How do you use the Visit Japan Web? Particularly the Register Planned Entry/Return? I clicked it and all it seems to register is the Entry but I don't see anything about the Return.
Quick currency exchange question:
Our understanding was that we could pull cash out of an ATM in a konbini. But then figured there may be extremely high service fees for using the ATM? Should we pull our initial cash (USD) out of our local bank today before we fly to Tokyo tomorrow, and use currency exchange at the airport or within Tokyo somewhere to exchange instead?
I thought Airport currency exchange places price gouge usually, so we could benefit from advice.
When I was there the service fee for 10000yen withdrawal at family mart was 100yen and 200yen for any higher amounts. The exchange rate will be near 1 to 1. At 711 ut was more expensive.
Also, did you fly in to Haneda? Is there a currency exchange right there in the Haneda airport where I can bring some USD cash and exchange before needing ATM later on?
Thanks. This is good to know for the backup money. We already have a good amount of USD cash on us, so it's more a question now about currency exchange place, not machine
yes pretty much. If you have a no fee card like Schwab then youre all good. If you have something like BofA then its a 3% conversion fee which is still better than what 7 Bank offers (4% it looks like) (both currencies would incur a $5 BofA withdrawl fee plus 7-bank's 200JPY fee).
So what we did was load 3000 Yen on our iPhone Suica through Apple Pay so far, each.
we also pulled out $1300 USD. We figure that’s probably enough, considering our assumption that we will be able to make digital purchases with our no foreign fee Chase credit cards, and when we do need it, we will have the cash.
The one thing that we need to do is turn this cash into Yen. We were not able to do it here at home. Should we do it at Haneda airport or is that going to be worse than elsewhere in Tokyo? We don’t want to do it at a predatory location that has really bad rates compared to Market price (we know they serve business to profit… but still don’t want price gouging terrible rates).
Is it possible to hike to Karasawa cirque and back in a single day? Maybe there’s something im missing here but google maps says 16km from the kamikochi bus stop to the cirque over 833m, so looks to be around 9.5 miles up with 2,760ft of elevation gain… seems very doable in 12 hours. I’m an experienced hiker though and run long distance regularly. Just surprised I haven’t seen any posts about this. Any thing I’m missing here?
The bus times are very tight which is why it’s not often done as a dayhike. Have you checked the first and last bus? Depending onwhere you’re coming from you can’t start until 5:30-6am
It's probably doable in a single day if you're experienced. Here's a report of a single day trip with the times at each checkpoint.
[https://yamap.com/activities/8026216](https://yamap.com/activities/8026216)
I really like traditional ryokans with on-site onsens. The only time I have visited one, sitting on the floor was painful and uncomfortable due to having broken my knee in the past. Sadly, my knee has only gotten worse since. Any advice for disabled folks who still want the ryokan experience?
Many ryokan offer Western-style rooms with beds and chairs, as well as meals served in dining hall at tables. Bigger ryokan almost certainly fit this description but many smaller ones do too, so if you check around it shouldn't be hard to find!
Hi! My wife and I like to make a "checklist" of local dishes we absolutely have to try wherever we travel to. As Japan is a totally different culinary experience than what we're used to at home in central Europe, I'd like opinions on what I've gotten out of ChatGPT as 20 must try dishes on our 14 day trip to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Please feel free to add anything higher on the must try list you see appropriate or any dish that pampered your taste buds... Thx... so, here's the list:
Sushi - Tokyo is renowned for its fresh and exquisite sushi.
Ramen - Try different styles, like shoyu (soy sauce) or tonkotsu (pork bone broth).
Tempura - Lightly battered and deep-fried seafood and vegetables.
Soba - Buckwheat noodles served hot or cold.
Unagi - Grilled eel often served over rice.
Monjayaki - A type of savory pancake similar to okonomiyaki but more liquidy.
Tonkatsu - Breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet.
Tsukemen - Dipping ramen where noodles and broth are served separately.
Yakitori - Grilled skewered chicken.
Kaiseki - A traditional multi-course meal showcasing seasonal ingredients.
Yudofu - Hot tofu served in a light broth, a Kyoto specialty.
Obanzai - Traditional Kyoto-style home-cooked dishes.
Nishin Soba - Soba noodles with herring, a unique Kyoto dish.
Kyo-Wagashi - Traditional Japanese sweets often enjoyed with tea.
Shojin Ryori - Buddhist vegetarian cuisine.
Kyo-Tsukemono - Kyoto-style pickles, often served with rice.
Takoyaki - Octopus-filled batter balls topped with sauce and bonito flakes.
Okonomiyaki - A savory pancake with various ingredients mixed in, then grilled.
Kushikatsu - Deep-fried skewers of meat, seafood, and vegetables.
Horumon - Grilled or stewed beef or pork offal, popular in Osaka.
Matcha Sweets - Found in Kyoto, matcha-flavored desserts are a treat.
I reserved two Hayatoku Kodama Shinkansen tickets using SmartEx, then assigned the IC card numbers of my own and my travel buddy's IC cards for the two tickets I bought. How will this trip work now in respect to the IC cards? I'm assuming that I can first clock in at my nearby station to take the train to my Shinkansen station, then clock into the Shinkansen gate, take the Shinkansen, clock out at the Shinkansen gate of my destination, take the local train to where I want to go at my destination, then finally clock out of the normal station.
Will this work, or do I need to first clock out locally at both my departure and arrival Shinkansen stations after/before taking local trains? I'm aware IC cards will not work across disjunct areas, so for reference, I'll be using the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka.
What you described is correct. Your IC card will be charged from your nearby station to your Shinkansen station, and again from where you alight from Shinkansen to your ultimate destination station. You don't need to do anything special.
I heard Shibuya was going to pass a drinking ban on the streets of Shibuya for one year. I’ll be in Shibuya beginning Friday, so just a few days from now. Did this law go into effect already?
I have read a few posts relating to money conversion including this wiki and a few other reddit pages, it seems that 7/11 or other ATMs are the best but that often didn't take into account card fees which I feel could really make that conversion worse. So, what is the actual best way for money conversion with the least amount of fees? I have Chase (debit), Amercian Express (Credit), and Discover (Credit, no foreign transaction fees, so will be used with Visa pay/physical card when possible?). All three charge fees for ATM withdraws and both the credit cards have cash advance fees (which I don't have a problem paying off the day of the withdraw so I don't suffer any interest.) Is it better for me to just withdraw a few thousand while in the states then convert there with cash? Or are ATMs still cheaper with the fees.
