Just like most of you, I’ve spent a lot of time on this sub when I was planning my Japan trip that lasted for 12 days. There were a lot of questions that was answered for me, so it’s my turn to return the favor.
* Suica card – we got this from NRT with no problem.
* JR pass – wasn’t worth it for us. It would’ve cost us $1000+ for 2 people good for 2 weeks. I thought of getting this over and over and ended up not buying it, thankfully. We only used Shinkansen from Hiroshima – Osaka, Kyoto to Tokyo, and Narita Express. It was cheaper to fly from NRT to Hiroshima than take a couple of train ride. All my Shinkansen ride costed around $380+ for 2 people.
* Osaka amazing pass – saved us a lot of money for a day. Not only for the attractions, but for train tickets as well. Most attractions are a station or two away from each other and it saved us a good amount of money. We got ours from Klook and picked it up from on of the stores they tell you to go.
* Food- we NEVER had any problem finding a good place to eat. There are thousands wherever we went. The only issue I had is the options became very repetitive to the point that regardless of what restaurant we went at, food options was the same. Also, most restaurant don’t open until 10am and close late.
* Coins – have a place to put them in. It is very easy to acquire them without any effort. Japanese bills are only available in 1000,5000, and 10,000. The rest is coins.
* Walking – be prepared! The most I’ve done in a day or 28k steps. Comfortable shoes is a must!
* Hotels – try to stay next to a station. We saved so much time by staying next to one (we stayed near the major stations like shin-Osaka, etc).
* Shopping – my wife likes to shop, if you spend 5500yen or more, you get tax-free purchase. Just need your passport. They pack-seal your items except clothing purchases. In our case, my wife has a lot of make ups and candies that was packed.
* eSim – got out from Ubigi for 10GB/30days. Easy to install. I thought 10GB wouldn’t be enough but it was for 12 days of travel. I still have a bit over 2GB left over and I used it heavily, including social media while waiting.
* Maps – Google maps was my best friend. Especially when I had to take trains. It tells you which station is the closest, which line, fare, what platform, which car train, and what exit was the fastest. I didn’t use anything else but Google maps.
My advice, I tried to plan A to Z in detail but I learned that some memories are best created unplanned. The adventures of being lost and the satisfaction of figuring it out along the process is my biggest take aways. Not everything has to be planned (take this with a grain of salt).
I hope this helps you, as these are most of the things I would’ve wanted to know before coming in Japan.
by Owk-wurd
