Hey everyone!
I went to Japan for 2 weeks to see Osaka and Kyoto. It was my partner and I, 32M and 28F. I spent MONTHS planning, but quickly tossed everything out the window when we landed. And it was amazing.
1 – The train systems are way easier than they appear. If you don’t want to worry about a card, honestly we spent less than 2 minutes getting physical train tickets each time. Google Maps tells you what ticket and what line to use and all machines have an English option. You can buy multiple tickets at a time if needed as well.
The first couple times you ride may be a bit disorganized, but you’ll get the hang of it rather quickly.
2 – Download the taxi GO app. In Kyoto, their public transit options weren’t as great. The trains didn’t go everywhere and the busses were way overcrowded. The GO app makes ordering a taxi simple and so easy, it’s just like an Uber or Lyft. You can go pretty far for $8 or so. BUT if you have a party of more than 4,, order two taxis. Most taxis have 3 seats and the passenger side seat.
3 – There are MANY “hidden” gems in Japan that aren’t tourist spots. As an example, we had Fushimi Inari on our list, but we (both being tired of people at that point) visited Shimogamo Shrine instead. A beautiful shrine with red torii gates nestled in the forest. We saw a wedding and it was SUCH a peaceful walk. So if you don’t hit the “hotspots”, you can still see a TON of cool stuff and not deal with as many people.
4 – Ghibli Park.
We were fortunate we got tickets to Ghibli Park. Everything that could go wrong went wrong that day for us.
First, we miscalculated train times and ended up being there a few hours later than our “entry” time. The entry time is JUST for the Grand Warehouse, and they were kind enough to let us in outside of our entry time. Not saying they will let you in outside of that time, but they have those times because the warehouse can only hold so many people.
Second, our “group” leader forgot his passport in our room. I know we SHOULD never travel without a passport but things happen. They never once asked for our passports for verification. Not saying they won’t check yours, but we never had a problem.
Third, even if you don’t get tickets still go to the ExpoPark! Ghibli park is nested inside the park and you can still SEE all the buildings and structures (which was the coolest part to me). The tickets let you go inside things – I would have rather explored the parks hiking trails than go inside everything, but we had the tickets so we were going to use them. Going inside was cool, don’t get me wrong, but if I was a kid it would have been way cooler. My partner (who is a huge studio ghibli fan) also agreed with my sentiments.
So if you are in the Nagoya area and want to go see the park, I highly recommend you go!! They have local food truck vendors there so you can experience Japan food trucks 🙂
5 – I had way overplanned for this trip. We ended up planning 1 thing each day and then spent the rest of the day exploring that area. Literally just walking around. In Osaka we stumbled across cute little art cafes or cute themed streets. In Kyoto, we stumbled across hidden (local) shrines and got to peek over some fences to see cool gardens (they were private). So if you are a planner, Japan is so much fun to just enjoy. I wouldn’t worry about not finding something to do.
6 – I did not pick up any mobile wifi devices or local Sim cards. I got lost a lot, but would eventually be able to connect to free wifi somewhere to get me straightened out. I would definitely recommend at least 1 person in your group have access to the internet for navigation. My partner had data through his carrier so I just let him navigate. My phone sat in the room for 90% of the trip, so it was super relaxing for me haha.
Super happy to answer any questions 🙂
Edit 1 – I’m 100% not saying you shouldn’t get a train card or a mobile hotspot/eSIM thing. I’m just saying it’s POSSIBLE to survive without it. My trip was fine without either so just letting folks know that if they want to go without one, it’s definitely do-able. I know it’s ‘easy’ to get either, but it was going to be a NEW experience for me and I didn’t want to deal with that anxiety on my vacation (I already have enough anxiety). In both points 1 and 6, if you read, I never say don’t get them. I just say I survived without it and nothing majorly bad happened. Also note that this trip was with 2 adults – if you have kids, these notes aren’t for you.
Some of yall sound like you’d rather die than not have mobile data or a train card – cool. That isn’t me and I wanted to pitch the other side of the story to folks so they can be informed. Everyone should always make the decision that’s best for them, but at least to me, I like to hear both sides to every piece of “advice”.
by mandarinj34
27 comments
>If you don’t want to worry about a card, honestly we spent less than 2 minutes getting physical train tickets each time.
When you’re pressed with time. You can actually buy the cheapest ticket, go in and when you go out pay the difference.
I mean, I am sorry to disappointed you, but Shimo-Gamo shrine is definitely a tourist spot. Maybe not for international tourist, but definitely for Japanese tourist. It’s one of the most important power spot in Kyoto.
5) my personal methodology is to plan out a scaffolding of things to do, but ultimately be prepared to switch or change things. Do you REALLY want to hit Arashiyama when it’s pouring rain? Maybe swap the day out going to Nara instead.