I still wouldn't do an ATM withdrawal with the credit card even if you avoid the interest. Pretty much every card has a 5% or $10 whichever is greater fee on top of accruing interest immediately
The best option, if you have the time to open an account, is a no-fee debit card like u/tribekat suggested. If your Chase debit card happens to be Chase Sapphire Banking then that is also a no-fee debit card.
From my own experience I'd say directly withdrawing at ATM is still the best thing to do. Just be careful when it asks you whether you want to withdraw in your national currency or JPY. Always choose the JPY button, else it'll charge you extra fee.
> charge fees for ATM withdrawals
> in the states
You apply for a debit card that has no ATM withdrawal fees - Schwab, Ally, one of the Capital One options, USAA (i think?), etc.
Flight at midnight, checkout is on 11am the day prior
Hello! I am looking for some advice as to what I should do about the 8ish hours i have from when i check out of my hotel and when I have to fly out. I didnt want to book an extra night since im obviously not going to use it. Would you guys reccomend getting a cheap hotel just for the day or perhaps find Lockers to store our 2 Large suitcases? We will be flying out in Haneda airport and are staying in Shinjuku. Thank you!
Im guessing you are flying out from Haneda. You can store your bags at the luggage storage or counters in Haneda and you can spend some time at the Haneda garden Mall in T3 or Villa Fontaine Hotel that has an onsen also in T3.
Catch up on last min gift shopping or relax at the onsen, get a massage.
On the day time- before 4Pm take the free hotel airport shuttle to Mystays Haneda, there is a an Inari Shrine there you can visit with red Tori gates. Then take the free shuttle or train back to Haneda
Most hotels allow you to leave your luggage on the same day after checking out. I think you can leave your luggage there and spend some time in Shinjuku before picking it up and going to the airport.
Is tabelog the best site for checking meals AND making reservations, or just for research?
We depart Friday for 2 weeks and I’m afraid we don’t have any restaurant reservations yet.
We would like to find some good restaurants in Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo, including at least one or two higher end Wagyu spots, but I’m a bit behind schedule if a reservation is needed…
Most stores with high ratings on Tabelog cannot make reservations through the Tabelog website. Find the store's Instagram or website on the phone or on Google Maps and try to make a reservation.
Can anyone recommend me a good teriyaki burger under 2000 yen in Tokyo or Osaka?
I *love* the McDonald’s ones, so I’m sure there’s better than that out there I want to try.
I am going in July/August - I heard the Japanese is quite a conservative country. Would sports bra and crop tops be frowned upon? How about tank tops? If they are I will just wear my T-Shirts!
With very few exceptions, it doesn't matter what you wear. However, although no one will be directly rude to you, such attire may be a bit bold for East Asians and may attract attention.
Crop tops and tank tops are fine. If you wear just a sports bra you will get many stares but nobody will confront you. Some places may reject entry though
Yesterday in Tokyo (Ueno) an elderly man approached us, was saying something in Japanese. As we didn’t understand, he said “I want money” in English. I wonder if that’s usual or not? Because you don’t see many homeless people in Japan (also he did not look very bad).
This happened to me a couple of times when I lived in Japan, there's a guy on a bike famous for this over on r/japanlife . It's very uncommon, but it's a case of foreigners being outside of usual social rules, and thus less embarrassing to ask. Apparently statistically we are also more likely to give, so 🤷
Never really heard about something like that happening. Active begging is really unusual for several reasons, there are homeless people who even refuse food donated by NGOs because they feel ashamed. Homeless people generally try to stay out of the way because society treats them like shit.
Pure theorizing but maybe it's a "tourists don't follow the social rules anyways so I can be blunt"
Does the weather differ that much between September and October around Japan? (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima etc) I've been told September can be quite uncomfortably humid and hot where as October is perfect. I need to decide whether to book my 3 week trip in Sept or Oct! Please help!
If you like fine dining, absolutely.
[Tabelog](https://tabelog.com/en/) is a Japanese site for reviews and reservations and can be a way to find good restaurants.
For restaurants in Japan, with the exception of French and Italian restaurants, it is absolutely important to look at Tabelog scores rather than the Michelin Guide.
Is it best for reservations as well? I just posted about this in the thread but then saw your comment.
We are traveling Friday for 2 weeks and I’d like to reserve some good Wagyu restaurants if we can. I also heard there’s a fantastic Tempura restaurant in Kyoto somewhere. Edit: Tempura Endo Kyoto
I can't really speak from experience but yes, it should work for reservations.
Some restaurants need you to call them on the phone though. The staff at some hotels \*might\* do this for you tough (if it's not a cheap hotel).
The language barrier is definitely a thing, although it's getting better with many restaurants having multi-language menus and automatic translation on phones improving. There are still issues but easier now than ever.
Expensive restaurants will probably advertise online that they have english-speaking staff.
Not sure how you'd describe "legit". It's definitely gonna be really good. But with being high-end, presentation and preparation will be different from what "classic japanese food" is eaten day-to-day.
I personally don't have the highest budget so I'd go for Bib Gourmand at most tbh. Japanese food already has a really high standard even for basic restaurants.
I like the way you think. I find that bib gourmand has great service and reasonable prices. I don't want to shell out a car payment for one meal experience.
I have to decide when to fly to japan next.
I'm niot sure wether I should go from 31. March 2025 to 22. April 25 or 11. May to 1. June 25.
I want to visit the Kurobe tateyama Route, maybe festivals, Teamlabs borderless, maybe Osaka Expo.
The flight price for April is about 1350€, for May 955€, May is 400€ cheaper... But in April I ccould whatch the sakura trees and I wouldn't miss the Takayama festival (I already visited Takayama 2014 without a festival).
Should I go April or May?
If you are ok with the increased crowds and increased costs (hotels, flights etc) then I would go April for sakura. It's probably one of the best times to visit Japan.
