**Summary:** This page really helped with my trip planning, especially for eSIMs, cash tips and transportation. Thank you to everyone who shared tips and I wanted to share my experience too, in case it helps anyone 🙂 We had a wonderful time and want to return asap!
**Flights:**
* We flew from London to Tokyo Narita with a short layover.
* We booked last summer, using Skyscanner to find the cheapest flights and booked via Booking.com. We had no issues with our tickets but would recommend booking directly with the airline for flights where possible.
* We tracked flight prices from 12 months prior to our trip and they did not drop in price. For mid-late March direct flights started at £1.2k via ANA and £1.6k via British Airways. Direct flights were limited and sold out quick! Flights with layovers started at £1.2k+ so booking in advance is crucial for Japan. Next time I’ll book as early as possible.
**Hotels:**
* We booked hotels in Tokyo (Bunkyo and Takanawa) and Osaka (Kita-Ku). The hotels and areas exceeded my expectations and we had a great experience.
* If offered at your hotel I’d highly recommend trying the traditional Japanese breakfast at a traditional restaurant, amazing food & ended up being my favourite meal!
* There are cheap 3\* hotels available even in the popular tourist areas like Shinjuku, just book as far in advance as possible and do your research on distances to the closest JR and Metro stations. Being close to a 7-11 will help too.
**Pre-trip bookings/reservations:**
* Had issues booking the Shinkansen tickets, only my UK AMEX card worked but managed to get reserved seating and saw Mt Fuji from the right side of the train around 40min into the Journey from Tokyo-Osaka.
* No issues booking with my VISA credit card for DisneySea tickets on the official Disney website, one of our Tokyo hotel reservations on the Japanese website and the Airport limo.
* Didn’t make dinner reservations but heard tabelog works well.
* Purchased an eSIM before the trip, easy to buy and use but can take 10-15min to activate, so don’t panic if it doesn’t start working immediately. Also check reddit for 20% off coupons.
**Cash:**
* I took ¥50,000 cash and used my CC were possible.
* Didn’t withdraw cash at ATMs but they are easy to use as they have language translations and are everywhere.
* Mostly used cash for topping up Suica card otherwise most places accepted Card, even the outdoor market in Asakusa.
* Other cash-only purchases: luggage forwarding service at our hotel, temples/shrines, restaurants that used the cash venting machines, some outdoor food stalls, thrift shops in Osaka, taxis in Osaka (IC card and CC were also accepted).
* Credit Card was accepted at around 70% of the places we visited, no issues using my VISA CC and rates were better via card purchases. I could have probably taken less Yen to be honest.
**Transportation:**
* Suica card is crucial, it will make travelling so much easier! We got one at a JR centre.
* Shinjuku train station is the world’s busiest station. I’ve travelled around London many times & visited big cities like New York, Paris etc. but found Shinjuku a bit challenging to navigate. We got lost and it can be very stressful trying to find your exit. It can take 20min just to walk from the West to East exits. Just stay calm, ask staff to point you in the right direction and you’ll eventually escape lol
* **But overall** getting the metro/trains is cheap (compared to the UK) and straightforward as everything has english translations, is colour coordinated and google maps is accurate!
* We did get a taxi once in Osaka as it was late at night and our bus wasn’t running. They take IC, CC and cash payments, and the drivers are very friendly. I would recommend downloading the GO app before flying to Japan, it’ll make getting a taxi easier than flagging one on the street if needed.
**Language:**
* Papago works better than google translate.
* Learn excuse me, please and thank you and you should be ok.
* Reading the Japanese translation from your phone is fine, even showing them your screen is ok if struggling to communicate, the staff will also use a translation app to communicate with you. Just don’t start immediately speaking in english and expect them to understand.
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**I won’t go into details about our itinerary as that can vary based on your interests, just general tips below:**
**Clothes:**
* Will recommend (as most people do on this page) take comfy broken into shoes. Even if you are used to doing 10k+ steps a day you’ll still feel like your legs are going to fall off.
* Bring waterproof coats or get umbrellas as March can be rainy.
* Bring extra spare socks or do laundry because you might want to change your socks midday/in the evening if you get rained on!
**Bins:**
* As most people will say, rubbish bins are hard to find so be prepared to carry it around with you until you get back to your hotel. There are bottle recycling bins around the city if you keep an eye out, usually near vending machines.
**Seating:**
* Apart from sit-down restaurants there aren’t many places to sit so find ways to take breaks throughout the day. We found coffee shops and parks to be a nice place to rest our feet for a bit. Outdoor food markets, especially in Osaka, are stand and eat too.
* **Toilets:** They are everywhere and very clean which was nice and reassuring when out and about all day. All toilets I visited had bidets & most had either paper towels or hand dryers, even at the national park in Tokyo. You can buy a small hand towel but I didn’t think it was crucial.
**Luggage:**
* Use luggage forwarding services, it saved us from dragging our huge suitcases from Tokyo to Osaka is 100% worth it.
* Lockers: Use the station lockers, they are so useful, especially if you aren’t checking into your hotel or getting your flight until later on in the day. Usually
**Stamps:**
* If you like stationery the train stamps are 100% worth it and fun & easy to locate. I’d probably skip getting the Goshuin stamps next time but they are beautiful and interesting to learn what the message blessings mean.
**Tax-free/Shopping:**
* Food and clothes seem so much cheaper than the UK, you’ll want to leave room in your suitcase (or take an empty one) for shopping.
* Don Quijote is very overwhelming, try to plan what you want to buy before going and do all your shopping in one trip (make sure they have a tax free counter).
* I didn’t use the QR app but no issues using my passport for tax-free purchases. Keep ALL your receipts & keep tax-free items sealed.
**Personal highlights:**
Asakusa & Shibuya in Tokyo – so much to see and do. Shinjuku Gyoen National Park is beautiful on a sunny day. Osaka is very vibrant and busy, locals are nice & chatty too.
**TLDR/Overall experience**
* Flights will be the biggest expense from the UK, try to book 12-9 months ahead for March because the prices do not drop.
* Hotels can be cheap, it just depends on your preference but overall great customer service.
* While cash is still crucial to carry, we found Tokyo to be very credit card friendly. We used cash more in Osaka and Kyoto but still had no issues with using foreign cards or ATMs.
* Like most people say, you will do lots of walking, bring comfy broken into shoes. And take breaks throughout the day at parks or coffee shops! Enjoy being in Japan!
* People are friendly, food was great, and all the cities we visited were beautiful. Loved Japan, it went above and beyond my expectations and I want to return asap.
by Calm_Goose5722
