Here are some things that I wish I had known before I came, that I think can really make your trip the best it can be!
* When taking the subway to a location, use Google maps to identify the closest station exit to it and then use the internal station signs to find it and exit out that specific exit. For big stations especially, if you take the wrong exit, you may have to walk all the way around the station again, which is very slow!
* Japan is a maze. If you are looking for something specific (such as a restaurant) just following Google maps won’t always get you there. Often you will find they are hidden within a building or underground. Give yourself LOTS of time to find it.
* If you are still lost, look at reviews. The reviews in Google maps often give clues (such as that it’s inside the ticket area of a station, or that it’s underground etc).
* The subways are also a maze. The different train lines from different companies often aren’t in the same building. They are sometimes connected underground, follow the signs to them of they are, but they often aren’t. In Google maps, I recommend selecting a route that has all of the train connections on the same line if possible, even if this adds 5-10 minutes to your trip, so that you don’t have to spend time finding a new station.
* The convenience stores usually don’t have seats to sit on to eat unlike Korea. Plan to eat at parks.
* Not all parks have seats, or much seating to go around. Some parks have leaning posts instead!
* We have never been able to check in earlier than our hotel check in time, not even five minutes earlier (true story) but we have been able to drop our bags just fine!
* Get to the station with LOTS of time if you need to use a ticket machine or need to line up to buy a ticket. The lines to use these can be HUGE. Sometimes you get lucky and it’s empty. But usually, they are huge lines, and they don’t move fast.
* Check if the train you are about to board is a “local” train or a “rapid” train. The local trains stop at all stops and the rapid trains skip stops. This is great if you want to go somewhere quicker, but bad if your station is one of the missed stops (this has happened to us!).
* The train to Disney gets extremely crowded. And then everyone lines up for the opening of the park, and the lines are huge and take a long time to move. You really want to aim to be there 1 hour earlier or more if you want to hit rope drop, and ideally, you want to be staying out that way in a hotel on the monorail loop.
* Shibuya and Shinjuku are loud and extremely busy. We stayed out in Tokyo Station area and it was perfect for us! So lovely and peaceful with plenty of options to eat around us. Even though Shinjuku and Shibuya are the areas everyone recommends, you may prefer a different area after all.
12 comments
Finally something helpful. I go in May and will take this advice. What is the best way to learn the routes for the bullet train? Google maps does not seem to have that.
Regarding points two and three, if you tap on a place in Google Maps and scroll down slightly to the “Address” section, it will often tell you if the place is in a building/department store and what floor it’s on. That’s often enough to clear up most of the confusion.
>Shibuya and Shinjuku are loud and extremely busy. We stayed out in Tokyo Station area and it was perfect for us! So lovely and peaceful with plenty of options to eat around us. Even though Shinjuku and Shibuya are the areas everyone recommends, you may prefer a different area after all.
Wander off the main drag in both these places and it quiets down substantially and very quickly.
I mean, relatively quiet. But you’ll definitely find places that are a bit emptier once you’re a few blocks away.
How much money do you recommend taking per day and did you exchange your currency into Yen, before arriving to Japan?
Google Map tip for the final walking part, click itinerary, walking and live view. Then scan around you and it will show big blue arrow to where you have to go. Had good success with it (and it likely work anywhere).
Yeah, sometimes finding a place require reading the address to see what floor, like Animate shinjuku is on the 6 or 7th floor of a department store, no big sign outside. Went to an exhibition that was on the 8th floor of a marui department store and the Google map pin was not on the right building (I suggested a change).
Where did you travel for your adventures? I am going for a month in the future and planning on having Tokyo and Osaka my 2 main spots while traveling in between the 2 cities.
> We have never been able to check in earlier than our hotel check in time, not even five minutes earlier (true story) but we have been able to drop our bags just fine!
I think you have been just unlucky all two weeks.
I did Korea in December and am doing Japan in May. One of the issues of Korea was finding a bin to put rubbish in and it was instead recommended to carry a plastic bag to place your rubbish in. Is it the same in Japan?
> The convenience stores usually don’t have seats
Not entirely true. Sometimes there are actually small dining areas and tables in konbinis.
We were able to check into one of hour hotels an hour early.
We weren’t expecting to be able to, and generally planned check in days around just dropping bags off and then coming back later in the evening.
I was surprised I was able to check into the Hilton Tokyo 3hrs early, but maybe that was rare?
I’ve mostly gotten a feel of Japan trains and exits… except SHINJUKU that is a maze lol I just try to get to street level as fast as I can
The checkin is so true! Main reason why I dont book airbnb in Japan unless absolutely necessary. Check-in at 4pm is just ridiculous and waste so much time.