So I have 10 total days (including arrival and leaving) in Japan. 2 will be spent at Disney.
I'm wondering if you recommend just exploring one city (Tokyo) the whole trip OR
Doing Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. If this is the plan - I would stay in Osaka/Kyoto 4 nights (and train across each other). 2 adults.
Either is fine. Going to Osaka/Kyoto will make things feel more rushed, but you will get to see a lot more, so depends on how you feel about that.
10 days in Tokyo is very easy to fill. There is a lot of things to do and a number of great day trips so you won't get bored. If you do only go Tokyo maybe have a look at 1 night outside, like Nikko or Hakone.
I am going to be in Tokyo 3-4 days and I'm getting stressed planning! I am getting confused on where to visit first/geographically.
Two adults and we want to eat a lot.
What areas should we visit? Good itineraries and recommendations?
Team Labs is on our list. I want to see Cherry Blossom and the Pokemon Cente
Thank you!
I'd watch some youtube videos about visiting Tokyo (even just in the background) as that's a good way to passively get some ideas for places to visit.
While Tokyo has good public transit, visiting several places that are a on differen ends of the center can eat up a lot of travel time. It can be smart to group areas that are (roughly) near each other for the same day like Shibuya + Harajuku or Asakusa + Ueno or Odaiba + Ginza
Tokyo is on every person's trip to Japan, there's plenty of discussions and suggestions about all the various attractions. Either look at the hundreds of itineraries others have posted on r/JapanTravel, or websites like Japan Guide or Tokyo Cheapo and see what you find interesting. There is way more things to do in Tokyo than you'll have time for so a lot of prioritising based on your own preferences is essential... that's why people here and even on your Disney sub have told you just to skip Disney since you've done it so many times elsewhere (or at least skip Disneyland and just go to Disney Sea).
For cherry blossoms, when is your trip? You'll have to be there during the season, but there is always a risk that unseasonal weather could make them bloom earlier or later. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011_when.html
There are multiple Teamlabs (2 in Tokyo and 1 in Osaka) and pokemon centres (4-5 in Tokyo, 2 in Osaka, plus across many other cities).
Universal studio Japan July 25th Thursday , should i get the express pass? Will it be crowded on a weekeday. Is school out for for families during that time?
Going to be in Japan for two weeks at the beginning of October. Plan on splitting roughly 10 of those days using Tokyo and Kyoto as bases to explore. For the remaining days I was going to either stop in Nagano on the way to Kanazawa, or spend it in Takayama/Shirikawa-go on the way back from Kyoto? Any thoughts/suggestions on either?
I think Matsumoto is a more interesting stop than Nagano especially if only for 1 night. Nagano is a good base to explore the area but the city itself if fairly bland I think. Kanazawa is great but can feel similar to Kyoto, while Takayama/Shirakawago would give you a different perspective. So I would lean towards Takayama especially if you are interested in the countryside.
Thanks, that’s what I was thinking.
Nagano/Matsumoto would’ve only been a stop over on the way to Kanazawa. I was a bit more interested in just seeing the mountains for a bit. But what you said kinda confirms what I was thinking. If only for a few days, Kanazawa is a bit more out of the way.
Trip wise do you think it makes more sense to do Takayama on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto, or coming back from Kyoto to Tokyo? Or is it an either/or deal? Thanks!
I think either is fine. I would put it between your long stays in Tokyo & Kyoto as like a city escape. So if you are landing and then going straight to Kyoto then I would go Takayama after Kyoto. If you are staying in Tokyo at the start of your trip then I would do it before Kyoto.
Hi could someone recommend a place around Shizuoka or fujinomiya that has a private onsen? Not looking for a Ryokan or rather just an onsen that we can enjoy during the day for a couple of hours. Even better if mount Fuji can be seen from the onsen. Thanks!
hello, guys, which ski resort do you think is better for a family group most members don't ski but can enjoy some snow activities or do something fun in a group, while some still can enjoy snowboarding. thanks for your suggestions in advanced.
Hakuba has lots of restaurants and you take the gondola up to and walk around. Nozawa is nice cause it has all the Onsen and is a cute town. Zao onsen is interesting too because of the snow monster
I heard new bank notes will be released by July so I wanted to ask what would happen to the old ones I have once I travel to Japan again. Will I still be able to use the old ones, or will I need to go to a bank in Japan to have them changed, or will they be immediately be useless?
Considering all series issued since 1960's are legal tender... Essentially, it will take a few years for majority of notes in circulation to be new issue and another few for old ones to fall out of circulation (and then recommendation would be to exchange them in Bank of Japan offices).
I have a trip to Tokyo planned for early August, but I have seen a lot of news surrounding this flesh-eating bacteria. Is it as big of a deal as the news making it seem? Should I take any precautions before going?
It’s very rare and you can protect yourself against it with standard hygiene practice: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-21/what-is-the-flesh-eating-bacteria-outbreak-in-japan/103996264](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-21/what-is-the-flesh-eating-bacteria-outbreak-in-japan/103996264)
I booked a reservation at an omakase spot, and they specified no perfume or cologne at the counter. I wear old spice deodorant which has a smell, but it is not particularly strong. Do I need to buy some scentless deodorant for Japan / specifically for counter dining, or do they just care about strong colognes and perfumes?
I assume they actually mean \*no\* perfume/cologne.
Japanese people (and people from Asia in general) have less body odor so for them to use cologne or perfume or even dodorant is extremely rare. Old spice will probably be noticable.
Either find something without any scent at all or just shower directly beforehand and go without.
We have 21 days to spend in Japan for our first visit.
Fly into Tokyo for 3 nights -> 1/2 night Hakone -> 4 nights Osaka -> 2 nights Kyoto -> 7 nights Tokyo.
That's about 17/18 days right there. Not sure how to break up the Osaka/Kyoto portion. How would you tweak this?
Hi there,
We actually just went to Japan this year and we loved it. Tokyo > Osaka > Kyoto but my god did it go by too fast and way too crazy.
I'm trying to do a longer trip with less hustle and bustle between cities, and to somewhere new. We don't need to go to all the tourist hotspots anymore. Any recommendations?
Very general question. I’m planning my first trip to Japan this coming October and I was thinking I’d like to spend a good portion in Hokkaido. I’ve got 12 full days.