6) I tend to encourage everyone to have at least minimal data. If only to be able to communicate with each other. I’ve been in a department store, looked at something for 5 seconds, then turn around to find my wife basically AWOL. Daiso might as well be an alternate dimension. My wife was mostly cruising on her free 256kbs international data which was enough for iMessage or voice Facetime
2 – Most of the Go taxis have heated seats for passengers 😊
I think it’s kind of nuts not to have an eSIM or something, especially when it’s so cheap.
Can you tell me more about your mishap with the train to Ghibli Park? We’re leaving from Kyoto for Ghibli Park and I’m so worried about messing it up. 😅
Just get the Suica in your Apple Wallet. It’s literally the best thing. You can pay your transit trips and pay in stores. I would not go without one. And having it in your phone is super convenient. Also with iPhones it also works when the iPhone battery is already empty, meaning you don’t need to worry. Plus getting a Apple Wallet Suica is free compared to the one at the airport.
I feel like having an IC card isn’t really that difficult, especially if you have an iPhone, you can have it on your phone. Tap in, tap out. I don’t really understand why someone wouldn’t pick one up
Regarding the not having sim/wifi hotspot, that’s wild to me. Especially with saying you got lost a lot, as fun as that is at times, would drive me insane on a trip. Having Google maps was a godsend. Or even if you and your partner want to part ways for a little while, makes that almost impossible
About the Go taxi app, thanks for the info. I didn’t realize that $8 can get you very far. What kind of credit card does that app accept?
+1 with getting an eSIM through Airalo. Used it in Japan and South Korea and never had issues. Super easy and quick to set up!
I got the pasmo card and it was so convenient. Took a bit standing in line to get it initially, but then I could tap on to the trains, busses, cabs, and vending machines with it.
Even if you don’t have an iPhone, it shouldn’t be so hard to get an IC card at a major station in Tokyo. Also, if you will be in the Kansai region like Osaka/Kyoto, there’s no IC Card shortage there. So it’s easy and convenient buying the ic card vs buying paper tickets every time and paying the difference when transfering lines or covering the full fare. And it’s so much more convenient having the IC card when traveling and paying for conbini, vending machines, and at other stores.
‘if you dont want to worry about getting a card’ which takes about 5 minutes and is free (PASSPORT PASMO)
Cheap walkie talkies worked great for rounding up our group members.
Yeah the advice of not getting a sim card or a ic card isn’t good one. They both take like 2 min to get. If you don’t do it at the airport there’s zero queque.
In Tokyo the Passmo was free, I got it within 5 min from the train station and it made my life so much easier.
And sim cards are sold all over in bicc camera, even some 7/11 or don Quitjote. They don’t cost a lot for a few days, weeks or a/two month
All of these are good, sensible pieces of advice.
can you share the link for the app please ?
On 3. Yes there’s all kind of cool hidden spots everywhere but well known spots are well known for a reason if you really want to see one of those don’t skip it thinking you’ll find the same feeling anywhere else.
There are red Tori gates in a lot of places, but the feeling of climbing the fushimi Inari to the top is unique. The Higher you go the less people you see. If you want to go there specifically, don’t skip it.
About the data, getting a hotspot is really easy, but if possible I recommend an esim .
Interesting RE the WiFi!
I’m on my 2nd trip now and used a local data SIM I got from eBay in the Uk. My friends were faffing with roaming and trying to connect to WiFi all the time and getting stressed.
There’s less WiFi around than the UK I think, but it’s still aplenty…of course if you have data SIM then you don’t need to worry…
Without a SIM card, how did you get GO app to work? You have to have a number to register the app and then you need a connection to use it. You only use it while connected to WiFi at a cafe?
How much time would you consider is enough to spend at Ghibli Park? Would a couple hours at most do? Will only be in Nagoya for one night, and thinking of seeing the park the morning after we checkout and before he head to Hakone.
It’s mental to me that you didn’t get an ICOCA but did download a taxi app (which to be fair is rad). Absolutely mad.
How did you get an IC card? I think that’s a concern among new travelers because of the shortage. It might be with just certain companies?
Silly question about the taxi – is it true that the driver opens and closes the door for you automatically? I want to be respectful of how they do things and also not potentially damage something too!
I’m taking my 18 yr old for graduation. She’s a huge anime fan and wants to go to the Gibli museum in Tokyo but only if it’s really worth it because it doesn’t fit into our schedule. For some reason they are closed the majority of our trip and the only day it’s open that we are staying in Tokyo we will be in Kamakura for the day. I could maybe make it so we get back on time to make the last 4pm entrance but it would be stressful. So my question is, how worth it is it to make sure we fit that in?
Not spending the 5$ and 3 minutes to download an eSIM is downright psychotic, and your defence of it being “too stressful” is even more nuts.
Your tips are otherwise excellent. I would even go as far as to recommend AGAINST getting the bus/ train pass in Kyoto because there are so many private lines in the city that it covers almost nothing useful.
The GO taxi app requires a phone number, but when I change to my eSIM card I won’t get my text messages.