shuttle the luggage to Haneda right? Because if I'm just getting my luggage in Narita, I don't see why I shouldn't just take the train to Nagoya.
Just needing to confirm before buying these non refundable tickets.
Megalosaro
Banned
Just buy your ticket to Narita. You're right, the train is the best option
Worthintendo
Member
Booked my place to stay in Osaka for October, decided to go with AirBnB, found a great little apartment in Shin-Osaka for $380 (Australian) for 8 days. Its a 15 min walk from the Shin-Osaka station and looks to be the perfect location for what I want to do there.
Now for my place to stay in Tokyo and then I'm almost set until the trip, either going with the Hotel Sakura Ikebukero again or if my friends do decide to join me in Tokyo then I'll try and get an awesome apartment to share via AirBnB.
Now for my place to stay in Tokyo and then I'm almost set until the trip, either going with the Hotel Sakura Ikebukero again or if my friends do decide to join me in Tokyo then I'll try and get an awesome apartment to share via AirBnB.
MikeHattsu
Member
Yeah, 4 hours would be tight since you'll need to pass immigration and everything, and it takes 1.5-2 hours by train to get to HND from NRT. And yeah, you'd need to pick up your luggage as well.
Extremely cheap but depends what country you are from. I'm from Australia where they are very heavily taxed so the price difference is huge.
PdotMichael
Banned
Around 500 yen a package cigarettes.
If you have the duty free option you can bring 400 cigarettes with you as foreigner.
If you have the duty free option you can bring 400 cigarettes with you as foreigner.
ThreePiMatt
Member
Just a reminder, if you've bought round trip tickets and you skip the Haneda->Nagoya step they may end up canceling the rest of your ticket.
Polioliolio
Member
Holy shit. Thanks for the heads up. I already booked.
Calling them now to sort that out.
ThreePiMatt
Member
It depends on the airline and a lot of factors. I figure if you can claim you legitimately missed the flight you might be in the clear, but sometimes people try to exploit airline pricing so that if a ticket for A to B is more expensive than A to B to C, people would buy the latter and just get off early. Airlines have been known to cancel the full ticket if you miss a leg of the journey.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_booking_ploys (Read the "Hidden City Ticketing" bit)
Polioliolio
Member
Why the heck would it cost me, not just the same amount, to not take the extra leg, but 400 dollars more, apparently, to just stop at the second leg?
Called American Airlines to try to sort this out. After being on hold for maybe 2 hours, It would have been 400 dollars more expensive, that plus the cost of the train from Narita to Nagoya, and I'd be increasing the cost of my trip by quite a bit.
It may have been the cheapest to just stick to the Narita to Haneda schedule, but there's still a fee in between that, though not as substantial as a train ticket from Narita to Nagoya.. Hm..
Ultimately, I changed my departing airport, which isn't too far, going to Narita, will take the train to Nagoya, and the return trip remains the same as it was.
Hooboy. Why is this stuff so complicated? What happened to that convenient direct flight from Chicago to Nagoya I remember so fondly from last time?
Hah well.... Thanks for your help peoples!
Called American Airlines to try to sort this out. After being on hold for maybe 2 hours, It would have been 400 dollars more expensive, that plus the cost of the train from Narita to Nagoya, and I'd be increasing the cost of my trip by quite a bit.
It may have been the cheapest to just stick to the Narita to Haneda schedule, but there's still a fee in between that, though not as substantial as a train ticket from Narita to Nagoya.. Hm..
Ultimately, I changed my departing airport, which isn't too far, going to Narita, will take the train to Nagoya, and the return trip remains the same as it was.
Hooboy. Why is this stuff so complicated? What happened to that convenient direct flight from Chicago to Nagoya I remember so fondly from last time?
Hah well.... Thanks for your help peoples!
Ennosuke
Member
Holy shit is only 2 weeks. Today in 2 weeks I am already sitting in the airplane and trying to survive that 12 hour long flight. To be honest, I hate sitting around for 12 hours and I usually don't sleep in an airplane. It is going to be horrible ...
I learnt so much in the last months, since I have planing the trip and I feel really well prepared, but there are still a few things I need to at least inform myself about, before getting there. But in general thanks to you guys in this thread, it is amazing reading here. (Especially thanks for MikeHattsu)
I have a couple of questions:
1.) Food. I basically know Japanese and what to expect and of course we can try out restaurants spontaneously. But do you guys have any general advice? Any great places I should visit? Any franchises you can recommend to me? Because I fear, that the general offer is going to overwhelm me. I know that I tend to be very picky when selecting a place to eat
2.) I am not into the maid, anime Lolita stuff (not saying it is bad), but I like Videogames and Anime such as Dragonball, One Piece, Bleach .... Are there any places I should visit because of this reference? I know about the Kirby Cafe, that on Tokyo Tower there is One Piece stuff, Pokemon center, Sunshine city ... but I guess there is more.
