Weekly Japan Travel Information and Discussion Thread – February 02, 2024

30 comments

1. I know this has been asked 100 times but I’m getting a lot of conflicting information. I need to be able to receive text messages and also receive phone calls on my main US T-mobile number. Should I be using a pocket wifi or an e-sim? I need to keep my phone number as well.

   Thanks in advance!

2. I am trying to forward plan my travel with family of 4 + luggage from Narita to MIMARU Akasaka. Can you please help me decide which is easier?

   We arrive Narita on a Saturday at 6:00pm.

   How long should I plan for customs and baggage collection?

   There are two options I am currently considering:

   OPTION 1
   Skyliner from Narita to Nippori station.
   Walk from Nippori to Nishi-Nippori station
   Chiyoda line to Akasaka station

   Pros: skyliner dedicated seating.
   Cons: worried about the station switch at Nippori, which looks to be about 9pm on a Saturday night.

   OPTION 2

   JR Narita line to Tokyo station
   Find taxi
   Taxi to hotel

   Pros: much more direct, no large transfer.
   Cons: Will the regular train be busy? Will we get seats for a long trip? Will the taxis be easy to find? Will we get a family of 4 and luggage into a single taxi?

   What do you recommend? Is there an alternative? Note that the limousine bus’s last departure is 7pm, so we are unlikely to clear customs in time.

3. Where is the best place to buy second hand branded goods in the Kansai area?

4. Bakeries/patisseries that sell the trending croissant scroll around Tokyo?

5. Hi all, can you still purchase JR Tokyo Wide Pass from ticket vending machines? I can only find 1 YT video from GALA Yuzawa from a year ago and I’m not sure if it’s still possible. Planning to buy JR Tokyo Wide Pass tomorrow at Shinjuku station. Thanks!

   Edit: Online purchase isn’t possible as my cards are not accepted by the web site.

6. I lost my watch at a hostel in Tokyo last year and was emailed saying they found it. Do I try to pay them to ship it? Do I try to post/find travelers who might be able to take it back to California/ the US? Is there a service for this? Its not some super fancy watch so I’m not sure if it might be worth the cost.

7. Given the amount of travel based on how remote it seems to be, is it worth it to spend one night in Kamikochi on the the way to Kyoto/Osaka from Tokyo?

8. If I designate an IC card to a reservation that I made through smart EX, does that mean I only need to scan my IC card at the station? Last time I didn’t do this and had issues when I went to scan the QR code on my phone. One of the station workers had to place an insert over the IC reader so that it fit the dimensions of the QR code and allowed me to scan properly.

9. Planning a trip from May 7-22 currently planning to be in the Osaka/Kyoto area from May 8-12. Just found out there is a large festival in Kyoto called [Aoi Matsuri](https://www.japanistry.com/event/aoi-matsuri/) on May 15.

   Wondering if anyone here has been to it and could comment if it is worth extending our time in the Osaka/Kyoto an extra 3 days to see it?

10. Is there a decent unified source of information for calligraphy exhibitions/performances (of any scale), as opposed to scouring individual 書道家/書道会 websites? I’m planning a trip around late April/early May. Mostly Osaka, probably Tokyo too, but really flexible on the dates.

    From the listings on the websites I saw, I got the impression it might still be kinda early, but I haven’t been to Japan in like 15 years, so I have no idea if there’s a better place to look. Language not a problem, I just don’t know what the go-to information sources are.

11. For anyone that travels around say, Miyagi prefecture or Nagano/Gifu, in Fall when is generally the best time to visit those areas? I’ve seen fall forecasts and stuff but it’s all over the place from Mid October to Mid November. I was thinking maybe Nov 1 – 16th? I kinda wanted to get a taste of Morioka/Sendai since I’ve never been up there and loop back to Fuji and Shirakawa-go area.

12. In march ill be doing a bit of the Shimanami Kaidou and need some recommendations.

    Im traveling with a friend and we wanted to do the whole thing on bike but itd probably kill us for the rest of the trip.

    We were thinking of doing a third of it on bike, stop in some places and then head to Imabari on bus.

    Do you guys have recommendations on stopping points + places to stop and see?

13. I am thinking of taking the Shirayuki train from Niigata to Joetsumyoko, which arrives at 12:24. and catching a connecting Shinkansen train from Joetsumyoko to Toyama 12:32.

    Would I be playing a silly game with that connection? Not taken a Shirayuki train before, but I assume they are pretty punctual.

    The next Hakutaka train at Joetsumyoko is at 13:14. I’ve done a few tight connections before, but they have mainly been on the same line.

    I’m leaning towards the 13:14 as I’m assuming snow will probably be a thing too.

14. Just wondering if my small (5x10cm) tattoo on my inner bicep, which is easily hidden when my arm is by my side, would deny me entry into some onsens? Or, if it’s not noticeable, would it be okay?

15. Random question, when I’m on my last reserved day of my hotel stay, do I need to go to the front desk to officially check out and give my key card back, or can I just leave like in the states?