I come from a major urban city and I’m more interested in the Japanese country side than I am major cities. I love the outdoors and planned on structuring the trip around seeing natural beauty. Totally cool with renting a car. Any issues with spending a couple days in Tokyo, flying to chitose, spending 7 days in Hokkaido, flying back to Tokyo, and heading home?
Totally legit. I'll be doing pretty much the same in a couple weeks time. Though after the Hokkaido driving trip i'll be using JR Pass to travel down east coast for 2 weeks before hiking up Fuji.
Hi all,
I am looking to do an Enoshima-Kamakura Trip on 17 july and stay at Kamakura for the fireworks at 7:20 pm. However, I have seen on social media from locals that shops generally rest on Wednesday (Kamakura especially). I was wondering whether this is true as I do not want to miss out on any of the Komachi Dori food shops or any other attractions.
Thank you!
I've been seeing lots of post about over tourism. How bad is it compared to last year?
I traveled to Japan in October of 2023. I'm looking to visit again in October of 2024. I really don't remember it being bad when I visited in 2023, how much more crowded would you say it is this year compared to last?
According to these statistics: [https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/#graph--inbound--travelers--transition](https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/#graph--inbound--travelers--transition)
October of 2023 had already about the same amount of visitors than the same month in 2019 and the trend this year looks like it's going to be more.
The most popular places definitely have a limit on how many visitors they can handle but there are lots and lots of other areas that still see not that many overseas tourists.
In 2023 the tourist number were still somewhat below the pre covid numbers and this year seems to be on track for a new overall tourism record. Of note is also that this is planned japan wants to ramp up it's tourism
Does anyone know when the current set of bills will be phased out? As I understand Japan is distributing new bills. I still have a few thousand yen from my recent trip and I don't think I will be back anytime soon.
Based on experiences elsewhere, even if a note does stop being accepted on a day to day basis, you can usually just go to a bank and they will swap your old note for a modern one.
The proportion of itineraries that are being posted here which appear to be ChatGPT generated is getting pretty nuts. They frequently have exactly the same sequence of things to visit and the same awkward wording. They also often don’t make much sense, with over crowded days or itineraries that involve zooming all over a city in no particular order. It seems odd to me to plan your trip in this way.
I’d suggest that people using AI services treat them as a starting point only and also treat their output with a healthy degree of scepticism.
One needs to remember that a LLM AI like ChatGPT is trained on a decade or two worth of crap from the internet and then smashed together so it makes linguistic sense. Not only is a bunch of stuff outdated but things like transportation routes are made up and often impossible. Numbers don't really mean anything to it. It's pretty bad at math. And it hallucinates things - like completely makes up things. And for travel specifically, it has no idea of human factors.
One of the downsides of this type of planning seems to be that people end up going to stuff that appears on a list rather than looking for things that interest them. For instance, people in their 20s regularly post itineraries here that have them prioritising things like Shinjuku Gyoen and red brick buildings in Yokohama which don't seem likely to be the things they'd most enjoy in Japan.
I mean... one of my best days in Tokyo last year was spent wandering through Shinjuku Gyoen and taking cover in a shelter with other people in a thunderstorm and watching the rain come down, soooo...
I was in my late 20s when I first visited Japan and loved Shinjuku Gyoen but I like parks and nature in general. I think some anime fans may also be familiar with it since it was in Makoto Shinkai's 2013 movie The Garden of Words.
I just made that comment trying to say why I think people are doing it, not defending the practice. You're totally right.
As someone in their 20s, I can absolutely loved Shinjuku Goyen for several reasons but yeah, wouldn't put it on everyone's itinerary.
If that's the case, one is better off getting one of the many cookie cutter itineraries off a google search. ChatGPT just regurgitates those itineraries but with worst organisation, makes up anything it doesn't know, and doesn't give you the hints and tips that you often find with curated content.
Yeah, I guess this comes from people misunderstanding how "smart" ChatGPT actually is and treating it like a travel agent instead of what you describe.
Personaly I don't understand this. To me planning the trip is half the fun to prepare it in a way how you will like it. I don't want to do things just because many other people are doing it (except when I am personally interested like kyoto)
Oh, I absolutely like planning my own trips and only choose places that I actually want to see but it's still stressful. And that's with having watched probably over a hundret hours worth of content about Japan travel and read books on it too.
Japan is a big country and has so many sights it can be overwhelming that it's difficult to cram in all the things you want into the 1-2 weeks most people have available.
Not everyone is like this but for me, having too many choices leds to overthinking and slows down the whole process enormously. You wouldn't have people constantly asking for hotel or restaurant recommendations on there if there weren't a metric fuckton of them in every big city.
Like I'm plannning a tour of north Japan but balancing where to stay and how long is super difficult. There's cool morning markets but most of them are only on Sundays but I don't want to cut some places too short or even skip just for that. I want to see as many places as possible but from experience I would just get burned out if I travel every day.
I guess some of it comes to people just wanting to go to Japan because it's hyped or they saw two youtube shorts about it...
How do you use the Visit Japan Web? Particularly the Register Planned Entry/Return? I clicked it and all it seems to register is the Entry but I don't see anything about the Return.
Quick currency exchange question: Our understanding was that we could pull cash out of an ATM in a konbini. But then figured there may be extremely high service fees for using the ATM? Should we pull our initial cash (USD) out of our local bank today before we fly to Tokyo tomorrow, and use currency exchange at the airport or within Tokyo somewhere to exchange instead? I thought Airport currency exchange places price gouge usually, so we could benefit from advice.
When I was there the service fee for 10000yen withdrawal at family mart was 100yen and 200yen for any higher amounts. The exchange rate will be near 1 to 1. At 711 ut was more expensive.
Also, did you fly in to Haneda? Is there a currency exchange right there in the Haneda airport where I can bring some USD cash and exchange before needing ATM later on?
There are atms everywhere every konbini has atms
Thanks. This is good to know for the backup money. We already have a good amount of USD cash on us, so it's more a question now about currency exchange place, not machine
You choose “withdraw in yen” instead of in USD correct, so that the conversion rate is using your bank/(card issuer) current rate?
yes pretty much. If you have a no fee card like Schwab then youre all good. If you have something like BofA then its a 3% conversion fee which is still better than what 7 Bank offers (4% it looks like) (both currencies would incur a $5 BofA withdrawl fee plus 7-bank's 200JPY fee).
