Weekly Japan Travel Information and Discussion Thread – August 09, 2024

19 comments

1. I originally set out to be in Japan for a month, booked a return flight and everything. Now I want to stay longer. I heard that tourists can stay for a maximum of 90 days. Do I have to go through any steps to make sure everything is in order, or am I fine booking a later flight. Lots of love. 

2. Regarding the SUICA shortage: I’ve just been to Japan with my friend. At JR Ueno station at the JR office where you can also receive JR Pass they also have a counter for Tourists to receive a Regular SUICA.

   I imaged the same is for other bigger stations in Tokyo area.
   Smaller stations ticket machines still don’t sell them tho.

3. Anyone else have experience recharging a Suica card with a USD Citi Visa in Apple Pay? For me, it works like 80% of the time but the remaining 20% it just says the payment can’t be completed. Nothing is changing (and no, I checked to make sure it’s not during a maintenance period). Thanks!

4. Could someone give me some general suggestions of where near Tokyo might be good to visit for 1-2 months with kids? When we travel we usually do roadtrips but were thinking it would be nice to just immerse ourselves in one area for longer. We all really enjoy nature and hiking so it’d be nice to be somewhere we could still do some hiking or outdoor exploration, even if just some nice parks. We’ll be there over the Summer (July-Aug) so ideally somewhere outside of the city so it’s not quite as hot.

   Also, any suggestions for kid programs/summer camps that might accept kids that don’t know any Japanese would be great — would be fun to see if they can learn a little Japanese through immersion while they’re here (they’ll be 8 and 11).

5. Any recommendations on where to watch the mens basketball olympic gold medal game near shinjuku. It’ll be on 430am local time tomorrow so I’m not sure if its feasible.

6. So I bought a bunch of omamori charms while traveling. Anyone have any ideas or links to something that can hold them or store them so that they can be looked at, or something like that?

   Thanks!

7. I’m planning my routing for when I leave Japan in October, and I’m looking at a flight from JAL flying from Itami airport to Narita, landing at 1615. My departure flight out of Narita is at 1800, and I know it is recommended for me to be at the airport 3 hours before the flight. So my question is, how “safe” am I to take this JAL flight (i.e., risk of cancellations, delays)?

   There’s an early morning flight from KIX to NRT that lands at 0935 which I don’t mind, but I don’t know what to do for like 9 hours lol.

8. Me and my friend wanted to go to the grand sumo tournament in Sept, however all the tickets were scalped within the first 30 sec of the site opening. It sucks to pay scalper fees but where can I go to buy tickets?

9. Do you suggest buying train tickets before or as we go? We are taking a pretty flexible trip to Japan with trips to Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Osaka/Kyoto/Nara, Shirahama, and Nikko. Haven’t bought train tickets yet and leave in 4 days.

10. Hello, I just heard about the earthquake and am traveling to Tokyo, Hakone, and Osaka from August 15 – 26. Is it still OK to travel? I understand Japan is prone to frequent earthquakes, but the news is definitely scaring me a bit.

11. Any recommendations for A5 kobe beef that they cook in front of you? Went to Mouriya in Gion and been craving something similar.

12. Hello! Im very conflicted between three specific and very similar airbnbs. So basically I can’t decide between the neighbourhoods: Ebisu (Shibuya) vs Bentencho (Shinjuku) vs Kotobashi (Sumida). Does anyone have any advice, whether a specific area of these is much better or worse than the others.

13. does anyone know whether I should still proceed with a holiday to miyakojima? How’s the situation like there? Any information will be greatly appreciated?

14. I know the topic is tried to the death, but I would like recommendations for Tokyo, for someone who is not a first time visitor and doesn’t do much shopping or nightlife activities.

    I’m planning for my 5th visit, and would like to avoid revisiting the same places (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ueno, Asakusa, etc), but I’m running out of ideas on where to look at. I know people always say that you will never run out of things to do in Tokyo, and I want to agree, but I also don’t shop much or fancy bar-hopping, yet lots of recommendations tend to be related to those two activities.

    I have come to terms with the fact that I’m not too big on bustling cities (seeing that I live in one) and popular locations in Tokyo in my previous trips tend to burn me out. But I’ve also enjoyed my time in the less touristy parts of Tokyo, like Kiyosumi Gardens, Kuramae, and Yanaka Ginza, so I’m looking for recommendations similar to those. I’m considering the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum but I’m kinda out of ideas. Preferably all in Tokyo city itself.

15. Hi all,

    My wife and I arrive in Osaka on 22nd August, spending a few nights there (to catch a gig) and then 4 nights on Lake Biwa. After that, we’re across to Nagoya for 2 nights, then Kawasaki (another gig) for 3 nights, 3 in Tokyo, and finishing with 3 in Kamakura for our wedding anniversary (same place we got married). Flying out from Tokyo on 9th September.