    Edit: Unrelated second question – I saw in a video that people can reserve time slots the couches in front of the windows from the Yokohama Landmark Tower as long as they buy food? Did I understand that wrong or is that not a thing anymore? Because I don’t see anywhere online how I can reserve it.

16. If I am traveling onward after leaving Japan but then have a connecting flight home through Tokyo Haneda, will they make me pay consumption tax if my tax-free bag is open?

17. I’ve been trying to buy tickets in advance for train, but I can’t seem to make anything work.  No cards will validate for SmartEx, and the process of “picking up” tickets via JR website doesn’t seem to work in Tokyo? 

     I see a lot of people saying to make a special trip to the train station the day before to buy tickets and select seats, but I won’t be near those areas so I don’t think it’s possible for me in most cases.  

    The places I’m going are…

     Tokyo station -> Hakone

    Hakone -> Kyoto 

    Kyoto -> Narita 

     I don’t mean to ask a repeat question but I cannot figure this out and I’m tired of stressing out.  Thank you.

18. Hello,

    I would like to take my family of 5 on a trip to Japan. We would especially like to see Akihabra and Edo period villages. None of us speak any Japanese and none of us have ever traveled outside of the US before.

    Given all of the above, we feel it is prudent to go on a guided tour. I was curious if anyone here would like to share any experiences/recommendations they might have for us.

    Thank you!

19. Does anyone else using a Ubigi esim notice that their location on maps is a bit off? Like my location will be a street over. I have to keep manually resetting my location to have it show correctly.

20. I want to travel from Iiyama Station to Kyoto Station. Google Maps tells me that there reduced service on the Thunderbird shinkansen in result of the New Years earthquake. Should I instead plan to take the Nagano local train, then Shinano limited express to Nagoya, and finally Tokaido-Sanyo shinkansen to Kyoto? Any advice is appreciated! 🙂

21. Hi all,

    I’m going to Japan for the first time, mainly Tokyo / Kyoto / Osaka between March and April (very crowded but hopefully very beautiful). I was looking into experiences, such as guided tours, cuisine lessons, tea ceremony, or anything along those lines, but I’ve honestly found much less information than I thought I would. The platform I know to do this is AirBNB Experiences, though I’ve never used it before.

    Is AirBNB Experiences a good places to look into?

    Are there other platforms to search for and book this kind of activity?

    Any recommendations on particular experiences to look for in the 3 cities I mentioned?

    I saw a “Fushimi Inari hidden walking tour” that goes through the forest and seemed very interesting, any comments about that?

    I particularly love mochi and daifuku. Has anyone had a mochi-making class to recommend?

    Thanks in advance, and good travels to all!

22. What would be a better time to go? Late march or late April?

23. With IC still having a shortage, is it possible to add sucia and pasmo to apple wallet at the same time for 2 people? Because I have an Samsung 🙁
    I heard welcome sucia cards aren’t available at Narita Airport anymore, and I’m not sure if pasmo passports are going to be available either by the time I get there in early March.

    Thank you very much for the replies!

24. Looking to make a reservation through Tableall – does anyone know if it counts as Dining on Amex? Deciding which credit card to use to maximize multiplier. Thanks

25. I have 6 days allocated to Osaka / Kyoto, would you split this 3 and 3 or 2 and 4?

26. Anyone have any suggestions for exchanging cash/obtaining yen better than the rate I got?

    I exchanged USD to JPY at 143.29 when the max rate reported by Google was 148.29. I used the automated machines because that was faster and usually better rate then using the exchange counters run by banks. I would have preferred to use my bank card to withdraw Yen but I tried it at a Seven Bank ATM at Narita and they were taking an extra 3.5% which came up to about 140.

27. Hello,

    I’ve found a preferred 2-week stay at a business hotel. I was wondering if I were to use this hotel as a base but plan to be away for several days to visits other parts of Japan but ultimately return for a few days prior to my leave. Is that something that’s typically allowed? Would this frown on this or see this as a breach of custom? Has anyone done this before?

    Thanks

28. Thoughts on these two artsy attractions?

    teamlabs Osaka Garden

    Art Aquarium Museum in Ginza.

29. I just changed my itinerary to start at Osaka and end my trip in Tokyo. I have a few questions about transportation from Narita airport to Osaka.

    I’m afraid to take the bullet train to Osaka, because to reach my hotel with trains, I have to take in total 3 trains to reach Hotel Forza Osaka Kitahama. I’m afraid to get lost and miss my train stop. So to avoid this, I want to take a domestic flight.

    Unless you strongly recommend to take the trains. Note that I will carry a large suitcase.

    Narita to Kansai airport flight is cheaper and it is operated by jetstar.

    Unless you recommend me to go to ITM airport.

    How many hours between the time I land in Narita, take my luggage’s, I think I have to pass immigration too and take a domestic flight to Osaka ?

    I arrive at Narita airport at 3:30PM.

30. Hello! I’ll be in Japan for a work related trip sometime in March. I’m near Shinbashi/Hibiya Park area I think near the Tsukiji Fish Market. Since it’s for work I only have the afternoon and night time to look around. May I ask for your suggestions or recommendations on where to go or visit? Also are Suica cards still sold in the airports? Thank you all in advance.