So what we did was load 3000 Yen on our iPhone Suica through Apple Pay so far, each. we also pulled out $1300 USD. We figure that’s probably enough, considering our assumption that we will be able to make digital purchases with our no foreign fee Chase credit cards, and when we do need it, we will have the cash. The one thing that we need to do is turn this cash into Yen. We were not able to do it here at home. Should we do it at Haneda airport or is that going to be worse than elsewhere in Tokyo? We don’t want to do it at a predatory location that has really bad rates compared to Market price (we know they serve business to profit… but still don’t want price gouging terrible rates).
https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravelTips/comments/15ododg/best_place_to_exchange_usd_for_japanese_yen/
which part of tokyo usually have cheaper hotel prices?
Asakusa is the sweet spot for cheaper and location.
Is it possible to hike to Karasawa cirque and back in a single day? Maybe there’s something im missing here but google maps says 16km from the kamikochi bus stop to the cirque over 833m, so looks to be around 9.5 miles up with 2,760ft of elevation gain… seems very doable in 12 hours. I’m an experienced hiker though and run long distance regularly. Just surprised I haven’t seen any posts about this. Any thing I’m missing here?
The bus times are very tight which is why it’s not often done as a dayhike. Have you checked the first and last bus? Depending onwhere you’re coming from you can’t start until 5:30-6am
It's probably doable in a single day if you're experienced. Here's a report of a single day trip with the times at each checkpoint. [https://yamap.com/activities/8026216](https://yamap.com/activities/8026216)
I really like traditional ryokans with on-site onsens. The only time I have visited one, sitting on the floor was painful and uncomfortable due to having broken my knee in the past. Sadly, my knee has only gotten worse since. Any advice for disabled folks who still want the ryokan experience?
Many ryokan offer Western-style rooms with beds and chairs, as well as meals served in dining hall at tables. Bigger ryokan almost certainly fit this description but many smaller ones do too, so if you check around it shouldn't be hard to find!
Is the regular Suica card available again or not? I've been reading different messages online lately... thx...
Stocks change daily.
Hi! My wife and I like to make a "checklist" of local dishes we absolutely have to try wherever we travel to. As Japan is a totally different culinary experience than what we're used to at home in central Europe, I'd like opinions on what I've gotten out of ChatGPT as 20 must try dishes on our 14 day trip to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Please feel free to add anything higher on the must try list you see appropriate or any dish that pampered your taste buds... Thx... so, here's the list: Sushi - Tokyo is renowned for its fresh and exquisite sushi. Ramen - Try different styles, like shoyu (soy sauce) or tonkotsu (pork bone broth). Tempura - Lightly battered and deep-fried seafood and vegetables. Soba - Buckwheat noodles served hot or cold. Unagi - Grilled eel often served over rice. Monjayaki - A type of savory pancake similar to okonomiyaki but more liquidy. Tonkatsu - Breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet. Tsukemen - Dipping ramen where noodles and broth are served separately. Yakitori - Grilled skewered chicken. Kaiseki - A traditional multi-course meal showcasing seasonal ingredients. Yudofu - Hot tofu served in a light broth, a Kyoto specialty. Obanzai - Traditional Kyoto-style home-cooked dishes. Nishin Soba - Soba noodles with herring, a unique Kyoto dish. Kyo-Wagashi - Traditional Japanese sweets often enjoyed with tea. Shojin Ryori - Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. Kyo-Tsukemono - Kyoto-style pickles, often served with rice. Takoyaki - Octopus-filled batter balls topped with sauce and bonito flakes. Okonomiyaki - A savory pancake with various ingredients mixed in, then grilled. Kushikatsu - Deep-fried skewers of meat, seafood, and vegetables. Horumon - Grilled or stewed beef or pork offal, popular in Osaka. Matcha Sweets - Found in Kyoto, matcha-flavored desserts are a treat.
Don't treat you vacation like a list you need to check off it just makes it less enjoyable and more stressful for yourself
I reserved two Hayatoku Kodama Shinkansen tickets using SmartEx, then assigned the IC card numbers of my own and my travel buddy's IC cards for the two tickets I bought. How will this trip work now in respect to the IC cards? I'm assuming that I can first clock in at my nearby station to take the train to my Shinkansen station, then clock into the Shinkansen gate, take the Shinkansen, clock out at the Shinkansen gate of my destination, take the local train to where I want to go at my destination, then finally clock out of the normal station. Will this work, or do I need to first clock out locally at both my departure and arrival Shinkansen stations after/before taking local trains? I'm aware IC cards will not work across disjunct areas, so for reference, I'll be using the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka.
What you described is correct. Your IC card will be charged from your nearby station to your Shinkansen station, and again from where you alight from Shinkansen to your ultimate destination station. You don't need to do anything special.
how is the weather in northern Japan (Hokkaido and Tohoku) in September typically compared to other regions? Is it as hot or cooler?
Definitely cooler. I found Hokkaido in September very comfortable for temperature
I heard Shibuya was going to pass a drinking ban on the streets of Shibuya for one year. I’ll be in Shibuya beginning Friday, so just a few days from now. Did this law go into effect already?
October 1
Will be going to Osaka next week. Would like to look for local branded eyeglasses frames. Any recommendations?
I have read a few posts relating to money conversion including this wiki and a few other reddit pages, it seems that 7/11 or other ATMs are the best but that often didn't take into account card fees which I feel could really make that conversion worse. So, what is the actual best way for money conversion with the least amount of fees? I have Chase (debit), Amercian Express (Credit), and Discover (Credit, no foreign transaction fees, so will be used with Visa pay/physical card when possible?). All three charge fees for ATM withdraws and both the credit cards have cash advance fees (which I don't have a problem paying off the day of the withdraw so I don't suffer any interest.) Is it better for me to just withdraw a few thousand while in the states then convert there with cash? Or are ATMs still cheaper with the fees.