    It’ll be our third time in japan. First was 2008 and we experienced a fairly sizeable earthquake on our first night, but were too jetlagged to worry about it. It was quite far north of Tokyo I think, but our bed rocked at least a foot each way (on castors).

    This time, however, we’re a little concerned. Me more than my wife…

    Is it just a case of making sure we’re appropriately insured, following travel guidelines, and being somewhat vigilant?

    I appreciate any advice.

    Thanks 😊

16. Hi All, taking a trip this November to Japan with my partner, running from the 22nd of November to the 13th of December.

    Rough guide is currently as follows:

    22nd – fly into Tokyo

    27th – Train to Mt. Fuji lake region (Kawaguchiko).

    29th – Train to Kyoto

    7th – Train back to Tokyo

    13th – Fly out of Tokyo.

    For a total of:

    – 12 Days in Tokyo (One 5 day leg one 7 day leg)

    – 2 days around Mt. Fuji

    – 8 days in Kyoto (with 1 day trip to Hiroshima and 2 day trips to Osaka planned).

    While in Kyoto we plan on doing a few day trips, one to Hiroshima, and a few to Osaka. Given it’s such a short train ride we feel it’s not worth the hassle with luggage.

    Of note: We fly in at 6am and fly out at 11pm so those days can both be considered ‘near’ full days at least! Also we don’t plan to get a JR pass as I don’t think it ends up breaking even, although will do another calculation once the itinerary is finalised.

    I’m looking for some advice on the amount of time/organisation of this trip not so much the activities we have planned. We are more or less sorted for that and are quite flexible travellers, we will play a bit by ear. We are trying to maximise the amount of fall foliage that we can get as it’s myself and my partners favourite season!

    Things on my mind/questions:

    **Regarding time in Tokyo:**

    – Too long total in Tokyo? I’m worried I won’t see enough of Kyoto in just a few days. My logic here is Tokyo is a ‘bigger’ city and there are more thing to do/see. More gardens, theme parks, museums, etc. (Ghibli museum and disney sea will be go-to’s for sure).

    **Regarding the stop-over around the Fuji 5 lakes:**

    – I’m considering moving the Fuji stay to after we see Kyoto, and shortening some of that second Tokyo leg to do so (for example we instead get to Kyoto on the 27th, leave on the 7th of December but instead go to the kawaguchiko area for the 7-9th then spend the rest of the time in Tokyo again before leaving). This works nicely as it allows me to see a friend in Kyoto who I would otherwise not be able to see as they leave Japan on the 29th, however it seems that getting from Kyoto to Lake Kawaguchiko is a bit awkward/takes ages (would be easier perhaps to go from Tokyo, hence it’s earlier position in the trip). Also worried it will be a bit colder and we may have slightly ‘worse’ foliage if we go later on? I would like to stay in Kyoto until the 7th at least, as my brother is also coincidentally going to Japan at that time (he’s just going to Kyoto) and I think it would be cool to see him at least once while there.

    – The idea here is to ‘relax’ for a day or two given Tokyo is quite busy, before getting back into the second leg of the holiday. I feel this might work better in my head than in reality and I’m worried it’ll be wasting time.

    – Is it better/more advisable just to do a day-trip from Tokyo to here? I’m worried it’ll be cutting it a bit tight and wasting 5 hours in the day on the train might make it more stressful than we’d like. Maybe just stay for one night rather than two? One night feels a bit ‘what’s the point?’ but it could maybe work?

    – We mainly just want to spend a day here soaking in the scenery, check out the classic pagoda (forgot the name off the top of my head) and maybe try out FujiQ if the weather is nice. Maybe an onsen if there are any around – totally open to suggestions from anyone who has been here for anything I’ve missed!

    I’m just wondering how I can optimise this holiday to get the most out of the 3 weeks and by spreading time across the locations we would like to see!

    Thank you so much and I’m open to any suggestions!

17. Hello, again! After checking Agoda and airbnb, Kyoto accomodation rates are pretty expensive than Osaka. Do you think it’s better to stay in Osaka to save money if we will go to the following locations for 3 days?

    Nishiki market,
    Gion district,
    Kiyumizu dera,
    Arashiyama,
    Sagano Scenic train,
    Kyoto illumination and Rurikei onsen,
    Fushimi Inari,
    Kyoto imperial palace,
    Sumo/samurai show

    Thank you!

18. Hello guys, I want to use night bus from Osaka to Tokyo on my next trip. We are group of 6 so we will have 5-6 big luggages and some hand carries, Do night buses charge extra for luggage or its already include with the price ticket?

19. I am looking to visit the Tokyo National Museum and would really like an English guided experience. I don’t see any official ones on the website. I did find some private ones. If private ones are the only available ones do you guys have any suggestions?