Hi everyone,
Just got back from a fantastic holiday from Japan, traveling from Tokyo – Kyoto – Osaka for 10 days and thought I’d share some travel tips just for y’all based on my own xp. Hopefully it helps some people.
**Pre-travel**
* **Book at least 6-9 months in advance** \- use frequent flyer points where you can. I booked a tad late (due to personal reasons) around 3 months in advanced (but still got decent prices). I know people who booked last minute…
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* **Google maps** – Google maps pretty much did all the heavy lifting for planning before and during the trip. Take the spots you wanna go, create a list on Google maps, and chuck them all in that list. This is where the fun begins…turn that list on, activate the public transport layer, then type “hotels Tokyo” and boom…now you have a visual of where all your spots are in relation to public transit lines and hotels. Now choose and peruse! We chose a hotel which was in 10 min walking distance from three stations that were serviced by three different lines.
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* **Money** \- many ways to skin this cat but essentially my options were:
* *Wise* \- an absolute fantastic platform to use, I have a referral link, not paid by Wise to promote it ([https://wise.com/invite/dic/williamc4026](https://wise.com/invite/dic/williamc4026)). Wise essentially lets you set up different currency accounts with a click of a button. I had an Australian Wise account where I could transfer my main funds from my main bank account, convert it to Yen at very favorable rates, then use my Wise card to withdraw cash from ATMs within a few seconds. Very useful. You can use it to pay at almost all establishments.
* *Amex -* I had a back-up card in case things didn’t go according to plan. Amex worked in a lot of the places I visited.
* *Suica -* If you have an iPhone, you can get a digital Suica card to use on the phone. Still waiting for an Android one, otherwise get them at the airport. Beware though, due to IC shortages, Suica’s are getting harder to obtain. You could probably get IC cards from somewhere else but I haven’t tried. It’s a transport card and is quite essential (after internet).
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* **Internet** \- use an e-sim from a provider like Ubigi. I found that 10gb for $17 was enough for 10 days (with 3gb remaining). This was mostly using Google maps and general browsing.
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* **Clothing -** if you’re expecting to buy a lot of clothes there (and it’s a lot cheaper, i.e. 50% cheaper than some of the stuff I buy in Uniqlo Australia), go with an empty suitcase or better yet, just take a small carry-on with the essentials and come back with a suitcase. You can buy almost anything anywhere. The hotels I stayed at have laundry and usually takes around 1.5 hrs (30 mins wash, 1 hr dry).
* Buy a pair of really comfortable walking shoes (like really comfortable). I got a pair of ONs before I left and did not regret it one bit. There will be A LOT of walking. We averaged around 20k steps a day (that’s because we were visiting quite a few places in a day).
**During travel**
* **Google maps** \- my goodness I was amazed at how useful it was, especially when transferring from multiple stations. I was surprised to see people were still asking for directions when I was there so I thought I’d drop this in. Take note of where the best carriages are for faster exits.
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* **Shinkansen -** if you’re going to different cities via Shinkansen, book through Klook, get QR code, and scan it on one of the ticket machines there. I don’t understand why people are buying Shinkansen tickets at the service desk nor taking 10 mins+ to figure out how to buy the ticket on the machine itself. Just do it on Klook. Book unreserved tickets at terminal Shinkansen stations, like Tokyo and not Shinagawa or Shin-Yokohama for best probability of getting seats with your group.
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* **Hotels -** the ones I visited provided PJs and the usual basic amenities so no need to bring extra clothing with you. I would probably advise against staying at air bnb’s because a lot of the owners don’t care about the cleanliness of the property. Check-ins are @ 3 pm and checkout at 11 am. You can get hotel to store your luggage at the front.
That’s all I can recall for now. Feel free to ask any questions. Hopefully it’s been helpful.
by Any_Wear_7054