I still wouldn't do an ATM withdrawal with the credit card even if you avoid the interest. Pretty much every card has a 5% or $10 whichever is greater fee on top of accruing interest immediately The best option, if you have the time to open an account, is a no-fee debit card like u/tribekat suggested. If your Chase debit card happens to be Chase Sapphire Banking then that is also a no-fee debit card.
Thank you I will look into this
From my own experience I'd say directly withdrawing at ATM is still the best thing to do. Just be careful when it asks you whether you want to withdraw in your national currency or JPY. Always choose the JPY button, else it'll charge you extra fee.
> charge fees for ATM withdrawals > in the states You apply for a debit card that has no ATM withdrawal fees - Schwab, Ally, one of the Capital One options, USAA (i think?), etc.
Flight at midnight, checkout is on 11am the day prior Hello! I am looking for some advice as to what I should do about the 8ish hours i have from when i check out of my hotel and when I have to fly out. I didnt want to book an extra night since im obviously not going to use it. Would you guys reccomend getting a cheap hotel just for the day or perhaps find Lockers to store our 2 Large suitcases? We will be flying out in Haneda airport and are staying in Shinjuku. Thank you!
Im guessing you are flying out from Haneda. You can store your bags at the luggage storage or counters in Haneda and you can spend some time at the Haneda garden Mall in T3 or Villa Fontaine Hotel that has an onsen also in T3. Catch up on last min gift shopping or relax at the onsen, get a massage. On the day time- before 4Pm take the free hotel airport shuttle to Mystays Haneda, there is a an Inari Shrine there you can visit with red Tori gates. Then take the free shuttle or train back to Haneda
Most hotels allow you to leave your luggage on the same day after checking out. I think you can leave your luggage there and spend some time in Shinjuku before picking it up and going to the airport.
Is tabelog the best site for checking meals AND making reservations, or just for research? We depart Friday for 2 weeks and I’m afraid we don’t have any restaurant reservations yet. We would like to find some good restaurants in Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo, including at least one or two higher end Wagyu spots, but I’m a bit behind schedule if a reservation is needed…
Most stores with high ratings on Tabelog cannot make reservations through the Tabelog website. Find the store's Instagram or website on the phone or on Google Maps and try to make a reservation.
Planning on renting a Yukata from Okamoto on our Kyoto trip in July. Will it be too hot if we were to wear it all day long?
yeah it's hot. and your feet will be sore.
Can anyone recommend me a good teriyaki burger under 2000 yen in Tokyo or Osaka? I *love* the McDonald’s ones, so I’m sure there’s better than that out there I want to try.
Freshness burger?
For fast food teriyaki burger, personally I prefer Mos Burger's to McDonald's. I don't know about high end burger though.
I’ll have to try that as well at least. Thanks :)
I am going in July/August - I heard the Japanese is quite a conservative country. Would sports bra and crop tops be frowned upon? How about tank tops? If they are I will just wear my T-Shirts!
With very few exceptions, it doesn't matter what you wear. However, although no one will be directly rude to you, such attire may be a bit bold for East Asians and may attract attention.
Crop tops and tank tops are fine. If you wear just a sports bra you will get many stares but nobody will confront you. Some places may reject entry though
Yesterday in Tokyo (Ueno) an elderly man approached us, was saying something in Japanese. As we didn’t understand, he said “I want money” in English. I wonder if that’s usual or not? Because you don’t see many homeless people in Japan (also he did not look very bad).
This happened to me a couple of times when I lived in Japan, there's a guy on a bike famous for this over on r/japanlife . It's very uncommon, but it's a case of foreigners being outside of usual social rules, and thus less embarrassing to ask. Apparently statistically we are also more likely to give, so 🤷
Never really heard about something like that happening. Active begging is really unusual for several reasons, there are homeless people who even refuse food donated by NGOs because they feel ashamed. Homeless people generally try to stay out of the way because society treats them like shit. Pure theorizing but maybe it's a "tourists don't follow the social rules anyways so I can be blunt"
It’s good to know, thank you for sharing!
Never heard of it myself
Does anyone know where I can buy a little plastic Japanese flag to stick into my saddlebags for visibility as I ride?
Feels like a donki item (standard answer for random things).
Just checked, that's a nope
Does the weather differ that much between September and October around Japan? (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima etc) I've been told September can be quite uncomfortably humid and hot where as October is perfect. I need to decide whether to book my 3 week trip in Sept or Oct! Please help!
October can be pretty warm, but is usually a better time to visit than September.
Some years there are minimal difference. Last year (2023) there was a huge difference.
Is the Michelin Guide worth following in Tokyo? Is there another guide worth noting?
If you like fine dining, absolutely. [Tabelog](https://tabelog.com/en/) is a Japanese site for reviews and reservations and can be a way to find good restaurants.
For restaurants in Japan, with the exception of French and Italian restaurants, it is absolutely important to look at Tabelog scores rather than the Michelin Guide.
Is it best for reservations as well? I just posted about this in the thread but then saw your comment. We are traveling Friday for 2 weeks and I’d like to reserve some good Wagyu restaurants if we can. I also heard there’s a fantastic Tempura restaurant in Kyoto somewhere. Edit: Tempura Endo Kyoto
I can't really speak from experience but yes, it should work for reservations. Some restaurants need you to call them on the phone though. The staff at some hotels \*might\* do this for you tough (if it's not a cheap hotel).
That’s cool! I was worried about the language barrier. Does 3 stars make the restaurant more legit?
The language barrier is definitely a thing, although it's getting better with many restaurants having multi-language menus and automatic translation on phones improving. There are still issues but easier now than ever. Expensive restaurants will probably advertise online that they have english-speaking staff. Not sure how you'd describe "legit". It's definitely gonna be really good. But with being high-end, presentation and preparation will be different from what "classic japanese food" is eaten day-to-day. I personally don't have the highest budget so I'd go for Bib Gourmand at most tbh. Japanese food already has a really high standard even for basic restaurants.
I like the way you think. I find that bib gourmand has great service and reasonable prices. I don't want to shell out a car payment for one meal experience.