3.) Shopping: I am not planing on buying old SNES games etc., but of course I am going to visit Akihabara and probably Nakano Broadway. So thinking about Anime and Videogame Merchandise. Any stores you can recommend? Probably with some fair prices?
I learnt so much in the last months, since I have planing the trip and I feel really well prepared, but there are still a few things I need to at least inform myself about, before getting there. But in general thanks to you guys in this thread, it is amazing reading here. (Especially thanks for MikeHattsu)
I have a couple of questions:
1.) Food. I basically know Japanese and what to expect and of course we can try out restaurants spontaneously. But do you guys have any general advice? Any great places I should visit? Any franchises you can recommend to me? Because I fear, that the general offer is going to overwhelm me. I know that I tend to be very picky when selecting a place to eat
2.) I am not into the maid, anime Lolita stuff (not saying it is bad), but I like Videogames and Anime such as Dragonball, One Piece, Bleach .... Are there any places I should visit because of this reference? I know about the Kirby Cafe, that on Tokyo Tower there is One Piece stuff, Pokemon center, Sunshine city ... but I guess there is more.
3.) Shopping: I am not planing on buying old SNES games etc., but of course I am going to visit Akihabara and probably Nakano Broadway. So thinking about Anime and Videogame Merchandise. Any stores you can recommend? Probably with some fair prices?
Laevateinn
Member
MikeHattsu
Member
1.) Food. I basically know Japanese and what to expect and of course we can try out restaurants spontaneously. But do you guys have any general advice? Any great places I should visit? Any franchises you can recommend to me? Because I fear, that the general offer is going to overwhelm me. I know that I tend to be very picky when selecting a place to eat
2.) I am not into the maid, anime Lolita stuff (not saying it is bad), but I like Videogames and Anime such as Dragonball, One Piece, Bleach .... Are there any places I should visit because of this reference? I know about the Kirby Cafe, that on Tokyo Tower there is One Piece stuff, Pokemon center, Sunshine city ... but I guess there is more.
3.) Shopping: I am not planing on buying old SNES games etc., but of course I am going to visit Akihabara and probably Nakano Broadway. So thinking about Anime and Videogame Merchandise. Any stores you can recommend? Probably with some fair prices?
Check Go Go Curry or CoCo Ichibanya (curry rice), Yoshinoya or Sukiya (beef bowl) and Katsuya (deep fried pork cutlet) for some chains.
The Kirby Cafe is closed down, it was only temporary
Check out one of the Jump Shops I guess: http://www.shonenjump.com/e/jumpshop/ and J-World Tokyo: http://www.namco.co.jp/tp/j-world/en/Check the Mandarake stores both in Akihabara and Nakano. If you're into anime cels and stuff there's 2 shops on the 4th floor of Nakano Broadway you shouldn't miss. The Radio Kaikan building in Akihabara is good for first time visitors as well, just go to the 9th floor and work your way down. Other than that, just check as many shops as you can.
Get it online from https://www.jrailpass.com/ or https://www.jrpass.com/ up to 3 months before you need it. Just go with whoever's cheaper with shipping to where you're at. You need to exchange the exchange order at a JR Pass exchange office while in Japan: http://japanrailpass.net/en/exchange.html
I speel my dreenk
Member
Rather subjective question, but have any tourists who've been in Japan for hanami had problems with hay fever or general allergies acting up? I'll be there during prime cherry blossom time, and just got through a bout of Texas pollen funk, so wondering if I'm likely to experience respiratory misery, joy, or a healthy mixture.
Also, thanks everyone for the great ongoing thread - some nice advice for us first-timers.
Also, thanks everyone for the great ongoing thread - some nice advice for us first-timers.
Laevateinn
Member
You're the greatest!
You have no idea (it's still worth it)
Patrick Bateman
Member
Almost exactly one year ago we were in Japan for the cherry blossoms.
When we came back I thought "Nah, that'll be enough for the next few years. Now I'd really like to go back on the next possible date. :/
Bur maybe only as soon as 2020.
When we came back I thought "Nah, that'll be enough for the next few years. Now I'd really like to go back on the next possible date. :/
Bur maybe only as soon as 2020.
oyoshimaru
Member
I have gotten my JR Pass from JTB twice because it ends up being cheaper to pickup, but I live in NYC.
It rained last night in Tokyo. Walking back to your capsule hotel from a retro game bar in Akiba in the rain while listening to this:
https://youtu.be/lMyOWIuZp3g
Stuff that dreams are made of.
MikeHattsu
Member
Depends on where in Osaka you're staying and if you got an JR Pass already
MikeHattsu
Member
Worthintendo
Member
And I was hoping to see it on the trip in October