Trip report: Geezer first-timers–May 8-June 5. Kyoto, Izu Peninsula, Tokyo, Nara, Kamakura (Part I)

Like others, I’d like to repay valuable advice and info gleaned from this sub. Unlike many on Reddit, we’re getting up in years (M 73, F 70). That didn’t keep us from doing just about anything younger people might do. You might consider passing this report along to your parents or other older folks who might be hesitant about taking an independent trip to Japan.

Here are a few highlights before getting to more detailed info in Part Two.

**Biggest surprises**: The quiet. We never had a noisy hotel experience. People on subways and trains are famously silent and when a car honked near us in Kamakura, a tourist town south of Tokyo, it was a shock.
The pace of change. For a country renowned for cutting-edge technology, it still clings to some traditional ways. That goes for more modern habits, like masking (still around 90% in Tokyo subways on our last day), and the bottles of hand sanitizer in every shop doorway, restaurant and other public places.
Cash isn’t king but we definitely needed it, even in Tokyo. Fortunately, getting it was extremely easy.
Food was even better than advertised. We’re not extreme foodies but we like a good meal; we never had a bad one in four weeks.
The famously efficient transit system was even easier and better than imagined. Taking luggage on subways and trains was never a problem (though we were careful to avoid the worst of rush hour). We took fewer taxis than expected, though when we did they were lifesavers.

**Especially for Geezers**: Our main concession to age was avoiding late nights out.

We’re in reasonably good health, though one of us has minor knee issues. Escalators and elevators eased our way, occasionally, in public transit, but there was no getting around the ubiquitous stairs. We logged up to 6-to-8 mile (or more) walking days, sometimes going non-stop from morning ’til evening.

Two pair of comfortable shoes are a good idea, though advice about wearing slip-ons or shoes that don’t require tying the laces is perhaps overdone. I wore my regular Nike jogging shoes and my partner chose On (for the elastic laces).

Before leaving home, we took long walks. Don’t forget to go up and down as many stairs as you can find.

If you do your homework, you can find your way around on your own. The awesome power of the smartphone and the proliferation of signs in English or Romaji, especially in cities, has vastly eased Japan travel for us gringos (and other gaijin).

**Here’s one tip I haven’t seen here**: Arguably the best of the old Japan guidebooks in English, “Gateway to Japan” (last published in the 1990s), is now available in a digital edition. I downloaded it (for $10US) to the (free) Kindle app on my smartphone and my iPad. It has all the usual guidebook stuff, including good, historical info and smart ratings on places to see, plus walking tours and shopping and eating advice. It has embedded links to Google Maps that ease navigation. But please note: it isn’t updated as frequently as other sources, so be sure to double-check with Japan Guide (or other online sites) on opening times, fees, etc.

**One other pre-trip tip**: If you’re like me, you may be resistant to absorbing often mind-numbing background on the history, culture and traditions of another country. Shogun, the 1986 bestselling novel by James Clavell (later a motion picture), is an easy way to fix that problem for Japan. Get a library copy or cheap used paperback online. It’s very long, but a page turner. And except for a plot device or two, it’s a remarkably accurate portrayal of a key turning point in Japan’s development. If you take the time to read it–and you should–you’ll be surprised to discover when you get to Japan that you have a useful understanding of the people and society of today’s Japan.

**Trip prep**: We’re fairly experienced international travelers, less so in Asia. I spent six months in the pre-trip phase–which paid dividends in cheaper hotel rooms and tickets to hard-to-get attractions.

I did minimal language prep (about 10 half-hour lessons of Pimsleur’s basic Japanese, borrowed from the library) and wish I’d done more. But even that paid massive rewards. Don’t be an Ugly American; learn and use the basic courtesy words and phrases frequently mentioned on this site. It’s easy and goes a long, long way. My favorite party trick was *Gochisōsamadeshita* (“thank you for the meal”), which never failed to elicit a polite response–sometimes a giggle–from restaurant staff.

I’d also underscore three vital tips often found here: Keep your voice down, walk on the left and don’t blow your nose in public.

To narrow our options, I browsed many recent, general guidebooks (from the library) and online sites like Japan Guide and this one. I used Google Docs to compile itinerary and background info (the main itinerary document was about 25 pages long). During the trip, Japan Guide was our go-to reference for up-to-date info and links to individual attractions.

**What we brought or bought:** A sling bag and auxiliary smartphone battery (Anker MagGo for iPhone). I usually ran out of juice on my phone by midday, so the extra battery was a godsend. A stack of old-fashioned cotton handkerchiefs came in handy, since paper products like tissues are quite thin. We bought tiny folding umbrellas at Family Mart and stashed them in our sling bags on rainy days, along with a plastic bag to protect them when wet; they never failed us.

**What we brought or bought and didn’t need:** Yes, it’s hard to find places to toss your trash (heed the warnings on this sub) but advice about bringing plastic bags with you seems unnecessary. You can get bags at konbinis and other stores (they may charge a few pennies); we ended up tossing excess plastic bags at the end of the trip.

We brought little cloth hand towels, widely used by Japanese people, since public toilets often don’t have ways to dry your hands. But we never actually used them.

**Best apps and websites for getting around:** *Japan Travel* from Navitime, loaded before leaving home. Along with Google Maps and the built-in compass feature on the phone, it made getting around a breeze. We loaded the *Smart-Ex* app for booking bullet trains before leaving and got our first train tickets at a discount.

Best of all, an IC card. We put *Suica* in our Apple Wallet, loaded with some yen before leaving home, and loved it. Be advised: *Suica* and *Smart-Ex* sometimes conflict in real life, requiring help from station personnel to get you through the gate. If you want to avoid that, download and print the QR code for your train ticket.

The Japan Meteorological Agency website and Weather dot com offer very reliable, up-to-date forecast info.

**Cellphones:** For various reasons, we used a combination of Verizon’s fairly new $100 International Monthly Plan (250 minutes of phone, 250 messages and unlimited highspeed data for first 20GB) and Ubigi’s $17 eSim. The Verizon was a mixed bag; it did let me use my phone as a hotspot but the quality of the signal depended on the local partner; I counted at least three–SoftBank, au and Docomo. I switched between my cellular plans, depending on signal strength in a location. Using my phone exclusively for navigation and web searching, I never hit the Verizon limit and needed about half the Ubigi 10GB.

**Getting there**: We chose to fly Premium Economy for the first time, mainly for comfort on the 13-hour flight, and found it worth the considerable extra expense. We’re also glad we went non-stop (ANA), even though it meant spending the first night in Tokyo before zipping off to Kyoto.

**Expenses:** About $15K (USD) for 28 nights, not including airfare to and from Japan. This was our first overseas trip in more than 3.5 years, due to the pandemic, so we splurged a bit.

We spent almost a month and only scratched the surface. How we went about picking places to stay, see or eat, and some of the ones we especially liked, will be highlighted in Part II of this report, coming soon.