I have to decide when to fly to japan next. I'm niot sure wether I should go from 31. March 2025 to 22. April 25 or 11. May to 1. June 25. I want to visit the Kurobe tateyama Route, maybe festivals, Teamlabs borderless, maybe Osaka Expo. The flight price for April is about 1350€, for May 955€, May is 400€ cheaper... But in April I ccould whatch the sakura trees and I wouldn't miss the Takayama festival (I already visited Takayama 2014 without a festival). Should I go April or May?
If you are ok with the increased crowds and increased costs (hotels, flights etc) then I would go April for sakura. It's probably one of the best times to visit Japan.
So I have 10 total days (including arrival and leaving) in Japan. 2 will be spent at Disney. I'm wondering if you recommend just exploring one city (Tokyo) the whole trip OR Doing Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. If this is the plan - I would stay in Osaka/Kyoto 4 nights (and train across each other). 2 adults.
Either is fine. Going to Osaka/Kyoto will make things feel more rushed, but you will get to see a lot more, so depends on how you feel about that. 10 days in Tokyo is very easy to fill. There is a lot of things to do and a number of great day trips so you won't get bored. If you do only go Tokyo maybe have a look at 1 night outside, like Nikko or Hakone.
I am going to be in Tokyo 3-4 days and I'm getting stressed planning! I am getting confused on where to visit first/geographically. Two adults and we want to eat a lot. What areas should we visit? Good itineraries and recommendations? Team Labs is on our list. I want to see Cherry Blossom and the Pokemon Cente Thank you!
I'd watch some youtube videos about visiting Tokyo (even just in the background) as that's a good way to passively get some ideas for places to visit. While Tokyo has good public transit, visiting several places that are a on differen ends of the center can eat up a lot of travel time. It can be smart to group areas that are (roughly) near each other for the same day like Shibuya + Harajuku or Asakusa + Ueno or Odaiba + Ginza
Tokyo is on every person's trip to Japan, there's plenty of discussions and suggestions about all the various attractions. Either look at the hundreds of itineraries others have posted on r/JapanTravel, or websites like Japan Guide or Tokyo Cheapo and see what you find interesting. There is way more things to do in Tokyo than you'll have time for so a lot of prioritising based on your own preferences is essential... that's why people here and even on your Disney sub have told you just to skip Disney since you've done it so many times elsewhere (or at least skip Disneyland and just go to Disney Sea). For cherry blossoms, when is your trip? You'll have to be there during the season, but there is always a risk that unseasonal weather could make them bloom earlier or later. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011_when.html There are multiple Teamlabs (2 in Tokyo and 1 in Osaka) and pokemon centres (4-5 in Tokyo, 2 in Osaka, plus across many other cities).
Universal studio Japan July 25th Thursday , should i get the express pass? Will it be crowded on a weekeday. Is school out for for families during that time?
There are a lot of people there on weekdays, and there are very very many people on weekends. You know what I mean, right? :)
Going to be in Japan for two weeks at the beginning of October. Plan on splitting roughly 10 of those days using Tokyo and Kyoto as bases to explore. For the remaining days I was going to either stop in Nagano on the way to Kanazawa, or spend it in Takayama/Shirikawa-go on the way back from Kyoto? Any thoughts/suggestions on either?
I think Matsumoto is a more interesting stop than Nagano especially if only for 1 night. Nagano is a good base to explore the area but the city itself if fairly bland I think. Kanazawa is great but can feel similar to Kyoto, while Takayama/Shirakawago would give you a different perspective. So I would lean towards Takayama especially if you are interested in the countryside.
Thanks, that’s what I was thinking. Nagano/Matsumoto would’ve only been a stop over on the way to Kanazawa. I was a bit more interested in just seeing the mountains for a bit. But what you said kinda confirms what I was thinking. If only for a few days, Kanazawa is a bit more out of the way. Trip wise do you think it makes more sense to do Takayama on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto, or coming back from Kyoto to Tokyo? Or is it an either/or deal? Thanks!
I think either is fine. I would put it between your long stays in Tokyo & Kyoto as like a city escape. So if you are landing and then going straight to Kyoto then I would go Takayama after Kyoto. If you are staying in Tokyo at the start of your trip then I would do it before Kyoto.
Thanks so much!
Hi could someone recommend a place around Shizuoka or fujinomiya that has a private onsen? Not looking for a Ryokan or rather just an onsen that we can enjoy during the day for a couple of hours. Even better if mount Fuji can be seen from the onsen. Thanks!
hello, guys, which ski resort do you think is better for a family group most members don't ski but can enjoy some snow activities or do something fun in a group, while some still can enjoy snowboarding. thanks for your suggestions in advanced.
Hakuba has lots of restaurants and you take the gondola up to and walk around. Nozawa is nice cause it has all the Onsen and is a cute town. Zao onsen is interesting too because of the snow monster
I heard new bank notes will be released by July so I wanted to ask what would happen to the old ones I have once I travel to Japan again. Will I still be able to use the old ones, or will I need to go to a bank in Japan to have them changed, or will they be immediately be useless?
Considering all series issued since 1960's are legal tender... Essentially, it will take a few years for majority of notes in circulation to be new issue and another few for old ones to fall out of circulation (and then recommendation would be to exchange them in Bank of Japan offices).
I have a trip to Tokyo planned for early August, but I have seen a lot of news surrounding this flesh-eating bacteria. Is it as big of a deal as the news making it seem? Should I take any precautions before going?
It’s very rare and you can protect yourself against it with standard hygiene practice: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-21/what-is-the-flesh-eating-bacteria-outbreak-in-japan/103996264](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-21/what-is-the-flesh-eating-bacteria-outbreak-in-japan/103996264)
I booked a reservation at an omakase spot, and they specified no perfume or cologne at the counter. I wear old spice deodorant which has a smell, but it is not particularly strong. Do I need to buy some scentless deodorant for Japan / specifically for counter dining, or do they just care about strong colognes and perfumes?
Deodorant is recommended. Strong perfumes make other guests very uncomfortable at omakase.
I assume they actually mean \*no\* perfume/cologne. Japanese people (and people from Asia in general) have less body odor so for them to use cologne or perfume or even dodorant is extremely rare. Old spice will probably be noticable. Either find something without any scent at all or just shower directly beforehand and go without.
Can someone recommend a place in tokyo where i can wath the euro2024? Most Games will be played at night time in japan..
Possibly a hub bar depending when they open
We have 21 days to spend in Japan for our first visit. Fly into Tokyo for 3 nights -> 1/2 night Hakone -> 4 nights Osaka -> 2 nights Kyoto -> 7 nights Tokyo. That's about 17/18 days right there. Not sure how to break up the Osaka/Kyoto portion. How would you tweak this?
It would really depend on what your interests are - all those places are interesting, though I didn't like Hakone.
What did you not like about Hakone?
It was extremely touristy (it’s a popular getaway location for people living in Tokyo).
Hi there, We actually just went to Japan this year and we loved it. Tokyo > Osaka > Kyoto but my god did it go by too fast and way too crazy. I'm trying to do a longer trip with less hustle and bustle between cities, and to somewhere new. We don't need to go to all the tourist hotspots anymore. Any recommendations?
Kyushu is lovely, beautiful nature and some very nice cities. No overtourism, at least when I was there in '23.
Very general question. I’m planning my first trip to Japan this coming October and I was thinking I’d like to spend a good portion in Hokkaido. I’ve got 12 full days. I come from a major urban city and I’m more interested in the Japanese country side than I am major cities. I love the outdoors and planned on structuring the trip around seeing natural beauty. Totally cool with renting a car. Any issues with spending a couple days in Tokyo, flying to chitose, spending 7 days in Hokkaido, flying back to Tokyo, and heading home?
Totally legit. I'll be doing pretty much the same in a couple weeks time. Though after the Hokkaido driving trip i'll be using JR Pass to travel down east coast for 2 weeks before hiking up Fuji.
Sounds like a decent plan.
Hi all, I am looking to do an Enoshima-Kamakura Trip on 17 july and stay at Kamakura for the fireworks at 7:20 pm. However, I have seen on social media from locals that shops generally rest on Wednesday (Kamakura especially). I was wondering whether this is true as I do not want to miss out on any of the Komachi Dori food shops or any other attractions. Thank you!
I've been seeing lots of post about over tourism. How bad is it compared to last year? I traveled to Japan in October of 2023. I'm looking to visit again in October of 2024. I really don't remember it being bad when I visited in 2023, how much more crowded would you say it is this year compared to last?
According to these statistics: [https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/#graph--inbound--travelers--transition](https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/#graph--inbound--travelers--transition) October of 2023 had already about the same amount of visitors than the same month in 2019 and the trend this year looks like it's going to be more. The most popular places definitely have a limit on how many visitors they can handle but there are lots and lots of other areas that still see not that many overseas tourists.
In 2023 the tourist number were still somewhat below the pre covid numbers and this year seems to be on track for a new overall tourism record. Of note is also that this is planned japan wants to ramp up it's tourism
Does anyone know when the current set of bills will be phased out? As I understand Japan is distributing new bills. I still have a few thousand yen from my recent trip and I don't think I will be back anytime soon.
Legal tender: close to never; dissemination-wise: 5-10 years at the very least.
Based on experiences elsewhere, even if a note does stop being accepted on a day to day basis, you can usually just go to a bank and they will swap your old note for a modern one.
thanks!
The proportion of itineraries that are being posted here which appear to be ChatGPT generated is getting pretty nuts. They frequently have exactly the same sequence of things to visit and the same awkward wording. They also often don’t make much sense, with over crowded days or itineraries that involve zooming all over a city in no particular order. It seems odd to me to plan your trip in this way. I’d suggest that people using AI services treat them as a starting point only and also treat their output with a healthy degree of scepticism.
One needs to remember that a LLM AI like ChatGPT is trained on a decade or two worth of crap from the internet and then smashed together so it makes linguistic sense. Not only is a bunch of stuff outdated but things like transportation routes are made up and often impossible. Numbers don't really mean anything to it. It's pretty bad at math. And it hallucinates things - like completely makes up things. And for travel specifically, it has no idea of human factors.
Agreed. I understand the appeal though. Planning a trip is quite stressful already, especially if it's your first big trip.
One of the downsides of this type of planning seems to be that people end up going to stuff that appears on a list rather than looking for things that interest them. For instance, people in their 20s regularly post itineraries here that have them prioritising things like Shinjuku Gyoen and red brick buildings in Yokohama which don't seem likely to be the things they'd most enjoy in Japan.
I mean... one of my best days in Tokyo last year was spent wandering through Shinjuku Gyoen and taking cover in a shelter with other people in a thunderstorm and watching the rain come down, soooo...
I was in my late 20s when I first visited Japan and loved Shinjuku Gyoen but I like parks and nature in general. I think some anime fans may also be familiar with it since it was in Makoto Shinkai's 2013 movie The Garden of Words.
I just made that comment trying to say why I think people are doing it, not defending the practice. You're totally right. As someone in their 20s, I can absolutely loved Shinjuku Goyen for several reasons but yeah, wouldn't put it on everyone's itinerary.
If that's the case, one is better off getting one of the many cookie cutter itineraries off a google search. ChatGPT just regurgitates those itineraries but with worst organisation, makes up anything it doesn't know, and doesn't give you the hints and tips that you often find with curated content.
Yeah, I guess this comes from people misunderstanding how "smart" ChatGPT actually is and treating it like a travel agent instead of what you describe.
Personaly I don't understand this. To me planning the trip is half the fun to prepare it in a way how you will like it. I don't want to do things just because many other people are doing it (except when I am personally interested like kyoto)
Oh, I absolutely like planning my own trips and only choose places that I actually want to see but it's still stressful. And that's with having watched probably over a hundret hours worth of content about Japan travel and read books on it too. Japan is a big country and has so many sights it can be overwhelming that it's difficult to cram in all the things you want into the 1-2 weeks most people have available. Not everyone is like this but for me, having too many choices leds to overthinking and slows down the whole process enormously. You wouldn't have people constantly asking for hotel or restaurant recommendations on there if there weren't a metric fuckton of them in every big city. Like I'm plannning a tour of north Japan but balancing where to stay and how long is super difficult. There's cool morning markets but most of them are only on Sundays but I don't want to cut some places too short or even skip just for that. I want to see as many places as possible but from experience I would just get burned out if I travel every day. I guess some of it comes to people just wanting to go to Japan because it's hyped or they saw two youtube shorts about it...